Whew, it's been a while. I had to dust off the spotlights!Let me take you to The Wine Company and introduce you to Jim Lilly. Jim opened the first Wine Company store in 2004 in Temecula's Tower Plaza. This November, he moved into a brand new location in Margarita Crossings, a new center that also has an Olive Garden and several boutique stores. Jim's interest in wine began in the 80's while he was in the restaurant business at Velvet Turtle. His passion drove him to become a self taught wine aficionado.Jim opened The Wine Company because of his desire to bring top shelf wines to residents of the Temecula Valley without them having to drive an hour or more. He believes wine shouldn't be pretentious and his aim is to take the "stuffiness" out of wine.Stop by and say hi to Jim, Pauline or ... 12/07/2007

As Drenching rains continued into yesterday afternoon. Temecula city officials decided to pull the plug on the 15th Annual SANTA’S ELECTRIC LIGHT PARADE. The announcement was made immediately to re-schedule the event for December 14th. Yesterday's postponement was the first in the parade's 15 year history. The rain was most welcome, though, as our area is in a drought. We need much, much more.The event regularly draws about 20,000 spectators. You can See the parade lineup and parade route by following the links. Breakfast with Santa is scheduled for next Saturday, December 8th at the Community Recreation Center, 30875 Rancho Vista Road. Cost is $5 and make sure you bring your camera. You can register here:8:00am - Register online. 9.00am- Register online.  10:00am- Register online. 11:... 12/01/2007

If you're a junk food junkie, you might want to take a pass on this post.Today, we're talking about slow food. Yep, there is an actual slow food movement. With more than  80,000 members, Slow Food USA strives to educate the public about the choices they make in  the foods they eat. They believe in using fresh, local, organic foods and in taking the time to prepare them so they are tasty and wholesome. They also believe in celebrating food and taking the time to savor it and share time with others while dining.Slow Food USA has over 170 local chapters across the US, each called a convivium collectively convivia. Today's Press-Enterprise featured an article about slow food. The Castle has embraced the movement, and Slow Food Temecula Valley will hold a free membership party Tuesday Novemb... 11/19/2007

I am a California native where my father's family is from, but when I was almost three, on a very snowy Christmas Eve my family took the trip across the country to move to Kansas City, Mo where my mother was born and her family lived.  I grew up in a very nurturing, conservative, traditional, Christian family.  I was always very active in theater, music and acting and had great opportunities to work with the likes of David Cassidy and Ed Asner amongst many other talented individuals.  I had many great opportunities including attending college at Avila College and Southwest Missouri State both in Missouri.  I excelled in college but didn't finish my degree. I was married at the very young age of 22 and moved to Indianapolis in February of 1993 with my new husband as he had a new job ther... 11/16/2007

It is really interesting trying to survive as an agent in today's market.  There are so many things that agents can do in this market to survive, but staying motivated is the toughest part.  In order to keep up with this market, I've been doing a number of things to grow my business including the following: Attend powerful seminars that are educational about the current market including information about pre-foreclosure situations, short sales, and bank owned homes.  Many people don't know their options and consequences of these situations and its important to be able to educate consumers.  I've doubled my Center of Influence list from 250 to 500 over the past year through my prospecting.  By year end 2008 I want to double that number again to 1000.  Previewing homes every week in order... 11/13/2007

This is an invitation to a Boutique of local homebased business women being held at my office tomorrow and Saturday. 5-8 Friday and 10-3 Saturday. We will have food and prizes and a chance to meet some interesting woman and do some early shopping.  HomeSmart at 41607 Margarita Road Ste 102, Temecula, CA Some balloons and Open House signs will be out. If you get lost call me at 951 704-3464 If you are in the Temecula area, drop by and say hello. 11/01/2007

