Happy Halloween! Today is the day that little ghosts, goblins, pirates and princesses will be roaming our city street in search of candy. The Edmonton Police Service put out a list of Halloween safety tips for kids and parents. Please read these and make sure to implement them. There is nothing more important on Halloween than the safety of our children.

Tips for Children

• Trick or treat in groups or with parents/guardians
• Carry a flashlight and cell phone
• Have an emergency plan if something bad happens – know who you can talk to or approach if you have any problems or get lost
• Let your parents/guardians know where you will be and stay in areas that you know and are comfortable with.
• Ensure that you can see through a mask or makeup

Century 21 Canada recently released the results of a homebuyer survey they did and the results are very interesting. If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, there are some things you should know about the trend in current homebuyers “must have” lists. 

1. Canadians will overwhelmingly (41%) choose a home with energy efficient upgrades over one with updated finishes (22%) like granite countertops or hardwood floors. This makes sense since a granite countertop isn’t going to save you any money on your heating expenses. Consider making your home energy efficient before doing any other big upgrades.
2. They also say that a home’s layout is the most important consideration (27%) and has the strongest impact on their first impression

From Chiang Mai.

Days 1 and 2 were extremely hot on the work site as we arrived shortly after sun-up to begin the work day. The first day was a bit emotional when we first met the waiting family who must have been looking forward to this for months – maybe longer. We arrived as ordinary people but were received as heroes. A seemingly happy and welcoming couple of few words but big smiles and obviously big hearts greeted us emotionally and an instant respect and connection was forged between the two groups of people with vastly different backgrounds. These people clearly don’t have much as they live in and under the structure (house) next to the build site. The children as well as the grandparents who all contribute to the work necessary to get the job

The greatest thing about my business is the opportunities and freedom that it affords me to be able to contribute to the world and make a difference for someone somewhere.

I arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand yesterday to spend a few weeks working for Habitat for Humanity to help build a home for a family in need. That’s the good news. However, my luggage wasn’t as fortunate. But that really doesn’t bother me this morning because, as I write this, the sun is just cresting over the horizon and the viewable portion of the city that I’ll live in for the next couple weeks is coming into view. A quiet calm blankets Chiang Mai before the heat, scents and noises which surely return once the city awakens. I arrived at night and was quickly a part of the crowded

Halloween is just around the corner. If you don't have your celebration planned yet and need some ideas of something to do, we have a huge list of events happening around Edmonton. There is everything from family friendly for the little ones to the really scary for those who are bigger and braver. Get out there and enjoy the spooky festivities our great city has to offer.

Fun For The Whole Family

Prairie Gardens Haunted Pumpkin Fest
October 25 & 26
Extra Festivities & Entertainment runs from 11am-3pm.
Details

Prairie Gardens Safe Kids Halloween Fun at the Farm!
October 31
Kids in Costume Get in Free on Halloween (must be under age 12)
Details

Fort Edmonton Park SPOOKTACULAR
October 24, 25 and 31
Tickets Required
Details

Spooky Saturday at the

Buying your first home is an exciting and emotional time. You’re finally going to have a place of your own that you can do anything you want to it. Your head will fill with dreams and visions of how you want your space to look and feel. You’ll imagine the gatherings of friends and family, raising children, years of holidays, and creating a cozy feeling in the home.

But getting emotional and attached to a property can possibly spell trouble. It can get you into a bidding war that causes you pay more than you were comfortable with and planned to spend. It can also cause you to settle for a property because of one feature you love while the rest doesn’t work for you. Of course, your realtor will do his or her best to keep you on track of your checklist

The heart of every home is the kitchen. It’s not only the place where meals are prepared but people also naturally gravitate to it to hang out and visit during cooking and cleaning. It’s also the one thing that can make or break a sale of your home. Even if your home isn’t on the market now and you’re remodeling to please yourself, think ahead to the possibility of having to list your home one day. You don’t want to have to do another remodel or accept a lower price to get it sold. Here are a few things to consider as you’re planning your new dream kitchen.

Tip #1: Make it easy to clean. This is probably the number one thing overlooked by homeowners doing kitchen remodels. It’s easy to get pulled in by the beauty of tumbled marble or the rustic texture

Vue Weekly recently held it’s Best of Edmonton 2014 reader’s poll and one of the categories was “Best Neighbourhood.” Now, polls like this are entirely subjective because it’s the readers’ opinions and the winner is the community that gets the most votes. It’s not as if there was any scientific data analysis or statistics crunching done but I still thought it would be fun to profile the winning community here. So let’s learn a little more about the Vue Weekly readers’ “Best Neighbourhood” in Edmonton - Old Strathcona.

Old Strathcona is part of the Strathcona community within the University area of Edmonton. Some of the buildings date back to the early 1900’s but the community is a great mix of historical and modern architecture. It is pedestrian

So you’ve closed on your new house soon and you’ve been excitedly planning the big move. You’ve read our blog posts about moving with kids, moving with pets, hiring a professional moving company, you’ve scheduled your services to be turned on and you’ve started packing but have you planned ahead for the “after move”? Moving and settling into your new home can take days or weeks but you there are things you can do to make it easier and safer if you just plan ahead.

1. You got the keys but who else has them too? Your first call should be to a locksmith to schedule having the locks changed. There could be keys floating around anywhere from the previous owners and their kids to handymen and contractors. Once you are in your new home you want to keep your

Are you moving to Edmonton, or even within Edmonton, and wondering how to find the best school for your child? One of the great things about this city is the wide online access to information. The Edmonton Public Schools website has a great tool for finding schools that offer particular programs or are even within certain areas of the city. Do you want your child in a French Immersion program? There are 17 schools for that. Maybe you want your child to have an Arts Core education, then you have 4 options to choose from.

The benefit of researching the schools with EPSB website is that it shows the results on a map much like the interactive map we have on this website for searching for homes. You can use their tool to find the schools that have the