And this is lovely

(the music is a little odd and when I say odd...well...)

Originally found on Curbed SF

Wear your seatbelt!

Some friends and I are eating at Bar Crudo on Saturday.  This great little restaurant next to the Tunnel Top Bar and Sutter Stockton Garage is one of my all-time favorites. It is also one of the Chronicle's Top 100. The raw fish is prepared in a way that delights every tastebud.  Eric and I have been going fairly regularly since they opened, so when some of my friends from the East Bay said they wanted to try something new I knew just the place.

To my surprise, the front page of the Bar Crudo includes a tribute.  In December, several members of the staff (including one of the twin brothers who is a co-owner) were in a terrible car accident. A young waitress died and the head chef and sous chef were very seriously injured. Read more about the accident at SFGate.

They were all heading home in a cab from the restaurant. I wanted to post about this because I wanted to remind everyone I know to wear their seatbelts, especially when riding in a cab.  Many of us feel like taking a cab is somehow safer than a regular car, but they are not.  In fact, my cabbie just yesterday was on the phone the whole time, paying little attention to the road. 

Please wear your seatbelt. Please be safe!

Get the 311

Whew, did I take some time off from my blog?!  (ouch, I just looked at the last date) With the holidays, closing a challenging three unit TIC AND buying my own condo I didn't have enough time to do anything fun like write!  So, I'm committed to doing this more often. 

Now for some exciting city news.  Out of 1.5 million 911 calls in San Francisco, 70% were non-emergency issues. That means the 911 is being misused and clogged--now you get why 911 will actually put you on hold.  But finding the right city department to fit your need is a logistical nightmare with over 140 departments and thousands of phone numbers.  So, Gavin put together a 311 initiative that connects all of the non-emergency phone calls to the appropriate department. 

The city has assured the commission that the folks answering the 311 calls are trained so you are not simply calling a receptionist, but someone who can actually field your call and connect you to the department right away.

Feel free to make calls concerning anything not related to the police such as finding a drug treatment center, health clinic, elderly and adult nutrition, inoculations, city events.  Or report public health issues such as potholes, backed up sewers, and health violations in restaurants.

Rent a Christmas Tree

I know I should be posting something about why it's a great time to buy, so let me do that real quick then we can get to the trees! 1. Interest rates are lower and you can still get loans with just 10% down 2. high inventory with fewer buyers in the market = negotiation and choice 3. Sellers are motivated to sell so they can turn around and get a good deal on their own new house. Why?  See numbers 1-3 above.   

Now, Christmas trees! I read this on Apartment Therapy today. The San Francisco Department of the Environment and Friends of the Urban Forest have put together a Christmas tree rental program.  You rent a tree over the holidays for $150 (price includes delivery and pick-up) and afterwards they will plant it as a neighborhood tree. The trees are not pines, but they are young Magnolias, Tristanias, Strawberry Trees, etc that will make SF neighborhoods in need of TLC a little greener. How cool is that?  Check out the site here: GreenChristmas.

bad blogger, but hey there's cabspotting

Gosh I'm a terrible blogger!  I've been so busy lately that I haven't had one moment to blog.  Loads of things to share regarding seller financing, tips for trading up and power washing vs. painting so look for lively posts coming very soon!

In the meantime, I get to brag about my honey and the extraordinary team at Stamen Design. Curbed SF featured Cabspotting, a project Stamen created for the Exploratorium's Invisible Dynamics Initiative. 

"Cabspotting traces San Francisco's taxi cabs as they travel throughout the Bay Area. The patterns traced by each cab create a living and always-changing map of city life. This map hints at economic, social, and cultural trends that are otherwise invisible." --Exploratorium

I think they are beautiful representations of getting home in one piece. 

Cheers to Stamen.

What and Where?

Things are getting pretty wacky over at Guess Where SF.  This picture is wonderful and so very abstract.  I love obscure photos like this because somehow you know you've seen it before and maybe you stopped to look at it, but it certainly didn't register at the time.  Ahh the beauty of Flickr.  Can you guess where it lives in San Francisco? 

photo from Michale on Flickr.com

Here Kitty Kitty...

I was holding a condo open for an associate of mine last Sunday on California Street. Great Nob Hill studio.  It needs a little upgrading in the kitchen and bath, but loads of closet space and a very cool hideaway bed, which I will get to in a minute. 

