Creative DIY Costumes for the Whole Family

Halloween is just around the corner and if you don’t have your costume yet, listen up! It’s always hard to figure out good and creative costumes these days and if you are like me and my family, you live a pretty busy life and Halloween just seems to sneak up on you before you are fully prepared. As a kid, it is much easier to come up with quick and cute costumes. But the older you get, the harder it can be especially when you want your costume to be either work or grown-up appropriate. My daughter and I have dressed up in mother/daughter costumes before but this year she decided to dress up as Wonder Woman (which I might follow suite in to be honest). For those of you that have to go to a work Halloween party where dressing up is encouraged, I have come up with some creative costumes that won’t take much time or much money to put together.

·      The white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland – This is easy for the ladies out there. All you need is a white dress and a red blazer. Add a blue bow tie and some white ears, possibly a clock bag and you are good to go!

·      Ladies if you have a green dress, you can attach some pieces of yarn to if and some flowers to make yourself into a cactus! Add a headband with some flowers on it and you are a prickly pear.

·      One of my favorites is the gumball machine that requires hundreds of pom poms. Find a little red dress and add a gray swatch of felt for the quarter slot. Glue the pom poms to the top half of the dress and you almost good enough to eat!

·      Medusa had a way of turning people to stone but that’s not what you’ll be doing while rocking fake snacks in your hair! Pull your hair into braids and pin them onto your head, insert fake snakes among your hair and countour those cheekbones for a fierce looking Medusa.

·      Get a clear large garbage bag, blow up some small colored balloons and what do you have? A bag full of jellybeans of course! If you can print off the Jelly Belly logo and stick it in the bag, you really are in business.

·      A great idea for a couple is silent film characters. You and your significant other can dress up in a black suite and a black dress, paint your faces white with painted on black features highlighting your lips and eyes, and carry around printed off script lines to let people know what you would be saying.

·      If you have someone in the family who can paint your face (or you have some mad make-up skills yourself!) the Dia de los Muertos skeleton faces are always a big hit.

·      The whole family could go as a squad of Emojis this year! Dress up in all black and make a cardboard cut out of your favorite smiley face emoji.

·      Bubble bath anyone? Find yourself a matching sweatshirt and sweatpants outfit preferably in white. Get some white, light pink and clear balloons and a rubber ducky. Blow up and attach the balloons to yourself and place the duck floating on one of the balloons and you have a walking bubble bath.

·      Your family just needs some cardboard, paint and pillows to go as a whole s’more kit! The parents can be the graham crackers; the kids can be the chocolate with the littlest being the marshmallow wrapped up in pillows.

There are so many great costumes out there for yourself as an individual and for your family to dress up as a group costume. Have a fun and safe Halloween everyone!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is a great month for so many reasons, one of which being that it brings awareness to a health issue that has affected many women in my life. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. A whole month dedicated to raising awareness, educating women and men about the disease and raising money to help contribute to finding a cure. There are so many facts about breast cancer that any people so not realize and so I decided to compile a list for those out there who want to learn more about it and help contribute and work to help find a cure:

·      The leading risk for breast cancer is simply being a woman. It is 100 times more common in women then in men.

·      1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

·      In Colorado in 2017, 74 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer each week.

·      About 85% occurs in women who have NO family history of breast cancer (that’s why it is imperative that everyone gets checked, even if you have no family history of the disease).

·      About 1 in 1,000 men are diagnosed annually with breast cancer.

·      Breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. In the United States, breast cancer deaths are second to heart disease in women.

·      Exercise reduces the risk of breast cancer for women of all body types.

·      In 2017, it's estimated that among U.S. women there will be:

o   252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer

o   40,610 breast cancer deaths

So what can you do this month to help bring awareness? Well first off, all the women reading over the age of 40 this should go get a mammogram this month. Yes they are unpleasant and no one likes them but they are important! Here are also some events around town to participate in:

American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk

Sunday, October 22

Village Center Station, 6363 S. Fiddlers Green Circle in Greenwood Village

Real Men Wear Pink

Men from across the community are taking a stand against breast cancer by raising funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society by wearing pink during the month of October.

