Lise Howe, Assoc. Broker and Attorney Licensed in DC, MD, VA,Coldwell Banker

Cheinclude a visit to the National Press Club broadcast center and admission to the club's prestigious book fair. Up to 20 people may sign up for this event.

• Wine Tasting for 10 in Your Home
  Grape Expectations! Your friends will be angling for an invite to this special event after you cast your winning bid for a complete wine tasting experience in your home. Get the low down on what makes a great vintage. Wine expert and all wines provided on the day of your choice. Salut!
• Tea with Seth Goldman -- CEO of Honest Tea
  A gift basket of Honest Teas and goodies, and tea time with Seth Goldman, Honest Tea CEO.
• Tour of Politico for 15 to 20 B-CC Students
  An hour-long tour of one of the country's most popular and fast growing online political news publications. 15 to 20 B-CC HS students interested in politics, journalism or both will meet with top POLITICO reporters and editors to hear about their work and ask questions about how the political news is covered and what lies ahead in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
• Lunch for Two with Congressman Chris Van Hollen
  Here's a true Washington "experience." Lunch for two with Representative Chris Van Hollen in the Members' Private Dining Room on Capitol Hill, surrounded by the history and pomp of the US Capitol. It's your chance to discuss matters that are important to you, B-CC High School and/or our Congressional district. (Because of ethics rules, lunch guests must pay for their own lunch, Congressman Van Hollen will pay for his lunch.)
• Lunch with State Senator Brian Frosh
• Napa Valley Tours of Three Fabulous Wineries for Two
• 36-hour MD Driver Education Course from I Drive Smart
• Kaplan Test Prep Course and Admissions counseling
• Gourmet Dinner Party for Six by Personal Chef Tom Hirsch
• Full-Day Voiceover Workshop
• Investment Analysis by Steven Goldberg
• Haircut from Aveda Salon and Spa - Bethesda
• Two Six-Month Subscriptions to the Six O'clock Scramble
• Chipotle Burritos for 10
• Parkway Deli -- $40 Gift Card
• La Ferme Restaurant --$75 Gift Certificate
• One Year of Ice Cream from Ben & Jerry's
• Four Group Horseback Riding Lessons from Reddemeade
• Original Song for You! - Composed by Meg Baker
• Mah Jong Lessons for Eight
• Four Music Lessons - Guitar, Drum, Bass or Keyboards - from New Generation
• Three-Hour Consultation with Residential Architect
• Three Health/Wellness Coaching Sessions from a Professional
• Tickets for Two for a Flying Trapeze Class at the Trapeze School
• Three-Night Stay at a Wintergreen Condo with Recreation Passes
• Weekend at Deep Creek Lake
• Bethany Beach Condo Weekend
• Week's Stay at a Luxury Retreat Cabin in West Virginia
• Two Tickets to the "Little Shop of Horrors" at Ford's Theater
• Round House Theater - Four Tickets to "Look Out Below"
• Redskins/Giants - Four Club-Level Tickets for December 21 PLUS admission to the ESPN 360 Tailgate Party (including food and drink)
• Wizards Tickets
• Capitals Tickets
• The Washington Kastles Tennis Team - Two Seats to Opening Night 2010

The menu sounds absolutely delicious! Appetizers worth getting your appetite worked up for - an Antipasto Platter, Black Pepper Shrimp, Hot Artichoke/Spinach dip, Hoisin Meatballs, BBQ Chicken Quesadilla wedges, and Sausage in Puff Pastry Fried ravioli w/marinara! Dinner is Caesar salad or Greek pasta salad, Cheese tortellini with pesto walnut sauce, Cajun Roast Chicken Breast w/mixed veggies over rice, and Pulled Pork Barbeque Sliders with slaw! Be sure to save room for desert - Bananas Foster Bread Pudding, mini deserts, and browies and cookies. I am hungry just writing about the menu!

B-CC is a fabulous school, deserving of your support, so if you are anywhere near the corner of Battery and Old Georgetown Rd on Friday the 13th at 6;30, you won't need to worry about any bad luck!

