In Huntsville, October is full of events and activities

The Huntsville Madison County Convention and Visitor Center Bureau has also proclaimed October “Huntsville History Month”. This makes excellent sense as the month of October showcases Huntsville’s variety of events and gatherings. Below is a sample of the many that are planned for October. These are only a few, but more can be found on OurValleyEvents.com. An excellent rolling calendar of events throughout the year.

Mary Bibb impersonator in front of the Bibb Mausoleum from a previous Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll

Scarecrow Trail at the Huntsville Botanical Garden starts - Oct 1

Huntsville Historic Walking Tours & begin - Oct 6^th

Huntsville Ghost Walks continue on Saturdays

The Huntsville Gem and Mineral Show starts - Oct 12^th

Alabama A&M Football continues their season against Alcorn State - Oct 13^th

Huntsville Havoc first home game - Oct 13^th

UAH Hockey first home game - Oct 19^th

Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll - Oct 21^st

RealEstateofHuntsville

Huntsville Havoc win SPHL Championship

Congratulations to the Huntsville Havoc for winning the 2018 SPHL Championship over the Peoria Rivermen in the Championship Final. Huntsville won two games out of the three with both wins coming at Peoria. This is the Havoc's second championship in the SPHL.

Today, May 1st, 2018 starting at 5.30-8PM, the Havoc will be having a victory celebration outside the Propst Arean at the Von Braun Center.

Image Courtesy of Huntsville Havoc and Wikimedia

Halloween Events and Parties for 10/28 & 10/29 of 2017

Just thought we would like to share this with you real quick. Rocket City Mom has a wonderful list of events and parties ongoing for the Halloween season and this weekend in particular. Feel free to read through her article and see what interests you. There are many many events for many many tastes. Have fun and be safe this weekend. Also if you are interested there is a link below on the History of Halloween done by the History Channel.

Picture from History Channel website

History of Halloween by the History Channel

Reminder - Eclipse Next Month on August 21, 2017

On August 21, 2017 the US will experience a solar eclipse. As written in the previous eclipse post, Huntsville will experience 97% obscurity, just outside the Path of Totality. Additional eclipse information can be found at Space.com and NASA's website. Both are providing a wide array of information about the event as well as timing and locations. Be sure to check them out and see all the information they have.

Graphic below provided by GreatAmericanEclipse.com

Its Going to be a Wonderful Weekend 9/12/15-9/13/15

Its going to be a wonderful weekend with moderate temperatures. We haven't seen temperatures this comfortable in a while. Most everyone as of Friday morning's weathercast from WHNT, WAFF, and WAAYTV, has us around the middle 70s. Will this be the beginning of the break in the Summer heat and usher in the start of Autumn? We don't know, but I am sure our local weather people will tell us soon enough.

This weekend 9/12/15-9/13/15, is the Slide the City event that has been talked about for the past few months. AL.com has put together a good article. Feel free to take a read.

Our Valley Events, has also put together a wonderful primer on Newcomers to Huntsville. Great information and some tongue in cheek jokes local residents know. So anyone out of town that's visiting or moving in, its definitely worth a read.

Its been a very busy week and there's always more to do. We will catch you next time.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

12/4/14 - Its December Already

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Everyone has been out helping clients leaving little time to post.  Came across two articles today which were fantastic reads to point out with our short post.

Congratulations to our local schools for winning Blue Ribbons of Excellence. This sort of positive feed back is always great for the students, schools, and community in showcasing the great nature of our area.

Also another great article from AL.com's Kelly Kazek about our local Christmas celebrations in Alabama. Great read of amusement, heart warming, and smiles about our local celebrations. One local month long celebration is the display of trees along the Tinsel Trail. A magnificent downtown attraction with each sponsor putting up a tree and decorating it.


Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Steps for a Safe Halloween around the Home

With lots of people roaming the streets for Halloween, if you are staying in and are handing out candy make sure the area around your home is safe.

Everyone have a Safe and Happy Halloween

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Building Home & Remodeling Show this weekend

That's right the Building Home & Remodeling Show is this weekend, running from today 3/7 - 3/9 with gates opening at 1pm today in the South Hall. It is hosted by the Huntsville Madison County Builders Association.

