Kristina Cusick

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a Friday evening at Corks and Canvas on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge with friends. I chose a Mardi Gras themed Fleur-de-lis class. Of course I chose a three hour class for my first painting experience instead of one of the simpler two hour classes! I was really more excited about hanging out with my friends and drinking lots of wine!

The evening started off pretty anxiously for me. You see, I am a perfectionist. 5 minutes into the class I was super stressed! I am not artistic and was terribly overwhelmed. ::sip wine:: ::deep breath:: I relaxed a little and decided that I was giving this way to much thought! The instructors were beyond amazing! They walked us through each step giving us ample time to complete that section before moving forward. I did fall behind a couple of times but had plenty of time at the end to catch up and finish my painting. After each section was shown to us, the instructors turned on some music and walked around helping out with painting and more importantly, moral support!

Fast forward three fantastic, fun three hours.... I had a wonderful time! That glass of wine I poured at the beginning; It still had wine in it. I was so involved in my painting, I forgot to enjoy my wine! I truly have NO artistic abilities and had a blast. I highly recommend taking a night with daughters, friends or co-workers to have some fun at Corks N Canvas in Baton Rouge.

Here is my painting hanging over my mantle... What do you think?

Check out their website: Corks N Canvas

Check them out on FaceBook: Corks N Canvas FaceBook

**UPDATE** The dog has been rescued!

This story aired on the news last night.

I am saddened by what seems to be the lack of support from authorities in our Parish.

Seems that there is a dog stuck in the drainage system in Norwood Lakes. He was there last week while we had those days of below freezing temperatures. The neighbors have been feeding him and have asked for assistance in rescuing him. They were given a pole with a loop at the end... Doesn't make much sense to me. If any of you know anyone that can help, please, please go out and see what you can do. This poor animal needs our help. I understand that he has now become very quiet and is not eating. The clock is ticking for this helpless creature.

To see more of the story from WAFB click here

Monthly Sales were 71 units. Comparison to last month: Decreased 12% from 81 units. Comparison to this month last year: Increased 1% from 70 Units.

Average Sold Price was $221,146. Comparison to last month: Increased 4% from $212,806. Comparison to this month last year: Increased 6% from $207,896.

Current Inventory is 9.07 months. Comparison to last month: Increased from 8.04 months. Comparison to this month last year: Decreased from 9.15 months.

Average Days on Market were 96. Comparison to last month: Held steady at 96 days. Comparison to this month last year: Increased from 91 days.

So what do all these numbers mean?

January has started off 2011 with a lot of hope! Average prices are up and average days on the market are holding steady.

I did a little more research to see exactly what was moving and the $250,000 - $299,999 price range had the biggest increase in growth over last year. That group had a 33% increase in activity!

In January, sellers got 97.14% of their asking price. This tells me that the buyers are still in the driver's seat. With so much to choose from, sellers must price aggressively and have their homes beauty pageant ready. If ever you thought of buying a home or buying investment property, NOW is the time. Interest rates are expected to rise and it looks like sales prices will continue to rise as well.

These stats are for areas 90, 91 & 92 in Ascension Parish. Information used from Greater Baton Rouge MLS. They include only single family dwellings. Mobile home and land sales are not part of these numbers. If you would like information on either of these, feel free to let me know.

My answer to the question every time is, "YES"!

Many years ago, before I was an agent myself, my husband and I purchased a new home. We were very excited about our next move up in the housing market. The home was vacant when we started the negotiations. We closed within 30 days and everything we well. At the closing the previous owners handed over the keys to our new home. They asked if we were going to move in right away. We told them that we were leaving the next morning for two weeks to visit my husband's family up north. That afternoon, we picked up our kids and moved a couple of things in the house just so it would feel like it was really ours.

Returning from our vacation we went straight to our new home. As we walked in the door, I noticed a key on the kitchen counter. I didn't remember leaving that there... As we walked around, I discovered that the curtains in the two front bedrooms were missing. I was not broken hearted about this but it looked like the just pulled the hardware out of the wall! There were big holes in the sheetrock! As I went to adjust the fan, I realized the fan pulls were missing as well!
You guessed it! The owners had come into MY new home while we were away and took the curtains and the fan pulls along with some other minor things. Boy did I feel violated! Someone was in MY home without my permission while I was on vacation!

My next action was to call the locksmith. He came out and changed the locks all around the house. I later found out that two of the neighbors still had keys to my house. Hindsight being what it is...I gave them (the previous owners) permission to enter my home by telling them we were leaving the next day for a vacation. Learned my lesson there!

So yes, I always tell my buyers to schedule a locksmith to come out and change the locks. You never know who may have a key and who may not be afraid to use it!

It's Girl Scout Cookie time! I know this because lots of the little girls I know have been updating on their Mother's Facebook Status letting me know that they were accepting pre-orders for their heavenly little treasures. Tonight we had our first door knocker peddling her yummy goodness. All this talk about cookies made me think about searching for a Girl Scout Cookie page on Facebook. I found it! http://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutCookies Immediately I see a box that says "Go To App"... Well, I had to see what that was all about! You know those apps that let you send hugs and such? You can now send virtual Girl Scout Cookies to your friends Facebook wall! What??? How cool is that...or not. Talk about testing my will-power! If my friends send me Thin Mint and Samoas online all day, I will never be able to resist these little heavenly treats! ps. I have already sent cookies to a few of my friends via Facebook :)

Being curious after I saw that, I immediately picked up my iPhone. Guess what?! There's an app for that! Seriously! There is a Girl Scout Cookie app! It's a free app and you can locate cookies, learn about the cookies and even learn your cookie personality! Apparently, I am popular, strong and confident!

The Girl Scouts are doing a good job with their online presence. Here are some other places to find the Girl Scouts online:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/girlscouts

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/groups/officialgirlscoutcookies/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/girlscoutcookiesale

On their webpage http://girlscoutcookies.org/ you can enter your zip code and they will help you place an order online!

When a Girl Scout approaches you to buy cookies, I ask you to help support her troop. They work really hard at this. If you don't want cookies for yourself, they are also taking orders to send to the troops. Donate $3.50 to send a box of cookies to a military person fighting for our freedom.