BLOG SALE!!

Hi there!

Ok friends... this has taken some serious time!

I thought cleaning out my closet and getting rid of some things would be an easy task... WRONG! I found myself not wanting to get rid of a single thing! haha. I didn't think I liked stuff anymore until I began pulling it out! BUT ... I am reallllly bad about buying something, wearing it once or twice and then never wearing it again! Even though I love it and it's cute, I just don't wear it...bad habit.

Other things, (like my fave black leggings and jeans I will literally wear for a week straight ha!)

I feel like I have to disclose that I am horrible photographer when it comes to clothes!! These pics don't do justice :( This stuff is much cuter in real life!

I am setting up paypal right now... so if you see something you want, then just email me with the words BLOG SALE in the subject if you wouldn't mind... and let me know what you would like :) Then I can send you an invoice from PayPal!

Shipping will more than likely be between $4-$7 depending on if you buy more than one thing :) I will combine shipping on multiple items.

So here we go... this is what I have so far... Happy Shopping :)

PS. Please feel free to foward to your friends or mention my sale in your post! I appreciate it ladies!! 

Item #1 - SOLD!!

J.Crew Sequin Top - 3/4 length sleeve, Size XS

Worn only two times, super cute and fun! Sold out really quickly online! Not available on Ebay.

$40.00

Item #2

K Dash by Kardashians & QVC Cotton/Spandex Tunic, Size XS

This is not the Sears clothing (no offense of course) haha, was a special collection on QVC.

Blue, 3/4 length sleeve, SUPER SOFT and comfy, but never actually worn, ordered and was too big even thought it is an XS, must run a little bigger, more like if you wear a Small!!

Tan leather like piping around neck & down back. Seriously super cute! Wish it fit :(

$40.00

Item #3

K Dash by Kardashians & QVC Flowing Tank w/ Wrinkle Pocket

Size XS

This is not the Sears clothing ladies, haha, was a special collection on QVC.

Same deal, size XS but doesn't fit. Super comfy and cute. Front of tank in silk-like and back is cotton. Very cute on. Nice material. Never worn.

$28.00

Item #4

JCrew Zipper Neck Cashmere Wool Blend Grey Sweater Size XS

Very comfortable, worn only 2-3 times. Also have this in Olive Green too (not my color!) Reg. $118

$35.00

Item #5 (above)

JCrew Zipper Neck Cashmere Wool Blend Green Sweater Size XS

Worn only one time! This color looks yuck on me :( More of an olive green. Reg. $118

$35.00

(**Special, Buy both sweaters for $50!**)

Item #6

JCrew Black/Grey Button Shoulder Sweater Size XS

Cute Sweater, worn only 2-3 times. Also have this in a blue too (see below!) Reg. $98

$25.00

Item #7 (above) - SOLD!!

JCrew Blue Button Shoulder Sweater Size XS

Cute Sweater, worn only 2-3 times. Looks cute with collared shirt underneath or just a tee. Reg. $98

$25.00

(**Special, Buy both sweaters for $40!**)

Item #8

White House Black Market Winter White & Black Sweater/Jacket

Size XS

Obsessed with this! Total Chanel Look-Alike! Very Comfy, Sweater material w/ Black Sparkly Accents and Silver Buttons! Only worn twice. Looks great w/ Black leggings & black pumps! Reg. $168

$60.00

Item #9 - SOLD!!

JCrew Pink Bow Pencil Skirt - Size 0

LOVE this skirt, got compliments everytime I wore it! The bow is so cute! Has pockets in front also. I always wore it with a white or black vneck tee tucked in to see bow and pumps :) Reg. $138

$55.00

Item #10

Rachel Zoe Chunky Hooded Sweater from QVC - Size XS

LOVE this sweater! Very cozy, warm, love the hood and the deep pockets! Tan color. Sold out FAST! Special Rachel Zoe product on QVC only. Reg. $120

$55.00

Item #11 - SOLD!!

Tori Burch Floral 100% Silk Dress Size 2

This dress is really classic and pretty. 100% silk, 3/4 length sleeves, very comfortable, zips up back. Looks great with black tights and pumps or boots! Reg. over $300. 

$90.00

Item #12

JCrew Olive Green w/ Silver Trim & Pocket Tee Size XS

Scoop Neck (I discovered scoop necks don't look good on me!) Tee. Love the silver Neckline and Pocket Trim! So chic! Very soft. Only worn once. Reg. $36

$10.00

Item #12

JCrew 3/4 length Sleeve Tee - Size XS

Burnt Orange, Scoop Neck Tee, with silk florals on the front. Looks cute under a blazer or cardigan... (again, I don't do scoop necks anymore haha) Reg. $39

$10.00

Item #13

Free People Strapless Summer Dress - Size 4 (runs like a 2)

LOVE this dress. Such a cute Summer dress to wear to a cookout, birthday party, work, whatever! Very comfortable, must wear a strapless bra, top part is too loose to go bra-less ladies! Love the red tie back bow also, very slimming!