Admission to the event is $8 for Adults, $6 for Senior Citizens, and Free for children 12 and under.

There will be many Exhibits and Sponsors for this event with additional seminars at set times throughout the weekend. There are coupons, offers, and even a discount at the Building Home & Remodeling Show website. There may also be a coupon on the site available for $1 off admission, as of 9.47am today (3/7/14), the coupon is still there.

So go for the hints, tips, and education as well as greet new companies to help your home and landscape look the best.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Post-Snowstorm & Time to think about Landscaping

Its now post-snowstorm and all the heavy snow has quickly melted off the trees and most areas that had sun.  However, shaded areas are still strewn with snow patches and ice clumps.  But there is a warm-up coming so whatever is left won't be around for that long.  Hopefully everyone had fun while it lasted.

Its mid February, which means its the perfect time to start thinking of Landscaping.  Maybe not physically doing it, but thinking about how you want everything laid out.  What colors, materials, and plants to put in.  Everyone's starting to think of Spring, and March is quickly approaching.  At that point all the best plants will be going quick as some people are buying up all the ingredients for their yards for they did their planning ahead of time.  Ideas for landscaping can come from everywhere and anywhere.  And if you want to ask your local nursery what looks good with plants and materials go ahead and ask them, they don't mind helping you out.  Major nurseries include Bennett on North Parkway, Earthtouch on Whitesburg, and Reseda on 72 West. Be sure to check them out and if you know of any other ones just add your comment so that others can see it.  And remember don't procrastinate or your favorite plants or pavers may be gone.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Can You Believe Its Super Bowl Weekend Again?

Yes its that time of year again. Super Bowl Weekend.  Is everyone planning parties or family get togethers?  The time of year once again when drinks, food and fun flow every which way and the commercials can be just as good as the game itself.

Normally everyone will be scarfing down chicken wings, hamburgers, chips, dips, guac, and the assortment of beverages, but what else is there to eat...

Business Insider had a fun article of Seattle & Denver themed foods and drinks for the party.  Do you agree with any of them?

The LA Times has an incredible list to select from and definitely has some mouth watering specials.

What are you doing for the Super Bowl?  Any special recipes that you only do during the Super Bowl?  What team is everyone rooting for?

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

The Nook & UAH Hockey

Two quick stories for today...

The Nook was named as one of the top 100 bars in the country and the only Alabama bar to be named to the list. Big congratulations on them for making the cut.  For the full article on AL.com.  Or for the full list of bars.

This weekend UAH Ice Hockey will be taking on University of Alaska-Anchorage in military appreciation weekend.  Game times are 1/17/14 Fri & 1/18/14 Sat 7PM @ VBC Arena.  Veterans & Kids under 12 get free admission.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

What's New in Huntsville?

Several good news stories out so lets get right to it.

UAH opened their brand new student center Charger Union to great ceremony yesterday including cutting the blue ribbon.  The 90,000 sqft, $25 million dollar building is just another one of the items on the master plan for UAH construction moving forward.  As UAH continues with construction, it eyes a more traditional campus feel.

A new indoor trampoline park will open Apr 1 on University Drive called Shakalaka.  Included will be open trampoline field, trampoline dodgeball stadium, and a first for Alabama: a Ninja Warrior Aerial Obstacle Course (yes just like the ones you see on tv). With trampoline parks all over the country, the developer hopes this will serve the greater Huntsville community.

And lastly, it looks like the cold, frigid weather has retreated for the near future.  This weekend is forecasting rain and temperatures back to the upper 50's, so let's enjoy that while its here.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Thanksgiving or How We Learned to Love it All!

Thanksgiving is quickly coming upon us and we have multitudes to be thankful for.

First our family and friends who have supported us as we have supported them.  You bring great memories and fun times with any occasion and brighten our moods when we are down and add that extra sunshine on fantastic days.

Our clients, without our clients we are nothing.  We can only hope that we can continue to provide you with the best of service as we have in the past.  May your Thanksgiving be full of warm memories and bountiful food.

