The Cottage Charm Giveaway hosted by The Twice Remembered Cottage was going for the month of May. There were 48 Bloggers who put together their giveaways for the event. I can't believe I won...not one, not two, but three of the giveaways! I'm still in shock pretty much!! I had company over the weekend so I didn't take time to check my email. After they left on Sunday early evening, I looked at my emails & there were three telling me I had won!
Shabby Cats and Roses
Creative Home Expressions
The Tapestry of Life
I am so excited to win each & every one. The giveaway gave me a fun way of exploring other blogs I hadn't heard of yet & connect with ones I already follow. As I receive each package, I will blog about it. Thank you so much to Brenda @ Shabby Cats and Roses, Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions, and Vicki @ The Tapestry of Life for having awesome giveaways and I feel so honored to have been chosen. I anxiously await my packages...whoo hoo!!
Blessings,
Cindy
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Have a Blessed Memorial Day
According to History.com:
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least it marks the beginning of summer.
Thank you to all those military men and women who fight to keep our freedom in this country; especially those who have lost their lives in that service. I am so thankful and so humbled by their sacrifice.
Blessings,
Cindy
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Making Decisions on a new career...Any Advice??
I am making a big decision in my life about starting a new career. I have been thinking about it for a long time but recent events made it seem a better time than ever to pursue. That career choice would be....Home Staging and Organization. I have staged two homes that we have sold in down markets and rather quickly.
The first was 10 years ago and I hardly knew it as "Staging". I was just decluttering, deep cleaning, and designing with a minimal approach to show the house to the best potential. It was a downturn in home sales in that area and we ended up selling within 6 weeks. Our realtor was wonderful and even then, took full advantage of the internet to show the house. We had many compliments from the realtors after the open house and although I don't remember exactly how many lookers we had, there weren't many before it sold.
Then the most current home we have sold I have already blogged about...we got an offer after 5 weeks on the market. Even with lots of snow, foreclosures selling for much less in our neighborhood, and very slow market, our house sold. From the initial meeting with two realtors to decide who to have sell our home to the final realtor for the buyers, I got complimented on how I had decorated the house to showcase it well. Of course, painting and deep cleaning played a big part, but the ultimate way the home looked to potential buyers was critical in the selling process. How the home was staged let buyers see the house as spacious and envision how their things would look in the space. There were no personal items visible or pictures of family to distract the lookers, only minimal furniture and well chosen decor; like walking into a model home.
I already have a realtor that is writing me a letter of recommendation; the buyers realtor from the home we just sold! She was happy to write one and told me I would make a great stager!
Now for the questions...any advice on how to proceed? I've been looking into staging classes online and books, but it is hard to know if the money spent is worth it. Should I be certified or just start without it and maybe work towards that goal? I have been a sponge for a long time on any articles on home staging and organization online and in printed media. Should I start out with freebies to add to my portfolio or is that necessary?? Advertising ideas? Services to provide?
My first thought to do is to buy and study books. With the knowledge I get from them, make contracts and an information packet/portfolio. I need to decide on a business name and register it; then get business cards. I'm looking into cheap or no cost advertising like Craigslist and Penny Saver type papers. I know that getting the word out to people I know that I am starting this business is important. I think a website is critical to success, so that would be worked on also. Then networking, networking, networking... All of this is coming off the top of my head right now, but is that a good start?? I want to also provide customers with a list of small companies that could do painting, repair work, carpet cleaning, etc. in the area.
So now I go to you... to ask for your comments to give me advice, encouragement, and knowledge in this adventure. Any recommended websites or schools for staging that are good and not too expensive? It is hard to decide, when I'm not sure if the classes are going to benefit me or just take my money. I will continue searching and studying in the meantime.
Blessings,
Cindy
The first was 10 years ago and I hardly knew it as "Staging". I was just decluttering, deep cleaning, and designing with a minimal approach to show the house to the best potential. It was a downturn in home sales in that area and we ended up selling within 6 weeks. Our realtor was wonderful and even then, took full advantage of the internet to show the house. We had many compliments from the realtors after the open house and although I don't remember exactly how many lookers we had, there weren't many before it sold.
Then the most current home we have sold I have already blogged about...we got an offer after 5 weeks on the market. Even with lots of snow, foreclosures selling for much less in our neighborhood, and very slow market, our house sold. From the initial meeting with two realtors to decide who to have sell our home to the final realtor for the buyers, I got complimented on how I had decorated the house to showcase it well. Of course, painting and deep cleaning played a big part, but the ultimate way the home looked to potential buyers was critical in the selling process. How the home was staged let buyers see the house as spacious and envision how their things would look in the space. There were no personal items visible or pictures of family to distract the lookers, only minimal furniture and well chosen decor; like walking into a model home.
I already have a realtor that is writing me a letter of recommendation; the buyers realtor from the home we just sold! She was happy to write one and told me I would make a great stager!
