Best Baby Shower Gift

Helloooo Friends!

I realize I missed Pinteresting Monday :( I'm sad about it. But I was slammed this week.

I did however want to do a post about the amazing (if I do say so myself, ha) little present that I got baby Lila for Emily's shower last weekend!

Let's begin with my inspiration... forever faithful and trusty PINTEREST :)

(Follow me on Pinterest HERE)

I saw this beautiful nursery on Pinterest and pinned it immediately because I loved the crystal chandelier and the BEAUTIFUL wooden monogrammed letters on the wall! So pretttty!

The nursery is actually from "God Bless our Nest" and it is adorable! Ashley does a how-to on making the chandelier also... Click Here, so precious! Her little girl is adorable! In fact, go check out her super cute newborn pics from her last post!

Ok back to the letters.... they were ordered on Etsy from KyGraceDesigns and let me tell you what, she did such a fabulous job and has such cute stuff!!

Here are some examples of her letters...

And what I love the most is that you can choose to have them painted in any of these colors...

The letters that I ordered for Baby Lila arrived perfect! I had them painted white since her nursery walls are staying tan and her furniture is so beautiful, classic kind of chic, distressed cream/white.

Now don't judge, and Emily will more than likely be sad I am putting this up without the room being decorated.... BUT I will post pretty pics once she has it all together!! Promise Em! haha..... but this is a pre-lim pic of the letters above her crib :)

I think they will be so pretty hanging up there once everything is done!

Em, I hope Lila loves them :) We will do a Lila's nursery post once it is complete! lol She is going to be pretty fabulous we all know that! ;)

Thank you Ashley at God Bless our Nest for posting your nursery on Pinterest & giving me the idea!

And a big thank you to Brooke at KyGraceDesigns for making them so pretty and perfect!

(I have a feeling there will be more ordering from me down the road, lol!)

Ok friends, if you know someone having a sweet little bundle of joy, or maybe you're expecting one yourself (like every single person I know right now, seriously, what is in the water??) go on over and order you some of these mongrammed nursery letters! I feel like they are just the perfect touch to complete a nursery! And I know you will be just as pleased with how they turned out as I was!

Happy Hump Day!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

Not a whole lot to tell here.  I have several blogs I will write to update both real estate and my personal life in the next few days, but for now I want to get right to it so I have time to set up my open house signs at 158 Shire Way in Camillus for Sunday (1:00 to 3:00) then go and show another house in Skaneateles.

Currently, there are only 86 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 25 are in the Village and 21 are waterfront.  Four are new listings - but three of the four are re-lists.  The new one is a farm priced around $200,000. 

There are no new contingent (still 6) or under contract (still 7) or pending (still 3) listings this week.  We did have one sale, bringing the total number this year to six, which is really quite good and bodes well.  The newly sold one is in the village, and listed and sold in the mid-$100,000.

Below you will see a link to a photo of a craftsman-style house that caught my eye because it looks very much like my listing (photo) at 208 Dorwin Ave in Syracuse, ML#S260830 ($96,000).  The point of the article was to show which styles are on the rise and which are not.  Craftsman homes are on the rise, and while Dorwin might have been built before the style became popular, it is just as cozy which is the appeal, according to the article.  You can read it yourself at:  http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/whats-hot-and-not-in-home-styles-this-year.html.

Monday Morning Thoughts

The day after the Super Bowl.  Still basking in the warm glow of a family gathering plus the Giants' win.  Such a good thing that is for New York and the underdogs!  They came such a long way.  When a fellow Realtor and old friend in Colorado needed reminding about staying with his Central New York roots, he went back to a very long time ago when Floyd Little signed his placemat at a sports banquet for Sherman Park football.  We grew up within walking distance of the SU campus - and it is still in our hearts. (He still has that placemat!)

The weather is gorgeous here for a February day.  Brilliant sunshine.  Boo and I will take several walks today, I can guess.

