Arlington TX Real Estate Blog

Strength and Durability

Architecture firm DADA & Partners have designed a new house in Chattarpur, India.

The home, which is surrounded by a quarter-acre of land, features a palette of wood, white stucco,
and granite.

A swimming pool is tucked away at the side of the house.

Hardwood battens create a screen for the upper corridor.

The multi-level home has the dining room, master bedroom, and family room on the ground floor, with the upper floor providing a more relaxing lounge area, with various seating areas.

Inside, there are white walls with plenty...

You probably have a wallet full of credit cards with chips at this point. Banks have been rolling them out like crazy and they're supposed to be safer — as long as you use them the right way, that is. That's why the fact that some retailers — including Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, Chick-fil-A, and Panera Bread — don't have chip card readers up and running at all of their locations is a big concern.

You see, if you swipe a chip card instead of inserting it into slot, the merchant is responsible for covering any fraudulent charges — not the bank. And some retailers aren't in a financial position to cover major security breaches, like that corner store you picked up a gallon of milk from in a pinch. That means you get stuck covering the snafu, according to Adam Levin, founder of Identity Theft 911 and author of Swiped.

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We love music here at The Mark Cabal Team. We've always loved music. We all grew up with a wide genre of music from swing, to jazz, to blues, to rock, to hip hop - we love it all.

That's why yesterday's heartbreaking news of KDGE - 102.1 The Edge being dropped from the radio had all of our stomachs in knots. They played All My Life by the Foo Fighters and the last song played was Out Of My League by Fitz & The Tantrums. Since then, a non-stop loop of Closing TIme by Semisonic. It will continue to loop until 5:00pm CST when the station will apparently introduce a new format. 

Here's a story from dfw.com that includes an interview from 2014 with George Gimarc who was the first official hire (DJ) on the Edge.

Thanksgiving Punch for a Crowd …this easy, fall beverage favorite will be a delicious option this Thanksgiving when entertaining your family and friends!

Enjoy all the best flavors of autumn with this amazing, delicious drink!

Hey all! Jessica from Fantabulosity here again, to share a fun Thanksgiving punch that my friends and I created the other day in our “test kitchen.” (Better known as, the kitchen in our house that becomes a test kitchen when we get to creating.) ;)

Thanksgiving Punch for a Crowd

The above ingredients were the final ingredients we nailed down, when experimenting. (Minus sliced apples for garnish of course.)

The beauty behind this recipe, is that you can play with the ingredients, to reach a level of flavor that you prefer, but I’ll make sure to include our favorite measurements below

If you’re serving this Thanksgiving punch at home, or in a location where you can “play,” you can have a LOT of fun, dressing up the beverage...

We hear it every year: "I want to wait until after the Holidays to sell my home."

WHY? Sellers! Here are 10 GREAT reasons why right NOW is the BEST time to sell!!

• 1. There are motivated buyers in the market that must buy for tax reasons.

• 2. During the Holiday Season there are typically less homes on the market. Less supply means less competition. Less competition means more money in your pocket.

• 3. Many people have time off during the Holidays, which increases their availability to see homes. Buyers that buy during the Holiday Season tend to be serious buyers.

• 4. Buying is an emotional purchase and emotions tend to run high during the Holiday Season. Strategically, having the opportunity to work off a buyer’s emotion is in your favor . . . they tend to offer a higher price when emotions are involved.

• 5. The Holiday Season reminds many people of family. The home is the foundation of the family unit. More people become motivated to buy during the Holidays than other times of the year.

• 6. The interest rates are incredibly low, which allows a buyer to afford more in the market. When rates are low, buyers tend to present higher purchase offers.

• 7. Many sellers will wait and list after the first of the year, which causes a lot of new...

Say you're living in a starter home. You don't plan on being there forever, but you also aren't going anywhere anytime soon. You'd like to make some home improvements, but you're worried you won't get much return on your investment when you're ready to sell.