If you are looking for a home in this exceptional school district, then you should give Lise Howe and her team a call. Lise has been a realtor in the DC metro area for more than 20 years and has called Bethesda home for many more years than that. Homes in the B-CC school district start in the low 200s for a condo near the school on East - West highway and go up from there. Mid sized homes, such as townhouses in Kenwood Forest, are a great alternative to condos. Kenwood Forest has been a popular community since its development in the late 1970s. Townhouses in Kenwood Forest are two to four bedrooms on two or three levels and range in price from the mid 400s to the high 600s or low 700s, depending on the size and condition. Homes in Kenwood, a beautiful community along River Road and Little Falls, are surrounded by lovely cherry trees which burst into bloom each spring to the delight of residents and visitors alike.

Our Function as Realtors is to Provide Information for Our Clients' Analysis

Analysis Is the Key to Making Good Decisions

I just read a very useful blog by Bill Marriott, CEO of Marriott Hotels et al about analysis as the key to making good decisions. He referenced General George Custer, famous for being annihilated in Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn before the turn of the 19th century. He described Custer as a somewhat impetuous, but brilliant, officer, who became Brigadier General in the United States Army and was an important contributor to the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg by the age of 23.

As Bill Marriott noted Custer was always anxious to charge forward and get the job done. At the Battle of LIttle Big Horn, Custer should have stopped and assessed the situation and waited for the rest of his army to catch up. Instead, he rushed into battle and he and his troops were massacred.

It's so very important to get things done but it's also important to understand the field of play. In business, information is extremely important, and so is analysis. Our clients can find the houses that they want to see on the internet sometimes more quickly than we can since the only thing they are doing is looking for a house in a particular neighborhood. At times we seem reduced to the function of key carrier and door opener.

That is such a mistake. We need to demonstrate our value to our clients from the very beginning. When we first meet a client, it is helpful to bring some statistics and analysis of the DC neighborhoods they are interested in. Put together a comparative market analysis on the neighborhood in Bethesda or Chevy Chase, Maryland. Demonstrate your knowledge to them. Bring them information about schools or commuting patterns. Demonstrate to them how you intend to save them money or beat out the competition if there are multiple offers. Show them how you will help them analyze their purchase. Make them realize how valuable you are. Cement their loyalty to you.

If you have any questions about how to put together a winning offer to purchase, please call Lise Howe at 240-401-5577. She has been a realtor, associate broker, and attorney for over 20 years in the DC metro area.

One of the many wonderful aspects of life in Washington is the ability to rub shoulders with real history. Occasionally, homes of the founding fathers come on the market and visiting them gives an opportunity to imagine life in another time.

For instance, if you have $19.5 million dollars (or a buyer with that kind of loose change), you can bask in a glorious house built in 1787 by James Stoddert, the 1st US Secretary of Navy and a George Washinton confidante. Halycon House once was owned and expanded by Mark Twain's nephew. Located in Georgetown on half an acre overlooking the Potomac River, it has 5 bedrooms, 9 full baths, an outdoor pool, a large artist's studio, and parking for 12 cars.

414 Franklin in Alexandria was built around 1780. Originally used as a tavern where George Washingotn spent his last fourth of July, it is now a beautiful home with four bedrooms and four baths, five fireplaces, and a spectacular garden with gazebo, pool, and wisteria arbor. There is even a carriage house with a two car garage all on almost a half acre of land.

If you are looking for a really old property, then you should definately see the Manor House at The Reserve at Black Rock in Darnestown. Built in 1700, it remains a gracious colonial with over 9,000 sq. ft. - 4 BR, 6.5 BA, 7 fireplaces, and an elevator. Growing like Topsy since 1700, the last renovation took place in 2000. Besides a beautiful home, the sales price of $2.250,000 includes 73 +- acres, two ponds, pastures, woods and backs to Seneca Creek Park - the land is not subdividable.

Whether you are looking for an old home or a new one, call Lise Howe of Coldwell Banker at 240-401-5577 to find that perfect house.

The city of Washington DC lost a famous man last month, when Ben Ali, the 82 year old founder of Ben's Chili Bowl at 1231 U Street, NW died on October 7. Ben's Chili Bowl has been feeding hungry Washingtonians chili, half smokes and fries since 1958. The sweet potato pie and red velvet cake are not to be missed! However, Ben's Chili Bowl is more significant than just as a chili joint. It is a significant part of the history of Washington in the second half of the 20th century.

