April doesn't just bring the rain - it brings the festival season!

 
The Hoosier Antiques Exposition Indianapolis, Indiana
Apr 20 - 22 

The Hoosier Antiques Exposition
Offering a huge assortment of exceptional pottery and porcelain, silver, jewelry, toys, dolls, Oriental rugs, vintage clothing, textiles, country things and furniture for your home or office, with special emphasis on all types of quality glassware and fine china.  

Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival Wakarusa 
Apr 20 & 21 

Women's & Food Expo Fort Wayne
Apr 21st and 22nd 

Indiana Spartan Sprint Race Laurel
Apr 21st 
Indiana Spartan Sprint Race
The Spartan Sprint course is a 3+ mile battlefield of insane mud running with 10+ obstacles to test your physical strength and mental endurance.  Some of our obstacles include climbing over slippery walls, jumping over fire & even surviving a gladiator pit!  Are you tough enough for a Spartan Race? Register and you will know at the finish line!  
Earth Day Indiana Festival INDIANAPOLIS
Apr 28 
www.earthdayindiana.org/

Mansfield Village Annual Mushroom Festival and Car Show Mansfield
Apr 28 - 29 

Mansfield Village Annual Mushroom Festival and Car Show
Come early and register for organized mushroom hunts and buy or sell mushrooms at the auction. Win a cash prize for the largest mushroom each day, regardless of where it was found. Visitors who join in the mushroom hunt can take home, not only a delicious meal, but also a hand carved mushroom walking stick for those who find the largest and most mushrooms 
www.mansfieldvillage.com 

Allergy Season!!! Kleenex saving ideas

Whether you suffer from allergies - or perhaps you are selling your home and don't want your home to scare off potential buyers - here are some ways to fight back.

1.  Replace your HVAC filters with a small-particle or HEPA filter.  Be sure to change these quarterly, keep the humidity low in the home and the temperature around 70 degrees - this will help fight mold and dust mites.

2.  If you have a green thumb and love having indoor plants - spread aquarium gravel over the dirt - this will help contain mold.

3.  Try not to throw food waste in indoor trash cans - unless it has a lid or you empty it daily.

4.  Clean bathrooms and kitchen with bleach cleaners.  Check shower curtains, bath mats and rugs and replace if needed or wash them. Change out towels, dishrags, sponges regularly.

5.  This might not be financially feasible - but the less carpet you have, the less places you will have for allergens to settle and hide.  Tile, laminate, vinyl, hardwoods are allergy free options.

Exciting Year for Morgan County

Morgan County is in Central Indiana and the major cities include:

Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia, Morgantown, paragon and Brooklyn.

Morgan County is deeply engaged with the Indianapolis International Airport in regards to the "aerotroplis" development concept.  With the planned extension of I-69 through the heart of Morgan County, the Development Corp is studying ways they can capitalize on these 2 developments.

The most recent developments area:

Equipment Technologies in Mooresville is investing $4.7 million to expand its current facility

PacMoore Process Technologies in Mooresville is making an estimated $3.9 million investment to expand its current facility

For Bare Feet Inc has relocated into the former Harman Becker facility in Martinsville after a devastating fire at its Brown County location.

Appriss Inc will be moving a portion of their software business into a vacant commercial building in the Martinsville Industrial Park in November of 2012.

I used to drive through Morgan County quite a bit in my college days driving from home (Indianapolis) to school (Bloomington).  It is the gateway to Southern Indiana starting to show the rolling landscape and is absolutely gorgeous in the fall with it's foliage colors.  It's access to both Indianapolis and Southern Indiana (with the proposed I-69 extension) make it positioned for growth!

New Video Tour of Indy

A Great New Indy Video produced by VisitIndy.com showcasing the oft overlooked features of our capital city.  Post Superbowl.

Enjoy!

Homes Make Memories

Homes help create memories and Prudential Indiana would like to be a part of that process

Prudential speaks to CNBC about the Housing Market

The President of Prudential Relocation speaks to CNBC about recent survey results on the housing market.

Get Out and Enjoy The Weather - Happenings in Indiana

I was in Florida last week and it was cold and raining.  I called my home and my husband said it was so warm he was taking the motorcycle out for a ride.  And he has a very strict rule about how warm it has to be before getting out the bike.  What is wrong with that picture?

So - what a perfect time to go to the Flower and Patio show - since all our flowers have been coming up since February.  Lots of events coming up....check it out

Indiana Events In March

Indiana Flower & Patio Show
Indianapolis
March 10th to 18th
indianaflowerandpatioshow.com/

Indiana Flea Market
Indianapolis
March 16-17-18,
www.stewartpromotions.com/

Outdoor Sports, Lake & Cabin Show 
Ft Wayne
March 16th to a8th
www.outdoorsportslakecabinshow.com/

 

Indiana Events In April

Hoosier Horse Fair & Expo
Indianapolis
April 13 - 15
www.indianahorsecouncil.org/

The Hoosier Antiques Exposition
Indianapolis
April 20 - 22
www.hoosierantiqueshows.com/ 

Indiana is a GREAT place to do business!!

The Indiana Economic Development Corporpation put together a cost comparison for businesses looking at Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.  

