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Your October Newsletter Is Here

October 19, 2021 by cdiez Leave a Comment

BEWARE! The most spooktacular holiday is just around the corner… that’s right, Halloween is only 13 days away! If you’re thinking of ways to entertain your ghosts and goblins this year, then check out these frightfully festive entertaining ideas, recipes, and tricks for a party that will haunt your guests for years to come. This month’s newsletter also uncovers Halloween-inspired activities and events in the Greater Sacramento area that are to die for. Lastly, we take a closer look at the upcoming fall real estate market. Read on…if you dare!

Looking to elevate your Halloween game with some decor that is fit to fright? Try out these killer decorating ideas that will stop your guests dead in their tracks…

Enter if you dare – these cute yet eerie porch decorations are sure to impress neighbors and trick-or-treaters:

Pumpkin Luminary

Floating Witches Hats

Trick or Treat Door Decorations

Halloween Wreath

Pumpkin Gilded Fall Garland

Halloween Potted Tree

Hanging Black Bats

Spooky Vibes Only Door Mat

Beware of Sign

Eat, drink, and be scary by adding some of these hauntingly gorgeous kitchen accessories and serving pieces to your Halloween collection:

Halloween Charcuterie Board

Witch Hands Snack Bowl Stand

Skeleton Skull Glass Punch Bowl

Hocus Pocus Serving Cauldron

Three-Tiered Witch Broom Snack Stand

Witch Tabletop Server

Skull Serving Tray

Spoon Rest Holder

The Dead Don’t Stir Spoon Rest

Ghost Stoneware Mugs

Halloween Cheese Spreader 4-Piece Set

Create a dinner table to die for with a fabulous centerpiece or festive dining set:

Skulls Table Runner

Crystal Ball Centerpiece

Tree Hand Candle Holder

Halloween-Inspired Candelabra

Apothecary Jar Set

Halloween Luncheon China Plates

Stemless Skeleton Wine Glasses

Ghost Serving Platter

Skeleton Hand Highball Glass

Skull Silverware

Tap into the spirit(s) of the season with this spellbinding living room decor:

See Hear & Speak No Evil Skulls

Life-Size Sitting Skeleton

Pose-n-Stay Puppy Skeleton

Hocus Pocus Spellbook

Fall Throw Blanket in Rust

Pumpkin Candles

Giant Spiced Cider Glass Jar Candle

Halloween-Inspired Throw Pillows

White Glass Pumpkin String Lights

Black Dripping Wax Flameless Candle

Personalized Halloween Wall Decor

Forest Witch Hat Decor

Gold Snake Decor

Let the ghoul times roll by trying out one of the below Halloween playlists to match your mood!

Spotify’s Top Halloween Tracks

Pandora Halloween Playlist

Apple Music Halloween Party Playlist

YouTube Halloween Hits from the 80’s

Disney’s Halloween Playlist

You don’t need a spell to whip up some delicious boos. These creative concoctions (and fun mocktails) will get everyone into the holiday spirit in no time! Pick your poison by trying out one of the below recipes.
Adult Cocktails –

Potion De Muerto Cocktail

Smoking Blackberry Sage Margarita

Shimmery Liqueur Cocktail

Eye Ball Martini

The Vampire Cocktail

Halloween Pumpkin Punch

Black Sangria

Mr. Hyde Potion

Candy Corn Jello Shots

Bleeding Heart Martini

Purple Witches Brew

Shrunken Heads in Cider

Mocktails –

Hocus Pocus Halloween Fizz

Swamp Juice

Creepy Shirley Temples

Goosebumps Punch

Little Monster Mocktail

Pumpkin Butterbeer

Sparkling Pumpkin Pie Mocktail

Purple People Eater Punch

Slow Cooker Vampire Punch

Wondering what to brew up in the kitchen? See below for some serious food inspo that will have your guests calling you the ghostess with the mostest!

For starters, try these delicious smokey pumpkin deviled eggs or impress guests with this decadent skeleton meat platter that is not for the faint of the heart. Your little goblins and ghosts will love these easy-to-make hot dog mummies or these creepy-crawly octopus tentacles.
Elevate your side dish game with these skewered eyeballs, which are actually stuffed mushrooms loaded with mozzarella, bacon, and topped with olives. These mashed potato ghosts will have your guests experiencing love at first bite!
Bone Appetit! For mains, try this scary good pumpkin cannelloni dish with sage brown butter sauce or these cider marinated short ribs for a protein-packed dish. This savory boneyard pot pie is packed with fresh veggies and protein to keep your little ones well-nourished for a long night of trick-or-treating. Guests of all ages will appreciate these macolantern and cheese bowls, which can be served as a main or side dish.

It’s all treats and no tricks here! From bewitching blood cupcakes to spider cookies, we have a delectable line-up of homemade treats that will have your guests screaming for seconds.

Strawberry Ghosts

Bewitched Halloween Popcorn

Rice Krispie Treat Monsters

Dracula Dentures

Spider Web Cake

Hocus Pocus Inspired Smore Pops

Haunted Halloween Brownies

Jack O’ Lantern Bowls

Blood Drip Cupcakes

Mummy Apple Pie

Witch’s Hat Cupcakes

Graveyard Chocolate Cheesecake Dip

Pull Apart Graveyard Cupcakes

Halloween Blueberry Mummy Muffins

Dying to watch a good movie? Grab the popcorn, cozy blankets, and find a Halloween flick that matches your mood on one of the below streaming services!

Sacramento has some fangtastic Halloween events and activities now through the end of October!

