[...] am a huge fan of Shabby Chic and have a lot of pieces throughout my home yet always seem to find a reason to wander into their stores both in Malibu and Montana (yesterday I had to get the white linen [...]

Alissa: I have flat hunted 3 times for Santa Monica (once in December, once in May and now this summer) and it’s been HARD each time. I actually have used the same landlord for all 3 flats (2 flats were in the same building). I love her because she has wonderful properties and she’s on top of everything. You can find her via westsiderentals.com. But it really takes perseverance as the market is slim and I’m VERY picky with a high criteria (top floor, hardwood floors, charming & takes pets). I don’t have parking or inside washer/dryer but if I wanted those I think I’d still be homeless. Craigslist.org also works. Just keep looking!

Ellen: The Carmel home was a temporary vacation rental (6 month lease). And the roof caved in on the bedroom/living room area and then flooded and damaged quite a bit while I was in Ireland. So I lost a lot of things that I have to rebuy. I moved out because it wasn’t livable and I have no plans to return to Carmel. It was a pretty place but just not right for me (especially since I’m not good with crowds and summer was coming. No more quiet beach time!).