Unless one is an “urbanite,” I can almost guarantee, this property will make one say “aaahhhhhh….”  For those who like space, privacy, natural beauty, breathtaking views, sensational sunsets, and a comfortable home, this property delivers!

Such a fabulous place to come home to after a long, hard day of work.  From late spring though early fall, enjoy time on the patio or one of the three decks.  The property also has two ponds with one being a longer, more narrow waterway with a bridge that goes across. Relax in a lounge chair on that platform and observe the duck families swimming about.  Although this property has a couple ponds, the majority of the land is solid rather than marshy.  There are several cleared areas which would be suitable for a couple of horses.

This home has a spacious kitchen, several skylights,  gorgeous hardwood flooring, and during winter, cozy up by the fireplace; from the comfort of inside, through the big picture windows, watch the snow give everything in sight a clean, fresh, peaceful appearance.

All Stainless Kitchen Appliances Stay!

This place is just great for those  who enjoy outdoor recreation.  Not only might it appeal to animal and nature lovers,  it could be  great for those who  like to dirt bike or ride ATV’s.  The pipeline is just down the street about half a mile and there are other trails in the area.  Lake Margaret is approximately 5 minutes away and  is the only nice sized lake in Duvall where public fishing is allowed.   (My family has caught trout and bluegill from this lake).

In today’s fast paced society and the stress some people may experience, this may just be the refuge the physician prescribed.   For those which telecommuting or working from home some of the time is an option, I certainly don’t know of a company out there which provides a setting as pleasant as this…perhaps the only distraction being the natural surroundings.   I wonder how such an environment would affect productivity…for the structured and disciplined, it may contribute to an increase.

A few more interesting facts: This home is also serviced by public water AND has it’s own private well.  There are fruit trees on the property consisting of apple, peach and plum. It has the potential to subdivide. High speed internet is available.  All this for $439,000!

If you’d like more information (including more pics – couldn’t fit as many as I’d like on here!) on this property or would like to schedule a showing, please contact me (Christine) at christine@seattlepowersearch.com (425) 286 -3779.

The Grange Cafe, Duvall

Duvall is a place that is great to live if you want the small town experience for your family.  It’s also a place that becomes a destination for residents from many parts of the Seattle Metro area.

The Grange Cafe is a good reason to go.  They are at 15611 Main Street, in the center of the Old Town shopping district. Right now they are not doing lunch on weekdays due to the construction going on in downtown Duvall, but they are open for dinner Tues-Thurs 5-8 p.m., Fri & Sat 5-9, and on Sat and Sun they are doing brunch from 9-2.

If you ask Executive Chef Eric Wright, or owners Rob and Judy Neldam of the The Grange Cafe, their menu brings the meaning of “local”to a whole new level!  It features many of the region’s best ingredients hand-delivered by local

Executive Chef Eric Wright

farms, cheese and dairy from local artisans, and the highest quality meat and game available.  They have made partnerships with local farms to ensure that they receive the finest of meats, game and produce from local sources.

Chef Eric has been trained Internationally and lately headed a team in Seattle’s Cactus until he accepted the challenge to come and help create a delightful local venue in one of the area’s best local downtown environments.  If you live here, you know how

Chef in The Grange Cafe

lucky you are, and if you don’t, it’s well worth the drive to find out.  Nearby Woodinville is renowned for it’s wineries, so why not plan to stop in at a tasting room (perhaps Januick or Chateau Ste Michelle, which has a summer concert series?) for an hour or two and then make your way to dinner at the Grange Cafe?

The Cherry Valley Grange, the building that how holds The Grange Cafe, is actually one of the oldest buildings in the lovely town of Duvall.   More than 20 years ago it housed The Silver Spoon Restaurant for several years, and was built over 80 years ago!  This building is very Duvall, with a country feeling which does nothing to detract from it’s understated sophistication.  There is a sense, perhaps shared with the Seattle area in general, that we do things this way because we feel deeply that it’s worthwhile to devote one’s life to excellence without false pretension.  We cook this way and eat this way not because it’s got current media attention, but because it makes for a full, deeply satisfying existence to revere the good things in life.  It exhibits the determination to take time to uphold the standards which result from that, whether it’s selection a local farm that grows top notch organic produce or lighting the dining room perfectly for an intimate gathering of friends.

If you go for Brunch, you might opt for the Silver Spoon Breakfast:  2 eggs, with bacon or sausage, local roasted potatoes, and toast. All free range. The potatoes are crispy with onions. The toast is house made . Fresh house made preserves.   A recent diner commented that the chef took time to come out and discuss vegetarian options with her and provided some excellent modifications to the dishes on the menu for her to choose from!  When people go out of their way to create a restaurant like this, I make it a point to visit whenever I’m in the neighborhood, and sometimes even when I wasn’t!

Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
edy@seattlepowersearch.com
206-249-2914 (cell)

Check out my great listing in Snohomish!  http://seattlecentric.com/hills-of-snohomish-beauty-new-on-market/

Hey all you friendly, curious, adventurous, horse lovin people! Did you know Carnation has a great Equestrian facility in Lake Joy Estates?  The drive to this property is 10 – 15 minutes from downtown Carnation or Duvall and requires one to cruise part way around Lake Joy before detouring from the main path.  I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the residents of this area take the breathtaking lake and mountain views for granted when seeing them each day, but for me personally, it put me in a tranquil mood and set me up for some great expectations.

