With 43 courses to choose from, Pinehurst and Southern Pines are well-known in the golf community. But there’s more to do in the area, and Blake Miller breaks them down by day and by night.
More Than Golf: North Carolina’s Sandhills
Reply
DIY: A Home-Grown Park
Most of us aren’t landscape designers with thirty years experience and three acres to work with, but it’s interesting to read about someone who does and see what he’s been able to create.
8 Ideas for Date-Night Makeover
If your date-nights are in a bit of a rut, Ashley Garland can help you “shake it up”.
A date can be an opportunity to use your creativity, too!
The Other Side of Mexico
Many Texans have spent time in Cancun or Acapulco; Mazatlán is a lesser-known but attractive destination across the Sea of Cortez from the tip of Baja California. A commercial port with a population of just under half-a-million, Mazatlán offers a nice balance of good restaurants and quiet beaches. Robyn Roehm Cannon has written a personal account of her history with charming Mexican city…
http://article.homebydesign.
The Tough Life of A Yard Sign
Over the years, our yard signs have suffered many sad fates. Run over by tractor-mowers, bent by backing trucks and cars, thrown into creeks by kids, stolen and painted over for re-use by people promoting their yard sales…we have seen a lot of yard sign abuse over the years. But the sign at 000 Industrial in Lindale has won the prize, IMHO. The ball of aluminum above was once a 20 x 30″ aluminum panel with a “Commercial” rider atop it, sitting in a steel frame. If you look closely you can see the frames remains alongside the aluminum. We’re not sure whether this was the result of a run-in with a log-chipper, a tractor-mower (or both), but the result looks a bit like a John Chamberlain modern art installation.
Okra In Your Bloody Mary?
Hurricanes blow all sorts of stuff into East Texas from Louisiana…Katrina brought us a Muscovy duck, a guinea hen, and a raft of Arcadians.
Cajuns like to let the good times roll. and no good time is complete without some of their unique and spicy food. Whether or not you have a trip to N’Awlins in your plans, you can enjoy a taste of Cajun culture with these recipes from Kim Fuqua.
http://article.homebydesign.
Deep South Coffee House in Teaselville
For some years I have traveled FM 344 between US 69 in Bullard and Hwy 155. At the junction of FM 346 & FM 344 is a sign for “Teaselville”. I’ve had barbecue at a small trailer/diner (now gone), shopped for knick-knacks at the same location, and had coffee at the Deep South Coffee House. That name makes more sense if you know that the Dewberry’s once lived in the finest plantation house in Smith County in this vicinity.
Last week I dropped in for a bite to eat. It was lunchtime but they were still serving breakfast and I found out that’s their specialty. The eggs were really over easy, the pancakes were fluffy, and the bacon was crisp. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, stop by for breakfast any time of the day!
African, Not Violet, But Beautiful
When I was thirteen, I had a huge crush on a classmate, Sallie Baker. So I was excited to get an invitation from her to come over one cold, gray winter evening to study. I remember being clumsy, tongue-tied, fascinated by their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, and amazed by all the flowering plants in the Baker’s comfortable den. Sallie explained to me that her mom was a big fan of African violets, had been growing them for years, and that all the different-colored blooms were this particular flower’s. I’ve been a fan of African violets ever since. If you’re looking for a way to brighten your home on those gray days, you’re sure to enjoy Robyn’s article. It’s both a history and a how-to-grow piece. Read more…
When Less is More
I once visited a Japanese friend’s “home” in Tokyo just off the Ginza Strip. It was extremely small, by Texas standards, about 600 square feet, but it was very neat and comfortable.
I thought of that space when I lived in a Manhattan brownstone some years later. It was only about 850 square feet, and by comparison to my friend’s home, was cluttered. What I learned in the years I lived there is that most of us take space too much for granted and that it takes a lot of discipline to keep a small space organized and aesthetically pleasing.
If you have a small space to decorate, you will enjoy Ashley Cartland’s piece, “Less Is More”, which embraced the Asiatic minimalist influence. Read more…
Happy New Year!
2011 has been an unusually dramatic year in East Texas. It began with not one, but two snowfalls. The second, just before Valentine’s, was spectacular, with 3-4” in our neighborhood, enough for some big snowmen and snowball fights all around us as the kids (classes were canceled) got busy. Many a pool float and trash-can lid was pressed into service as makeshift sleds, and a good time was had by all!
Which was good, because Summer 2011 was a catastrophe here in Texas, with both drought and record-breaking heat. Millions of acres were scorched in raging wildfires, thousands of homes were burned, several people were killed, and in the aftermath millions of trees are dead or dying and boat houses across the state are idle, with dry land under most of them.
Fortunately, Tyler home sales ticked up in 2011, with the best November on record since 2008. Interest rates remain low, inventories are good, and home prices are slowly beginning to rise again. We’ve updated our website, added this blog (thanks for visiting), and have brought on a new buyers’ agent (Cyndi Garrett, formerly of PrimeLending), as well. We’re looking forward to a very busy 2012.
So the woods have really been on fire this year, first literally, and now figuratively. Something about the drought brought out the most vivid colors we’ve seen from the hickories and oaks this fall.
But it’s the sweetgums that have held onto their leaves longer than any of them. Even now, as the old year falls off the calendar, they are still radiant on the trees. What a wonderful way to usher in the new year. We want to wish all of you a happy one.
Cordially,
Andrea & Larry Lynch, REALTORS®
ROSE CAPITAL REALTY, Inc.
hm ofc 903.534.0665 fx 903.534.0076
realtors@rosecr.com, www.RoseCapitalRealty.com, www.TylerRoseBlog.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.”
~ Benjamin Franklin