In the last year over 100 mortgage lenders have gone out of business due to the "mortgage meltdown" as most of you might now it is getting much more difficult to qualify for mortgages in Temecula. The reason it is difficult to qualify for your Temecula mortgage is because guidelines have changed drastically. Even reverse mortgages in Temecula are getting harder to qualify for, leaving many looking for a honest mortgage company in Temecula.Since many mortgage brokers in Temecula are going out of business, and others are not able to get you qualified, you need to call a reputable company to help you with your home mortgage in Temecula. We here at America One Mortgage Group are a national company headquartered out of San Diego California. We have offices in many states and fund millions of... 10/21/2007

We're travelling back to Old Town Temecula this week to meet Vince & Tiziana at  Campini's Italian Deli. Vince is in the front to greet you and Tiziana is in the kitchen preparing fabulous Italian fare.       If you're craving a taste of Italy, you've come to the right place. Olives, pasta, panini, salami, canoli... they've got it all and it's all delicious.\Come by and grab a sandwich for lunch, take home some specialty items for dinner, or have them cater your next soiree. You'll love Vince and Tiziana, and you'll be coming back to Campini's.  10/05/2007

My wife, Debbie Voltura, is a jazz singer. She's putting on a concert Thursday Novemer 1 at the Temecula Old Town Theater. I went to the theater yesterday to pick up some tickets and there was little doubt that fall was in the air. I wanted to share a few photos with you and show you one of the many places near home that I'm crazy about. Enjoy!               P.S. I took Jeff Turner's advice and got a Kodak Easy Share V705. Thanks, Jeff. What a great camera! 09/29/2007

Every once in a while you just get lucky. That's what happened to Debbie and me when we chanced upon Anthony's a little over a year ago. We stopped in for lunch with our friends Dan and Melanie. The food was superb, the prices were very reasonable and we have been back more times than I can count.Tony Nanci is the owner and host. His brother Adolfo is behind the bar most nights. Tony's wife Joan is usually around early in the evening.Not only are we made to feel at home when we come in, we've met and become friends with several of the regulars.The food is consistently excellent. I been to several restaurants that are hit and miss. If you don't see what you're in the mood for on the menu, ask and they'll probably be able to make it for you. I can honestly say I've never had any food ther... 09/27/2007

OK I can't be selfish any longer.  I am ready to finally share. My husband Mark and I call this "Our best kept secret"  because it is a wonderful night out without the crowds. It is.....here goes....Miramonte Winery  on Friday and Saturday nights.  Not only do they have great wine and friendly service but the entertainment is wonderful and FREE!  Yup, you read right...FREE.  Great Live music.  The best part is that the venue is small and very cozy.  I couldn't have "staged" it any better.  OK, maybe I have a few ideas!  :)There is a different band every week.  Some are regular's and come back once or twice a month."Flamenco Fridays" is great.  Lot's of energy and dancing to get your weekend started.  Oh and did I mention they also offer Sangria and Empanadas. Yummy!"Blues Jam" nights on... 09/21/2007

I think the good guys deserve recognition. Too often you hear stories about poor service or bad business. I'd like to turn the tables. There are a bunch of teriffic business owners out there. When someone shines so brightly that they need to be acknowledged, I would like to point them out.   This time the business spotlight shines on Japanese Auto Specialty. After being treated like a member of the herd one too many times at the local "dealership", I decided to look for another place to take my car to get serviced. I got lucky on the first try. Japanese Auto Specialty is located on Via Montezuma in Temecula. Vicky and Bob are not only delightful, but they're conscientious and extremely professional. My car is ready when promised if not sooner. If there's a problem, they take care of it.... 09/21/2007

Recently I met with a Realtor that called me for a bid on a Temecula, CA vacant property.  She understood the benefits of staging but had never used staging before.  This property had previously been on the market for many months. The Realtor had  gotten the listing one week ago and was trying to figure out why the property hadn't gotten an offer.  Upon entering the vacant property I viewed this..... A sad blue vacant Living Room with a lonely chair and dated window treatments.               Then I saw this... A sad blue vacant Dining Room with more dated window treatments. The Realtor then asked me if she thought the home seller needed to change the carpet. I didn't hold back and told her without a doubt YES!  The carpet was dating the house and potential buyers would have to start the... 09/13/2007

