Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/iw41FdOhd2k/
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Monday, December 3, 2012
Great Ideas: Molly Sims?s Modern & Serene Nursery Style
Get a peek inside the model's om-mazing baby room.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Setting the stage for ?SOLD? | Saint Louis Real Estate Agents ...
By Diane Eddy-Low
Selling your home can be hard for anyone to wrap their mind around. All of the ins and outs?of the process, finding your new home, moving, gulp and the list goes on and on. The best?thing you can do is to hire professionals to help guide you through the process and give you?all the information that you need to make the best decision for you and your family?s future.
The first item, when you decide to sell, is that your home is no longer your home. It has now?become a property or an asset that you need to liquidate. All of the work you have done?to make it yours, surprisingly, may now become a hindrance in the selling process. Do not?take it as a personal insult when a Buyer comes through and hates all the faux painting that?you spent hours on or the forest green carpet that you dearly love. Separate yourself from?the ?Home? mentality to the ?Asset? mentality and you will save yourself a whole lot of?frustration later.
When selling a property it?s kind of like a romance. You have to set the mood and show?off your best side and minimize the areas that need some work! For this you can hire a?professional or try the following 15 easy steps to ?Setting the stage to sold?.
1. Clear out the clutter. All buyers like open, spacious looking rooms even if they are?not so spacious when looking at a tape measure. So clear out your stuff to achieve the?illusion of space. Put the extra furniture you don?t need but want to keep into storage,?(maybe in Grandmas basement) sell or donate it. Take down those adorable family?photos and the kids favorite posters, pack up the knickknacks and make the fridge clear?of all artwork and things to do lists! It is especially important to keep all hallways and?doorways clear of clutter. Remember, you want the buyer to envision their possessions?in their future home not be overwhelmed by all of your stuff!
2. Use counter intelligence. Let those counters shine through! Go and clean off all of the?counters in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. Put the counter appliances away,?throw out any old magazines you have sitting around, read and sort through your stack?of mail, buyers do not need to see all of that. You want the property to convey the look?of lots of counter space not the fact that you use such and such laundry detergent and?you?re late paying your electric bill.
3. Be a Bloodhound. A home should smell good but not of the latest new air freshener?scent. We become immune to the smells in our homes so I suggest having a friend come?over to be the Bloodhound and point out the odors that need to be eliminated. This is?the friend who is not too afraid of offending you but will be honest in what he or she?truly sniffs! The top three odor issues within a home are usually cooking odors, pet odor?and smoking. You should not try and mask the odor causing sources within the property?but go to the source and get rid of it. We will touch more on this one later.
4. Illuminate. A dark home is hard to sell. Clean all of those light fixtures and in very dark?rooms like bathrooms with no windows I suggest replacing existing light bulbs with GE?Reveal bulbs. Yes, I know they are not as energy efficient but they give off a beautiful,?bright, full spectrum lumen that is so much brighter than standard energy efficient light?bulbs. When buyers come to view your property turn all those clean, sparkly lights on!
