Monday, October 31, 2011

Tips for Organizing Your Recipes


When it comes time to actually think about making that interesting pasta dish, it’s often nearly impossible to locate the recipe. Why not start out with a simple organization project that will make looking for that recipe so much easier!
First off, go through all the recipes you’ve ripped out of magazines on a whim and discard any you really don’t think you’ll use. If you’ve got recipes floating about in your Email Inbox or saved in your Favorites, now is the time to go through them, print off the ones you think you’ll use, and delete the rest. Use one of these ideas to organize them:

  • Place them in a photo album with self adhesive pages.
  • Copy them onto recipe cards and use dividers to organize a recipe box.
  • Use a three ring binder and protect pages with plastic protector sheets.
  • Organize recipes in an accordion file with various categories.

To easily retrieve your recipes, separate them into different categories that make sense to you. It could be "Ones to Try", "Old Faves", "Main Dishes", "Desserts", etc. You can always change the categories in the future if need be -- the main thing is to get them into some kind of order.
Like many things in life, organization is a key to success. Meal planning and cooking will become so much easier once you can find what you’re looking for. So set aside a block of time and start getting organized!

I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone:  206-406-2710           
 

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Roasted Garlic and Brie Appetizer

Here’s a new recipe you can use and file under Appetizers! The delicate, mellow taste of roasted garlic ensures this appetizer recipe will be a huge hit. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2 - 3 whole garlic bulbs
  • 1 round Brie cheese
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • sliced french bread
  • sliced pears or apples (optional)
 1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.) Slice end off the garlic bulbs to expose the cloves.
3.) Drizzle olive oil over the cut ends and add a bit of salt & pepper.
4.) Put in aluminum foil cut side up and wrap around the bulb.
5.) Place garlic on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until cloves are soft.
6.) Wrap the brie in aluminum foil and bake for the last 20 minutes.
7.) To serve, place brie and garlic on a platter with some bread and fruit. 

Here’s a great tip to keep in mind. If you roast a few extra bulbs of garlic in the oven, you’ll have leftovers to be used for enhancing mashed potatoes, soups or even as a low fat alternative for garlic bread!

I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone:  206-406-2710           
 

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

How to Customize Your Decor With Color

You can personalize your next painting project with a color scheme especially suited to your style, taste or even fondest memories. The first step is to find a photograph that recalls a happy trip or vacation. Select the dominant color in that picture as the paint color for your room. For example, a trip to a resort or cottage can be recollected by using the blue of the sky as your dominant color, with the green of the surrounding trees as the accent color.

With colors it's all about adjusting perceptions. A paint color can actually change our perception of the size and shape of a room itself. The right color in the right place for example, can make a room appear larger and brighter, or more intimate and less empty. It can even make a long and narrow room look more square-shaped, or vice-versa.

To make a room appear:
• Larger: use a pale color to create the impression that the walls are further away.
• Brighter: use a pale shade, like a light yellow.
• Smaller: use a dark color to make the room more intimate and less empty. Reds and earth shades for example, give the impression that walls are closer to us.

To change the perception of room shape:
• Long & Narrow to Square: paint the shorter walls in a darker color than the longer ones.
• Square to Long & Narrow: paint the two facing walls you wish to look longer in a lighter color.

Flat paints add richness and depth to the color of your room. Even high-traffic household areas like hallways, playrooms, bathrooms and kitchens can hold up easily with a lower gloss, but washable paint.

I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone:              206-406-2710           
 

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Importance of Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage


The first thing you should do before you begin shopping for a home is find out how much of a mortgage you qualify for. There are various tools on the Internet that can calculate this for you, but your best bet is to get a formal pre-approval from a mortgage specialist. This involves providing proof of income and a credit check. If there’s a problem with your credit, now is the time to sort it out.

By getting yourself pre-approved, you’ll know exactly how much you’re able to spend. There’s nothing worse than realizing the homes you’ve been looking at are out of your price range. You may convince yourself that you can afford a home with a double car garage and a family room only to learn later on that this isn’t the case. Readjusting to homes that are less expensive is painful and takes all of the fun out of the home buying process.

Most lenders will lock in the current interest rate for a certain time period so that you’ll be protected should rates increase. If the rates decrease, you’re automatically re-locked at the lower rate. On a $150,000 mortgage, you’ll pay $872 per month at 5%. If rates jump to 6%, then your monthly payment will also jump to $959. That’s a difference of $87 per month or $5,220 over a five year term!

When it’s time to put an offer in on the perfect home, a pre-approval will make your offer more attractive to the seller as you can present a cash offer instead of making it conditional on financing. This can sometimes knock thousands off the purchase price or, in the case of multiple offers, will better ensure that your offer is the one that’s accepted. If you still need to make the offer conditional due to a bank appraisal (as is often the case with lower down payments), you can attach the pre-approval to the offer.

A pre-approval can save you thousands of dollars, hours of time and can even prevent you from losing your dream home. It’s easy, there’s no obligation and, in most cases, it’s free. If you have any questions or if you’d like me to refer you to a mortgage specialist, just let me know.
I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone:  206-406-2710     
 

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Five easy ways to avoid water damage


Water Heaters
Replace old water heaters: Water heaters do damage when they get too old and the tank rusts and bursts, allowing water to pour into adjacent rooms. On average, water heaters last 10 to 12 years. Don't wait for them to fail; replace your tank once a decade. Today's energy-efficient systems will also be cheaper to operate.
Switch to stainless steel hoses
Switch to stainless steel hoses: Consider replacing standard rubber or plastic hoses with stainless steel- braided or mesh hoses. Worn out hoses with kinks, cracks or bulges need to be replaced immediately.
Don't leave dishwashers and washers running if you leave the house
If something breaks while a home owner is away, what could have been a small mop-up job often turns into a thousand-gallon mess best left to professionals.
Check the attic air conditioners and swamp coolers
Check attic air conditioners and swamp coolers: When attic systems fail, water damages everything that lies below. At least once a year, go up to the attic or roof to check these appliances before they wear out. Look for wear and tear and loose connections -- particularly if the unit is mounted on the roof and exposed to sun and rain. exposed to sun and rain.
Consider water alarms
Consider water alarms: Home owners can install water alarms for a quick alert when an appliance isn't working right. Hooking up the system to an appliance is usually as simple as hooking up a hose to an outdoor faucet.

I pull out all the stops to sell your home.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR ®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone: 206-406-2710

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington's Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.