Thinking about renovating or landscaping? Or in the process of doing so?

You won't want to miss this year's Vermont Home & Garden Show! A treasured Vermont tradition, you will find hundreds of vendors and exhibits including how-to demos and renovation, building and landscaping experts presenting on the most recent innovations in products and services.

Renovations and landscaping not only look great and increase functionality, they will also add value to your home!

A very fun and lively event, the Vermont Home & Garden show features live music, presentations and seminars across 3 interconnected buildings at the Champlain Valley Expo Center. Though this year's vendors have yet to be announced, last year's vendors included leaders in the Home and Garden industries like Aerus Electrolux, All Season Siding, Avalon Pools & Spas, Green Mountain Lighting Designs, Home Depot, Vista Curbing, Vermont Concrete Cutting and Window World along with associated vendors like Vermont Magazine, Girl Scouts and Habitat for Humanity. And of course you can't forget the show's main sponsor, Curtis Lumber.

Come join the fun!

We are all about getting the most from your home here at Geri Reilly Real Estate, so what if you could not only live in it but EAT IT, too! Gingerbread houses are usually reserved for Christmas festivities but a sweet Thanksgiving house of confection makes a great center piece that the kids can help make. Follow this simple recipe to "build the home of your dreams" - or the dreams of your sweet tooth, at least!

Gingerbread Walls

You can use pre-made gingerbread dough, or even pre-made gingerbread "walls" - to construct your home with. Check out a great recipe for making your own from scratch right here.

Royal Icing

Once that's done,  it's time to make the icing "mortar" that keeps your house together. Again, you can purchase this but it's a lot more fun to make your own!  To do this, simply blend ½ cup liquid egg whites (safer than raw eggs), 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar until the icing forms stiff peaks. If this does not occur after about 6 minutes,  add some more powdered sugar.

Feels like home! Sweet, delicious home!

Build Your Home

Now your icing is ready to go! Put a damp towel over the bowl icing if it starts to dry out while you're working with it. It is best to build your "home" over a sheet of wax paper to prevent sticking. Join the walls together by first drawing a thick line of icing on one end of the wall and then sticking the adjoining wall onto it. Seal them together with another layer of icing on the outside and inside of the two adjoined pieces. Repeat for all 4 walls and the roof.

Decorate

Once the house is constructed, it's time to decorate! Draw on windows , doors and shingles on the roof. Decorate with fall-themed colors and candies like orange and red decorative icing, candy corn, orange gum drops, leaf shaped cookies, Reese's pieces, and pumpkin shaped Mello Creams and jellies. Mini leaf shaped sprinkles look like fallen leaves on the ground. The possibilities are endless!

As fun to look at as to eat, a festive fall gingerbread house is an unexpected treat on your Thanksgiving table. Now when you're ready to build the real thing, or just want to show off your confectionary creation, get in touch with us!

The HowardCenter Child, Youth & Family Services is in need of about 100 backpacks to give to students for this school year that will otherwise go without.

I have seen first hand the power that a backpack can have on a student that doesn't have one. A few years ago, my friends 7 year old son who was in foster care had just come out of a residential treatment center and was assigned to the Baird school assessment classroom. He was incredibly sad and nervous about going to a "new" school. His whole body was so tense she thought he might snap. The only thing that made him smile that morning was the backpack that Ed Lord brought in for him. His sad face just lit up. The transformation was so incredible that his social worker and mother both cried. That is the kind of power that a backpack can have!

Donation Insturctions:

Drop off donations at my office: Geri Reilly Real Estate 205 Dorset Street Monday-Friday between 8am-5pm

Drop off donations to the HowardCenter: 208 Flynn Avenue Martie Majoros at the front desk

Mail donations to: HowardCenter 208 Flynn Avenue Ste 3J Burlington, VT 05401 Attn: Martie Majoros

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

The HowardCenter is dedicated to empowering people to get their needs met and to live full, rich lives. We believe everyone deserves support because sometimes we can't make it on our own. To learn more about the Child, Youth & Family Services provided by the HowardCenter, visit www.howardcenter.org/programs-and-services/child-youth-family-services