The 2015 Color of the Year and My Nomination for 2016 Color of the Year

Unlike last year’s cheery Radiant Orchid that supposedly evoked optimism and sophistication, Pantone’s selection of the muted, slightly muddled Marsala as its choice for the 2015 Color of the Year was greeted with mixed reviews.

Marsala, according to the Pantone’s press release, is the color that will enrich “our mind, body and soul, exuding confidence and stability.” Its touted as a “subtly seductive shade” that promises to draw us in “to its embracing warmth.”

Well, not so fast, Missy.

Others have failed to see its beauty, spewing out less than favorable reviews. Most notably this from The Atlantic, “Think rust, the grimy, gag-inducing type that lines corners or frat boy dormitory-style bathrooms. Or blood, the freaky dried kind whose iron content has been exposed to the air long enough to evoke a dull brick.”

Jeepers creepers, when you put it that way, I’m not sure I want that around my house. But I actually like the burgundy tone of Pantone’s 2015 Color of the Year.

More importantly, I like the name of it. Marsala. It reminds me of chicken Marsala, and, hey, what’s not to like about that tasty little dish? But I digress…

Still, it’s no secret that naming colors would be my dream job. I envision myself sitting in a fancy, schmancy corner office after traipsing around the world visiting exotic places (for inspiration) and coming up with extraordinarily creative names for colors for ordinary paint chips. And, all this, of course, while earning a bazillion dollars.

So Pantone guys and gals… I’ve already got your 2016 Color of the Year.

I call it “Taffy Tabby” reminiscent of Howard of the Shelter Cat. Here’s part of my bazillion dollar marketing campaign press release: “Taffy Tabby spins a luxurious mix of vibrant orange hues and esoteric vanilla enhanced creams evoking a fine zen-like balance between playful and serious.”

It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it… why not me?

And Pantone, no need to thank me. Just pop my check in the mail.

Homes for sale in Red Oak & Selling Memories

I’ve never been much of a sentimental kind of gal. No siree, Missy. I trudge ahead, barreling forward rocketing into that great oblivion we call the future.  

I am not a looking-back-kind of gal.

So it’s a bit odd that I’ve been waxing a bit poetic and been a tad sentimental the past few days.

I recently sold a home owned by a former student of mine. At closing, she got a bit teary-eyed, and then that got the escrow officer teary-eyed. But, I (who remained dry-eyed) scurried off to locate a box of Kleenex. Finding none, I returned with a napkin I rustled up from the break room.

The sale was an emotional one for my client because it had been her first home. While she dearly loved that house, she needed to move on.

As I was driving back to the office, I made a mental note to start bringing Kleenex to closings because this (ad)venture in real estate has always been more than just selling houses. 

We sell memories, bringing the promise of new ones and new dreams.

And, at least for me, it’s a moment, a glimpse, a condensed vignette of a life moving forward with faith in the future.

I thought about my client again as I drove on down the road and realized I will always see her as that young teenager sitting on a blanket listening to Tom Petty belting out “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”

But isn’t that what we do throughout our lives? We're all just running down a dream… goin’ wherever it leads…

The Home Diva Unplugged

I wanted to post something interesting… and uplifting… and perhaps valuable. 

Instead, I've been feeling slightly snarky, and that snarkiness is flowing unabated like floodwaters after a torrential rain.

Heaven help us… We've got the Home Diva here Unplugged.

And that my friends is probably not a very good thing.

No siree, Missy. It's got me singing along with Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, "Got a real good feeling something bad about to happen…"

Since I launched my ad(venture) in real estate, I marvel at the number of people who aren't very fond of real estate agents and who begrudge agents a commission. 

I'm not exactly sure where these people think I live, but apparently they think it's somewhere in never-never land where I can work for free, pay my bills with monopoly money and eat pretend food. Jeepers creepers, if that were the case, I would look a lot more like Barbie than a Cabbage Patch doll. I'm just sayin'.

I wish I could blame the public's perception on Bravo's Million Dollar Listing reality shows where agents come across as self-absorbed prima donnas appearing to rake in a ton of moo-lah while barely breaking a sweat to complete a transaction. 

Instead, sadly, real estate agents need to shoulder some of the blame for this poor public perception. Like the public, I must say I have encountered agents who fail to return telephone calls, fail to communicate in a timely manner, fail to problem-solve for clients, fail to be pro-active, fail to ensure a transaction works… fail to… 

Well, let's just generalize: Fail to do their job. Period. Exclamation Point. End of sentence.

There. I said it. Yep. Home Diva Unplugged. I never said it would be pretty.

These agents are the ones who make it difficult for the rest of us who view this as a career (not just a job) and who really do care about their clients and providing excellent customer service.

When I started this (ad)venture, I read (and was told) that 90 percent of real estate agents drop out after their first year because they under-estimated the amount of work it takes to grow a business, and they didn't realize the financial cost of getting their business up and running. The costs–office fees, MLS fees, marketing, required association memberships, lock box and key card fees, insurance, brokerage commission splits etc.–come at a hefty price.

For me, that attrition statistic rings true. I think I'm the only one left in my office who started working about the same time I did. (An interesting little tidbit, don't you think? What can I say? I'm stubborn and snarky.)

And now, if we could just get those other ones in real estate brokerage firms all across the country who fail to do their jobs to move on… Well then, I think the public overall would have a more favorable impression of real estate agents, and perhaps, I would be a little less snarky.

Perhaps.