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Is there such a thing as being “dog tired”?
Is there such a thing as being “dog tired” I have often heard people commenting that they were “dog tired”. I have never used the expression, since I am a believer what you put out to the universe you get back. Hence I do not want this feeling of being tired. After all we have all the same 24 hrs. as everyone else and I do not want to waste it by complaining about being tired. I never cared listening to people who always complain and say that they are tired. I always prefer hanging out with people who have energy and spend time being internally motivated. So I did a bit of Google searching and found this definition on the internet of where the phrase of being “dog tired” came from. Hence I thought I would share with you: Dog tired is an old English phrase usually hyphenated to dog-tired. An adjectival phrase meaning to be physically exhausted, it derives from an old tale of Alfred the Great who used to send his sons out with his extensive kennels of hunting dogs. Whichever of his sons, be it Athelbrod or Edwin, were able to catch more of the hounds would gain their father’s right hand side at the dinner table that evening. These chases would leave them ‘dog-tired’ yet merry at their victory. The tradition was continued for a few generations but is not noted in literature after Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. So with that said I must admit I found this interesting. Since there were times I was exhausted from various activities. Sometimes it was from driving Relocation Clients all day and doing it three days in a row, because they were only in town for three days. Needless to say there were times when I was exhausted from being at a seven hour home inspection. I considered these as the unusual and not ordinary day to day activity, hence I would not complain or grouse about it too much. Quite frankly I am tired of hearing misinformation about Real Estate in the Media. Furthermore I am tired of Charlatan Motivation Gurus pushing their product to Realtors. Just to site an example: work four hours a day three days a week and make $X00,000 + a year. I do not know about you, but I work very hard seven days a week for every dollar I make. This made me wonder some more, being a Realtor what makes you “dog tired”? Hopefully showing property, writing offers and negotiating offers do not fall into this category for you. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue...
read moreThe 37th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival will be held this June 13th & 14th at the Hollywood Bowl
The 37th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival will be held this June 13th & 14th at the Hollywood Bowl The 37th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival will be held this June 13th & 14th. This is one of those re-occurring events that we look forward to every year. It is also a sign of that it is the middle of the year. Generally speaking it is always around the 13-15 of June depending what day Saturday or Sunday falls in the middle of June. Diane and I have probably been to it eight or nine times in the past seventeen years. Some years we could not go due to other commitments and other times it was just a question of do we want to drive to the Hollywood Bowl?? Keep in mind when we lived in Century City we were about 30 minutes from the Hollywood Bowl. Then we moved to Marina Del Rey and everything became a project. Clearly we were very comfortable where we lived and did not want to venture out once we got home. On the other hand there are many people from the San Fernando Valley who take busses specifically to go to the Hollywood Bowl. Then again there are people from all over the country who make it as a once in a life time opportunity to go to the Hollywood Bowl and spend an evening at the Playboy Jazz Festival. On the other hand here we are and we choose to turn down the opportunity out of sheer comfort i.e.: stay at home or drive one way 45 minutes and keep in mind at the end of the night drive home another 45 minutes. We have seen many fantastic world famous Jazz performers to many to name, but always worth the drive. So why don’t we do it every year? The answer is varied, too many other opportunities that we are surrounded with that might be closer and more convenient is the short answer. So here we are in January and what made me think of the Playboy Jazz Festival in June. BTW this year it will be June 13th & 14th. So getting back to my rhetorical question why now think about the Playboy Jazz Festival. Well part of it is Bill Cosby has been the MC for as far as I can remember and with all the controversy surrounding him I was wondering, will Playboy Stand by his man? Well as it turned out, it shows I have not been at the Hollywood Bowl in the past three or four years, otherwise I would have known the answer. Bill Cosby had his last MC Job at the 34th Playboy Jazz Festival. Everyone said good bye to him. To give you a little history the First Playboy Jazz Festival was held in Chicago Stadium in 1959. Keep in mind in those days Playboy Headquarters was in Chicago. The Second Playboy Jazz Festival did not happen until 1979. (So on a side note even Hugh Heffner had other obligations and commitments for twenty years, hence I do not feel so bad skipping a few of them). Then he settled down and Playboy Enterprises moved this event to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and ever since then it has been here every year. The...
read moreThe Malibu Single Family Under Contract Properties have seen a huge increase!