Regarding expectations, Nancy Pearson’s “Thundering Hooves Stables” does  deliver!  It is situated on a 20 acre piece of property surrounded by miles and miles of lush landscape. Moss Lake is nearby with trails surrounding it as well as trails leading to the pipeline, which literally  enable a rider to go on for days if they were to so choose. Not only does Nancy’s place make it possible so people won’t have to trailer out to enjoy great trail riding, she has a state of the art facility which includes one covered indoor arena (120 x 60) as well as an outdoor arena (160 x 80) with nice footing.  So regardless of whether a horse lovers interests are varied, or the focus is on one particular discipline, riders are not really limited here at Thundering Hooves .                                                                             

Nancy and her daughter Nicole are the horse crazy members of the family. They are active participants in 4H and love to engage in gaming and showing competitions. They have six horses, three of which are lesson horses.  Nancy offers lessons on these or on ones own horse. Her fee is reasonable at $35 for an hour long lesson.  Nancy provides instruction in Natural Horsemanship, Western Gaming, Western Pleasure, Western Equitation and Beginning English Riding.

Not only is  Thundering Hooves a great place to board your horse, there is currently a vacancy and if demand increased, she has plenty of room and may consider adding on more  stalls.  Board runs $500/month and this includes feed (grain and orchard grass or alfalfa hay),  stalls and paddocks cleaned (twice daily), routine worming, and blanketing.  Each stall is open and has a turnout run so horses here do not remain confined to their stall when not being played with by their owners. Thundering Hooves has a huge tack room, a bathroom (instead of a sani-can or porta-potty like some places), a wash rack with cross ties having both hot and cold water, 3 different pastures for grazing turnout.  The pastures get reseeded each Spring and at the time of this blog, grass is still coming in (growing tall in places and becoming denser).  Spring and summer, horses are usually out to pasture part of the day, during their ‘leisure time.’

Nancy’s arenas are available to rent for clinics and may be available if there are those w/ horses off site who may want a place to ride during rainy months.  Arena usage haul in fees are $10 . If you’d like more information please contact Nancy by email at nancysmagic@yahoo.com. If you may be interested in finding a property like hers for yourself, well I’d love to help and would be a great Realtor to assist with that!

View from Harbour Homes New Construction Plat in Duvall - Cherry Hill Vista

Ok, I feel compelled to blog on this topic not only because my family and I have made it home and love living here, but also I think many may have some misconceptions about Duvall and Carnation.

Woodinville/Duvall Rd

I remember when my husband moved here from Hawaii before the boys and I did, he temporarily took up residence with his Auntie in Sea Tac.  He regularly watches the news and when we’d talk on the phone, I remember him saying, like I was’ lolo’ or something (Hawaiian slang for stupid), “you want to buy a home in Snohomish????? It floods there.” Well duh, in many places where you find rivers, when there  can be  an exceptional amount of rain in a short period of time, quick snow melt, or a combination of the two, rivers are prone to spill over their banks! However, Washington is not a flat state and the majority of builders – or those who independently build or have built homes – don’t do so next to a river!

About to Cross the 124th Bridge, Headed Toward Redmond

Incidentally, we didn’t end up buying in my childhood town of Snohomish but made home on King counties eastside.  I’m not trying to deny we had flooding in January of 2009, which rendered residents landlocked for a day. I’ve lived in Duvall for  5 years now, and this occurred one other time since then and that was in November 2006; we were again landlocked for a day. (There are basically three thorough fares in and out).  So what’s the big deal? Who doesn’t want an excuse to take an unexpected day off now and then and not have the reason be associated with illness?

The Big, Bad, Scary River ending of April, 2009.

One thing people may not realize about this part of east King county…Duvall and Carnation are both 20 minutes from downtown Redmond; Duvall is tops, 25 minutes from downtown Woodinville; 35 minutes from downtown Issaquah (Carnation is 25 minutes from Issaquah).  Lots of people have decided to make it home because of the warm, smaller town atmosphere and sense of community. The other thing which is significant to mention is people can get more for their money when it comes to purchasing real estate. We have good schools and the lowest crime rate in the county.  It may be wise to consider taking up residency in The Snoqualmie Valley…especially if one appreciates outdoor recreation. I appreciate my field trips into the Emerald City and it only takes 45 minutes to get there.

From the opposite side of the valley, headed up Novelty Hill Rd into Redmond

Northwest Art Center offers Kid Art!

have summer classes), Duvall Antique Mall, Duvall Books (which has been selling used

A Top Hatted Mouse welcomes visitors to Duvall Books

books in Duvall for 31 years!) and the Duvall Library, a cute little City Hall, a grange hall which houses The Grange Cafe, a destination  eating place with an internationally trained chef, a church, The Bees Hive (a honey store), the River City Arcade & Cafe, Bearzabout Inc (bears, dolls and toys) and more.

As far as I am concerned, CC Espresso and Ice Creamery could be a destination in and of itself.  If you are not lucky enough to actually have your home in this cozy little community, it’s likely that you will find yourself here several times a year, either going to Woodinville to check out the wineries, Carnation for U-pick  berries, vegetables and fruit at the farms, visiting the Tolt River where a park allows access to wading and picnicking spots, or simply going to Duvall itself to enjoy the atmosphere and engage in some timeless shopping and dining.

When you go, check out this wonderful little ice cream and espresso parlor with something for everyone in the family.  One customer reports, “Great Lattes!  Nice staff with a sociable group of morning regulars.”   Another says, “C&C is the best place for Ice Cream on a hot summer day. I love grabbing a cone and then walking the trail.”  They even have doggy treats for the “four legged customers.”  On this happy day, a family just emerging let me take their photo, wow, looks really yummy, doesn’t it?

"When you're here, you're family."

Duvall Espresso and Ice Cream for the whole family!

Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
206.249-2914 (cell)
edy@seattlepowersearch.com

Hey, we have a great new listing in Snohomish on over half an acre, 5 bedroom 3.5 bath 3600 square foot executive Craftsman style home with everything on your list!  Check out my blog with photos!