Susan Miller gave me a wonderful gift early this week.... an Apple Cake ~ but not just any Apple Cake…. it was a ‘Mrs. Miller’s Apple Cake‘ ~ “The ORIGINAL Apple Cake baked and sold in Maggie Valley, NC for over 16 years.”

Susan Miller is one of Mrs. Miller’s daughters and is a certified chef and American Culinary Federation Member (since 2000), complete with a ServSafe Certification.

Mrs. Miller’s Apple Cake should be in the Harry & David catalog, not to mention Neiman-Marcus. It is THAT GOOD. Really. Moist, full of apples, topped with whole fresh pecans, and embellished with the perfect combination of natural spices.

The cakes would make spectacular gifts. Call 772-529-5925 to talk to Susan, or email her at MrsMillersAppleCake@yahoo.com ~ she would love to take your orders.

© Susie Blackmon

Original posted on Bucking the Real Estate Trend.

© Susie Blackmon

The sunrise this morning in Maggie Valley was amazing (again). Temperature was a brisk 40 degrees.

Just an hour or so later I was standing on my deck and noticed smoke that wasn't from a fireplace. It came from across the creek from me (not close), so I hopped in my SUV, wrapped in my leopard Snuggie, to see where the sirens were leading.

There are more fire photos here. Hopefully no one was injured.

There are beautiful creeks, streams and rivers winding through Maggie Valley, and you will find creekside RV parks, homes and lots.

Each and every creek and river in Haywood County originates right here in Haywood County? No water flows into Haywood County. Here's a creek video from my recent outings.

© Susie Blackmon

If you are following NAR's new RPR, here's a great post from @robhahn (and the comments are very interesting as well): In Which I Announce the Death of RPR

Click here to see my Creek Photos on Flickr.

Related articles:

• Want to Hear the Sounds of a Beautiful Maggie Valley Creek? (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)
• Magical Monday | Maggie Valley Creek Doggie. | Bucking The Real Estate Trend-Waynesville and Maggie Valley Real Estate (susieblackmon.com)
• The Foreclosure Crisis Has Not Affected These Houses in Haywood County. (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)

Original posted on Bucking the Real Estate Trend.

Waynesville was beautiful late Thursday afternoon just as the sun was setting. The video shots were taken in the parking lot of Ingles grocery store off of Dellwood in Waynesville. I was lucky to walk out just in time, and to have my camera (of course) in my vehicle.

Did you happen to see the folding house in the Boston Globe?

What a jerk: Elk killed (poached) in Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Jonathan Creek is home to some beautiful mountain residences.

Pat Kitano and Kevin Boer of Domus U are continually introducing new ways for agents to learn the best of social media marketing. They believe training and learning should be long term, practical and affordable.

They developed and offer a Social Media Training Center product to Associations of Realtors for their members, such as the Oklahoma City Metro Association.

Launch of Training Centers with Boards nationwide, with the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, and several in the San Francisco Bay area, is slated for early December. Domus U is fulfilling a void by providing an agenda-free product that Realtors are now demanding, even in Oklahoma!

They have now created a Training Center for Active Rain members and have added a detailed module for learning about how to use Active Rain by organizing the tutorials of our friend Brad Andersohn.

You really should subscribe to the Social Media Training Center for Active Rain members at Domus U Social Media Training Center.

You'll stay ahead of the curve with Domus U!

Rain, rain, go away. Maggie Valley is overcast again this morning but it's not raining .. yet. As you can see from the photos, our creeks have plenty of water in them right now.

Here are some 'of interest' links:

• HouseLogic website, brought to you by NAR.

• Great VBook excerpt of the Swanepoel Social Media Report 2010.

• Realtors, are you too busy for Social Media Marketing?

• Maggie May Mandate Mountain Motif.

Beautiful early morning sunlight was crawling across the pretty Maggie Valley farm early Sunday morning. It's easy to see that our leaves have fallen. This farm can be seen off of Soco Road as you head over the mountain to get to Cherokee, which is a beautiful and winding drive.

© Susie Blackmon

Ran across this list of the Top 20 Real Estate Websites (as of 10/31/09) several days ago. Here 'tis in case you missed it.

Related articles:

• Legends Sports Bar and Grill in Maggie Valley Hits a Home Run Every Time! (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)
• Cabbage Rose in Maggie Valley is Full of Christmas Ornaments and Decorations. (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)
• Maggie Valley’s Market Square Shopping Mall ~ Right Across from the Festival Grounds. (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)

Original posted on Bucking the Real Estate Trend.

Early Sunday morning as I went to do an errand, I took a quick detour in Maggie Valley to see how the some of creeks looked. They sure looked cold and rapid. Soon I will be able to capture snow on the banks of the creeks. (I noticed quite a few perfect spots along the creek for an Airstream.)

If you like creek photos, click here to see more.

Fall photos taken in and around Maggie Valley are here.

© Susie Blackmon

Recent articles:

• Maggie Valley Creek Decorated for Fall Leaf Lookers. | Bucking The Real Estate Trend-Waynesville and Maggie Valley Real Estate (susieblackmon.com)
• Want to Hear the Sounds of a Beautiful Maggie Valley Creek? (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)
• Magical Monday | Maggie Valley Creek Doggie. | Bucking The Real Estate Trend-Waynesville and Maggie Valley Real Estate (susieblackmon.com)
• The LlamaCaddy Llamas Made a Grand Appearance at The Maggie Valley Club Yesterday. (buckingtherealestatetrend.com)

Original posted on Bucking the Real Estate Trend.

This morning (11/09/09) there are 1,272 active listings in Haywood County, with 8 closings to date in November, one of which was a short sale. We still have way too much inventory.

The Haywood County Market Report for October has been revised to include closings that were added after I reported October sales on November 1st. Of note: the Median Selling Price in October is one of the lowest of 2009.

Source: MLS. Data deemed reliable but, not guaranteed.

Residential real estate sales numbers for Maggie Valley for October have been revised to include closings that were added after I reported October sales on November 1st. Again, it is of note that the Median Selling Price in October is the lowest MSP of 2009 for Maggie Valley.

Source: MLS. Data deemed reliable but, not guaranteed.

Waynesville numbers for October have been revised to include closings that were added after I reported October sales on November 1st. The Median Selling Price in Waynesville in October is, as in Maggie Valley, the lowest MSP of 2009.

Source: MLS. Data deemed reliable but, not guaranteed.

Late Wednesday afternoon in Maggie Valley (11/4/09) I spotted another great photo opportunity on a spectacular Maggie Valley creek. The trees are somewhat bare and brown, but the creek is so beautiful that I don't think that matters.

Speaking of photography, @BradCoy introduced me to Blurb the other day, and I cannot wait to give it a try with some of my photographs. Could be just what I need to make some very special gifts.

Top Ten DIY Photography Tips.

The Amazing Zenyatta Wins the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic.

© Susie Blackmon