Too much food last night!  Shrimp, dips, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies....  Oh my!  But I will start to save room for a Krebs' meal, coming late August according to Adam Weitsman, the new owner.  If you would like to read more about this, go to http://www.syracuse.com/ and Friday's article.  This will be a wonderful addition to Skaneateles.

Soon the market will pick up, now that the jobs picture is looking better and better.  I think confidence is growing, and people will be able to see further than six months down the road.  Certainly, if possible, buying is better than renting.  I paid my mortgage this morning - Monday is domestic day, with bills a top priority - and I enjoy seeing the numbers shrink. 

But to keep them shrinking, I must keep making money.  So if you are looking for a lovely ranch in Camillus - call me, please!  Or there's a sweet smaller home with hardwoods not too far out with a very deep back yard at 1650 Coon Hill Road....then the lots, all those lots!  From Calemad to waterfront in Niles, to many, many acres in Sennett and Skaneateles.  I am sure the builders out there are ready for you and spring to come!  Buy now - be in by the fall!

Superbowl, Baby Shower, Cakes, Oh My! :)

(Warning... LOTS of pictures in this post, you've been warned lol!)

Call me crazy...

But there were basically two reasons why I cared about watching the Super Bowl tonight...

Reason #1 - Miranda and Blake Singing "America the Beautiful"

I LOVE them! Loved her pink microphone, she looked so pretty, and he so handsome!

If you missed it watch it here...
(Just to note, Kelly Clarkson was pretty amazing too, she killed it, love her!)

Reason #2 - Tom Brady

 

No explanation needed, just look at the pic haha. He is so cute, right up there with David Beckham in my book (and of course my handsome BF ha!)

Meanwhile, Frankie sure did enjoy the Puppy Bowl ...

hahahaha he sat right up and watched them and growled and barked, it was hysterical!
next year he needs to be in the Puppy Bowl, wonder how you go about signing up for that? lol

My favorite thing of the week...
With Valentine's Day right around the corner... if you are in need of an idea to tell your honey... no need to ask, I am here to help! ;)

I am in love with comfy pajama pants, and sadly enough, when I find a pair I really like, it is very likely I will buy every single color so that I can rotate!
(Don't judge, they can be hard to find!)

Feast your eyes on my new loves...

Lace-Waist Lounge Pant PINK! by Victoria's Secret

Click here to purchase online

$34.50 ... come in pink, grey, blue and black... literally the softest most comfortable lounge pant I have ever purchased and I am obsessed with them! The lace is so cute and comfy too, not itchy.

You will love them!

Beautiful Baby Shower ...

Yesterday was one of my BFF's since high school, Emily's, baby shower we have been planning for (see this post) for months and I must say, it turned out so fabulous!

Emily looked gorgeous, the decor was beautiful, the food AMAZING, the most presents one has ever seen at a shower were opened (we had to have a half time break I am not joking) and oh, don't think I forgot.. the cake was BEAUTIFUL and delicious and I had my first experience ordering cake pops and oh my they were so cute!! Here are some pics so far from the day...

(Thanks Katie, I stole some of yours!)

It was a "Sip and See" theme... very delicate and beautiful with tea cups and flowers and such :)

Beautiful tea cups, flowers, pink lemonade, paper pom poms, silver tea sets = classic decor

The food was amazing... catered locally by Season's Catering, they were so great!

1. Pimento Cheese Mini's

2. Vegetable Lettuce something that little nuts and a sauce in it ??

3. Chicken and Cilantro Poppers

4. Asparagus and Cheese wraps

5. Mini Twice Baked Potatos (O.M.G I could not stop eating these!)

6. Mini Crab Cakes... literally melted in your mouth! Were my favorite!

Another outstanding job by my favorite cake place, Confused Confections Bakehouse

Cake Pops with pink glitter and then pink drizzle on white chocolate... and pink rice krispy treats with the babie's initials on them! Then check out this beautiful cake...

