Are you tired of your dull tile floors? Give your kitchen a face-lift with bold patterned floors! From geometric shapes to exotic Moroccan-inspired designs, there are a variety of ways a patterned floor can spice up any boring room! This trend can facilitate a variety of different themed homes as well. Take this idea and make it fit to your style of home by adding personal touches.  Take a look at a couple of these spaces below for inspiration!

All images via our Pinterest

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-fat (2%) milk
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons Neufchtel or low-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 ounces fresh fettuccine
• Freshly ground pepper

How To:

1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the Neufchatel and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped parsley.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.
3. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan and pepper.

Coastal Premier Properties is happy to welcome Karla Escalante-Freitag! Karla will be working out of our Del Mar office.

About Karla:

Karla Escalante-Freitag was born and raised in Mexico City, but has since lived in various areas throughout San Diego for 20 years. After moving around she finally settled in La Jolla, where she lives now with her husband Erik, their four-year-old boy Leyton, and rescue dog Oscar.

Karla has worked in the mortgage industry for 3.5 years and has an entrepreneurial background, having worked in the Import/Export industry for 10 years as a purchaser/liaison. As part of her experience dealing with suppliers and customers from all over the world, she had the opportunity to travel to different countries learning skills to negotiate under pressure and showing her how to prioritize her clients so they get the best deal possible. Karla is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish. She joined CPP because she believes in the power of a strong team. While having a humble attitude, she encompasses confidence that affects others in a positive way.

Karla is an avid tennis player and has played tennis since she was four years old.  Traveling is one of her favorite activities, as she enjoys going to foreign countries and experiencing different cultures and traditions. Other hobbies of Karla’s include staying healthy and working out.

Karla feels the most fulfilled when she is able to help someone; she has done several donation drives to help people and animals in need and enjoys giving back to the community with activities like building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Karla is very passionate about helping the less fortunate and is the most happy when she is improving the lives of others. She strives for professionalism, yet Karla likes to have fun during the process. In addition, she wants her clients to enjoy, and cherish the home buying process forever.

Click here to contact Karla! You can also find her on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more about Coastal Premier Properties, visit our website!

San Diego is world renowned for it’s beautiful coastal wild life, historical and modern cities, and of course its sunny, beach culture. There is no doubt that San Diego attracts tourists and visitors from all around the world to experience the San Diego lifestyle. Both locals and outsiders can both agree that San Diego is a beautiful place with an overabundance of exciting activities and new adventures to embark on, but one also has to wonder if San Diego is also a good place to invest in property or to own a home?

Currently, the overall US housing market is thriving and many individuals are looking to invest in property all over the country, but of course there are some specific location that would be better than others to invest in property. Experts conclude that San Diego housing prices will continue to increase, and even if there is an unexpected decline, it will still be above the rate of inflation. In the NAR Quarterly Report released in February, 2016 it was that San Diego ranked 5th in the most expensive housing markets in the United States where the median sales price was up 5.9% at $486,000. However like many other cities, economists predict that San Diego’s surge up in home prices will start to slow as some estimate that it is close to peaking.

In terms of rent prices, San Diego was ranked number 10 in American cities where rent was growing the fastest. There is a high level of competitiveness among renters in San Diego since the rent-ability is only around 5% in latest statistics, however this can mean great news for property investors and landowners. If the property you are investing in is decent condition in a fairly nice location, you will receive many applications and options to rent out your house or apartment. With this level of competition and demand, owning a property and renting it out is an effective and smart way to have another solid source of income and increase cash flow.

San Diego is also one of the few places in the US where out-of-town investors are encouraged and willing to invest and buy property. Due to San Diego’s low crime rates, comfortable climate, and a bustling economy in the tourism, technological, and medical fields, non-San Diegans have goods reasons to safely invest in property with minimal risk. Finally, the cultural and ethnic diversity in San Diego makes its a very warm and welcoming city; on top of which, San Diego is also renowned place to live for it’s top rated schools, efficient public transportation, and is environmentally aware and friendly. There is no question that San Diego is a great and amazing city and owning or investing in a property here would only be beneficial and positive!