The Temecula Valley International Film Festival  gets underway this Wednesday, September 12. A vintage car parade and red carpet celebration will kick-off the 13th annual festival at 5 pm. More than 160 films will be screened and fourteen bands are scheduled to play.  The festival will wrap Sunday evening at 5 with a black-tie gala and awards ceremony at Pechanga Resort & Casino.  Smokey Robinson and Michael Madsen are two of the honorees.  Visit the website (http://www.tviff.com/) or call (951) 699-5514 for more information. 09/10/2007

Homes in the Wine Country. Temecula is known by the locals as a beautiful place of winding unpaved roads that enjoy the pattern of vineyards. That is on the East side of the I-15. But what about the west side the Hill side of Temecula. I invite you to drive the Rancho Calif Exit off the 15 and go up the mountains. You will at first enjoy the vista looking over the city. As you travel you will find a road sign that states De Luz Rancho. The Ranch of Light is right. You can bath daily in sunlight. In the summer beware that temperatures will touch triple digits. As I write this on Labor Day Weekend it is about 107 degrees.  Yet when winter comes there could be a freeze and it might take down your trees and flowers.  Traveling the area I noticed that there are Avocado groves some of which a... 09/03/2007

(Ok, I just posted this long winded and somewhat ranted on a post.  Since I spend so much time on it and offered a couple links to some articles, I figured I would make it available on my blog as well.)Well the Riverside County market is in a major crunch right now and Short sales are the word of the day.  I have one of these going myself and am getting lots of short sale experts calling me on it.  I have had the property since last October and my clients never admitted (or even realized if they are to be believed) that they had a pay option arm.So, while I am trying to sell their home, they are using option #1, trying for an aggressive market price, and losing equity everyday.  Now, I know these people well and care about them, but it is frustrating since they priced the house 30k high... 08/12/2007

 When Neighbors water the lawn next door... you know it's bad!I was driving to Wolf Creek today in response to an email I had gotten from someone wondering if there were any home sites of a particular model left in the tract Redwood In Wolf Creek . As I was driving over I decided to drive the streets that already existed with homes built in that particular tract to first see if any resale homes of its kind were available.I turned onto Fireside Drive (the only street completed in the tract) and drove towards the end. As I get to the end I see a partially dead lawn, but something was odd about the home. There was a manual water sprinkler unit in its driveway going back and forth. As I drove by I wondered why someone would do that when all new homes come equipped with sprinklers in the fro... 08/08/2007

Wherever you're looking to buy or sell real estate, I have the training, experience, and nationwide referral network it takes to assist you in accomplishing your real estate goals. Contact me today for all of YOUR real estate needs. Let this Marine wife be your Realtor for life! 08/07/2007

As i was watching sportscenter at 7am, I saw a commercial for John Becks tax sales where he claims you can buy homes for $100 at 2-3 cents on the dollar. Is this true or a fabrication of how things really are? I googled his name and found him on a couple fraud watch lists but I also saw testimonials saying his program works and that it really allows people to buy these homes.Anyone who's worked with this system or invested money into it... I would like to know what you guys think. Being out here in Temecula CA I cant find anyone who has used it in my office or immediate colleagues. I know the traditional way of buying bank owned homes, going to local communities such as Wolf Creek in Temecula , or Canyon Lake ... and finding the dead lawns and contacting title to see which bank owns it.... 08/06/2007

As I was driving through the streets of Riverside County Yesterday, I noticed one thing. Foreclosures, and a lot of them! All over the place. From prestigious streets in Corona and Norco Hills to the Tree lined streets of Temecula and Murrieta. They all had one thing in common. Dead Lawns, Foreclosure signs, for sale signs lined the streets, and it all remained constant throughout the entire drive.I have always felt real estate blossomed to fast. Since 1995, Real Estate in Southern California practically quadrupled, while minimum wage increased a mere couple dollars. Home prices skyrocketed while the economy stated relatively flat. In essence I'm not surprised that this sharp decline has happened. Homes that were selling for $600,000-$700,000 a mere year or two ago are now selling for $... 08/05/2007