Real Estate Adventure

It seems that real estate and design have made a huge comeback since our local real estate market crashed in 2008. HGTV and hit television shows, popular bloggers and Pinterest have helped the market rebuild and attract new investors. We love Chip & Jo and Tarek and Christina just as much as the next guy, and you can usually find HGTV playing on my television any day of the week (except when NCIS reruns are playing on USA) 😉

So when my husband decided to jump into the real estate profession I was excited for him! But he's not the typical realtor that has joined the market since it bounced back. Joe has years of real estate experience that will make him an excellent Realtor. In 2006 worked in the mortgage industry and was very successful. He helped first time home buyers make their dreams of buying a family home a reality, worked with investors to build their portfolio and was inspired by the all the different people he worked with. When the market started slowly coming back in 2010, Joe worked as a certified appraiser and learned the ins and outs of assessing a home's true market value. Both of these previous titles make him a well-rounded, more experienced realtor. Joe's always been inspired by the real estate market and he is now working one on one with buyers and sellers to help them achieve their goals.

Of course I like helping him and his clients find the best house for them and giving design ideas to make their house into a home, but he really does the important work, you know, the REAL part of the job 😉 His contacts from the mortgage lending industry help his clients find the best loan. He understands the importance of interest rates, different lender programs, added points and advocates for the best deal. His appraisal background ensures the list price is the right price and his buyers don't overpay. He's the total package!

Are you looking to sell your home? Joe can calculate the perfect list price to get you the most return on your investment and sell it quickly!

Wanting to purchase a new home? Joe can take your target price, ideal location and primary "must haves" to find you the perfect home at the best price with a strong lender.

Plus, he sure looks handsome in his suit. Don't you think?

Valentine Printables; "You Make My Heart Bounce"

Valentine's Day prep is going down this weekend! This is my first year with two little ones in preschool so we have 40 friends and four teachers to shower with love.

Their school does not allow for treats, sweets or candy so our Valentine's are non-food items - but they are still fun!

My VPK'er is five and is a typical boy. He doesn't appreciate the cute valentine ideas I find (boo!) but he liked the idea of using a bouncy ball for his friends.

We had fun assembling these! Feel free to use the free printable to make your own!

Here is what we used:
- Bouncy balls (we bought ours at Party City)
- Transparent party bags (ours are from Michaels)
- Colored card stock as the "sleeve" for the bag
- White card stock to print the image

Happy Valentine's Day!

Rudolph Applesauce Cups

Tomorrow is my preschooler's Christmas celebration at school and he chose to bring applesauce as his healthy snack. I like snack ideas that are easy to jazz up, don't take a lot of time and I can include my kids in the creative process.

I am sharing this idea with you because they were EASY to make (we made a class set in less than an hour) and my kids thought the project was fun.

If you are like me and running around with a million things to do - and not enough time to finish them all - then this project is a good one.

Supplies:
- Applesauce cups
- Pipe cleaners
- Red cotton puff balls
- Googly eyes
- Hot glue or glue dots
- Scissors or wire cutters

Instructions: 

1. I started by cutting my pipe cleaners in half and folding them into antlers before glueing them to the back of the applesauce cups 

2. Glue the googly eyes on 

3. Glue the Rudolph nose 

{This pipe cleaner was cut in half AND folded when photographed}

Good luck with your crafting!