Austin's spirited real estate company celebrating Central Texas living through adventures of food, design, and landscape

You + Them = Best. Time. Ever! As an avid dog lover, I’m often searching for places where I can hangout with my four-legged friends. I decided to put together this list of homegrown places where we’ve had a tail-waggin’ good time. I’ll keep this list updated, so you might want to bookmark this page for future fun times! Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. (ABGB) – One of our most favorite beer gardens. A great place to chill, have some brew and listen to some tunes. Here’s my blo

Perfect for the Fourth of July and BBQ get togethers.

When our friend Penny shared this recipe we knew we had to make this dish. Sour cream, avocado, chicken and cheese can only mean one thing – we’re having seconds! Foodie Tips: ❤  I like the tasty heat of jalapeño combined with the creamy sour cream sauce. If you’re a little heat-shy you can omit the jalapeño. ❤  We found our Mexican cheese mixture at our neighborhood HEB which was a blend of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero and Quesadilla Cheeses. You can substitute your favor

The Best Dog Treat Recipe! Their Favorite Dog Treat Recipe I created and operated an eco friendly pet specialty company for several years, so I’m a big fan when it comes time to care for our furry friends. In fact, some of my very best friends have four legs and I consider myself the lucky one to have known some of these loyal, gentle souls. To make a tasty dish they’ll really love, we make a batch of these homemade dog treats which were my company’s signature treat – I handm

Cornbread With A Kick This week with cold, icy weather blowing into Austin, there’s nothing I like better than cooking in a warm kitchen. This spicy stuffed cornbread recipe packs a flavorful kick and will transform mere yellow cornbread mix into a sensationally savory dish that you can eat solo or paired with your favorite main course, like my family’s recipe for homemade chili. You’ll never think of mere cornbread the same way again! And it surely warms-up the chilliest of

Join Us For An Open House! December 6, 2014     Saturday 1 PM – 4 PM 11113 Persimmon Gap Dr., Austin TX 78717     3 bedrooms     2.5 bathrooms     2,141 square feet A few of this home’s great features: This 2-story home was built in 2008 and is located in my very own neighborhood of Avery Ranch, so I know a lot about the area. Extras include: an upgraded kitchen backsplash and granite counters, new carpet and a beautiful front covered porch that will welcome your guests. Runn

Chocolate Lover? If you’re a fan of Trader Joe’s Cowboy Bark like I am, you’ll likely love this recipe. Who doesn’t want to take their taste buds on a flavor adventure with dark chocolate, nuts, heath bars and a hint of sea salt? This recipe just has 7 ingredients – I refer to them as the “Magnificent 7” and after the chocolate is nice and gooey the kids can help decorate these treats … fun for the whole family! Cowboy Bark is great for gift-giving! I make it for friends and

If you love orzo short-cut pasta as much as I do, you’ll want to try this Home Style Austin house favorite – you might find it becoming a regular side or main dish at your dinner table. Foodie Tips: You can make this salad ahead of time and let it chill in the refrigerator – perfect to take on-the-go for a picnic or to the office for lunchtime. You can also serve it warm and introduce some protein to make it a main course meal; adding chicken or roasted rotisserie chicken mak

This time of year when the Hatch Chili Peppers make their bountiful cameo appearance, we get weak in the knees for all things hatch. Just perusing almost 100 recipes at Central Market’s website made us break an indoor sweat for this sensationally, seasonal pepper. With hatches in hand we decided to incorporate these delightfully, smokey-tasting peppers into our interpretation of gourmet Mac n’ Cheese. This dish will take more time than it does to whip-up Mac from a box, but w

When it’s hot outside this smoothie recipe will cool things down in a jiffy. This smoothie packs a berry delicious triple-play punch of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries making this smoothie perfect for breakfast, a lighter meal or dessert. Foodie Tips: The colder the ingredients, the more refreshing the smoothie. If you already have frozen, whole bananas in the freezer, this will work – you’ll just need to apply a little TLC removing the peel. Any frozen berries wil

We’re thrilled to welcome Austin’s second Trader Joe’s location at the Arboretum on June 20th, 2014. Thrilled is actually a bit of an understatement as we’ve already checked-in on Foursquare. The new location will open in the former Saks Fifth Avenue space. Trader Joe’s Austin Arboretum 9722 Great Hills Trail Austin, TX 78759 512-241-1248 Trading Hours: 8AM-9PM Daily The Grand Opening is at 8am so you’ll want to get their early if you like live music. We’ll be there in full f

As a native Texan who’s been lucky enough to live on an Italian vineyard for a few weeks, I thought I was pretty familiar with what to expect when in wine country. Turns out I had a lot more to experience and enjoy. At first blush, while Texas wine may not seem as impressive to some as Napa, Italian, Spanish or French wines, it wasn’t until this spring when Wine Enthusiast named our very own Texas Hill Country a 2014 Top 10 Wine Travel Destination in the world when I became p

Outdoor Home Living I have to say our team at Home Style Austin HQ was pretty much blown away when we saw these amazing tents! Conceived as a treehouse that you can take with you anywhere, the tree tent hammock combines the versatility of a hammock with the security of a tent. “Because the world is not flat,” the makers of the tent say. In addition to taking your spirits to a new level, the folks at Tentsile plant 3 trees for every tent you or I buy which I think is an awesom

Thinking about selling your Austin-area home? You’ll want to be well-informed so you can answer the question – “What’s my home worth?” Because of the dynamic Austin real estate market, it’s helpful to get the insight and advice of a Realtor. A good Realtor will explain the process they undertake when making the critical decision for what to price your home and when best to place it on the market. The Facts Sellers and buyers are often at odds with one another; sellers natural

Question 1: Joe, Do I file for my homestead exemption every year? My Answer: No, but you do need to file the exemption between January 1 and April 30th of the year after your home purchase (e.g. if you purchased your home in the summer of 2015 you would be filing your homestead in the spring of 2016). In addition, once you receive a homestead exemption you don’t have to apply again unless the chief appraiser asks you to apply again or unless your qualifications change. If yo

There’s no doubt that renovating a home can be a lucrative way to customize, restore and potentially profit. Encountering a “fixer-upper” sometimes happens naturally when living in the same house for many years … but often you may be considering buying a home in need of some improvements. How well do you really know your potential property? Answering a few of my own home-grown questions may help you with your decision to buy – or run – from your potential new home purchase! 1