My GREEN Life & Real Estate

Friends recently called and asked if we wanted to go to dinner downtown.  On a school night.  While my initial reaction was that we're not "cool" enough to go downtown on a school night, I'm really glad we did! The restaurant they picked was Firebox , a Farm To Table restaurant that uses locally-sourced ingredients and is located adjacent to Hartford's Billings Forge Farmer's Market.  Bonus that they had a parking lot with an attendant.  The restaurant is located in "Frog Hollow" which is considered Hartford's most New York-style urban neighborhood and includes Olmsted-designed Pope Park. The atmosphere was very hip: exposed brick, interesting light fixtures, wooden beams, candles in small Mason jars, blackboards, and walls of bottles of wine.  There's a tavern room, a small room, and the larger dining room in the back, complete with a fireplace and warm, intimate ambiance. So what could they offer as Farm To Table on a very cold &

I remember my early days in Real Estate, where I was building my business, working 80+  hours per week and showing house after house after house.  My husband would tell me when we woke up in the mornings that I'd been talking in my sleep, giving house tours!  I specifically remember one morning he woke me up laughing, asking me to tell him more about the "cute ranch with the fireplace and the sunroom!" I can't help it.  I LOVE houses.  I still dream about them.  Only now I sometimes dream about houses I create in my dreams.  There's a beach house that keeps coming back, and recently in my dreams I saw a rustic almost-tree house overlooking water & mountains in the Pacific Northwest.  I can't help but wonder if these places exist and if one day I'll walk in and recognize them… This is probably one of the many reasons why I love to rent houses, villas, and flats when we travel.  I put a lot of thought & research into what I want in a home, especi

With this icy, snowy weather we're having at the start of the New Year, it's too easy for me to justify sitting by the fire with a cup of tea and just working my way through my daily work checklist.  I know there is more I could do, and I  know that how I start my year sets the tone for the rest…and with 2 snow days to kick off 2014, I've had time to come up with a revised plan. Enter a work/productivity booster.  31 Things in 31 Days.   It's not a new or original idea. Trulia is running a challenge/sweepstake on the same subject.  I've used a similar list for things like housework and cooking (and once for exercise, which didn't work out - haha!) but I hadn't formally applied it to to real estate until today.  I read a few different real estate websites to find ideas for new things to supplement my checklist & calendar.  There are so many articles, blogs and websites offering ideas.  Just doing the research inspired me! There are a lot of great thin