Happy (almost) 2019, everyone!

I hope you all got to spend the past week of holiday festivities with loved ones and are looking forward to celebrating the end of yet another fabulous year. Even though winter hasn't really kicked in yet, AKA we haven't gotten any snow to stick, it's still fairly cold outside. In addition to the unfriendly temperatures, it's drab, dreary, and snow-less in Madison at the moment. I don't know about you, but I do NOT want to be outdoors when it looks like this (current mood outside my front window):

Photo courtesy of me

For the majority of my friends, this ugly weather means looking for ways to stay busy and entertained indoors. Though I'm definitely a winter lover, I prefer my cold weather to be paired with flaky

The holidays are a time for family, relaxation, and lots and lots of unhealthy food.

That's why this week's blog post is covering one of my absolute favorite activities to partake in during the holidays: baking/making cookies!

Last night, a few girlfriends and I got together and made a plethora of holiday desserts. I showed up with the intention of making beautifully decorated sugar cookies and absolutely no idea of what I was doing. After loosely following the recipe and tripping over a few hurdles, like forgetting flour and a few trial and error runs with the rolling pin, I was able to produce these festive masterpieces (see below). 

The only step left at this point, was to pop them in the oven.

Many lessons were learned last night, but

Post a photo of your home to win a $100 gift card!

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In case you haven't heard by now: The Madison Neighborhoods Team is hosting a holiday decorating competition! If you've spent some time making your home look merry and bright this year, we’d love to see it.

Entering is as simple as posting a photo of your home’s exterior (decorations and all) to our team’s Facebook or Instagram by noon on December 20.

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If you’ve made your home look merry and bright, we’d love to see it.

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And don’t forget to tag us at Madison Neighborhoods so we don’t miss your entry! The entry with the best decorated house wins $100 gift card

 Holiday Home Decoration Photo Contest

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Gamma Man

Show us your holiday lights for a chance to win a $100 Ruth's Chris Steak House - Madison / Middleton, WI gift card!

1. Post a photo on Facebook and/or Instagram of the exterior of your house, condo, or apartment decked out in holiday decorations by 10AM on Thursday, December 20th.
2. Tag Madison Neighborhoods at Keller Williams Realty in your post (Insta: @dcmrealestate). 
3. Top three finalists will be chosen by our team and posted on Thursday, December 20th.
4. Our team will then do a drive by of the top three houses to choose the winner by Friday, December 21st.

Now, let's see those decorations!!

*To participate, your home must be in or near Dane County,

Today I'd like to help in formulating your “blueprint” for buying and/or selling your home this winter.

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Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Though most people don't realize it, winter is actually a great time to buy and/or sell a home. 

In terms of buying: inventory will creep up relative to demand, and due to the colder weather and snow, not as many buyers will be out. If you're willing to brave the weather, it's likely you'll find a bargain at this time of year. Since there isn't as much competition at this time of the year, you won't need to rush through getting an offer written in fear of getting yours in too late.

Another plus for buyers is that you’ll find

You’re in the market to buy a new home...

but you want to make sure you don’t have an insanely long commute to work. It can get expensive and exhausting having a 30-minute drive to and from your daily destinations, plus the time that gets added on because of the imminent rush hour traffic you’ll (at least occasionally) get stuck in. If you’re planning on moving to a new city, or even neighborhood, traffic at different times of the day in that area is most likely foreign to you. 

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Shaun Garrity 

If you can relate to any of the above, you’re not alone. An article by the National Association of REALTORS® says that 64% of homebuyers bought a home based on the convenience factor in relation to their work place. Over 1/5 of