Welcome to our Lifestyle & Real Estate blog.
One of the greatest blessings of our family business is the meaningful role we get to play in people’s lives. We meet extraordinary people every day and help them create the lifestyle they dream of. Over the years, many of our clients have been families who recently arrived in the United States or are first-generation Americans.
Read MoreAs we head into a new year, we return to a simple but powerful family tradition that has brought clarity, focus, and real transformation into our lives: choosing our Word of the Year. Rooted in the Universal Law of Attraction—“what we think about comes about”—this serves as a reminder that what we put into the world has a way of coming back to us!
Read MoreAs Team Skally, our North Star is simple — to make lifestyle dreams come true. Recently, we decided to make one of our own dreams a reality by checking off a long-standing bucket list item: a trip to Greece.
A few years ago, we co-signed credit cards for our boys. The idea was simple: help them build credit and teach them a little about money. In some ways, mission accomplished.
We feel so lucky for our friends who introduced us to their daughter, whose family was looking to buy a home in Newcastle. They wanted someone local who could guide them through this ever-changing market, and we were thrilled to step in and help.
Read MoreWith our youngest son approaching his senior year of high school, we’ve been enjoying the journey of touring college campuses to find the best fit for his ambitions.
Read MoreAs real estate professionals, we’re on the go — often 24/7. And while we LOVE what we do, even we need a break from the around the clock emails, texts, and open houses every weekend. So when we finally carved out a few days for a quick getaway, Matt knew exactly where to take us: Off the Grid to The Olympic Peninsula.
Read MoreLast month, in Part 1, we shared some of the parenting lessons we’ve learned along the way—things we could have done better, or as we like to call them, “learning opportunities”.
Part 2: This month, we’re sharing our Top 10 Parenting Practices—the approaches and habits that worked well for our family and helped shape who our boys are today.
Here are a few things we think we did pretty well—and love sharing with friends and neighbors who are about to experience the joys and challenges of parenthood…
Read MoreIn the spirit of Mother’s and Father’s Days, we have created a two-part series about our parenting lessons. Quite a few of our friends are experiencing parenthood for the first time and they often ask us for parenting advice. While perfect parenting is impossible, we have seen how some of our parenting practices have worked well while we could have done some things much better. As with most things in life, experience teaches us incredible lessons so here are some of the parenting lessons we often share with our friends…
Read MoreOn a recent trip back to Minnesota, Matt was helping out his Mom in the garage when he noticed something that sparked wonderful vibes.
It was his 1984 camp t-shirt from the Salvation Army pinned to the wall. It brought back memories of playing basketball and games, chowing down McDonald's lunches, and being influenced by some incredibly positive, encouraging, and supportive camp counselors.
Read MoreAs we’ve witnessed Microsoft’s incredible performance with Satya Nadella’s leadership, we began thinking about what has contributed to this great success. There are certainly too many ingredients to mention here, and yet there is one that strikes us as key. It comes from one of the things Satya said when guest speaking at an event we attended years ago: “Don’t be a know-it-all…be a learn-it-all”.
Read MoreHave you ever heard that everyone has a Love Language? If your next question is what is a love language then this might be a wonderful article for you! We all give and receive love in 5 different ways: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch.
Read MoreNearly 20 years ago we decided a fun date night would be to privately write down our favorite baby names and then compare our lists to decide on the name for our 1st Son. Well, what we thought would be an epic evening of lively debating names, and ultimately landing on one together, turned out to be a non-event because the #1 name on both of our lists was the same. And it wasn’t even Dominick or Dominique…it was Dominic!
Read MoreOver the years we’ve discovered that one of the great secrets of life seems to be learning from experience. Although we have had incredible life experiences there are so many things we just haven’t done and just don’t know. What’s the best way to close the experience gap and maximize our one precious life? We’ve found it best to approach every situation with curiosity and openness. We call it “what are your favorites”.
Read MoreWe love walking our dogs around our neighborhood, especially past a particular house with the most stunning yard. The owner is always out there, updating her garden and decor with the changing seasons. It truly reflects her pride of ownership, and it always feels so inviting. Her home is a perfect example of how refreshing your landscaping can boost your home's look and the feelings it generates as people walk and drive by.
Read MoreIf you’ve been paying attention to the news you’ve probably heard about the recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) Settlement. We have received countless questions from friends, clients, and family wondering what’s really going on. As with most news, there are perceptions and there are realities.
Read MoreRecently, we wrote about our tradition of declaring annual theme words and refreshing our vision board to create the life we want to experience. Another way we’re manifesting our life intentions is by waking up every day with the goal of making someone’s day.
Read MoreIt’s that time again when we reflect on the previous year and chart our course for the year ahead. Over the years we’ve become increasingly committed to developing our vision boards and practicing the “law of attraction”.
Read MoreWe love decorating our front entrance for the changing holiday seasons. We are personally working on transitioning our home into a winter wonderland and one of the first places we start is our front door. The entrance to your home sets the mood for what’s inside.
Read MoreBecause we’re in the Real Estate business, when people hear us talk about Love Letters they assume we mean the kind a buyer client might send to a seller to express their love and intentions with the home they want to purchase. Well, for the purpose of this article, we’re expressing a very different kind of Love Letter..
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