Oct

16

The North Side’s Best Coffee

Filed Under Dining, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Lincoln Park | 7 Comments

Chicago may be best known for its Chicago-style hot dogs and deep dish pizza, but the Windy City can also brew an impressive cup of Joe as well.

In fact, the latest edition of the food and wine magazine Saveur highlights some of the best coffees in the world – and two of the top picks are Chicago-based brands (San Rafael Lot 1 from Metropolis Coffee Company and Hacienda La Esmeralda from Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea).

And if there’s anyone who appreciates good coffee it’s the Ames family. My own sister, fellow Realtor Nathalie Ames, founded her own coffee shop in Mesa, Colorado after finding the area to be nearly devoid of coffee venues. Now, in a place where the nearest Starbucks is 18 miles away, Mesa has a wonderful boutique coffee shop in Nathalie’s Blink Coffee.

Thankfully, here on Chicago’s North Side, one need not go to such extremes to get great coffee. In fact, even though Starbucks is still the most (in)famous name in town, there is still a rich offering of small chain and independent coffee shops here as well. Below are some that offer both the best ambience and the best coffee and tea.

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Oct

15

Making the Least of Your Property Taxes

Filed Under Home Finance, News, Real Estate | Leave a Comment

It’s property tax time again, and if you’ve cracked open your recent bill (or a copy of the Chicago Tribune), you know that while your home’s value may have dipped in the past year, your taxes almost certainly haven’t.

If your bill is more than expected, you might investigate the following potential money saving options:

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Oct

9

Childproofing Your Home

Filed Under Home Renovation and Maintenance | 3 Comments

Safety Faucet CoverMany of the luxury homes I sell may be finely finished for adults, but that’s not always the case as far as babies and small children are concerned.

Childproofing a home is an important part of starting a family, but it can be difficult to balance safety and practicality. I know one couple who pulled out all the stops and spent thousands of dollars childproofing their home right after they had their baby. Ultimately, they ended up moving out of their home before their child was even old enough to crawl.

My advice is that childproofing is something that should be taken in baby steps (no pun intended). With a little planning, you can make your home safe for your young ones without spending more than you need or locking your home down like a fortress.

If you’re just starting out, there are some straightforward steps you can take to childproof your home. Each of these measures will need to be completed before your child is developed enough to access each specific danger. Many of the safety products described below can be purchased at hardware or home improvement stores or over the Internet at baby safety websites.

Here’s what needs to be done:

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Oct

6

Chicago Halloween Events for Kids (and Parents, too)

Filed Under Chicago Events, Family Events, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Old Town, Parks, Streeterville | 4 Comments

Update: This post is for 2008. For information on 2009 Halloween events on Chicago’s North Side, see here.

Halloween may be a one day event in some parts of the country, but here in Chicago, there’s nearly a month’s worth of parades, haunted houses, pumpkin carvings, fun runs, spooky mazes, and other events dedicated to the holiday. Many of these events are cheap (or free), are geared towards children, and don’t involve the ingestion of mass amounts of candy. In others words, they make for good, wholesome family outings.

The Chicago Parks District has a list of all their Halloween offerings, and About.com has a good general summary of city-wide events.

For simplicity’s sake, however, I had a Google map made up of all the North Side Halloween events. Use it to find the upcoming events near where you live. Blue markers are Parks District events, red markers are parades, and yellow markers are all other events.

Please click through to the website for each marker to get the most up-to-date information for each event.
View Larger Map

Did I miss any great Chicago Halloween events? Let me know with a comment!

Oct

1

Cubs Mania Begins Today

Filed Under Chicago Events, Lakeview, News | Leave a Comment

As you’re probably aware, both the Cubs and the Sox have made the playoffs, presenting the incredible possibility of a Cubs vs. Sox World Series. It’s truly an exciting time to be a Chicago sports fan, and if you live near Wrigleyville, you’re in for a truly exciting amount of fan traffic as well.

Here’s how the Cubs schedule is shaping up:

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Oct

1

Chicago’s “Backyard” Garden

Filed Under Family Events, Parks | 1 Comment

In a recent posting, I offered some suggestions on how to cope with stress and the challenges of staying healthy and balanced despite the daily grind. Already, I would like to add to that list!

I cannot think of a nicer way to spend a fall day than to take a relaxing walk at one of my favorite pieces of “Chicago” real estate – a 385-acre plot of landscaped islands in Glencoe, Illinois. I’m talking, of course, about the Chicago Botanic Garden.

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Sep

30

Thinking of Renovating?

Filed Under Chicago Events, Home Renovation and Maintenance, News | Leave a Comment

With increased down payment requirements and stricter lending criteria, some homeowners are opting to stay in their homes and renovate rather than move.

Others are taking advantage of the fact that builders are no longer bidding up the cost of land, so parcels can now be snatched up at better prices. These people are finally making their dream a reality and building custom homes.

If you are considering renovating or building a custom home, you won’t want to miss an upcoming design event. In celebration of National Kitchen and Bath Month, Chicago’s exclusive Merchandise Mart is opening its doors to the general public for an “Open House” showcasing the world’s largest collection of luxury boutiques for home building and renovation.

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Sep

29

Citizen’s Reminder: Register to Vote

Filed Under News | 2 Comments

It may be bad form to mix politics and real estate blogging (or politics and anything), but I feel compelled to pass along the following reminders.

In order to vote in the upcoming November election, you must be a US citizen, at least 18 years old, have lived in your precinct for at least 30 days before the election, and most importantly, you must be registered.

If you are not already registered to vote in Chicago, the deadline to do so is Tuesday, October 7th – in other words, it’s approaching  fast!

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Sep

22

Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down

Filed Under Commentary | 1 Comment

Turkeys

There is no doubt that these are turbulent times. A presidential election in full swing, one of the worst drops on Wall Street (followed by one of the biggest rallies) last week, and a continued major reshuffling of the real estate and financial landscape – it’s enough to raise one’s blood pressure.

While I am not an expert on stress, anyone who knows me knows I maintain a full plate, and most days, I do it in stride. I thought I’d share what works for me.

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Sep

18

The Incredible, Walkable Chicago

Filed Under Real Estate | Leave a Comment

I’m not the only member of The Jennifer Ames Team who has something to say, so I decided it would be great to periodically turn the blog reigns over to a different member of my team. Our first “guest post” is written by David Wright, our team’s Marketing Associate. I hope you enjoy the new voice!  – Jenny

Walkin' Boots
These boots were made for walking — just like Chicago.

As one of two marketing specialists on The Jennifer Ames Team, I’m always looking for more ways to highlight the amenities to be found near our Chicago luxury listings. We frequently include information in our marketing brochures and Internet copy about retail, dining, and entertainment establishments that are located near the homes we sell. We also use a service called PeekaCity to create interactive amenity maps, which allow online viewers to scope out the neighborhood by what’s most important to them (like Mediterranean cuisine, for example).

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