We are not familiar with Zola, but we installed H windows in the end of our kitchen in 1999. We are in a historic district, so had to get approval from the Heritage Preservation Commission for the design. The H windows offer different muntin options, and we chose a central muntin to mimic our original double hung windows and copied the size and placement from those in our sunroom/sleeping porch wing. The result is lovely. The windows resemble the old style glass storm windows, which swing out at the bottom for ventilation also. We love the high quality, ease of use and cleaning, and have had no issues with them. We have 7 windows and a triple French door assembly on the river side, but the energy efficiency and insulation have held up well to Minnesota winters. It is great also that we can open windows when it rains and not have rain come in. Highly recommend!

Your post really hit "home" for me (no pun intended). When I built my house (moved into home in Dec. 1996), if someone would have suggested that I would still own the house almost 28 years later, I would have laughed. I never intended to stay in this house. But life happened - and here I am. I did not live here the entire time - I lived out in Santa Monica for several years (starting in 2012) - but kept this house. I came very close to moving several times - but something always caused me to change my mind (for example, I ended two engagements - and had plans to build a new home with my then fiancé both times). I wound up paying off my mortgage early back in 2010 - so, other times when I thought about moving, I always decided that I liked not having a mortgage. Plus, I love my neighborhood - beautiful mature trees + curving streets with slight hills. My house is 2800 sf (without counting finished basement - media room, bar area, bathroom, workout room). I'm an empty nester - so is my significant other. When we decided to live together, we thought about moving - but everything that we liked would have added time to work commute + neighborhood would be newer = small trees/straight streets/etc. I've been dealt some rough health issues = working less hours (I'm an attorney) - and not having mortgage has been really nice. We decided to renovate this house to make it "ours." We tore down the large deck and replaced it with a nice patio (it has a large covered portion with a cedar plank ceiling + thick cedar posts + an amazing stereo system + outdoor tv - it also has a nice firepit area + another uncovered large seating area). The backyard isn't large - but there are no neighbors behind us - and with the way I had landscaping installed back in 2003, it feels like a completely private backyard. We've renovated two bathrooms so far - two more to go. We will be gutting the kitchen pretty soon. I wish I wouldn't have let my ex husband talk me out of the third garage space when we built the house - but I never imagined that I'd still own this house - so, it was something that I traded in order to add a much larger kitchen than what was originally planned (also, I recently discovered that since my garage ceiling is a little over 14'high, I can add a car lift on one side iof the garage in order to store my convertible Porsche instead of using a rental garage nearby - I had to give up a space in the garage to my SO when he moved in several months ago). My neighbors directly across the street have lived here the entire time (their youngest daughter has been best friends with my oldest daughter since basically the day we moved in - they were five - they are both pregnant and due in Jan and Feb). It is so nice having them across the street. I have another set of neighbors on one side who purchased the house on the right side of my house about two years after we moved into our house (their daughters used to babysit my girls). We could definitely live in a smaller home. There are three bedrooms + two bathroom upstairs that are rarely used (thinking about converting one of the bedrooms into a large closet/ "dressing room" for my SO (he is an attorney also - and wears a suit/tie to the office every day - even though he doesn't need to - he has more clothes than I do - over 300 ties + 60 pocket squares + a TON of suits/sport coats + dress shirts and MANY nice dress shoes - and that's just work clothes - I don't even want to guess about how many golf shorts/shirts/etc. that he owns + other casual clothes!) My primary closet is 8' x 18.5' - but I am not used to sharing 🤣. I am also converting my formal dining room into a "wine room" - with four leather chairs that form a conversation area - I have seating for four at my island (which is one level - my builder thought that was a crazy idea back then to not have a raised bar area for seating) + a table in the kitchen that sits 6 + extends to sit 10/12. I don't really need a formal dining room also. I don't really need a formal dining room that's rarely used. Whether you should spend $80k on a new kitchen depends upon the FMV of your home now. Also, if you are going to make it your forever home - then resale is less of an issue (I believe that the "guideline" is that you shouldn't spend more than 15% of the value of your home when renovating your kitchen - but if you will be staying for many years, if you have the $$, you should put in the kitchen that makes you happy!) When I look back at the homes I almost moved to, I am happy that I stayed here. This house is more room than we need - I don't know what I would do if I had built the 4,200 sf home I was planning back in 2009! A 2,800 sf house (+ 800-1,000 more sf in basement) is more than what we need. Plus, a smaller home would be easier to take care of as we get older (plus, less maintenance needed). The size of your house doesn't matter as much as the location + your neighbors - there are many people who live in areas where fully gutting (restoring) a 1,400 sf house is worth it due to the location + the cost/size of other homes in the area. I have a friend who lives in Toronto who did a full gut on an attached home - and it's probably between 1,400 - 1,500 sf - and it's beautiful. They made such good choices re: new layout that it functions better than houses that are much larger. It is a very nice home. In Chicago, a 1,400 sf home in the right location (with the right renovation) would be a perfect place to age in place.

