Not too long ago I posted THIS on my facebook page. I love this blog! They are always so inspirational and have such amazing DIY ideas. They ended that post with a quote that I loved: “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” so needless to say I was thrilled when I got the call to Do-Ovah a fireplace, I wanted to try! Full disclosure – I have absolutely no experience with this, but my girl S. was on board, we were gonna do this together and, although we are not masons, we were pretty confident we could figure this out. With a little research and several YouTube videos, we were ready to take on this monster…

First, we talked to about a zillion people about the process of tiling over marble and, YES, we got a zillion different responses, at least a million of which could not believe we were actually tiling over marble…but I digress. First we roughed up the marble surface with sand paper.

Once that was roughed up and wiped down, we used this adhesive to stick those little suckers on.

Two little hints we’ll give ya. First, did you notice the painters’ tape around the tiled area? Yeah, don’t do that! It was a complete horror show when we tried to pull the tape off when the adhesive started to dry. Second, measure and lay out the tile before you start…it will save you lots of headaches when you have the adhesive smeared and ready to go.

OK, now onto the smearing (yup…totally a technical term. Herein, all professional jargon!) So we scooped a big goop of gunk on the trowel and smeared it onto the marble and made it wicked flat but not too thick. Then, my favorite part, you pull the teeth side across the gunk and make cool grooves.

We plopped our tiles into the goop and held it there for a few seconds…then it was onto the next section!

We even had time to stop for a coffee break (as long as the mug was color-coordinated, of course) but what a difference already! After all the tile was stuck into place and the adhesive had time to dry, we grouted with an oatmealish color (after YouTubing the grouting process, of course). In short, think “wax on, wax off”.

Now that the tile was done, it was time to work our magic on the rest of the mantel! We kept that part pretty simple. We started with some primer that would adhere well to the glossy surface.

This certainly confirmed the fact that we did not want a white mantel and made us love the chocolate brown color we chose.

And after several coats of this yummy chocolate color, it was DONE! Just in time for S.’s huge Holiday Gala.

Not too shabby for two “experts” fueled with coffee, YouTube, and, of course, a little bit of Nate Berkus on in the background.

Now onto the wall color change, given that S. recently called the color an insult to colors everywhere…and so it continues!

She follows my lead
We walk through life together
Me and my shadow

So you’re thinking about buying your first place. Congratulations! Where should you start?

As a recent first-time homebuyer, I want to share my experience with other first-timers and provide tips I found to be quite helpful throughout the homebuying process.

Tip 1: Be prepared

The first thing that I did was go over my expenses. I knew I felt ready to buy a place but could I realistically afford it? I believe this is the single, most important thing that you need to do before anything else. You can use something similar to this monthly expenses worksheet to help you get started. You want to make sure that you don’t stretch yourself too thin. The economy seems to be getting better now but you need to make sure that your job is secure and you should have at least 2 months worth of savings set aside in case something ever did happen.

The next thing that I researched was my credit score. You can obtain this report once a year for free by visiting myfico.com. It is important to know what your credit score is because banks and mortgage lenders will use this to determine if you are a good candidate for a loan. Scores range from 300 to 850. A good place to be is in the 700’s. Your credit score is one of the factors that helps to determine the interest rate you will qualify for. Take the time to read over your credit report and understand it. Fix whatever is incorrect BEFORE seeing a lender so it doesn’t hurt your chances of receiving a loan. To learn more about your credit score check out this article from fiscalgeek.com.

Once you have a handle on this, the next thing on your list is to get pre-qualified from the bank or mortgage lender of your choice. A good place to start is with the bank where you have your accounts already. Know that there is a difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved. When you are pre-qualified, it means that you are in the very initial stages of getting a mortgage. Your overall finances are looked at, including current salary and amount of debt, and you will find out the amount for which you qualify.

Pre-approval is the next step. You have to fill out the mortgage application and, in some cases, pay a fee. A more in-depth look is done into your finances. This is why it is important to know your credit score beforehand so you know where you stand. Most real estate agents require that you are pre-approved before they will take you out to look at any properties. Why? A couple of reasons. One is that you want to be sure that you are looking at the right price range. You don’t want to see a house you love and find out that you can’t afford it. You also want to have a pre-approval in hand so that you are ready to submit an offer on that house you love rather than having to wait. Another reason to be pre-approved is because of all the recent foreclosures. It’s very tedious to go through the loan process (believe me and even more so if you need a co-signer) lenders are very particular about everything.

