Weekend Happenings: Food, Plants, & Pets

Minneapolis Riverwalk Tour
Gold Medal Park
S 10th Ave & S 2nd Street, Mpls
Saturday, May 19th
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Cost:  $45/pp

Hungry for an off-the-beaten path Minneapolis food experience? Join us as we explore one of the city's trendy and historical neighborhoods, Mill District and St. Anthony on Main in Northeast Minneapolis. You'll enjoy the afternoon sampling food at the first Thai restaurant in Minnesota, drinking local Minnesota brewed beer at the oldest restaurant in Minneapolis, and enjoy a local favorite - the cheese curds. You'll also enjoy mouth-watering pasta located in the historical Chase building, fresh baked European style bread at a local Farmers Market, home-made gelato, and lip smacking BBQ sliders from a historical restaurant that once operated as a mattress company.

Along with sampling food we will also visit the Mill City Museum, stroll by the Guthrie, and enjoy gorgeous views of St. Anthony Falls as we walk along the Stone Arch Bridge into historical St. Anthony on Main. You'll learn about the history of both these neighborhoods including a stroll along the oldest street in Minneapolis. You'll taste and chat with other food-loving guests, and leave the tour with an appreciation for these distinct neighborhoods that most tourist never see!


HCMG 4th Annual Plant Sale
Hopkins Pavilion
11000 Excelsior Blvd., Hopkins 55343
Saturday, May 19th, 2012
9:00 to 2:00
Cost:  Free to attend

Hennepin County Master Gardeners ask you to come celebrate the beginning of a new gardening season.  Buy beautiful plants for sun or shade at great prices.  The plants — over 7000 of them — are grown by Master Gardeners with tender loving care. We’re offering perennials, ornamentals, natives and more! We’ll also answer your gardening questions and provide helpful information on the plants you purchase.*


Find veggies that you can’t buy at our local garden centers.  For the first time, we will be offering seedlings of vegetables that have won the statewide Master Gardener Program trials. These veggies have proven themselves to be Minnesota hardy — and tasty — in our gardens. Most of these are not available at the our local garden centers or other plant sales.

Come early for the best selection.  We will accept cash or checks only, please. Bring a wagon or cart. You’ll want to buy lots of plants!

*Proceeds from this sale benefit University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener community programs in Hennepin County.


Carver-Scott Humane Society’s 20th Annual Walk Fur Love

McKnight Park
110400 Pioneer Trail, Chaska, 55318
Sunday, May 20th
10:00 am
Cost:  Free

The 20th annual Walk Fur Love event hosted by the Carver-Scott Humane Society will benefit homeless animals at the Carver-Scott Humane Society. The surrounding community and their furry friends are invited to participate. The event will feature walker prizes for different donation levels, raffle prizes, entertainment, food, activities for kids, vendor booths and pets galore! All proceeds from the event will benefit the animals in need at the Carver-Scott Humane Society.

Luxury Baths For Relaxation

The Swedish sauna, Turkish bath and Russian banya have some new competition in U.S. bathrooms: the Japanese ofuro.




A copper Japanese-style tub from Diamond Spas, with an $11,642 price tag.


Manufacturers are adapting the extra-deep soaking tub, used in Japan for a relaxing, meditative up-to-the-neck soak, for the U.S. market.

The U.S. arm of German bathroom-furnishings maker Duravit AG offers an extra-deep Japanese-inspired bath in its 'Onto' collection of wood-paneled bathroom sinks and vanities, designed by an Italian architect. "You have to get in it like you're getting on a motorcycle," says Tim Schroeder, president of the U.S. unit. "It's a different kind of proposition" than Americans are used to. Sales of the tubs—which start at $1,500 and can climb up to $5,600—are 15% higher than expected, he says.

Requests for custom-made Japanese baths have grown as much as 30% a year over the past three years, according to Diamond Spas Inc., a Frederick, Colo., manufacturer. Prices run from $5,500 for a one-person, stainless-steel model to as much as $17,000 for a two-person copper model with accouterments including seats, a built-in heater, air jets and "mood lighting," says marketing manager Krista Payne.

"Everyone is trying to make their bathrooms their little getaway now," Ms. Payne says. "You see Asian influence in clean and simple lines."

Kohler last year released the Japanese-inspired Underscore Cube. The dimensions—48 inches long, 48 inches wide and 34 inches high—suit the clean, contemporary designs that are currently popular, says Diana Schrage, a Kohler interior designer. Prices can reach as high as $5,479 with extras like a "vibracoustic" system, which plays music that bathers hear and experience as pleasant vibrations in the water.




