Monterey, CA

HOLIDAY HOME-SELLING IDEAS!

So you have decided to sell your home during the holidays! Welcome to the most magnificent (and stressful) time of the year--especially if you are trying to sell your house. What are your options to help make your sale quicker? You always have options and there are many which can help you sell your home faster. If it is vacant, this will be a little more difficult, but necessary to be sure.

1) Keep the holiday decorations to a minimum. If you love holiday decorations, try to pack most of them away to enjoy next year at your new home. Buyers don't need to be distracted in your house and some may be offended if they have different religious beliefs.

2) Keep a colorful doormat outside and inside the house to add color and reduce dirt tracked through your house. Make sure it is a friendly and inviting one.

3) Pre-pack all the unnecessary items. People have a hard time seeing the house through all of the "stuff" in the house. Your "stuff" is not staying anyway, so start packing!

4) Keep fresh-cut flowers in the kitchen to add some color and fresh smells.

5) Don't keep presents out in the open during showings. That can be too tempting for some buyers or their children.

6) Don't burn a fire in your fireplace, if it will not be attended the entire time. While fires smell great, they are dangerous, especially while unattended. The same goes for burning candles. Use fresh flowers or air fresheners...not too strong of a scent though. I recommend keeping the fireplace as clean as possible. Might depend on where you live.

7) Keep all blinds open and lights on. This is not the time to be cheap with the utility bills. A light, bright house sells. But make sure you close them when the showing is over.

8) Fresh paint is the best investment you can make in your home. Remember, keep it neutral and remove ALL wallpaper. Wallpaper is one of the biggest decorating faux pas you can make since most all buyers will want to remove it and they know how time-consuming and boring it is.

9) Play soft music during showings. Tune your radio/IPOD to an easy-listening station or easy-listening songs and keep the volume low.

10) Keep the driveway and walkway clear and shoveled, if you are in an area with snow. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to get to your front door, which, by the way should always be clean with the hardware polished.

I am sure there are many more helpful and useful ideas for this holdiay season home-selling. I also think selling your home during the holidays can be a good idea. Lots of sellers take their home off the market during this time to be home with family/friends and cook and entertain. There just may be fewer homes on the market to compete with during this time which can be very helpful to your sale.

HAPPY SELLING!

My Museum in Monterey is a wonderful place for kids to discover and learn! I love it and so do my 3 year old twins. We go every chance we get. This year the girls had their 3rd birthday party. The party room was perfect and the kids had so much fun they hardly could stop for cake and ice cream!

Home School Class
Thursday, November 19 9:30-10:15am
We have a great hands-on class planned for you this week, we'll be learning about light refraction with a camera obscura (otherwise known as a pinhole camera)! This ancient camera has been around since the time of Aristotle and is easy to make and fun to enjoy for our age group of 4 to 8 year olds!
Space is limited so please call and reserve your space today! 831.649.6444

Once Upon a Party
Sunday, November 22nd 5:30-7:30pm
The party planning company Once Upon a Party is turning ONE and will be celebrating their party at MY Museum! Join them for cake, raffles and giveaways!
It's Free, but reservations are required! Please call 831.883.8591

$2 Tuesday
Tuesday, December 1st Two Dollar Tuesday
This specially priced day is our way of saying "thanks" to Monterey County Residents for all your support. In an effort to make the museum accessible to our entire community, Two Dollar Tuesdays are offered on the first Tuesday of every month to Monterey County residents. Please bring current identification verifying your residence.

Members Only and a Movie
Sunday, December 6th 10:00am - noon
MY Museum Members Only
A GREAT Member Benefit. A quieter time for your children and you to play and a great time to meet other member parents. This Members Only Sunday we will be playing Frosty the Snowman at MY Theater!

Noon Years Eve Party!
Thursday, December 31st 10:00am-1:00pm
Members Only Noon Years Eve Party
Activities abound for members to play together on this special day! Join us for the countdown to Noon Years! Reservations are required 831.649.6444

Bring the Kids and Cake
Plan your next Birthday Party with us!

-Affordable Pricing
-Safe Environment
-Easy to Plan
-Perfect for kids 10 & under

FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOUR-BERRY PIE RECEIPE!!!

Last night I prepared the infamous four-berry! My family could hardly wait the 35 minutes for it to bake. Once it came out of the oven...someone started eating it even before it cooled and burned their tongue..so becareful. Berries really hold the heat.

It is best served cooled with fresh whipped cream and perhaps a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Try it!

Here is the before photo. In my earlier post, I only had the after photo.

Send me your comments on the pie and photos please!

This looks so good and is in the oven now.....I will keep you posted..

Via Anne Rains -Bethlehem Georgia Real Estate Agent (Real Estate Agent for Keller Williams, Atlanta Partners):

I love trying out new recipes and luckily last night I had the opportunity to as it was my night to bring snacks to my Small Group Bible Study. One of the recipes I attempted was this Mixed-Berry Crumble Tart and afterwards everyone said it was a keeper...so I thought maybe you would like to try this one out too!

Now, I forgot to take a before picture...but here's an after picture...it's nearly gone, so that's got to tell you that it's delicious. It's made from a mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries which I thought was perfect for the summer time. And berries are really good for your body too--full of antioxidants and vitamins, which is great--okay, okay there's definitely some sugar and butter in this so it's not the healthiest but what can I say? I love the sweets!!

Ingredients:

• Pastry for One-Crust Pie (You can use a store-bought pie crust)
• 1 1/2 C. sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 1/2 C. fresh blueberries
• 1 C. fresh raspberries
• 2/3 C. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1 tsp. grated orange peel
• 1/3 C. butter/margarine, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degree F. Press pastry against bottom and side of pan. Trim any overhanging edge of pastry even with top of pan.

In large bowl, gently toss berries with 2/3 C. sugar and the cornstarch. Spoon into pastry-lined pan.

In small bowl, stir flour, 1/2 C. sugar, the orange peel and butter with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over berries.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until fruit bubbles in center. Serve warm.

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Just a few little tips and hints. If you don't want to make your own pastry, it's perfectly fine to use the store-bought crust...nobody will be able to tell the difference. Also, since berries can be pricy, I bought the frozen ones. I found a blend of raspberries, blueberries and black berries and then also bought a package of strawberries. Let the thaw and then they'll be fine to use. If you don't want to use a tart pan, you can also use a regular pie pan as I did.

I am having trouble posting to Localism so I am trying from a different location to see if it my by my main computer.