From my experience, here are a few tips for what to bring when you go to get a loan:

1. Recent pay stub(s). If you have worked in more than one job over the past 2 years have pay stubs from all.
2. Copies of 2 most recent bank statement(s) and retirement fund statement(s).
3. Know your work history for the past 2 years. Lenders want to know you are a steady employee. If you have bounced from job to job, been laid off, or worked in different industries, they will need to know. They want to make sure you are not a risk.
4. Copies of tax returns for the past 2 years. They will need all the papers so just bring everything you have.
5. Dig out your checkbook (considering many people pay bills online). There may be a fee for processing the application.
6. Bring reinforcements, if you can. I had my dad come along with me the first time I met up with the mortgage lender. No matter the amount of research that I did, there were still things that I didn’t know/understand. It was helpful to have someone there who has been through the process before and could help out. Shout out to Dad!
7. List of questions/notebook. This is a long, drawn out process. If you have questions or concerns along the way, make sure you ask them and keep notes. Understand everything you are getting into is very important. Remember, this is a huge investment; don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Once you have your finances in check, know your credit score and are pre-approved, what’s next? Find a good real estate agent! How? My suggestion is to talk to people who might have recently moved or are in the process of looking. Word of mouth is usually the best way to go. I happen to know someone who was a realtor so when I decided I wanted to start looking; I contacted Jake who then put me in contact with Beth. And with that said, I suggest contacting Beth Lucht! She is the best realtor hands down. I absolutely loved working with her. She is very organized, up-to-date, professional and an overall pleasure to be around. I feel very lucky to have worked with her. Tell her I sent you.

This is how I began everything. Scared? So was I. But you really don’t know what you are getting into until you experience it first hand. The fun is only beginning!

Let’s face it, this whole blogging phenomenon is here to stay, and I couldn’t be happier. I love reading blogs. I’ve never been one to gravitate towards corporate or popular media type stuff, so for me, blogs have been an excellent way to get a “real” people perspective on things that interest me. They have also proven to be invaluable when it comes to learning new things.

I also love working on blogs. Designing, developing, coding, writing, you name it. It’s a constant learning experience that lets me be simultaneously creative AND dorky…what’s not to love? The core challenge in building a really high quality blog is that you not only have to build a really high quality blog, you also need to build your audience and make sure folks have lots of different ways to access all your good stuff. Like most blogging platforms (or maybe all of them? should be all of them!) the default WordPress install loads several different feed options for syndicating content. Probably the most widely used is RSS. Interestingly enough, I feel like RSS is also widely underused.

Like many, I started out by running our feed through FeedBurner, putting a feed icon and a sign-up box in the sidebar, and calling it a day. That definitely gets the job done in terms of syndicating and managing the feed, but let’s be honest…as you can see, by default this option is U.G.L.Y for sending out email updates. It doesn’t give proper attribution to the authors, there aren’t a whole lot of configuration or segmenting options, and it certainly doesn’t convey the look and feel of your blog.

I realized early on that what I really wanted was more of a newsletter, a SUPERnewsletter! My criteria was simple, I just wanted something that would:

• auto-populate via single or multiple RSS feeds when new posts were added,
• auto-email on a daily, weekly or monthly basis,
• allow me to segment my feeds and mailing lists,
• give authors their proper shout-outs and branding,
• incorporate the overall look and feel of the blog,
• add some social networking and other blog bling.

Enter Mailchimp.

Their RSS to Email campaign does all of this and so much more. Call me crazy, but this is a slightly better looking email than the one above, non? I’ve been running our email updates this way for years with basic settings but when we recently relaunched as myuntangledlife.com, I decided to take another look at the options, and this product just keeps getting better.

The introduction of Post Thumbnails in WordPress 2.9 has opened up a new way to have fun with your MailChimp campaigns. On our site, we’re using that featured image as the sort of “logo” for our blog sections or authors, and I wanted that branding to carry over everywhere. Mailchimp gives you an option to use the merge tag RSSITEM:IMAGE, but I really wanted the images to show in the feed itself, as well. A great little piece of code from Digging into WordPress adds this function and just like that, you’ve given your feed some syndication bling!

I didn’t want to send out full posts in our emails, but I’m a control freak and auto-truncating post summaries mid-word with an [...], and such, makes me twitch and doesn’t make for very compelling copy! I also knew we’d have posts that don’t always contain a lot of text, (like, I don’t know, perhaps an occasional photo/haiku). So another little tweak for a better Mailchimp campaign involves the use of the WordPress excerpt. Manually populating the excerpt for each post allows us to pull a custom and complete summary for our homepage. Use it in combination with the Mailchimp *|RSSITEM:CONTENT|* merge tag and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a really nice looking blog newsletter!

Now that we’ve got our styling down, I’ll be digging into Mailchimp segmentation and other functions. As our blog grows, I can see us wanting to give foodies the chance to sign up for foodie-only news, or maybe there are some folks who don’t want to read this type of pseudo-geeky stuff! No problem! I can build on this existing infrastructure by creating category or author based feeds, combined with groups and smart merge tags and now you’re talking! Throw in some dynamically-generated, location-based events, or a mashup of recent posts from related feeds, or the latest from your facebook wall or twitter feed and WOWEE you’ve got a lot more than just an email with a blog post going out to the world.