There have already been lots of events this month including the huge Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in early October where thousands of participants showed up to walk/run the amazing event to raise money and awareness. If you would like to learn more about giving for the cause and good places to donate, this website has some great insight: http://www.komencolorado.org/komen-colorado/

Wear your pink clothes or your pink ribbons this month, get involved and bring awareness to this terrible disease that has taken the lives of too any wonderful women.

How to get your home ready to put on the market

The great thing for any sellers out there hoping to put their home on the market in Colorado is that we are still in a strong sellers market. There is such a high demand for homes and with thousands of people still moving to Denver monthly, that is not going to slow down anytime soon. But even in a sellers market, it is important for sellers to take the necessary steps for their house to be market ready if they want to get the best offer. Many sellers think because the market is so hot they don’t have to make their home presentable or do any work to it. While you may not have to pull out all the stops, you will probably have to invest some time and money to get your house looking it’s best for potential buyers. Below I have a few thoughts on the best ways to make your home market ready:

·      Never setting a price right off the bat.  I will give the seller a range for the price but will always put it on tour in my office and have multiple agents look at it first and give me their opinion of price.  It’s like getting over 10 BPO’s. 

·      Have a branded “getting ready for sale” list and walk through the house with them to let them know what needs to be done.

·      Have a professional photographer take the photos.  Don’t use your iPhone or try to do it yourself unless your a professional photographer.   Remember your trying to sell the home and first impressions are the most important.  Additionally, you’re selling yourself for future business so when someone wants to sell their home they will remember your marketing.  I see so many listings where the photos are dark, blurry or the pictures are even sideways.  Please hire a professional!  If you are just starting out as a Realtor and can’t afford one then see if you can find a photography student or intern who would be willing to do it for free so they have photos for their portfolio.  There are all kinds of ways to collaborate or partner up with other industry partners

·      Have a professional 3D tour done.  I use Matterport.  Just a great sales tool to use so buyers can walk through the home and know the floor plan.

·      Have professional brochures made.  Remember you’re trying to sell the house, and making great impressions are key.  Again, you are selling yourself and these little guys stick around. 

·      Start to disassociate yourself from your home because it can be hard for many sellers to learn to let go. You’ve lived in your home for years and you have wonderful memories there but now it is time for someone else to come in and make it their home.

·      I always tell my sellers to depersonalize their home; take down any family photos and any decorations that could be distracting to buyers. You want buyers to be able to picture themselves in that home and it can be hard if the home is still covered in all of your personal reminders.

·      I also tell my sellers to de-clutter and start to really sort through all of their stuff, people never realize just how much they have until they start to move. I say get a jump-start on this and make piles of what you are keeping, what you can donate and also what you can throw away.

·      For both the outside of the house and the inside of the house, make sure everything is clean and appealing to potential buyers. Curbside appearance in a big thing, you want buyers to get a great first impression when they pull up to your home and when they walk inside, you want them to be to feel at ease and not put off immediately because the place is unclean or has an unusual smell or anything of that nature.

There is a lot that can go to getting your home ready to put on that market but that is why you hire an experienced real estate agent like myself to help guide you through the process. If you are thinking it is time to sell, please contact me today and let’s work together to get your home in the best shape it can be so you can get the best offer!

Updates on the Coloradan

If you have walked around down by Union Station in the past week or so, you may have notice a new building peeking around from under the canopy on the train platform. It’s the Coloradan! That’s right, progress on this beautiful condominium community keeps moving at a steady pace and we are still on track to be built and in have residents by next year. This 19-story, 334-unit building has gone vertical above the street level and not is a few floors off the ground (this will be for commercial and retail purposes as well as parking).

Walking along 17th Street, you can see the concrete structure is not four-stories up and will eventually rise the full height along Wewatta. Along the 18th Street side, the building will feature a setback from the actual street on the 4th floor then rise the full height.

The Coloradan is going up directly outside the commuter rail canopy and will join the platform to fill in the last gap of the open development around the station. And don’t get me started on the views of this place! Whether you are facing the city or facing the mountains, you are guaranteed to be amazed by the sights on every floor of this beautiful building.

