Congratulations to a First Time Home Owner!

Good afternoon Wichita!

I love closing days. After weeks and sometimes months of planning, coordinating, negotiating, and formalizing, someone finally gets a new house. Today I had a closing for my friend and former co-worker, Mr. Price Reynard. Price is putting down roots in Wichita by buying his first home, in plenty of time to reap the benefits of the government tax credit.

I found Price a home just a few minutes away from his job, and he knew it was the place for him the first time he saw it. I have to say, from that point on, the purchase process was pretty painless! It's great when everybody involved in a transaction is reasonably fair-minded and reliable. Here's a picture of Price in his brand new front yard. . . Congratulations to him!

Caffe Moderne

Good Morning Wichita! (And my readers from back east!)

A close friend of mine has a hot date tonight. Looking for ideas, he asked me "Where would you want to go, if someone was taking you out on a Wednesday night?" After some consideration, I recommended Caffe Moderne in Old Town.

Cafe Moderne is one of my FAVORITE places to eat in Wichita. First of all, it's beautiful inside. It's small and intimate, and somehow manages to be elegant and quaint at the same time. The staff is friendly and casual, and if you frequent the place it's pretty easy to get to know them. The food is GREAT, I can't get enough of it. The menu is short but packs an impressive variety of sandwiches, quiche, soups, and salads. There's a separate room just for Caffe Moderne's getalo and sorbetto, and I find that I always have room for just a LITTLE dessert when I'm there ;-)

For what it's worth, I also think the bartender at Caffe Moderne makes the best Lemon Drop martini in Wichita, so if you're out in Old Town tonight, you should check it out!

Have a great day! (And send my buddy good vibes for his date!)

Great Pet-Sitting in Wichita

Hello Wichita!

My husband and I have two cats,

Mort:


and Suki:


When we go out of town, which is fairly often, I like to know that our furry friends are being looked after. So I call Melinda Collins, owner of Paws for Care. Paws for Care is a great local pet sitting company. Melinda is an animal lover and pet owner herself, and she takes great care of all her little charges. I highly recommend Paws for Care to any pet owner! Check out their website (linked above) for more information.

Chelsea's Favorite Burger Joint Opens in Wichita!!!

Hello Wichita!

I have been a VERY busy lady for the past few weeks! My husband Bryan and I have been (drum roll please. . . ) HOUSE HUNTING! After all, there's nothing sillier than being a Real Estate Agent who doesn't own a home, PLUS we're running out of time to cash in on our $8,000 tax credit. So, I'm happy to say, we are now under contract to buy our first home! I don't want to say anything else about it, because I'm superstitious enough to worry that I might jinx the deal. BUT, I promise details and photos very soon!

In other news, my ALL TIME FAVORITE burger place has opened a location in Wichita! As you may or may not know, I lived all over the US before moving here in 2007. During my time in Pittsburgh, PA, and Alexandria, VA, I developed a near-dependence on cheeseburgers from Five Guys. Now, a lot of Five Guys fans will tell you that the fries are what make the place special. I'm not knocking the fries; they're fantastic! Nice thick cuts of potato fried in delicious peanut oil. . . mmmm. But it's the BURGERS that are truly special. Not only are they perfectly grilled and carefully assembled, but you can get AS MANY TOPPINGS AS YOU WANT, for FREE! I love that. Anyway, earlier this month, Five Guys opened up a new location at 2610 N Maize. Last Saturday, they were CRAZY busy, but the line moved fast and Bryan and I had our burgers within about 15 minutes of entering the restaurant. Here's what it looks like inside, by the way:


Bonus points for anyone who can identify the handsome man in the foreground!

And HERE is my phenomenally delicious burger, made with my favorite toppings: lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mustard:


Needless to say, you should head to Five Guys immediately and experience the tastiness for yourself. Not in the mood for a burger or fries? Too bad, it's all they have! You can get a LITTLE burger, if you want, (and I always do) because the regular sized burgers are pretty sizable. Oh, and you can get your fries Cajun style, if you like some spice. OH! And I almost forgot, ALL THE FREE PEANUTS YOU CAN EAT!

The Nifty Nuthouse!

What's up Wichita!

I can't believe I've been blogging for almost four months and I HAVEN'T mentioned the Nifty Nuthouse! This little shop is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE places to go in Wichita. It's easy to miss, nestled amongst the nondescript buildings on the east side of St. Francis, between Murdock and Central. But, if you make a point of stopping by, it's well worth your while! The huge warehouse is stocked from floor to ceiling with every kind of nut, dried fruit, and candy you can imagine! The staff is always helpful and enthusiastic, probably because they get to use really cool giant silver scoops to dish out the candies. There are usually free samples set out for customers to try, and they'll let you sample anything you want before you buy it. You really shouldn't miss out on this place, and I have friends who have lived in Wichita their whole lives and have never been there! Check it out, ASAP!

And now I'm off to show a property. . . wish my buyers luck!

-Chelsea

I'm Dreaming of a White. . . Valentine's Day?

Well, so much for my hopes for an early spring! There are six inches of snow on my back porch! Still, if it has to be cold, it might as well snow.

I wanted to post this afternoon to remind everyone that THIS SATURDAY, February 13th, is the Valentine's Day Dance at Old Town Ballroom! If you're looking for a date destination for you and your honey, or for a place to meet new people and learn some dance moves, this is the night to come out! The doors will open at 7:30PM, and there will be food, drinks, a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN, a group waltz lesson, and open dancing until at least 10:00PM.

Whether you're an experienced dancer or a total newbie, Old Town Ballroom's parties are a really fun way to practice what you know and learn a little something new. Students of all levels attend, and everybody dances with everybody else, so you don't need a date and you don't have to worry about being a wallflower! I hope to see you all there this Saturday!

Groundhog Day!

Hello Wichita!

I don't know about you, but I feel like it was just yesterday that I was doing my Christmas shopping. Yet here we are, already two days into February, and it's Groundhog Day! I don't know how much stock I put in small rodents' ability to predict weather, but I hope Wichita has an early spring to look forward to this year. Seeing the sun out today has been such a nice change from the clouds!

In other news, I spent a very busy few days last week getting the first issue of my Newsletter, Chelsea's Wichita, mailed out! If you DIDN'T get a copy and WANT one, please comment on this entry or email me! The newsletter is pretty cool, (if I do say so myself) with one page of short articles about Real Estate and Wichita, and a Calendar of Upcoming Events on the back for your fridge. I'm looking forward to sending it out again in march!

Stay tuned for updates about dance events coming up over the next several months. . .

Have a great day!
-Chelsea