A few little tweaks under the hood and a little planning can really give your email marketing campaign a kick in 2012; but you don’t have to be a blogger to benefit from the RSS to Email function in Mailchimp. Since almost everything is or could be syndicated, you could use this type of function to alert folks to new products via an RSS feed from your shopping cart software. Or maybe you’re a photographer; in that case, why not set up a monthly portfolio newsletter that feeds from your Flickr or Picasa account. You could even pull your Google+ posts in this way if you’re using that as your new blogging platform. The possibilities are endless – start monkeying around already!!

Dolls, trains, trucks, oh my
Santa works me overtime
Bring the kiddies cheer

I’m a sucker for countdowns anytime of year, but especially THIS time of year!  Now this isn’t the Best of MK Design 2011 (um…blog idea….yes please!) but, here are the TOP FIVE decorations that I love in my own home this year.

5. Mirror, Mirror, on the Table

For my dining room tablescape, I love the look of mirrors under flowers or candles.  I purchased these for about $5 a few years back and have certainly gotten a ton of use out of them.  I may change the colors and the scene, but I always love the dimension it adds!

4. What’s Old is New Again

While shopping a thrift store after being completely inspired from Mr. Goodwill Hunting (Thanks Nate Berkus) I came across this beautiful oval vanity mirror dressing table tray.  My mom has one of these, and of course, rush in childhood memories of a little girl sampling all her scents and searching through trinket boxes of treasure….I digress!  Let’s just say for $2.95 I had to have it.  And just when you think you can’t dress up a candelabra, throw it on this vintage tray with some glass ornaments, some fresh sprigs of holly, and it’s even fancier! (Full Disclosure: I have 2 young boys. They are 4 & 7 and, as amazing as they are, they are two young boys.  I know I probably should have lit the candles for the photo…but I’m real…and in real life that would NEVER happen. Open flame behind a couch spells disaster in the making, just sayin’.  Back to the countdown! )

3. Brimfield Find

Vintage boxes were all over Brimfield last fall, and when I saw this one, I knew EXACTLY were I was putting it.  The only problem was, September was SO FAR away from December (OK, it’s really not, but try buying a fabulous new pair of shoes and not wearing them for two months…ya with me!?)  Anyhoo, Brimfield was a highlight of my year, so clearly it just HAD to be included!

2. Let It Snow

I am all about the indoor blizzard!  Seriously, that fake snow stuff isn’t just for a big mall store trees.  Pick up a bag and I’m guessing you’ll have a hard time putting it down.  It adds such a beautiful layer to your Christmas Tree and, quite frankly, it’s super fun to apply.  I like to call it “Hucking Handfulls”!  Even the biggest Grinch’s heart will grow three sizes while throwing handfuls of snow onto their tree.  Oh, and don’t worry too much about the mess, I like to think that the snow looks prettier than the pine needles that inevitably drop.

Here we are at my number one favorite decoration this year…DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

1. Pretty Little Lanterns

I bought almost 50 mason jars and filled them with epsom salt then added votives and lined the stonewall along walkway to my front door.  They look so purtty as the epsom salt snow glistens with the twinkle of the candles.  Such an easy and inexpensive way to add just a little more sparkle to your holiday!

What are your favorite decorations this year?  Post pictures to my facebook page…I’d love to see what festive things you are up to!

Ahh, Shabu-Zen, just thinking about it brings me to a peaceful, food-coma place. This restaurant has to be one of my all time favorite places to go. I LOVE it here. I crave it, seriously! My mouth is salivating right now just thinking about it. I get way too excited when I know I’m going. I know, I am giving it quite the build up but I’m telling you once you try it, you’ll be hooked!

Shabu-Zen isn’t your ordinary restaurant. It is Asian “hot pot” cuisine. What is that exactly?

Well…just like any other restaurant they have appetizers and main courses to choose from. The difference is you cook what you order. Yes, you are the chef! You don’t like garlic don’t add it. You want your beef cooked medium rare, go for it. Kinda cool, huh? I think so.

So this is how it works. When you sit down you are given the following:

The tools:

• Pot of homemade broth–variety to choose from including vegetarian
• “BBQ” Sauce–couldn’t tell you want it is exactly but it has a mild smoky taste
• Garlic
• Soy Sauce
• Chives
• Hot peppers
• Soup spoon and bowl
• Small strainer–to get the food out of the broth
• Chopsticks

Then choose from the menu. On this particular night I had the meat combo (thinly sliced pieces of chicken and beef) with a side of pork dumplings. Every meal comes with a plate of assorted vegetables (cabbage, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, etc.) a choice of udon noodles, vermicelli, or steamed jasmine rice and even tofu.

Then you just throw it in the pot, let it cook to your liking, and enjoy! The meal also comes with red bean soup at the end. I usually opt out of that and go for the green tea mochi.

They have two locations, Allston and Chinatown. I like going into the city so I always go to the Chinatown location. From going there over the years, here are some important things that I have learned:

• Go early. The place fills up fast at dinner. If you can get there before the rush I highly recommend it.
• They have individual and group seating. If you want your own pot, you need to sit at the bar. The tables have one soup pot for everyone to share. The pot can be divided in two (maybe even three) so if you want to have different broths, you can.
• If you can make it at lunch you will save some money. At lunchtime they have the same menu with the same portions as dinner but at only half the cost!
• The mushroom cap from the vegetable plate is extremely HOT when it first comes out of the broth…so proceed with caution!

