Great Spring Time Meals for You and Your Family

Image credit

Now that you have settled into your new beautiful Brazos Valley home, it is time to break in your new kitchen. Spring time is full of bright colors and sweet budding flowers. Therefore, lighter fare foods are best suited for the season. It’s time to shed those heavy winter meals. Think seafood, chicken, and pork.  Below are some great spring time meals that are filling and light.

Seafood Paella

Living in Bryan-College Station has its benefits. For example, you are a short drive to the Gulf, where you can acquire fresh Gulf shrimp for a delicious paella. You can keep it light by using vegetable stock, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil in place of butter. Omit the sausage to keep it on the light side. Serve with white wine or flavored sparkling water.

Smoked Salmon Salad

A lightly smoked piece of salmon right off your grill is the prefect spring time accompaniment to a crisp salad. Include tasty veggies such as cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, capers, radishes, and a balsamic vinaigrette. This can be perfectly paired with grilled garlic toast.

Lemon Chicken

Getting fresh, cage-free chicken is easy to do living in Central Texas and a perfect addition to your spring menu. You can use organic lemons, basil or rosemary, and garlic, as well. Put your favorite herbs and sliced lemon under the skin of the breast to infuse these bright flavors even further into the chicken. You can serve this with a tasty rice pilaf.

Spring is a great time to start anew. This includes revamping your dinner menu. Not only are spring meals tasty and full of flavor, but they are healthier for you too. So, pull out the grill and fire it up in your new backyard for some delicious spring time fare. 

Featured Homes for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

Closing Your Home for Holiday Travel

Image courtesy of nipitphand at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One of the most stressful parts about traveling for the holidays is thinking about your home just sitting there unattended. Your mind may go to burglars, fire, or if you left on something that could raise your electricity bill. Below are some pointers to ensure your home will be safe and sound while you are away. 

Pointer #1 – Keep an Eye on it
Today, there are many different home video monitoring systems available online. You can even go to your local hardware store and find them. This will allow you to use a computer with internet access or a smartphone to log in and check out what is going on while you and your family are away. 

Pointer #2 – Stop Delivered Subscriptions and Mail Delivery
There is nothing like a big red flag announcing to thieves that you are away like newspapers piling up out front. Also, if your mailbox is overflowing or if your have deliveries at your door that are not picked up, you are telling everyone you are not home. Be sure to call and arrange for any subscriptions and your mail to be put on hold until you return. 

Pointer #3 – Unplug Everything
This may sound unnecessary, but the more you leave plugged in, the more electricity will be used and the more of a chance of a fire. Power surges can cause sparks that can very easily lead to a fire. If you are not home to call 911 or are not home to put the fire out yourself...well you could lose your beautiful home. 

Pointer #4 – Turn off the Air Conditioner
Traveling during the holidays usually means the Brazos Valley temperatures are not the usual hotter than hot. This is great, because you can turn off the a/c and not come home to a sweltering home. However, if the weather is going to be below freezing while you are away, you will actually want to leave it on, but set the thermostat to between 50 and 60 degrees. This will ensure you do not come home to frozen pipes. 

If you are going to be away for a week or more, you should let a trusted friend or neighbor know, so they can keep an eye on your home for you.  Another option would be to hire a house sitter.  Following these tips will help you feel more at ease while you are on your holiday adventure. 

Featured Homes for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

Tips for Getting Ready for Fall Cleaning

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Everyone has heard of spring-cleaning, but many do not realize doing a thorough fall cleaning is just as important in keeping you home clutter-free and organized. Even if you just moved into your new Bryan-CollegeStation home, you will still likely need to get your home ready for winter. You might be thinking, “I am in Texas, why do I need to get ready for winter?” Well, although you may never see one snowflake, there will be bone-chilling days and nights throughout the season. Therefore, packing up all the clothing and items you are not going to need, will make room for the things you do.

Wardrobe Makeover

During the warmer months, you are most likely to sport lightweight clothing in efforts to keep cool. However, during late fall and winter you will need to remove these items from your wardrobe to make room for clothing options such as sweaters, jeans, and jackets. This is also a great time to weed out clothing items you never wear and donate them to charity.

Summer Toy Inventory

Now that winter is on its way, there will no longer be a need to have all the fun summer toys scattered about taking up room in the garage. Deflate pool floats and river tubes, toss out any broken items, and pack everything that is used at the river or lake then take it to the attic for next year. If your summer toys include “Big Boy/Girl Toys” like boats or Jet-Skis, a fall cleaning is the ideal time to have them serviced and cleaned before taking them to storage.