$40.00

Item #14 - SOLD!!

JCrew Navy Sequin Striped Nautical Top - Size XS

Semi Boat Neck, 3/4 length sleeves, cream w/ navy stripes, front has clear sequin on stripes for a little something extra! Wore this in Florida w/ navy shorts, so cute! Also wore w/ jean capris and Sperry's for a casual look. Reg. around $79

$30.00

Item #15

Theme Cotton Dress - Size Small

This is very comfortable. Bought at World's Apart. Buttons at the top, ties around waste on side, very slimming. Wore with brown tall boots and no tights, and also with black tights once and black boots. Very soft fabric and comfy sleeves! Can not remember regular price? :(

$35.00

Item #16

Ann Taylor Red Leopard Cardigan - Size XS

Wore with black pants and a black tank underneath. Very soft fabric. Only wore once. Reg. $69

$18.00

Item #17 - SOLD!!

JCrew ZIP Around Sweater - Size Small

Cashmere Blend Sweater, Zipper goes from bottom all the way around the neck. Two pockets in front. More of a fitted sweater. Hard color to describe, more of a dark purplish, pinkish, on the brown side ? Ha idk. It's cute though.!Reg. Approx $80

$25.00 

Item #18

White House Black Market Skirt - Size 0

White w/ Black Stripes, Cotton but has more a tweed like material feel. Very cute on w/ black pumps or sandals and a black tee or tank!

$25.00 

Item #19

Michael Kors Brown Cotton Dress - Size XS

This is seriously comfortable and can be dressed up or casual. I have worn with wedges or with gold flip flops, at the beach to dinner and even to a summer wedding! Very versatile. Really love this dress and it is flowy too so good for a "fat day" (you know what I'm talking about ha!) Reg. $100

$35.00

OK ... I think that is it for now!

I do have some more accessories etc that I want to try to sale too, but we will see how this round of clothing goes first! :) I also have some jeans I need to get rid of too, but I am obsessed with jeans so that could be one blog sale in itself LOL ... ;)

Ok ladies... ready, set, shop! :)

Thanks for following! And buying!

XO,

Back in Business!

Let's be honest here... 10 days and no blogging has seriously made me a tad depressed! But I have been so slammed with work,

(real estate and busy in January are usually 3 words that do NOT go together but I've had 3 closings so far and the month is only half over, and just got another under contract this week! woohoo! maybe the market is turning around in 2012?!? I am keeping my fingers crossed at least!)

and also lots of busy-ness in my personal life this past week, not to mention I have been working on my closet in hopes of having a Blog Sale by the end of the week!!!!! :)

(by writing that down for you all to read I am committing myself to do it lol!)

SO excited to report my phone case came in from Marley Lily and is adorable... and I was right, the brightness is making me happy during this dreary weather!

And to go along with the case... my assistant, Emily (who is obvi so talented at several things!) stumbled across my new favorite app and I just knew everyone would love it so wanted to share....

3 Initials App

Download it now! You will be obsessed! Let me share some examples...

Here is my home screen to match my new case ... (courtesy of Emily who made the first one for me!)

How cute is that? I LOVE it!

Here are some other examples I made for friends :)

You can mix up the colors, choose from different fonts & styles, it's amazing!

If you love all things monogrammed, you will love this app!

It is $1.99 but well worth it I.M.O. :)

Speaking of Emily... look what she got me for Christmas....

O.M.G. a Frankie rug... I literally died. I am obsessed with it.

It is in my kitchen now and at the back door and looks so cute!

Em, THANK YOU!! It's my fave! :)

Next on the agenda...speaking of the king himself,  my baby is home and feeling much better!

I am still not convinced he is 100%, but he got his stitches out over the weekend and seems to be healing still and almost back to himself :)

He loves to lay on top of "mountains" haha idk what his deal is, he jumps to the top of everything!)

This weekend we worked on a MAJOR undertaking...

Ella's Science Fair Project!

Her project was "What Bubble Gum Blows the Biggest Bubble?"

Girl is creative.

(it also was what I did in the 4th grade for mine and once she heard that she wouldn't do anything else ha! We got books on projects, googled ideas, everything, but this was what she chose which is hysterical to me because not only did I do it, BUT then when my little brother was in school he remembers me doing his science fair project for him and doing the same exact thing lol!) 

It turned out adorable... we took pics of each bubble she blew after 3 tries with each different gum!

She had fun doing it and the best part was today she said everyone at school said it was their favorite!

