On Saturday, I’ll be walking in the Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Parade along with my friends and colleagues from the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes, Plaza Office. In conjunction with the parades, my company participates in the parade committee’s “Go for the Green” fund drive to benefit Harvesters Community Food Bank. Each dollar donated to Harvesters is a chance to win a fully assembled cedar playhouse. Read my post to learn how to make a donation and enter to win the playhouse.

All of a sudden, Kansas City’s favorite little charm-filled enclave of Brookside is growing and changing. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the new businesses that are now open, and news on more openings planned for the months ahead.

2015 was a very different year for me, but with change comes growth and I definitely grew as a business woman and a mother. In this post, I take a look back at 2015. I rarely look back or do yearly retrospectives, but I am so glad that I did. It is too easy to get lost in the minutiae of the day and forget your accomplishments.

I am going to take a minute to brag a little bit. Today, a listing of mine sold for 100% of list price, and we received the offer within three days of listing the home online. I am especially proud because, in addition to my normal services, I also managed lighting renovations, chose colors and finishes, and then staged and styled the house.

My pick of the week is one of a small group of mid-century modern homes located just across the street from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. I hope that some interesting buyer with a mid-mod obsession will come along and jazz it up. It could either go very retro Mad Men, or clean, crisp and contemporary. Check it out.

I have a secret: I am easily irritated by shrubbery. The master gardening, real-estate-selling homeowner in me just can’t believe how common it is for people to have overgrown shrubs and plants in their landscapes.

I am delighted to share that I was featured in a recent issue of Realtor Magazine. The article, titled The Rise of the Backyard Farm, focuses on some of the challenges that real estate agents can face with the growing popularity of backyard chickens, beekeeping, and other small-scale agricultural activities. It was a fun interview, and I’m happy for the opportunity to bring awareness about urban agriculture to my peers.

One of my clients recently asked me how to change her Zillow “zestimate,” Zillow’s estimated market value for an individual home. Here’s my guide on how to do just that.

Even after a fruitful crop of spring veggies and now a full, lush summer plot, I’m still giving my garden a “B-minus” grade. I also have a question for mommies who garden…

Mister Snodgrass and I spent some quality time working on the garden recently, and the biggest priority was to make a few extra tomato cages. There is no way I will use the small store-bought cages; they are far too small to allow your tomatoes to reach their full potential. Here’s my quick guide on how to build the best tomato cages in Kansas City (or anywhere else).