How to Make Your Home Nearly Perfect

By Marilyn Pribus – Most people want The Perfect Home. Admittedly this is pretty much impossible since perfection is the enemy of the good.  Often attributed to Voltaire, that aphorism holds a lot of truth, so let’s settle for nearly perfect. It may be that your home has many great qualities but there are still […]

Charlottesville: Our Foodie Town

By Ken Wilson – A person could spend all day poring over online menus, but a friend’s testimony that “I’m never eating anywhere else” is worth any number of five star reviews on Yelp. When the elated friend (“I could taste the butter!”) has just eaten a “Feuillete chicken”—tarragon chicken baked in puff pastry—at Patisserie […]

Remodeling Projects That Pay

By Celeste M. Smucker – If you are dreaming about fabulous renovations for your home, you may also wonder how much they will add to its value when it’s time to sell. While economic factors are not the only reason to renovate, they are a good place to start.  Once you know how much of […]

Get Your House Ready for Winter

By Marilyn Pribus – Hard to believe, but some trees are actually starting to lose their leaves for winter. You should be thinking about getting ready, too.  Here are some pointers to prep your property for cold weather. Don’t wait for winter storm warnings. Outdoors Inspect the outside of your property, looking for cracks in […]

Commercial Real Estate Continues Impressive Growth

By Celeste M. Smucker– Commercial real estate  is still a hot commodity in both Charlottesville and the Shenandoah Valley.  Agents report the phone is ringing and they are cautiously optimistic that the upward trend will continue.  A recent article in Forbes magazine expressed similar confidence in the national market stating: “the industry is expected to […]

Taste of the Mountains: Celebrating Madison

By Ken Wilson– Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival is what’s it’s called, but there are so many different tastes to try as you stroll down Main in the beautiful and historic town of Madison. You could start with the barbeque from Pig ‘N Steak, real pit-cooked, hickory smoked pork and ham the locals […]

Staunton Music Festival: Small City, Big Deal

By Ken Wilson – It’s a lotta music for a little city, but then the Staunton Music Festival is no local secret or merely local affair. With a hashtag #RethinkClassical and everything from a period-instrument performance of Handel’s rarely-heard operatic masterpiece Hercules to a concert performance of Kurt Weill’s “sung ballet” The Seven Deadly Sins, […]