Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This is one of our favorite conferences.  They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places.  (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED!  Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished.  We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year.  A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about!  Every time it happens I do a double take.  Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?"  A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time.  I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along?  I read about them on your blog?"  That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona.  It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill.  A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them.  I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills.  Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city.  Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance.  WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here.  I've  since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly.  It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole.  It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today.  I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet.  I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain.  I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs.  I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain.  My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia.  She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster.  I loved her!  When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy.  I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating.  She did a lot of test and got me all turned around.  She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements.  I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now.  If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%!  She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me.  Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM!  The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing.  I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :)  We decided to work with Flora in Asheville.  She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me.  It was really fun talking to her.  She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane.  Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

Isn't it pretty?  The kitchen is so wonderful.  it opens to the family room and breakfast area.  The whites and greens go together so well.  The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace.  The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood.   To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

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The Owner of Fab'rik's House!

Linda Williams listed the owner of Fab'rik's house a few weeks ago (1653 Johnson Road)!  I was planning on putting it on the blog, but she got it under contract before I could post it!  The house is so good I decided to show you some photos anyway :)

I love the foyer.  Isn't that great looking?

Here it is from the other direction.  That's a beautiful Todd Murphy painting above the fireplace.

I love this view into the office.

Isn't it fantastic?  I really like that they painted the windows black.  It makes the office look really handsom.

The dining room is so simple and elegant.

The kitchen opens up to this wonderful keeping nook, which is perfect for families!  There are also skylights in the kitchen which make it feel lofty with tons of natural light.

I love the porch... it's like being at a resort in Miami!

Isn't this the cutest child's room you've ever seen?

The entire upper floor is a master suite.

Don't you like that exposed brick?

I love this view of the bedroom!

There is a full guest suite  on the terrace level...

and a full blown man cave!  How good looking is that?

Congratulations to Linda Williams for getting the house under contract so quickly!

Remember to Enter our contest to win a free ad in "The Beacham Series!"  The contest ends tonight (Tuesday September 18th) at midnight!

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Water Bill Update+ Dutch Colonial Masterpiece!

Wow!  My water story went viral! I was on AOL, Yahoo the Huffington Post and on TV three times!  The people from Fox & Friends even called me!

See that nice screen shot of me?  ha ha.

Well, I wish I could say that all the publicity fixed the problem.  It didn't.  The City of Atlanta Department of Wetershed Management DID replace my meter, so that's a huge step in the right direction.  They also said they would erase the $6,00o bill that I got last month.  That was human error that occurred after they put on the data logger.  They also erased the next two highest bills, which were for several thousand dollars.  That leaves me with a $900 balance.  I still don't think that is fair since I have been overplaying them for a year.  It also does not totally solve the problem of why the bill has been so crazy.  I had another plumber come out (the 4th) to confirm there were no leaks.  Now I have to get a 5th plumber to come out at the same time as a person from the city, which is called a water audit.  After the audit I have to go back to the water board appeal hearing.  I am so tired of dealing with this.  I have put at least 40 or 50 hours into dealing with this for the past year.  I am just so ready to have a normal water bill and get back to life as usual.

Moving along...

I shot this amazing Dutch Colonial home a few weeks ago.  It is located at 537 Hillside Drive with interior design by Mandy Culpepper.  Listed by Erin Yabroudy and Wendy Wood Leebern.

It's been a while since I was totally floored by a house... and I was thrilled to pull into this driveway!

It feel like you are in Europe as soon as you hit the gravel.

I started outside photographing the grounds.  It was all so lush and perfectly landscaped.

Loving this bench!

You know my favorite color is orange!

No, the house does not come with this super cute dog!

I could take a snooze on this hammock, especially after my late night last night watching fireworks at Cherokee!

There is a treehouse!  My entire adult life I've wanted to build myself a treehouse... although I would NOT run water to it!  (re: my $9,000 water bill).

I love this picture because of that swing...  If I knew where that was from I would def register for it.  Awesome!

When I was finished with the grounds I headed inside...

The foyer reminds me a little bit of our famous Neel Reid House on Andrews.

Office with fireplace off of the foyer.Another view from the office back into the foyer.

This is the view right as you walk into the front door.  Love the carpet!  

This is the dining room to the right of the foyer.

I love the kitchen!  Any type of exposed shelving always gets me... and the stainless steel island... oh my.

This kitchen opens to this amazing breakfast room, which opens to the porch.  Those chairs are fantastic!

This is the view looking back into the kitchen.  Great looking!

The formal living room is off the kitchen and the library.  The red is such a bold choice and works so well.  I'm also slightly obsessed with the bird painting above the fireplace (it looks kind of like the shirt I am wearing on the news in the screen shot at the top of this post).

This hallway leads from the kitchen to the great room.  That's a great coffee table/ottoman.

