Miss Laura's on South Street

Went and had my hair cut today... love this little funky shop in JP on South Street... way hip and down to earth and affordable. Good vibe and you can't go wrong.

Affordable kitchen Renovation

Here is our gutted kitchen. We brought it to the studs.

Insulated with new walls

Cabinets going in

more cabinets and walls

Still haven't uncovered the cork floors, lots of lighting to add, some water hook-ups and cabinet pulls... ceiling needs more plaster, etc...

Over all this kitchen was very affordable:

Ikea cabinets: $2850

Appliances: $3000

Cork floor: $750.

Quartz counter: $2700

Sink: 250

vent fan: 290

faucet: 150

Insulation and walls: still figuring out

Labor: still figuring out but should be about $5k

We expect the total to be $13000.

Making Your Own Green Cleaning Supplies is Essential for Environmental Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability is critical if we are to keep our planet alive and be healther. The amount of cancer has risen to 1 in 3 since the introduction of over 80,000 different chemicals and products into our lives since WWII.

We need to focus on prevention as much as finding cures when it comes to our health.

Stop using chemicals and return to pantry items to do the cleaning that you need.

Stop buying plastics and Click on the link for a full information and everyday recipes for cleaning in your home.

This was a wall of a property I sold that was an estate sale. Clearly a smoker lived here. The images left behind on the wall from years of smoking left a lot to the imagination. This could have been 3 sibling portraits as babies or high school graduates.

First Time Buyer? HGTV is looking for you in Boston

MY FIRST PLACE, HGTV’s hit series, is coming back for an eighth season and we’re looking for first-time homebuyers (and their agents!) in the Greater Boston area RIGHT NOW! We are looking for fun, high-energy people who are just starting the home-buying process for their first place and would like to share their story with HGTV! Our goal is to capture all the trials and tribulations of looking for, bidding on and buying your first place. Taping takes place this spring and summer. Ideal candidates will be enthusiastic buyers with a great story to tell and a desire to share their experiences. Singles, couples and families are all invited to apply! Candidates (including realtors) who complete taping of a My First Place episode will receive a DVD copy of their show so that they can relive their first-time home buying experience for years to come!

If you want more info or application - let me know and I'll send you the contact info.

The Beginning of a New Kitchen

89 for a Walk Score... not to mention.....

Mary Hannon Prudential Unlimited Realty 617-293-8002 26 Custer Street #1, Jamaica Plain, MA Isn't It Romantic? 2 bedroom decorated in soft tones with private patio for intimate dining, woodburning fireplace for cool evenings and.... 2BR/1BA Condo offered at $345,000 Year Built 1905 Sq Footage 802 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking Unspecified Lot Size 2,300 sqft HOA/Maint $132 per month DESCRIPTION Just move in! This sweet 2BR condo is located in a beautifully kept 2 family house on a side street off of South, and is primed and ready to be yours. The layout is welcoming as you enter the LR w/fireplace. The kitchen was completely renovated in 2005 and is well designed with gorgeous granite and stainless. Washer and dryer are right outside the amazing bathroom w/calming ocean colors and glass details. Every bit of this condo was carefully planned, and has been meticulously care for- Live blocks from markets, shops, restaurants, Library, Public Trans, cafés, parks, etc….Low condo fee. First OH Sat 3.20 and Sun 3.21 see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Fireplace - Hardwood floor - Tile floor - Living room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Granite countertop - Stainless steel appliances - Washer - Dryer - Laundry area - inside - Yard COMMUNITY FEATURES - Fitness center - Swimming pool(s) - Tennis court(s) - Playground OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES - Blocks to Arboretum and Jamaica Pond - Blocks to Markets, Cafe's, Shopping, Restaurants - Blocks to Bus / Train - Gut Renovation in 2005 - Spa Bath w/jacuzzi, glass bricks - Large well appointed eat-in-kitchen - Living room w/bay window - woodburning Fire Place ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6 Contact info: Mary Hannon Prudential Unlimited Realty 617-293-8002 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Mar 17, 2010, 6:54pm PDT

'City Feed's Values & The Value of City Feed'

'City Feed's Values & The Value of City Feed' It is a win-win for the community to pay a little more for better local products and have an inviting community setting to enjoy good coffee and conversation and buy items that you can be sure are supporting our local economy. Its worth every dime. Thanks City Feed!