Ben's Chili Bowl is located in an old building with high-arched ceilings, character, and plenty of history. Built in 1910, it first housed a silent movie house called the Minnehaha Theater. Later, Harry Beckley, one of D.C.'s first Black police detectives, converted it into a pool hall. It became Ben's Chili Bowl in 1958. It was an exciting time on the U Street corridor, which was then known as "Black Broadway." Top performers could be found playing sets in clubs along the corridor, as well as eating and just "hanging out" at Ben's.

It was not uncommon to see such stars as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King Jr., or Bill Cosby at "The Bowl." Since Ben's is right next to the Lincoln Theater, it has always been a great late night spot to catch a snack, and the stars performing there were happy to stop by Ben's too.

In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King the area around the U Street corridor erupted in riots. Although the whole city seemed closed down, Ben's remained open. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was located across the street, obtained special police permission to allow Ben's to stay open after curfew to provide food and shelter for activists, firefighters and public servants desperately trying to restore order. After the riots, the area was in shambles.

Still, Ben's continued to serve an eclectic crowd of regulars throughout the 1970s. A high point had to be the press conference that Bill Cosby held at Ben's in September of 1985, to celebrate his number one rated show, thrusting Ben's into the national limelight. Not bad for a chili joint!

With publicity like this business started to improved but then in 1987, five years of construction began on Metro's Green Line. U Street in front of Ben's became a 60-foot hole in the ground. Even though it was almost impossible to reach the restaurant, Ben's decided to stay open with only two employees serving Metro workers and faithful regulars each day.

Ben's has received a diverse set of well deserved honors. Councilmember Jim Graham named the alley adjacent to Ben's 'Ben Ali Way;' Ben and Virginia were inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame (May 2001); and in 2004, Ben's won the prestigious Gallo of Sonoma 'America's Classics' Restaurant Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Ben's Chili Bowl has been featured on CNN , Oprah, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, PBS, the Food Network, the Today Show, the Travel Channel, and stories in Washingtonian, Gourmet, Southern Living, The Washington Post, and The New York Times and Ben's is now recognized world-wide as a "must go" place to eat when visiting Washington. Sure enough, President Obama made a stop at Ben's to try the hot dogs and chili fries.

U Street is flourishing now as a wonderful neighborhood of upscale condos and lovely Victorian townhouses, and Ben's is a famous and important component of the Washington DC. If you would like more information about DC homes, just give Lise Howe a call at 240-401-5577. She will be glad to help you!

Logan Circle is now one of the best areas in Washington, but it wasn't always the case. Logan Circle is a recently restored community, filled with urbanites, restaurants, and the best Whole Foods in the city with a colorful past. Now it is a gracious neighborhood with upscale condos, beautiful Victorian townhomes and newly constructed apartment buildings.

Did you know that Logan Circle itself wasn't always known as Logan Circle? Until 1930 Logan Circle was named Iowa Circle. Finally, in 1930 Congress passed a Law changing the name of Iowa Circle to Logan Circle in memory of Civil War General and Senator John A. Logan (D-IL). The General had lived (very briefly) at #4 Logan Circle during 1885. A statue was commissioned in his honor in 1891 and was formally dedicated in the center of the Circle by President William McKinley on April 9, 1901. The statute's base was designed by noted architect Richard Morris Hunt, and the sculpture itself was created by artist Franklin Simmons.

If you are looking for a new home in the city, Logan Circle offers a variety of choices. Currently the most expensive home on the market is a condo at 1401 Church Street. Unit 214 is a dramatic loft made by combining two apartments into one to create beautiful entertaining areas! With 12' ceilings, a separate dining room, walls of glass, stained concrete floors, custom Built-ins, and a gas Fireplace. this is a special space for $1,635,000. Unit 214 also has one of the largest Landscaped Terraces in the city with its own DIPPING POOL! Two parking spaces and a separate storage unit come with the condo.

The least expensive condo in the Logan Circle area is a one bedroom unit with approximately 700 square feet in space. 1115 12TH STREET NW #104 is on the market for $259,900. The New Plaza condo building is a classic building from 1937. This spacious unit is between 2 metros and within an easy walk to the convention center, restaurants, and stores.

There are over 40 condos in between these two price points, and if you are looking for a home in Logan Circle or anywhere else in the DC metro area, Lise Howe would love to help you find your dream condo. Just give her a call and start your search now! She specializes in helping buyers, including first time buyers, make the right decision.