The Voice of East Bay Living

Whenever I have a little spare time , I stop off at Lake Merrit for a quick walk .The lake is located near downtown Oakland and expands 140 acres and a shoreline of over three miles around the lake. It Is the nation's oldest wildlife refuge hosting a variety of birds. The Lake is so refreshing and has something for everyone-playground, boating,birds, a first class restaurant, (www.thelakechalet.com), Childrens ' Fairyland ,rowing classes, paddle boats and much more. Across the street sits the Bellevue Staten, another historic monument in Oakland. the attached House Talk article tells the story of our clients who purchased a condo in this stunning building. Scaling Down With Style A talk with Mary Spletter _____________________________________________________________________________________ Throughout the years of their real estate careers, Judith Glass and Sheila Sabine have met many people who have lived in their homes a long time and suddenly realize that their residence

A really fun place to visit after your lunch at Burma Super Star is The East Bay Creative Reuse Center at 46th and Telegraph. This 4,500 sq. ft. space-formally the old East Bay Depot is crammed full of gently worn goods ranging from picture frames, furniture, flower containers, jewelry, kids' stuff, records, art supplies, stationary and on and on and on. My favorite purchase was a first place blue ribbon which says "GoGater". I am giving this as a present to my friend, Marlene, for just surviving another year in real estate! Visit them at: www.creativereuse.org

The Temescal district of Oakland is becoming more and more trendy-affordable rent has allowed some really interesting restaurants to line the Telegraph Ave. area starting with Bake Sale Betty's on the corner of 51st and Telegraph (but that will be another blog). Today, after my swim at the Montclair Swim Club, I went to Burma Super Star at 4721 Telegraph. I had eaten at their restaurant in San Francisco on Clement and the tantalizing tastes of that visit were a pleasant memory. Beating the reported waiting in line, I got a table right away. The menu is very unusual and it's hard to decide what to choose-the portions are large, enough for two to share, and the prices are very reasonable. I settled on the tea leaf salade (featured on the Food network)-a delightful combo of fried garlic, peanuts, sunflower seeds, greens, and yes, tea leaves. I next had the Nan Gyi Duk , a mixture of chicken in coconut sauce, split peas, burmese rice noodles and a few other ingredients. B

Wow.. The first warm sunny day after many days of rain-I grabbed my bathing suit and headed for the Montclair Swim Club, a true treasure in the Montclair section of Oakland. The Pool was first established in 1927 and was known as the Forest Pool, surrounded by trees and fed by very cold hillside streams. It is now a flourishing swim club, open every day of the year, specializing in lap lanes and an indoor exercise room. It also has an outdoor hot tub and children's pool-the perfect place to unwind and relax. Visit them at montclairswim andhealth club .com

We just sold a wonderful home at 35 Sierra in Piedmont. This is one of the best streets in central Piedmont. What makes this grand home really special besides the location are its extra large level gardens and wonderful architectural details. In fact, one of its previous owners created a garden room modeled after a room at the Palace of Versailles. He hired two Italian artists who spent six months doing frescos and making intricate grilled work. The room has been featured in one of Ron Morgan's floral design books. Piedmont has many grand homes. If you have further interest you may want to check out Ann Swift's book entitled Castles and Cottages, a collection of historical Piedmont homes with photos and sketches. By the way, the Piedmont market is sizzling, with homes receiving multiple offers over the asking price.

Last Thursday I attended an Oakland Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Ginn House in Preservation Park. This is a wonderful two block section comprised of historic Victorian homes in downtown Oakland. Five of the residences stand in their original places and the rest of the homes were saved from demolition and moved to the park.All the homes have been lovingly restored and have been hosts for office spaces,trade shows, weddings and private parties. The event that I attended was featuring -Remember Them-Champions of Humanity.This will be a very large bronze sculpture (52 feet long and 25 feet high) In fact, it will be the largest bronze sculpture in the western United States-60,000 pounds of bronze will be used. Sculptor Mario Chiodo, the artist behind the project has depicted twenty five role models who have made huge contributions toward global peace and human rights including Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and Mother Teresa. It will have a visually impaired feature allowing the

One of the great reasons for living in the East Bay, is being able to sample the variety of restaurants that exist here. Today I had lunch with my good friend, Rebecca at Corso's which is about a ten minute drive from our Claremont office .We call our lunch time together Woe and Hope as we exchange our latest real estate stories. Trattoria Corso at 1778 Shattuck boasts simple Itlaian food from Florence. It was established by the owners of well known Rivoli on Solano Ave. The menus is VERY Italian including a prezzo fisso( fixed price) lunch choice which includes salade, pasta and wine for $12.00. Since I just saw the great musical, Wicked, this week I was feeling, yes, wicked. So I had a green romaine salade with olive oil dressing, seasoned perfectly, followed by a tasty ox tail and polenta dish topped with a creative vegie sauce that was really yummy. Rebecca had a hearty chicken soup and salade. We completely enjoyed the environment, service and food and we were able t