How pretty is that? Loved it! Those ladies are to talented... and it tasted just as good as it looked!!

Sweet Mama with some of her million presents, lol

 

Katie made this cute tea pot pottery pieces to give away as favors to our guests... they were so cute!! 

Played a fun game of guess what was in the bag related to babies!! Such a good idea!

Katie also made the letters for Lila's room and this painting above that all the guests stamped their thumb print on ... I love this... once she is born she is going to go back and put her weight, height, date of birth, etc to have all her info on there! Such a wonderful idea!

Emily and her mom, Julie (my fave!) :)

Emily & her mother in law, Christine : )

Anne & her mama!

Me as the offical cake cutter ha!

Daddy Bobby getting prepared with the new car seat haha!

Some randoms of guests...

I think we deamed this the prettiest bow on all the gifts maybe? Em it's a great picture of you!

And the new Mama and Daddy to be :)

(In case anyone is wondering, Emily's super cute dress is from Target! I know people will ask! How cute is it? Love the belt too!)

Shew! What a party! So fun to celebrate baby Lila!! :)
Love you Emily!! XOXO

I am doing a seperate post tomorrow on Emily's gift from me... as it goes with my Pinterest Monday blog posts ... and I want to give a major shout out to the Etsy store!! :) So check back tomorrow!!

PS. I guess my team lost? Poor Tom :(  

Thursdays News!

Hello Thursday (and February for that matter!)

Thanks goodness it's almost Friday... this week has been nuts for me... worked like crazy... had 3 closings (woohoo!) and possibly a 4th one tomorrow, still waiting to hear!

First an foremost... it's Groundhog Day... I had no idea that today was the day... even though to be totally honest I don't believe in that crap anyway and here is a pic to prove it ha ;)

Kind of hard to believe 6 more weeks of winter when it is like 58 degrees today in sunny KY and feeling good! :) Love it!!

Shout out to some of my wonderful clients who closed this week ....

Congratulations Darius and Larissa (and their 3 sweet babies!) on the purchase of your new home!!

AND...

Congrats to Ian & Marina on the purchase of their first home!! :) YAY!

(both pics stole from Fbook, hope you don't mind lol!)

Next...

I am so excited to let you know about something I have ordered that I have been trying to find for MONTHS and thanks to Miss Katie, over at KC&CO ... I found one!!
If you haven't already you must go and enter her give away! 

 Because I am not a big twitter-er and I felt the chances of my winning were slim to none (sorry normally I am not a glass half empty kinda gal ha) AND because my patience got the best of me, I have gone ahead and ordered a

Camera Strap by Snappy Strap Designs!

How cute is that?

I am so excited about this! Best $30 ever. I use my camera 24/7 and this will be so much cuter than the regular normal ole' strap. Plus it has a little pocket for your lens cap!

They have lots of colors and patterns. All adorable! Could be a cute Valentine's Day gift idea!! :)

Speaking of Valentine's Day I found the BEST shirt to wear for Chris that day hahahaha but I can't reveal it now because I am saving it for a suprise :) Shhh....

Ok next important news I heard today...

Remember this pretty lady?

Yes that is Emily Maynard from Brad's Bachelor Season.. and today I heard the news that she is starting filming as the next Bachelorette!!!

(If you think this is a joke like I originally did, read People's article HERE)

Now I have mixed feelings about this... I absolutely LOVED her when she was on the show... I thought her story was so sweet, she was adorable and so pretty, Brad loved her... it was perfect. Then as soon as I saw the After the Rose show (anybody remember this?) I thought wow, she is bi-polar and evil, and I felt bad for Brad kind of!! Well I guess they couldn't work things out, and now she will try her luck with 25 guys... I won't pretend and lie to you and say I won't watch, because we all know I will ha!

Today is my friend, Kim's, birthday!!

Woohooo!

Happy Birthday Kimmie!

We have been friends for... hmm... 19 years... ? DaNg! Is that right Kim? hahaha Sounds so old!!

