Steve Job To Get His Mac-Mansion

It looks like multi-billionaire Apple CEO Steve Jobs if finally going to get his new MacMansion.

It was recently reported that after a long slog and very public battle with architecture preservationists all obstacles preventing Steve Jobs from razing an historic mansion in Woodside, CA to make way for a sleek new residence have been removed.

The short of the real estate saga is that in 1984 Mister Jobs shelled out $2,000,000 to purchase a Spanish Colonial style residence designed by prominent California architect George Washington Smith. The house was built in 1925 for copper mining magnate Daniel Jackling and has always been known as the Jackling House. Although the tax man's records show the mansion measures just 5,500 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 poopers, most reports indicate the house has 30 rooms (some say 14 rooms), sprawls across about 17,000 square feet and includes a staggering 14 bedrooms and 13.5 poopers. We're not sure why the vast discrepancy in numbers nor do we have any idea which is a more accurate assessment of the home's size.

Anyhoo, Mister Jobs lived in the house with his family for about 10 years and later leased the property. It has sat vacant since the early naughts and due to conscious neglect the once beautiful house has become severely and depressingly dilapidated. The Apple Insider has amazing exterior and interior photos of the abandoned mansion taken a few years ago by photographer Jonathan Haeber.

In 2004 Mister Jobs was granted permission by the city Woodside to raze the residence but was immediately thwarted by architectural preservationists who sued to keep Mister Jobs from swinging the wrecking ball at the historic house. For the last 6 or 8 years Mister Jobs and the primary organization spearheading the campaign to save the house–Save Our Heritage–have been locked in a bitter battle. In July of 2010 after many law suits and more appeals Save Our Heritage withdrew their suit thereby allowing Mister Jobs to demolish the Jackling House in order to build his newer, smaller and more modern Barbie Dream House. While Your Mama sits on the same side of the fence as the architectural preservationists and thinks it's a terrific travesty to tear the house down, one must sometimes find a l consolation in just the tiniest shreds. Therefore, it should be noted that Mister Jobs' permit is contingent on a number of the architectural elements including an organ, flag pole and decorative tiles being removed and preserved.

Somehow the folks over at Gizmodo got copies of the plot plans and floor plans for the contemporary and shockingly modest home Mister and Missus Jobs have planned for the property. The long and lean house was, not surprisingly, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the same architecture and interior design firm responsible for a good number of the Apple flagship stores as well as the colossal compound of Microsoft multi-billionaire Bill Gates in Bellevue, WA.

According to the floor plans, the Jobs' new house will measure just under 5,000 square feet and include a total of 5 bedrooms and, depending on how one counts, 2.5 or 3.5 poopers.
The rectilinear residence contains two off-set low-profile volumes. The two masses are joined by a service spine that holds all of the bathrooms, the entry, and other household services. The master bedroom, situated just off the living room, include a private covered patio, a not particularly large pooper with separate terlit cubicle, and a single walk in closet plus what appears to be another standard depth closet or built in cabinetry. The four family bedrooms, located as blessedly far from the master bedroom as can be, share a single and very efficient pooper divided into three areas: An entry area with a double vanity flanked by two smaller rooms each with a terlit and a shower. There does not appear to be a bathtub in the house, which is just fine by Your Mama who does not care to sit in a boiling vat of our out body filth.
The site plan reveals that in addition to the modest for a billionaire main house located in roughly the same spot as the soon to be demolished George Washington Smith Spanish Colonial, the Jobs estate will include a detached three car garage with storage space, a swimming pool and adjacent pool house and a third building that may or may not be a guest house or home office area. The various structures are connected via a series of pathways that meander through the mostly flat oak tree dotted property.

UPDATE: As it turns out, these are preliminary and date back to 2009 when they were submitted as part of an environmental impact report. That means that Jobs' new house may or may not be this size and shape. Also revealed is that Jobs owns the property next door where, one presumes, the extensive staff required to run his life will be housed.

Exterior image: Jonathan Haeber for Apple Insider
Floor plans: Gizmodo

Things My Relevant Roomies and You Should Know

What is a Relevant Roomie?

