Category Archives: Clients, Customers, Friends & Family

Nonny’s Creations Offer Gifts, Florals and Event Planning

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 1 Comment
www.NonnysCreations.com

Nonny's of Fountain Hills

The Northeast Valley has a bright new source for fresh florals, silk arrangements, gifts and wedding or event planning!  Nonny’s Event Planning and Design has now opened on the Avenue of the Fountains in Fountain Hills, with a beautiful show room, talented designers, charming gifts and a fun schedule of workshops.

Nonny's Events and Designs

Jerrod Alcaida and Chad Harr, Founders of Nonny's Events and Designs

Founded by local residents Jerrod Alcaida and Chad Harr, Nonny’s is offering an alternative and unique vision for your home, garden and everyday celebrations of life, inspiring harmony between interior & exterior spaces and enhancing those special everyday moments.  A passion for beauty and a desire to help customers create their vision has inspired Jerrod and Chad.

“We’re excited to offer our customers a more personalized approach to gifting, home accessories and life’s celebrations,” says Jerrod Alcaida, lead designer and the vision behind Nonny’s.  “Fountain Hills is a community characterized
by close friendships.  We’ve created Nonny’s to facilitate those relationships, giving our clients a way to express their friendship, gratitude, love, support and sorrow.”

"Fuzzy Soaps" at Nonny's

Nonny’s carries an impressive and unique variety of gifts like the “Herban Lifestyle,” a line of natural and organic bath and body products handmade by Mary Kearns, whose passion for sustainability, healing herbs and aromatherapy are shown in each ofthe products she lovingly creates.

There’s a great selection of hand poured candles from a local Fountain Hills artist, and a beautiful specialty candle with a lovely scent that was created exclusively for Nonny’s.  Their outdoor Fire Gel Pots were my favorite, in many sizes and colors that offer a great addition to anyone’s backyard or outdoor table.

www.NonnysCreations.com

Silverleaf Wedding Dinner

But the hallmark of Nonny’s services is truly in Jerrod Alcaida’s inspiring work as an event coordinator.  If you have a wedding, shower, staff party or special celebration coming up, let him create a very personalized, vibrant look that your guests will talk about for years.  Nonny’s offers full service florals for these
events, if needed.  They feature two of the area’s top floral designers, the mother daughter team of Diane &Katherine Gonzalez, each award winning designers.  Floral delivery within Fountain Hills is free.
Stop by Nonny’s and take a “shopping mini-vacation.”  You’ll have fun poking through their eclectic selection in the well-lit showroom, with lots of beautiful treasures displayed artfully for you to enjoy.  I’m betting that something will call to you or remind you of a friendship you haven’t celebrated in awhile.  And, this week, from August 10-17, they’re offering a fun “Recycle Your Old Vases Week.”
Bring in your old glass flower arrangement vases to trade in for a coupon worth 20% off your next fresh flower arrangement from Nonny’s!

Nonny’s phone number is 480-837-4558 and their website is www.NonnysCreations.com. They are openMonday-Friday 10-6 and Saturday 10-5.   Their address is 16858 Ave of the Fountains, Fountain Hills.

 

Dori Wittrig

Posted by Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker, Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate.  For more information about  the neighborhoods, homes, condos or land of Scottsdale or Fountain Hills, contact her at DoriW@SonoranLifestyle.com or by phone at 602-558-5901

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Fountain Hills Bank-Owned Homes Offer Investors the American Dream

Posted on July 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Gerry and Emma Morgan, at work in their newest rental property acquisition

Astute investors are taking advantage of current real estate environment to purchase quality bank-owned homes in communities like Fountain Hills, Arizona.  Indeed, you would have to go back several decades to find a more conducive environment for purchasing investment properties that offer the combination of low purchase price plus an active rental market with feasible rental income returns.  Fountain Hills residents Emma and Gerry Morgan are two of those savvy investors taking advantage of the current inventory of bank-owned properties to build their future.

Emma “Aiqi” Morgan was always a go-getter, all the way back to her early years as a young woman in China.  Now, she and Gerry are pursuing their American Dream by methodically acquiring bank-owned investment properties.
They are the prototypical investor…identifying great house deals in quality communities, investing their own labor to improve their acquisition.  They carefully analyze the potential for income and appreciation.  They plan for
long-term…this is part of their retirement program, and a legacy for their
daughter, Elaine.They are a great team.  Emma is the motivation behind their home search, while Gerry provides the expertise needed to analyze the structural integrity of the home and to improve it, with experience gained from many years of investment property ownership and his years with the FAA servicing their flight location and radio systems.  Together, they invest the elbow grease and painting talent as
needed.

