What $500K Will Buy You….

This installment of “What you can buy in…” features 3 different properties priced around $500,000.   2 condos are featured in Arlington and Reston, while the same amount buys you a 2-car garage townhome in Ashburn.

Obviously, the further west you move, the more space (and longer commute) you can enjoy!  Everyone loves listening to the traffic reports in the morning; moving west gives you more opportunity to enjoy those. 🙂

If you know of anyone looking to buy (or sell) a home anywhere in Northern Virginia, I’d be happy to help!

Love Running & Hate Ticks?

I’d like to invite you to join me on Sunday, May 17 at the Brambleton Town Center in Ashburn for the annual 5K, family fun run, and 10K!

Since its’ inception, the Loudoun Lyme 5K, 1K and 10K has raised close to $200,000 in funding for Lyme Disease awareness and education for National Capital Lyme Disease, or NatCapLyme.   I am proud to have served every year on the Steering Committee and as a Platinum sponsor.  In addition to donating my time, I’m happy to have donated over $10,000 for Lyme awareness.

I know many of you personally suffer from this disease, while many of us know either a close friend or family member that deals with the symptoms of Lyme every day.  Although it’s an epidemic here in the United States, it’s also one of the most-unknown illnesses.  People simply don’t know the risk is there, and they underestimate the seriousness of the disease!

In addition to the 2 races and fun run, there will be a Lyme exhibition, featuring exhibitors surrounding Lyme disease awareness, prevention and treatment.   There will also be games for the kids to play and enjoy.

Please check for ticks on yourself and your family members as our weather warms up, and become well informed about the risk and prevention.

I hope to see you Sunday May 17 @ Brambleton!

What $$$ Will Buy You…

This installment of “What you can buy in…” features 3 different properties priced around $670,000.   3 single family homes are featured in Alexandria, Reston, and Leesburg.

Obviously, the further west you move, the newer and larger the homes become.

If you know of anyone looking to buy (or sell) a home anywhere in Northern Virginia, we would be happy to help!

Lyme’s Disease Could Be Lurking In Your Yard

With Spring finally here – tick season is upon us. Loudoun County has one of the highest rates of Lyme disease infection in the United States, and the highest rate in Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Make sure that you take measures to prevent Lyme disease, starting in your own backyard.

Matt Elliott Realty is a proud sponsor of the Loudoun Lyme 5K Run/Walk that takes place annually. This year’s race will take place in Brambleton on May 17th. We hope you’ll join us in raising awareness about Lymes Disease.

How to Dye Eggs with out the mess!

(And a few other Easter Egg tips)

In my house we try to avoid intentional messes since there are so many accidental messes each day. However, dying eggs is one messy tradition I can’t resist. I began searching Pinterest in hopes of finding tricks to make dying Easter Eggs a little cleaner & easier – these are the best tips I’ve found:

1. The whisk trick

Take a whisk and open the wires up slightly to put the egg in. (Be gentle!) The wires will spring back once the egg is inside, and you’ll be able to easily dip the whisk in the dye solution! This tip is perfect for the younger egg dyers that don’t have the coordination to dip an egg into the dye on a spoon. If you prefer not to use your good whisks, you can pick up a couple of cheap ones at the dollar store.

2. Bake your eggs instead of boiling them

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Place room-temperature uncooked eggs in a muffin tin to keep them from rolling around everywhere.  Bake the eggs for 30 minutes.  When the 30 minutes are up, put the eggs in a bowl of ICE water.  That’s it!  PERFECTLY “boiled” eggs without any boiling water or cracking!

3.  Dye eggs with ingredients you already have!

Whether you don’t want to go out to buy dye, are concerned with the chemicals in food dye, or just want to show your kids how people have made food coloring for centuries, you can use ingredients that you likely already have to dye your eggs!

Here are a few ways to make egg dye colors with natural ingredients:

• Green Dye: boiled spinach leaves
• Purple Dye: purple grape juice (a small amount), hibiscus tea, red wine, boiled red onion skins
• Blue Dye: boiled red cabbage leaves, purple grape juice (a larger amount than for the purple), canned blueberries
• Yellow Dye: boiled lemon peels, boiled carrot tops, boiled ground cumin or tumeric, green tea
• Pink Dye: beets, cranberry juice, red grape juice, boiled raspberries
• Red Dye: canned cherries with juice, boiled red onion skins (LOTS)
• Brown Dye: strong coffee or instant coffee, black tea