Looking for something to do this three-day weekend? Well, as usual the Southern NM Wine Festival will be this Memorial weekend—Saturday 29-Monday 31. The following 18 NM wineries will be there: * Luna Rossa* Tularosa* Ponderosa* Dos Viejos* Heart of the Desert* Rio Grande* La Vina* Wines of the San Juan* Black Mesa* Santa Fe Vineyards* Tierra Encantada* St. Clair* Blue Teal* DH Lescombes* DH Lescombes VIP tasting area* Specialty Wines* Amaro Winery Your $15 admission gets you a souvenir wine glass and you can sample wines from 17 winery booths (the DH VIP tent has an extra charge for their high-end wines). When you find something you like, you can purchase a full glass of that or you may purchase bottles (or cases if you LOVE it) for consumption at home (guests may NOT open bottles on ... 05/28/2010

On thing I like about Las Cruces is that no matter if you decide to go north, east, south, or west, there is a lil weekend getaway awaiting you! This past weekend we packed up a few items and headed to Albuquerque for the Brooks and Dunn farewell tour, along with the zoo, aquarium, and botanical gardens.Although Brooks and Dunn were set to play in Las Cruces the following night, we had already purchased our tickets before they even opened the Las Cruces venue. We left Saturday morning, since it’s not a very long drive (3 hours or so), got there just in time to settle into our hotel room, threw some sunscreen on, and headed down to the Journal Pavilion, which is a fantastic outdoor concert venue with chair seating, grass seating, and lots of concession areas. We went pretty early, becau... 05/26/2010

Just wanted to post the photos from this year’s Ride of Silence that took place in Mesilla, NM. 05/24/2010

If you are looking for an early night tonight, yet still have the itch to get out and do something different, how about some dance lessons? Blue Moon Bar, in Radium Springs, will be offering just two more nights of free country dance lessons. Beginning the first Thursday of May and going through the whole month, Bruce Lenderman will be teaching the waltz, two-step, polka, and some jitterbug from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Country western band Fast Lane provides the songs to match whatever kinds of dances that the students want to learn each evening. Lenderman says that he tries to make the different dances as easy to understand as possible. When teaching the waltz, students learn the 1-2-3-4-5-6 method instead of the 1-2-3 method to better learn what food to use. Lessons are for students 21 years ... 05/20/2010

Though we haven’t officially hit summer— June 21st—the fact that we live in the desert pretty much means that summer has arrived sometime mid May! And I don’t know about you, but this summer I plan on being out in the sun a lot—showing houses, watching grandkids swim, gardening, farmers market, vacations, etc—so I know that I’ll be piling the sunscreen all over myself along with reminding my grandkids (and my adult kids) to slather it on!! Here are a few common mistakes that I ran across the other day when I was surfing the web. For more on your skin this summer, visit this site. Common Sunscreen Mistakes Applying sunscreen AFTER going outdoors.Sunscreen needs to be applied 15 to 30 minutes BEFORE going outside to give it time to be absorbed into the skin. Follow manufacturer’s instruc... 05/18/2010

  My husband and I went out with a couple of friends on Friday to wrap-up a fantastic week, so of course what better way to do this but to go out and have a couple margaritas and some delicious Mexican food. By the way, I hope you don’t get tired of me ranting and raving about Las Cruces’ red and green chile—I can’t help it, it really is that good! We decided to go to Cha Chi’s, located at 2460 South Locust Street, where we had only been a couple times before. I couldn’t even remember for sure if they had margaritas, but we all decided to take a chance on it, since we remembered really enjoying their food. We got there early and were sat by a really nice server, Lori, who immediately brought us a basket of chips with some red and green salsa to munch on while we scanned the menu. And th... 05/17/2010

  Kept under tight raps for months Steinborn GMAC Real Estate finally announced that affiliation with GMAC has come to an end, and they are now an independent office under the new name Steinborn & Associates Real Estate. The big announcement was made Tuesday at the Rio Grande Theater. The company hasn’t wasted any time changing the name and looks of their webpage, as the new look is already reflected there, and plans to start changing its For Sale signs across the city. This final decision has been in the works for months, as Steinborn owner/broker John Hummer explained how GMAC Bank changed its name to Ally Bank and begin drastically reducing its lending operations back in 2008, thus prompting him to begin considering alternative lending sources, eventually settling on notbeing affilia... 05/14/2010