All in all, it’s a great place. I may be no phantom gourmet but I give Shabu-Zen two thumbs up! Now if you will excuse me, I’m getting a craving…

Shabu-Zen Website

Map of Locations, Hours, Phone Numbers

One of the things I like to do for Christmas is to make treats for people as gifts. It started in part as necessity while I was in grad school–I couldn’t afford to give gifts to everyone I wanted to, but I could make treats. I’ve always made our traditional family Christmas cookies, but then started to want to give different kinds too. In some ways, I have been a victim of my own success. Now people are hoping for my baked goods each year. As much as I like to vary what I give, there are a few standard categories–cookies, cake, nuts, candy, or biscotti.

There are so many fun ways to package these as gifts. You can buy great printed clear plastic bags, treat bags, takeout containers, or mason jars. Some years I have done very simple packaging, putting the treats in a plastic food storage bag and then in a paper lunch bag. Then I folded down the top of the paper bag, punched two holes in the folded top, and tied ribbon through in a bow. Last year I gave some people spiced nuts in plastic bags together with a wooden bowl all in a gift bag. It was simple and (hopefully) delicious. I still haven’t quite decided on what I want to do for this year yet. Here a few of my favorites or ones I want to try.  If you have a recipe you like to share as a gift, let me know.

Happy Holidays from my kitchen (and Emma cat)!

Nuts
Both the Union Square Bar Nuts and the Cinnamon Toast Pecans are favorites. I always like recipes from Smitten Kitchen, so I think her “Sugar and Spice Nuts” might be on my roster this year.

Union Square Bar Nuts
Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts
Cinnamon Toast Pecans

Savory Treats
My Mom used to make Chex Mix for my Grandfather for the holidays. We were always happy when she had leftovers. I haven’t made either of these treats, but they both sound promising. They’d make a nice accompaniment to a gift of a cheese board or small appetizer dishes.

Holiday Snack Mix
Gruyere and Hazelnut Crackers

Candy
The Winter Bark has been a big hit when I’ve made it. Last year I sprinkled on some dried cranberries too. The nice thing about bark is that you can play with the toppings and not have to worry too much about the results.  The Super Crunchy Chocolate Peppermint Bark might be at the top of my list this year, however. Yum!

Winter Bark
Super Crunchy Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Cookies and Biscotti
I have more holiday cookie recipes than I know what to do with! I have often made macaroons for Christmas gift giving. Though I haven’t made these here, the recipe sounds great. Biscotti travel well and hold up longer than other cookies. The Pecan Cranberry Biscotti are my personal favorite, but I’m eager to try the Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti too.

Snow-Capped Macaroons
Pecan Cranberry Biscotti
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Breakfast Treats
Last year we received hot cocoa mix as a gift and it was such a lovely treat. Pairing that with this pumpkin granola would be a lovely hostess gift.

Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix with Mini Marshmallows
Pumpkin Granola

With a projected 15,000 troops due home from Iraq by the end of the month, you can be sure there will be an increase in the demand for new housing. The question remains, how big will that demand for housing be?

This is all dependent on what jobs become available for our heroes as they return. Luckily, there are organizations such as Hire Heroes USA (HHUSA), which provide transition assistance for veterans moving back into civilian roles.

HHUSA is a non-profit organization with the goal of offering transition assistance, job search assistance, and job placement services to those who have honorably served in the US military, as well as their families, at no cost. HHUSA’s President is former Marine and current UFC fighter, Brian Stann. Stann was awarded the Silver Star for his great character, heroism, and endurance during a week-long barrage of attacks while seizing a bridge near Karabilah, Iraq in 2005.

Stann has not only teamed up with HHUSA, but has teamed up with Veteran’s United after using his own VA benefit through the company.

Even with the troops remaining in Iraq, last year the VA guaranteed nearly 360,000 loans, which is a 14-percent increase from 2010. Almost half of the loans were refinanced, which is up a whopping 41-percent from last year’s 121,000. The other 186,000 loans were for new home purchases, which is down 3.1 percent from 2010.

Last year’s surge in VA home loans can be attributed to record-low interest rates that have spurred renewed interest in the program. Military homeowners who purchased their home before the housing boom are looking to take advantage of the sub-4.0 percent interest rates.

Another major contributing factor to the push in VA home loans has been the consistently flexible qualifications. Many military borrowers lack the kind of credit score and money down needed for most conventional loans, which makes the VA home loan’s zero down option more valuable than ever.

VA Mortgage Center expects the upcoming months to be more important than ever as thousands of service members are expected to return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Many veterans will come home to an uncertain job market and will look to help from non-profits like Hire Heroes USA, while some will assimilate back into roles they held before service,” said Adrienne May, a military wife and community manager for VA Mortgage Center. “Either way, it will be business as usual for everyone here at VAMC.”

