Dollar Days in Downtown Baltimore December 3 & 4

This weekend is “Dollar or Less Days” in Downtown Baltimore, where museums open for a dollar or less — and invite you to join in the fun!

This is part of the “Downtown for the Holidays” promotion, trying to bring people Downtown in the month of December.

There are 15 museums participating this year, including the Baltimore Museum of Industry, Port Discovery (Sunday only), National Aquarium, and the Maryland Science Center. Some of these museums charge much more on a regular basis, so these are fantastic deals!

Keep in mind that due to the deals, expect crowds, and limited availability. Make sure to arrive early! Here is a full list of the participating museums, and the times and days they are joining in.

Come on down to Downtown Baltimore this weekend for Dollars or Less!

Washington Monument Lighting 2011

The Washington Monument Lighting is always a popular event, with nearby museums and shops participating, and many people coming to enjoy the magic of lights, fireworks, and this year, a laser show finale choreographed to music!

This year is the 40th Annual Lighting of the Washington Monument, so expect an extra special night.

The lighting will take place Thursday, December 1, 2011 with events beginning at 5:30pm and running until about 8:00pm. The ceremony itself starts around 7:00pm, and the official lighting takes place close to 7:45pm.

The weather looks to be perfect — a little cold, but clear for the show. We have gotten used to this warmer weather, but this will feel much more like the holidays! There will be hot chocolate, food, and fun for all!

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore have partnered to put this on. More details can be found on the BOP site.

So bundle up, and come to Mount Vernon to celebrate the beginning of an always exciting season in Downtown Baltimore!

The Washington Monument is located at Mount Vernon Place by the Walters Art Museum at 600 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Photo courtesy of sidewalk flying via Flickr CC

 

Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees 2011

The Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees is this weekend after Thanksgiving, as it is each year.

It is open Friday & Saturday, the 25th & 26th, from 10am-9pm, and Sunday the 27th from 10am-6pm.

Tickets are $12 for Adults, $6 for Seniors and Children ages 5-12. (Children 4 and under are free.) Tickets can be purchased at the door, or, as in the past, if you buy in advance, you can save $2 by buying them online through this link to their website.

As I have mentioned in the past, one of the big tips I have learned, and will continue to share is that if you have children, GET THE $20 ACTIVITY PACKET (also available to order online prior to & pick up at Will Call). Most of the games & activities require tickets or a wrist band and once your kids see them, they will want to play them. We learned the hard way our first time three years ago, and had to go back to stand in line to buy them.

Even if you miss the $2 online coupon, you can still save $1 at the door through downloading this coupon from their site.

Lunchtime at the eating areas is CROWDED. Plan to grab food a little early, and grab a table. You will be glad you did! (We have eaten sitting on the floor the last two years.)

Not only is this a fun event for all, it benefits the children and families of the Kennedy Krieger Institute. They do amazing work!

Happy Holidays!

Baltimore Thanksgiving 2011

Well, Thanksgiving will be a weird one this year for many of us here in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Ravens play the San Francisco 49ers at 8:20pm Thanksgiving night — so my family will be split up in places.

A mini Kirk Thanksgiving will be held at Ravens Stadium (or really, prior to, at the tailgate), since a number will be attending the game.

Another group will be at my house with kiddos.

Another group will be heading somewhere new.

And my side of the family is staying at their homes in their respective states.

I will miss those we cannot be with, but am thankful for the family we will be.

So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Baltimore, and GO RAVENS!

BGE Town Hall Meeting Monday November 28, 2011

Senator Jim Brochin is hosting a Town Hall Meeting in regards to BGE and specifically its’ handling of the Hurricane Irene situation on Monday, November 28, 2011 from 7-9pm at Towson High School.

As many of you know, my family was without power for an entire week. Each day, I would head into my office, and more & more people would have power back…but not us.

Much of Towson was left without power after the storm — many for a week or more.

Schools had delayed openings because of the lack of power — most of them through the first week due to lack of power!

Though BGE had a lot on their hands, many question if things could have been handled better, and power restored to many earlier than it was. Why were they not as prepared as they should have been? What can be done to prevent this type of long term outage in the future?

Senator Jim Brochin is the Maryland State Senator for Legislative District 42, which encompasses much of Towson. He lives in Towson and was affected by the outage. Here is a link to the flyer he sent to his constituents, inviting them to the Towson BGE town hall meeting.

If you are interested in hearing from BGE and sharing your thoughts, make sure to attend on Monday.

Towson High School is located at 69 Cedar Ave, Towson, MD 21286.

Downtown Baltimore Holiday Light Show at Power Plant

A brand new holiday light show will be showcased this season on and around the Power Plant in Downtown Baltimore.

It begins this Saturday, and it looks to be spectacular!

The light show will be held throughout the holiday season at the following times & dates:

Saturday, November 19 – Saturday December 31
Sunday – Thursday: 6pm, 7pm, & 8pm
Friday – Saturday: 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, & 9pm

I may just have to go this Saturday evening for the first night. It looks SO neat! Here is a preview from the “It’s a Waterfront Life” website! The Greater Baltimore Committee describes the show as:

“…projections on the Power Plant buildings, accompanied by a laser light show, high energy music, and fireworks. The show will preview the GBC’s concept for a year-round entertainment intended to pump up the “fun” element at the Inner Harbor after dark.”

