Elena M. D'Agostino

Have you wondered what goes on at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory? If you have never visited, you are in for a treat - whether you paid attention in biology class or not!

This 121-year old institutional gem is considered a sanctuary by the researchers who visit, work and live there. It's home to world class study on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, quantitative biology and bioinformationatics and genomics.

But you don't have to be qualified to do DNA research to visit and enjoy some of the most beautiful, natural acreage on Long Island.

Beginning in mid-March, the Lab offers:

• Saturday morning walking tours of the campus from 10 a.m. - noon
• Evening concerts
• Free public lecture programs

One don't-miss event is Labapalooza! an evening of music, art, cocktails and a tasting dinner, on April 9. Profits from Labapalooza! tickets, sponsorships and the art show will support young scientists whose research focuses on cancer and brain disorders including autism, Alzheimers, Schizophrenia, Parkinson's and depression.

For more information about cultural events and other happenings at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, visit their website at http://www.cshl.edu/campus-events/campus-tours/concerts-a-lectures.html.

To contact them, call the CSHL Department of Public Affairs at 516-367-8455 or email them at pubaff@cshl.edu.

Once you get past the holidays, the long slog through the winter months really begins, and it can be tough to stay motivated to keep the house-for-sale clean. It's even more challenging to maintain curb appeal when nature is working against you. So here are some obvious and not-so-obvious tips for keeping the view from the curb attractive and the walk to the front door safe.

1) Don't neglect the winter yard cleanup. Hopefully you did this before the snow! Banish leaves and dead mums, prune plants appropriately and cover the delicate ones. Clean the gutters, too.

2) Fill porch and deck planters with evergreens.

3) Keep shovels, salt, and winter toys in the garage, not on the porch or front lawn.

4) If you can, make a snow family in the front yard!

5) Take holiday decorations down - it's amazing how they can shift from looking festive to looking forlorn once the holiday is over. Put a nice seasonal piece on the door.

6) Avoid Yellow Snow syndrome! Clean up after pets!

And, of course, the number one must-do for showing homes in winter months:

7) Keep your driveway and sidewalks shoveled and ice-free. Don't skimp on sand and salt to keep walkways safe. Have a mat outside the front door for wiping off shoes and boots, and another inside to give visitors a place to take off their footwear. You can also have a small container of hospital booties that people can put on over their shoes or even on their stocking feet, to protect your floors.

I know, I know - he's everywhere...how does he do it? No matter, Santa is coming to office of Signature Properties, at 99 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, on Saturday, December 18, to visit with kids of all ages. Santa will be "in the house" from 2pm until 4pm.

If you're shopping our wonderful downtown tomorrow afternoon, stop by and drop off an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots program and have your photo taken with Santa! He's bringing a sack full of goodies to give out to all the little ones.

Thanks for your generosity, and Merry Christmas!

Do you experience Tree Envy at this time of year? You know -- that burst of appreciation, awe and a bit of jealousy when you enter a home where the Christmas tree is absolutely stunning.

I had a few jolts of Tree Envy recently during a holiday tour of homes in Huntington, NY, so I asked several of the decorators who dressed the homes for some tips. They were happy to pass along some of their secrets.

For example, one of the things I love about the Potting Shed in Huntington, NY, is their use of big items in trees -- like a ship's wheel and a buoy for a nautical themed tree! They suggest to start with ribbon and two different textures of garland, in the room's theme colors. This was interesting news to me as I figured you would start with the ornaments.

Main Stree Nursery, also in Huntington, NY, created beautiful holiday trees using ribbon as the tree topper. Ribbon can also cascade vertically down from the topper, or wrap around the tree to make it cohesive and also to pump up the volume on a tree that could use a little "oomph."

When I asked Susan Tamberino, owner and designer of Samhal Interiors in Bay Shore, NY, for some tips, she had a million of 'em! Here are some of the ones I thought were really unique:

• Prioritize the placement of decorations on your tree. Showcase more impressive decorations or those that are special to you where you can't miss them, on the outmost boughs. Place less expensive/sentimentally precious ornaments (fillers) near the interior, closer to the trunk.
  
• Have a theme: a color, a creature (angels, dogs, birds), a concept (woodlands, Paris, cooking). Generic ornaments should absolutely adhere to the theme of your tree. Your "specials" need not.
  
• A bit of a metallic component, whether it be spray painted pinecones or some ivy pulled from your yard, gives a frosty holiday feel.
  
• Old fashioned clip-on candles. Welcome your guests to Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" without the ghosts or moral lessons! (Do not light the candles or you may accidentally learn a lesson).

The most important thing is---have fun! It's contagious, and people will notice.

Some people never run out of fresh ways to decorate their homes for the holidays. If you're like most of us, however, you got some fabulous inspiration while touring the five Huntington, NY, area homes on this year's "Deck the Halls" house tour, benefitting the North Shore Holiday House (NSHH). Whether your taste is sumptuous or classically clean, traditional red and gold or peacock green and turquoise, natural or faux, it was all there for your viewing pleasure.

I created this event and have organized it along with fellow members of the NSHH board for the past five years, and it gets bigger and more successful each time. This year, my co-host Carmen Friedlander and I helped raise $40,000 for NSHH's camps and programs for vulnerable young girls. For me, blending real estate and the beautiful homes in our area with an opportunity to raise money for a wonderful cause was an absolute no-brainer.

But it's bigger than that - the local decorators and nurseries that provide the design work and all the materials benefit too: their work is on display for hundreds of browsers, and each year several of the tour homeowners purchase the designs created just for their homes. Everybody wins!

If you are interested in starting a similar type of home tour in your market, give me a call!