Leaves fall where I lay
Joining me in gratitude
Happy Thanksgiving!

Amidst the festive spirit, there is often a looming question in the minds of home sellers and real estate agents alike. Should I keep my home listed on the market during the holidays? Or a slight variation for would-be sellers, should I wait until Spring to list my house? This question comes up often at our office sales meetings and the answer is that there is no single answer, but current market activity is a good place to look. Laurie Cadigan, our broker at Barrett & Company, provided some insight:

“Judging from the activity and offers happening on our listings over the past 30 days, I believe we will see an uptick in accepted offers this year compared to the last few. It appears there are serious, qualified buyers out in the market right now.”

All in all, there are many benefits to keeping your home listed for sale at this time of year so we have put together our top reasons for your house to be on the market during the holidays:

1. Many job transfers occur at the beginning of a calendar year. We see an increase in the number of househunting transferees, particularly international ones, during November and December.
2. Buyers who are looking for a home during the holidays tend to be more serious.
3. There are fewer homes on the market to choose from during the holidays – so sellers have less competition.
4. Houses that are decorated during the holidays tend to show better
5. People have more free time during the holidays to preview homes.
6. Buyers can be more emotional in their decision making during the holiday season.
7. You can sell your home now and specify a delayed closing or extended occupancy.
8. By selling your home now, you will have the opportunity to buy during the spring when more homes will be on the market.
9. You may have fewer showings, but buyers will be understanding if you can’t accommodate a showing.

Sure there may be fewer buyers but you’ll also have less competition and experience shows this can often result in a quicker sale and a better price for your property!

Ahhh, the chaos of the holiday season is finally upon us! We all play into it (maybe I am listening to Christmas music as I am writing this post) even the big man himself, he’s taken up residence at the mall before the Halloween clearance items have left the stores. But before you hop on the Holiday Crazy Train, do yourself a favor and take a break this Thanksgiving.

It’s so easy to go over the top when you are hosting a formal Thanksgiving…and trust me I HAVE…

but here it is…PERMISSION to go easy on yourself (and your wallet). You can have a beautiful (and inexpensive) centerpiece without going overboard.

You can simply use votives and gourds to make it festive! Of course, I’m using one of my fall favorites again, a burlap tablecloth. It’s inexpensive and adds another layer of texture!

For the flower arrangements, I used decorative kale and dahlias (local peeps: You can pick up everything used here from Idylwilde) in an galvanized pail from Ikea.

So simple yet so elegant!

Enjoy your time with family and friends this year, because really, isn’t that what it’s all about?!?

Watching for the troops
Our American heroes
Thanks for your service

Quite often, military men and women must relocate their families because of deployment orders, and for this reason, it can be a trying task for some families to build a strong financial profile. The Department of Veterans Affairs recognized this and decided one way they could give back was to offer the VA Loan program, which has allowed over 20 million active duty and veteran service members to purchase the home of their dreams.

VA Loan Benefits

Benefits of the VA Loan program have been tailored to fit the specific needs of service members by offering a zero down payment option to qualified applicants. If a down payment is required, it is generally not above 5 percent, which is still much lower than conventional loans usual 10 to 20 percent. Other benefits of the VA home Loan program include:

• No Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
• No prepayment penalties
• Lenient credit requirements
• Refinancing options

VA Loan Uses

VA loans can be used for the purchase of a single-family home, a VA approved condo, or to refinance your current residence. However, potential applicants must keep in mind that VA loans can only be used for their primary residence, and cannot be used for investment properties.

Massachusetts carries high loan limits, which allow service members to borrow up to $1,000,000 in certain counties, landing well above the normal $417,000 limit. For a service member to be eligible for the VA loan program they must fall under one of the following criteria:

• Served for 90 consecutive days during wartime
• Served for 181 consecutive days during peacetime
• Served in the reserves for a minimum of 6 years
• Be the spouse, currently not remarried, of a soldier who died during service or due to a service related injury

VA Loan Refinance

Those who wish to refinance using their VA Loan benefit have several options to consider, such as the cash-out refinance and the Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL).

It is the borrower’s decision if or when he or she will refinance their loan, since market conditions change daily. It is important to carefully consider all the options and to speak with a VA Loan specialist or a financial planner before refinancing your home.

If refinancing makes sense, the VA Loan offers many benefits, such as lower monthly payments or the ability to use a cash-out refinance that allows the borrower to take cash out of the home without taking any money out of his or her pocket. The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 now gives borrowers the ability to take out up to 90 percent of one’s current loan-to-value.

By doing this, one is free to use the money to make repairs to his or her home, pay other bills, or perhaps save the cash for future use; many also choose to do a VA Loan refinance in order to get a lower interest rate.