The Malibu Single Family Under Contract Properties have seen a huge increase! The Malibu Single Family Residential market is moving along just fine, in spite of what you hear on the news or what is taking place throughout the rest of the United States there is a comfortable Real Estate Activity. As most of you who read my blog posts, know I just wrote about the time on the market has been shortening for Single Family Residence in Malibu. So I thought it would be appropriate to see how the under contract Properties are doing. In my opinion that is the true tell tale of what the market will be like in the next 45-90 days. Not surprisingly there has been a 100% increase in the Under Contract Properties. To be specific in December 2013 there were 11 properties in Escrow. In December 2014 there were 22 properties that is double the amount i.e.: a 100% increase. Clearly this is an indication of things to come for 2015. Generally December is one of the slower months for Real Estate Activity in Malibu. The biggest reason is the demographics of Malibu is the “super affluent” hence they generally are away on vacations hence sales generally slow down. Needless to say technology has helped closing this gap, because thanks to the internet and technology like DocuSign you do not have to be local to list, negotiate and close on a Real Estate Transaction. In addition to it are all the holidays which also slow down the Real Estate Sales Activity in Malibu. So now with that said, if you are considering buying or selling do not wait until the rest of all the buyers enter the market take advantage of the serious sellers as well as the serious buyers in Malibu. That will guarantee you a purchase or a sale. Now if you would like more information about the Malibu Real Estate Market please reach out to me directly. There are very expensive as well as relatively inexpensive homes in Malibu, it all depends what your likes, wants and needs are. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue...
read moreThe Malibu SFR (Single Family Residence) Average Days on Market has dropped 12%
The Malibu SFR (Single Family Residence) Average Days on Market has dropped 12% Malibu California has a lot to offer, there are quite a few Billionaires who call Malibu their home. Carbon Beach has been nicknamed Billionaire’s Beach. Anyway you get the idea. In spite of this phenomenon, there are still reasonably priced homes that you can find on the Beach Side as well as the Land Side of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Malibu has a lot to offer including 21 miles of scenic beaches. There was a time when the more expensive homes were the ones that were closer to Los Angeles i.e.: Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades. This is slowly changing as the new buyers realize that there are enough grocery stores and restaurants at the other end of Malibu to service their needs. Now on the border of Ventura County i.e.: the other end of Malibu, land as well as homes can be found selling for $5-$20+ million. Clearly there is a value given to being able to rub elbows with the rich and famous. To be able to stop in at the Malibu Inn or Nobu just to name a few places to see and be seen. If you do not believe me you should just see how many tourists come to Malibu for this specific reason only. Those who can afford to buy a home in Malibu have been quite busy, the clear indication of this is that the average days on market had dropped 12% from December 2013 vs. December 2014. So take a deep breath and look at these figures. December 2013 it took 179 days to sell a home in December 2014 it only took 157 days that is a change of 22 days and a reduction of 12%. Quiet impressive for a very specific market. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations ...
