Ho Ho Ho!

Well I don't know about you, but I have been Pinterest crazy lately and totally gotten in the Christmas spirit! I don't want to fly by Thanksgiving because I do love the holiday, but I don't know if it's a combo of Pinterest, Hobby Lobby, "Mixmas" on the radio, or what, ha but I am ready to put up the tree!
(calm down babe I know we won't do it until after Thanksgiving!! Just sayin'!)

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite things around our house at Christmas...
Just to get anyone who is Bah-Humbug in the "spirit" ;)

These are our stockings... I've had them for about 3 years now and they are probably my very favorite holiday decoration in our house! I just love them! They are from Ballard's and actually on sale right now if anyone is in need of some new stockings this season!

(Will post a real pic once I get all the Christmas stuff out!)

And I love them even more because they don't discriminate against pets ha ;)

See below...

Frankie before opening his stocking last Christmas, haha, what a sweet angel!

They have dog bone stockings too! So his can match all of ours :)

This got me in the Christmas spirit today too...

Started burning it tonight and smells so yummy!

I have had the same wreath for three years now I think, for our front door. I made it, and I really like! However I am thinking of either adding to it this year, or looking for a new one!

Here are two I found on Etsy that are similar to mine but a little bit cuter :) 

Love them! So Presh! I think I can make mine more foo-foo maybe to look like this second one!

In un-related news...

Look how cute... Our Thanksgiving Tree project I did with the kids that I found from Pinterest was featured on http://www.missthirdgrade.blogspot.com/ :)


Courtney is a 3rd Grade teacher and her blog is so cute! Since Ella is in 3rd grade, it's fun for me to see what she does with her kiddos! Check out her blog, especially if you have kids because she has some cute stuff! :)

In lieu of Christmas spirit, I went with the red polish today

OPI "Color So Hot it Berns"

Tonight we went to dinner for our friend Sandy's Birthday!!

Japanese food and it was amazing.... Sandy wore the birthday crown the entire night, such a trooper ha!

Happy Birthday Sandy! Thanks for having us :)

I decided to try the "sock bun" today... boy it was hard, not gonna lie!

Had to use one of Chris's long block socks because my hair is so long!!! LOL This is such a terrible picture but I didn't get a good one all night and the one Chris took of me needs to be deleted asap. But you can kind of see it in this pic.

It was super cute! Just a lot harder to do than I thought it would be! Maybe I will practice a little more and give a better pic next time hehe!

Lastly, you may remember my nephew from a couple of weeks ago... well he is a model just like his cousin Frankie! Take a look for yourself!

How sweet is that face? Haha! He is so cute! He kinda looks like an old man a little don't ya think?

Frankie won't let me take pictures of him right now, due to his recent haircut where his eyebrows got chopped off :( And he is feeling a little insecure about himself until they grow back out! Poor thing! :(

Anyone else in the Christmas spirit or am I crazy?

Oh and PS. Today I heard that most stores, even the mall, are open at midnight on Black Friday this year instead of the 4am or whatever... because consumers are saying they would rather shop late at night than get up early in the morning. This excites me :) I will 100% be out Thanksgiving night ready to Christmas shop!

Can't wait!!!

Celebrate the Season

On Monday I started a quick program of physical therapy to take all the twists and pains out of my legs and get me ready for cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing.  The office next to the therapist's office was under construction, and Christmas music was wafting over.  Kevin Gretsky, the therapist, and the rest of his clients, including me, were growling.  We had hardly had Halloween, and here it comes again!  Too soon!  Kevin asked the workers to tone it down, and they did, not without some good-natured kidding. 

On Wednesday when I went back it was blessedly silent.  Since it was generally the same group, Kevin told us that someone who lived a ways away had received a flyer from Nordstrom's (http://www.nordstrom.com/) stating that they "would NOT be decking their stores' halls until November 27th."  The flyer then wished everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Hooray!  Vindication!

Despite my in-laws absolute joy over Christmas, so much so that Christmas is almost a year-round event, and despite the fact that they have brought Hobby House Toys to Skaneateles so we can share their joy, I think it should be one season at a time.  The altercation this week made me realize that I should practice what I preach and instead of grumbling at November, enjoy it.

