Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, MN - Shar Sitter

I cannot believe I am actually sharing my favorite summer dessert recipe! If you ever are a guest at my home you may be served this dessert.

It takes only a small amount of time to prepare and is very impressive when served! I have had this recipe for over 30 years so I am sad to say I cannot give credit to the original creator of the recipe.

So, what goes better with summer than Ice Cream! There is never a bad time for ice cream, 3:00 AM when you cannot sleep is actually the perfect time.

This favorite summer dessert can be used at any function or event and it makes a large pan so you may have left overs for yourself which is even better.

Better than a trip to the local Ice Cream Shop:

Banana Split Dessert

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I tend to use more for a thicker crust)

2-3 sliced bananas

1/2 gallon Neapolitan Ice Cream

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup chocolate chips (again, I use more)

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp Vanilla

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream

Cover 11x20" pan with crumbs, keeping 1 cup for topping. (I have used a 9x13 and it just makes the dessert thicker). Place sliced bananas over the crumbs. Soften the ice cream and spread over the bananas. Then sprinkle the nuts. Freeze.

Melt the chocolate chips and butter, add powdered sugar and milk. Cool until cold and thick then spread over the frozen hut layer. Whip the cream adding the vanilla and spread over the chocolate. Sprinkle with the remaining graham crack crumbs.

On each individual serving on the plate, be creative with the presentation. Add fresh raspberries and bananas on the side with a sprig of mint for color.

Enjoy!

Okay, I have shared. Anyone else have a favorite summer recipe they would like to share?

This is the most Successful Home Staging in MN that I have done, in terms of quick results. I was called by a Realtor and told they had a listing for this beautiful high end rambler in Plymouth, MN.

Unfortunately the home had been listed for a year! This beautiful home in Plymouth, MN had been standing vacant the entire year and getting horrible comments about how it needed updating. Yes, there were a few things that need to be updated but all in all the bones of this home were fabulous and on a wonderful wooded lot.

This home was a prime candidate for Home Staging. It was so drab, so cold and uninviting that you really wanted to leave as soon as you walked in.

The dated light fixtures screamed in your face as there was nothing else to look at. Light fixtures are an easy change to make and I advised the owner to do so but it was not something they were willing to do. Even with the updates not completed, this is one of those Successful Home Staging Stories.

I showed up with my moving truck and movers that same week with the furniture and accessories I had hand selected from my 4,800 sq. foot warehouse. The formal dining room and formal living room were the first rooms you saw when you walked in and they were blah.

As we were moving the furniture into the home I got a call from the Realtor telling me there was going to be a showing that afternoon. What?? I wouldn't be done by then.

I was assured it was okay, the potential buyer and his agent were told I was there with my crew staging the property and that it would probably be a mess. I did not want the buyer to see a mess so I worked extra hard and fast to get as much staged as possible.

When the agent and potential buyer walked in I was hanging the last picture in the hearth area. I had made sure most of the packing boxes and bins were already back in the truck. I packed up the remaining bins and headed out while the potential buyer was still downstairs.

I got a call from the Realtor the next day. They had received a CASH OFFER from that buyer!! It closed in two weeks! Now is that a Successful Home Staging Story for this Plymouth, MN listing or what?

Home Staging does not mean deceiving the buyer. There are times during a home staging consultation that I have been asked how to hide something. Don't hide it, fix it!!

Home Staging can get a bad rap as many buyers, as well as Realtors, think things have been covered up, painted over, or a chair conveniently placed in front of an eye sore. Home Staging does NOT mean deceiving the buyer.

A prime example of covering up is placing an area rug over a stain on the carpet or hard wood floor. Have I ever placed a rug over these stains? Yes, but only when it made sense to do so.

For example, in a quaint 1930's vacant home I staged had the original hardwood floors. Charming. Naturally I wanted to warm up the living room by placing an area rug in the conversation area between the sofa and chairs. I immediately pointed out to the seller and the Realtor that I was going to do so but to disclose the stain that was in the middle of the floor. Remember, Home Staging does not mean deceiving the buyer.

Another example is small rugs in front of the sinks in the bathrooms and kitchen. They are not needed in a tiny area and buyers are not buying the rugs. Pick them up and show off the tile or linoleum. If there is a discoloration or chipped grout, fix it whenever possible.

Sure, placing a rug in a location that most home owners will have a rug anyway is acceptable, showing that the stain will probably never be noticed to their guests. However, disclose it and be truthful.

Hanging a picture over a hole in the wall, never. Fix it.

If there is bad caulking in the kitchen or bath, don't cover it up with towels or decorative canisters. Make the necessary repairs to show that the house has been well cared for and no detail overlooked in making it the best property to buy.

I have seen TV shows about Home Staging that actually give ideas on how to deceive the buyer. Are you kidding? This is so totally wrong in so many ways and gives Home Staging such a bad reputation. Home Staging is about enhancing the property, not deceiving the buyer!

Let's help the Gulf Coast by getting the word out, almost all the beaches are open and beautiful! There are only three beaches in Louisiana closed due to the oil spill, all others have clear turquoise water and white sand beaches.

This is a disaster for our country and our environment, the best thing we can do to help this area is to support them with our dollars. After Sept 11th, New York City needed tourists to help them after the devastation it went through, the Gulf Coast needs it now.

For the people and businesses of the Gulf Coast Region this is their high season. It is not like other areas of Florida whose high season is during the winter months. In the Panhandle Region of Florida and the Gulf Coast their high season is March through August and they are suffering.

Many businesses are Mom and Pop owned hotels, restaurants, shops, jet ski rentals and coffee houses. What they make during these few months pays their bills and mortgages for the entire year.

I understand why people are nervous, they have one week a year to take a vacation and they want it to be perfect. But it is! The oil has not come close to the coasts of Florida, they are as beautiful as ever and I will say from personal experience, they are the Most Beautiful Beaches in the World!

If you have not yet planned your summer vacation and have never been to the Gulf Coast Region, now is the time to go. Consider a long weekend to the area. If you haved planned a vacation to the region don't cancel.

And most definitely, GET THE WORD OUT. SUPPORT THE GULF COAST REGION THIS SUMMER!

This is to pay tribute to Ben Kopp, Army Ranger, killed in Afghanistan this past year. His unit took fire and with six of his men hit, he returned fire protecting those six soldiers until medivac arrived to get them out.

Ben himself was injured but continued to engage the enemy. He bled out before they could return for him, going into a coma where he remained for days. He was flown back to Washington where life support was removed, his family at his side.

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors and his funeral was attended by the highest of political leaders with a proclamation read by the President of the United States.

You are the true "American Idol" Ben. May you rest in peace with your Lord and Savior. May your family be blessed and comforted knowing what a hero you are.

To all our military and their familes, I thank you.