A Little Fall Cleaning

We had the house and the screened porch and decks power washed recently.  It was long overdue, and what a difference it made.  I used Andy from Silverstream (703-929- 6759)

The porch looked so big when all my "accessories" are removed.  I could stand to do a little editing out there.  Love this space!!

Christmas 2012

We had a little snow the day after Christmas--just enough to make it feel like the Christmas Season is here.

It was another wonderful Christmas.  Courtney & Chris were here, and we celebrated both Courtney's and my birthdays.  Our annual Christmas party was fun, and it's always so good to see neighbors and friends.

We open gifts on Christmas Eve (as my family has always done) at Linda's house.  Lauren and her 4 kids makes it very fun--toys for everyone!  Matthew was even home this year, and it was so good to see him. 

On Christmas Day, Bob makes Mother's Norwegian meatballs, and Linda and family come over here for more Christmas cheer.  Lauren's twins are 10 months old, and my house is definitely not babyproofed!  Nyla and Noah are fun, and they are such good babies. 

Christmas at the Kennedy Center

Irving Berlin's White Christmas is playing at the Kennedy Center.  I always loved this movie, and it was such a joy to see it on stage.  Courtney & Chris and Linda went with me to see it, and we all got in the Christmas spirit quickly. 

I also had tickets to The Million Dollar Quartet at the Kennedy Center.  It was absolutely so much fun to see.  Great music from Carl Perkins, Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Louis.  Go see it if you like that music era.  It was fabulous! 

Almost Thanksgiving

My one and only gardening responsibility at my house is the front flower box.  It was not fabulous this summer--just didn't water it enough or pay enough attention to it.  Busy real estaste season for me.  So, when Fall came, I just added these metal sunflowers (which require no watering at all).  I got these at The Cottage in Leesburg last year, and I still like them. 
Then I asked Bob to hang some wooden pumpkins on my little fence (also from The Cottage).  Cute enough to  keep through Thanksgiving. 

Cleaning out the dryer vent

This is something we haven't done here - ever!  When I had the house power washed this fall, the contractor said that my dryer vent looked full - meaning that white fluff was comiing out the exterior vent. 

So, I went to Angie's List and found a dryer vent cleaning special.  Right A Way Duct Cleaning, 1-888-541-5585 came out today and cleaned my dryer vent.  It has never been cleaned--that would be 25+ years of drying clothes.  They said that I did have quite a lot of lint in the vent.  And, yes, I have always thought that we are good at cleaning out the little lint catcher in the dryer. 

I knew somebody once who lost her house in a fire as a result of the a fire in the dryer vent.  So, think about it - maybe a dryer vent cleaning could go on your "to do list". 

November 2012

Another very good movie was Flight with Denzel Washington.  It was a very entertaining plane crash, but the story is really about substance abuse.  A very well told story.  Go see it!

Over the weekend I listed a house for sale which I had sold only two years ago.  I thought it was a terrific house then, and I still think it's a great one.  Lots of interest already--should sell quickly.  The market is moving quickly with multiple offers on many houses. 

6118 Beech Tree in Wilton Woods, $621,000.  It's a beauty!

Fall 2012

I'm behind in my blogging, so here I go. 

Movies:  Loved ARGO, Perks of a Wallflower, The Sessions

Books:  Read John Grisham's new book, The Racketeer.  His books are always a good read and a pleasant diversion.

Also reading Nelson DeMille's new book, The Panther.  Once again, I always enjoy his CIA-type books.  Of course, now that the CIA and its leader is in the news, it makes it even more interesting.

Photos above show my Mother's table which I moved to my remodeled bedroom space.  The drop-leaf table was in Mom's house for a lot of years.  My sister, Nancy, had it in her house in Minnesota and then she didn't need it anymore, so she shipped it out to me.  It's nice to have one piece of furniture from my family's past house. 

The End of Your Life Book Club

The title of this book may give you pause in choosing to read this book, but I thought it was a such a good read.  It's the true story of a mother and her son who read books together as they go through the diagnosisand treatment of her cancer.  The book talks about so many books that I had wanted to read and some books that I'd never heard of before.  It's a book club of only two members, and they have brutally honest conversations as they discuss books. 

It may not be the book for everybody.  If you love to read, you will like this book.

Charming new Listing

Love the look of fall at my new listing.  This house is so nice--located right across the street from Clermont Elementary School - 4400 Arcross in Alexandria 22310 - $456,000.  It's hard to find nice houses that are on one level, and this is a good one. 