A Stately Adams Colonial on the Arborway

66 Arborway

Above is a link to the virtual tour and photos of this rarely available home on the Arborway.  Stately Colonial is in the Georgian family of architecture and known as an "Adams Colonial".  This home has every update you need for the structure and systems:  New roof, new exterior paint, updated electric with 200 amps, new wiring and a back up generator, seller has rebuilt the large front patios and has added patios in the back of the house with flower beds and a new composite deck off of the dining room.  The landscaping has been thoughtfully designed to offer 4 seasons of gardens and plants.

This property is easy to show but will be appointment only. Please call me for a private showing.

Sustainable Location for this 3 bedroom Victorian Condominium

A perfect location in Boston, you can walk, bike, commute via public transportation to everything... 2 blocks from Jamaica Pond, 1 block to Centre Street shops and restaurants, 39bus to Longwood area or a short walk to the Orange line.  Step up to your top floor with 3 bedrooms, formal living and dining room with pocket doors, foyer and eat-in-kitchen w/pantry plus in unit laundry.  6 closets and good size storage downstairs.  Petite private deck off of kitchen. Park your car on the street (no permit) and forget about it.  Classic style in one of the Greenest neighborhoods in Boston.

291 Lamartine Street, Jamaica Plain, Victorian Mansard Three Family

A Fabulous Condominium Conversion opportunity

On a corner lot in the heart of JP.  You have 3 bedroom, 2bedroom, and 1 bedroom units.  1st floor has high ceilings, crown molding, huge eat-in-kitchen, formal living and dining rooms,  2nd floor unit has 2 bedrooms and large living room, dining room and kitchen, 3rd floor unit has 3 rooms, large eat-in-kitchen, living room and bedroom....

Property needs cosmetics but has been well maintained. Nice size corner lot and parking in the rear off of Biltmore.

 

Community Action Committee for the Centre/South Street Redesign in Jamaica Plain

JP Centre Street sure has been changing over the years.  The first time I really saw it was in 1980.  I thought it was one of the ugliest neighborhoods I'd seen.  Not much on Centre street for me... Woolworths was the best store I could see... there were grates and trash and lots of hard surfaces, seemed like no trees and just concrete. My first thoughts were, "gee, I hope I never have to live here".  I was in High School living in a lovely suberb of Boston after leaving Miami, Florida where I grew up as a child.  I thought Boston was beautiful, with red brick buildings, maple trees, cobble stone streets and acorn lights and stores with awnings and big glass windows with delightful displays... Centre Street had some brick, beat up empty trash cans, again...big metal grate fronts on the stores, no real shops that I could see... there were some drug stores, convient stores, a men's clothing store... a couple of fast food type places. Not much to speak of that stands out now.  There was grid lock in the street, not many people walking around. It seemed like a place to drive through. 

In 1985 I left western Massachusetts to relocate in my first apartment ($550  a month including heat)  with my boyfriend, Greg. We had another friend from high school that was willing to go in on an apartment.  Greg was an art student at Mass Art, working as a guard at the MFA. Chris, was taking time off from Columbia University to find himself and was working at an ice cream shop in Cambridge.  I was taking time off from college as well and was 19 in April when I moved to JP.  The trolleys were still running down Centre and I lived on St John Street. No car. Small salery working 4 days a week at the MFA. The grocery store that I could easily access was Flanagan's the now CVS across from the location of the 1st JP Licks on Centre where South Huntington Splits.

More to come on this blog entry but to see what the thoughts are on redesigning Centre and South Streets... check out the link....above.