An IRRRL is often referred to as a “streamline” and is a popular choice among VA Loan borrowers. In order to do an IRRRL, one must have used the VA Loan on the property he or she intends to finance. The interest rate on the new loan must be lower than the rate of the current loan, except if one is choosing to refinance an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) to a fixed rate mortgage. Unlike the cash-out refinance, the borrower is not allowed to take out any cash with an IRRRL.

Hello blog readers, I’m Michelle. I belong to Generation Y, also known as a Millennial, an Echo Boomer, etc. I am part of a generation of people who are always on the go and frankly, I fit perfectly in this group. We want instant and who can blame us when it’s all around us! Instant email, instant messaging, instant coffee, on demand movies; everything around us can be done in the blink of an eye. So when I decided I was ready to move forward with the next part of my life and become a first-time home buyer, I figured it would be a process but not a long one. Look at places, find one you like, get approved for a mortgage, put in an offer and sign away your life. Presto, you’re done! Pack up your stuff, call for a moving company or any family/friends that suckered you into helping them move and be on your way. I was so wrong! There is much more to the process then you might realize. No matter all the research and advice I got, I really didn’t know what it was like till I dove in headfirst.

But before I get into that, I’ll tell you a little bit about myself.

A little background on me…I graduated from UMass Lowell a few years ago. Since then I have been part of the ever-growing statistic. We’ve all heard the story…more and more college graduates are moving back in or staying home with the parents after graduation. And yes, I was no different. Worked hard for four years and still had to come home to mom and dad (whom I love very much and appreciate them letting their little girl live at home while she figured out her life). But nonetheless, it was incredibly frustrating to still be at home without a steady job. Before I was 25 I was laid off twice. Twice! I will let that sink in for a second because that statement is still shocking to me. It was hard to believe and even harder to keep motivating myself to keep moving forward. It seemed like every time I took a step forward; I then took 3 giant leaps back. Instead of the “Advance to Park Place” card I kept getting dealt the “Get laid off, find another job, go directly to unemployment, do not pass go, do not collect $200″ card. I thought a college education was supposed to help you get a job, not take one away from you. At any rate, this constant in and out of work kept me from achieving what I wanted. Yes, I could have easily moved out and rented a place but for me, that wasn’t really an option. Especially with the way the housing marking was going, interest rates down and home prices dropping, there was no way I was going to pass up on this opportunity to own a piece of property.

So now that you have some history, let’s fast-forward to present day. I’m out of my house and in my first place. Woohoo! It wasn’t an easy process by any means. It was a long, hard, dark, cold (legit cold) road at times but the result I got is amazing. I want to share my experiences with you. Why? Because I know how difficult this process is and if I can share some of my experiences and shed even a little bit of light for someone else, it would make my day.

I want to prep this by saying I am no expert. I don’t have a real estate license, I didn’t study real estate law, and I don’t read real estate magazines etc. My experience is purely that I am a first time homebuyer. That’s it. Plain and simple. My goal is to help you and make sure that you don’t go crazy thinking you are the only one these things are happening to. Because I can guarantee that I probably had a similar experience as you. With that, let the journey begin!

Honey, you’re my queen
I have been stung by your love
The sunflower blooms

Unfortunately I have work commitments that are going to keep me from doing any real celebrating of or, more importantly, baking for Halloween. I have found a lot of really wonderful treats out there though. Here are a few of the best.

Candy corn cupcakes? Yes please. These cupcakes via The Little Kitchen look fun.

Baking Bites had not one, but two great vampire-themed treat ideas.

Vampire Cupcakes

Vampire Cookies

There is no need to choose between Team Cupcake or Team Cookies. Why not make both?

Beantown Baker had some fun with fondant for her Halloween cupcakes. I’ve never used fondant, but these make me want to try.

The Zombie Graveyard Cake posted by Cakespy on Serious Eats is really, really fun. If you don’t get a chance to make it for Halloween, there are always Walking Dead watching parties.

Finally, if you find yourself with a lot of extra candy on hand, Delicious Dishings has a tempting recipe for Halloween Candy Cookies.

I’m still hoping, at the very least, that I might get around to making Martha’s Candy-Corn Sugar Cookies while the candy corn are still around.

Let me know if you make any of them.

Happy Halloween!

“What are my closing costs going to be?” is a very common question for homebuyers to ask, whether first timers or those who have bought before. According to a survey by bankrate.com, closing costs in Massachusetts on a $200,000 loan average $4,244 or 2.1%. That is a 5.2% increase over 2010 costs. The 2011 national average of $4,070 has gone up 8.8% from 2010 when the average closing costs totaled $3,741. New York has the highest costs, while Massachusetts is the 15th costliest state.

It should be noted that the bankrate.com survey does not include taxes and government fees such as documentary stamps, which can differ between cities and counties. It also omits escrow and prepaid items, which will vary by what day in the month and what month in the year you have your closing.

Many lenders and mortgage professionals claim that origination fees have increased because of stricter mortgage regulations that the government has implemented in the last two years.

“New regulations require more staffing and cost more money,” says Jason Auerbach, division manager of First Choice Loan Services in New York City.