Kitchen Pantry Overhaul

While doing a fall cleaning, consider the food items you will be consuming during the colder months. You can donate the items you want to replace with heartier foods like soups and stews. Also, toss out any expired items. This will create room for all the winter supplies you will be stocking up on.

No matter if you just moved to CentralTexas or have lived in your home many years, doing a full home fall cleaning will make the season transition easier. You will have a deep cleaned house and will be ready for the colder temperatures. Where in the rules does it say we have to wait until spring to get organized? Happy fall!

Featured Homes for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

Lawn care - The transition from Summer to Fall

Image courtesy of worradmu @FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Now that fall is here, what should you do differently to your lawn to keep it healthy during this season change? Homeowners in Central Texas take pride in their yard and want to ensure it remains in optimal health all year long. There are a few things you will need to do differently than you were doing during the summer. Below are some tips to keep your lawn looking beautiful.

Pruning
Many of your plants are nearing their flourishing cycles and are likely looking a bit tired. This is a great time to prune them. You will get rid of the dead and/or dying parts of the plants leaving only the healthy vibrant foliage. Be warned though, not all plants should be pruned during this time. Therefore, be sure to do your research if you are uncertain. Also, be sure not to overdo it. You do not want to harm the plant, as you just want to give it a healthy trim to strengthen the root system and encourage growth.

Annuals Change Out
By now, your flowering annuals have stopped blooming. Now is the time to change them out for fall. Mums are a great option and come in many wonderful fall colors like yellow, orange and purples. Removing the summer annuals will give your lawn a fresh new look that is just right for the season.

Fall Fertilization for Lawns
One very important tip to keep your yard healthy is the proper fertilization. Your lawn requires different nutrition to keep the roots healthy throughout winter. You will want to be sure it is thoroughly aerated as well. This will allow the grass blades to store more food deep within.

Winters in Bryan-College Station are not as harsh as in cities in northern states. Remembering these few simple tips in conjunction with not over watering and over mowing your grass, you will retain your home’s lawn all year. This can be especially important if you are planning to sell your home or even if you just moved in. Curb appeal is just as important to homeowners as the interior.

Featured Homes for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

Is it too soon the think about Christmas?

Image courtesy of Feelart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The answer is no. Fall is just weeks away, which means December is right around the corner. There is nothing worse than having to spend the holiday break running around the Brazos Valley trying to get things ready for family and friends. Do you ever feel like the day came and went without really ever spending any quality time with anyone? Are you exhausted by the time Christmas arrives? Well, if you start planning and organizing now, you will have loads of time later that can be spent with loved ones.


Make Out Your Gift List – And Stick to It
Make out a list of family and friends you will be visiting with over the holidays. These are the people you should buy gifts for. For everyone else that you will not get to physically visit with, a beautiful handwritten card is a wonderful option. It will let them know you are thinking about them, but the added stress of finding a shippable gift is off your plate. In addition, once you make your list, think of it as written in stone. Try not to continually change your mind, as this defeats the purpose.

Knocking the Gifts Out Early
Do not wait for events like Black Friday and certainly not Christmas Eve. Keep the list you made close so that if you see something go on sale at any point you can purchase the item, wrap it, and mark it off the list. Getting your gift shopping done early frees up time to tackle other tasks later that cannot be completed sooner, such as Christmas Dinner.

Organize the Holiday
If you are the one hosting the celebration, you will want to be very organized to ensure you can enjoy the day. Purchase a wall calendar and write out everything you will need to do. For example, about mid-November, you will want to purchase and mail out Christmas invites (and those Christmas cards as well). You will want to write down that you need to purchase all the dinner ingredients at least a week or two before your event. If you do not have decorations and a tree, you will want to add this as a to-do in November.

As you can see, it is certainly never too soon to think about Christmas, so you can have the time to enjoy the day and reflect on its meaning.

Featured Homes for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

Choose One Accent Shade

Image courtesy of photostock/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When decorating your home, choosing neutral colors along with one accent shade is one of the best ways to go about creating a great space. Your neutral shade should be one that works with a number of colors. Neutral shade such as beige, brow, grey, white, and black work properly as the main theme of a room.

Create a Beige Room

A beige room is one of the easiest to set up. You can easily find beige couches, in both fabric and leather. Tables and plush chairs come in light brown shades, so finding accessories to match the couches are easy. Glass tables can also fit in with the lightness of the beige room, giving the room an open feel no matter how large or small it is. Feel free to choose any neutral colored entertainment system for the beige living space, as it will not deflect from the beauty of the room in any way.

