413 Catherine Street

Considering we are rabidly opposed to the corporate coffee shops we were thrilled to discover Dose (sorry no website to link to yet). Dose is located at 522 N. Second Street, once known as The Deuce, in close proximity to the Hippodrome, the former entertainment hotspot for Jackson Ward, which hosted many artists in its hay day including Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Robinson and Duke Ellington. Dose is a clever play on words, dos translates to two in Spanish therefore referencing its location as well as its services. Their iced mocha generously topped with whipped cream was the perfect choice of beverages to meander the streets of the ward. Although we were tempted to stay and enjoy our coffee in the contemporary designed indoor balcony where we could read some of the local presses they carry or enjoy the sights in their open-air balcony over looking Second Street. The staff was incredibly friendly and very knowledgeable about the neighborhood. I did not notice if they had WiFi but if so I foresee Dose as my future studying spot. (The photo is an interior shot I pirated from Richmond Renaissance.) Here's a link to find non-corporate coffee shops in any area:
http://www.delocator.net/ 

Okay so it’s a difficult market we’re dealing with. The house/shack pictured above is what a 170,000 dollars will buy you and apparently this house was such a good deal it sold in a couple of days! Thankfully we have an awesome realtor, Graham Rashkind, with Keller Williams Realty. Graham warned us that our price point was vanishing fast in the city and showed us some gorgeous homes in Barton Heights, originally a streetcar suburb of Richmond, that is undergoing tremendous rehab projects as well as new construction that Graham is the listing agent for. We loved the homes especially the pink Queen Anne on Monteiro Street (listed for 150,000 if anyone is interested). However being stubborn city folk we just could not give up the convenience of walking everywhere. Even though Barton Heights is technically in the city of Richmond it is not within walking distance to the things we enjoy. So we decided to search, confident that we would find something (livable) in the city. Graham was great, and extremely patient with our efforts, adding much humor to the situation when we were feeling defeated and thanks to his connections found a house we could afford that had a roof and windows that wasn't located in the middle of a gang war zone. Furthermore this house was the best rehabbed house we have seen. The owners spared no expense on renovations resulting in beautiful hardwood and marble floors, working gas fireplaces and upgraded fixtures. We strongly recommend anyone looking to find a house, contact Graham he is extremely knowledgeable about the market and this man has got the hook ups! See link under “Best realtor in town.” Check out our album “The Journey” to see some of the fabulous homes we were introduced to that were loaded with potential just waiting for someone to make them theirs. Can you tell I have read a lot of real estate listings recently? Keywords to stay away from: In need of TLC, Handyman Special, Tons of potential, just a little work/updating, sold as is and rare opportunity. These are all code words for needs to be condemned.

Feeling pretty confident that everything was going to work out with the house we drove Madeline past today. She could careless what the house looked like inside, but was thrilled that it is only two blocks from her best friend or “soul sista” as they refer to each other, Lily. The picture is of Lily and Madeline after they robbed the bank of all of its candy. We were hoping they would at least go for the money but why steal money when you are just going to use it to buy candy when they have all of that candy out in the open and unguarded? Jackson Ward has no idea what chaos is about to be unleashed upon its streets when these two get together.