read moreClassic Dutch Cooking: counter point to a previous article
I was inspired to write about the foods of Holland from a list that I recently read. Some of you know what I am referring to, for those who do not, I have include my previous blog about this subject at the bottom of this post. Needless to say before we write or read about the food of Holland, we need to get a clear grasp of the facts that, when we say Netherlands, Holland and Dutch Cooking we are talking about one in the same. Now with that said most people need to understand the geographic location of the Netherlands. Once they do, then they start to get an idea of the type of food they can expect. On the North and on the West sides Holland is bordered by the North Sea. On the South it is bordered by Belgium and on the East by Germany. So anticipate seafood from the north and meat recipes from the east. Keep in mind, when I traveled to Holland the first town I wanted to stop in was Gouda, (yes the one famous for its cheese), naïve me asked the locals how can I get to the Cheese Factory, they laughed at me and then they explained to naïve me, that they do not make the cheese here anymore. At the same time they educated me of the varieties of Gouda Cheese BTW it is pronounced as “How-Da” but if you said that to most cheese mongers in the US, they would not know what you are talking about so Gouda it remains. http://www.cheese.com/gouda. Since I was not a big fan of Limburger Cheese hence I was in no rush to get to Limburg also a town in Holland. Good thing, because I have learned years later that most Limburger Cheese is actually produced in Germany hence I would have received the same answer when I got there. So armed with this knowledge I was heading to Amsterdam. If you read my previous blog posts you will understand, that I am a believer to go to the big cities, where you can learn about the culture faster and taste the food of the various countries and get a good idea of what they represent. This was truly a fantastic experience to be spending time in Amsterdam, I am not just referring to the Red light District, the Diamond District as well as the College District. They all left a fantastic impression on me, but I am referring more so about the Gastronomic Experience I enjoyed. I equally enjoyed visiting all the great Museums, including the Van Gogh and the Impressionistic museums. In addition yes including Ann Frank’s house, walking over the Canals and taking the mandatory tourist ride of the canals, they are all still fresh in my mind. The food was out of this world! Now let’s talk about the Restaurants, they are truly out of this world, when it comes to gastronomical experience. Hard to believe, but when I was there I cannot recall how many Michelin Rated Restaurants existed. All I can tell you is, that I had some fantastic cheese tarts, great Cheese soup and mussel soup to name a few of the top of my head. Mostly I remember eating a great deal of fish...
read moreBeverly Hills Berkshire Hathaway Contest Reception at the EVO
The Beverly Hills Berkshire Hathaway office had a listing contest during the summer. The Winners of our 2014 Summer Listing Contest were treated to a Reception. My manager did this in our honor at the 1155 S Grand Ave, LA CA 90015. Keep in mind that there were cocktails, hors-d’ oeuvres and a Private DJ. The best part was there were some spectacular Views and most importantly we were able to mingle with our peers at this event. The EVO is a hip cool downtown high rise building. If you have not been downtown in many years you would not recognize it. Boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants are sprinkled all over. The unit was a North West facing Penthouse of approximately 3900 square feet. The last of the units that are still available. Once this one is gone the building will be sold out. So to all those doubters and nay Sayers that this was a bad concept to put the units on the market in 2008. Sorry to disappoint you but it was a brilliant idea. In case you are wondering there is a concierge at the entrance parking, is self-parking and the good news is the Home Owner Dues are only $850 per month virtually unheard for this type of building. Check out the enclosed link to get a better feel for this fantastic Penthouse Unit. On a side note the link still shows two available, not the case the smaller one is in Escrow. http://www.evo-south.com/ if you are wondering the asking price is only $3.4million truly a good value for downtown Penthouses. Now clearly eight or nine years ago people did not realize what a vibrant downtown it would turn out to be. I remember seventeen years ago I went to a commercial breakfast for Realtors and Tim Leiweke of AEG said they were going to build the Staples Center and totally revamp downtown Los Angeles. There were a lot of skeptics in the room. Just to give you an idea the land in those days was selling for around $1 per square foot and very few people considered “downtown” as safe or an option to buy not alone live there. Now you cannot even find a 600 sq. foot one bedroom or single Condominium under $350,000. In those days they were selling one to two bedroom Condominiums for $50,000 to $75,000. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreWhat is the connection between a Westchester Realtor, a Westchester home owner, a squirrel and a dog?