Kohler's Underscore Cube, seats two, with 'vibracoustic' sound system optional.



 

Such bathroom bling is a far cry from the baths of traditional Japanese culture. In Japan, a person will have taken a cleansing shower, using a shower nearby, before entering the ofuro. "It's a cherished act, to be able to sit in the bath and do nothing," says Merry White, a professor of anthropology specializing in Japanese culture at Boston University. Family members typically take turns at an already-filled bath kept warm with a lid. In the U.S., bath water is normally slightly warmer than body temperature, which is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. In Japan, baths are much warmer than that, she says.

The depth and temperature make the Japanese-style bath "unbelievably comfortable," Prof. White says.



A Japanese-style tub concentrates water on a smaller footprint than an American tub, leading some homeowners to consider them only for ground level or below. Tub makers say a contractor should determine if structural reinforcements are required if installed on upper floors.

Weekly Market Update: May 14, 2012

If only there were a system of grand, colorful lights for tracking residential real estate. Green for rising market, yellow for a transitional market and red for declining market. Let's see if we can try to determine today's market without the ease of well-known signals. Prices are bottoming and starting to rise. Buyer activity is showing year-over-year gains. Homes are selling faster and closer to list price. Multiple offers are becoming commonplace. Inventory levels are leaning toward the seller. Green means go.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending May 5:

• New Listings decreased 6.6% to 1,643
• Pending Sales increased 41.9% to 1,232
• Inventory decreased 28.3% to 17,579

For the month of April:

• Median Sales Price increased 12.1% to $162,500
• Days on Market decreased 15.1% to 135
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.6% to 93.4%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 43.1% to 4.7

Source:  Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors

Popular Remodeling Projects

Kitchens and bathrooms remain the top jobs home owners are taking on in remodeling projects, according to a new survey by the National Association of Home Builders.

The top remodeling projects of home owners, according to the latest survey of remodelers, are:

1. Bathrooms

2. Kitchens

3. Window/door replacements

4. Whole house remodels

5. Room additions

6. Handyman services

The report’s finding of the main motivation behind home owners’ decision to remodel is not too surprising: To repair and replace old components and to upgrade amenities.

But more than 20 percent of remodelers surveyed said they’ve been noticing a drop in the number of customers who are remodeling to try to increase their home’s value.

The survey is yet another indication that more home owners are happy staying put–at least for now–and instead are looking at how to enhance what they already have.

Nearly half of the remodelers surveyed said they’ve been seeing an increase over the last year in the number of home owners who are undertaking remodeling projects so they can avoid moving.

“Home owners are repurposing spaces and making more efficient use of their home’s square footage,” says NAHB Remodelers Chairman George “Geep” Moore Jr. “Whether it be young families or couples aging in their homes, people want to let their house adapt with their needs as they change over time.”

According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, home remodeling is expected to post its best year this year since 2006.

But while home owners want to enhance, they also want to save.

“Before it was curb appeal, showiness and keeping up with the Joneses,” Duo Dickinson, author of Staying Put: Remodel Your House to Get the Home You Want (Taunton Press), told USA Today in a recent article on remodeling trends. But now more home owners want their homes to reflect who they are. “The house is the most direct mirror of your personal values. When people renovate to change their lives, they waste money.”

These more “me-centered” remodeling projects may include livening up outdoor spaces, creating “livable kitchens” that are multi-purpose and make the kitchen serve as a room for more than just cooking, and smaller master baths (like removing that luxurious spa tub for a larger shower)

Also in saving a buck, more home owners are looking at doing more of the work themselves. According to a new report from Bank of America, 70 percent of home owners are taking on home improvement projects that they once hired out in order to cut costs, tackling everything from plumbing to painting.

Weekend Happenings: Mom's Day, Fishing Opener

Sister Saturday
Waconia
Saturday, May 12
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Cost: Free

For all those fishing widows out there, have we got an event for you!  Come to Waconia for the 8th Annual Sister Saturday.  It's a great way to celebrate the fishing opener! Special sales and events at participating shops throughout Waconia. Don't miss the Fashion Show!


Mother's Day Brunch
MN Landscape Arboretum
3675 Arboretum Drive
Chaska, MN 55318
Sat. & Sun., May 12 & 13, 2012
10:30 am and 1:00 pm
Cost:  $21.49 members; $23.49 non-members; &9 ages 4-8; free for ages 3 & under

Treat Mom to a delicious brunch amid the spring beauty of the Arboretum. Price includes admission to Arboretum.

What I Learned From Mom

It’s Mother’s Day, and the best gift you can give Mom is three little words: You were right.

We asked home bloggers and experts to share the great advice Mom gave related to all things home. And, knowing that Mom isn’t perfect — just perfect for us — we also asked for words of wisdom that missed the mark.

Mom says: ‘Don’t try to do it all’

“My mother was a real perfectionist. She’d know if I walked on the carpet (and shouldn’t have). She gave me a respect for things looking right. But that’s also her worst advice, because no one can do it all well. As Erma Bombeck said, ‘House work, if you do it right, can kill you.’

So I focus on key rooms in the home — what my mom did once she started to lighten up. It’s what I call mini-tasking. Pick one project, like straightening up your closet, rather than overloading yourself with a long list. And focus on high-traffic, high-visibility rooms, especially where bacteria, mold, and mildew can grow.

Blend mini-tasks with everyday activities, like when you’re on the phone with Mom. Swipe and wipe door handles, the fridge door, the kitchen sink. I keep a box of Clorox wipes handy so I can grab and go.

Oh, one more tip to make cleaning, organizing, and other home tasks more doable: Enjoy a libation! (Of course not while you’re doing major home improvements.)” — Julie Edelman, The Accidental Housewife


Mom says: ‘Wise DIY’

“Sometimes doing it yourself isn’t the best option. My mom did a lot of sewing and would decide whether something was worth seven hours of her time vs. buying it outright.

My husband and I paid a plumber $600 to install the plumbing (get the lines in, connect to our waste line) in a half bath. It would have taken us two months and still cost about $400 for tools and materials. I will never regret a penny of that. Instead, we did the DIY stuff we knew we could, like installing the sink and toilet.” — Cassity Kmetzsch, Remodelaholic


Mom says: ‘Keep it natural’

“I got many of the recipes for my green-cleaning products from my great-grandmother, who wrote down the things she remembered and treasured in her Bible, which was given to me when she died. My laundry soap recipe came from her.

But a great flip happened between my great-grandmother and my mother, who wouldn’t let us stay in the house when she cleaned because she was using commercial cleaners that were toxic. The generations went from one extreme to the other. My great grandmother was cleaning with things you can eat, and my mother was cleaning with things she knew were too dangerous for me to be around.

I’ve taught my kids to go to the pantry before they go under the sink to find a cleaner; to give the natural things a try and they’ll work better for you in the long run.” — Leslie Reichert, Green Cleaning Coach


Mom says: ‘Prepare’

“The best advice I ever got from my mom about the home was simple: Do things right the first time. The payoff is in the preparation. She was always a big fan of getting books from the library when she didn’t know how to do something. These days you can just look online, but the idea is the same; learn the right way to do something before you start doing it. And when I’ve been lax in the prep work, the project has always taken longer, resulted in frustration, and cost more money.” — Alicia, Curbly


Mom says: ‘Use the right tools’

“Best advice my mother gave me was to always make the beds, because doing so will make you feel like you’ve accomplished something and will keep you inspired throughout the day to attend to other household duties.

The worst advice I ever got was from my grandmother, who said butter in the refrigerator never goes bad.

Good advice I give my daughter and son is to always use the right tool for the job — advice I try to adhere to as I renovate my house.” — Jennifer Mcknight Trontz, author of “Home Economics”


Mom says: ‘Reuse!’

“My mom let me make my own decisions about my room when I was a kid. I’ll let my kids do the same. Having a small budget or no budget is a great way to get creative. When I was a kid, I built a side table out of 2x4s and stuck old pennies to it. I learned to reuse.” — Cassity Kmetzsch

Source:  Houselogic

Weekly Market Update: May 7, 2012

Buyers don't live in a spreadsheet. When they find a home to love and cherish, they don't intellectualize it too much. There are generally fewer homes on the market, they're selling more quickly and prices in most areas are no longer in a downtrend. Dwindling inventories means there's less competition and more pricing power for sellers, who are finally starting to be rewarded by strong buyer activity. Interest rates at 50-year lows doesn't hurt either. Love is in the air and all around the housing market.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 28:

• New Listings decreased 14.9% to 1,475
• Pending Sales increased 21.4% to 1,187
• Inventory decreased 28.0% to 17,603

For the month of March:

• Median Sales Price increased 7.1% to $149,900
• Days on Market decreased 9.7% to 144
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.8% to 92.1%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 37.2% to 4.8

Source:  Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors