Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

western ma

Snow day for a REALTOR in Westfield, MA

I work hard in my real estate career. Those of you who know me well can attest to that fact. I love my work, I love being a REALTOR in Westfield, I love to be busy helping people in Western Massachusetts buy and sell homes, but sometimes a day off is called for. What better reason to slow down and enjoy some R & R with your loved ones than a snow day?

Today we got a TON of snow in Western Massachusetts. I didn’t measure the snow here in Westfield, MA, but when I went outside to play in it with my daughters it was above my knees. (granted I am a short person, but still!).

I haven’t gone out in the snow to play for years. I can’t really remember the last time I did. Stepping out into that deep, fresh, powdery snow today brought memories of being 8 years old and playing in the snow from the blizzard of ’78 with my sister, Michelle.

Michelle is younger than me and I remember that she kept getting stuck in the snow. Both my girls got stuck, today, too. It was exhausting fun to trudge paths through the think snow, but I led the way with a smile on my face. Bundled up from head to toe we sled down the petite hill in our back yard, made snow angels, climbed the plow piles and just reveled in the beauty.

Here is a short video of our snow day in Westfield. I hope you enjoy and I hope you had a good day today, too!

Savoring 2010

This is the time of year when everyone talks resolutions, or even better, goals and start looking ahead to the next year.  Many people are glad to let the old year go and expect great new things from the fresh start.  Me, I want to savor the blessings that 2010 gave me.

The following video was shot “after hours” in my kitchen in my PJ’s (g-rated of course).  I wasn’t going to shoot the video, but my Twitter friends including Lisa Laoden and Chris Smith thought that it would be “keeping it real” and that people would like to experience the real me.  Well, ready or not, here it is:

I wanted to add some pictures to flesh out the events and people that I discussed in my video, I hope you enjoy them even partly as much as I enjoyed being part of them.  I am one heck of a lucky girl…blessed in almost every way.

Morriss and I - celebrating 1 yr anniversary & my 40th
Some of the honored guests at my 40th Birthday Party!
One of the hundreds of gorgeous views in Utah. This was an amazing trip!
My amazing, beautiful, gifted, sweet daughters.
Friends of mine that bought their first home this year. We had our share of challenges, but they are there and they love it! I am so glad to have been able to help.
Had a lovely weekend away with my mom and sister, this is my sister, Michelle who took my 6 yr old kayaking
Morriss and I and our kids
My friend Diane Guercio and I presented alongside Real Estate Industry giant and friend, Sherry Chris in Boston this fall.
Meeting my #twitterqueens sister Debbie Kirkland for the first time!
I am blessed to have these amazing women by my side for just about my whole life.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading.  I just feel the need to focus on the gifts that I have already been given before I go marauding into the next year.  I hope that you remember to do the same.  Happy 2010, what there is left of it!

Building Houses in Western MA: for Fairies!

I happen to have extensive new construction experience in Western Massachusetts, including managing the marketing of new construction subdivisions in Westfield and working as General Contractor and assistant to the carpenter on one of my own homes. I was glad of this experience when my daughters and I decided to build fairy houses this past weekend.

Inspired by a new Tinkerbell movie in which a little girl creates a fairy home and manages to capture Tink, my girls and I embarked on a creative adventure to build our own fairy houses.

Using cardboard boxes we fashioned the house and roofing, cutting open a door. We then went foraging in the woods for items that a fairy might enjoy, such as pine cones, birch bark, twigs, leaves, grasses and acorn tops. Using these items we created tables, chairs, beds, curtains and even a hat stand!

Once created the houses were placed in the garden and entry welcome stones were added along with bridges over tiny moats. All told my girls spent hours on the project and were very intent upon making their homes just right for the fairies that might stumble upon them.

The day after placing the houses in the garden the girls went outside right after breakfast to see if fairies had visited. An animal or even the wind had managed to knock a few things about and my girls took it as a sign of the houses being occupied. I decided to play along with their joy over the visit and last night added “pixie dust” (glitter) to the houses to infer that a fairy had shaken the dust off their wings when they entered.

The girls are now totally convinced in the existence of fairies (hey, they COULD be real) and I did a bit of asking about to see what people thought fairies would like in their homes or leave behind.

A close friend researched it for me and came up with the fact that fairies do not like iron. They love chocolate and sparkly things.

I think I will encourage the girls to leave an M & M in the houses to invite the fairies to visit further. I am still looking for suggestions as to what a visiting fairy might leave behind besides glitter….any ideas?

Now I am sure there will be a few of you that will think I am awful for fibbing to my daughters, but we are having so much fun and I want them to stay young for as long as possible. I feel magic all around me and am the first one to shout out “I do believe in fairies” when I watch Peter Pan. This project was a wonderful bonding event and a great chance for us all to be creative and share a wonderful story.

Edited to add:
Based on the recommendations of friends on Facebook and Lorri-Anne in the comments below I am fashioning a Christmas gift of books on Fairy Houses, field journals and garden statues for the girls.