A blessed woman of God who gets to cram into a hotel room for 3 days, 3 nights 

with a few other blessed women that she may or may not have met yet, 

in Harrisburg, PA in October, the 21st-24th, 

for a blogging conference for Christian women writers

called The Relevant Conference.

Look over to the far right, on my blog, above my head.

See the Relevant Button above my head?

Go check it out!

My poor extremely lucky Roomies are:

Ashley at AP Freewriting

Lisa at Simplified Saving

Jenny at Southern Institute for Domestic Arts and Crafts

I have never met these gals in person, but, I like new people, 

so it's all good!

I am excited to learn and laugh together with all the Attendees!

If you are going to Relevant, and if you'd like to get to know some of the other ladies, write a Top 10 Things My Relevant Roomies Should Know About Me post,

and link up your post at these Roomies' blogs:

Michelle Pendergrass

Brooke McGlothlin

So here goes, I hope you still like me once you really know me!

I don't follow the rules: Like a TOP 10 things list, I'd rather torture you with a 50 TOP Things list.

I like to hear myself type.

I was born in Milwaukee, WI. Grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and ended up here in Greenville, SC.
South Carolina is home, and I am Southern, and you can't tell me any differently. 
I love grits. And dark chocolate. But not together, though I might try that.
I don’t like shellfish (seafood). I wish I did. I do love Tuna and Salmon.
I love hugs, and you will get one whether you like it or not.
I am open to new ideas or criticism. 

I love strangers, because I am a stranger here, or is that because there is no one stranger, here? 
I drive fast. I’m working on that. Sort of.

I love a good hymn. “How Great Thou Art” and “It is Well with My Soul” are my favorites.
I’ve attempted to learn 3 different languages (Latin, Spanish and French). I only remember one: English.
I think public school teachers are the biggest unsung heroes in America. My sister is one of them.
Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. I am thankful that they can be dried and last all year.
I really do love people-and ask all sorts of questions because I truly am interested.
Popcorn is my favorite food.
Sometimes, I say bad words. Especially if I get scared (like almost driving off the road or something like that).
We have homeschooled our daughters for 11 years, combined, so far.
I've moved 23 times in my life. Literally.

I don't drink soda.
I don't color my hair, use perfume or use hair spray. Don't like the chemicals, they make me sneeze!
When I was a child I had a cat named Doorbell.
If you need something, and I have it, I will give it to you, if the Spirit so leads me.
My favorite color is red.
I usually try to order something different every time I go out to eat.
I pluck my eyebrows regularly.
Everything in our household gets paid for with cash. (Or found on the side of the road).
The Relevant Conference is something I have been looking forward to since they announced it in the Spring!
I have been looking forward to meeting my Relevant Roomies since Summer!
I hate dusting and vacuuming and avoid it with a passion. So, I make my daughters do it.

I have peanut butter and jelly on toast almost every morning for breakfast.
Laughter heals EVERYTHING. And I do it often, and loudly.
I sing in our Praise Band at church. The band's name? The Below Average White Band!
I’m lovingly competitive.
My life is an open book. I don't have anything to hide because I am not ashamed because I have been given much grace. Go ahead, ask me anything, I will answer you.
I don’t remember the names of or the plots of most of the movies I have watched in my lifetime.
I will break out in song at the very mention of something that prompts a remembrance of said song. 
I can do a mean ELMO imitation. (Elmo loves you! And his crayons and Dorothy and Mr. Noodle!)
I do a mean sheep imitation, too, but that is reserved for Easter.

I take Synthroid, a hypo-thyroid medication every morning.
I have expensive taste. Unfortunately, I usually can’t act on it. But, I can occasionally replicate it.
My favorite book of the Bible is Proverbs.
I got saved on August 1, 1990. My real Birthday.
I’m good at starting things. I’m horrible at finishing things, but usually do.
I’m a very good cook and I love to bake.
I get exceptionally crabby when I’m tired.
I am a birth mom.
I love all of you, my follower friends and readers and I pray for you regularly.
I don’t like to exercise. Hate, NO, loathe it, but do it anyway. I call the elliptical the elliptiKILLER, and the treadmill the DREADmill.

