A new month

Well tomorrow marks May 1st, and it is almost time to start up the gardens!!

I spent the weekend staining cabinets, writing offers, taking listing photos and rocking out at the Fleetwood Mac concert! Very fun!

I will be doing more and more photos in the coming months, the market is so hot right now sellers can't get their homes on the market fast enough. Multiple offers on EVERYTHING. As a buyers agent, it is the most gut wrenching and frustrating and irritating thing ever to submit an offer and suddenly, multiple offers. As a sellers agent it's the most exciting and fruitful feeling, but multiple offers need to be handled correctly.

On another note, road restrictions are off soon so everyone who built this winter will get their driveways and pretty landscaping! I can't wait to see it all!!

Here's a snapshot of the home in Zimmerman I shot photos of this weekend;

Fun home project

Are you just going Spring crazy like I am? And are you addicted to Pinterest like I am? Don't deny it....Pinterest is a time sucking obsession of mine and I am not afraid to admit it :-)

So, I figured I would give a paint technique I found a shot! HERE IS MY PIN to the project I tried. I love the stripes with an unhealthy passion. They look so awesome!! I really like the size of the ones in the pin however, I decided I wanted bigger (thicker) stripes for my project.

I have an 8 foot high wall so I decided to do 1 foot stripes....because well, it was easy math.

My awesome and helpful neighbor Becky is demonstrating how to tape off the lines. Remember to put the tape above the top and below the bottom so you get even equal sized lines. 

Then we painted over the tape on the inside of the lines we were going to paint with the existing wall color to "seal" the tape because the walls have a texture to them. We used this brush:

It was easier because of the texture on the walls, we had to get the paint in all the little spots.

 

I let the brown paint over the tape dry overnight just to be sure!! Then, rolled my stripe color on pretty thick. 

TA DAAAAA!!!!

I am pretty pleased :-)

And it was easy!

And my lines were *crisp*

Yay!!

Hugs and Short Sales

Happy Spring!?

Yeah right....

My neighbors have a pond behind their home and every morning I can see the poor little ducks sitting on the ice just wondering why they came back already. I am wondering why the snow and cold had to come back too. Here it is middle of April and I have a cold and am miserable. 

This is a big week for me though! My project is coming along well, except for the roto rooter guy I am meeting with today. Apparently something is clogging the main sewer line....pray for no tree roots, please!

I am also embarking on another project of sorts, I have become Short Sale and Foreclosure Certified and will be working with a very big name local bank to be a resource for homeowners who need to list their homes as a short sale. More on that at the end of the week :-)

I will leave you with a warm cuddly photo to help start your Monday morning, because sometimes we all just need a hug.

making progress on my project

Well my day started with this, hello!!

Sheetrock!!

Then, I set up shop and cut insulation for a few hours (do not touch your body after touching insulation- you will itch like crazy...I learned the hard way)

Here is the aftermath

It feels great to complete little projects each day that lead to an overall finished project!! My Dad is also helping out on my project, he spent the day doing some rough labor, sanding ceilings. 

Remember my kitchen photo I showed before? Well, this is what it looks like now! About 1/4 of the way to being done!! That center wall is finally gone and opens the place up so much!!

Another addition to the kitchen showed up today too! Cabinets!

Whew! Lot's of hard work but it will be so awesome when it's complete!!

It's raining!

I love when it rains! I will be thankfully working indoors today, continuing my project. Switched all the electrical outlets out yesterday. They were almond colored and half of them were broken or had paint all over them from the previous owners who decided to paint everything in purple glitter- including the outlets. So now they are all white and shiny and new. 

I am going to try something a little more bold with colors on this project, well it's not bold to me but Ben is freaking out. I will probably just not mention my paint scheme to him again and just wait for him to see it :-)

Here is a quote from the Dalai Lama to warm your soul on a drizzly day-

       "All living beings have experience of pleasure and pain, and we are among them. What makes human beings different is that we have a powerful intelligence and a much greater ability to achieve happiness and avoid suffering. Real happiness and friendship come not from money or even knowledge, but from warm-heartedness. Once we recognize this we will be more inclined to cultivate it."



If you are looking for a warm-hearted Realtor to help you buy or sell, give me a call!!

Blank Slates and Wide Angles

I am currently doing a renovation project on a home. I love designing kitchens and bathrooms, picking out paint colors, carpet, trim and all that fun stuff. The not so fun part, is getting the house ready for the fun part. 

This is the remains of the kitchen. An almost blank slate. That framed in wall is going away and will be replaced with a large center island. This kitchen will be soaked in beautiful greyish granite and dark warm cabinets. Soft glowing lights will make this room just radiate. I cannot even contain myself, I just want to see it finally done! But...that is about 3 weeks of back breaking work away. 

Doing home remodel projects can drastically up the value of your home. Kitchens and bathrooms are the number one way to enhance your home. Majority of my buyers seek a large open kitchen for their families because it tends to be the heartbeat of a home. 

I will keep updating with photos of my project....wait til you see the master bathroom (yuck)

I ordered my wide angle lens for my camera and it gets delivered today! It's like Christmas again! So, my photography will most likely flood my blog for awhile but at least you get to see beautiful homes from my point of view :-)

Spring

It's pretty much spring. My backyard is thawing/flooding as usual. Ben watched a neighbor guy leveling out the snow banks in his yard so they melt in an even fashion, and then when I laughed about it and told a few people they all thought it was a great idea.....so I secretly did it too :-)

April is going to be a pretty busy month in Real Estate land. I have many closings lined up for my awesome buyers and sellers and I have a little project I am working on as well that I will share later on. 

Now is a great time to start your home search, you can close by the beginning of summer and be ready to spruce up your lawn and plant flowers! Also, if you are considering building new construction, now would be a good time to start as you will need about 90 days to build and your new home will be ready in time for 4th of July celebrations!!

Let me know if you have a plan in mind to buy or sell your home soon!!