There are many great reasons to upsize in 2021. After a challenging year and new lifestyle changes that have impacted us all, now is a great time to upsize your home and finally gain the comfort (and sanity) you’ve been looking for.

Affordability

Mortgage rates have hit historic lows, thanks to efforts by the government to stimulate the economy. Many metro areas have also seen a slowdown in-home price increases. Now that remote work is available for many Americans, buyers are free to stay farther away from their metropolitan workspaces, offering them more affordable options. If you want to grab more space at a lower price, now is the time to do it!

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate Safely During the Holidays

Get Creative

There are so many exciting craft ideas out there for you and your family to explore. You can find all sorts of inspiration online on Pinterest, Instagram, and even TikTok. Ever heard of hot chocolate bombs?

And here’s a pro tip: A quick search for “hygge” on any social media platform will send you down a rabbit hole of all things warm, delicious, and cozy!

Learn Something New

Do you have any skills or fun hobbies you’ve wanted to learn but never had the time? Watch cooking videos and tutorials with your loved ones to plan a downsized holiday meal. Take a short calligraphy course and try out some fancy handwriting. The possibilities are endless!

As we head into the last few months of the year, the leaves are falling, the temperatures are dropping, and amazing product is beginning to show up at grocery stores and farmer's markets. Next time you're meal planning or grocery shopping, check out these wonderful, seasonal fruits and veggies to add some color to your plate.

Apples

While sliced apples might be a staple of school lunches, many delectable recipes use cooked apples. Now is the perfect time to visit a local apple orchard and have fun with the family picking a bushel of the sweet, crispy fruit. Once you take them home, you can use them in a pie, cobbler, applesauce, or spiced apple cider.

One of our favorite ways to use apples is in baked oatmeal. Cooking the apples brings out their natural sweetness, which delivers some excitement to this otherwise drab breakfast entree.

Fall is nearly here and even though this one will be different than previous years, it can still be incredible. You might not be sitting in the bleachers at a football game or wandering through a corn maze, but making some minor changes to your home's interior can nevertheless put you in the spirit. Check out these simple home hacks to make this the best fall ever.

1 Slippers

That's right- slippers. When the cool weather starts to (finally) creep in, there is nothing better than coming home and sliding your feet into some cozy, warm slippers. Especially if you have tile or hardwood floors that can feel chilly on bare feet, slippers are a must.

As we enter the new school year with COVID-19 still an ever-present part of our daily lives, many parents are turning to homeschool for the first time to keep their families safe. It’s a reasonable choice, given the circumstances, but if you’ve never considered teaching before, let alone full-time schooling—when you may already have a full-time job—the prospect may be overwhelming. However, with a few allowances, a lot of planning, and some flexibility, it’s possible to make homeschooling during COVID-19 your new reality.

Here are some fun, sanity-saving strategies for parents to employ during this time:

If you’re like us, the middle of summer is just about the time this Texas heat becomes unbearable, and you start dreaming of white sand, blue waves, and more iced tea than you can shake a stick at. The kids are dying to build sandcastles, and you’re dying to lay under a giant beach umbrella with a good book. Sound familiar?

While this year is a little different than others, getting out in the great outdoors is still one of the safest things you can do. And if you’re feeling especially safety-conscious, use this time to plan next year’s beach adventure.

With all this extra time at home, families across the nation have come to the collective realization that their homes are just a little too small. Maybe it’s the number of bedrooms, or the number of bathrooms, the size of the yard, or just the fact that you can’t find a quiet place to work anywhere. Whatever the reason, if you’re ready for the next size up in a home for your growing family, now is the time to start looking for your next place and planning for the big move.

Worried about moving so soon after the pandemic? Don’t sweat it. With just a few safety-conscious modifications, you’ll be able to pack and move safely to your new place.

Tired of being cooped up inside? Us too. And if you’re sick of not being able to go to your favorite places and do your favorite things—or even get out to the grocery store—then your kids are likely going a little stir-crazy as well. When you’ve run out of puzzles and construction paper crafts to concoct with the little ones, what’s a busy parent to do?

Never fear. We’ve put together our tried-and-true list of activities to do inside with kids young and old. Check it out below!

It’s usually easy to tell when your home is dirty, right? There's a pile of laundry on the floor, dishes in the sink, and maybe even mud tracked in from the great outdoors. Those are easy messes to identify—even if they aren’t easy to clean! But once these messes are cleaned up, don’t wash your hands and call it a day. There are many areas in our homes that we don’t think about cleaning regularly that can be truly filthy homes for bacteria, dust, and other foul things to grow and accumulate.

When was the last time you took a duster or a disinfectant to one of these areas?

From home decorating to home staging, 2020 is shaping up to be a year where the unusual is in high demand. Statement pieces, handcrafted details, and bold maximalist murals are all ways to catch a potential homebuyer’s eye this year—or just make your new place feel a little more “you”. We put together a list of the top trends interior decorators are recommending for the beginning of the decade—and don’t worry, “farmhouse chic” has dropped off the list once and for all.

Here are a few of our favorite 2020 home design and decorating trends:

If you’re facing a move across country with kids in tow, you may be nearing panic mode. The mere thought of getting a whining toddler to pack up all their toys is unnerving, let alone the thought of spending six hours trapped in a car with that toddler. Or, maybe your kids are school-aged, and you have to break the news that they’ll be leaving all their friends behind and starting a new adventure somewhere else.

If that doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, you’re not alone. Fortunately, we see families like yours make the big move from one side of the country to the other all the time—and we’ve learned a thing or two from their strategies throughout the process.

Ready to get a head start on the spring selling season? Listing your home in the wintertime is a great way to take advantage of a less competitive market and more committed buyers. You won’t have to worry about landscaping, and you might sell your home in days if the right buyer finds you at the right moment.

Showcase your space with these five tips for winter home sellers:

If you’re traveling to see friends and family this holiday season, your mind is probably already full of visions of roasted turkey and gingerbread men. You’ve put your mail on hold, wrapped your pipes, packed your bags—and checked them twice. But before you hit the road for a holiday adventure, take a moment to prepare your home for the time you’ll be gone with these tips:

Prepare Your Pets

Almost everyone has moved at some point in their lives, and yet it still seems hard to get a clear answer on the best time of year to move. Is it summer? Lots of people like to move in the summer—but beware of the heat! Is it winter? Some will advocate for a quick and chilly move, but others will warn that you won’t be able to get movers in winter to save your life. There’s a lot of opinions on moving out there, and today, we’ll weigh the pros and cons for moving during each season, so you can decide which one is best for you.

Spring

Staging your home may not be mandatory, but it’s something that should be strongly considered when selling a property. Staging your home means having it professionally decorated and furnished to make it look more appealing to buyers. It helps potential buyers imagine life inside of the house, which could lead to a shorter time on the market! According to the National Association of Realtors, “39% of sellers’ agents stated that staging a home greatly decreases the amount of time the home is on the market.” That’s why staging your home can be a very beneficial part of the selling process, keep reading to learn why it’s an important step.

Give Room for Imagination

When planning on relocating your family and belongings, it’s crucial that you budget the move before getting started to save as much money as possible and to make relocating a smooth transition. These five tips will point you in the right direction when trying to budget a move successfully.

Plan Ahead and Assess Your Moving Budget

Not planning and budgeting your move could lead to you spending more money than necessary on relocating. Even the smallest add-ons and purchases can quickly add up, so setting a budget is one of the most essential things you can do. Create a template electronically or even adjust a record-book or checkbook to help you get organized for your upcoming move.  All you need is something to track your actual and estimated expenses and some math skills to make any template work.

When many think of Texas, they think of endless farmland, cattle and horses. But what most don’t know is that we have amazing beaches along the gulf coast! This guide will show you five of the best beaches in the lone star state for endless summer fun!

Rockport Beach

A home’s foundation is a crucial element of the structure. It supports everything above it.

There are three types of foundations to choose from when you are building a house. These are: basement, crawlspace, and slab foundation. The foundation you choose essentially boils down to your budget as well as personal preference.

In this article, the experts from Granite Foundation Repair, a professional foundation repair company in Dallas, discuss the pros and cons of each of the three foundation types to help you make the right decision.

Basement Foundations

A cluttered home can have adverse effects on your health, causing low-level stress and anxiety, making you feel overwhelmed and mentally drained. Decluttering can let your home feel more relaxed, even if it’s simply because you’re not running from place to place looking for misplaced items. Having an organized environment can also allow for a concentrated mind, allowing for more productivity and creativity.

Think First Usefulness, Then Sentimental Value

To really declutter, you’re going to have to part with some things. So, when sorting items, it’s important to think of their usefulness and need before you take into account the sentimental value. If the item has a unique purpose or if it does a job better than an item of a similar nature, then keep the more useful possession. When taking the sentimental value of the possession into account there may be things you find that you don’t want to give away, but you also don’t have the time and space for. Think about re-homing these items to give them another life with family or friends who understand their value.

Moving is a big change for kids but getting them involved in the moving process can help make the transition smoother for the whole family and even fun for the little ones!

Let Them Help from The Start

Getting them involved from the start can help ease the process and allow them time to prepare for the change. Even in the home search process, get the kids involved! Take them on showings or show them photos during your searches if having them tag along is too taxing. Letting them be a part of this decision making can even make them feel more included in the transition. Make a timeline of the move and what’s happening when. For example, you could put down when you plan to start packing and when they start their new school.