Tag Archives: arkansas

Crawdad Festival 2023

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I had so much fun this past weekend reigning at the Crawdad Days festival as Ms. Classic Crawdad Days 2023.

We started the day out hosting a baby pageant and I was the queen in charge of taking the registrations. it was so much fun to see all the cute babies as they were registered by their parents.

There were performances by the Ridge Runner clogging group. Clogging looks like so much fun! As a dancer, I feel like I may need to try that style of dance.

After the baby contest we got a chance to walk around the fairgrounds. Behind where we held the baby contest was a building that was loaded with vendors. Of course I had to check out the Queen Pop popcorn!

And what’s a crawdad festival without a life sized crawdad?!

There was a crawdad eating contest which was very interesting. I’ll be honest, I have no idea how to eat a crawdad but I’m 100% intrigued by eating contests. I’m pretty sure I could dominate one if it were a cake or pancake eating contest. LOL!

We then wandered around the festival on our official photo shoot. Our director decided to put us on the big swing ride, something I haven’t ridden in a long time. I was a little afraid of having a dress on but it all went fine.

Riding the swings with Miss Teen Crawdad Days. I enjoyed visiting with her so much!

After we were finished for the day, we came back that night for the rodeo. It was my FIRST rodeo! We were introduced to the crowd and then we went and took a seat to watch. It was exciting and terrifying all at once. I can’t wait to go to the next one!

All in all, I really enjoyed my reign at Crawdad Days. It was a lot of fun. I always feel like a good pageant queen day ends with sore feet and Saturday was no exception!

My buddy, Little Miss Crawdad Days. What a sweetheart!
Being introduced at the rodeo

New YouTube Channel!

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It’s no secret that my favorite part of real estate was my YouTube channel where 98% of my clients came from. I decided to temporarily deactivate the account because it was still bringing me leads that would take me time to farm out and I really just needed some time away.

Today, I decided it was time to bring it back with a bit of a new direction. But it’s gone. Gone, gone. I can’t get it back. I’m a little upset but I’m going to look at it as a blessing in disguise.

I’ve started a new channel and I hope it will attract my correct tribe instead of trying to morph my audience from the other channel into something they didn’t sign up for.

Refined Country Wife will be a fun YouTube channel that chronicles the exciting journey of a city girl, Me!, turned rural dweller in the stunning Ozarks region of Arkansas. Join me as I embrace the charm of country living, immersing myself in the beauty of nature and the captivating rural lifestyle. From our idyllic farmstead, I share the joys and challenges of raising chickens, cows, and dogs, offering a glimpse into the daily adventures and heartwarming moments that pop up.

As an advocate of healthy living, I am passionate about growing up without growing old. Fitness and well-being are at the forefront of my lifestyle. Join me as I explore various fitness routines, share workout tips, and inspire viewers to embrace an active lifestyle that keeps them energized and vibrant.

In addition to nourishing our bodies, I believe in nurturing our minds and souls. Through thoughtful discussions and personal anecdotes, I delve into topics like personal growth, mindfulness, and finding fulfillment in everyday life.

As a dedicated carnivore diet enthusiast, I also delve into the world of meat-based nutrition, sharing delicious recipes, helpful tips, and personal experiences on this unique dietary approach.

Furthermore, I’ll take you along as we explore the hidden gems, local attractions, and exciting events in the scenic North Central Arkansas area. From breathtaking nature hikes to charming local festivals, there’s always something new to discover.

I invite you to join me on my new channel where I’ll be celebrating the beauty of rural life, indulging in mouthwatering meals, pursuing an active lifestyle, and discovering the wonders of an extraordinary region.

Before Selling Your Home…

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Only 7% of home sales in 2021 were FSBO (for sale by owner). Of that 7%, many of these were sales between family members and people who knew each other. Meaning, even in an extremely low inventory market (aka HOT seller’s market), most sellers hired a real estate agent to do the legwork.

Instead of listing out all of the reasons why you *should not* sell your house without an agent. I’m going to educate you as to how the RIGHT fit agent can help you when it comes time to sell your home.

