The Voice of East Bay Living

A great event took place last Sunday with the Oakland Running Festival. Nearly  10,000 participants participated in either a  marathon, half-marathon or  5k. as sports enthusiasts  raced thru  the diverse and lovely Oakland neighborhoods, spectators  clapped and cheered them  along.  It was a very  upbeat and positive move for the city of Oakland.

Today the Grubb Company visited the only Leed Platinum home in Piedmont.  The owner  is very involved in eco-friendly living environments-health of family, health of environment and cost effective. Here are some examples. Water from all sinks, showers and tubs is collected in a sub-surface wetland and used to irrigate the property. Nine thousand gallons of rain water is collected from the roof drainage and used for six months for laundry and dishes. There are several living walls of plants that filter air of pollutants and produce extra oxygen. The standing seam metal roof with solar panels reduces energy costs by at least 50 per cent. Lastly, an iPad in the kitchen shows water use per day allowing the family  to monitor their daily foot print on the planet. 

Photos from the inspiring Bouquets to Art at the De Young Museum.

Blue Bottle is part of the Third Wave Coffee movement which treats coffee as an artisanal food commodity like wine, with a huge emphasis on planting, harvesting, meticulously roasting, and then brewing in elaborate glass containers imported from Japan. In addition to their selection of coffees, there are other treats such as the Parisian-inspired Soft Brew Au-Lait, the Cascara Fizz, the Shakerato, Belgian waffles and delicious pastries. The new Blue Bottle Coffee shop, located in the historic W.C. Morris Building at 4270 Broadway, is worth a visit. The physical location is uplifting -  a former auto showroom with huge glass windows, twenty feet ceilings and original tile is tastefully decorated, spacious, with sophisticated flower arrangements. This is the largest Blue Bottle Café on the West Coast - another wonderful new Oakland treat- Your coffee experience will definitely be elevated. Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine @grubbco.com  

Do you want to take a walk in a very special place 20 minutes away? Eastshore State Park is a remarkable walking trail extending 8.5 miles along the East  Bay shoreline from the Bay Bridge to Richmond.  It includes 1,854 acres of uplands and tidelands along the waterfronts of Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany and Richmond. Pedestrian and bike trails run almost the entire length of the park providing lovely panoramic views of the Bay. It is a wonderful getaway so close to home.

Bouquets to Art   is celebrating 30 years of Art through flowers this exciting show opens at the DeYoung Museum March 18th-March 23rd. Over 130 floral designers thruout the Bay Area create dazzling creations with fresh flowerrs, branches, dried twigs and all kinds of materials. Each arrangement is placed  next to one of the paintings on exhibit--suggesting a similar theme between arrangement and painting.  It is truly an exceptionally great event worth experiencing.

The Treasure Sale will take place on March 15th and March 16th  starting at 9 am. at the  Piedmont Community Church , 400 Highland Ave.  This annual sale showcases thousands of quality items  including books, linens, clothes, furniture, art works etc.  that  have been donated by over 300 families.  All proceeds from the sale are used to purchase building materials and travel expenses for over 200 high school students who spend their Spring Break building houses in Mexico for families in need. 

A Wonderful opportunity awaits you at Loot Antiques located at 5391 College Ave. across the street from  the Rockridge Library.   Ron Morgan , owner and floral designer par excellence, offers Monday morning flower design classes. Ron is considered one of the very best floral designers in the country and has dazzled lecture and garden club audiences for over twenty years.  To watch him assemble an  assortment  of lovely flowers in fabulous containers is a true feast of beauty for the eyes.  

We are in the midst of a sizzling market where all cash buyers are increasing and  overbids on even the most modest of homes may be several hundred thousand dollars over  the asking price. Even real estate professionals are puzzled about where to price a home and are relying heavily on their real estate peers for a a collective opinion of value.  A sampling of Active inventory in Piedmont has the least expensive home- a 2 bedroom, 1 bath on Sunnyside listed for $849,000 and the most expensive home on Sea View listed for $6,400,000.  The most expensive home on the market is Pending-a home on Requa Road listed for $7,400,000. It is expected that the Piedmont inventory will increase in the next few weeks-this may help stabilize prices. 

A few words on high-end home design from Master Craftsman Jermey Morrelli .