I recently learned about an organization in New Hampshire called Moore-Mart which sends care packages to our soldiers. Over the last five years they have sent over 15,000 packages overseas.
It all started when Brian Moore was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and his brother and sister sent him care packages to show their support.
Nashua's Paul Moore and Carole Moore-Biggio started out sending goodies to their brother and now the operation has become a community wide project.
Each year the Moores organize
a Christmas stocking drive in November,
asking for donated stuffed stockings.
This year's collections will be on Thursday and Friday, 11/13 and 11/14 at Daniel Webster College in Nashua.
For more information on how you can donate a goodie-stuffed stocking to this cause visit their website or call (603) 888-9030. This year, they hope to send 4,000 stockings, including one for every New Hampshire soldier deployed overseas.
A recent National Geographic special, Stress: Portrait Of A Killer, discusses how chronic stress is threatening our lives. Stress has been linked to many diseases, including heart disease.
We all have our share of stress, but with the state of today's real estate market, home sellers and their Realtors are getting hit especially hard. Selling a house is one of today's top stress triggers.
Financial burden, years of accumulation to sort through, and a list of projects to complete to prepare the house for sale can be extremely stressful.
Stress builds when sellers don't have a clue where to begin, which rooms should be a priority, or what improvements would yield the best return on their investment.
Many homeowners, finding the process totally overwhelming, transfer responsibility to their Realtor whose job description shouldn't include cleaning out and organizing the closets, finding a new home for the doll collection, or shopping for new bedding.
Transforming the "overwhelming" into manageable is what professional home staging is all about.
Just as a coach or trainer instructs and guides on strategy and game plan, the home stager creates a complete plan of attack with clear step-by-step instruction to systematically prepare the home for sale.
Having a home stager's guidance and direction will:
Whether you think of a home stager as a real estate consultant, property stylist, space organizing guru, home preparation coach, or even your own personal fairy godmother... consider them the authority on the packaging of the house. A stagers involvement, in addition to easing the pressure on the seller, enables the Realtor to put all their attention on the marketing of the house.
Having the right professionals packaging and marketing your house for sale is a guaranteed way to eliminate stress. Eliminating stress could save your life.
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The Seacoast city of Portsmouth, NH, takes Halloween seriously and I look forward to two events all year long.
There is a house on Middle Road, I believe it is #292, you really should visit.
To say they "decorate for Halloween" would be a massive understatement.
Each year the barn and surrounding area is spooked out to the max, each year a different theme, and each year I am left more amazed at the lengths one family will go to celebrate the holiday.
This haunted barn is open every night in October until 9pm. It is FREE of charge and better than most you would pay to enter. The attention to detail is amazing...
Make sure you look inside the doll house...it's also haunted.
This year's theme is a Children's Home...
Outside there is a cemetary to walk through and when you get to the end of the path...
Make sure to catch one of the smoke filled bubbles...they are awesome!
Another DON'T MISS Halloween experience:
The Portsmouth Halloween Parade, to quote the website, is " a grassroots, all-inclusive community celebration of creativity, resourcefulness, collaboration and free expression." It is entirely funded by the community through fundraising events.
It is held on October 31st, rain or shine, at 7 pm. downtown Portsmouth. All are invited to put on a costume and join the hundreds that march or enjoy from the sidelines with thousands of festive spectators.
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Fall is my favorite time of the year, October is my favorite month, and Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Over the years I have
made my share of Halloween costumes and many of them have been pretty creative.
There are plenty of great costumes available at the stores this year, but if you really want to make some memories, try making your own or making costumes for your kids. It can be so much fun!
Animal costumes are always popular and you
can get a simple pattern that will enable you
to make many different animals.
Depending on the shape of the ears, type of
tail and choice of fabric, one pattern can go a
long way.
Years ago I created these costumes for my
children to be The Three Bears, using my
daughter's Cabbage Patch Kid as Baby Bear.
The same pattern was used to make Bo Peep's lamb costume.
I was so happy with this half girl/half boy costume I made my daughter, that I decided
to make an adult version: half bride/half groom. They weren't that hard to make, I cut the clothes in
half and sewed them together. I even made my mother and my aunt costumes... half bridesmaid/half groomsman and we had the whole wedding party.
Costumes for groups of people can be
really fun...
Creating the
Addicted to Love girls
was pretty easy...clothes, makeup, and hair had to be
the same and we made the guitars using foam board
and black electrical tape.
Other group costumes we have made included:
The hand costume was horrible to wear, we were enclosed from head to toe and had no use of our arms. It was not fun, but we won the contest we created the costume for. Not for the faint of heart!
The Easter basket was not confining, but we had to move as a unit. It was created by sewing fabric around a hoop made from pvc pipe. We also won a contest that year. You gotta really like someone to walk around in a basket with them all night long! Choose your basket mates wisely.
I'm a big fan of optical illusion costumes.
I created this Fairy costume by first sewing the mushroom
and stuffing the mushroom cap. The cap is like a donut
with a whole in the center. It was worn like a skirt.
The tutu type fairy skirt and fake legs are tied around my
waist after putting on the mushroom skirt. You can't see
them, but I'm wearing wings on my back.
It was a really cute costume. It looked even better and more
realistic on a child.
One of my favorite costumes
was this Rabbit in a Hat.
The hat was created by first making the rim
from cardboard and covering it with fabric. Then
I attached the fabric that formed the hat, using
a hula hoop sewed into the hem to weigh it down.
The hat is actually hanging from my shoulders using
fishing line for straps.
What was convenient about this costume was the fact that I could simply remove the straps from my shoulders and drop the hat to the ground and step out of it whenever I needed to. It transported really easily too.