I don't smoke or drink, but did enough of that when I was in my late teens, early 20's.
I don’t worry too much about what other people think about me.
Coffee is my best friend in the morning. Do not talk to me until the cup is empty.
I love the sun. My skin doesn’t, so I stay out of it.
Practical jokes? If you DON'T get one played on you by me, I DON'T like you very much.
I am not afraid of spiders, bees, wasps or snakes, but don't want one as a pet or anything.
Don't think I snore.
I am an etsy, eBay, Amazon and Craigslist seller, and oddly enough, there is still a lot of stuff in our house!
The love of my life is Jesus. He restored my hope, gave me grace and eternal life, how can I NOT love him?

Are you still here?
Yawning?


Now, tell me some things interesting about YOU!!!

Mister Carrie Prejean Kyle Boller Lists Bachelor Pad

SELLER: Kyle Boller (and Carrie Prejean)
LOCATION: Del Mar, CA
PRICE: $3,499,000
SIZE: 4,322 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Oh, low-erd children, it's been like a damn inferno out here in California the last couple of days and Your Mama has done stroked out due to the heat. We are sapped, tapped and flat on our fat back with an IV of gin & tonics drip drip dripping boozy bleariness into our veins. Even though we're on a bit of a vacay and we feel like we're about 12 minutes from expiring from the damn heat, we know The Children get hungry for a celebrity real estate tidbit. Besides we can't leave y'all starving for too long because every time we do y'all start acting like heathens and hooligans in need of a beat down with the wooden spoon. Okay?

Late last night, we received a communique from the bizzy boys over at Celebrity Address Aerial who whispered in Your Mama's ear that professional pigskinner Kyle Boller, who recently hitched himself to disgraced and deposed First Runner-up of the Miss USA 2009 pageant Carrie Prejean, listed his bachelor pad in the hills of Del Mar, CA with an asking price of $3,499,000.

Since Your Mama knows about as much about professional football as we do about what it takes to split an atom we called our ball crazy b.f.f. Fiona Trambeau who immediately started to hoot, hiss, and holler about all the lewd and unnatural acts she'd like perform on this Mister Boller. According to the frequently inebriated and always vulgar Miz Trambeau, Mister Boller formerly ran around in tight pants for the Baltimore Ravens and in April of 2010 signed on with the Oakland Raiders where he'll play the quarterback position.

Mister Boller's new bride, California blondie Carrie Prejean, has a reputation that most certainly precedes her. During her interview at the Miss USA 2009 pageant she was thrown a bit of a curve ball question about gay marriage by gossip queen Perez Hilton. Her answer, that marriage ought to be only between a man and a woman, created a fire storm of controversy that played itself out in all the gossip glossies and television talk shows. After much squabbling and public cat fighting with the pageant people Miss Prejean was stripped of both her Miss California and First Runner-up Miss USA titles. She went around stomping her feet and whining about how her crown was snatched from her head and the sash yanked off her bodacious body as punishment for expressing her personal point of view on the the gay marriage matter. Naturally she sued, claiming religious discrimination and a variety of other things. However, Miss Christian Morality dropped her suit like a cat on fire when the pageant powers that be revealed to Miss Prejean that they possessed not just one but seven short pornographic videos she made of herself doing naughty things to herself. Uh-oh. Miss Prejean–now Missus Boller–turned her lemons into lemonade with a book she gave the unwieldy title of Still Standing: The Untold Story of My Fight Against Gossip, Hate, and Political Attacks.

Anyhoo, toothy Miss Prejean and Mister Boller were married early July of 2010. The bride wore white even though–and despite her self-proclaimed religious views–it seems highly unlikely she was a damn virgin on the day of her betrothal. It is Your Mama's wholly unscientific theory that new wives seldom want to occupy their newly snared man-mate's bachelor pad of since they're crawling with the cooties all the girlfriends and assorted hussies who came before her. Right on schedule, just a few short months after their lavish nuptials, Mister Boller hoisted his bachelor pad on to the market. Once it sells the newlyweds cab start anew in a new and untainted house.