Buying rental investment homes in Fountain Hills is an easy decision for Emma and Gerry.  They live in and love Fountain Hills, a small community on the far northeastern reaches of Maricopa County, on the eastern slope of the McDowell Mountains with beautiful views of the nearby Superstition, Goldfield and Mazatzal Mountains.  They, like others, enjoy the hometown feeling of the community which offers world-class amenities. Fountain Hills has broad appeal for families wanting a quality place to raise children.  It’s also popular with second home, winter-visitors who want to enjoy the five incredible golf courses, outdoor recreation and small-town events that are the fabric of the social structure.  It is this quality of life that also provides a great source of tenants for homes Gerry and Emma purchase.

Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate in Fountain Hills was a good fit for Gerry and  Emma.  Agent Bruce Laessig regularly lists quality bank-owned properties for lender-clients, and Designated Broker Dori Wittrig offers the expertise needed to discover both the challenges and opportunities of purchasing bank-owned homes.  Dori also provides a comprehensive Quarterly Market Report that helps her clients to analyze the marketplace and make educated, informed decisions.  Later, Property Manager Dawn Woods then offers professional management
services to identify quality tenants that will be a good fit for owners like the Morgans.  It is a formula that works well.  For more information about the opportunities or to get a copy of the company’s Fountain Hills Quarterly Market Report, contact Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker of Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate at 602-558-5901.  Or, check out www.TheSonoranLifestyle.com.

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A “Star Spangled Welcome” to Fountain Hills Newest Residents!

Posted on July 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

John and T Kay Bertoldi with Dori Wittrig

Welcome to John and T Kay Bertoldi who officially made Fountain Hills their home on a very warm Fourth of July holiday week-end.  John and T Kay,  who are both employed with underwater engineering firm PREVCO, are relocating from Santa Fe, New Mexico.  They chose a lovely territorial style, bank-owned property on Lunar Lane, in FireRock Estates, only a few blocks from their office in the Fountain Hills Technology Park, an “ideal commute time” according to the couple.

The home was both listed and sold by Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate…Bruce Laessig represented the bank seller, while Dori Wittrig assisted the Bertoldi’s with their purchase.

The Bertoldi's New HomeThe Bertoldis story is interesting, and a true testament to the appeal of Fountain Hills.  Relocating along with their employer, both couples were looking for a warmer climate and a charming, high desert community.  Fountain Hills fit the bill.  They enjoy the hometown atmosphere, community based activities and proximity not only to the dining and cultural offerings of the Valley of the Sun, but also the recreation of central and northeastern Arizona.    Join us in welcoming them!

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Posted in Clients, Customers, Friends & Family, Uncategorized

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The Health Benefits of Prickly Pear Cactus

Posted on May 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Prickly Pear Cactus

Yes, I said benefits.  Prickly Pear Cactus is more than A) a strangely beautiful plant that grows only in our corner of the world, mostly in the  Sonoran Desert, or;  B)  A nasty cactus that you warn others away from, but let’s face it…we each have to learn our own lessons!

The “Nopales” of the Prickly Pear Cactus

But there really are benefits.  The pad of the Prickly Pear Cactus, or “Nopale” provides a tasty vegetable substitute that I liken to a mild green pepper.  A few years ago on a hike in the Baja of Mexico, I also learned that the Nopales are beneficial to those with diabetes and that they have proven to help manage the need for insulin.  For more on this, check out this article I found online:  http://www.ehow.com/about_5110575_benefits-nopal-cactus.html\

Fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly Pear Jelly is also a tasty byproduct of the plant.  For years, Fountain Hills was blessed with a small gift shoppe and specialty food store known as The Desert Kettle, operated by our friends Reldon and Marilyn Schirch.  Each year, Marilyn and her daughters would collect the red pear from the plant–you’d see them all over town, armed with heavy gloves and long tongs.  The jelly was tasty and came in many forms…some spicy if she wanted to give you a real taste of the southwest!  Below is an easy recipe and suggestions:

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS FRUIT JELLY  /  Ingredients:  Prickly Pear Cactus Juice, sugar, SureJel

Pick cactus fruit when fully ripe, use bacon tongs for this. Burn off the spines over a flame. Use tongs for this too. Cut fruits in half, put in pan with small amount of water and boil gently until fruits are soft.  Put in a jelly bag and drain off the juice.  Follow directions for grape jelly but use one cup less of the cactus juice than the recipe calls for.  This recipe needs a little experimenting to get just right.

Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker of Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate

Posted by Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker, Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate.  For more information about the glorious area of Fountain Hills, Scottsdale Mountain and the McDowell Mountains, give her a call at 602-558-5901

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Posted in Clients, Customers, Friends & Family, Dining, Libations & All Things Foodie, Mountain Trails, Scenery & Life

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Fountain Hills Schools…Excelling Kids to a Strong Future

Posted on May 22, 2011 | Leave a comment
For the second year, Fountain Hills High School students set a Guiness World Record in Potato Launching. Here, Freshman Garrett Sweetland prepared for his record launch of 17 from his homemade launcher.

