Obsessed With These Rice Krispie Treats!

I’ve loved homemade Rice Krispie treats for years but lately I feel like they’re missing a little something. They need to be richer! I’ve found just the recipe that makes that happen. These Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Krispie Treats from Baked Bree are to die for! They are an excellent mix of sweet and salty and lean towards that ever popular taste of salted caramel. They are a must try this season! (The one thing I have adapted is I use 2 teaspoons of vanilla instead of vanilla bean because I always have it on hand.) ENJOY!

Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Krispie Treats

  Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 2 (10-ounce) bags marshmallows
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 9 cups Rice Krispies

Instructions

1. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Find a really big bowl and measure out 9 cups of cereal. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half, and scrape the seeds with the back of a knife. Add the vanilla to the melting butter. The butter will foam and make some noise. It will bubble and crack. It will start to turn a golden brown color. Watch it carefully because it can burn very quickly. When the butter is ready, the bubbling will stop and will be brown. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the marshmallows. Stir over low heat until marshmallows are completely melted. Pour the mamarshmallow over the Rice Krispies. Coat completely with marshmallow.
4. Press into the prepared 9×13 pan. Let sit for 2 hours at room temperature before slicing.

Photo and recipe from Baked Bree Blog

Delicious Fresh Peach Pie!

Here is this years peach pie from the peaches we harvested from our tree. I didn’t make the crust from scratch this year since I didn’t have a ton of time but I used the pre-made frozen pie crust and it worked out great! Click here for the recipe and enjoy!  http://designtimesfour.com/2011/10/11/peach-pie/

Home in a Senior Community in Holladay for Sale

This main floor living condo located at The Cottonwoods. It’s a beautiful, senior community with all brick homes and tiled roofs. This unit has new windows, including three sliding doors to the tiled patio. It’s so light and bright the patio feels like an extension of the home. The home has an attached 2-car garage with epoxy floor and built-in storage. Great location in community. Close to the pool and club house with a beautiful view of the mountains. There is also a locked RV lot in the community, residents can rent space and there are spaces available now. It’s a two bedroom, two bathroom spacious rambler. It has 1732 square feet and is priced at $299,000.

Any questions regarding this listing or other real estate questions, email me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com.

Photos by Obeo

My Dream House

As a Realtor I walk through a lot of homes. Some of them are move in ready, some need updates but have good bones and some need a lot of TLC.  People ask me all the time if seeing all these houses make me want to move. The truth is when I’m with a client I’m imagining them living in the home not me and when I’m on tour with my office I’m thinking about which of my client’s would like this house.

This house that I’m drooling over is one that I stumbled upon. It’s near the area I grew up and I always wondered what it looked like inside so when I saw that it was for sale, I checked it out. Well…it’s gorgeous! I’m a modern girl at heart and these people have nailed it. (They actually have the same bedspread, pillow and guitars on the wall that my son has in his room…is this house for me or what??:) ) I love the views, concrete floors, staircase and the backyard is amazing.

It’s a gorgeous home but we aren’t moving. We are happy where we are and our kids are happy too. If you are interested in this home let me know and I can get you in to see it. It has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3,614 square feet and is listed for $885,000.

Contact me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com

Another Great Condo For Sale

Don’t miss this great condo in Murray! New paint, laminate wood flooring and carpet. New fridge, range and hood. It’s move in ready. It’s a top floor unit facing the common area. It has a big bedroom with walk-in closet and deck with extra storage closet. The condo’s amenities includes a pool, tennis courts, playground, club house, laundry room and workout room. It’s location is unbeatable, close to shopping, restaurants, schools, skiing and freeway access!

Priced at $90,000

Photos by Obeo

Views, Views, Views! This house is for Sale!

If you are looking for views of the entire Salt Lake Valley, this custom-house in Draper is for you. It’s a rambler with an office, master suite, 2 additional bedrooms, kitchen and living area on the main floor but also has two more floors below. Each floor has 10-16 foot ceilings, views and they walk out to a deck or patio. This home has 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3 family rooms, 4 fireplaces, a theatre and is on .37 acres. It has 7570 square feet and is priced at $1,050,000.

If you are interested in this house or have any real estate questions please email me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com

Photos by Obeo.

Are You Thinking About Moving in 2015?

If you are one of those people who have toyed with the idea of moving this year it’s time to start really thinking about it. The market is really heating up and rates are as low as ever!

The graph below shows the sales from 2014. The numbers listed below tell you when the house closed which means it generally went under contract 30-60 days earlier. Get your house ready by the middle of March-June to hit the biggest months of sales. With the low interest rates it’s a great time to buy and sell.

Contact me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com with questions about selling or buying a house.

  

The Rising Empress

My girls had the opportunity to be involved with a focus group for The Rising Empress. I was so impressed with the products. If you haven’t heard of it it’s a book of fairy tales, with trading cards for young girls. It’s beautifully illustrated, and is a tremendous way for girls to interact as they collect the different Empresses and their powers. The stories also instill important values, and encourage young girls to believe in themselves, love themselves, find their talents, and be kind to others. As they collect the cards they can go onto the Rising Empress website and research the empresses and find ways to turn the evil ones good again. This is something you won’t want to miss. It’s a great gift this holiday season!

Here is a short video about it. Rising Empress Video     

Two Great Children’s Books

I stumbled across these two books at the library this week and I wanted to share them with you just in case you didn’t know about them either.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Very funny story about a boy named Duncan. “Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit! Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon. Black wants to be used for more than just outlining. Blue needs a break from coloring all those bodies of water. And Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking—each believes he is the true color of the sun.” Great gift for any child since most of them have a box of crayons. I think they find it funny imagining their own box of crayons may have feelings.

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Peter Reynolds also wrote the Little Pea and the Little Hoot which are family favorites. Ish is about a boy named Ramon who is a “creative spirit that learns that thinking “ish-ly” is far more wonderful than getting it right.” Ish really touched me because it’s about a boy who likes to draw and how comments from his brother make him second guess his skills. I think we can all relate to second guessing our skills. As an artist I have felt this way before. I do remember an art teacher I had years ago that told me it’s about making my work of art look like a painting or a drawing rather than like a photograph which is a little like the Ish-way of thinking. Perfect gift for a child that likes art.

Exquisite House for Sale In Olympus Cove

Exquisite house for sale in Olympus Cove! This house was completely remodeled in 2011. The owners took great pride in their house while they remodeled making sure everything was done right. They put in a state of the art kitchen with gorgeous stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and a fantastic picture window above the sink. All of the cabinetry in the house was custom-made by Millcreek Cabinets. The home has solid wood floors in the upstairs and the stairs, and railings are also custom-built for this house. New windows, roof and hardy plank was put on exterior of home. There are 2 wood burning fireplaces in the home that are plumed for gas. The owners put in a Kinetico soft water system that will be staying with the home and a brand new wireless climate control system. Don’t miss the big, gorgeous, private backyard with mature trees that is great for entertaining! This house is close to shopping, schools, mountains and great access to downtown with the freeway nearby. This house is move in ready! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2 great family rooms and an incredible backyard for $429,900.

Photos by Obeo

If you would like more information on this property or have any questions regarding real estate, contact me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com.