In honor of your bday I thought I would post a couple old school pics for you... :)

Andddd.... just in case you forgot about the card Frankie got you last year for your bday, or you've somehow accidentally misplaced it, I just so happened to have a pic of it... lucky you!! :)

(Front)

(Inside)
(Ahhhhh, I have no clue why this pic won't rotate! It is driving me crazy I've been trying to do it for 15 min. SORRY! Can you turn your head this one time? haha)

Frankie's best birthday card he's given to date! Love it!
Hope your Birthday is fabulous just like you are Kim!! XOXO

Ok off to the gym and run errrands...
PS. Grey's is new tonight, you're welcome :)
XO,

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

As the rain comes down and before I leave for a closing, I just want to delve right into the update.  There are currently 83 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Eighty-three!  I went back and checked other years to see if this is as remarkable as it sounded.  At the end of January there were well over 100 active listings each of the last three years.  This means a drop in the range of 20%.  We are almost at that point of coming into town and having very few choices - so you might as well buy them now before they are sold to someone else.

Of these 83 listings, 26 are in the Village and 21 are waterfront.  The median list price is $374,000.  Two new listings came on in the past week, one a re-list with a slight reduction, and the other a new listing in the Jordan-Elbridge school district, priced under $100,000.

There are 15 homes marked contingent or under contract.  Three are new, and all are within the confines of the Village.  There are no new pending properties, and the total number of pending homes is only three.

We now have 5 sold and closed homes.  The last one was my listing on East Lake Road - such a very pretty home!  The people saw it at the first and only open house and fairly soon thereafter put in an offer.  The key was pricing and condition - and this lovely home had both!

I thought that 5 closed sales sounded quite good, so I went back and looked.  Sure enough, between 2009 and 2011 in January there was a total of 5 homes spread out over the three years.  Between the fewer listings and the increased sales, I think we are going to have a great year!

Promotional Items

So, the key to success in most sales careers has to do with keeping your name or brand in front of everyone.  I prefer to think it has more to do with service, but passing the word that service and communication are key returns to the idea of names and faces in front of everyone.  After 10 years in real estate, I can't call everyone so I send out post cards of listings and the occasional promotional item.

I think it all came home to me that this is important when I went to an SU game recently.  I ran into a friend who introduced me as "This is the woman who is on my refrigerator."  Her friend instantly lit up with recognition. 

I have received promotional items myself along the way.  Carol Alger, a loan officer who is now with Homestead Financial (http://www.homesteadfinancial.net/) has been with me from the start, probably one of the very few professionals who has been.  She gives great service, communicates with me quickly and easily via e-mail, and I can reach her when I need her.  The feedback from clients is also positive - if it weren't, I would not recommend her.  But she also gives out promotional items.  When she switched from MetLife I asked her if they would continue to come, because they are fun.

So I still have the old ones.  The MetLife apron is red, so it works over the winter months for both Christmas and Valentine's Day.  I have on the refirgerator a Snoopy embellished list of emotions, with a marker to show how I am feeling each day.  I got stuck on ecstatic when Liam was born last July and can't seem to pull myself off of that.  Which is fine!

This morning I finished sending out calendars, a bit late, but I do want to connect and be on more refrigerators.  Next week I will send out the new Parcell Woods lots post cards.  I think these are the most important, and not necessarily to promote me, but to keep my clients (and friends) informed about new properties.

There is something else that goes along with mailings, whether they are multi-steps like the calendars, or single moments of attaching address labels.  Sitting at the kitchen table today I think about each and every person as I put on the mailing label.  This is an old method / teaching strategy from my days in Spring Hill School in Saratoga (http://waldorfsaratoga.org/).  Teachers were encouraged to bring to mind their students, one at a time, as they fell asleep.  This helped to focus on the individuality of each child and solve or prevent problems.  As I sat at the table today, I thought of that exercise.  It applies to real estate too.