Now for the questions...any advice on how to proceed? I've been looking into staging classes online and books, but it is hard to know if the money spent is worth it. Should I be certified or just start without it and maybe work towards that goal? I have been a sponge for a long time on any articles on home staging and organization online and in printed media. Should I start out with freebies to add to my portfolio or is that necessary?? Advertising ideas? Services to provide?
My first thought to do is to buy and study books. With the knowledge I get from them, make contracts and an information packet/portfolio. I need to decide on a business name and register it; then get business cards. I'm looking into cheap or no cost advertising like Craigslist and Penny Saver type papers. I know that getting the word out to people I know that I am starting this business is important. I think a website is critical to success, so that would be worked on also. Then networking, networking, networking... All of this is coming off the top of my head right now, but is that a good start?? I want to also provide customers with a list of small companies that could do painting, repair work, carpet cleaning, etc. in the area.
So now I go to you... to ask for your comments to give me advice, encouragement, and knowledge in this adventure. Any recommended websites or schools for staging that are good and not too expensive? It is hard to decide, when I'm not sure if the classes are going to benefit me or just take my money. I will continue searching and studying in the meantime.
Blessings,
Cindy
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
I am blessed to have three grown children, Josh, Nathaniel, and Elizabeth, plus my daughters in love, Jamie & Jessica. I spent a lovely morning with my hubby going out to breakfast and walking through a wonderful nursery here. He got me a beautiful hanging basket for the front of our home and a few plants that I will be putting in pots to enjoy around the front & back yards. Then our daughter and her boyfriend stopped in for a few hours on their drive back to Bend from the coast. I was in 7th heaven having her with me today! My daughter in love that lives here, stopped in also for a bit. It was so nice to get to see a couple of our kids. It really made my day!!
I've gotten several more things done in the house. I got almost all the hanging pictures and items up and most of the furniture bought. We picked up a metal bed frame for the guest room, a coffee table & end table for the living room, and wood to make raised garden beds in the back yard, on Friday. We made a loop around the Salem/Keiser area getting everything. We looked at a sofa on Saturday that we decided to get; we will pick it up next Saturday. Everything was on Craigslist! I will share some photos when I get a few more things done. I will be asking some opinions on a few things too.
Wishing you all a blessed day...
Cindy
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Moved in...getting unpacked...buying furniture...Gotta Love Craigslist!!
It has been a journey to get to where I am now. I can't help but think that it really has went by fast...what am I saying!! It was a LONG winter of work and time away from my hubby. When he left December 5th, we had dreams, hopes, wishes, and many prayers, that we would prepare our house to the best of our ability with a limited budget, get it on the market as soon as possible, January 13th, sell it quickly, an offer on February 16th, and find a new home in the valley that we both liked and buy it...then live happily ever after...well as close to that as possible!! LOL! We closed on our new home on April 7th, moved everything out of storage on April 8th, and now are in the process of making it OUR home. I have been searching Craigslist everyday since I got internet back, April 15th, and finally got some things I am really happy with. First a dining table and chairs...$275, then a shelving unit with 3 sections, all mahogany which are over 6 feet tall, the top shelves are glass with lights...$100 (crazy, I know!), then a smaller set of bookshelves that are about 5 feet tall and wider than the other set with glass doors...$135. I am still on the lookout for a sofa & loveseat for the livingroom, a queen bed for the guest room, and a few odds & ends. It has been a little tricky putting things away with less storage in this house than our previous house, so the bookcases will really help. I will take pictures when I feel ready to share. For now, I feel totally blessed that our prayers were answered and we are getting settled. We had played the "what if" games when this all began, but I knew that we wouldn't be still be waiting for the house to sell this summer. I felt that it would all work out and it did... :-) God is good!
Have a Blessed Day and may your dreams, hopes, wishes, and prayers come true too,
Cindy
Have a Blessed Day and may your dreams, hopes, wishes, and prayers come true too,
Cindy
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Moved everything to storage...check! House sold...check! New home closing...a little behind schedule!
Well Friends, it has been a long couple of weeks...We signed papers on March 25th to sell our home in Redmond. Then got a UHaul truck for the final load of mostly furniture and miscellaneaous stuff that was left. We had some wonderful people help us load and clean the house. I was so thankful to hear the words, "But it is so clean we are just wiping things down!". Yeah!! That was my goal! Then on Saturday, March 26th, with my hubby driving the UHaul and me driving his ranger truck, we headed out. We hit a snowstorm just out of Redmond that made it hard to see and I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, this isn't good!" Then after a few miles it let up...Then we got to the real snow; a very snowy Santiam Pass and chains were required on trucks. My hubby put on the chains that he had just purchased before leaving and we headed out again...slowly. My little truck was shimmying up the hill, but many prayers and miles later, I released my clenched hands from the steering wheel and breathed a huge sigh of relief! :-) We had family & friends that helped us unload the truck; our storage unit is filled to capacity!
After all that, we are staying with friends, waiting to close on the home here. Knowing that God is still in control, there have been a few glitches, frustrating moments, and wondering if it was going to work out at all to buy this house. We are still waiting to hopefully sign papers by Friday. I had a little meltdown Saturday & my dear hubby took me out to dinner, a movie, and a little shopping. Well, that went a long way in healing my frustrations!! I even got a new spice rack in Kohl's; I've always wanted one and 40% off made it affordable.
Hope you are all enjoying a little spring. There are trees and flowers blooming here everywhere; daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips are springing up (no pun intended) in yards and fields. It is so beautiful! It is so different here than in Central Oregon, where it is still doing some snowing off and on. But the rain is also plentiful here, accent the plentiful, so it is give and take, isn't it? Wish I could share a few photos, but I'm borrowing a computer to do this.
Happy Spring and Blessings to You & Yours,
Cindy
After all that, we are staying with friends, waiting to close on the home here. Knowing that God is still in control, there have been a few glitches, frustrating moments, and wondering if it was going to work out at all to buy this house. We are still waiting to hopefully sign papers by Friday. I had a little meltdown Saturday & my dear hubby took me out to dinner, a movie, and a little shopping. Well, that went a long way in healing my frustrations!! I even got a new spice rack in Kohl's; I've always wanted one and 40% off made it affordable.
Hope you are all enjoying a little spring. There are trees and flowers blooming here everywhere; daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips are springing up (no pun intended) in yards and fields. It is so beautiful! It is so different here than in Central Oregon, where it is still doing some snowing off and on. But the rain is also plentiful here, accent the plentiful, so it is give and take, isn't it? Wish I could share a few photos, but I'm borrowing a computer to do this.
Happy Spring and Blessings to You & Yours,
Cindy
Thursday, March 17, 2011
LIfe is Good...house sale proceeding...found a new home...and a giveaway win!
I got back last Friday from Lebanon. The mountains greeted us with more snow for the drive home.
As of today, the pass is really nasty for travel. My hubby will stay in Lebanon while I finish some packing and do some visiting with family & friends before I move.
Today is St Patrick's Day and usually I'm cooking corned beef in the crock pot and making shamrock cookies, but not this year. I'm by my lonesome doing some more packing of items I can live without until I unpack in our new home.
The home sale is proceeding nicely now. There were some times of waiting; news of the appraisal taking longer than I thought it should have. It was a concern due to the falling home prices, but it worked out. We will officially move on the 26th out of the home we have lived in for over 9 years; the longest we have lived anywhere in our marriage of nearly 34 years! It will be hard to leave, but we found a new home in Lebanon that we fell in love with clear back in December. It waited for us and things worked out in our favor to be able to buy it. It is larger than our home by about 240 square feet and I will have my craft room in the house, not in the garage!! Yeah!!
Now on to the giveaway I won from Angie at Hopemore Studio. Angie sent me a lovely note with the pendant I chose from her Etsy shop.
She didn't leave it at that...no, not Angie! She added lots of goodies, new & old, that she thought I could use in my creations.
It was quite a treat to open my box of goodies and see my beautiful pendant and all the other things that Angie had lovingly put together just for me. I will definitely enjoy using the items in my crafts. Thank you so much, Angie!!
Here is her blog for you to check out: http://hopemorestudio.blogspot.com
I have so much to be thankful for and soon I will be back with my hubby in our new home. We will be putting the rest of our things in storage until we close on the house in Lebanon. Thank you so much to all of you for your prayers and well wishes through this journey that started in December. I am truly blessed!
Blessings to all of you,
Cindy
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| That is Hoodoo Ski Resort in the background |
Today is St Patrick's Day and usually I'm cooking corned beef in the crock pot and making shamrock cookies, but not this year. I'm by my lonesome doing some more packing of items I can live without until I unpack in our new home.
The home sale is proceeding nicely now. There were some times of waiting; news of the appraisal taking longer than I thought it should have. It was a concern due to the falling home prices, but it worked out. We will officially move on the 26th out of the home we have lived in for over 9 years; the longest we have lived anywhere in our marriage of nearly 34 years! It will be hard to leave, but we found a new home in Lebanon that we fell in love with clear back in December. It waited for us and things worked out in our favor to be able to buy it. It is larger than our home by about 240 square feet and I will have my craft room in the house, not in the garage!! Yeah!!
Now on to the giveaway I won from Angie at Hopemore Studio. Angie sent me a lovely note with the pendant I chose from her Etsy shop.
She didn't leave it at that...no, not Angie! She added lots of goodies, new & old, that she thought I could use in my creations.
Here is her blog for you to check out: http://hopemorestudio.blogspot.com
I have so much to be thankful for and soon I will be back with my hubby in our new home. We will be putting the rest of our things in storage until we close on the house in Lebanon. Thank you so much to all of you for your prayers and well wishes through this journey that started in December. I am truly blessed!
Blessings to all of you,
Cindy
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