I do love the colors, and have already donned my fall apron (purchased last year at Bittersweet Cottage) and made a pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins, as well as an apple and apple/cranberry pie.  We have pumpkin candles everywhere, and an orange light at the road plus strings of orange and purple lights on the porch.  Some day I will break down and make squash soup, just for the color.  Before my brokers' open at 3244 East Lake I went to the Skaneateles Bakery for some black bean and pumpkin soup - wonderful and filling! 

The weather cooperated beautifully, too.  I walked Boo up into the fields in the 60/70 degree temperatures we had.  I wrap a day-glo orange sweatchirt around my waist, and Boo wears his orange vest.  Last night while I waited for my salmon at Doug's I walked out onto the pier.  The moon was up and almost full, the waves crashed in the wind.  The flags across from the Sherwood Inn were blown horizontal, but are so firmly planted they will last in memory of the Veterans. 

After dinner (Bob had vegetarian black bean nachos from Bluewater) we went out for a walk in the moonlight, back up the trails to the fields.  The wind lessened in the woods, but it howled as we got to the hill.  And there the moon showed the hills and valleys, the woods beyond, as if it were daylight.  We walked back thoughtfully, kicking leaves as we went.

So this is the season to celebrate and not rush through.  At the Big M today I couldn't help but notice that their slide show on the cash registers showed the harvest and late fall scenes, in all their rich colors.  Kevin said his son doesn't know what a cornucopia is, and I can imagine that the Thanksgiving songs I grew up singing are almost lost.  Maybe not.  But even when the temperature drops, and the eventual rains and snows come in, it is still a season to celebrate.  Life is too short not to enjoy every minute.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

One of my friends added me to her Facebook friends and I confirmed the "friending," then got into the list of people whom I might know.  After about 15 minutes of requesting and seeing faces I hadn't seen in years, I had to back out.  There was the woman who had lived down the street from me in Syracuse when we were in about 5th grade at Sumner School, the Nottingham grads I hadn't thought of in years, the kids (now with families of their own) of relatives of friends, the clients who moved or decided not to move...Other Realtors, too.  If I missed anyone, I apologize!  The blog called, as did my day, and I had to stop.  I am not one to check Facebook on a regular basis, so please forgive me if I don't respond rapidly.  My e-mail or cell is always the better way to reach me.  But it is a pleasure to see old and new friends!

Currently there are 141 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 40 are in the Village and 31 are considered waterfront.  No new single family homes came on the market this past week, but three were re-listed.  The same number of contingent (6) and "under contract, do not show" (4) homes remain with no changes.  There are only 8 pending properties, and that usually signals closings.

There were two - a waterfront (actually lake rights) home in the village that came down in price but was sold rather rapidly, at least for this market.  A smaller home - priced under $100,000 - also closed, again, fairly quickly.  These two bring us to 57 closed for the year-to-date.

I wondered about the number of listings because it seems as if we have hovered around the 150 mark for quite a while so I went back to check.  This blog began in the spring of 2007 but the updates didn't start until the following year after I attended the RE/MAX convention and heard more about how blogs were being used.  So I went back to November of 2008 - right around President Obama's election, as I saw when I read some of that month's blogs. 

That month (the 5th actually) there were 129 active listings and I hadn't broken them out to village or waterfront at the time.  Nineteen were in the contingent or pending categories (we didn't have "under contract, do not show" then.)  I wrote about closings occurring within 60 days of contracts back then, so the assumption was that these would close before the end of the year.  There were only 45 closed at that time, so I was looking forward to about 64.  In actuality, there were 66.  I also wrote that we seemed to be at our low point, and that we were now coming out of it.  Which we did, to an extent.

What intrigued me was a comment I made about the number of lots on the market, "thanks in part to Butters Farm."  At that time, there were 87 active listings.  Today there are 52 active lots in the Skaneateles area.  Interesting - I think we can make the assumption (always troubling) that there has been a great deal of new construction in the area in the past three years.  But I think we also need to recognize that many people are simply waiting - until the economy does turn around, closings don't take 90 days, homes sell within three months of listing on a regular basis, and the number of active listings comes down.  It will happen.  The pendulum will swing back.  I have no doubts!

Pinterest Monday & a Link Up!

 Happy Monday!

Not so happy for me... my computer went BACK to the doctor again today and is staying overnight ughhh

I am having to use Chris's old computer which doesn't have any of my fun stuff saved on it :(

But, I am trying to remain positive that she will be finally better tomorrow.