First, a great LOCAL agent knows the market. They’ve been inside many of the homes that have sold and are for sale. That gives them a leg up when it comes to the current market values of homes in your area so they can help you to price strategically and attract the most buyers. They know what buyers are looking for and what turns them off, therefore knowing what you can do as a seller, to create the most demand.

A lot of the “work” you’ll do when selling your home happens before it’s ever for sale. This is the “pre-market prep”. I guide my sellers through this process whether it’s staging recommendations, furniture placement, paint updates or small repairs that should be done prior to the home hitting the market. This takes the guess work out of it for sellers, because like I said, I’m familiar with what buyers want (as well as what would be considered red flags that we should fix).

I’ll also leave you with an important stat to keep in mind. According to NAR (National Association of REALTORS):

  • FSBOs (for sale by owners) typically sell for less than the selling price of other homes;
  • FSBO homes sold at a median of $260,000 last year, significantly lower than the median of agent-assisted homes at $318,000.

The moral of the story is this: A great agent will help you maximize the sale price of your home, putting more money in YOUR POCKET. That is done through their extensive market knowledge, pricing strategies, pre-market prep guidance and out of the box marketing tactics – all while navigating every step of the process for you so you don’t have to figure it out yourself.

Finding Hidden Potential in Real Estate

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My house hunting super power ⚡️
Spotting the hidden potential

You’ve seen the shows on HGTV where they buy the ugliest house ever and 30 minutes later it’s straight out of West Elm and you’re like “I think I could do this!”

What happens is, sometimes that potential is hard to spot.

When you’re looking at multiple homes, you start comparing the ones filled with oak cabinets, funky kitchen layouts and overgrown backyards to the ones that are updated and decorated with furniture from Crate & Barrel.

That can make it difficult to favor the ones that need the elbow grease and paint jobs, you know?

But the ones that look like they’re straight out of Instagram might have a higher price tag and cause you to sacrifice some of the features that were initially most important to you.

This is where I come in! I want to help you keep your top priorities in mind when looking at homes and work around what you might not love about a house!

So maybe you find a house in the perfect location. It has a great layout and the yard you’ve dreamed about, but inside you’re already making a list of all the changes you’d have to make.

What we can do is sit down and make a good ol’ pros and cons list of the changes vs the positive features and see what makes most sense.

Maybe just a few simple updates could give the space a makeover that you’d be really happy with.

A fresh coat of white paint, new rugs, swapping out the pendant lights and adding new cabinet hardware in the kitchen could make the space look entirely different and wouldn’t require taking the kitchen down to its studs or starting from scratch!

What is one home feature or design style you could not look past? I want to try and spot the hidden potential.

Back to Real Estate School

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School is BACK IN SESSION (soon) & I’m here to share not only your August Home to do list but also what else I have up my sleeve for the last month of Summer!

The kids are going back to school, but so is my blog!

Throughout the month of August I’ll be sharing all the home buying and selling basics – the things to know before getting started, your credit score breakdown, how to find an agent – all things real estate “school”! So grab your notebooks, sharpen your pencils, get ready for class to start and make sure to contact me with all your real estate questions!

Rockansas

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Say what? How do you even pronounce Rockansas? Rock-An-Saw. This is what my broker calls Arkansas because it’s just so rocky here. One of my colleagues said when he was little, he would have to pick up rocks as punishment. When I put up a sign on a listing, I often have trouble getting it in the ground because of the rock. David’s contractors at NATCO struggle to bury fiber because of the rocks.

I tell you all of this for background. Back during my first couple of weeks as a REALTOR, I got a call from a man. He was so upset because a listing that was just perfect for him got away. Hot market, you know?

So I asked him if I could help him find something similar. He proceeded to give me a wish list: I want acreage, bluffs, I want to be close to the Buffalo River, I want a cave, waterfall, and rocks. Rocks, lol. I replied that rocks were really easy to come by in Arkansas and laughed. There was dead silence on the other end of the line. I’m not sure where this man was from, only that he had a heavy southern accent and didn’t find the fact, that rocks are really easy to come by in Arkansas funny. Oops.