What is the connection between a Westchester Realtor, a Westchester home owner, a squirrel and a dog? Before I go into all that, let me digress a bit. Squirrels are interesting creatures, some people love them others hate them, I find them very smart and innovative. My fascination goes back to my childhood as my parents always considered them as their pets. I remember living or should I say visiting Waterbury, CT on Bunker Hill where my parents had a home, because by this time I was in College and I would only drop in during school breaks and I could see the love and affection they had for these little animals. My mother and father would name each one based on their characteristics, or should I say the names were based on either by their behavior or their physical appearances. Ironically one time, the Squirrels broke into my parent’s home, because they observed where my parents kept the food. Needless to say the squirrels cut the screen door open with their sharp claws and had a great meal. Although it cost my father close to $75 to rescreen the door, they were not mad at them. Instead my parents forgave them and started feeding them larger quantities of food. Clearly the word got out in Squirrel Nation and not wanting to exaggerate at one point my parents were feeding close to 15+/- squirrels daily. Every time they drove home and if on a nearby busy street they saw one that was hit, they would watch to see which one of the squirrels stopped coming by and they would mourn the little creatures since they knew them by name. Anyways enough reminiscing about the “good old days”. Being a home owner, we have a couple of our “own squirrels” who keep visiting our back yard and steal the oranges right off the trees. I have written a post about them previously, when I saw them in action. Not only do they eat oranges, but they also raid one of the bird feeders. One time I saw one perched right in the middle of the feeding tray. Needless to say I was so engrossed in watching the little guy I could not get to my camera in time. I was wondering how he could jump from the fence into the tray. Well later I had the opportunity to observe, he actually climbed up on to the tray via the Shepherd’s Hook. On a side note we have three bird feeders, not counting the Ron Marshall artwork which is perched on one of our outdoor tables as decoration to the back yard. So the other day I was in the back yard with Chachi our dog and needless to say as I am checking my emails, I see him running and barking. (This is very unusual because he seldom barks) My first reaction was poor Wiley (our outdoor kitty) but then I realized that he was chasing one of the Squirrels. So my thought is “why can’t we get along”? It is interesting to see how the animal kingdom interacts with one another. I have also included a few photos of earlier misdeeds by Squirrels when we lived in Marina Del Rey, CA. Clearly they are very innovative and know how...
read moreOfficial Wiley Update about our back yard kitty
Due to numerous private inquiries here is the Official Wiley Update. Wiley our back yard kitty has settled in quite well. He is eating well as you can see from the pictures. He gets breakfast around seven thirty am, (in case you are wondering no I do not serve breakfast, that is Diane’s routine). She gets woken up by the three indoor kitties around 6am. Wiley sleeps until the sun rises, she does not hear Wiley yelling, demanding his breakfast. Once all the kitties have been fed than Chachi her dog gets her undivided attention for breakfast. Now on the other hand I handle the dinner routine. Of course it is done in reverse, Wiley starts yelling: “where is my dinner” and this starts the dinner routine. We are at the point where he demands affection. He wants to be petted before, after and during his meals. Now keep in mind in spite of the fact that his back yard is not completely his anymore he still loves us. There are times he has to share with Chachi our dog. They are working things out, when Chachi is in the back yard, then Wiley jumps on the fence and if it looks like it will take more than what he would consider acceptable time then reluctantly he goes to the neighbor’s yard. Somehow he always manages to forgive us for disrupting his routine and returns for dinner. Thanks to being an Internet Celebrity, Wiley has many far away as well as local friends who have been sending him toys. Those of you who sent Wiley toys, he wanted to thank you personally and let you know he truly loves playing with them. If you do not believe me check out these pictures. Well now that you had the latest update, Chachi is calling me that it is time to disrupt Wiley’s back yard routine. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read more48 best places or should I say countries to eat: Counter Point by Endre Barath