It was a busy open house.  With the weather improving, people LUUV to look at real estate.  So, I was doing my thing, showing off the large walk-in closet (which is very important to have in a studio), walking potential buyers through the common areas and highlighting the 20+ ft floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lush garden (cue Vanna arm motion, right to left), when I realized...between tours...that the cat was missing. 

In a panic I retraced my steps.  I decided to keep the door open because it pulled a nice breeze through the condo and the seller thought it would be a nice idea too.  And sure, it was open while people were milling about, but during the slow moments the cat and I would sit quietly, together, in the chair reading about Grafarc in San Francisco Magazine.  He liked me...why would he run away?  "Oh my god the cat is missing!" was screaming in my head over and over, and then I started laughing...hysterically.  The open house was already over.  I had just a few minutes before the Seller said she would return. I can't believe I lost the cat!  I'm a cat person for goodness sake!

Then, I swung away from the windows where only seconds before I was staring down into the garden (could he be outside??), and looked at the hideaway bed.  "Kitty?" I whispered softly. 

I was bragging about this super cool bed all day.  It was my favorite part of the whole studio, really.  The living room was sunken, meaning you took two steps down from the main hallway and kitchen to the living room.  So, someone came up with the bright idea to put the bed underneath the kitchen floor.  By activating a simple remote control, the bed comes sliding out of a faux shelving unit.  It's like Murphy bed, only tucked under the kitchen floor.  Brilliant.

So, I ran over to the bed, grabbed the kitty toy and with just a few desperate urgings, the kitty came running out.  I was so happy to see that cat I almost cried. 

SF Events: Clean and Green

Feel like participating in the urban green scene?  Check out this event:

The San Francisco Clean and Green City Summit is presented by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Department of Public Works, the SF Clean City Coalition and the Recreation and Park Department. This all day event will feature cleaning and greening experts, interactive workshops, inspirational speakers, a vendor gallery and more. Participants will receive a rich learning experience on the city’s and the country’s best practices while developing new ideas and solutions for our year round cleaning and greening programs.

The summit will be held on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

The summit is free of charge, however, advanced registration is required.  Space is limited.

Who was Hyde?

In an earlier post about what I call The Other Nob Hill, I mentioned Hyde Street.  Below is some curious information about the man in which Hyde Street was named. 

George Hyde Alcalde of San Francisco in the First Year of American Regime Admitted to the bar in Philadelphia and practiced law there. During the war with Mexico he had a feeling that California would be taken over by the United States, so, wanting to go West, he applied for a position in the Navy. He became captain’s clerk for Commodore Stockton on the U.S.S. Congress which arrived at Monterey in July 1846. About 1 year later he was appointed alcalde of San Francisco, following Bartlett and Bryant. This was at the exact time surveyor O’Farrell used Philadelphia names on two important streets–Market and Sansom(e). Hyde owned a large lot which was then considered out of the town to the south, but is part of the land on which the Mechanics’ Institute now stands.

Look up more streets at Early San Francisco Street Names - 1846-1849.

Sunday in The Other Nob Hill

The Other Nob Hill  Included in the Nob Hill neighborhood is one of my favorite streets, Hyde.  Nestled between Polk and Leavenworth, the tree lined streets between California and Broadway are quite charming.  The cafes, restuarants and action of Polk street make for a very nice downtown neighborhood with an edge.  There are loads of rental apartments, so finding a residential condo can be a little tough, but well worth it.  It's a nice 15 minute walk to the beach or a quick lunch in Nob Hill park.

In the past 6 months (June - November 2005), 10 of the 96 homes for sale in Nob Hill came from this subset.  Last year during the same period there were 5 out of 62.  Average sales in the past 6 months look like this: List price: $917,833 / Sale Price: $967,667 / 5.4% over asking.  While average sales during the same period last year were: List Price: $747,150 / $795,000 / 6.4% over asking.

Go Explore! Take the cable car up Jackson Street and get off at Hyde (because it's fun and you know it.) Either come early or make a reservation at 1150 Hyde Cafe and Wine Bar for the venison loin chops or pumpkin ravioli in brown butter (mmm...brown butter.) Then stroll down to Acorn Books on Polk for a few moments before heading into The Lumiere for the latest film that no one heard of but you can't stop telling everyone about afterwards.