I have a feeling my son would absolutely love it!

Saturday is a big day for the Inner Harbor with the Winter Wonderland at West Shore Park from 1-5pm with live music, crafts, games, and more. You can even create your own lantern, and participate in the Holiday Lantern Parade at 5:30! The Holiday Lantern Parade will go from West Shore Park to the Harbor Amphitheater with characters, illuminated suits, festive decorations, and more. PLUS Santa will bring up the end of the parade and arrive at Santa’s Place for his stay through 12/24.

So come on down to Downtown Baltimore this Saturday to enjoy the awesome new light show on the Power Plant. I can’t wait! If you go, let me know. I’d love to hear how you liked it!

Marney’s “Famous” “Best Sweet Potato Casserole Ever” Recipe

Our office Thanksgiving luncheon just ended, and as usual, I had multiple requests for my sweet potato recipe.

It’s not a big secret, and I am happy to share.

I created the recipe in 1999, when I was asked to bring sweet potatoes to multiple Thanksgiving luncheons. I will clarify that at the time, I highly disliked sweet potatoes, and did not want to make something that I would not eat. So I decided to make it a dessert-like side that even *I* would enjoy.

In recent years, I have cut down on the butter, and there is no longer a 60 oz can of sweet potatoes (I have found 29 oz cans, and you can use 2, or buy one 40 oz & only use 2/3 of the milk, 2 eggs, and only 2 Tb of butter in the base mixture.)

So the casserole is, obviously, not very good for you, and takes a very healthy food, sweet potato, and makes it into a a high calorie, high sugary mess. But man, oh, man is it WORTH it!

Please let me know if you end up making it, and if you make additions or modifications that are tasty — I love to try new things! Here is my full sweet potato casserole recipe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cockeysville Home Sale Statistics October 2011

The Cockeysville home sale statistics for October were down a significant amount from October 2010.

The total sold dollar volume was down over 30%, and the average sales price was down 10%.

Seven houses changed hands, two less than October last year.

The biggest difference is the sales prices for attached homes — down 44.30% to an average of $158,000 vs $285,000 last year.

Cockeysville and Hunt Valley neighborhoods are very different, and Cockeysville has a few condo communities which count in the “attached” home sales statistics. 21030 does not have many sales each month, so even one or two of the smaller condos or townhouses in Cockeysville, versus the larger Hunt Valley townhouses can make a big difference in what the statistics show us.

Here is the detailed 21030 home sale report for October 2011.

Be sure to contact me to find out more about what is happening in your Hunt Valley neighborhood. I would love to help!

Timonium Home Sale Statistics October 2011

Home sales in Timonium were up slightly over the same period last year with $10,144,017 in homes changing hands last month.

The average sales price was down 8.63% to $349,794, mostly due to the detached homes price which was down 18.39% from $428,953 last October to $350,060 this year. This tells me that most likely more of the smaller Lutherville cape cod, rancher, and split levels sold, rather than some of the larger single family homes.

56 new homes came on the market, while 37 homes went under contract, which a 44% increase over October of last year. A total of 214 homes are for sale in Timonium.

Here is a link to the detailed October 2011 Timonium home sale report.

As you can see from the numbers this month, more of the smaller detached homes sold, while the attached/townhouse numbers can be skewed because one of the nine sales was in the $600-799,000 range.

Keep in mind that each Timonium neighborhood is different. Contact me for your Timonium house value!

This Month in Real Estate November 2011

This Month in Real Estate for November 2011 has been released!

The numbers from October, presented by Jay Papasan, showed the home sales at an annual pace of 4.9 million, down slightly from last month, but much better than September’s numbers. Median home price was $165,000, which is another drop from This Month in Real Estate October 2011. Interest rates rose very slightly to an average of 4.1% for a 30 year fixed mortgage.

The Top Story asks the question, “What are first time homebuyers looking for?” According to KW research, much of it is to stay in the same area as they were renting. 3/4 of first time homebuyers bought a single family home, and most purchased a three bedroom, two bath home.

Of course, this data is nationwide, and the Baltimore real estate market is different than any other. Many areas of the country do not have the dense, highly populated areas with rowhomes such as Downtown Baltimore in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton, and Locust Point. Even Baltimore County has many townhouse neighborhoods, such as Mays Chapel in Timonium, Rodgers Forge, and areas of White Marsh and Perry Hall.

In News You Can Use, Bryon Ellington discusses three things you should know about buying versus renting.

1) Equity. You can build wealth through equity. He aligns it with a long term savings account. Every month that you pay your mortgage, a portion of the mortgage goes into that “account” (your principle).

2) Appreciation. If the market where you buy appreciates, then that equity becomes even larger.

3) Make it your own. You can renovate, paint, do whatever you’d like to it!

He also points out that when you pay rent, you are still paying a mortgage. It is just someone else’s mortgage, and you don’t get the benefits of ownership.

For more information about buying a home in Baltimore, please contact me. I would be happy to help!

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