A Thanksgiving Tradition That Lasts All Year

Do you have special Thanksgiving traditions that you save up and perform on that day?  My husband kind of started one a few years ago.  Before partaking in the Thanksgiving feast, we go around the table and each say why we are thankful for one another.  The first time my husband did it, he said he was thankful for my mother!!!  The family was in shock!  My mother and I started to cry!  You see my husband is kind of a prankster and always joking, so no one expected something so sweet to come out of his mouth.   It's amazing how such a small show of love and appreciation can have such an impact.  I don't think any of us will ever forget that day.

If you'd like to do something on Thanksgiving Day to make it even more special, you don't have to wait until that day to prepare.  Begin the tradition any time you think of it and carry it on throughout the year...Read more.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Creative Ideas for Updating Your Kitchen

If you're like me, every once in awhile I get the urge to redo something in my house either by doing something simple like rearranging furniture or painting a new color on my walls, to something more drastic like a remodel.  My kitchen has been on my mind for some time as my cabinets need some attention and the hardware should be replaced.  My kitchen table and chairs are quite old, and while I still love them, it might be time to rethink the entire layout of my kitchen and also my dining room - maybe combine them...or something to make it more efficient while ensuring it remains a comfortable space that fits the style of my home.  This article on creative ways to refresh and modernize the kitchen is a good starting point no matter what style kitchen you have.  Continue reading

Tips for Downsizing to a Smaller Home

There are many reasons why people choose to downsize.  Maintaining a larger home is a lot of work, can be costly, and requires more furniture and "stuff".  Sometimes it's hard to part with those things that we lovingly purchased and collected.  But if you think of it in a positive light, it can be a good thing.


When I moved from my larger home in New York to my "retirement" home (do I look retired?) on the coast of Brunswick County, North Carolina, I had only seen my house once before making an offer to purchase it.  The first time I saw my new home as its new owner, I cried!  I was afraid my king size bed and bedroom furniture that I loved would not fit in the master bedroom.   As it was, I had put a substantial amount of furniture in storage and there was still furniture everywhere.  I went to Lowes Home Improvement store and purchased a book "smaller spaces" and realized that although in New York, I had a wonderful great room that spanned the width of my home - great for company I thought - the reality was that we rarely used the entire room.   So maybe moving to a smaller, cozier space would not be so bad and would actually be a more efficient use of space...  Read more

Every Client Deserves Your Best

As a real estate agent, I am contacted by people from all walks of life and of varying means.  In my life, I treat people as I would like to be treated myself - with kindness and respect.  That is also how I do business.  I work hard for  all my clients, regardless of how much money they are willing to spend or how much commission I am apt to make, because everyone deserves at least that.  The amount of money someone has does not necessarily correlate to the amount of character they possess or the impact they will have on your life.  And I have been rewarded over and over again.

Case in point:  For the past several months, I had been corresponding with a couple interested in moving to Brunswick County, NC.  They were looking for a  retirement home and wanted to stay under $200,000.  This sounded promising and I was eager to help.  The couple finally came to town and had a long list of homes they wanted to see so I set aside three days for them.

After the first day of showings, I had a better idea of what they were looking for and went back to my office to eliminate some of the homes on their list that did not meet their needs.  In the middle of this task, I missed a phone call from a man who left a message.  His name was Jim and he and his wife were very interested in one of my listings, a singlewide mobile home that had been listed for $72,000.  I knew the home was already under contract and I was so involved with the other people that I actually forgot to call him right back.  Later that day, as I was driving home, Jim called again.  I apologized for not calling him back and he was very gracious about it and I immediately got a nice feeling about these people.  We talked for awhile and I found out that Jim and his wife were looking for an inexpensive vacation home that they could come to several times a year.  I told him I would look on MLS and if I found anything that might be of interest, I would call them.

Long story short, the first people who were willing to spend more money, had not really been totally honest with me.  They had not yet decided whether they wanted to retire to Brunswick County, NC or to South Carolina and so looking at houses for three days would not have been productive or helped them make that decision.  On the other hand, Jim and his wife knew what they were looking for, how much they wanted to spend, where they wanted their vacation home to be and had the means to make the purchase.  But the best part is that, as seniors who had not purchased or sold a home in a very long time, they felt lucky to have found me and relied on me to explain things and guide them through the transaction and to really look out for their interests.  In turn, I knew I too was lucky to have met Jim and his wife, as they are honest, down to earth people who deserve the very best from me and from life.