Houses are my passion! (Shoes are a close second)



My dream playhouse when I was 8

(or how I remember it)

It's true...Houses are my passion!  As a young child playing on my family's property in the piney woods of East Texas, I spent hours designing  "houses" by gathering pine straw and forming it into large pine straw floor plans. My pine straw dream houses had a living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, AND the all important 1960's "rumpus room" which my family did not have in real life, but that I had seen on television.

My family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana when I was 8, and that is where I became friends with Marcy Hays. I LOVED playing at  Marcy's house because she was a fun girl, had her own cotton candy machine, a cat clock in the kitchen with eyes and a tail that moved from side to side when it ticked, and a mother who believed in letting her children try all kinds of stuff my mother would never approve of.  But the main reason I loved to go to Marcy's house was  because she had an awesome playhouse in her back yard.

Marcy wasn't a girl who enjoyed playing "house", and she had little interest in her playhouse, which in my eyes, was a total DREAM house.  The playhouse  was crammed with a jumble of child sized furniture, tea sets, dolls, leaves, balls, and miscellaneous junk.  All I wanted to do (after we'd made a batch of cotton candy, of course) was organize and decorate that play house.  Poor Marcy was constantly trying to get me to do something else with her....climb a tree, ride bikes, bake cookies....ANYTHING but decorate the play house! I was never ready to go home when my mother came to pick me up....maybe my love for decorating and selling houses stems from always having to go home before my decorating job in the play house was finished.

1982 in the throne chair from Pier One
My pride and joy...a dashing husband,
an adorable baby boy

During the early years of my marriage, my husband was in law school, we had two babies, and we were living on little money and a lot of love. I decorated our tiny apartment with painted garage sale furniture, walls covered with "flair squares"(temporary wallpaper from the 80's), a country print camel back sofa we charged on a credit card, and a big wicker throne chair from Pier One...I thought it was sooo trendy! Our dining room table and chairs  changed colors on a monthly basis. These years of penny pinching and challenging decorating conditions caused me to develop an addiction to the feeling I get when I succeed in inexpensively transforming a plain and unimaginative space into an inviting place with personality and style. I'm constantly trying to think of ways to make something look better...I even give my poor husband a makeover now and then.

With the exception of one house we built, every house we've bought has been an ugly fixer upper. Every time I view a home, I see it not only as it is at the moment, but I also imagine it as it could be. If you are willing to make a few updates and repairs, you can make some great deals on homes that have sat on the market month after month because of their lack of appeal to the majority of buyers.

My passion for houses is just part of who I am.  If I had to choose between eating and decorating/selling houses, I would choose the activity that involves houses. (I'm okay as long as I have a box of Cheese Nips and a bottle of water in my car!)  My family is used to my chronic decorating, and my oldest daughter, either by genetics or exposure, has developed into a talented artist/decorator/designer with a unique flair.  I find her talent and creativity to be a great resource, and recently we had the fun experience of partnering together to accessorize a new home for one of my clients.

I am an ASP  (Accredited Home Stager), an ABR  (Accredited Buyers Agent), and a Realtor and Associate- Broker with almost 13 years of experience selling real estate in the Tyler, Texas area.  I love houses. They are my business, my hobby, and a passion of mine........I couldn't be happier just doing my job and helping the "Marcys" of the world find a home that even they can be excited about!

Making dream homes a reality since age 8!
I  can help you find your dream home too!