For the second year, Fountain Hills High School students set a Guiness World Record in Potato Launching. Here, Freshman Garrett Sweetland prepared for his new world-record launch of 17 from his homemade launcher.

Potato Launching World Records.  The Invention Convention.  A “Model City” Civics Experiment for 5th Graders that would make any college professor proud.  It’s the end of the school year, and kids in the Fountain Hills School District are eager to display this year’s academic achievements before they move on.  Whether it’s high school graduation or  a gradeschool Science Fair, the Fountain Hills School District gave us PLENTY of reasons to be impressed (okay, awed might be more the term in a couple instances) and to believe that our future just might be in good hands with these kids.

If there was a TV show called “Extreme Creativity,” the Fountain Hills teachers and school administration could fill an entire season.  In our family, we were privileged to be involved in several great examples of how educators are combining clever, real life scenarios to challenge these future leaders beyond science, math and social studies.

Nick Laessig and Grace Loisi, 8th Inventors of the "Remote Guard"

Nick, an 8th Grader, spent the past six weeks struggling to invent a marketable item.  As the project unfurled, he was tasked to overcome the challenges of design, production, supply chain and marketing.  At the 8th Grade “Invention Convention”  the last week of school, everyone in the class then had to sell their product to visitors (buyers) who each magically arrived with $1,000 (fake) dollars to spend.  I will tell you it was not easy deciding which of the 100+ inventions to choose from…they were all well-thought, cleverly marketed and aggressively “hawked” by kids who were experiencing for the first time the realities of hope, optimisim, preparation, success and customer rejection in a heavy dose of adult-like reality.  But, most important–it was fun and they learned volumes.

5th Graders Preparing for C4 Day

Fifth Grader Katie had the chance to participate in a model city experiment called C4 (Community, Citizenship and Careers in the Classrooms).  This project is not unlike the Junior Achievement “BizTown” that Fountain Hills 5th Graders have often participated in the past.  However, due to budget cutbacks and the huge cost of bussing students to BizTown in Phoenix, the Fountain Hills district came up with it’s own version. (This allowed the students to participate in the preparation during the preceding weeks.  In comparison to Nick’s experience several years ago, I noticed Katie was more geared up and excited about the learning opportunity…so the district saved money and made the event even more meaningful!!)  Students were writing checks. Others were researching currency. Still more were taking inventory in a makeshift warehouse while a guard asked any visitor to “Please sign in.” Students managed transactions, determining what jobs needed to be created, and then hiring individuals to do the work.

I suspect that hosting C4 Day was loads of extra work for already taxed teachers, but my hat goes off to them for creating such a vital and meaningful experience for our kids.  It’s just one of many examples I witnessed recently that help to understand why the Fountain Hills School District is consistently an “Excelling” School District.

And the proof is in the pudding……Fountain Hills High School Senior Awards Night occurred on May 11th.  A whopping $2.5 million in earned college scholarships for 170+ graduates was awarded, including 33 local scholarships for almost $50,000…our students have once again proven how hardworking and deserving they are.  Congratulations to the class of 2011 and their parents!

Select photos and text courtesy of The Fountain Hills Times.

Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker of Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate

Posted by Dori Wittrig, Designated Broker, Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate.  For more information about buying or selling homes in Fountain Hills, Scottsdale Mountain and the area around the McDowell Mountains, give her a call at 602-558-5901

 

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Welcome Home to One of Our Heroes

Posted on May 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

Major David David, Grandson of Fountain Hills’ Carmen Bovee, received a warm welcome home from his “clan”…wife Eryn (far right), daughters Gracie, Emma, Eden, Mattie and Amelia; new son, Calvin,  and Mom Janice Bovee (center).  (Note the shirts…Kid 1, Kid 2, etc…just to keep track!)

Janice, a nurse mid-wife in Chandler, is understandably very proud of her son and the years of service Major David has provided as an intelligence officer throughout the world.  His latest deployment was to Afghanistan. Grandma Carmen Bovee is a retired Fountain Hills Realtor and school teacher who recently enjoyed her 80th Birthday celebration.   For those of us lucky enough to be in attendance, it was amazing to see how beautiful, youthful and graceful the Grand Lady is…she is an inspiration to us all and we look forward to many more special celebrations through the years. Major David is following in the footsteps of others in his family, including his grandfather, Gaylord Bovee, whom we all miss.  In his early years, Gaylord served in the Army before a distinguished career with the Phoenix Fire Department. Major David, we all thank you for your service to our country!  We are reminded, as Memorial Day arrives, of the many who have given their service–and lives–for our country.   Don’t forget to honor our service men and women this Memorial Day…we invite you to attend the Fountain Hills Memorial Day Celebration at the Fountain Hills Veteran’s Memorial, at 9:00 am.

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