The Fifth Annual Ride of Silence will be happening next Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 6:15 PM in the Mesilla Plaza to promote the sharing of the public roadways and honor lost of injured cyclists. There will also be a one-mile walk in addition to the silent 8-10 mile bike ride. Helmets required to ride. The ride will be remembering: * Roman Aranda III * Anthony Lemieux * Dr. J. Mack Adams * Dr. Russ Jedlicka   Ride of Silence Poem: The Ride of Silence… Tonight we number many but ride as one In honor of those not with us, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons With helmets on tight and heads down low, We ride in silence, cautious and slow The wheels start spinning in the lead pack But tonight we ride and no one attacks The dark sunglasses cover our tears Remembering those we held so dear To... 05/13/2010

It’s no surprise that Las Cruces keeps making the list of top places to retire, with the manageable size of the city, beautiful weather, access to great hospitals, gorgeous mountain views, and of course our good chile, that people keep flocking here from the East Coast, West Coast, and even some from other neighboring (somewhat close anyways) desert towns like Tuscon. With a population of just under 92,000 permanent residents, plus another 18,000New Mexico State University students during the regular school year, the population of Las Cruces and surrounding Dona Ana areas still stays in a controllable 200,000 people. Not so many people where you feel lost, yet enough people and culture to find your niche. Sure we get our spring winds and our 100-degree days here and there, but overall ... 05/12/2010

Express, model trains, activities for kids, re-enactments and an Old West Medicine Show will be highlights of the third annual Railroad Days. The celebration runs Thursday through Saturday at the Las Cruces Railroad Museum, 351 N. Mesilla St. The festivities “celebrate Las Cruces’ railroading past, present, and future,” said Rebecca Slaughter, the museum’s assistant manager. The three-day event will include special days for seniors Thursday and for student groups Friday. “Community Day on Saturday will start with a dedication and welcome ceremony at 10 a.m. to celebrate the depot’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places and to welcome our newest acquisition, a 1909 wooden caboose,” Slaughter said. The bright red caboose, which arrived April 8, was donated by Sean and S... 05/06/2010

The 24th annual Tour de Gila, in Silver City, according to my husband, was a “phenomenal event!” I wasn’t able to attend, because of Spring Showcase of Homes, but my husband, Murray, went up to see a few of the races on Saturday, and of course to catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong. Starting on Wednesday, April 28 and going through Sunday, May 2, thousands and thousands of spectators lined the streets in spite of the high-winds and chilly weather, so they too could get a glimpse of Lance or a friend or family member that happened to be racing. You’ll see a blur somewhere towards the middle of the pack of Lance. Good luck spotting him!! I hope next year I’ll have a chance to go up and enjoy a few races, visit my favorite fudge shop on main street, and enjoy the subtle change of scenery th... 05/06/2010

I get a few people who contact me from time to time questioning whether or not they should get a house. Their questioning is usually based on the unknown, or fear that they aren’t the right kind of person to buy a home, or that perhaps the market still isn’t stable enough to buy now. Everybody is the right kind of person, it just takes some fine-tuning to really determine what’s really right for the buyer. Here are some of the most common buyer fears that I hear most frequently: Do I have enough money to buy a home?Before worrying too much about this, the best thing to do is get pre-qualified for a mortgage. This doesn’t mean that you are signing on any dotted lines that are going to lock you into something, it simply means that the bank is going to let you know what you are qualified ... 05/03/2010

My favorite wine fest is happening this weekend! Don’t get me wrong, I love all the Southern New Mexico wine fests, but there is something different about La Viña. Maybe it’s the little winding road amongst the curly grapevines, or the abundance of shade trees scattered everywhere. Oh, and don’t even get me started about La Viña’s delicious wine list… If you go, please let me know how you liked it, because I won’t actually be able to attend this weekend, because I have my Showcase of Homes, which I am equally thrilled about  Here’s a little info about this year’s fest, as well as directions at the very bottom: Over 20 wines will be available for tasting and purchase. Adult admission to the festival is $15 and includes a souvenir glass and a choice of 6 wines or a glass of wine. Tents, ... 04/24/2010

Beginning today and going through the weekend—April 23, 24, 25—and happening again next weekend—May 1 and 2, is the 37th year of the Spring Showcase of Homes. The Spring Showcase of Homes is made possible by the builder member of the Building Industry Association of Southern NM and is designed to highlight the area’s house styles, interior decorating, modern architecture, and the overall design and workmanship that is currently available in the new housing market. I’ll be there everyday, answering questions on the twoTwilight Custom Homes that I am showcasing on Bella Sierra.The following builders will be featured in this years show: Burke Construction, Capron Builders & Design Co, LLC, D.R. Horton Homes, G. Sandoval Construction, GL Green & Associates, Hakes Brothers, Jones Constructi... 04/24/2010