One of my more dramatic costumes was this
skeleton in a coffin. It doesn't photograph well, and
was far more impressive in person. My uncle, Jim, hand
painted the skeleton onto my body suit with me wearing it.
That was a really one-of-a-kind experience.
I made the coffin using a foam board presentation display,
covering it with fabric, which went to the floor. The coffin
had wire hooks on the inside which slipped over my shoulders,
enabling me to walk around hands free, coffin and all.
My skeleton costume was recycled by my daughter.
Lose the coffin, add an orange vest and hard hat...voila:
you have Skeleton Crew.
Her boyfriend had the highway barrel...I can't tell you
why or how he got it...that information is classified...
but he cut holes for his head and arms and wore
a light on his head.
I hope you enjoyed my photos, but more importantly, I hope they have inspired you to get creative and have fun this year making costumes of your own.
If you create something special, or have made costumes in the past, please share a photo in the comment section. I would love to see them!
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Today was perfect! The sun was shining, there was a refreshing breeze...perfect day to go pick peaches. There is nothing like the taste of a just picked, juicy peach on a beautiful summer day in New England.
Of course, my "stager" mind came up with an analogy while I was enjoying my adventure amongst the fruit trees. 
The trees are so full and there are so many to choose from. I was very selective on my quest for the perfect peach. Each one was closely inspected before being plucked from the branch.
Just like the real estate market, I thought...buyers have choices.
Price being equal, the determining factor would be appearance and condition.
Peaches with imperfections are not as visually and emotionally appealing to buyers. I watched as others searched for the "perfect" peaches, the ones with the best color, the best looking ones.
All around me I heard comments like "look at this one" and "what a beauty" and "I found some nice ones over here."
People are naturally drawn to attractive and visually appealing products.
In today's market with so many houses to choose from in their price range, buyers will pick the house that feels like home to them.
They don't want the house with imperfections, they want the move-in ready, visually appealing house.
Ok, home staging analogy over... how about some info on where I went for this wonderful experience!
Cider Hill Farm is located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. It is our favorite farm to visit to pick peaches in
the summer and apples in the fall. 
WARNING: They make fresh apple cider donuts there each day...warm and sugary...to die for!
In addition to all the fruit picking and donut eating going on,
of course there is fresh cider, corn on the cob,
a country store with all kinds of goodies, including fresh baked pies, and all the usual fresh veggies.
They sell their own honey.
For the kids,
There are goats and chickens to feed,
and really cute tire swings that look like horses...
In the fall... potted mums and pumpkins galore!
Did I mention the donuts?
Cider Hill Farm is open seven days a week and picking hours are 8:00 - 5:30. A complete crop schedule is available for more information on availability of each fruit.
For more information on Home Staging in New Hampshire visit sharontara.com.
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I am a professional home staging, redesign, and space organization specialist residing in the Seacoast city of Portsmouth, NH. I offer creative and unique solutions to both home owners and realtors.
My mission is to help you increase the emotional appeal of your property and sell for the best price in the shortest time. I am dedicated and committed to providing a professional, affordable, resourceful, creative and effective approach to each home I transform. My natural flair for organization and attention to detail are not only invaluable to clients listing their home for sale, but also to homeowners who have a design challenge or are looking for a fresh, updated look.
Making a Great First Impression
You only get that "just listed" buzz once...you want the house at it's ideal showing condition when traffic and the house's price are at their highest. It's all about first impression. Your best chance of getting closest to asking price is within the first two weeks.
A small investment in home staging can make a significant difference in the outcome of your sale.
I would love to assist you in the preparation of your house for sale.
To learn more, visit: sharontara.com
A more sophisticated appearance is achieved simply by changing bedding and accessories, rearranging furniture and updating the color pallette.
If there was ever any doubt about the power of "Staging", Sharon Tara will make you a believer. She did a fabulous job for me...the house she staged sold in a month, after languishing on the market for six months with no offers. She is very professional, very accommodating, and a lot of fun to work with! I can highly recommend her.
-Linda Clapp, Tate and Foss, Inc.
After an unsuccessful attempt at selling our house last year, I had Sharon stage my home. She gave me great advice and our house sold on the first showing! I was so impressed with her ideas, that I hired her to suggest colors for my new home. I get so many compliments on our colors, I just love it!! Thank you, Sharon, I'll surely pass your name on again, and again!
-Tracy Harmon, Barrington, NH
Sharon Tara has worked her "creative magic" on several homes that I recently listed and all the homes had offers within a month's time! She is able to enhance any home with her design suggestions and works well in motivating the Seller into making the changes to get the home sold!!!
-Diane Boynton, Prudential Rush Realty
Sharon Tara did the restaging of my entire 4000+ square foot house. The end result was absolutely spectacular. She made every room breathtaking. She put in what must have been 100's of hours shopping, picking out paint colors, etc. Even my teenage children were impressed-a testimonial unto itself! When she had finished, my home was a gorgeous showplace! I actually cannot think of a negative thing to say about the whole process. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sharon. I know that your work was instrumental in selling my home.
-Sherry Eldredge, Exeter, NH
As a realtor, I have called upon Sharon Tara numerous times. I am always amazed at the difference she can make in the appearance of a home. She works with the homeowner to easily and very cost efficiently improve the look of the home, which in turn improves the value of the home. The most amazing transformation I worked with her on is what my company calls the Cinderella house. She took a house that I thought would be stretching it to put it on the market for $800,000 and she transformed it. When she was done we put it on the market for $1,300,000. It was under agreement in 7 weeks. That never would have happened without her!!
Donna Frederick, Prudential Rush Realty
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