Listing information and property records reveal that Mister Boller's contemporary crib, located on a quite cul de sac in the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club, measures 4,322 square feet and includes 4 bedrooms and 4 full poopers. Records show the Mister Boller only bought his bachelor pad in March of 2008 for $2,550,000. We don't even need to flick any of the well worn beads on our bejeweled abacus to see that Mister Boller, his new Missus and their Real Estates believe the property has gained more than 25% in value over the last couple of years even though the real estate markets sank like a gangster in cement boots over that period of time.

A gated, palm tree lined drive leads up to a circular drive and motor court where the gleaming white and smoky glassed residence sits on a hillside with long views over the tree tops to the Pacific Ocean. The front door opens into a voluminous, multi-level open plan entry/living/dining with a combination of beige marble and shiny ebonized hardwood floors. Both the entry and the dining room areas are lit by a trio of those oh so trendy and glitzy-glammy chandeliers wrapped in a drum shade that became a bit too popular a few years ago. The living room, which has a fireplace, opens to the back yard through a long bank of sliding glass doors.

The sleek if somewhat dated looking kitchen has high grade stainless steel appliances, an unholy mix of black and mottled chocolate brown granite counter tops, and smooth, lacquered blond wood cabinetry. Although the kitchen is adequately sized and well placed as the hub around with the rest of the rooms orbit, we're quite concerned about the taste level displayed with the center work island which perches precariously and unnecessarily on a stainless steel tube of some sort. Bad. Idea. Very. Bad. Idea. A few steps down from the kitchen, in an area that was probably originally intended as a breakfast area, Mister Boller has placed a billiards table. Good grief chickens, who started this trend of pool tables in bachelor pads and more importantly who perpetuates this disturbing depressingly cliché decorative meme? That said, better out in the open like this than stuck away in some dreaded "man-cave," probably the number one worst trend in middle-brow day-core to come along in a very long time.

Beyond the breakfast room/pool table room a family room area is outfitted with a large beige sectional sofa and a flat screen tee-vee mounted to the wall. The children will note that someone has carefully laid a throw blanket across the sofa, a sure sign that Miss Prejean thinks of herself as a bit of a decorator or that Staging Lady in a Pink Toyota has been up in there doing her thang. Seriously people, if there's anything more decoratively eye roll worthy than a bachelor pad with a pool table it's real estate photos with throw blanks draped over sofas and ottomans. Seriously people. No. Not anymore.

The second floor master suite has more deep, dark hardwood flooring, dark putty colored walls, a fireplace, clerestory windows, and wide sliding glass doors that open to a narrow terrace that overlooks the backyard and the view. Presumably this is where Mister and Missus Boller bed down together in wedded bliss but we certainly hope that Miss Christian Morals did not occupy this room prior to her marriage to her professional footballer because, you know, unwed co-habitating and/or premarital fornication is a serious sin.

In order to orient the back of the house and the back yard towards the distant ocean view, the back yard is really, the front yard. The sliding windows on the back of the house open to decks and terraces that cascade down to a large infinity edged swimming pool and spa where we imagine the Bollers have spent more than a few romantical evenings.

Since Your Mama does not know a laminate floor from a bundle of sticks we really haven't any idea where Mister and Missus Boller plan to next set down their real estate roots. Although they both hail from southern parts of California, it's quite possible they'll pack up and head for the Bay Area where Mister Boller is now employed with the Oakland Raiders. But then again, there are all those gays that wanna get married up in San Francisco and the Bay Area so....

listing photos: The Guiltinan Group

House Hunting Tour :: 1915 SEARS KIT Home Arts and Crafts Bungalow

Okay, so some, most, a few of you know that we are going through our home

room by room de-cluttering, paring down, painting, repairing, updating

aka

STAGING 

our home.

It is over 3300 square feet 

and there are 3 stories (basement + 1st and 2nd stories)

5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths,

2 kitchens, a theater room, living and sitting rooms, etc---

and we KNOW are so blessed!!

But there are only 3 of us living here full-time.

It's too much, and it's okay to say it's too much.

