Ask The Lifestylist

Wegmans in the Western NY area has the Ultimate Cake series, and trust me, they are worthy of the name. They used to have the Ultimate Chocolate cake which was unbelievable, now they also offer The Ultimate Carrot and White Cakes. I asked if they were willing to share the recipes, but they are very closely guarded secrets.
A recipe that I found that I thought was amazing for a chocolate cake and icing was on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box, and I'd recommend it as one that isn't overly sweet and easy to make. I do have a favorite carrot cake recipe that I have entered in the State Fair of Texas - give a try and see what you think.

One of the questions I always get asked is exactly what is a Lifestylist, and what is unique about the Lifestylist Lifestyle. The second most asked question is what makes me a Trailer Diva!
The Lifestylist philosophy is that "It's all about You" - the clients life and style is what dictates how a Lifestylist works with you. My favorite example is I had a client in Phoenix, Arizona that was a major Phoenix Suns fan, and their team colors are orange and purple. The client wanted their entire home done in these colors. What they wanted is what they got, complete with a child's room with a hardwood floor striped like a basketball court.

I just spoke to a friend who's dog had just dug up her entire garden and her daughter slammed the door on the neighbor's hand - all in about 30 minutes time. Her needs and lifestyle are completely different from my Son - no kids, no dogs, and lives in front of his computer. What my style is wouldn't work well for either of them which is why I need to understand the client and what their "hot buttons" are. It's takes extra time and sleuthing to achieve this - many times the client has trouble putting into words exactly what they are looking for but they know it when they see it. I take the responsibility very seriously - a person's environment can truly change their lives in a positive or negative way. If someone is happy in their home their quality of life improves.
Next to being a mother, becoming a Lifestylist is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. I'm looking forward to expanding the concept and what it offers in the years to come.

The days of being able to tell if a home is manufactured or a site built are quickly coming to a close. Today's manufactured home can offer as many options as it's site built competition if not more. Technology and manufacturers have come a long way in what we can offer consumers today anywhere in the country.
I just got back from Hobbs, NM working with an amazing retailer - Young's Factory Built Homes. This isn't your "old school" retail center - even though they have been in business since 1958 nothing at this retail center is aged or dated. You can tell be the photos that the homes are well presented and would make anyone a proud homeowner. They asked me to come in and add some design trends to their interiors and I'm hoping to share what we accomplished in the next few months.
Making your house feel like a home doesn't have to cost a fortune - something as simple as adding color with colors in trendy colors and adding a few accessories can make all the difference. Pillows are another easy way to add warmth and softness to any interior - plus they are great to curl up with on a cold day!
If you have a chance stop by Young's and experience in person the trends we have shown. Tell them The Lifestylist® sent you!

I love Lisa Garza too! Of all the contestants, she is absolutely the one that I would watch on a show and buy what ever products she brought to market. I’m still craving the Orange basil marmalade she made on the show.
Nancy Nichols, the food goddess at DMagazine has done a great job of keeping us informed on all things Lisa - if you love food you should make a point of reading her blog. I knew she could get me the answers I was looking for, and she directed me to Lisa’s new website at Couture Caviar. Suze Restaurant that she and her husband own also has information.
Keep the Lisa love alive! If you sign up as a friend on her Facebook pages it will show those crazy folks who chose “others” who the fan favorite truly is!

The Home Idea Factory was asked to be the Lifestylist® for The New American Home 2011, and we loved getting to see all of the new product innovations that were included in the home.
Thermador provided the appliances for this beautiful home, and visitors fell in love with the steam oven, refrigeration columns and the eye catching Sapphire dishwasher. Besides it's SBL (sexy blue light) technology, this workhorse could fit 18 stemmed wine glasses, had three drawers, and made it possible to clean everything from fine crystal to heavy, dirty pots and pans.
We did a video of the Reidman Development team experiencing this dishwasher, and also showed what consumers thought. What did the homeowners like the best? They said that Thermador's customer service was the component that won their loyalty. The Thermador team was always there when they had questions, and went above and beyond to make sure that the new homeowners were happy with their new home.

It's hot as heck here today - the 1st day of August and it's supposed to reach 106 degrees! So today instead of even trying to do anything outside I decided to work on one of my new goals and start simplifying my life and style.
Have you noticed how easy it is to make impulse purchases now and how things just start piling up? I think I inherited a little of my parents recession-fear mentality and it's hard for me to pass up anything free like the little soaps and shampoos that you get in hotels.  As a Lifestylist® I'm always picking up cool and unusual items that I plan on using for staging or merchandising a model home - thanks heavens the Home Idea Factory has lots of storage or I'd be in big trouble!
Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to The Family Place - an amazing resource for abused women and families. I serve on the board for HomeAid / HomeBuilders Care in Dallas and we just built new apartments, a clinic and a school room for them and it was so rewarding to see what we were able to accomplish. We were also able to meet some of the women who live there and what a difference the Family Place has made in our lives. As we toured we also found out what a great need they have for some of those things I've been collecting and today I'm going to start simplifying my life to help them with their fresh start.
Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, NY is another charity very close to my heart.  A few years ago we did a home that was merchandised completely with items that had been donated to the charity, then auctioned off to benefit Ronald McDonald House. I'll be forever grateful to the volunteers and Rochester community who donated such beautiful items to work with!
Towels, sheets, bath products, diapers... these are all things we may have an abundance of but don't want to throw out the ones that we don't use as much anymore. Stuffed animals that we tend to collect at fairs and in crane games would be cherished by a child that had to leave everything behind to get to safety.
It feels so good to clean away some of the clutter and know that these items are going to help someone else. The less you have to organize the easier it will be!

I found the perfect product for you - the Cuisinart® Flavor Duo Frozen Yogurt - Ice Cream & Sorbet maker. I found mine at JC Penney and I'm thrilled with it - everything I've tried so far (including fresh peach ice cream) turned out perfectly and it couldn't have been easier. What I really love about it is that there are two separate drums so you can make up two different flavors at once, and the size is small enough you can eat what you make at one meal or in a day so you don't have a lot left over - art of the appeal of homemade ice cream is eating it right after it has finished churning.
I've been keeping my freezer bowls in the freezer so they are ready whenever I have the urge to make some.As a Lifestylist® I can't wait to experiment and see what flavors I can come up with! Enjoy and let me know how yours turns out and any flavor ideas that you may have.

My bags are packed and I'm almost ready to go - tomorrow I'm off to Las Vegas to be a speaker at the 20th annual MHI Congress, and of course I made my reservations with the help of  my Travelocity Gnome.
Held every year in Las Vegas, this convention brings together that biggest and brightest names in manufactured and modular housing. This year keynote speakers will be Jim Clayton - founder of Clayton Homes and Harold Gross of Market Research Answers so I know everyone that attends will leave with lots of great new information to grow their businesses with. I'm honored to to speaking in from if this group for the 7th year and I hope to be invited back for many years to come.
This year I'm speaking on how a Lifestylist approaches the fast paced world of Social Media. I bought my first domain name in the early 90's and I've always been intrigued with this very cost effective way of doing marketing. Now I have expanded the Lifestylist Brand to include a presence on various blogs, Blogger, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare,Yelp and You Tube. Is it worth the time investment to manage and update all of these? Absolutely! One of my great new clients, American Custom Builders found me through my Lifestylist Blog so I feel investing the time in keeping up with Social Media pays dividends to my brand and my business.
If you happen to be in Las Vegas next week, come and join us at Caesar's Palace. If you mention that you read this I'll give you a copy of my new Do-it-Yourself Guide to Social Media and Networking. See you there!

This is a great question, but the things besides finding the perfect home that would drive me to falling in love with a new home are the practical - warranty and financing.
I know how tight my budgets are these days, and right now I don't know where I'm going to find the money to tune up my 1950's air conditioner. Living in an older home means that I am constantly fixing something and I have to add that into my budget. It's just Murphy's Law - if something can go wrong it will.
Every builder I know of includes at least a one year warranty and some offer even more- many times this might even be dictated by the state  you live in. You can purchase a warranty on a previously owned home, but I have had horrible experiences with these - they charge you at least $50.00 every time you call, then come up with an excuse why your issue isn't covered. A new home has all new appliances, roofs, flooring, plumbing, etc in it and besides what the builder warranties, the manufacturer often times will over their own warranties.  The key is to put all of this information in one place after you are happily in your new residence.
As far as financing, builders spend a lot of time and effort doing the research to find the best lenders that become a part of their team - that way the lender understands what the builder is doing and the builder has almost been "pre-qualified" as someone who builds a home that the lender wants to lend on. It is always an option to come to the table with your own financing, and if you do then you will have at least two options to look at.
When I went to the Holiday Builders Open House in Royce City I had the opportunity to meet Kent Winkelseth who is the production manager  for Shelter Mortgage in Texas and Florida. Holiday mostly builds an entry level priced home, and Shelter had obviously done a lot of research to be able to offer the best loan choices to Holiday's buyers. He got my interest when he told me about a Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan program. It's a Texas program that offers 100% financing with no down payment in specific areas, most of which Holiday is building in. Being able to come up with a down payment is the hardest part of home ownership for most first time buyers, so something like this can make the difference between renting and buying. With Shelter offering dedicated loan agents that know what Holiday Builders offers, you can be in your new home before your next family holiday!
Foreclosures and repossessions may look like a great value on paper, but think about if that was your home that you couldn't afford any longer and had to give up. I'm sure maintenance on it hadn't been a priority for a long time so the new owner will be inheriting all of the issues you wouldn't have had the money to take care of. My own home wasn't a foreclosure but had been neglected for quite awhile. I bought is as-is and it was - including a 4- x 6' hole in the second floor that the previous owners had done a great job of hiding! After you buy a foreclosed home you are on your own - there won't be a builder, sales person or team to be there when issues arise.
But if you are a gambler, there are great values out there. Just be sure that you realize the risks before you buy a home that might end up costing you much more than you expected and isn't such a great deal after all.