Auerbach says some of the “new” regulations — which vary from having to take extra steps to verify a borrower’s income and employment to disclosure forms and licensing-related matters — have been in place for a couple of years already, but the mortgage industry takes them more seriously now. New forms and regulations that are still in discussion are influencing lenders already.

Fees will vary from lender to lender. While some of the items included in your closing costs, such as appraisals and credit reports, aren’t really negotiable, origination fees can vary widely. It’s important to compare good faith estimates, or GFEs, from each bank or mortgage broker.

And if you need suggestions for great mortgage brokers, please let me know.

My neighbors and friends keep stopping by to ask about our new pet…Charlotte.  To be honest, I sort of winged the construction of this web when I started it on my porch last weekend.  The whole time I was thinking, I should be taking pictures because I might want to blog about this…but I wasn’t even sure how it would turn out.  Well, needless to say, we all LOVE her!

And needless to say, I didn’t take any “how to” pics. Which really worked out for my friend, since her daughter begged her to make one at their house too. Back to the hardware store…and this time it was documented…step by step!

So here’s what you need. For my web I ended up using 200ft of clothes line, but here I only used 100ft. I also needed some ceiling hooks for this porch, but you may already have one for your hanging baskets.

STEP 1: String one length of rope vertically, tying knots at both ends.

Before you tie the knots, you’ll need to burn the rope once it’s cut to prevent fraying!

STEP 2: Tie another length of rope horizontally tying a knot at the center point.

STEP 3: With the remaining rope, tie another knot in the center and begin to tie tight knots as you circle around the horizontal and vertical ropes.

STEP 4: Keep going and going and going! Don’t worry if it’s not perfect…spiders don’t seem to mind.

WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE

You might want to be a little more organized with the rope, just sayin’

STEP 5: Make it as BIG as you can covering as much of the horizontal and vertical rope as possible.

STEP 6: Now onto the vertical ropes. Starting from the center loop the rope around the connections you have already made and pull tightly. Repeat on all sides!

Check out the difference between the knots on the horizontal and vertical connections vs. the looping on the diagonal connection. It helps give you a little wiggle room to straighten things out when you are done!

And here is the finished product! This spider is named SofandSam and if you look closely you’ll see he even has a little lunch on his web!

Now start your weaving…and remember “You are never more than three feet away from a spider”.

Ahh…fall in New England, such a lovely time of year. The leaves changing to bright colors, fresh apple cider donuts, tractor drawn hay rides, Christmas music playing in the mall…yes, I said it, it’s true and we all know it. As soon as the kids are back in school, the stores begin to gear up for winter and the holiday season, completely skipping over Halloween and Thanksgiving. But before we jump ahead to the holidays and the snowy weather to come, there is still time to get in some great fall activities.

I recently visited Marini Farm in Ipswich, Massachusetts for a flashlight corn maze experience. And quite the experience it was! It runs from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday nights through October 31st and is only $11.00. The maze had checkpoints with questions to answer and riddles to find along the way, which made it more of an interactive experience. Here are a couple of tips you should know before going:

• Make sure you bring your own flashlight. I feel like this might be like a “duh” thing but we went with the expectation that they would be provided since we did not see on their website that you needed to bring your own (and if it is on there and I completely missed it, then my apologies). Luckily, we had a few extra in the car.
• Rain boots are a plus. It was extremely muddy and our sneakers went in white and came out brown.

Besides those two things, it was a great time. If you are looking for a cheap and fun night, I recommend it.

Davis Farmland and MegaMaze, located in Sterling, Massachusetts lives up to its name! (If you get lost, DO NOT call 911. Recently, a family took their 3 week old baby through a local corn maze and called police to rescue them when they couldn’t find their way out!) Davis Farmland changes their maze every year and the one I did last year was intense. I couldn’t believe the size of it. There were several bridges, checkpoints, riddles, games, and activities along the way. This corn maze is so big that they have a food concession stand in the middle of it, no joke! If you are looking for a challenge, you will find it here. General admission is $16.95 for adults and $13.95 for kids and seniors. They do offer AAA member discounts so be sure to flash your card for $2.00 off.

Friday and Saturday nights through the end of October, the maze transforms to Halloween “Fright Nights” from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. Their website says it is geared for adults so maybe a night out without the kiddies. Admission is $19.95 for adults, $16.95 for kids and seniors, a reasonable price considering the scale of the maze.

Other corn mazes to check out are Kimball Farm in Haverhill and Connors Farm in Danvers.

If corn mazes are not your cup of Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin coffee, you could try these other fun activities:

For apple picking, check out Parlee Farm in Tyngsboro. or Smolak Farms in North Andover
Hayrides are always favorite! Wilson Farm in Lexington offers a “spooky” hayride, which is free. (Be sure to have a hot cider donut while you are there!)

There are so many great events during the fall at just about any farm. Be sure to check out your local farm and see what fall happenings are available.