While this thinking could be accurate if you're planning to fully gut and renovate your kitchen, there are plenty of projects that will add enjoyment to your day-to-day living without overimproving your abode. "Think cosmetic changes, not huge overhauls," says Audrey Loder, showroom director at Wilkinson Supply, a luxury kitchen and bath retailer in Raleigh, NC. These five projects are inexpensive (around $5,000 or less) to implement and will provide you with enjoyment for years to come — or at least until you hang that "for sale" sign in the front yard.

1. Swap out your kitchen countertops

But don't assume granite is always the best choice. "Granite isn't as special as it once was because every kitchen has it now," advises Loder. If the countertops are the only upgrade you're planning, splurge on recycled glass (around $85 per square foot) for a true wow factor, or for a less expensive but equally stunning option, try quartz (around $60 to $75 per square foot). Stick with neutral colors like white, gray, or "greige," which will appear clean and bright and won't turn off potential buyers. If your budget allows, Loder recommends upgrading your...

From luxury residential developments to strikingly modern skyscrapers—some of which are still in the works—AD has compiled a highlights reel from the AD100 firm.

If you’ve ever made a promise to change your spending habits, only to break that promise repeatedly, you are not alone. After all, you still have to go past your favorite coffee shop every morning where a delicious (and overpriced) beverage is only minutes from your lips. Throughout the day, your inbox may bring news of sales and special offers from your favorite retailers. And your next travel adventure to bring warmth to your skin and sand to your bare toes is only a few clicks away. It’s tempting to spend, isn’t it?

If you find it hard to change your attitude about spending, you might be interested in learning what scientists are discovering about habits and why they’re difficult to change. However, it’s possible to transform your bad financial habits into a positive attitude about saving more, living frugally, and building long-term wealth.

How Dopamine Affects Spending Decisions

According to research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, humans have a brain chemical called dopamine that is triggered with pleasure. When it is triggered, it transmits signals from cell to cell and creates pathways for addictions to enjoyable stimuli, such as food, cigarettes, alcohol, sex, and shopping. When we do something that gives us happiness, such as buying the latest smartphone or new, fashionable clothes, our brain receives a dopamine surge. Some of that chemical then moves to the area of the brain where memories are created and stored, causing the brain to positively associate the spending of money with pleasure.

But dopamine doesn’t stop there – it also controls our decision-making...

--From moolanomy.com

I am lucky in that my job affords me the ability to do most of my work from home. I am usually in the office only one day a week at most. Working from home is a benefit most people don’t have and I love it — but it definitely can be a challenge. I currently have a two year old and one child on the way, so it is great to have the extra time a commute would cost me.  In over a year of working from home I have first hand experience in some of the things you can do to improve your productivity when working from home.

All Photos via New Frontier Tiny Homes

Now this is a tiny house that we’d like to get behind—or, inside, rather. Nashville-based New Frontier Tiny Homes is at it again, this time with its flagship product, the luxurious Alpha Tiny Home, which was recently showcased on HGTV’s "Tiny House, Big Living." It boasts trend-forward details like reclaimed barn wood, subway tiles, hardwood floors, and a stainless steel farmhouse sink.

And there’s even more to get excited about. Set upon a 24-inch, custom double-axel trailer, the 240-square-foot residence is chock-full of amenities, featuring charred shou sugi ban cedar and western red cedar siding on its exterior, a mechanical seam metal roof, a tempered glass garage door that opens to reveal a custom fold down deck and awning, sliding glass door, and a dining table that can accommodate up to eight people.

The Alpha is comfortable, too: The step-up kitchen (under which the dining table is stored) is tricked out in the latest appliances and custom cabinetry, while the full bathroom includes a Jacuzzi tub and a combination washer-and-dryer unit. The loft bedroom is set atop the bathroom and is accessed by an oak library ladder. All this can be yours for a cool $95,000. Have a look below.

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