We have made so many fond memories here, and we do hate to leave,

but, it's time. You know?

We have 32 spaces (rooms, closets, halls, outside) to get ready,

so we've given ourselves till January 2012,

which will be here sooner than we think.

God-willing, we would like to move closer to our downtown.

What motivates us to ready our home is looking at the homes downtown.

Which is what we did a few weeks back, and we learned a lot

about what we do and don't like.
We toured several, but I am only going to show you one in this post!

We didn't know we loved bungalows until we walked-through this one.

So, come along, and see what we found!

I did manage to take a few pictures with my camera.

(Some of these pictures I borrowed off the Realtor's site, 

because I was too busy ooohing and ahhhing at the home.)
We cannot buy this home now. It sold a week after we looked at it.
We weren't ready anyway.
But the area in which this home is located has many such styles.

WARNING: there are a lot of pictures!


Click the words below to see the ad from 1915!

This is a 1915 SEARS Craftsman-style home.

All the rooms revolve around each other, and there are no hallways.

The original plan:

104 Briarcliff Drive

Porch, left-side.

Porch, right-side.

Come on in!

This is what you see ahead of you when you come in the parlor or HALL, 

as the original floor plan calls it..

To the right.

To the right some more.

Facing the front door, back to French doors.

From where you are standing now, turn left, into the dining room.

Start counting the fireplaces.

And check out the hardwood floors.

Left again, into the living room.

The main rooms all had the original picture molding!

I point out the doorway molding to you, at the bottom corner of the doorway below, 

to the right of the rocking chair, below the fan.

Sears homes have square blocks on molding joints at complex joints. 

While framing members were pre-cut, 

some of the moldings and baseboard trim were not pre-cut 

(due to variances in plaster thickness). 

To simplify construction, Sears homes often have a block 

at the point where complex joints meet. 

This probably made construction much easier for the novice homebuilder.

A picture from Arts Crafts .com

I love built-ins!

Anyone else?

I think this room was originally the dining room because of the built-in hutch

(The doors were wonky, and didn't latch shut, but we didn't mind- we liked the quirkiness!)

And check out the original chandeliers.

They were not operated by a wall switch, they were turned on 

with a knob near the base of the light.

Through the doorway behind the wingback, is the kitchen.

Obviously not the original cabinetry, but the floors-oh my!

What would you do with these cabinets and countertops?

Change them? To what?

Or leave them?

If you turn around with your back to the fridge, there is another doorway.

The homeowner painted some chalkboard which I would totally leave.

The green cabinet just through the doorway is a closet,

with the original shelving, wish I'd taken a picture of it!

Our ancestors required much less pantry space than we do.

Through the doorway is the laundry room/mud room.

The door to the right leads to the back yard.

See the ceiling in here?

The one and only bath.

Turn around and there's a tiny cute little sink.

To the right of the sink is another doorway, to the Master Bedroom.
This is what you see from the bathroom.
Still counting fireplaces?

Outside this room, is the library, the space we saw behind the French doors,
which are to the left.

The living room/original dining room leads to the library, too.

If I put you back in the parlor/foyer, turn right.

And you will be in this room, the 2nd bedroom.
This is to your left, and the window on the left is the front of the house.

To your right.
Last fireplace. How many did you count?

If we went back to the laundry room.

And went out the door to the right here, this is where we will be.

Further back in the yard, we turn around.
Dizzy yet?

At the end of the mulch path at the bottom right of the picture above is an old storage bldg.
It needs paint, but these are so hard to find, included with the old homes.
The doors slide, instead of lifting.
It has an attic space that is attainable by some very narrow stairs.

Turn around again, and to your right you can enjoy the side yard.

It's actually a second lot, but belongs with the house!

Looking back towards the house with storage building behind you.

The old crepe myrtles line the side yard.

So concludes our tour, ladies and gentlemen!
You may have a seat.




Oh, I see you already did!