Fall is in the Air!

I loved this chandelier from Country Living Magazine--that big pumpkin is too cute! 

Also, saw a great movie yesterday - ARGO, directing and acting by Ben Afleck.  The audience actually clapped at the end.  Go see it! 

Movies: The Master

I read that this movie was fabulous - a four-star movie.  It has great actors.  I saw it yesterday, and it did not meet my expectations.  I could not recommend it.  I thought about walking out of the movie, but I thought the great part must still be coming. 

It's funny about movie reviews.  I take them with a grain of salt.  Jon Stewart interviewed the director, and he never once said that he liked the movie--used words like "great writing".  Charlie Rose said that people either hated it or loved it. 

My next movie is "Argo" - great reviews.  Hope it doesn't disappoint. 

Nice new listing in Alexandria

Just listed this house in Stoneybrooke.  It's a great example of how to prepare one's house for sale.  They ordered the POD, cleared furniture and stuff out of the house, and now have it showing beautifully.  Jan staged it and gave them suggestions for clearing out.  A professional opinion really helps in getting ready for market. 

The front door was painted black, and Jan suggested Benjamin Moore Gentlemen's Grey--it really gave life to the exterior.  So pretty. I bet it will sell fast.

Beach Reading

August vacation is over, and I read lots of books.  One of my favorite reads was Where'd You go, Bernadette?   Funny and entertaining. 

Other favorites: 
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Girl Gone

I love reading on my Kindle when I'm on the beach, but I really love reading on my I-Pad when I don't have to worry about the sand.  Lots of good reading time on the screened porch.  I've also discovered Words With Friends--playing scrabble online--so fun. 

One less tree in Huntington Forest

We had a large Bradford pear tree cut down yesterday--hate to see a tree go--especially since I live in "Huntington Forest".  We lost one branch during a storm, and we wanted to save the tree.  However, our neighbor did not like our pear tree approaching his property.  After receiving a letter from his attorney (yes, that's correct), we talked to an arborist at Bartlett Tree Experts, and he said that if we just trimmed the side of the tree that approached the neighbor's property, the tree would be unbalanced and subject to future damage.  We always had our trees trimmed professionally and wires installed to strengthen branches (especially the Bradford pears) so that they could last as long as possible.  They created a nice border between our house and the neighboring property. 

Because I spend so much time on my screened porch, I loved the privacy that tree provided.  Now it's gone.

This is my view now:  instead of nice greenery, I see the neighbor's deck.    Not so private.

So, my next project will be to create some privacy.  Because our porch is up high off the 2nd level of the house, it will take a tree some years to get there.  We do have a little skinny maple tree there that might grow better now that the big pear tree is gone--time will tell. 

Tree Houses

I just watched a DVR of the Sunday Morning Show on CBS.  They did this wonderful segment on tree houses.  Wouldn't it be fun to live in one?

I've always called my screened porch a tree house.  It's surrounded by trees, and it's up in the air.  Heavenly!

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

It was Mother's Beach Trip in Rehoboth last weekend.  Linda, Verna, Gretchen and I were off for fun in the sun.  We've done this trip for more than 20 years, and none of the us has ever missed the trip. 

Great cool weekend--the beach was so windy at the shoreline that we had to wear coverups most of the day.  The lifeguards were busy plucking people out of the waves.  Great fun! 

Our two new favorite restaurants were:  Cilantro on Rehoboth Avenue and Salt Air on Wilmington.

Lea & Frey's Wedding

We just returned from Richmond where Lea Gessaman was married in a beautiful garden wedding.  I've known Lea since the day she was born.  Time does fly.  Her mother is Verna, one of my long-time dearest friends.  We met when we were young single school teachers at Woodbridge High School. 

The wedding was such a happy event.  Wishing Lea and Fry a lifetime of happiness!  Lea was such a beautiful bride--she had the biggest smile all day long.

Lea wore her mother's wedding dress.  I was at Verna's wedding 36 years ago.  Lea had the dress modified - sleeves removed, lengthened, lace moved around.  It looked fabulous! 

We loved the whole weekend of wedding festivities and staying at the Jefferson Hotel where Courtney had her wedding.

Beautiful fragrant peonies!

I do think that peonies are my favorite flowers--their fragrance is simply intoxicating.  Rosa snipped some flowers for me last week, and I spread them around the house.  Delicious!  Yesterday Bob snipped some flowers from our bush--I didn't even realize that I had some flowers in my own backyard. 