5. Keep it clean. Buyers perceive a clean house to a home that has been taken better care?of. Clean everything?.baseboards, molding, air vents, interior and exterior doors and?door frames, cabinets, walls, tile, carpets, ceiling fans, windows, flooring, kitchens (yes,?I mean the stove burners and oven, microwave and fridge especially) and bathrooms.?Replace furnace and air intake filters, fix that drippy faucet, caulk and patch all of those?nail holes then re-paint. Repair all those items that you haven?t gotten around to and?that, if you where a buyer, you would want to see maintained on the home you are buying. Better yet, be pro-active and get a home inspection. Don?t forget to clean out?and organize the garage and basement! The most important item in this section is to?keep it clean and neat for every showing! Some of my favorite products are: For walls?and plastic items like door handles on the fridge use a magic eraser, amazing. Use?Murphy?s Oil Soap to clean the cabinets then use Old English scratch cover on all of your?non painted cabinet surfaces. It is available for light or dark wood and will make most?cabinets look almost like new. Goof off and simple green are your friends!?Avoid offence. The last thing a seller needs is to go to all of the work to make your?property shine above all other properties and the buyer takes offence to something you?didn?t think about putting away and there goes an opportunity out the front door. Take?the trophy deer heads off the wall and pack them, make sure there are no provocative?or controversial items or magazines laying around, religious or spiritual items should be?minimized or packed. In the master bedroom, well, let?s just say, make sure nothing is?left out that could cause great embarrassment to all parties who witness them. (Blush)?Clean out closets. Go through all of the closets and cabinets in the property. If you?are not using it pack it up or get rid of it. Buyers do look and partially empty closets and?cabinets look roomy and space sells. Under the cabinets that have had a leaky faucet I?suggest making sure the leak is fixed then lining the water damaged cabinet floor with a?scrap piece of linoleum or vinyl shelf paper.?Embrace the White. Bright, beautiful wall colors are so in and you love the colors you?lovingly painted each wall in your home. Well, it will soon not be your home anymore?it will be someone else?s and they may not like what you loved. Paint is a relatively?inexpensive way to make a house look clean and fresh. If you are going to do some?interior repainting prior to selling, keep it light and neutral. Lighter colors reflect light?and will make rooms look brighter and larger.
Is that a carpet stain? Take a close look at all of the carpet in your house after you?have had it cleaned. If those stains won?t come out and it still looks dirty, soiled or?stained, replace the carpet with something neutral or consider wood or laminates as?alternatives. Buyers love the words ?newer flooring?!
Keep it safe. Now that you will have buyers in and out of your house consider keeping?your fine jewelry and Grandpas pocket watch in a safety deposit box not in your?jewelry armoire in the bedroom. Lock up the guns and anything that you value. Remove?prescription drugs from your cabinets as you do not want these items to walk off?either. I suggest hiding them in a shoe box in the closet or in a food box in the pantry.?No matter how diligent we Realtors are when showing a property things can and do?happen. So be smart and keep it safe!
Peel the peeling wallpaper. If your wallpaper is pealing, especially in the bathrooms,?remove it if you can?t fix it with a few drops of wallpaper paste. I suggest to then paint?the walls in a neutral color that goes well with the bathroom tile.
Ditch the cigarettes. Having a smoker in the house while trying to sell will eliminate?many potential buyers. More and more buyers these days will not even look at a house?that has been repeatedly smoked in. So, move the smoking outside and if the property?s?interior is yellowed by smoking you have no choice but to scrub everything down walls?and ceiling, shampoo the carpet and you may be forced to paint even if the interior?paint is in good condition.
Set your house apart. You want your property to stand out over the competition. This?is made more difficult by homes in communities where there are many other similar?floor plans available in the neighborhood. Try turning on soothing music while the?house is being shown, a fresh bouquet of flowers on a table or counter, again turn all?of the lights on, set out small little signs highlighting some of your favorite features of?the home. Do something that will make the buyer remember your property in a positive?light!
14. We love our pets. We love our animal family members but not everyone feels the same?way. Barking dogs whether aggressive or not can be a big turnoff for some buyers when?viewing property. If you can, take the babies out for a walk when the property is being?sold. Put Fluffy the cat in a pen during a showing instead of closing her in a room with?a note on the door that says do not open and let cat out. I know these can?t always be?done but it is something to think about.
15. Flower power. If you are selling during the warm weather season, get that lawn?looking great and plant those flowers! You only get one chance to make a great first?impression when a buyer drives up and sees your property for the first time. A beautiful?lawn with gorgeous flowers can be well worth the expense to help with curb appeal.?It makes a property ?feel? brighter, softer, more welcoming and to stand out in the?neighborhood. Besides what is Romance with some flowers!?Don?t let this process overwhelm you, do what you can within your budget. Also remember to?not go overboard every time your property is shown. Your goal is to make your property shine?and the buyers saying to themselves ?yes I could live here?!