Ok, on to scarier things. I mean it is Halloween season and what is Halloween without something scary?!

For the first time, Spooky World presents The Fear at Fenway. Yes, Fenway Park, home of the beloved (when they win) Boston Red Sox. This event is open from Thursday, October 20th, 2011 through Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 and then again Friday, October 28th, 2011 through Sunday, November 6th, 2011. General admission tickets are $45.00; VIP admission is $69.00, which allows you to visit attractions twice in one night and wait in shorter lines. You might consider this a little pricy but think of it this way, who knows the next time you would be able to go to an event like this at Fenway Park again, especially if the Red Sox make the playoffs next year =). There are 3 main attractions that will be sure to freak out even the most skeptical critic. So why not check it out while it lasts!

Canobie Lake in Salem NH currently has ScreeemFest Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October. Games, rides, and attractions will leave you entertained for hours. There are several haunted attractions such as “Dead Shed” and “Demons of Darkness” that will get anyone’s blood pumping. The website alone is creeping me out! If you are there on a Saturday night be sure to stay for the haunted fireworks display. If you are not one for scary things, you can purchase a “Monster B’Gone Necklace” which will tell the monsters to let you be. General admission tickets are $27.99 and anyone under 48 inches tall or over 60 years of age pays $16.99. Make sure to check out your local Tedeschi, Market Basket, participating McDonalds, or specially marked Mountain Dew cans for $4.00 coupons off general admission tickets (not valid on Saturdays). And also, no dressing up is allowed. Save the costumes for parties that reward you for your awesomeness!

And remember that you don’t necessarily have to go out to enjoy this time of year. Host your own party! Invite family and friends over and have a seasonal beer tasting (for those of you who are 21+ of course). Have guests bring a seasonal or local brew for everyone to try. For the occasion, make some seasonal dishes or have everyone bring a dish of their own. Whatever you decide to do, just make it your own and have fun with it!

I could go on and on about all the great happenings this time of year brings. But I want to hear from you. What special fall things have you done or do you have planned? Comment below, I would love to hear about it! But most importantly, get out there and enjoy this weather before it blows away with the leaves. Happy Happenings!

People seem to be decorating for Halloween more and more each year, I like to think of it as a costume for your house. Some people go with cute pumpkins or happy ghosts while others go for the zombie crawling out of the ground and animated coffins ready to make you jump.

Was just out and about with my sister, enjoying an absolutely amazing Columbus Day weekend. The weather with temps in the 80s and no humidity, was the kind you wish you could bottle and take out as needed, come next February. We saw lots of houses and yards already decorated for Halloween. One we drove by had over 50 witches, black cats, cauldrons, you name it. The kind you know the neighbors are sick of looking at after about 5 minutes. My sister said, “It looks like Halloween threw up there”.

I think most people are going for the haunted house look. I just did a search for “outdoor Halloween decorations” that brought up results, heavy on the spooky and creepy like “Hanging Bloody Zombie Torso” and “Skull on Jaws with Two Hands Prop”. We saw everything from flying bats to inflatable graveyard scenes. One house that we happened to see, was a side by side duplex, and was completely, and I mean completely, covered in that fake spiderweb stuff. I said to my sister, “At least they did the whole house. Nothing looks as stupid as half a duplex covered in spiders and webs and the other…” Before I got to finish the sentence, we saw one halfway up the same block, the left side swathed in fake cobwebs, the right side neat as a pin. My favorite part of all was the very real “For Sale” sign on the lawn in front of the right half. As if the neighbors just couldn’t stand it for another 5 minutes.

Most Vegas showgirls

Love my long legs and lamé

Not my pink boa

It’s back to school time…let the chaos begin!

Is your house a drop zone for papers and backpacks after school? Many of my clients have claimed that they don’t know how to manage the school clutter, but the truth is that you have to take the time to find a “home” for everything. Maybe you don’t have the space for built in mudroom lockers and maybe you don’t even have a mudroom, but if you have a wall, you can make it happen. (I do have to stop right here and give a shout out to those of you with salvaged high school lockers. I. LOVE. EM!)

OK, here’s the story of a busy family with four kids. They hired me to help them organize and decorate their back hall (more on that whole project another time). One thing she wanted was a locker system for the kid’s backpacks, but she was so short on space & budget, that we really couldn’t make it happen. With four super creative kids who brought home a lot of artwork and school projects, we also wanted to figure out a way to display some of these. I set off shopping to find the prefect solution. I heart Target for so many reasons, but especially for this project in particular.

The Artwork Display & Storage Frame was perfect. To prevent the overwhelming piles of paper she has had in years past, this year she will let her kids keep one piece of artwork a week and display it here.

(Check out this blog post at I Heart Organizing  for the BEST school stuff organizing ideas. I used her ideas for my two boys.)

Now onto the backpacks!

Beneath each frame we hung a simple hook (to secure the weight of the backpacks we anchored them in the wall and used larger screws than what came in the package).

What a great way to start off this school year. There’s a place for everything and everything in its place!