The Voice of East Bay Living

A great local meat market is Ver Brugge Meat-Fish Poultry locate in the Rockridge neighborhood at 6321 College Ave. in Oakland. The fantastic butcher has been around for decades and reflects a dying breed of independent butchers with knowledge and experience of their craft. The meats are fresh and they carry a wide variety of lamb, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc. You will be delighted with what you find there.

Located at 5427 Telegrah in the heart of the Temescal Neighborhood, you will find the Mariposa Baking Company. Open daily from 9am- 6pm. This creative shop offers a huge variety of (gluten-free) pastries, pizzas plus a daytime cafe menu.

In case you missed the article in the Chronicle about great shops on Piedmont Avenue here is the list for your holiday shopping... 1. Best for Craft Classes - Rare Bird - 3883 Piedmont Ave. - Home decor  and garden. 2. Best for Namaste Patio  – Waterlilies Garden and Home  - 3935 Piedmont Ave. - bird feeders, chimes and fountains. 3. Best for Moroccan Flair  - Sahara Moroccan Home Decor  - 3953,Piedmont Ave. - rugs,glasses,silver tea trays and much more. 4.  Best for Glam Furnishings - Milberry's Home  - 160 41st.- once A Spanish style home ,then an Oakland Public Library,this interesting store hosts a variety of home decor items. 5. Best for Hostess gifts - Nathan and Co.  - 4025 Piedmont Ave. - candles, tea towels, mixing bowls. 6. Best for Unusual Furniture Fines  - Found on Piedmont - 4125 Piedmont Ave. -full of curios in all sizes and shapes- 1909 embalming table,1800 French Provincial table and much more. 7. Best for British tabletop  - Pimico Place  - 416

To stimulate shopping in the commercial districts in Oakland during the holidays ,the city of Oakland is offering free metered parking every Saturday between Thanksgiving and New Year's day.The city will also provide up to two hours free parking at four city owned garages. Finally at long last, BART arrives at the Oakland Airport.The project began in 2010 and cost $484 million. It will officially open on Saturday, November 22. The Oakland airport BART station is located just across from the Terminal 1 baggage claim and a short walk from Terminal 2. The trains will run every 5 to 20 minutes depending on the time of day. They will go to downtown San Francisco, downtown Oakland, downtown Berkeley, and Walnut Creek.

A wonderful holiday event for children is the Mary Poppins musical currently playing at the historic Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley. Originally built as a church in 1908, it was built for two dollars a square foot, using natural redwood paneling , which was at that time, affordable and abundant. On the interior, the beams, nuts and bolts were left exposed as part of the design. The Mary Poppins cast does a great job presenting this Tony Award winning musical to its delighted audiences of all ages.  The performances will continue thru December 7th, 2014.

You can paint your front door just about any color you want as long as it goes with the rest of the house. We have been seeing some very bold colors in recent sold homes. Enclosed is a list of some of the more bold examples : Neon green with grey background Lemonade with granite Boulder background  Coco Pelley teal with storybook gray Fiery red orange- with wood siding  Daffodil with sedate gray Peony  with Chelsea grey Turquoise with white or grey background Remember that a neutral supporting backdrop will really show off the wow front door color. If you are hesitant on taking the plunge with a bold color, you can b uy a small can of paint first and paint a large sheet of paper to see how it will look first.

Hoarding is the persistent difficulty of parting with possessions regardless of their actual value. Commonly hoarded items maybe newspapers, magazines, papers, plastic bags, household supplies, food and clothing. People save things because they believe that they may have some value in the future.  We are all guilty of being too  sentimental about our possessions but a s we approach the new year,  it is  the right time to attack our clutter.  A simple rule that I like to follow is  See-Simplify-Select . You will feel so liberated once you establish some order in your environment.

Do you want  to dine by the water, watch the sunset and stay in the East Bay? Try Hs Lordships . This landmark restaurant situated at the Berkeley Marina has been a popular spot among the locals for years. Their Sunday brunch is fantastic!

If you're interested in learning more about these new listings, email me at ssabine@grubbco.com This is been a $2 million week - Our buyer from the East Coast wrote an offer on a house in Kensington listed for $1,695,000 which sold for over $2 million. There were three new listings on broker's tour today: 41 Oakvale-$2,500,000-Claremont 6300 Acacia-$2,495,000- Rockridge 444 Yale-$2,450,000-Kensington  Oh and let's not forget 2201 Bywood, a landmark Oakmore estate, listed for $3,290,000. These homes range from brand-new construction to ultramodern to mid 50s. My favorite is the Oakvale listing which is a fabulous older home designed by John Hudson Thomas situated near a creek - very magical and very romantic. If you're interested in learning more about these new listings, email me at ssabine@grubbco.com

Last weekend I visited a condo at 2230 Francisco St. in the heart of the Marina. It was a lovely two bedroom, one bath unit-barely 1000 ft.² -all remodeled with a list price of 1,195,000. Wow-for sure the Art Deco building it is located in is very charming and it's a block away from Chestnut Street with a variety of wonderful restaurants and shops. How much higher can prices go?

A delightful Rockridge treasure is Ron Morgan, one of our most talented Bay Area floral designers. He has a wonderful shop called Loot at 5391 College Ave., located across the street from the Rockridge Library in Oakland. I recently attended one of his floral design workshops where he magically creates masterpieces on the spot using a variety of materials and containers. Also, this Sunday from 12-5 he is doing a Xmas sale at his store to help you get ready for the holidays. "I am an artist painting with flowers."...Ron Morgan