It's Metro Home Show day!

While I am planning on relaxing a little bit this weekend and spending some quality time with family and friends, my main objective for this stat holiday is hitting up the Metro Home Show this afternoon!

I've already blogged about how excited I am to check out the Sony Spaces, styled by Cheryl Tourreneuva (who you may have seen with Colin and Justin on Home Heist) and start storing up some techno-chic inspiration for when Mr. Speedy and I get our dream home (stay tuned for more on that post long weekend).

I'm also pretty stoked to check out the displays by local retailers in the show's CITY BLOX section. Especially in the winter, I tend to stick pretty close to home, which means that I'm missing out on all the trendy shops around the city! As a result, I like the idea of hitting a handful of them all in one place, including the fab source for pillows Kush Home and the eco-friendly Raku Living.

Hopefully I'll be reporting back to you next week with loads of trendy, stylish and/or quirky finds!

The show runs today (April 10) through Sunday.

House hunting makes me ... nauseous?

Mr. Speedy and I went to see two homes last night. The first was a total bust, as it was a case where the photos made it look far more desirable than it was in reality. But the second was mighty tempting, and by far the nicest home we've seen thus far.

It's an East York semi with a lot of the things we were looking for, including three decent sized bedrooms, a nice living space and dining area and room for all the video games in the partially finished basement. It's close to transit and appears to be in very good condition. As an added bonus, it's been lovingly, and stylishly, decorated. It's been on the market for a total of three days.

We really liked it. I pictured our furniture in it, and thought about coming home to it. But, here's the rub. We're nervous newbies. We weren't immediately ready to make an offer. We saw other people viewing it, but still hoped for a little time to mull it over,  we we needed to make detailed pro-con lists and secure a slightly higher mortgage pre-approval.

In the meantime, there may be another offer coming in (though nothing definite yet), and I don't know if I'm ready! And, we're not so sure about getting into competition — it seems like an awfully nerve-wracking and stressful process, especially just before the long weekend!

The thought of buying makes me nervous and nauseous, but at the same time, I'd definitely be bummed to lose out on the property.

But, we also know that it's springtime, and lots of new properties are coming on the market all the time — so it's not like this is the only house we could ever buy.

So, we're going to need to make a decision, either to make an offer, forget about it, or play the waiting game. At this point, Mr. Speedy and I still don't know what we're going to choose!

Find me on twitter @jenspeedy

Catch up on the home hunt:

Making an offer

How to know when the house is right?

Resources for first-time buyers

Our first showings

Crunching the numbers

Finding Mr. or Mrs. Right ... Realtor, that is

Home hunting: Exciting, terrifying, all-consuming

What do we want in a home?

Am I house crazy?

A tea-off? Sounds like my kind of contest!

'One Teakettle' to rule them all? That's the idea behind the World Kitchen (which counts Corelle, CorningWare and Pyrex among its subsidiaries) Tea-Off. The competition asked designers to update the classic teakettle, and, I must say, I'm impressed. Who would have thought the humble teakettle could be recreated in so many ways?

The winner, the "One Teakettle" by Chicago-based Vessel Ideation, is designed to both boil and serve your tea, with blue-on-white heat-activated designs that appear only when the kettle's contents are hot. It also has an "intuitive magnetic trivet" that attaches to the base only when it's hot, which lets you place it directly on the table for serving.

I, of course, desperately want the Space Invaders one. It toes the line between stylish and nerdy, making it perfect for Mr. Speedy and I. They also designed more classic china patterns for those who aren't quite ready to deck their servingware out with retro video game images.

There were also two impressive runners-up. Martin M. Giroud's "Spin", which is a sphere shaped kettle that is supposed to have a safer, and more controlled way to pour. You pour by sliding a switch that activates a mechanism to tip the spout (not the kettle) forward.

And TEA-GO, by New York's ram industrial design inc, is a heat and go, single cup, design. TEA-GO includes an electric base that allows the user to set the water temperature, a no-spill container, travel cup and a lip to facilitate the steeping and removal of tea bags.

How to know when the house is right?

Mr. Speedy and I recently went to see a perfectly fine house. It was just slightly out of our preferred price range, but met all of our requirements, and then some.

It was located in a desirable east end neighbourhood, a short walk or bus ride to the subway, had three bedrooms, a wee backyard and a finished basement perfect for a rec room (which is not a requirement, but if we could get it, a seriously nice perk). The basement even passed the "Mr. Speedy" test, meaning that all 6 feet 4 inches of him could stand up straight in most of it. The rooms were smallish, but with a couple cans of paint and a few repairs here and there, it would suit our needs perfectly.

But I just couldn't see us living there. I couldn't imagine our stuff there, or us hanging out on the back deck with our friends. I couldn't picture myself cooking in the perfectly serviceable kitchen. For some reason, even as I tried to envision the decor changes we could make, it still just didn't feel like us. And I wanted to like it!

So, experiencing some sort of non-buyer's remorse that I'd passed up a property that would have been perfect for us (and which would likely get snapped up quickly, even in the current "buyer's market"), I asked my Tweeps (that's Twitter-speak for my followers) how I would know when I found the right home. And, thankfully, they came through for me!

Cobourg real estate broker @DaveChomitz told me that I would "absolutely know" when I find the right home, adding that "it may surprise you."

And follower @fathomco was also kindly reassuring, encouraging me to "stay the course ... you just know — kind of like when Mr. Speedy came round?"

Other chimed in saying that I really would know, somehow, when it was right, a message that certainly made me feel better! I'm back to believing that I will find something, and didn't pass on our dream home without realizing it!