If not... I am saying screw it and going to the Apple store to buy a MAC ha ;) Merry Christmas to me. Early. 

I have a few Pinterest things... random at best again! That's what I love about Pinterest by the way!

 

Would you die to have this front porch? Obsessed. It's so southern and I love it!

Love those chairs on the right side of the room~ and everything else, but especially those chairs!

 

This room makes me happy :) 

Brace Yourself...

 Ok... #1 that looks like Frankie when he needs a haircut ha... but more like Lucy Belle, my friend Steph's sweet Yorkie girl. #2 is that the funniest thing you've seen? Precious. I love it!

 

This picture is 100% only here because it reminded me of our crazy cat friend (by crazy I mean good crazy of course ha!) ... Caroline! {I feel like you need this picture girlfriend, if you got like 2 more cats you would be able to DIY at home and I would come help you organize to take their pic hahahaha}

 

Love this Polyvore! I already have that JCrew tortoise shell bracelet, and the black cardigan, and a very similar scarf...so I think I could pull this together :) 

 

I want these major~ I am having such trouble finding cute boot socks! Must try to find some more!! 

Know anywhere that has cute ones??? 

How cute are these TOMS? Love them! 

Now for my inspirational corner LOL :)

 

This needs to be in a frame, on my desk! Love me some Tarjay!

Hahaha I've done this a time or two... So funny!

Follow Me on Pinterest By Clicking Here :) 

OK... Christmas Countdown... Mixmas is officially playing on 94.5FM if you are a local Lex friend .. Your're Welcome~ I know I get so excited once they start the 24/7 mixmas Christmas music :) Makes me happy. 

48 Days Until Christmas~~ Craziness!!

I stumbled upon this awesome, super fun idea over at Raven's Blog...

Here's the deats... 

http://www.amommasdesiresandpacifiers.com/2011/11/how-glitz-stole-christmas-blog-swap.html

How fun is that????

Go over and sign up! I can't wait to be a part of this :) You know I love me some Christmas Festivities!!

XO,

Ahhh!!!

That is how I have felt since last Monday!!In case you noticed I have been MIA lately, and it was NOT by choice!! My laptop got sick! I'm talking real sick... like swine flu sick ha!  I was googling one night about Kim Kardashian and her dang 72 days married and now filing for divorce drama, and all of the sudden my computer crashed! Terrible! I'm talking about crazy virus's like nothing you've ever seen... a British women's voice would randomly come on my laptop talking about Kim & Kris's wedding and then a comedian would talk Tiger Woods jokes... all while no pop ups or screens up or anything, just crazy talking like something out of the Exorcist.  Thank goodness all my stuff was restored and not lost because I had several things I hadn't backed up in a while... but it was 5 days in and out of the computer doctor ha and to be totally honest she is still not working great :( Voices have come on twice while typing this ha but I am hoping it will go away... maybe tomorrow I will try to take it somewhere else to get fixed ??   So anyway, I am back now :) And lots has happened...  You've missed Frankie's Halloween Costumes :( 

First he was a Shark ;)

But then he wouldn't walk one single step in this outfit haha he was totally frozen!

So I felt sorry for him and switched to this...

Which just wasn't fitting because he in an angel not a devil ;)

So we ended up passing out candy just in his Halloween bejewled shirt lol

Which everyone commented on so ended up ok!

I never got to show off my cute pumpkins that I finally spray painted with the glitter spray paint!!

They don't really looks glittery in this picture, but IRL they are! Love that glitter spray paint, surely at Christmas I will come up with something to use it on again ha!

Frankie got a haircut...

This pic looks like he is in jail bless his heart, but really it was just behind the gate.  

An "After" Pic

With no eyebrows :( I think she got scissor happy a little.

I took the girls to get their nails done and Ava got a new fun color that I am now obsessed with... especially for the Holidays it will be pretty!

(I had her hold the bottle like they do on Pinterest ha and she was cracking up!)

Isn't that fun?

It was the OPI "Color so hot is berns" on the bottom and then the NEW Miss Piggy line, OPI "Gettin' Miss Piggy With It" on top :)

Love the name! It's so pretty too!

Speaking of Pinterest... we did a Thanksgiving activity from Pinterest this weekend with their cousins... it was so fun and they turned out awesome!

It was Thanksgiving Trees...

