It’s Garden Time!

Hi friends.  Long time, no writing… I know, I know.  But we’ve been busy!  The market is picking up, we’re in the process of moving homes (more about that later…), and the weather is just awful.  Was nice last week, this week, not so much.

And even though the weather is gross, it’s time to start thinking about what to put in my garden this year.  Now, I’ll confess, I, Sam the office girl, live at home with my parents, or my roomies as I affectionately call them.  Listen, the economy is rough, and if I was paying rent right now, I’d probably have to live off ramen noodles for the next year and a half, and I mean, do you even know what ramen does to the body??  So much salt!  So I live at home, the rents cheap, don’t have to pay for laundry, get a home cooked meal, and I have my own bathroom.  But if anyone else asks, again, I live with the roomies.

Back to the garden… My backyard is huge and we have a great sized garden that last year failed miserably.  We got behind in weeding, and it was all downhill from there.  Mind you, the year before, our cucumber and squash plants over took half of the garden, and it was intense.  I was out picking 4-5 cukes a day.  Out of control.  So I’ve been trying to brainstorm what plants are the easiest and low maintenance to grow.  Here’s my list thus far :

-Tomatoes (to include Sunsweet tomatoes, which are the absolute best tasting cherry tomatoes!)

-Green Beans

-Summer squash/Zuccini

-Basil

 

That’s it.  We tried watermelon last year, nothing.  Didn’t even flower.  Had kale one year, which was awesome because it grew into November, and we’re a big kale loving family.  So I’m not sure what else to get!  Any help out there??  And any suggestions for some organic pesticides?  The beetles attacked my tomato plants last year, and I HATE bugs.  Ask anyone here in the office…

BTW how’s this for a new office view?  Lot better than the other photos I posted right???

 

More about that next week!

-Sam

 

I Found My Dream Home

So I just found my absolute dream  house.  I am in love.  This home, the former home to Elijah Locke, a native to Rye, NH, is a modernized colonial and I am just in love.  It’s down the street from Jenness Beach, probably one of my all time favorite summer spots, and just perfect.  I love it, I want it, and will probably be able to afford it in about 80 years, as its over $1 million dollars.  Yeah.  $1 MILLION.  I know you all are probably interested to see this million dollar home, so heres the link 5 Grove.

Now I know this is not one of Allen Family’s listings, but I had to share.  I’m going to be thinking about this property for the rest of my life!  I also got to thinking, “Hmm, I wonder, what do other people’s dream home consist of?  Do you want to be surrounded by woods, and bears, and foxes, and wild bugs?  Or a farmhouse?  Or do you want a beach house?  Or maybe a penthouse in NYC?  A house with a beautiful view on a lake?

What is your dream home?  I shared mine… now it’s your turn!

Almost paradise, we’re knocking on heaven’s door

QUICK!  Name that lyric in the header!!!  Can’t figure it out?  Google it!  Or look at the bottom of my post…

I just can’t help but write about this article.  I will admit, I am an MSN fanatic.  I am on there every day, multiple times a day, browsing their healthy mix of pop culture and world interest articles.  They have every thing and anything you could ever look for.

They also have a kick-butt real estate section.  This section features some really neat home decor ideas, what and what not to do while buying or selling your home, and you can look for listings right there.  But this slideshow, this one takes the cake.

Top 10 Best Home Views

My favorites?  Obviously the Cape Cod one, the Hawaiian Oahu picture, and the penthouse Ritz-Carlton in Dallas terrace view.  And since this is my current view :

the dreaming starts in 3…2…1…

-Sam

P.s. They lyric is from “Almost Paradise” from Footloose.  Haven’t seen the recent redo of the movie, I’m partial to Kevin Bacon.

Crafting, and crafting, and crafting!

It’s almost March, which means it’s almost time for some spring cleaning!!  Almost time to freshen up your house, start new, and wait for all the pollen to fill your home!  But, I guess the snow has to stop first for spring to come, and who knows when that will happen!!  Every weekend, snow, the rest of the week, snow!  I’m getting a little snow crazy!  The only bright side to snow is that shoveling is a great substitute for traditional exercise!

Anyway, if any of you know me, you probably know I have a severe addiction to Pinterest, and more specifically, crafting.  Not that I actually do any of the crafts, but the ideas alone just excite me!  And when I saw this article from MSN, Home Decor Craft Ideas, I almost died.  A shelf made out of a skateboard?  How cool and what boy wouldn’t love that in their room?!?!  Check out the article, it’s pretty cool and it links to a few other slideshows that could distract you from a whole day’s worth of work!

Also, we have a new listing!  96 Bagdad Road in Durham is now for sale!  It’s a beautiful home, located within walking distance to the Oyster River Schools!  Go to our website Allenfamilyrealestate.com and check out the virtual tour of the home!

As always, have a wonderful day and don’t forget to prepare yourself for the snow storm!  (But that doesn’t mean running to Market Basket and stocking up on frozen dinners!)

Sam

I Thought We Were Going To Have a Snow Day…!

Hello friends!

I woke up this morning expecting to shovel my car out of the driveway and instead, I found a light dusting of snow covering my car.  I’m not complaining, I HATE shoveling!  But, I know so many of you were banking on a snow day to extend their 3-day weekend, and for that I am very sorry.  I guess that’s why Mother Nature is an appropriate name for our Earth, girl changes her mind about everything!

But enough about the weather!  Let’s talk some home tips!  Coming to you from MSN.com, complete with photos, is a helpful slideshow if you’re looking to remodel your bathroom!  Most important tip I think is number 9, don’t be afraid to call a pro!  I know a handful of “handymen” that really are not that handy, but they sure pretend they are!  It’s okay if fixing things isn’t your forte!  Don’t be afraid to admit it (aka Dad, I love you, you were a great policeman, but leave my shower alone!!).

So, here it is.  10 Smart Tips for Remodeling Your Bathroom.  If you’re really bored, and procrastinating getting back to work, check out some of the articles on the MSN Real Estate home page.  Definitely some useful info on there!

We’ve also done some new stuff to our website <— CHECK IT OUT!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

-Sam