This Valentine's Day is extra special as it is also the Chinese New Year.  So bring in good fortune and celebrate with someone you love.  Valentine's Day doesn't need to be super expensive to make it special or romantic.   Sometimes it is as simple as a day at the spa, or an evening out on the town, even getting away overnight can feel rejuvenatin...

Read Full Post

It was not long ago that many homes in the United States didn't have refrigerators. In fact, it was only in the 1930s that fridges became affordable enough for 60% of households in the US to own one and many people in the UK didn't own one until the 1970s, that is pretty recent!  (source: Wikipedia) Before that people would grow food or go to the local store daily...

Read Full Post

A few weeks ago, I wrote about The next frontiers of technology.  Technology and what is new in technology is particularly relevant to the homes that we build and our prospective home buyers, so I thought I would make this a regular piece to highlight what is out in the market place.  As always, we want your input, is there something that you want...

Read Full Post

With Winter in full effect, now is a good time for homeowners who have lived in their newly constructed home to make sure their home is prepared for the season. Regular home maintenance prevents future damage and maintains proper operation of your home. (more…)......

Read Full Post

During a planning meeting yesterday morning, our ceiling started to shake as if the financial corporation upstairs were having an astro jump party without us. My co-worker asked, “Hey, what IS that? Is it an... an earthquake?” to which someone quickly responded, “You think ONLY the roof would shake if it were an earthquake- oh come on”. Little ...

Read Full Post

Home Sweet Home

Just got back from a trip across the pond and it is always nice to come home.  Being away enhances all that the Bay Area has to offer.  A day trip to San Francisco can offer all sorts of entertainment in less than an hour drive from many of our communities - that's a whole lot shorter than a 10 hour flight! Bundle up and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate the Warming...

Read Full Post

Okay, so we never did get around to Spring cleaning, so we figured better late than never especially before holiday decorations go up. Last week I cleaned the dryer vent – boy what a difference in how fast our clothes dry.  I guess that’s what they are saying when they say keep your dryer vent clean to maximize energy efficiency.  You can also get...

Read Full Post

A few weeks ago, I shared that shared Village Square in San Jose got a 77.  Pretty great, right? And a good Walk Score is not the only thing Village Square offers. Village Square is really an oasis in the midst of Urban Living.  It reminds me of the row homes in San Francisco, but better because the weather in San Jose is pretty awesome year ro...

Read Full Post

As we all try to reduce our carbon footprint, we’re trying to be in our cars less and less, which means we’re looking to get what we need close to home.  At SummerHill, we build infill neighborhoods, a fancy way to say that our neighborhoods are close to everything you need. In a recent article for CNN Money, David Futrelle wrote about putting a pric...

Read Full Post