For those of you who have shown interest in the place great news, the sales center is open and ready to help you out with any questions you may have! I also would love to help you reserve your spot on the interest list where you can get full details of the development and what you can do to reserve your spot today.

The Coloradan is truly a special building and is a great spot for any buyer. Whether you are a young city dweller looking to find a spot close to downtown or a spot that has easy walking accessibility or you a retiree looking to enjoy the great amenities while being in the heart of the city or you are an investor looking for your next purchase, the Coloradan is the right place for you. With prices that range from the  $300,000’s to the millions, this is a condominium experience for the masses.

If you have been curious about this stunning build, contact me today and let’s grab coffee at Union Station and have a stroll over to the build site and chat about how you can become a condo owner at the Coloradan.

Welcoming Fall to Colorado

If you were out this weekend you might have noticed a little bit of a chill in the air. The early mornings are crisper these days and the evenings are quite pleasant with a touch of coolness. This Friday, September 22nd, marks the first official day of fall and I, for one, am excited for the weather to not be so hot anymore, not to mention pumpkin spice lattes and trips to the pumpkin patch. Denver is such a beautiful city in the fall and we are spoiled with the quick trips to the mountains to see the beautiful changing of the trees from green to stunning golds and oranges and reds. If you are looking for some great fall activities to do with your friends and family check out the list below:

Oktoberfest Denver – Sept. 22nd – 30th – Ballpark neighborhood

What better way to start off fall then with an amazing tradition like Oktoberfest? Enjoy two weekends full of German attractions, live music, international dancers, children’s activities, booths with German goods and of course, authentic German drinks and cuisine.

Autumn Gold Festival – Sept. 22nd – 23rd – Estes Park

If you are wanting to get up close and personal with the golden-hued Aspens, take the drive to Estes Park and don’t forget to drop in for the Autumn Gold Festival with live music, food and drinks, kids’ activities and a classic car show. There’s also a raffle with the winner taking home $5,000 cash.

Denver Zombie Crawl – Oct. 7th – Downtown Denver

The Denver Zombie Crawl holds the Guinness World Record for the largest zombie crawl event in the world. Get yourself looking as dead as possible and enjoy this fun event where all ages are welcome.

Pumpkin Harvest Festival – Oct. 7th – 8th – Four Mile Historic Park

It’s never too early to get your pumpkins and the Pumpkin Harvest Festival is a great experience for the whole family. Pick your perfect pumpkin, ride in a horse-drawn wagon, build a scarecrow, enjoy live music and have some great drinks and eats while you do it.

Apple Fest – Oct. 7th – 8th – Cedaredge

It’s only a 274 mile drive to get to Cedaredge and trust me, for the Apple Fest, it is worth it. There are over 150 booths, car, tractor and motorcycle shows, a chili cook-off, 5k run, live music and a gala dance. Oh, and there might be a few apple dishes to enjoy as well.

Breckenridge Fall Fest – Oct. 14th – Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

If the kids want to take their costumes for a spin before Halloween, head to the Breckenridge Fall Fest where they can trick-or-treat, get their face painter, decorate a pumpkin and munch on some delicious fall snacks.

The Bloody Mary Festival – Oct. 22nd – EXDO Event Center

This one is for the adults only but what a fun day to be had by all! Grab tickets and enjoy three hours of unlimited tastes of Denver’s most creative and innovative bloody marys (don’t worry, they will also have food trucks so it won’t just be a liquid lunch kind of day!).

Denver Arts Week – Nov. 3rd – 11th – Denver Metro area

This event is based off the popular event from Paris and is a wonderful week-long celebration of all things art in Denver. The city’s top museums, art galleries, theaters and concert halls offer free or discounted admission and special performances throughout the week.

There are so many great events going on this fall so make sure to get out and enjoy the weather because before you know it, winter will be here! The Denver real estate market for the fall is looking like another strong one so if you are wanting to find a place before the winter or get your house into this amazing seller’s market, contact me today!