Spring is an amazing time of year.  Everything is waking up after a long and cold winter slumber. Trees are turning green, flowers are blooming and people are enjoying the outdoors.  And nothing says spring more than the smell of lilac trees.  It is, hands down, one of the most wonderful fragrances!  Even if you don’t have any lilacs in […]

Throughout the summer I will be documenting a few of my favorite parks around town! Greater Des Moines is bursting with amazing public parks and I want to make sure I’m sharing my favorites for others to know! This week’s Friday Find is Ironwood Park in Altoona …aka Pirate Park. With a pirate theme, you […]

Now that my kids are older, movie night is no longer something we can only do if we have a babysitter.  Saying that, I still love to get away for a good old movie date night and I prefer to hit up our quaint, independent theaters.  For this week’s Friday Find we are featuring a […]

I have to admit I am not the greenest of thumbs. If you know me, you know I struggle with keeping plants alive.  Saying that, I love what a few houseplants can do to an indoor space.  They add a pop of color and spruce up an otherwise plain room.  Incorporating plants in your indoor […]

Ultra Violet, Oceanside and Deep Onyx are a few of the colors that will dominate 2018.  This year, designers are expecting homeowners to take their home accents to a new level.  With Glidden’s 2018 Color of the Year, Black Onyx, you might be a little intimidated to paint your entire room black.  But interior designers […]

Trees and other landscaping can benefit the value of your home AND help reduce your energy bill.  According to the USDA Forest Service, just by planting a tree in your front yard you can increase your home’s sale price by an average of 10%.  Also, planting trees in strategic locations can provide shade or a […]

This week’s Friday Find…Hiland Bakery. We are back this week in the shops in the Highland Park Neighborhood for show-stopping baked goods.  When I was growing up, Saturday’s were my favorite day of the week!  My family’s morning ritual was to go to Hiland Bakery to grab a morning treat (vanilla long John, please) and […]

One of my regular pieces of advice to potential homebuyers when we are out searching for their new home is “don’t sweat the small stuff”.  Of course, there are things that I always say are on the ‘do not compromise list’ – location, neighborhood, schools, etc.  But there are other things that some buyers often […]

This weeks open houses will be held on Sunday, February 25th from 1-4pm in our Ironwood South, Pleasant Grove, and Sunrise Pointe developments. Ironwood South is located in Altoona just off 1st Avenue South. Ironwood South has a park, access to bike trails, pond and SE Polk Schools with Clay Elementary.  The tax abatement in Altoona […]

Unless you bought a brand new home, it is likely that your home could use some (or a lot of) improvements.  Buying an older home is desirable because it comes with all the character and charm of the era when it was built, whether it be mid-century, Victorian, etc.  But older homes require a lot […]