Pretty rocks in Arkansas near Bull Shoals Lake

It IS funny to me, though. Now, every time I’m walking around a piece of land here, either previewing it or showing it to a client, and I see rocks, I can’t help but think about the conversation I had with that man because it IS funny. There are just so many rocks here.

Rocks in Arkansas near the lake with some driftwood

We are getting ready to close on our new place in Lead Hill tomorrow. After we made our offer on it, we took a side by side and drove around the 53 acres. I was absolutely thrilled to find beautiful rock shelves in the back acreage and I know I’ll be spending some quality time on my portion of Rockansas.

Great Coffee In Yellville

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Although I live in Flippin, my office is in Yellville. Yellville is the county seat for Marion County but with a population of 1170 people, it’s certainly not the big city. 

We don’t have big city coffee shops but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a good cup of coffee. At The Loft Coffee Shop you can get just about any type of coffee drink you’d like. And, in my opinion, it tastes better than coffee you get in that large coffee shop chain you can find worldwide. 

Imagine That Flowers and Giftsis co-located with The Loft. You can order flowers and plants for delivery or buy a cute gift for your friend’s birthday. Since we’re moving to the country this week, I’ll probably need this little gift for myself. 


I’m especially thankful to Lyndsey, the owner, who allowed me to debut my gourmet marshmallows (another blog!) in her shop last week. 

I love these shops, their owner, employees, and products. If you’re in Yellville, stop by. I’m sure you’ll love them, too!

My REALTOR Life

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Do you like the shows Million Dollar Listing LA and Million Dollar Listing New York? I do. I love looking at the luxury properties, the oversized personalities of the agents, the flashy cars, and the fabulous fashions. 

On some level, I must have thought that my real estate life would resemble their lives in some way. So please forgive me that thought. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I thought I would be showing big fancy houses. Nope. I find myself out “in the dirt”a lot. There is a lot of raw land available for sale in Arkansas and I have shown so much of it.

I thought I would be wearing pretty dresses. Nope. Out in the dirt, I’m typically wearing jeans and a T-shirt. If I get dirty it doesn’t matter if I get caught on something pokey, it doesn’t matter.

I thought I would be wearing kick butt shoes. Nope. I’m wearing my rubber boots. That way, if I have to walk in chiggers or a creek I am equally protected.

I thought I would be wearing big beautiful earrings and other fancy jewelry. Nope I wear diamond posts and my silicone ring in place of my wedding set.

On days when I’m actually showing houses, I’m really excited! It’s a fun change from the dirt. I have to say though, the longer I do it, I get more comfortable with being in the dirt. I’m learning about the various things you need to buy land and what you need to consider before building a house on that land. I’m learning about Corp, river, and lake property. I’m learning about easements, septic systems, and perc tests.

I’ve gotten so comfortable with showing land that I’m actually considering going to the Land Institute and getting some extra training so that I really know what I’m doing. Who would’ve ever thought?

I’m an Arkansas Woman Blogger!

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I was hanging out in twitter the other day when I saw this:

Oh! Well, actually I DO live in Arkansas a lot of the time now so I clicked the link to check it out.

I wasn’t sure if I could join because we are only in Little Rock temporarily so I sent an email to see if I could join. Julie responded back that I was welcome and to fill out the application form at the website which I did.

I just got my notification yesterday that I have been accepted as a member of the Arkansas Women Bloggers!

Arkansas Women Bloggers

I’m excited because I don’t really know anyone there except for David and his guys.

I’ve been back and forth between Oklahoma and Arkansas with a little Texas thrown in since the project began in Little Rock last December. I feel kind of like a rolling stone. Hmmm. Does that mean I’ve got moves like Jagger?

I digress. 😉

Anyway, I’m super excited to have found this group and look forward to a meet up next month in Little Rock. I hope to meet some new friends! 🙂