My parents may not be as adventurous of eaters as Hubs and I are, but when they tell you a place is good, you can bet it's going to be yummy.  And when they tell you it's good food AND good wine, you can bet Hubs and I are going to check it out! Last week my mom texted my sister and I that Holtkamp Winery in Sunman, Indiana was serving brick oven pizza and hosting live entertainment on Sunday and wanting to know if we all wanted to meet there for the afternoon.  The response was a resounding yes and I'm so glad we went!  The pizza and wine were delicious, the weather was beautiful and the music was fun and upbeat without being too loud.  It made for a perfect Sunday afternoon and I can't wait to go back. Holtkamp Winery opened in 2013, a full 11 years after Doug Holtkamp started making wine independently.  He teamed up with Jeff McCann, who had over 35 years of experience in wine making and grape growing, and the two have become a great team making even greater ...

I have wonderful childhood memories of camping every summer with my extended family.  We all met in the middle of nowhere at my mom's cousin's farm.  They had a lake with zip lines, paddle boats, a floating dock, a water slide and the biggest firepit I'd ever seen.  It was truly a magical place.  After a long weekend of late nights under the stars and bathing in the lake, we'd all pack up our tents and campers and head back home.  The drive was so long, the whole family - aunts, uncles, cousins and friends alike - would stop at this wonderful fried chicken place for one last dinner together before we parted ways. Of course, when I grew up and realized this otherworldly gathering place was just on the other side of Oldenburg, Indiana, the drive didn't seem so long.  It lost a little bit of its magic, but that fried chicken place no longer has to be just a summer stop! Wagner's Village Inn opened their doors in 1968  and as of January, they are now...

I see so many people looking for ways to fill the time during the quarantine, so I've created a virtual scavenger hunt! The first three people to complete the scavenger hunt will get a free Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) of your home once the threat of COVID-19 has passed. If you're interested in listing your home in the future, this will help you know where your home stands and what you can do to add value. If you're not interested in listing, it's still fun to know. Plus, I've done these for people who ended up using it to get a BIG cut in their property taxes! If you're not local, I can still do a virtual CMA, but it's less likely to hold up in a tax dispute. If you're interested in that service, I can connect you with an agent who's local to you, so still play along! And if you're not currently a home owner and a CMA can't help you, there are plenty of other services I provide, so still play and we'll find a great ...

I am so thankful to live in a region that experiences all four seasons.  Fall has always been my favorite, and I love snow and cold weather but Spring brings its own beauty and a reawakening you just can't get in other parts of the country or world.  That said, these gloomy transition days, especially when we get multiple icky days in a row, have me dreaming of warmer climates and thinking back to our recent vacation. Hubs and I spent 8 days in Riviera Maya, Mexico a few weeks back.  It was a much needed get away that allowed us both to relax, reconnect and still get some work done.  That's right, I worked from the beach! My view from the office our first day While there are 14 restaurants at the resort we stayed in, we ate at the brunch buffet nearly every day.  Hubs and I always take turns going up to a buffet so someone is watching bags, drinks, etc., so this gave us both a chance to check emails and see if anything needed addressed that day while the ...

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 so...

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 plannin...