The Treehouse: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cost of Living Link Up with BHB

The other day I was watching “House Hunters,” an HGTV show I’ve casually enjoyed over the years, when I was filled with such rage that I wanted to hurl the remote across the room. The newlyweds were searching for a 3,500 square foot home for the price of a down payment in LA. Leave it to house hunting to make you painfully aware of the great variance in cost of living by region. So when the beautiful and witty Blair’s Head Band mentioned doing a Cost of Living link up on her blog, I got really excited.

Real estate is a big one, but what about the little things we buy every day. I was genuinely curious to see how Los Angeles measured up. I set off on my lunch hour to the nearest grocery store armed with my iphone and BHB’s list.

I should note that I selected Vons (owned by Safeway, the second largest supermarket chain in America) as my sample. I have an assortment of grocery stores at my disposal and I think Vons is probably the best value/ most “normal” option. There are certain things I like from different stores, and I typically shop at least a few different markets per week. This is not because I am a great bargain hunter a la Extreme Couponing. Sadly, it is the opposite. I am both picky and disorganized with menu planning. It’s all sort of a mad dash and I typically end up at my neighborhood Bristol Farms, which is lovely and high quality but generally overpriced for basics. Actually, it would be be fun follow up to compare prices at Bristol Farms to see how they measure up on this link up.

The grocery list and the current prices at Von's in Santa Monica (Los Angeles):

Sabra hummus: $4.99
Triscuits: (on sale, regular price $3.99) $2.50
One dozen large eggs: $2.49
One gallon of milk: $3.99
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (price per pound): $4.99
Goldfish crackers: $2.79
Skippy creamy peanut butter: (on sale, regular price $4.79) $2.99
Dawn dish soap: $3.99

Grand total $28.73

Now it's your turn. Play along, link up at BHB and comment below.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

May through July

Let's ignore my false promises and lame attempts and just catch up where we left off.
May has come and gone (thank you, captain obvious) and I am no closer to being a real blogger. Nonetheless, the past few months have been rather blog-worthy. I said goodbye to a comfortable job with colleagues who felt like family, started a brand new job with a new culture and set of coworkers. While only having to move down three floors in my office building. We joked that for a person who doesn't like change, it was as low impact as possible. Same building, same parking structure, same gym, same commute, nicer shoes.

We started house hunting. Right off the bat we found the most precious Spanish bungalow with a white Carrera marble kitchen. Seriously, the stuff (my) dreams are made of; put in an offer, (I) became completely emotionally attached. Counter offers, 24 hour deadlines, "Dear Seller" letters and lots of anxiety later- we did not get the house. The LA real estate market is no joke. After the whirlwind that was our first offer, we decided to take a step back and just wait to find something great. Since that point (first week of June) there has been absolutely nothing remotely exciting. And so we wait. And learn. And save. Anyone who knows me will be quick to tell you that I'm possibly the least patient person ever. So there is that.

On the bright side, this summer has been exceptionally fun. We celebrated one year of marriage and attended three fabulous weddings in four weeks. It doesn't get much better than watching people you love walk down the aisle, say their vows and then party the night away. Fourth of July was spent at the beach and last weekend we borrowed a spectacular boat for a day trip to Catalina. We saw the Postal Service at the Greek Theater (a story for another day) and indulged in too many delicious meals to count. Now it is almost August and finally up to speed.

Wedding One: Elizabeth & Robert in Carmel, California