I'm putting peonies on the table for Lea's Bridal Luncheon in Richmond this weekend.  Hope she loves them as much as I do! 

Cute table from le Village Marche

I love this shop in Shirlington - le Village Marche. I have been looking at this table for awhile, and I decided to buy it today. It works out perfectly in my lower level. I love that it has only 3 legs--just perfect beside the chair.

This store is having special ladies shopping nights on Thursday nights in the month of April - take 20% of an item at that time.

Books

Read some good books lately that I would recommend to you:

Expats - I listened to this and it was a good thriller about U.S. Citizens living in Europe and working. Do you really know your husband/wife? It's a whodunit and a thriller. Very good.

Carry The One by Carol Anshaw - It was suggested in Oprah Magazine and I read a good review of it in the New York Times this weekend. After a wedding, family members are involved in a car accident, and it affects them for the rest of their adult lives. Interesting read.

365 Thank yous - John Kralik - this book has been in so many news articles in the last couple of
months. It's about John whose life and law practice has taken a turn for the worse. He recalls that his grandfather told him about the value of being thankful and writing notes. He decides to write notes for a year--a nice reminder that handwritten notes are special all the while keeping the US Post Office in business.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - loved it, and we are reading it in Book Club this month. I may have already written about it.

Stay Close by Harlan Coben - just a nice read - love Harlan Coben's books. Mystery.

Beautiful new listing in Wilton Woods Area!

My photographer took such a lovely photo of this house--had to share it with you. Gorgeous new listing, open Sunday, March 25, 1-4. $899,900 5901 Ashby Manor Place.

How often do you see a 3-car garage? Wouldn't it be great to have all that space for cars and stuff?

Book Recommendation - Defending Jacob

I read this book this week--pretty fast read. It's a most interesting story about family relationships when tragedy strikes. The father is an Asst. District Attorney, and his teen-age son is accused of murder. So the trial begins. Father, Mother, and son all have life stories which make a good read. I recommend it.

Beautiful new listing!

Coming on the market next week for $850,000--just perfect throughout! Open house on Sunday, March 4. 6127 Stegen Dr, Alexandria 22310.

The Bridesmaids' Luncheon

Photo of Haley, the bride, and her mom.

Photo of Verna and Lea

I was honored to give the Bridesmaids' Luncheon on Friday. It was held at a restaurant called 300 East in Charlotte. I ordered the spring bouquets on the table, and they were just lovely. One of the bouquets ended up in Kurt and Haley's bridal suite, and the other flowers went to my hotel room where Bob and I enjoyed them for the weekend.

Kurt & Haley's Wedding

Kurt & Haley got married in Charlotte over the weekend. Kurt is the son of my good friend, Verna. My photos aren't great, but it was the most beautiful wedding in this old church outside of Charlotte. Such a dear sweet young couple. It was such a pleasure to be a part of this storybook wedding.

Houses Selling!

My sweet little listing just sold with 3 contract offers! Priced at $329K, it's in the price range that seems to be selling right now.

Isn't that yellow door cute on this blue house?

Love this Curb Appeal!

I found this photo on the Country Living Magazine website. I'm a sucker for good curb appeal, and this is so sweet!

Even in winter, a house can have nice curb appeal. I need to work on my winter flower box out front. Bob cleared all the Christmas greenery out of it and stuck in some cabbages, but it needs much more. I'll work on it.

My Top Dozen Books for 2011

I'm sharing my favorite books of 2011. I have loved reading on my Kindle--couldn't live without it. Then I started listening to books in the car. I download to my Ipod, and then I can hook it into my car audio system and listen through my speakers--so much fun!

- Unbroken – Lauren Hildebrand
- The Year We Left Home – Jean Thompson
- Daughters-in-Law – Joanna Trollope
- Cutting for Stone – Verghese
- Long Drive Home – Allison
- Maine – Sullivan
- State of Wonder – Ann Patchett
- Let the Great World Spin – Colum McCann
- This Beautiful Life – Helen Schulman
- Sarah’s Key – Tatiane de Rosnay
- Northwest Corner – John Burnham Schwarz
- Silver Sparrow – Tayari Jones

Audible Books
Toward the end of the year, I started listening to books on tape as suggested by my pals Verna and Willie. It is wonderful having a book playing in the car. I download to my I-Pod and then I can plug it into my car where it plays through the car speakers. Some of my favorites so far:
- Bossy Pants – Tina Fey
- The Time of Our Lives – Tom Brokaw
- I Remember Nothing – Nora Ephram

Christmas decorations 2011