I'm a Burqueno, and I rent out my house on Vrbo for Balloon Fiesta. For the Fiesta itself, you're really only going to be at the field for a few hours in the morning. The early morning. Like, 5-8am morning. The balloons are inflated and go up and . . . then it's chainsaw carving competitions and later in the evening drone and fireworks shows. If you're like me, the latter ain't your jam. I agree with those who recommend you sign up for a park and ride shuttle. Parking at the park is a nightmare. As for which days to see the balloons, I'm a fan of the Special Shapes Rodeo, when is when all the . . .well . . . specially shaped balloons go up. Many folks also like the mass ascensions, when rows and rows of them go up almost simultaneously (but these are mostly the traditionally-shaped balloons). Schedule is here: https://balloonfiesta.com/files/galleries/2025_Event_Schedule.pdf One to two days of balloons may be plenty for the two of you. The weather is always an unknown factor, though. If the winds are even a smidge too high, the balloons don't go up. And you won't know that until the day of, or even the hour of. Others have mentioned Old Town, which is charming if touristy. Near Old Town are the Albuquerque Museum and the NM Museum of Natural History, which are both pretty good. Feel free to skip the zoo and aquarium and botanical garden. I think someone mentioned Los Poblanos, which is an historic dairy farm in the north valley, now a lavender farm with a charming hotel and wonderful restaurant. https://lospoblanos.com/ Re the tram, you can buy tickets 30 days in advance, and I would recommend you do so. It will be super busy during Fiesta. Santa Fe is great, of course. If you stay there, you could potentially ride the Rail Runner train down to the Journal Center stop that is closest to the balloon park, and shuttle from there (I'm sure there is a package online somewhere). You may want to consider visiting some of the many pueblos. The most interesting to visit of those roughly near ABQ is (IMHO) Acoma Sky City. If you're in Santa Fe, I recommend Tesuque or San Ildefonso. If you're up for a bit more driving, go up to Taos and visit Taos pueblo .Visiting can be a bit tricky because of cultural celebrations that may close the pueblos on various days, so plan ahead. Sandia Pueblo is at the north end of the metro and always has a big arts and crafts show (a regular show, not restricted to pueblo items) during Fiesta weekends. If you have a scientific bent or an interest in the Manhattan project, the Bradbury Museum in Los Alamos is interesting, and ABQ even has the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. If you want to just take some beautiful drives, I recommend going to Taos. Take the high road up and the low road back for an amazing variety of scenery. You can also do the loop out to Jemez Pueblo/Jemez Springs, up through Valles Caldera and up to Los Alamos and back. There is also the Turquoise Trail, which is Hwy 14 that runs east of the Sandias, roughly from the far east edges of the ABQ metro to Santa Fe. This goes through Madrid, also mentioned above. The weather here is different. It's a diurnal cycle that can swing 40 degrees in a day. You'll be bundled up early in the AM for balloons, then in shirtsleeves in the afternoon. Layers are the way to go. I can offer restaurant ideas once you know more about where and when. NM is amazing - come visit!

Need details on this rose like an FBI case haha Trying to see if the rose I found is actually this