I have loved following this story..

Earlier this week, a story went viral.  A wonderful, heartwarming story.  A group of kids were playing basketball in the street, and someone in the neighborhood called the police to complain about the noise.  Keep in mind, this was during daylight hours.  The police officer who responded to the call treated those kids with compassion and respect.  He explained why he was there, and then played some hoops with them.  Before he left, he told the kids that he would return, with basketballs and backups.  As the story went viral, a very famous professional basketball player stepped up and wanted to be a part of the return visit.  Such a great lesson in community involvement, respect, keeping your word and yes, even basketball. "I will become whatever I want to be" - Shaq  

 

Take a few minutes to watch the Gainesville Police Department's video.  It is well worth the time.  To see the video, click HERE

 

 

Tis the season for tree lightings!

Although the outside temperatures more closely resemble Chicago in January, Thanksgiving is really less than a week away.  The arrival of Thanksgiving brings a ton of crazy shoppers, but more importantly, it traditionally marks the start of the holiday season.  Lake County is home to fabulous communities - to Villages and Cities who make a remarkable effort to provide an abundance of fabulously fun events for residents.  Many of the communities structure several hours of activities around their tree lighting ceremonies, with quite a few including parades, Santa's arrival, and performances by student bands and choirs.  And, these events help stretch your holiday budget farther - they are all FREE!

Lake County Community Lighting Festivals begin this weekend, and continue on into December. Here are some dates to mark on your calendar (for more details, visit the Lake County blog by clicking here):

November 22
Highland Park 3-5

November 28
Antioch 6-8
Fox Lake 6:30
Grayslake 5:30-8
Lake Forest 3:30-7
Libertyville 7
Round Lake Beach 6

November 29
Fox Lake Parade 11am
Lake Villa 5-7
Lake Zurich 4-6
Vernon Hills 4:30

December 5
Hawthorn Woods 6
Mundelein 6:30-8
Wauconda 6

December 6
Barrington 1-6:30
Island Lake 6
Lindenhurst 4:30-6
Round Lake 2-6
Waukegan 10-6
Winthrop Harbor 4:30

December 7
Lincolnshire 5:30-6:30

Thank you. Today and Everyday.

The best 2:32 you can spend today...

Wow.  What an amazing young woman.  To not only identify a problem and create a band-aid, but to actually come up with an amazing solution.  Heart-warming for all the right reasons. #WomenInspire  

Watch the short video here

And the top 25 cities in the world are...

 

My bucket list just got a lot longer! I am thrilled to see Chicago made the cut. Although a bit surprised that Venice did not. One of my all time favorite cities.  Who do you think is missing?  And which of these Top 25 do you recommend visiting?  Check out the Conde Nast article here

Fun (and completely useless) real estate trivia

Do you know why brass is the best metal for doorknobs?  Or what a red door in Scotland means?  Read these fun #realestate trivia facts to find out!

11 amazing real estate facts

Nothing beats the dog days of summer

I have said it a number of times - I want to come back as my dog in my next life.  My dogs are spoiled, and absolutely adored.  And they love to take walks, and ride in the car, and play ball.  They hate the water.  Two labs, and they avoid lakes, ponds, sprinklers and our pool - at all costs.  It doesn't seem to bother them though - they make up for it where they can.

What fun is your dog having this summer? http://ow.ly/zLccI

Today's heartwarming video...

I know that we aren't supposed to believe everything we hear.  Or read.  Or see on social media.  Sometimes the stories and photos are real.  Sometimes they are exaggerated.  Sometimes they are created for the sake of advertising.  Sometimes they are are mix of all three.  And sometimes we are exposed to a photo or story that touches us, and we don't care which it is.  Sometimes we just want to, and need to, believe that what we are looking at really happened. 

This video is one of those.  It happens to be an ad, however it is heartwarming and conveys a message.  And hope.  And I love watching it.

Enjoy...