So cute and so proud of her!! :)

Last but not least, I have not Pinterest shared in weeks :( So here are just a few of my recent favorites pins ... and in case you were wondering, I am daily think of what I did with my life at red lights, when I can't sleep, when I am waiting for something or someone, etc, before there was Pinterest!?!?!

Are ya'll still obsessed too?

(If not, don't tell me, I don't want to know ha!)

I love this. Ha. I need this. So cute. From Etsy.

I need this too! How cute would this be at the basketball games?

I have obsessed over the cowhide ottoman for weeks now. It's so amazing.

I kind of have a thing for mudrooms and this is so great, I love the brick paved floor!! Wouldn't show dirt at all I bet... great idea and looks good too!

Monogrammed block earrings. Kinda can't believe I don't have these already?!?

Ahh.... a girl can dream can't she? Look at that wrapping room! I could do some serious wrapping in a room like this! ;)

Ok, lets be honest, is anyone else besides me wishing you will one day have a son that will look like Mason?? hahaha this has got to be the cutest kid ever. Look at his outfit! I mean I guess if Kourtney Kardashian is your mom, chances are you will be pretty stylish... he is so darn cute!

I am so excited for Easter now just because I saw this picture! LOL

Peeps Smores! We will totally be doing this! Yum!

Ok that's all I got... off to watch my shows!

Blog Sale to come... :)

Thanks for all the feedback and emails about it! Hopefully I will have some cute stuff for sale!



Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

I feel so comfortable at this desk.  I will probably go back into the office this evening, but I want to get the update done here, with a cup of tea and a dog at my feet.  I showed a house this afternoon that froze me totally.  Gorgeous house (falling in love with the potential) but colder than the outside temperature of 20 degrees, I swear!  I needed to warm up!

Currently there are only 96 single family homes listed as active in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 31 are in the Village and 22 are considered to be waterfront.  Three properties came back on the market this week, two in the village and (brrrrr) a lovely waterfront home.  The median list price of all these homes is $325,000.  The lowest is $89,900 (and the only one under $100,000) and the highest is $3,095,000.

There are only three homes marked contingent, but one of them is new - a fine home in the town which I showed repeatedly to no avail.  Alack and alas!  Someone is getting a very pretty home!  In the under contract, do not show - may I just refer to it as "U" please? - category there are seven homes listed.  In the pending column are five.  I can assure you the pended homes would like to become "SOLD!" As would their buyers, sellers, attorneys and agents....probably also the loan officers who get tired of hearing from the buyers, sellers...etc.

We still have only three homes sold this year - see the previous paragraph please!

The Year that Was

I got so involved in the statistics that my tea got cold and the sun went down!  Fascinating.

This is only a first part of other blogs (or blog) about the area and what happened in 2011 real estate-wise.  I just need to feed the dog, figure out dinner, and get some other work done.  If I stay with the multiple listing service none of this will happen.

So!  In Skaneateles in 2011 we sold and closed 70 homes.  Of these, 20 were in the village and 15 were waterfront.  This compares with previous years:
              2010     75 closed       13 village        17 waterfront
              2009     81                      n/a             18
              2008     66                      n/a             20
 ("Village" as a category was only begun in 2010)

Then I got into the fun stuff.  Thanks to JT, I decided to look at median prices, because I know that despite the numbers there was at least the sense of a turn-around.

Going the other way....(for dramatic effect...)  Median list price is of homes that closed...
   
                   2008           $415,000 median list price               $400,000   median sale price

                   2009           $335,000 median list price               $335,000   median sale price

                   2010           $250,000 median list price               $230,000   median sale price

                   2011           $299,000 median list price               $290,000   median sale price

So we are moving up, at least as far as the sale prices go which is a very welcome sign!  And if you look at the 2008 figure, that was the year with the most waterfront homes having closed amid the fewest overall closings - a certain influence on the median.

Triskadekaphobic I am Not!

However, after a few hours this morning I was beginning to wonder....

I had made plans with an old friend to meet for lunch at the Hotel Clarence (http://www.hotelclarence.com/) in Seneca Falls, about halfway between her home in East Bloomfield and the Skaneateles RE/MAX office.  The purpose was to re-connect, but also to celebrate her birthday.  Of course the snow changed everything, and we decided to postpone our lunch.

But I grew up in snow, so to me playing in it was welcome.  Bob has a flu thing going for the third day, so I trudged out with Boo for the early morning...well, trudge.  Not cold enough for skis, and I wasn't ready for snowshoes.  This was just exploratory. 

We went up to the fields behind our property and the wind almost took us both away.  Boo loved it, running circles while I slid on the mud and wet leaves under the snow coming down the trail.  We got to an area we call The Arboretum where we've planted a few trees over the years, a cleared out section in the middle of our acreage.  Bob has planted and cleared, I should say.  I am the official admirer.  This is also where Boo waits to get his treat and a lead put on so he doesn't invade the neighbor's yard on the way back home.

While Boo waited, I noticed that one of the cages surrounding a sapling had fallen over.  The sapling (probably less than that) was one of his prized pawpaws.  (If you don't know pawpaws, you are not alone...unless you lived in southeastern Ohio or know the kids' jingle..."Picking up pawpaws, Put them in your pocket, Save them for a rainy day..." you may never have heard of pawpaws.)  So I picked up the cage - very carefully - and the top two-thirds snapped.  I felt so badly!

I 'fessed up when we got to the house.  Bob thought and thought, told me it was okay, then dressed in his snowsuit and with Boo went out to investigate.  He bound the poor little thing up with red wire, covered the cage with an old t-shirt, and came back home.  To find out that I had turned the pellet stove down and it had gone out.  Such an awful start to Friday the 13th!

It got better from there.  Not that the three properties I am waiting to close got a scheduled closing date, or anything.  But we settled in to a quiet day of "Words with Friends" (me) and updating his iPod (Bob).  The next Friday the 13th I won't take as lightly!  Or make plans!

Enjoy the snow!  And if you want more information check out the Pawpaw Festival near one of my alma maters, Ohio University in Athens:  http://www.ohiopawpawfest.com/ or www.fred.net/kathy/pawpaws.html for more general information.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

It feels good to be writing more.  This weekly blog becomes one of the things I do, rather than a "to do" to be remembered.  As I sit here sipping my tea, waiting for the game to start, I can just roll this off the keyboard.  Delightful!  And this way I stay in touch with the all-important statistics.

There are currently 99 single family homes actively listed in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 30 are in the village and 21 are waterfront.

Two new listings came on this past week - one is a re-list in the village with a change of price and a change of agent and brokerage.  The second is another village listing in the low $200,000.

There are only three properties marked contingent now, none of which are new.  Eight are listed under contingent but do not show - the one new one is new construction (hmmm...that could be worded better).  Three are pended (and one of mine will be once I finish this.)

The great news is that we have three homes listed as having sold and closed in the new year!  One has lake rights and closed in the high $200,000 range.  Another is right on the water (this is January, remember!) and almost sold for $500,000.  The third is new construction in the town - mid-$400,000.

Nothing more has appeared from last year, so some time soon I will wrap up the year with the final closings and an analysis.  But now it's time for Syracuse basketball - Go Orange!

De-cluttering 101

Last Thursday evening I attended a workshop, I think you could call it, on de-cluttering held at the Onondaga Free Library on Onondaga Hill.  There was a confusion about time - the paper said one time and the presenter had another - so I missed a little bit at the beginning.  But I found it very interesting, and just when you think you can't learn more there I was scribbling notes to myself.

The presenter and owner of the company, Lisa DeVeau, seemed to hold everyone's attention for the full 90 minutes.  There were probably 35 people in attendance, of which four were men.  Most likely everyone had homes that needed cleaning out, or their parents did.  One person asked about a definition of clutter vs. hoarding.  Good question - like any addiction it seems to be if it interferes with your life, then it is hoarding.  More my definition....I have to admit my mind rambled to a client I have whose parents are definitely hoarders. 

Back to de-cluttering.  There were a lot of questions she asked the group:  "Do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you?"  "Does the stuff give you energy or take it away?"  "Would an item be difficult to replace or get again?"  I own my stuff, I know that, but I also know that it depletes me.

For example.  One of Lisa's methods for clearing out is to walk in a room and starting on the left, make a sweep.  Make piles - DUMP, Give away, Store, NOT SURE, Not at this time....etc.  Start left and work right, never leaving the room until your time is up for that day.  Fine, I thought, I'll start in the sitting room of the in-law apartment and begin my sweep.  Not a big deal, a way to break it all down....  I walked in, turned on the lights, looked left - and there was the buffet I had used as a desk for a few years, stuffed with so much that I had to stop using it.  I turned off the lights and left the room.  Maybe another day.

(She also is doing a workshop entitled "Overcoming Procrastination" on Wednesday, January 18th at 6:00 PM in North Syracuse.  She knows her clientele!)

The company is called "Completely Organized" and their website is http://www.completelyorganized.com/.  They are local - Manlius - and work in three main areas:  Business, Residential, and also Senior Services.  Under the latter they list managing moves, from planning to setting up new homes.  I can see where that might be a godsend for a family.  When my mother moved out of her home after 58 years she worked weekly with a friend to make the move.  They  worked for six months - and the closets were still full.  Now our basement is, but that's another story.

Just as many of my clients get help with packing when they move and are assisted by relocation, I can see how this service would work well for people with houses to de-clutter and a mandatory timeframe in which to do it.