Diane Eddy-Low is a licensed Realtor with Hermann London Group in Maplewood, Missouri. She has been selling real estate for over 11 years and has a fine arts and interior design background. She can be reached at 314-602-7174 or Diane@HermnnLondon.com
Source: http://www.hermannlondon.com/blog/setting-the-stage-for-sold/
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Investing Ahead of 'Cliff' Deal - CNBC
Do Taxes Matter? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:50 PM
The Baseball Cliff Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:40 PM
End of the Dollar Bill? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:33 PM
House Passes STEM Act Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:25 PM
Should GOP Dive Off the Fiscal Cliff? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:15 PM
Fiscal Cliff Finger Pointing Fri 30 Nov 12 | 07:00 PM
No Huddle Offense: Yum's Falling Sales Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:58 PM
You Ask, Cramer Answers! Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:45 PM
The Week That Was - Inside Mad Money Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:42 PM
Lightning Round Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:40 PM
Take Notes! Cramer Play on OfficeMax Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:25 PM
SAP Co-CEO: Focusing On Mobile Biz Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:15 PM
Cramer's Game Plan Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:04 PM
The Week Ahead: Holiday's Coming, So's the 'Cliff' Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:02 PM
The Week That Was: Blow Out Black Friday Sales Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:01 PM
Ahead of Next Week's Market Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:00 PM
Mad Money, November 30, 2012 Fri 30 Nov 12 | 06:00 PM
Money In Motion Web Extra Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:59 PM
The Buck Stops Here Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:58 PM
Profiting From the Payroll Number Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:52 PM
What the 'Fiscal Cliff' Means for the Dollar Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:46 PM
Gold to $5,000: Top Strategist Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:36 PM
Money In Motion, November 30, 2012 Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:30 PM
Why Is the Smart Money Going to Europe? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:30 PM
Options Action Web Extra Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:29 PM
The Final Call Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:28 PM
Buy the Apple Rally? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:20 PM
Does the Options Market See More 'Special' Dividends Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:16 PM
If Retail Is Weak, Why Is Visa Strong? Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:05 PM
Why Yum Is Bad for the Market Fri 30 Nov 12 | 05:00 PM
Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=3000132362&play=1
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Saturday, December 1, 2012
Notre Dame beats eighth-ranked Kentucky 64-50
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) ? Notre Dame's experience and raucous home crowd were too much for eighth-ranked Kentucky and its heralded freshmen.
Junior guards Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant paced the Fighting Irish to a 64-50 victory Thursday night.
Atkins led the Fighting Irish with 16 points, Grant had 13 points and six assists and Jack Cooley added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"The way our guards were controlling things, I didn't have to do a lot of coaching," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
"Those guys were coaching the team. Eric Atkins running things, calling sets. When you have a veteran backcourt doing that, I just don't want to get in their way too much."
Notre Dame outplayed Kentucky (4-2) inside during the first half and held the Wildcats to a season-low 40 percent shooting for the game.
The Irish shot 48 percent, the best anyone against Kentucky this season.
The senior captains of the top-ranked Notre Dame football team, linebacker Manti Te'o, defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, tight end Tyler Eifert and tackle Zack Martin, got a standing ovation when they were introduced at halftime.
Students rushed the floor after the Irish wrapped up their second win over the Wildcats in the past 13 meetings.
Grant was disappointed in the fans' reaction, saying it wasn't like last season when the Irish upset top-ranked Syracuse.
"I'd rather not have them on the court. Last year was kind of a surprise game. This year, going into it, all of us were expecting to win this game," he said.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said his team didn't compete.
"They beat us to balls. They beat us around the basket. We didn't compete. We didn't execute. We didn't play together. There's a lot of things we didn't do," he said.
Julius Mays led Kentucky with 16 points and Nerlens Noel had 10.
"We came out a little shell-shocked and we started playing their game, which is slow down and half court. I think we're more of an up-tempo team," Mays said.
Two of Kentucky's heralded freshmen struggled. Archie Goodwin, who is averaging 19 points, was 1 of 7 shooting and finished with three points and Alex Polythress, who is averaging 18.4 points, had just one basket and was 1 of 3 from the free-throw line.
The Irish outrebounded Kentucky 33-27.
"We just knew that we could attack their bigs," Cooley said. "We watched film on them and knew that they had young bigs, and we could try to outsmart them instead of out-athleticizing them. Not really change how we play but just do what we do."
Brey said his team played with poise whenever Kentucky started rallying.
"When we don't have good offensive stretches, we're still able to concentrate defensively," he said.
Notre Dame led 36-25 at halftime. The lead was around 10 points when Cameron Biedscheid, who had 10 points, hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Grant and another jumper by Biedscheid and gave Notre Dame a 55-35 lead.
Notre Dame wore black uniforms with stitched green letters and numbers that were hard to see and the crowd wore black in support of the team.
Atkins said the victory should help the Irish during the season.
"It just boosts our confidence that we can do it against an elite team," he said.
Calipari said he hopes his team learned something in the loss.
"What I hope they figure out is you've got to do it together. You have to give Notre Dame credit. What a great crowd, with a great student body. They ground us out. That's how we usually play when we get up," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/notre-dame-beats-eighth-ranked-kentucky-64-50-021845319--spt.html
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Big Appetite For Grocery Tenants | Retail Real Estate Brokerage ...
Roundtable panel notes how grocers are expanding in Dallas and Houston, especially in suburban markets.
John Nelson
As reported in Texas Real Estate Business November 2012
The consensus from a panel of retail real state experts in Texas Real Estate Business? Retail Roundtable is that Texas, specifically Houston and Dallas, has been a target market for retail expansion for years and the momentum has not shifted. This interest in the Houston and Dallas areas is a direct product of the markets? thriving economy.
Houston and Dallas are enjoying job growth and an upswing in population, which naturally has led to increased demand for retail properties. Retailers, especially grocers, have expanded their footprint to meet the demand. Kroger, Trader Joe?s, Aldi, Whole Foods, Spouts and H-E-B, among other grocers, have all opened or broken ground on Texas locations, mostly in the suburban submarkets.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Houston has added 12,300 retail jobs in a 12-month period ending July 2012, a 4.6 percent hike. In Houston, total employment in the retail sector has increased month-to-month for 22 consecutive months. Similarly, Dallas? trade and transportation sector has added 11,900 jobs in the same 12-month period, a 2 percent gain.
In the core submarkets, the trend for retail development is more in mixed-use properties, such as BLVD Place in Houston or West 7th in Fort Worth. Retail and restaurant tenants are expanding into these high-profile developments instead of breaking ground on new developments, which the participants have attributed to the increasing cost of land and the difficult to obtain construction financing. New retail construction tends to be in the suburban markets, where land is cheaper and the population is growing more dense, according to the participants.
The following is the edited transcript of the Retail Roundtable, which features commentary from United Commercial Realty (UCR), Marcus & Millichap, NAI Robert Lynn, Baker Katz and Venture Commercial. To read the description of each participant, see the sidebar entitled ?Meet the Panel.?
For the roundtable:
1. Texas Real Estate Business: What is the health of the Texas retail market versus the Southwest and the rest of the nation?
Ken Reimer: It is pretty clear that Texas experienced little tumult relative to other regions in the last four years. We are positioned to take advantage of a recovery with our central time zone, diversified economy, Right to Work advantages, educated work force, business friendly political environment, low cost of living, and growing population.
Kenneth Katz: In general, the Texas market is healthy. We?ve had strong retail growth. One of the things that helped us in the recession is that we didn?t experience severe declines in residential values that markets in other parts of the country did. As a result, our consumer confidence and spending wasn?t as severely affected here as it was in other parts of the country. Also, most retailers report very strong sales numbers out of their Texas stores ? both in terms of absolute performance relative to other markets and profitability.
2. TREB: What retailers are expanding and where are they expanding?
Ken Reimer: Many retailers are frustrated by the lack of expansion opportunities and this has proven to be a barrier to growth for many smaller retail/restaurant concepts. There have been few new anchored developments in Texas, though grocers and discounters such as HEB, Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, and others are very actively pursuing new locations that will come online as 2014 or 2015 openings. Importantly, most of these retailers are self-developing with little or no focus on adjacent retail space.
Kenneth Katz: Grocers, fitness clubs, and fast-casual restaurants are very active segments in Houston. In the grocery sector, Wal-Mart and Kroger have been consistently active in our market. Trader Joe?s just opened their first two locations in Houston and they have a third under construction. Aldi has purchased a number of sites and plans to open their first wave of stores next year. Costco, who has been at three existing stores in Houston for about five years now, has plans to double their store count within the next 24 months. Active fitness retailers include LA Fitness, Planet Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness. Blast Fitness is a newcomer to Houston that acquired most of the Bally Total Fitness locations in our market.
3. What opportunities do you see for grocery and drug store chains in the suburbs versus the city?
Ken Reimer: It?s extraordinarily difficult to find sites inside the loop that are large enough/cost effective for both categories. But anchors such as Walmart, Sam?s Club, Kroger and LA Fitness are serving the densest areas at the periphery, while searching in the center of their target infill market. Land abounds in the suburbs, but proving up sites with limited growth is challenging.
Kenneth Katz: The majority of the opportunities for grocery and drug store growth is in the outlying suburban markets most of which are located in Houston?s extraterritorial jurisdiction. You?ll see growth in those areas for two reasons: The population will increase in the suburban markets faster than in the urban markets, and store spacing is less of a challenge compared to the urban core.
4. What uses are there for any second-generation space? Have any properties been repositioned in your market that you could mention?
Kenneth Katz: A number of spaces that were available for long periods of time are now being leased. For example, BLVD Place is now under construction. It?s being redeveloped into a mixed-use project that will be anchored by Whole Foods and Apache Corporation?s new headquarters. A former Borders at Kirby and Alabama has been leased by Texas Children?s Pediatrics. Another example is the Commons of Willowbrook at SH249 and FM 1960. The owner is repositioning that project by demolishing one large multi-tenant pad, which will enhance visibility and parking and make what was previously a difficult anchor position more desirable.
5. What retail activity is happening in the suburban markets as compared to the city? What are some of the developments taking shape in your market?
Ken Reimer: While almost every tenant would expand into denser, less competitive (per capita) infill locations, small to mid-size concepts that can generate the volume and profit to pay for more expensive infill sites have been successful. These include many ?chef driven? restaurants and fast food concepts such as Chick-fil-A, and higher-end retailers such as Room & Board. Larger retailers including Kroger, Walmart, Sam?s Club or LA Fitness are getting as close to the ?bulls eye? as possible, often serving uptown customers at the periphery.
There are many proposed Dallas-area developments, although some are two to four years off. They include Nebraska Furniture on State Highway 121; Rayzor Ranch in Denton; the redevelopment of Valley View Mall in Dallas; the redevelopment of Golden Triangle Mall in Denton; Greenway?s 1709 and Kimball project called Kimball Crossing; Margaux Development?s work on the corners of State Highways 114 and 170, and U.S. 377 and North Tarrant Parkway; LPC?s Oak Lawn development at Blackburn; UCD?s North proposed grocery anchored center at Lake Forest and U.S. Highway 380; and the Walmart development in Crossroads on U.S. Highway 380.