This is my favorite room in the house.  I'm a sucker for cathedral wood ceilings... AND cow rugs... and framed American flags.  Duh.

Loving the color of the walls and the fun pillows!

For more information on this great house (and upstairs pictures), please check out Erin Yabroudy's blog.

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My $9,224.40 water bill.

Forget being funny, this is serious now.  Remember my post a few months ago about my $758.93 water bill?  Child's Play.  Last night I got a bill for $9,224.40!

Here is a copy of the letter I wrote to my lawyer on April 23rd.

I started getting high water bills last July when my water bill was $497.  I assumed I had a leak, so I got a handyman  to come out and check everything.  The handle of my downstairs toilet was not as tight as it should be.  To be cautious, we replaced every part of both toilets except the toilets themselves.  We did all the handles and all the valve things inside that keep the water from leaking.  I also appealed that water bill.  I paid them $100 a month during the process of having this appealed the first time.  They turned down my appeal.  Basically they sent someone out to check my meter and said there was nothing wrong with the meter.  On October 13th I got a notice in the mail saying that my entire balance ($384.26) was due that day or they would turn off my water. I paid the bill.  By December 16th I had a $758.93 water bill.  We called the water department and worked out an agreement where I would pay them $120 a month until I could get a court date.  We decided that would be a slightly high but fair amount for me to pay.  That number was based on my neighbor down the street's average monthly water bill (she has a family of 4). A few days later the water department came out and checked my meter again.  They said nothing was wrong with it.

I had the same handyman come out again and check the meter and both toilets and the sink and the dishwasher and the washing machine. All the connections were secure and the toilets were running the way the should.  Since December 16th I have given the water company $600. Last Friday I got a bill in the mail for 1,430.00 worth of past charges plus my bill for April, which was 1,155.82.  That brings the current amount I owe to 2,586.11.  After I got the bill last Friday I got an actual certified plumber to go by my house and confirm that there are no leaks.  

I live alone, work all day. I probably spend, on average, 20-25 nights per month in my house…  for these purposes we will say I spend 25 nights a month there.   I have been keeping track of the average of how much water I use during a month.  See below.

Toilet Flushes: 4 per day, 100 per month

Showers.  I take one every day, and sometimes two a day if I work out.  Lets say I take 30-35 showers a month.

Baths.  I take around 5 a month.

Loads of laundry. 5 every two weeks, so 10 a month

Dishwasher runs.  I run the dishwasher about twice a week, so 10 times a month.

The only other water I use is to cook and drink, which should be fairly minimal.

I do not do any outdoor watering at all.

---END OF LETTER TO LAWYER.---

Before my hearing I spoke to the Public Relations Manager at the water department.  She said she agreed there was no leak at my house and said they would put a device on my meter to monitor the water usage hour by hour.

The hour by hour monitor was not put on before my hearing.

My lawyer and I went to to The Department of Watershed Management on April 30th.  We Sat in a room for three hours and got called into the meeting room.  We sat before a panel of five people.  One person form the Water Department and four citizens.  My lawyer and I explained my situation.  After we were finished the board decided to put the aforementioned monitor on my meter.  They also told me that I needed to get an additional "leak detection specialist" to come to my house and make sure there was no leak (even though I had bills from three plumbers saying there was no leak.)

After the hearing I researched leak detection specialists, and they cost @$500.  Since I had already spent so much on a lawyer and plumbers, I decided to wait and see what the monitor said.

My May bill came.  It was $175, which is still fairly high.  I called back the public relations manager to see what I should do moving forward.  The monitor was still not on my meter.  This time she told me that after looking at my consumption history, they decided THAT I HAD A LEAK IN THE PAST AND GOT IT FIXED!!  This is absolutely absurd.  I have no way of proving I did not get a leak fixed, BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE  A LEAK.  I expressed my frustration and asked if I could please just get a new meter.  She said no, but said that they would put on the monitor.

Last night I opened my mailbox and got a bill for $9,224.40.  $2,638.68 worth of past charges, and $6,705.72 worth of new charges.  The thing that is so frustrating is that IF I HAD A LEAK, and IF I had gotten it fixed, HOW WOULD MY BILL BE THIS HIGH?  Good news!  I looked at my meter AND THEY HAD ATTACHED THE MONITOR.  I am at the end of my rope and need help.

House Reveal!

Hi everyone!  Jimmy and I are going to Phish in Atlantic City this afternoon...

I wish we could get this POSTER.  It would look so good in my house.  Speaking of, I never showed you guys these pictures of my house.  They were taken right before Jimmy's parents came to visit.  I think it looks pretty amazing.

What do you think?  I love it when my house is ready for a party!  I also love that picture of Jimmy and me (Taken Here) in the above photo. He gave it to me for my birthday last year.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Check out the Beacham & Co Pinterest board for fab bedrooms.

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