They traced and cut out their hand prints on fall like colors, I drew out the brown tree trunk and limbs...

then on each hand they wrote things they were thankful for, then we glues them on the tree limbs, and then just for fun glued some feathers on the bottom... and Tada! there they were! Cute Thankful Trees :)

Ella & Ava had their first Horse Riding Lesson and it was sooo cute!!

Could not have been a more beautiful day for it either...

Of course we took a million pictures but here are a few cute ones (Cathi I will make you copies;)

Getting ready to go!

A tad shocked at horse poo haha

I love this picture. Ava was watching so closely while Ella went first ;)

Ella road "Chickie" she was a sweet girl.

She did such a good job for her first time!

Ava was on "Fox" and she was such a natural... her posture was perfect! She wasn't even scared a bit!

Such a beautiful day!!

Jake and I enjoyed watching while Chris video taped them :)

Such a fun time!

Then we were off to watch the CATS play!

So tomorrow I have two weeks worth of Pinterest to share and lottttsss of cute things because without having my computer for a week, I am been on Pinterest nonstop on my phone at night out of complete boredom! Not having my computer was so hard... besides not being able to do hardly ANY work and now feeling like I have a million things to do... I didn't get to catch up on any of your alls blogs either!!

So now I am off to do that :)

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update (part two)

The world intervened, and so I decided to post and continue later....which is now!

There are 6 single family properties in Skaneateles marked contingent.  Three of these are new within the past week.  Two are waterfront, one which I would have thought would have gone much earlier but someone is getting a very good deal now, and another right on the water.  Also a village home is considered sold, but with the usual contingencies.

There are still four homes under contract that do not need to be shown any more, and of the 10 pending one is new.  Priced under $100,000, this one went straight to pending.

We now have 55 properties that have sold and closed this year.  One is new - a home that has been on the market for a bit and again, someone got a great bargain.  As of this time last year, there where 59 closed sales and we ended up with 75 for the year.  This means that in the next 8 weeks there will - presumably - be a lot of closings!

And don't forget my open at 3244 East Lake - $295,000!  You can also see 1153 Old Seneca Turnpike this weekend.  Roxanne Plummer from RE/MAX will hold it open, both for sale and for rent:

1153 Old Seneca Turnpike

$218,000 (includes the upcoming new roof)

$1,300 plus utilities for rent

Open 1:00 to 3:00, Sunday, November 6th

I thought I'd take the time to see how the other areas are doing in comparison to 2010.  Camillus is within 2% of their past performance, but Elbridge is off by about 30%, and the same with Marcellus.  This makes us - as in Skaneateles - look quite good.  I checked Syracuse - 631 for 2010, year-to-date, and 540 so far.  Lately everything seems to have picked up, so the year should end with a very loud real estate cheer!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

When I started this blog three years ago I said I would write about my experiences as a Realtor in the lovely lakeside village of Skaneateles.  I think I've veered off the path a bit, talking a lot about the houses and not as much about the people or my thoughts and feelings, always afraid of offending.  But today started out filled with emotion and I want to share that, because emotion has been so much a part of this job.

I received an early morning text - I check, because Alex and I are playing "Words with Friends" and he is about to beat me (for the first time, I might add...)  The text stated - and I could feel the excitement - that clients I have known for years have finally prevailed with their bank and will be cleared to buy something soon.  This has been a huge undertaking, and their persistance to not allow the bank to ride roughshod over them has vindicated them and their credit.  Such joy!

The next text was about the passing of a friend/client's family member...so very sad. 

It's not just a job - it's a lifestyle, of becoming involved with people on a very intimate level.  And caring about their lives, hoping to relieve stress, helping with decision-making but always knowing it's not my decision.  In the past few weeks I have heard dozens of times (a bit of hyperbole) "I couldn't do what you do!"  A doctor who deals with life and death every day tells me she wouldn't have my job for anything.  I wouldn't have hers...but I do deal with life and death, illness and money woes all the time.  And I am blessed with the clients I have and the clients I will have in the future.

Back to the houses....there are currently 139 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, of which 40 are in the Village and 30 are waterfront.  There's a new waterfront that just came on for under a million and my listing at 3244 East Lake Road which will be open Sunday, from 1:00 to 3:00.  I call it a "storybook home" - if you saw The Player, the Altman film from several years ago, there's a scene in which the young couple stands in front of their idyllic home - and it looks just like this one!  

3244 East Lake Road - Open 1:00 to 3:00 Sunday, November 6th