Between wanting to stay home to watch the rain come down on Saturday morning and needing to swap my winter clothes for my spring and summer clothes, I didn’t make it out on the town for my weekend margarita…Not a big deal though, that just means that I can go out this upcoming weekend and sample two at two different places to make up for missing this last weekend  Tequila and lime aside, I do feel very productive for having done a little more spring cleaning. Besides the slightly cooler weather that we had this weekend due to the rain, I’ve been meaning to pack away my winter sweaters, gloves, thermals, etc. and bring out the capris and short sleeve blouses. I have a few ideas on how you can swap your clothes in to ensure that they are in a decent condition when you want to unpack them... 04/19/2010

If you missed last week’s Border Book Fest, make sure that you don’t miss this week’s White Sands Film Fest, which starts tomorrow, Thursday, April 15, 2010. This year’s festival will be showing a record 53 films over four days at Cineport 10 located on the southwest end of the Mesilla Valley Mall (700 S. Telshor). Films include a couple of award-winning entries with strong local ties, like Rod McCall’s “Becoming Eduardo,” which was filmed mostly in the beautiful Hillsboro area (about an hour away from Las Cruces) by one of New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Creative Media Institute’s instructors. McCall’s film will be shown at 4 and 8:30 pm on Saturday. The latter screening will be followed by a Q&A session with McCall himself.Since a couple of my favorite movies of all time are “Da... 04/14/2010

How is the Market? Each month we report an updated Analysis of the Las Cruces Real Estate Market. We are happy to E-mail you a copy of the complete report as soon as it is available.  Subscribe now, and begin receiving your reports. This is a free service, there is no obligation, and all reports are sent by email. 1ST- Q. 2010 REPORT IS READY SUBSCRIBE NOW RECEIVE YOUR COPY BY RETURN EMAIL **************************Evelyn Bruder begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, CRS, GRI, ABR, E-PRO, Las Cruces Cyberstar The Evelyn Bruder Dream Team http://www.homesforsaleinlascruces.com For more information about what we do and how we can provide all of your real estate needs, CLICK HERE We welcome comments and questions - CLICK HERE 04/13/2010

I haven’t forgotten about the promise I made to you of revealing the best margarita in the Las Cruces area, and so my search for the perfect margarita continues… A friend of mine came into town on Friday night and had a hankering for something local, yet something “a little different than traditional southern New Mexico food.” I thought about it for a bit and decided that Delicia’s Del Mar would be the perfect place to take her. Though located in the heart of the southwest, the flavors of their food evoke a subtle traditional Mexican flavor with their use of corn, cabbage, cucumber salsa, and an array of seafood dishes like shrimp cocktails and fish tacos. The ambience of the restaurant is also quite unique, sort of reminds me of something from a movie with its Mexican décor and a mari... 04/12/2010

Sellers often ask me if there are simple things they can inspect on their home before they put their house on the market. Yes, there are a few hot-spots that all individuals can look at to get a rough idea of the true condition of the home. This is especially helpful, because it gives sellers the opportunity to make any necessary repairs before interested buyers start putting in their bids. Though whole-home inspections cover numerous systems within the house, some which a non-professional probably wouldn’t be able to notice, there are a handful of hot-spots that seem to worry sellers and buyers the most: Mold & MildewMold, mildew, and funny odors scare buyers, especially after all that toxic black mold news coverage, so there is a high chance that you won’t even get an acceptable offe... 04/11/2010

Last Sunday my family and I decided to take the dogs and the grand kids out for a little Easter Sunday outing, so we decided to go to Soledad Canyon. Soledad Canyon is a nice little spot just west of the Organ Mountains where a lot of people go to hike, mountain biking, horseback riding, or to simply soak-up some nature. We parked at the Soledad Canyon Day Use Area and started our hike. About 200 yards in we reached a fork in the road, which forced us to choose whether or not we wanted to go left or right. We decided to go left, which seemed like a good choice since we made it to the waterfall within a couple of miles. Yes, a waterfall! It was absolutely beautiful to see one in Southern New Mexico that actually had a good amount of water coming from it—just stunning! Well, we let the ki... 04/07/2010