Add a Pops of Turquoise

With a beige room, turquoise works as an excellent accent shade. Turquoise is a bright shade of blue that can either look loud and electric or can be played down in a subtle, mellow manner. For your beige living room, purchase three turquoise couch pillows. These pillows should be small and one should be placed in every corner, with a single pillow in the center of the sofa. The center pillow can be a textured pillow with sequins or a patterned pillow with a zig-zag design.

Turquoise Accessories

Along with the pillows, add a turquoise rug. This rug can be a small accent rug or it can be a large area rug. Add the run under the sofa and center table in the living room.

Another pop of coloring that will add to the beauty of the room are flowers. Turquoise flowers, rather fresh or handcrafted in silk are the eye catching color that you need.  Keep the flowers in a clear or white vase so that it does not clash with the theme of the room and properly features the beautifully colored flowers in a way that is pleasing to the eye. 

Featured Home for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

About Texas Cuisine

Image courtesy of artur84 /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are not from Central Texas and you are planning to move here, there are certain things you should plan on doing.  Touring the Alamo, visiting the Dallas area, seeing the infamous grassy knoll, and without a doubt, experiencing some of that big Texas food the state is so famous for are just a few “must do” items. Now, sometimes things don’t go as planned and you may not have the time to make it to San Antonio for the Alamo and maybe you’ll think twice about reliving one of the darkest chapters in American history, but indulging in some Texas cuisine is definitely something you need to make time to do.

As the old saying goes, “everything is bigger in Texas.”  That could not be truer when talking about the portion sizes you will receive at almost any eating establishment in Bryan College Station.  Let’s start with some good ole’ Texas grade steaks.  It is commonly known that there are more places in Texas where you will find yourself asking for a doggy bag to finish the rest later, than probably anywhere in the country.  Large sirloins, big strip steaks and T-bones the size of porterhouses is one reason why Texas is king when it comes to beef.

Now, you can’t say you've truly experienced Brazos Valley cuisine unless you've enjoyed some authentic Mexican food and/or Tex-Mex. Stop in almost any city in Texas and you will find an abundance of real Mexican food restaurants to choose from. I am not talking about places that call themselves a Mexican Restaurant because they serve margaritas, but actual, true down to the last ingredient Mexican restaurants. Then you have the grandfather of cuisine fusion, Tex-Mex. Again, you will not find a shortage of businesses to please your taste buds in this area either.  The style of blending traditional Texas inspired foods with authentic Mexican food has created one of the most desired foods in Texas.

With all the great food to try, it is very easy to pack on the pounds if you’re not careful. So, enjoy yourself, just not too much, remember… you have all that unpacking to do. 

Featured Home for Sale in College Station, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904

How to Make Moving Away Easier

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There may come a time when you have to pack up and move away from your family and friends. This can be stressful on everyone. Aside from the hassle of organizing, packing, and selling your home you love here in Bryan College Station, there is emotional stress as well. However, there are some things you can do to reduce the emotional toll when making this transition. Below are some tips that will help you, especially if you are moving out of state.

Tip #1 – Discuss the Move Well in Advance with Your Loved Ones

Sometimes in the process of making big decisions, the younger members of the family feel left out of the details. The earlier everyone is in on the moving plans, the better the experience for all.  In addition, when the entire family is involved from the beginning, then there is less emotional stress during the move.

Tip #2 – Take a Trip to Your New Hometown

If possible, take a trip to your new city to explore and become somewhat familiarized with it. This will help when you finally arrive to stay.

Tip #3 – Plan a Moving Party

Having a moving party is a great way to break the news to your family and friends.  Gathering your loved ones and reminiscing on all the good memories will help make the good-byes easier.

Tip #4 – Social Media

If you are not already on a social media site, you should sign up before you go. This way, you can always stay in touch with your friends here in Central Texas. Not only can you share chats, but also having the added benefit of photos, you will never be too far from everyone.

As you can see, there are several things you can do to ease the selling of your Brazos Valley home and moving away from family and friends.  Applying any of the above tips is sure to make your move a more enjoyable process.

Featured Home for Sale in Montgomery, TX 

 

Sarah Miller, your RE/MAX realtor bryan-college station can help you discover a lot of great tips for making a profitable and fast sell on your house. She is one of the RE/MAX Bryan-College Station Realtor that has a long list of the finest homes for sale in Bryan/College Station, Call her today at 979-255-1904