It's Girl Scout Cookie Season!  Perhaps more importantly, this weekend is Girl Scout Cookie Weekend.  If you're like me and live near the border of a Girl Scout Council, you may have notice that Cookie season starts at different times in different areas.  This is because there are two different bakers used, in addition to each Council setting their own calendar.  But this weekend all the Councils are selling, so the girls are out in full force and the booths are set up everywhere.  And while it may seem like a lot of money for a cookies, there's so much more in the box than flour and sugar!  What?  I'm glad you asked. The Five Skills (first line of each skill taken from a Cookie box, so you know it's true!) Goal Setting - girls learn how to set goals and create a plan to reach them. Girl Scouts learn at an early age that they have to work for what they have.  The Cookie program gives them an opportunity to learn to work toward not only the individual prizes the

Yesterday was National Chili Day and living so close to Cincinnati, you know I'm a fan of Cincinnati chili!  This irritates Hubs to no end, who grew up in Texas and says not only does cinnamon have no place in chili, but with the consistency, flavors and serving methods it's not even chili.  Well he is welcome to his opinion, no matter how wrong it is! In my experience, people either love Cincinnati or hate it.  It's actually more of a Mediterranean meat sauce than an American chili and I think the misnomer is part of why the dish is so divisive.  But that doesn't make it any less delicious.  It doesn't keep it from being featured in pop culture.  And it doesn't make me not feature it for National Chili Day! Picture courtesy of Wikipedia Country duo Big and Rich grabbed a bowl of Skyline Chili in Comin' to your City, but for me if you're going to Skyline you're getting a three-way or a coney.  Okay, a chili cheese sandwich, because I don&#

Thanks to late night Netflix binging we've all heard of the  KonMari  method of organizing your home.  While in no way a minimalist, Marie Kondo understands the importance of clearing out the things that no longer provide value to our lives for cleaner, simpler, more organized living.  This applies to preparing your home for selling too! You don't want your house to look bare, but a bit of tidying will make your home seem bigger with more storage and help buyers picture themselves living in, not just visiting, your home.  All of this will help your home sell faster and for a better price. My personal experience When we sold our last home I wasn't a Realtor yet so we used a family friend.  Her assistant came over and tore the place apart staging it and making me clear out every shred of evidence that a family lived there.  By the time she finished, our house felt cold and stark, the furniture layout made the living room look huge but barely function for our family, and

As a Realtor I work really weird hours.  It's not uncommon for me to work in bed from my phone as soon as I wake up, work off and on throughout the day and be on my phone again as I lay in bed at night.  A lot of people don't understand how or why I work all the time and from everywhere, but I truly love what I do.  I have to be honest, my husband is a bit of a workaholic so it actually works out pretty well for both of us.  In fact, as I write this we're on a plane coming home from vacation...and we're both working! I've mentioned before that Hubs and I are foodies, but we sometimes take it to the extreme.  We've been known to plan days out and even vacations around whether we can get a great meal.  Hey, some meals are worth the drive!  This vacation was certainly no exception.  Don't worry, I'll post scenery pics over on my Instagram (@kpcrealtor), but I right now we're talking food! Every day was a different adventure.  We had a beach day an

I know what you're thinking.  Really, Karen?  Girl Scouts?  What does this have to do with Real Estate? But something you are probably considering in your home search is what the area has to offer to you, your family and your guests.  You may be looking for a school with high ratings (Batesville has great schools, by the way), restaurants (we've got those too!) or a good gym (I've never been but I hear good things), but are you thinking about community involvement?  About ways for your kids to meet new friends outside of school?  About ways for YOU to meet new friends outside of work? Wow, I just threw a lot of questions at you!  So here's the thing - in my humble opinion, there are two important things to make an out of town move, even just to the next town over, go smoothly.  One is a good Realtor and the other is having an activity or organization that provides some consistency in the transition. In some moves, you stay at the same job and your kids stay at t

House hunting, both looking online and actually getting inside the houses you're considering, is probably the most fun part of buying a home.  But it can also be the most tedious.  Unless you really know what you want, it can turn into a seemingly never-ending search and you can end up frustrated.  This is only made worse when you have more people (spouse, children, live in parents, etc) who have wants and needs of their own to consider. I have a trick for you that helps narrow the search and makes sure everyone's needs are met without breaking the bank. First, have everyone who is a decision maker in buying your home make a list of everything they want in a home.   Think about what you or your family  must  have in a home, like location, number of bedrooms and size of the home.   Then, think about what you want, like a big (or small!) yard, garage space, a chef's kitchen, or an office.  Usually these are things that are desirable but would't be a deal breaker if on

It occurs to me that I kind of jumped into blogging with both feet and never really introduced myself.  I did a  Meet My Team  post but even then I didn't share anything about myself.  So here it is, all about me.  Enjoy! As a Southeast Indiana Realtor, I Make Home A Reality for both home buyers and sellers.   Having grown up in Dearborn County and lived in Southeast Indiana all my life, I have strong connections to the community and love helping others develop the same.   My communication skills, negotiation skills and ties to our community help me connect with clients and provide them with the best service possible. My knowledge of and enthusiasm for this region give me a desire to not only get you in a home, but the right home.   I am passionate about giving back to our community both through my career and volunteer work.   When I'm not assisting clients you’ll find me volunteering for Girl Scouts, cooking, blogging and taking care of my home and animals.

When my husband and I first started dating he was living on the north side of Indianapolis and I was living in Moores Hill but working in Colerain, Ohio.  To say dates meant a lot of compromise and driving is an understatement, so we found a lot of places between our two homes to meet up to save one of us from doing all the driving.  We tried LiL' Charlie's as one of our first meet up dates but for some reason, in all the years since we've been married, we never returned.  When we moved to Batesville several people recommended it and we looked forward to exploring an old date spot. Approaching their 21st anniversary, LiL' Charlies has grown from an 86 seat restaurant to a 210 seat restaurant and brewery with an impressive outdoor seating area.  With a privacy fence, bare bulb overhead lights and a surprisingly good view it doesn't even feel like you're in the middle of town. We've been so many times I've tried nearly everything on the menu, but I do

When you buy a new home, you're excited to paint and move your stuff in, and who wouldn't be?  But there are a few things that, while not nearly as fun, are more important to the safety and security of your new home. Change the locks Yes, you just got the keys and they may even be newly cut.  But there's no way to know if the sellers forgot to get a key back from a friend or family member and you don't want strangers to have a key to your new home.  New locks aren't that expensive and are easy to install yourself , and the peace of mind is priceless. Check windows and doors  If you worked with me as your Realtor, you had a thorough inspection with a reputable inspector.  But it's possible something broke after the inspection.  Make sure your doors and windows are secure.  That means properly locked and not causing any unnecessary energy leaks . Replace smoke detectors and batteries When I bought my current home I found a lot of things the sellers had ne

Having grown up in Southeastern Indiana and lived here nearly all my life, I've always loved the city of  City of Batesville.   I was lucky enough to move here last year from two towns over and my husband and I have loved exploring.   What You Need to Know  About Food  Before Moving to Batesville There are tons of locally owned restaurants, pizza places, bars... I could go on, but you get the point.  Watch for my Feature Friday series for my take on all the local joints.  Fried chicken.  And I'm not talking KFC (although we have that too).  Make sure you check out all the local places before deciding which you think is best, and don't be afraid to go just across the county line for (the best) fried chicken.  Think of Oldenburg as Batesville, lite.  Just don't ever tell a Wagner's fan that a country club makes the best fried chicken! Schmidt .  Cherry Thingalings.  Seriously, click the link, you won't be sorry. And when you're feeling really adv

I had a little time to kill between showings so I decided to wander through some of the local shops.  Tristate Artisans is tucked back in a corner of the Batesville Shipping Village  and might have been easy to miss but I'm so glad I didn't!   I meandered into the shop thinking I'd was just coming in from the cold, but Look.  How.  Cute! Of course I had to check out the rest of their stock and ask LOTS of questions!  Small business owners like to support each other, so I wanted to see where their stuff came from.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn most of their items are made by the owner and local artisans.  Hence, the name! I found a collection of candles with yummy scents and snarky labels and just had to have one.  I couldn't find a scent/snark combo that really spoke to me, so I asked if the crafter ever took special orders.  Lucky for me, that was one of the items made by the shop owner, and she was planning to make a new batch later that week.

Yesterday we enjoyed a 63 degree, sunshiny day.  Tomorrow, the high  is supposed to be 34 degrees with a wintery mix.  Mother Nature may have multiple personalities, but I love it here, and I wouldn't leave Indiana for all the consistent weather in the world! So how do I keep our home a comfortable temperature without breaking the bank during these crazy Indiana winters?  I've got several tips and tricks to be more energy efficient.  Because going green should save you green! Install a programmable thermostat.    There's just about no way you'll keep up with the changing temperatures on your own, but a programmable thermostat will help keep your home comfortable no matter what is going on outside.  Bonus, you can set it to let the temperature drop when you're asleep or not home to save you even more. Clean or replace your furnace filter regularly.   Different filters have different lifespans so know your filter, but a good rule of thumb is that