I just returned from Houston where I attended the StagersList Expo.  If you haven't attended one of their expos, you need to SIGN UP for the next one!  The money and time spent were well worth it.  The sessions were interesting, informative, and relative to your staging business.  You will definitely walk away with several "ah ha" moments that you can immediately apply to growing your business.  I don't want to spoil it for you, so I won't say anything specific, but you should go!

In addition, it was a great opportunity to spend time with experts in the staging and real estate industry, plus network in person with fellow stagers (many of whom I know from ActiveRain)!

A special THANK YOU to CORT Furniture for hosting the Expo at their facility and for providing lunch!

Tomatoes, peaches, canteloupe, corn.... Looking for fresh fruits, vegetables, or plants? Visit the Farmer's Market at Rockwall's Downtown Square. The market is set-up in the parking lot of the Historic Courthouse located at Hwy. 66 and 205. The market will be open on Saturdays now thru September 26th between 8:00 am and noon. (Please note: the Farmer's Market will be closed May 30th for Founder's Day, July 4th, and September 19 for Aspasians Fair.)

It's a fun place to shop! Bring your family and friends, shop the Farmer's Market and shop the boutiques on the Square. You can even enjoy a great lunch on the Square!

Signature Style Staging provides home staging and redesign services to clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt and Rockwall counties.

www.signaturestylestaging.com

The City of Rowlett is hosting an Eggstraordinary Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4th from 10:00 am to noon.  This is a free event that will include 20,000 filled Easter eggs, face painting, bounce houses, music, Easter Bunny and much more. Keepsake photos with the Easter Bunny will be available for a fee of $5. 

The egg hunt will be divided by age as follows: infants to 3 years, 4 to 6 years, 7 to 10 years, and Angel Kids (children with Special Needs).  

Location:  Main Street / Downtown Rowlett

Signature Style Staging provides home staging and redesign services to clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt and Rockwall counties.

Have you checked your curb appeal?  It's the first thing people see when they drive up to your house.  Buyers start forming an opinion about your house before they even get out of the car.  If your home does not show well at the curb, chances are buyers won't even make it to the front door. 

However, if your paint is faded or chipped, a fresh paint job will go a long way towards improving the curb appeal.  Also, paint or stain the front door.  Replace the door hardware, house numbers, mailbox and light fixture. 

Clean the sidewalk and porch (power wash if needed) and remove any clutter from the front porch.  Don't forget to set out a new "welcome" mat when you're done!

Keep the yard mowed and edged each week, trim the hedges, pick up newspapers and any trash each day, remove the garden statues and whirligigs, clean the windows, remove and replace any dead plants.  Add a little seasonal color to your flower beds, but remember to keep it watered!  Top the flower beds off with fresh mulch.

Also take a look at your window treatments from the curb.  If the blinds are damaged - replace them.  If the blinds or drapery linings don't match, replace them with ones that do (preferably white or another neutral color).

It sounds like a bit of work, but the results will be worth the time and effort.  You will be welcoming buyers into your home for a closer look!

Signature Style Staging provides home staging and redesign services to clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt and Rockwall counties.

www.signaturestylestaging.com

The City of Rowlett and Lone Star Companies of Dallas, LLC are currently negotiating a contract to develop a waterfront development to be located along Lake Ray Hubbard south of Main Street and east of Kirby Road. The waterfront entertainment development will include more than four million square feet of restaurants, retail space, and office space, including a hotel and convention center, and residential space. The development will be known as Pecan Grove Waterfront District and will be accessible from the new George Bush Turnpike extension currently under construction as well as the future DART rail extension.

Once an agreement is reached, construction is expected to begin in 2010 and be completed in phases.  This project will bring a new, much needed entertainment district to the City of Rowlett and the Lake Ray Hubbard area.

Signature Style Staging provides home staging and redesign services to clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt and Rockwall counties.

www.signaturestylestaging.com

Rowlett is a great place to live and it is in a season of growth.  New restaurants and retailers are opening soon and the City recently hosted a groundbreaking event for the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) extension that will connect Highway 78 in Garland to Interstate 30 at Lake Ray Hubbard.  Construction on the much anticipated roadway is scheduled to begin on the extension in October 2008 and completion is scheduled in late 2011.