The data was taken from the US Bureau of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

When loooking at the cost of doing business they made the assumption of:

Taxable income = $1,000,000

Employment = 100

 

We rated in the following categories against the 9 Midwest States:

1st Place - Total State Business Taxes

1st Place - Average Workers Compensation Annual Premium

1st Place - Average Workers Compensation Rate

1st Place - Average Unemployment Insurance

3rd Place - Average Annual Wage

4th Place - Average Price of Electricity

6th Place - Corporate Income Tax Due

Because of these ratings, we have been noted by CNBS, Forbes, Chief Executive and Tax Foundation as being one of the most favorable environments for business.

 

Hendricks County Cultural Trail

Hendricks County is west of Indianapolis and has a well-kept secret that needs to go public!

For those of you looking for a Hike - this is not for you - this trail is for vehicular traffic - unless you want to hike for 72 miles!

This adventure will take you on a rustic tour through most of the towns in Hendricks County.  There are stops in Danville, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Pittsboro, Coatesville and North Salem.

Some of the highlights include 15 art galleries, cafes, craft shops, a winery, museum, one room schoolhouse and bakery.

This trail actually started in 2010 with 10 shops - so it's grown and has received a grant for marketing purposes.  You can get more info, directions and map at www.ruralroutestomainstreet.com.

Have a Saturday with nothing to do?  Wander Indiana and find some hidden jewels!

 

Indiana Housing Market Report for Jan 2012

REALTORS® RELEASE INDIANA REAL ESTATE MARKETS REPORT FOR JANUARY 2012

Report shows more home sales statewide than in the same month of 2011, sales also at slightly higher prices

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – Today’s release of the Indiana Real Estate Markets Report by the state’s REALTORS® shows 2012 off to a strong, positive start with activity and home prices better last month than they were the same month the year prior.

Statewide, when comparing January 2012 to January 2011:

• The number of closed home sales increased 13.9 percent to 3,458;

• The number of pending home sales increased 17.7 percent to 4,226;

• The median sale price of homes increased 1.0 percent to $101,000; and

• The average sale price of homes increased 0.2 percent to $122,209.

“Members have reported being genuinely busy since the beginning of the year and the numbers prove it,” said Karl Berron, Chief Executive Officer. “Seems the pendulum is finally swinging back to the middle of the two extremes we’ve experienced the past several years.

“It goes without saying that Hoosiers must be working and confident in their prolonged employment for the statewide housing market to see major growth,” continued Berron. “Two other factors impacting the market are strict mortgage lending standards, and price pressures brought on by foreclosures.”  

“Regardless, it is difficult to ignore that home prices here in Indiana have historically held their ground and interest rates are at the lowest in most memories. Anyone looking to buy or invest should start with the sortable county tables of this report and then talk to a local REALTOR® who can give the most insight into what’s happening in a neighborhood, city or school district,” concluded Berron.

Information provided by the Indiana Association of Realtors

 

February Events in Indiana

Yes - life goes on after the SuperBowl - and there's plenty to do, even in the "winter".  Check it out!

Indiana Events In February

Indiana Deer, Turkey & Waterfowl 
Indianapolis
February 17th to 19th
indianadeerandturkeyexpo.com/

Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show
Indianapolis
February 17th to 26th
indianapolisboatsportandtravelshow.com/

Indiana Motorcycle Expo 
Indianapolis
February 24th to 26th
indianamotorcycleexpo.com/

Annual Maple Syrup Festival
Salem
February 25 & 26 and March 3 & 4
www.lmsugarbush.com/ourfestival.html 

Double D's - Decorating and Downsizing

Are you marketing a vacant home - or perhaps you have a large blank wall and a small budget?

Here's a couple inexpensive and unique ideas for adding some wall decor:

1.  Poster Art has graduated from the teen bedroom and college dorm.  You can order some great vintage posters at www.internationalposter.com or some really bright art prints at www.powerslidedesign.com.  You can either mount them or frame them cheaply and they can add a lot of color and design to a room.

2.Back when I had a roommate and no money - we were looking for a way to decorate some large open walls to warm up our apartment.  It happened to be summer time, and we were in a large department store and walked by their beach towels.  They had a NY ballet beach towel in black and white and this great mural type print of faces.  We bought the two beach towels, then went to a craft store and bought 2 large stretcher frames.  We used a staple gun to mount the towels on the frames and hung them on the walls.  We got more compliments on those "pictures" than on anything else in the apartment.

Have you ever wanted to add some color to a room - but didn't want to commit to painting or wallpaper?

You can find Roman blinds/shades in all sorts of technicolors that will really add a pop to a room.  Put your color in your accessories and decor and not in the carpet or paint.

Need to replace some flooring - but there are too many choices?

Hardwood - high demand, great resale, easy to maintain and can last 100 years. It is one of the pricist options, can be loud, can scuff or scratch

Laminate - affordable, do-it-yourself, low maintenance, not a prestige material - so resale value is very low, can not be repaired/refinished - only replaced

Carpet - affordable, cozy, insulating, professional install needed, can stain and harbor allergies

Cork - environmentally friendly, insulates, absorbs shocks and sound, can stain, scratch and fade

Bamboo - renewable material, easy to maintain, can be diy, less available

Tile - large array of size, material, color, finish, unforgiving, grout can stain

Downsizing for self or selling?

Give yourself a month to go through everything so you don't get overwhelmed or toss something valuable.

Designate four categories: donate, keep, sell and toss

Buy rubber bins to store things you'll be keeping or selling

There is a collector for almost anything - so do some research online first before selling or donating or throwing away

Watch out for vintage ads, vintage childhood toys, china and silver sets, first-edition books and anything mid-century modern