Find me on twitter @jenspeedy

Catch up on the home hunt:

Making an offer

Home hunting makes me ... nauseous?

Resources for first-time buyers

Our first showings

Crunching the numbers

Finding Mr. or Mrs. Right ... Realtor, that is

Home hunting: Exciting, terrifying, all-consuming

What do we want in a home?

Am I house crazy?

Poll results: Buying a home from online listings?

The majority of Yourhomers would not be interested in buying a home through an online listing service such as craigslist or Kijiji, according to last week's poll results.

I find this question, which came from a comment on my home hunting adventure, very interesting. While I am willing to embrace new technology for a lot of things, including Twittering with my real estate agent (he's @RealEstateSimon, I'm @jenspeedy), I'm very wary when it comes to making a home purchase in this way.

Mr. Speedy and I wouldn't feel very comfortable setting up showings based on a free listing, or visiting the locations. And, after some of the gems we've seen from reliable sources, can you really blame us? Online ads make me question whether the house is really for sale and whether the showings were set up by the person who actually lives there. Worse yet, I'd worry about falling prey to a hoax and getting set to purchase a home from an identity thief.

And 63 per cent of the voters seem to share my fear, saying they would not buy a home in this way. Twenty-one per cent said they might buy a home in this way. Eight per cent said they would go to free online listings when on the home hunt. The remaining eight per cent said they didn't know.

Next week's poll returns to the world of decor, asking, "Would you be willing to turn over your house to a reality TV host?" One Markham couple did, and they're not totally happy with the results.

And, if you're looking for other Saturday morning goodies, check out Colin and Justin's Moroccan-themed bedroom, a peek at the home of Ed the Sock's creator and a tour of my current 'hood, Riverdale.

Mopping the floors has never smelled this good...

Recently, thanks to an epic smoothie spill in my kitchen, I desperately needed to buy a new mop. So, a little while later, while out shopping with Mr. Speedy, I picked up Method's O-Mop.

The O-Mop starter kit, which comes in recyclable bamboo packaging, includes an "ergonomic mop" (which basically means that it's curved, or, as they say, "bends so you don't have to"), corn-based sweeping clothes (like a Swiffer, but compostable), a reusable microfibre mop pad and non-toxic all-purpose floor cleaner in a yummy lemon ginger scent. The whole kit retails for about $30, and I also picked up the almond wood cleaner, which costs about $7.

Sure, it smells great, and has some eco-friendly street cred, but it also has a few other nice perks, including the fact that the microfibre mop pad can be tossed in the washing machine between uses and that no bucket full of water is needed. The freedom from lugging around a sploshing bucket of dirty water was honestly enough to hook me.

You simply squirt the cleaner on the floor, scrub it with long strokes (though bigger messes, like dried smoothie remnants, may require a little more attention) and voila, the kitchen floor is clean and sparkling — and smells delicious. No need to open all the windows to air out that awful chemical smell like with my previous cleaning supplies!

But, like all products, it's not perfect. The metal and plastic construction of the mop itself makes me worry that a few hard scrubs could break the head clean off, and a few cracking noises during use helped reinforce that fear.

So, the verdict? Love the eco-friendly aspect and the great smelling cleaners (which left no apparent residue on the floor), but I am still a little concerned about how the mop will hold up to heavy scrubbing over time. In the meantime, my floors will be sparkling and my home will smell like almonds and lemon ginger.

Metro Home Show sneak peek!

Spring is a great time to get inspired for all your renovation and gardening projects, even if the weather isn't quite nice enough to act on them! And the next show I'll be hitting up is the Metro Home Show, which starts next week (April 10 - 12).

Now, as those who read my blog regularly or follow me on twitter may know, I enjoy my fair share of video games and technology, and Mr. Speedy is really quite the gadget geek. As a result, I'm really excited to check out the "techno-chic" trends at the show's Sony Spaces, styled by Cheryl Tourrenueva (who many of you will know from Home Heist).

And, as an added bonus, she's done this video to share a sneak peek of her plans for the eco-friendly, techno-savvy and stylish spaces. But, we'll still have to wait until next Friday to find out what the finished rooms look like!

Resources for first-time home buyers

As a real estate newbie, I've been doing a lot of reading, and, of course, watching HGTV's Property Virgins, to try to learn as much as I can about the process of buying a home. I don't want to be like some of those Virgins who aren't prepared with downpayment funds and aren't aware of the costs of homes or closing costs. So, in honour of my home hunt, I thought I'd share some of the things I've found valuable!

For starters, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a lot of great resources for home buyers (as well as sellers and renovators, but that's less helpful for me!). From step by step home buying guides to a mortgage calculator and other useful goodies, it's definitely a good place to start.

And, of course, Yourhome.ca has been a big help. Not only do I read it every day as part of my job, but it also keeps me up to date on the latest happenings in the market and gives me lots of reno and decor inspiration for my future home, from how to modernize a small city home to loftier ideas from Colin and Justin. Website promoting aside, anyone thinking about buying or selling really should be keeping up with their local media to stay on top of market conditions, which will help inform your decisions and expectations.

My realtor, @RealEstateSimon, is another great resource for answering my questions, especially those related to certain homes and neighbourhoods. Going to see properties with him has given me some hands on education, which all that reading (and TV watching) just hadn't taught me.

I've also just finished reading Realty Check, by Property Virgins host Sandra Rinomato. With useful checklists, real life examples and some no-nonsense advice to keep newbies from getting in over their heads, I'd recommend this as a very basic primer to those getting ready to venture into home ownership. Toronto and area-based examples are also a nice perk for those of us starting our home hunt in the city.

Where do you go for real estate advice? What resources would you recommend for first time buyers?