This was the actual listing that attracted us:

Minutes from downtown Greenville, this completely renovated 2 bed 1 bath Arts and Crafts bungalow has over 1550 square feet with an office area and large foyer that could be used as a sitting parlor. The home features hardwood floors throughout with the exception of the bathroom, and updated kitchen, 4 decorative fireplaces, French doors, built-ins, 9ft ceilings and a large front porch. Step outside the back door onto a stone patio that is surrounded by a flower garden. The 0.59 acre fenced-in yard includes a bonus lot with established plantings and garden areas. The outbuilding is large enough to be used as a two-car garage. Updates include… fully remodeled kitchen, water heater, furnace, air conditioning, electrical system, plumbing and roof. 

This home cost, in 1915, a whopping $825 for Sears to send you all the pieces, 

and you built it yourself.

For labor, cement, brick and plaster, the home could be built on your site for $1, 615.00.

It sold last week for $189,000.

Still a great price for today's economy!

Hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I did guiding it!

.

Weekend Wrap Up

1.
While not exactly real estate related, Your Mama is all kinds of 0b-sessed with the saga of copper heiress Huguette Clark, who has been living for years at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. The New York Daily News is jumping on the coat tails of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bill Dedman's with a report that 104-year old Miss Clark is–not surprisingly and despite protestations by her increasingly shady seeming attorney Wally Back to the contrary–not lucid.

2.
Dumb-ass actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi were arrested the other day for squatting in the Montecito, CA home they once owned and sold many years ago to former Warner Bros. executive Bruce Berman. Apparently the whackadoodle couple feel their business manager somehow duped them out of ownership and they feel they are still the rightful owners. Bitches, please. You sold the house in 1991. Get over it.

3.
Mini-moguls Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have finally managed to unload their little or never lived in penthouse at 1 Morton Square to property developer Bruce Eichner. The 5,700 square foot spread was first listed at $11,995,000 in late 2007 and three years later finally sold for $7,700,000. That's a huge come down in price, but it's still more than the $7,300,000 the little girls paid for the place. Plus, it's not like these two need the money: They're richer than the damn Pope.

4.
New York City-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon appears to have finally sold his real estate white elephant in Chicago, IL. Mister and Missus Dimon scooped up the colossal Gold Coast crib in 2000 for $4,700,000 and re-listed the 8-bedroom albatross in April of 2007 with an asking price of $13,500,000. More than three years and several price chops that brought the asking price of the 1880 townhouse to $6,950,000, which clearly did the trick because the property is currently in contract with an unknown buyer at an unknown price.

5.
Conservative blowhard Rush Limbaugh quick-deeded two penthouse apartments at the Slade building in West Palm Beach over to his new wife ensuring that she has a few pennies in her pocket should their May-December romance swirl down the terlit of love as have the first three marriages of the former pill popper who promotes family values. Mister Limbaugh purchased the pair of penthouse pads in May of 2009 for $1,350,000 apiece.

6.
According to Jose Lambiet, professional basketball sensation LeBron James has entered into a contract to purchase a mansion inside the gates of an exclusive gated enclave in Coconut Grove, FL owned by lawyer and philanthropist David Lipman. According to property records, the mansion measures 9,561 square feet and includes 5 bedrooms and 5.5 poopers, plenty of room for a single man.

7.
Poor Octomom. It seems her Warholian 15 minutes are long up and she's still got 14 tiny mouths to feed. The paparazzi courting baby factory must be feeling the financial squeeze of her media obsolescence because according to the gossip juggernaut TMZ, the holder of the loan on the La Habra, CA crib where she and her 99 children live is fixin' to foreclose on the property. The single non-working mother is, according to the report, $7,500 behind on the her mortgage payments and she's got a sizable $450,000 balloon payment due on the 9th of October.

8.
The folks at TMZ also reported recently that the Ramage Construction company filed a lawsuits against press beleaguered Mel Gibson claiming he and his soon to be ex-wife Robyn own them a measly $12,000 for unpaid improvements to their Malibu properties. The same company claims that the foundation that owns Mel's little church in Malibu owes them $200,000 and they're seeking permission to foreclose on several of Mister Gibson's several Malibu properties if the erstwhile couple does not cough up the cash. Considering Mister Gibson is worth hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, it seems highly unlikely this lawsuit will ever see the light of day.