October 23rd (and Select Days): Spookomotive Train Rides @ The Railroad Museum
October 23rd-24th: 34th Annual Safe & Super Halloween at Fairytale Town
October 30th: Monster Mash at the Crocker Art Museum
October 23rd: Spirits, Brews & Bites in Historic Folsom
October 24th & 31st: Fall Concert Series at Historic Folsom Amphitheater
October 30th: Trick or Treat FestiFall
Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Enter a Haunted House (if you dare!)
Visit Apple Hill

According to Realtor.com hopeful buyers who keep getting shut out may soon find better luck this fall, as several signs in the housing market point to more potential buying opportunities. For one, competition is reportedly cooling, and listings are receiving fewer offers. In September, the real estate brokerage Redfin reported that bidding wars reached their lowest level this year. Also, more listings are coming to market, offering buyers more choices, according to a Realtor.com report that revealed housing inventory is at a high for 2021. Furthermore, nearly one-third of the 50 largest metros saw increases in the number of newly listed homes compared to last year. Click here to read the full article.

Thinking About Updating Your Home? Here Are Some 2021 Design Trends to Consider

August 23, 2021 by cdiez Leave a Comment

When you redesign your home, you want to design it in a way that feels timely and on-trend. But what does “timely” and “on-trend” look like in 2021? The 2021 Houzz Emerging Home Design Trends Report outlined some of the year’s most popular home design trends, including:

Dedicated activity spaces. Forget craft closets. One of 2021’s biggest trends is creating an entirely dedicated room or space in the home to house the family’s favorite activity—whether that’s an art studio, a home theater, or a wine cellar.

Living room refreshes. Updating their home in general is a priority for many homeowners this year—but the room homeowners seem to be most interested in refreshing? The living room. According to Houzz’s data, searches for living rooms (which can provide homeowners design inspiration) are up 52 percent compared to 2020.

Luxury colors and materials. This year, homeowners are embracing luxury in their home design—with velvet, gold, and crystal accents all in high demand.

The Most Popular Landscaping Trends for 2021

April 28, 2021 by cdiez Leave a Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic kept many people home for the majority of 2020. And while things are definitely looking up, many are still spending more time at home in 2021, which is driving an uptick in home renovations—including landscaping.

So, the question is—what are the trends homeowners are embracing to spruce up their outdoor space?

A recent video from realtor.com outlined the most popular landscaping trends of 2021, including:

Vegetable gardens. The pandemic saw many people start their own vegetable gardens, both as a way to stay busy and a way to avoid any unnecessary trips to the supermarket. With spring planting season around the corner, vegetable gardening is, once again, poised to be one of the year’s biggest landscaping trends.

Views from the inside. Obviously, you want your landscaping to look great while you’re outside. But as people have been forced to spend more time at home, it’s become increasingly important for your landscaping to also look great from the inside. As the pandemic stretches on, this trend of landscaping with interior views in mind is expected to stretch right along with it.

Backyard playgrounds. Many parents have been uncomfortable bringing their children to play in public parks. As a result, creating play spaces in the backyard has been a big landscaping trend since the pandemic hit—and with summer coming up, that trend will just continue to gain popularity.

Easy Home Office Design Ideas To Boost Your Productivity

July 19, 2020 by cdiez Leave a Comment

Since the Covid-19 shelter-at-home started, a lot of us have to not only make a home office but share with other people. It seemed like the internet speed went from 50 MBS to 3 MBS with so many people at home during the day. My home office is productive but not the most comfortable. Anita Clark has some good ideas in designing a home office that is right for you.

Everyone needs a home office, whether you work from home or not. Even students or regular employees have to inevitably take some projects home, then work in a space that’s nowhere near conducive. We often see people working from their bedrooms, dining areas, and their kitchens… places that weren’t designed to invoke creativity or productivity at all.

As a Realtor, I spend a lot of my time working from home. Though I do take clients around, most of the “magic” happens over the internet. This is where I build relationships with both potential and existing clients. This is where I find opportunities… and over the years, I’ve learned to design my home office according to my needs. Here are some really simple and easy design ideas that will help you stay focused and out of trouble:

Declutter Your Desk

Your work desk is where all the work happens and let’s be honest, it’s always in a mess. With our busy schedules, we normally don’t have time to declutter. We tend to pile more stuff onto it, that the moment we need something specific to get a task done… we can no longer recall where we placed it.

Now, the problem with decluttering is we don’t even know where to start. There’s just too much on your work desk that you might as well throw the entire thing out. I know how tempting that is, but don’t. Start by throwing pens that aren’t working anymore, files or papers that you no longer need, as well as any fixture or electronic device that’s already broken. The trick here is to simply get the momentum going. Once you’ve already started, you’d be surprised at how much trash you’ve already taken out.

Improve Your Lighting

Several studies have shown, time and again, that certain lighting conditions have a profound effect on our level of productivity. Apparently, it’s in our DNA to work better when under a cooler light. However, warmer lighting also has positive benefits on our physical and mental well-being, especially on workers who remain cooped inside an office the entire day. Here’s another surprising fact too… natural light emitted both during the day and night can actually reduce depression, and improve mood, energy, alertness and productivity.

Besides adjusting the temperature of your lighting fixture from a warmer to a cooler shade, move your desk near a window where you can enjoy some sunshine! Don’t be afraid to rearrange your furniture, but be careful. Some electronic devices may be sensitive to heat, so you may want to keep them away from sunlight.

Add A Natural Touch

This age-old tip never fails. You see, in order to be productive, you must feel “free” and unconfined in your workspace… and since you cannot bring your home office outdoors, why not bring a little touch of nature into your home? Well, the common way to go about this is to bring in a potted plant that you can easily place on your desk. But there are so many other natural elements that you can introduce into your workspace. Instead of using furniture made of artificial materials, why don’t you use ones that are made of wood? They’re easy on the eyes and are much durable too. You may also opt for neutral tones when choosing various design elements, and then try to use the least amount of technology when working.

Click here for full article