And our coworkers including other agents, attorneys, inspectors, loan officers, and home warranty specialists. We thank you for being there and working together to help all of our clients as they work through the real estate world.  We lift our glasses to you.

Thanksgiving Tip: Always remember to save room for dessert.  You don't want to overstuff yourself with food when there's more goodies left to come.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone from The Carol Jacobs Team!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Stumbling Across A Fantastic Recipe - Nutella Brownies

We know this is outside the realm of real estate however...this week we found a fantastic recipe for Nutella Brownies.  We tried them out and could not believe how good they were.  Very light and fluffy!  We urge all Nutella lovers as well as Brownie lovers to give this recipe a try!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Nutella
1/2 Cup all purpose flour
1/5 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring
1/4 cup of melted butter (salted)
OPTIONAL: Choco chips, coconut, pecans can be added to mixture if wanted.  We did plain.

Directions:
Gather materials and ingredients. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease baking pan (MUST DO).

Combine flour, baking soda, salt in bowl. Set aside for now.

Beat eggs, Nutella, butter, vanilla, and brown sugar together until forming a smooth mixture.

Add flour mixture gradually into the Nutella mixture. Combine well.

Move batter from bowl into greased 8 inch pan and bake for 30-35 min.

Wait for brownies to cool for at least 20 min before cutting.

Let us know how your batch went!  Ours was fantastic and its about to be gone by the end of today!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Last Weekend's Roundup

Just a quick post on last weekend.  The Team went out last weekend and popped in at several spots around Huntsville in the many events which were ongoing.  (And thankfully for the good weather)

Friday, the Team strolled Bridgestreet in the morning for a few hours before settling in the afternoon at The Gem, Jewelry, & Mineral Show at the VBC.

Saturday, it seems everyone was at the Huntsville Ghost Walk to hear the stories and see the historical homes during the 2.2 mile trek.  When our group led by Robert Reeves came back to the starting point, there were many more people on the four corners waiting for their turn to go for the 8PM Start.  The amount of people that came out was overwhelming to see.

Sunday, we enjoyed ourselves immensely at the Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll.  Like the Huntsville Ghost Walk on the previous day, Maple Hill Cemetery was completely packed full of people.  The crowds which surrounded the Huntsville Historical Figures where bustling at the seams.  The Black Widow of Hazel Green, Elizabeth Dale Gibbons could even have her pick of any of the multitudes of men in attendance.
We even managed to take a nice picture of Mary Bibb as she talked about herself and her tomb behind her.

Mary Chambers Bibb 

(Photo by Carol Jacobs Team)

All in all it was a very fun weekend but exhausting to try and make all the wonderful events.  Going to all the events was well worth it for both self enjoyment, involvement in the community, as well as interacting with other people we met along the way.  So if something like these events comes again we'll go again, and we can only hope you will as well!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Autumn Cleaning - The 2nd Coming of Spring Cleaning

Many people do not realize that Spring Cleaning comes twice a year.  The first being Spring, and the second being Autumn.  Autumn cleanings don't really make an impact as much as Spring cleaning due to the fact that they're not as invasive and prolonged.  Where as Spring can take a week to two weeks, cleaning in Autumn can be more along the lines of a few days.  It takes place right when the first chill hits the night air.  And Autumn Cleaning does not include the chore of raking and bagging all the leaves.  That is its own event.

Let's get started shall we?

Clean windows, drapes, carpet, patio, sidewalk, porch, bedding.  This is everything that pollen and allergens can stick to.  No reason to keep them around, and now is a good as time as any to get rid of them especially if you have sinus/allergy problems.

Change your bedding and wardrobe for cooler months.  Do it now, so you won't have to throw blankets and clothing around later from the attic or hall closet where everything else winds up.

Change your HVAC air filter.  Many people forget to change this one regularly.

Outdoors? Begin cleaning up the patio, from furniture, dead plants, and summer clotheslines everything has a time and with the onset of cooler weather its best to either move them to a discrete place like a shed, or throw away if no longer of use.  Make it appear clean, also makes it much easier when the leaves really start falling in that you don't have to maneuver around obstacles.  Speaking of leaves, remember to check your gutters regularly for leaf blockages or nests on the top sections of the gutters and the downspouts.