48 best places or should I say countries to eat: Counter Point! I have read with great amusement or should I say bemusement another one of those lists. In this case it was the 48 best places or should I say countries to eat. As most of you who know me are aware that I have a wide palate and am comfortable with world cuisine. I am just not a big fan of lists. Well the good news is, out of the 48 countries Hungary was mentioned as #10. I appreciated the two authors who came up with this list and honoring Hungry with the #10th position. Ironically I was not a big fan of their description of the food. Now in all fairness to disclosure I was born in Hungary and left when I was ten years old, but have been back a hand full of times and enjoyed the Hungarian cuisine in the homes of friends and acquaintances. As well as Michelin Rated and non-rated restaurants were part of my routine of eating during my visits. http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-best-places-to-eat-and-drink-in-europe . Being a foodie and having visited many of the other countries mentioned in the list, my purpose is not dissect or disprove all their observations. I will just say, clearly we were not eating in the same establishments as well as our budgets were different as I traveled and indulged in the food of the countries mentioned. I find that a country’s cuisine reflects a great deal about its culture and history. Maybe that is what inspired me to write this counter point post. Having lived and traveled in Europe for about fifteen years five of which was as an adult, based on this my observations are, that in Germany, Italy, France and Hungary there are a great deal of regional differences in their cooking style. If one does not have time to indulge in an extended stay or travel, then at the minimum I would suggest staying in Budapest. Especially since about 25% of Hungary’s inhabitants live in Budapest therefore it will give a good glimpse of the Hungarian Gastronomy. Then one will discover that the food is a great deal varied and the influences are French, Austrian, Jewish and Balkan to name a few. The key is to try as many restaurants and coffeehouse to get the true flavors of Hungary. So with that said if I may suggest for the two authors to revisit Hungary and specifically stop in Budapest and make reservation at the Gundel for starters. This restaurant has catered to kings, queens, celebrities as well as to people who just simply love good food. One of the more famous owners of the Gundel i.e.: the Restaurant was George Lang of Waldorf Astoria fame to name drop, sadly he passed away in 2011 never the less the Gundel has been continuing the tradition of serving great food which the original owner J Gundel started in the mid 1800’s. Now keep in mind, I have also eaten at many other fantastic restaurants in Budapest, Gyoer, Sopron and all along Lake Balaton. I cannot recall ever eating what the authors described as the “staple food of Hungary”. I must humbly disagree with the authors: it is old wives tale that all Hungarians eat is Goulash…. Keep...
read moreThreat others like you would like to be treated and you might get a treat!
Threat others like you would like to be treated and you might get a treat! Diane & I have always believed treat people the way you would like to be treated. Hence this is how the story starts out. I get a commission Diane goes to the bank and deposits it. Then when the checks are bigger I go along and participate in the depositing. My job consists of smiling, cracking jokes and hoping to get under $100 for my “ allowance” since Diane handles the bills, so no big deal she knows how many days waiting etc. for the larger checks. We always go to the same bank and it is like going to a small town where the tellers know your name. When Holidays come around we always make sure everyone gets a small gift, whether that is a gift card to the cool hip and trendy “ice yoghurt place” or the “hip cool and trendy coffee shop”. The staff has fun with us, we are not about drama. It is all about being nice. Over the years we found out that “managers” can and have “over ridden” the check no matter how large and it does not to be held, how nice that is. When Diane pays the Mortgage it is not about drama here we are, it becomes a standing joke “I am here to pay the Landlord” everyone has fun and no drama. So needless to say the Banking experience becomes “fun” for all on both sides of the counter. So needless to say Diane called me the other day that “the kids from the bank” called her and were wondering when she was coming by since they have not seen her since before the holidays? Long story short she went by and they had a huge surprise for her… There was a four pound surprise. Look at these pictures. I just had a slice it is delicious. Neiman Marcus sold this cake, as most of you know it probably cost an arm and a leg. Let me tell you something it tastes wonderful. I personally had close to three quarters of a pound of this most delicious cake by myself. So the moral of my post or story is be nice to people and you will never know if and when they will treat you to a special surprise. Clearly this was awesome. Happy belated Holidays. Most of all thank you to the bank tellers and staff you know who you are. Now keep in mind neither one of us can eat four pound of this delicious cake, so Diane is taking half of it to her place work so her coworkers could taste it. So here is a gift that will make many more people have. I love when the outcome is like this. All good and super positive. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations. ...
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