The PGBT extension and the arrival of light rail service will be a catalyst for economic growth in Rowlett bringing over 10,000 jobs and approximately $19 billion in economic impact for the area over the next 20 years.*

*estimates from Rowlett Community News

Signature Style Staging creates rooms that connect with buyers. We work with Homeowners, Realtors, and Builders in Collin, Dallas, Rockwall, and Hunt Counties (including Allen, Garland, Greenville, McKinney, North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City, and Wylie).

www.signaturestylestaging.com

The Noon Exchange Club of Rowlett will host their 22nd Holiday Parade, "Star Spangled Christmas", on Saturday, November 22, at 10:00 A.M.  This year, the organizers will be collecting Prepaid Phone Cards as donations to soldiers so they can call home for the holidays.  All parade participants are asked to bring a $10 or $20 phone card.

Also, in conjunction with the parade, the Amateur Community Theater of Rowlett will hold their annual Old Fashioned Chili Cook-off. 

Signature Style Staging creates rooms that connect with buyers. We work with Homeowners, Realtors, and Builders in Collin, Dallas, Rockwall, and Hunt Counties (including Allen, Garland, Greenville, McKinney, North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City, and Wylie).

www.signaturestylestaging.com

Jason Castro (2008 American Idol finalist from Rockwall, TX) will open for Patty Labelle on Saturday, December 13, 2008 in An American Christmas at Special Events Center Arena in Garland, TX.  Proceeds will benefit BEST Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the Garland Independent School District.

For ticket information, visit www.specialeventscenter.com

Signature Style Staging creates rooms that connect with buyers. We work with Homeowners, Realtors, and Builders in Collin, Dallas, Rockwall, and Hunt Counties (including Allen, Garland, Greenville, McKinney, North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City, and Wylie).

www.signaturestylestaging.com

On a recent road trip to West Texas, I went through several small towns/cities with unusual names and was curious about the origin of their names. I jotted down a few of them to research their names and found some of them have interesting facts behind their names.

Notrees -Originated with the building of a gas plant for Shell Oil Company. The town's first postmaster named the town for its shortage of trees.

Tarzan - Named in 1927 after several names submitted to the post office were rejected. Tarzan was a popular comic strip at the time, so the name was possibly submitted as a joke after so many names were rejected.

Big Spring - Named for a big spring in Sulphur Draw - a historical watering hole for herds of buffalo, antelope, and mustangs. Comanche and Shawnee Indians fought over the water source.

Sweetwater - This one was easy. It was named after the sweet water from a local creek!

Roby - Named after D. C. Roby when a dispute arose between two business partners and a town named Fisher regarding whose land the courthouse would be built on. Roby won!

Monahans- With the expansion of railroads across the south plains of Texas, the Texas and Pacific Railroad hired a surveyor named John Thomas Monahan, who dug a well to provide water for the track laying crew. The well produced 250,000 gallons of water per day, which was a huge contribution to the community's success.

Kermit - Boasts it is the only Texas town to be named after one of Theodore Roosevelt's sons, Kermit Roosevelt (no, it was not named after the frog).

Andrews - Named for Richard Andrews, the first man to die in the war for Texas independence in 1835.

Post - Named after C.W. Post, the cereal giant who brought us Grape Nuts and Post Toasties. He bought over 200,000 acres of ranch land in Texas and built a town called Post City where his workers could buy property with a low down payment and low monthly payments.

Snyder - Named after an early merchant/buffalo hunter who operated a trading post in Scurry County.

The next time you're on the road, make note of some of the towns you go through and look them up. You will learn some interesting facts about how they were named and why a community was formed in that area and in some instances, facts about the community's decline.

Signature Style Staging is a home staging and redesign company located in a suburb east of Dallas.  We provide home staging and redesign services for clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt, and Rockwall Counties.

Being a native Dallasite, one of the things I love about Dallas is the wide range of entertainment available throughout the area.  One great venue is the Dallas Symphony.  They not only have great performances by the world-class orchestra, but they also bring in top notch entertainers.

Their '08-'09 calendar is now available and includes Julio Iglesias, The Beach Boys, Huey Lewis and the News coming in September; and Frankie Valli, Tony Bennett, and B.B. King coming in October.

Visit their website for more information and tickets:  http://dallassymphony.com

Signature Style Staging creates rooms that connect with buyers. We work with Homeowners, Realtors, and Builders in Collin, Dallas, Rockwall, and Hunt Counties (including Allen, Garland, Greenville, McKinney, North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City, and Wylie).

www.signaturestylestaging.com