Kenneth Katz: Many suburban markets are experiencing continued residential growth and expansion. As the population continues grow in these areas, there is an increased need for retail services. The majority of new development to serve this increased population base is in the form of grocery store growth. As demand for space increases among fast casual restaurants and other retailers looking for regional opportunities, space at the major retail intersections that were established in the years leading up to the recession are highly sought after.
Tomball MarketPlace is a regional power-center that came online just before the recession. Although the infrastructure was complete, the project was dormant until last year. It is now close to stabilization and anchors include Kohl?s, Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls and Academy Sports + Outdoors along with a number of additional mid-size retailers. Grand Lakes MarketPlace, a Whole Food-anchored center that also features Costco Plus, Stein Mart and speculative retail space, is now under construction in Cinco Ranch. Katy Ranch Crossing is a non-traditional power center that is under construction and will be anchored by The Main Event, Baskins, Goodwill and Spec?s. Another noteworthy project under construction is South Park at Cinco Ranch, a Kroger and Academy-anchored development.
6. As far as troubled shopping centers, are they an opportunity or are they an issue? Why?
Ken Reimer: As the margin for error has become much smaller, retailers today break fewer and fewer rules and more than ever stick to spaces with excellent access, visibility, signage and traffic. Centers that broke many rules with some success (some with less success), will continue to be challenging for retail, but perhaps better positioned for alternative uses that are not as dependent upon convenience and visibility (office, medical, dance studios, etc).
Kenneth Katz: There are a number of opportunities for troubled centers to be turned around and repositioned. For those centers that just haven?t received the investment and expertise they need in order to be turned around, opportunity exists. Where opportunity might not exist is with those centers that are located in trade areas where demand is light or where the projected increases in occupancy and rents do not justify the investment.
7. Are foreign investors looking into Texas markets for opportunities? Which ones are interested in your market?s properties?
Ken Reimer: I?ve noticed a lot of foreign money is being spent by Middle Eastern, Asia and California money sources.
8. How easy are acquisition and/or construction financing to come by? Is it easier for buyers and developers to borrow compared to this time last year?
Kenneth Katz: Construction financing to acquire raw land or substantially empty buildings is still very difficult for most borrowers. For projects that are stabilized, financing is as available and attractive as it has ever been in recent history.
9. What do you feel like will be the big story of 2013 as it relates to the retail market in your city?
Ken Reimer: I suspect that very few new developments with tenants will open in 2013, but many will be coming on line in 2014.
Kenneth Katz: One of the major stories in 2013 will be the long-awaited increase in the pace of development. In the next 18 months, Houston will likely see 11 or 12 new sizeable projects. That is a significant increase over the six new centers that were developed in the last four years combined. Another continuing story for Houston is the new Exxon Mobile corporate campus south of The Woodlands. That move will bring 12,000 employees into the area. It?s going to be interesting to see the impact of this move on both the housing market and the retail market.
Source: http://www.xteam.net/news/big-appetite-for-grocery-tenants-2/
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Apple revamps Apple TV firmware, iOS Remote app to play nicely in an iTunes 11 world
If you're the early adopting type living in an Apple ecosystem, you probably upgraded to iTunes 11 almost as soon as the bits reached the servers. You might not have noticed that Apple gave its iOS Remote app and Apple TV firmware shots in the arm to match. Of the two, Remote 3.0 is the larger update and brings a simpler UI that also takes advantage of iTunes' new Up Next feature to add or prune out songs in ongoing playlists on a host computer. iPad owners reap the most rewards -- the album view now expands in place to quickly drill down to a specific track. Apple TV viewers aren't quite so coddled, although they too get Up Next support for iTunes 11 (and iTunes Match) as well as the usual rounds of speed-ups and bug fixes; we imagine a solution to some of the troubles with 5.1 is part of the package. No matter which update fits into your vision of musical harmony, you'll find details at the source links.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Mobile, Apple
Via: Cult of Mac (1), (2)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DogYjkB0hdo/
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