If you can think of any more have at it.  Just remember not to overdo it!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Next weekend activities, for Oct 11-13

It seems like there are many events which fall on next weekend of Oct 11-13 and because of the team's busy schedule we may not get a chance to get the information out.  Here are just a few of them to go to.  The team will try to hit at least three of these wonderful events.  If you see the team show up with new jewelry, pictures, fresh vegetables and looking full of food, you will know what happened.  Best thing that can be said about these events that people don't realize that these events are mostly local with a possible exception of a few vendors at the Gem and Mineral Show.  A few vendors might come from the edge of the Tennessee Valley or outside of it.

Huntsville's Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll  10/13/13 from 2-4:30PM
Usually more than 80 historical figures among the 80,000 dead tell their story throughout the afternoon in a delightful experience of walking, listening to stories, and listening to music.

2013 Gem, Jewelry & Mineral Show Oct 11 & 12 10AM-6PM & Oct 13 Noon-5PM
A great experience for finding great jewelry, loose gems, and fun table and corner placements.  With many vendors and possible combinations of jewelry, this visit is definitely worth it.

Huntsville Ghost Tour 6PM on weekends Fri & Sat
Fun stories of Huntsville's first residents, intrigue, murder, and scandal.  These walks make you go back for weeks on end to hear something you may missed.

Madison City Farmers Market 10/12/13  9AM-1PM
1282 Hughes Road, next to Discovery Middle School.

Inaugural Downtown Street Food Gathering Oct 11th  6-9PM
Complete with Food Trucks and Music by Goat Hill String Band, Parking behind Regions Bank.

Today's Tidbit: Get out with friends and family and enjoy the fall harvests and parties.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Absurd, Crazy, and Interesting Design Ideas

Recently we had a client come and ask about possible ideas for their new house.  They wanted it to be special and not look like every other house that was out there.  We could only give so much information such as go to antique stores, specialty stores, and regular discount stores.  You never know what might pop up and by using what you see together it could make something that was specially unique for their home.

Now another suggestion we had besides brick and mortar businesses was to get a few ideas from online.  A few websites specially called out to them, but one in particular they took an interest in.

This one in particular had them asking us a multitude of questions that really should be answered by builders, architects, and gymnasts.  Buzzfeeds' 36 Things You Obviously Need in Your New Home was an web article that came out in July of this year.  Now not everything pleased them, but they did find a few thoughts from the site to spark their imagination for their kitchen and backyard.

Check out the article yourself and see if you can get anything that sparks your imagination!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

A little bit of Jack and Ghosts

Everything has been really busy and only have time for a short post for today.

Just released this afternoon by the Tullahoma News is that the Jack Daniels Distillery in nearby Lynchberg, TN will be undergoing a $100 Million dollar expansion with 90 new jobs added to the 450 they currently have.

Also the Huntsville Ghost Walk will be doing their very first tour of Madison starting tomorrow starting at 6pm at the Bandito Burrito.  For more information please go to Huntsville Ghost Walk website.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

A Little Fun for Today: Summertime Treats and Kitchen Toys

Today's post pops into some Summer fun: treats and toys.  Treats as it for picnics and parties and Toys as in kitchen gadgets we love to play around with and experiment with.  These were found on the websites of Southern Living and Better Homes & Gardens.  There's quite a few of these recipes we might try out, including the hand pies, fudge pops, and key lime cheesecake bars.  A few of these cool treats sounds just right for some of these warm days.  If anyone has tried these recipes out before or does try them out, comment below and let us know how they turned out.

Southern Living Picnic Food Recipes

BH&G No Bake Desserts!

BH&G Kitchen Gadgets

Today's Tidbit: Sometimes one of the easiest things to make during summer can also make you feel better.  Make yourself a tall glass of lemonade loaded with ice.  Let sit until the glass really has cooled with the ice before drinking.  Not only refreshing, but also can put a smile on your face with its tart and tangy taste.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes