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ACL Festival 2009

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:01:58 +0000

ACL Music Festival Zilker Park Outdoor Marquee

Calling All Music Fans! It’s ACL Festival time again! October 2-4, 2009, will bring 65,000 music fans a day to beautiful 350 acre Zilker Park located at 2100 Barton Springs Rd. near downtown Austin. The festival also is projected to inject some $30 million into the city’s economy! Who says music doesn’t pay? Austin City Limits Music Festival has gone from a small mostly Austin musicians festival in its inaugural debut in 2002 to one of the nation’s top music events which sells out ticket capacity months in advance. What a line-up is in store for 2009 lucky ticket holders! This year fans will have 8 stages and 130 acts to choose from including well-known headliners like Dave Mathews, Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Levon Helm, Ghostland Observatory, Mos Def, and many more! Tickets sold out in August, but a few one day passes can still be had on places like Craig’s List . For a complete list of headliners for this year’s festival, click on the following link, Austin City Limits. If you are just visiting, then enjoy our beautiful city while you are here and call us if you would like to know more about the city or need a list of current properties for sale or rent in Austin! Vicki E. Phillips, Real Estate Broker/Owner of Cool Houses Austin@ 512-665-7778 for more info! We rent apartments, too! Ask us about the new move-in specials!

Dick Nichols Park Austin, Tx.

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:06:42 +0000

If you are thinking of living in Southwest Austin, do yourself a favor and check out this beautiful park where you can hike and bike on a well-kept 2 mile trail, play tennis, basketball, volleyball with a sand-pit, take the kids to the elaborate playground, and even swim in an outdoor heated pool year-round! The pool is free in the summer and has a $1 entry fee for children and seniors in the fall, winter, and spring. Regular winter adult admission to the pool is a nominal $2.00. What a bargain! There are also large reservable areas for large groups and parties. Dogs on leash are welcome in the park as well, so bring your furry companions for a run!

Hike and Bike Trail Dick Nichols Park winds through delightful oaks and cedars. A truly delightful park for southwest Austin residents to enjoy! Come out and play!

The photos below show the incredible size of the pool with its many lap lanes and for those who prefer a more leisurely pace, there is a huge open swim area that is reserved for those who prefer to do water aerobics or perhaps swim with their children. Both sides of the pool are heated in the winter swim season (October through May).

Dick Nichols Park is located at 8011 Beckett between Convict Hill and Davis Lane. From Mopac, take William Cannon West to Beckett and go (left) South on Beckett.

Dick Nichols Pool

A gorgeous fall day at Dick Nichols Pool

HOT Tips for Selling A Home in a Cooler Market

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:57 +0000

Everyone knows that home prices have declined this past year (yes, even here in Austin and the surrounding Hill Country). So what do you do if you are trying to sell a home in a “buyer’s” market? Here are a few tips for you sellers out there:

1. The First Impression: The rule is that the first impression is your only impression! Spruce it up to say “Welcome” as soon as they drive up. If that means, buying some new fresh bedding plants, flowers in pots by the front door, new mulch, etc. Have your home look inviting from the street.

2. Price it right! Have a current CMA done by the agents you are interviewing to list your home. We offer this to you for free at Cool Houses Austin! You will get the most showings the first 30 days your home is on the market, so the right price is very important!

3. De-Clutter! You’ve seen staged homes. How do they do it? Do yourself a huge favor and go rent a storage place and take 1/3 to 1/2 of your stuff and store it there. Big hint! Your garage is not a storage unit! Pack up the family memorabilia, photos, games, toys, Christmas decor, collections, personal keepsakes, etc. and move them to storage. Have that big garage sale before you list the house and much of your “stuff” will be gone and you will have $$$ in your pocket already!

4. Ready to Show at a moment’s notice That means putting it on a lock-box and tidying up before you leave for work. That way, an agent can show your home when you are not there.

5. Light and Bright! Make sure that after you de-clutter, you deep clean and paint! Every room should sparkle! Buyers want good light and freshly painted (neutral) walls in their new home. Not sure what neutral means (check out your local Pottery Barn store for great ideas). Replace burned out bulbs, clean your windows until they sparkle, clean screens (or remove them entirely and stack them in the garage). You want as much light coming in as possible. Voila! Your home suddenly looks newer and brighter!

6. Kitchens Sell a Home! Now is not the time to totally remodel your kitchen to get more money, but it is the time to paint the kitchen (remove any old wallpaper), paint the cabinets if needed, update the cabinet hardware, and the kitchen faucet! Some experts advise buying one brand new high-end stainless steel appliance to replace any old ones that you have. (It makes the whole kitchen look expensive).Never ignore your competition. Be a savvy, educated seller. It will pay off in the long run.

For more tips on selling your home, I always suggest to my sellers to spend a few evenings watching HGTV and see how the experts do it!

And for more tips on selling your home, check out their top 10 at HGTV.com/real-estate

Old Pecan Street Festival 2009

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:17:05 +0000

The Old Pecan Street Festival is celebrating its 31st year downtown on 6th Street. Great art (250 exibitions), local handcrafts, festival food, and over 80 acts on five stages to take in all in two days! Whew! There will be plenty of fun to be had for the kids, too. From a petting zoo to pony rides to flying high on the huge jumper areas, and at the last festival, there was even a climbing wall erected on the street! Just goes to show that the kids are way more adventurous than some of us attending the festival! Some of our favorites from the last festival: McClintock Photographics and the whimsical and fun folk art of Wayne Ayers. We also love the gorgeous watercolor originals by Patrick Sullivan who does wonderful portraits as well. We love art here in Austin! Don’t worry if you missed the Spring Festival. The next Old Pecan Street Festival will be September 26-27th of 2009. See their website for more info. And remember, if you want more information on living and playing in Austin or the surrounding Hill Country, just drop us an email or better yet, call us at 512-665-7778. Enjoy the slide show and the music of Austin’s own (and my favorite Latino band) Del Castillo from their same titled CD just released in 2009.

old-pecan-festival-20091

Gruene Market Days

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:21:33 +0000

Have you visited historic Gruene, Tx. lately? Do you love antiques and collectibles and hidden little towns that just take your breath away? Well, if you haven’t been to this charming little hill country town located on the beautiful Guadalupe River, hop in the car for a trip back in time to this delightful litte gem located just 30 minutes north of San Antonio and about an hour south from Austin. Gruene Market Days are held on the 3rd full weekend of each month February – November from 10-5pm. Not only will you find beautiful outdoor plants and homemade jams and jellies to delight, but also wonderful local artisans displaying their art for sale. And if that isn’t enough, you can explore the shops that line the streets and eat at some of the wonderful award winning restaurants like The River House Tea Room which in my opinion is one of the best restaurants in Central Texas! Gruene also has delightful little shops lining both sides of main street. What a wonderful place to shop for those unique gifts that are sure to surprise and delight the lucky recipients. And just think, you are supporting someone’s dreams when you purchase something he or she has created with their heart and hands. And if you wander over to Gruene Hall which boasts the proud moniker of “ Oldest Dance Hall in Texas”, you can grab a cold drink and enjoy live music, too! Who knows who will be playing there? You might just be lucky and catch Lyle Lovett! What a great place to spend the day and evening!

Enjoy the slide show and be sure and visit Gruene, Tx on one of our beautiful hill country weekends! [[Show as slideshow]]

Arbor Trails

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:35:28 +0000

Arbor Trails Austin, Tx.

Locatd southwest of the William Cannon exit off Mopac is a delightful hidden jewel for runners, walkers, and bike riders, the Arbor Trails Hike and Bike Trail. With its crushed granite (gentle on our joints), beautiful landscaping, and canopy of oaks and cedars, you forget that you are just a few hundred yards off Mopac and William Cannon. It is also a pet-friendly trail where most owners do clean up after their pets, so that is wonderful as well! There is even a delightful water feature on the backside of the trail (yes, it still has water!) and the sunsets are just gorgeous from this spot. Rest benches are located in several spots along the trail and the loop goes around the Arbor Trails Shops, so you can grab a bite to eat at one of the local restaurants like Chuy’s, Cheddar’s, Dimassi’s Mediterranean Grill, Firehouse Subs, Panda Express, Red Brick Pizza, Smoothie King, etc. which are located inside the hiking trail. You can also shop at Costco and Steinmart or Wine Styles while you are there! So much to offer and right here in our very own Southwest Austin neighborhood. Local subdivisions to check out if you want to be able to just walk to the trail, Western Oaks and Westcreek.

Call us for more info as we walk this trail almost daily!

Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:25:12 +0000

Celebrating its 11th year serving Austin, the award winning Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market is located at 3200 Jones Road, Sunset Valley (just off the 290 W access ramp between Brodie Ln. and Westgate) in the parking lot of the Toney Burger Center. It is open every Saturday morning rain or shine from 9am to 1pm. There is even weekly live music hosted by Jimmy Joe Natoli. Recently voted as one the top 5 farmers markets in the country by Eating Well Magazine, this wonderful market is a jewel in our Austin crown. So if you are searching for the best organic produce, grass-fed meats, fresh cheeses, unhomogenized milk and butter, fabulous fresh mushrooms, look no further this Saturday. The market also features wonderful local artisans for gift shopping and great specialty foods prepared on the spot, so you can enjoy a wonderful breakfast or lunch while you shop! Truly, a delight that we are so fortunate to have right here in Southwest Austin!

Austin Adopts Zero Waste Plan

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:25:46 +0000

The city of Austin is the first city in the state of Texas to adopt a zero waste plan. What does that mean?According to Jessica King, sustainability administrator for the City of Austin’s Solid Waste Services Department, …it is no longer a ’waste’. We call it a commodity now…a different way of thought on how we look at trash”. The city transitioned in October to single stream recycling (allowing users to put all recyclable materials into one big “blue” bin) for twice monthly pick-up and the number of tons of recycling collected has already doubled! According to the Solid Waste Services dept, nearly 80% of residents of Austin are now participating. The city hopes to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill by 20% by 2012. Can it work? The city has only to look at San Francisco where 90% of their trash is diverted from the local landfills and know that yes, we can do it, too! So get that big blue bin, and rinse out those cans, bottles, plastic trays, and containers..Do it for your city, your children, and for the planet. Make it a family Earth Day project to see how much difference you can make in your household. We did and it is amazing to see how little we actually put in our “normal” dumpster. We are down to one bag per week and are working on eliminating that, too. Our big blue bin is overflowing and we look forward to the day when the weekly pick-up is for the big blue and the twice monthly or less for the “trash”. Until then, happy recycling!

What is Organic?

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:05:39 +0000

We read about the word “organic” as a label applied to food all the time? But what does it reallymean? According to US Dept. of Agriculture, organic means “meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products which come from animals that are not given antibiotics or growth hormones”. Organic food or produce is produced “without using pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation”. Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? Just the thought of eating vegetables grown in sewage sludge makes us pretty queezy…let alone radiation of plants? So where to buy organic in Austin? Most of our local supermarkets carry an organic produce section and we have a plethora of specialty markets for our Austin area like Central Market Westgate, Sun Harvest, Newflower Farmers Market , and of course, the wonderful flagship store of Whole Foods (located downtown on 6th and Lamar) where you can eat in one of their incredible cafes, have a cooking lesson, listen to live music, and shop organic til you drop! And if you are downtown on a Saturday, don’t miss the Austin Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 9am to 1pm on 4th and Guadalupe….yummy treats! And so good for you, too!

Austin Named Community Wildlife Habitat

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:30:35 +0000

Once again, the city of Austin is honored! On March 12th, Mayor Bill Wynn and the city council accepted the National Wildlife Federations’ offiicial certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat. This makes Austin the first Texas city and the largest metropolitan city in the nation to be so honored! The main focus of the National Wildlife Federation Habitat program is to benefit plants, wildlife, and people through the creation of sustainable landscapes that require little or no pesticides, fertilizers or excess watering. And best news of all is that you can have your very own garden or yard certified as a wildlife habitat! Get officially recognized and the very cool sign to display in your yard by simply providing food, water, places for cover(shrubs, etc), places to raise young (again grasses or shrubs or nesting areas, and sustainable gardening(compost, mulch,etc) For more information on the project, simply click here: National Wildlife Federation