Great style does not have to equate to big dollars. Keep a current issue of Bay Weekly on hand for monthly savings coupons.
Magnolia Shoppe is a home furnishings and accents boutique. We offer unique furniture at fair prices and beautiful home accessories, changing with the season, including lamps, mirrors, pictures and table-top accents. As well, we feature a ladies’ line of sterling silver jewelry, handbags and fashion accessories.
The Magnolia Shoppe
Pamela Whitlow, owner
2 W. Friendship Rd., Friendship
410-257-7510; [email protected]
W-Sa 10am-6pm; Su 10am-5pm
Add Charm and Comfort to Backyard Barbecuing
Get your backyard barbecue area ready for fun. Draping Christmas lights around your deck or between trees adds additional light as well as creating a delightful atmosphere. To go green while keeping nagging mosquitoes away, throw a couple sprigs of basil, sage, rosemary or any aromatic herb into the coals after cooking.
Deale Hardware and Home Center is your convenient local stop for all your homeware and hardware needs. Stop by to see our new outdoor living products for spring 2011.
As a certified Stihl dealer, we carry a full line of Stihl products and feature an expert Stihl mechanic for small engine repair.
Our extensive marine department keeps boaters, fishermen and crabbers supplied.
Deale Home Center is complemented by the Deale Rental Center, which rents a variety of products from party supplies to heavy equipment.
Deale Hardware, Home and Rental Center
Jim Weaver and Jory Bryant, owners
Michelle Weaver, manager
668 Deale Rd., Deale
410-867-8080; www.dealehardware.com
M-Sa 7am-7pm; Su 8am-5pm
Antiquing Opens Worlds of Possibility
Antiques; books; clocks and clock repair; diamond rings; fossils; elephant-foot umbrella stands; furniture; gems; holy family figurines; issues of old magazines; jewelry; kitchen wares; lemon juicers; meat grinders; nickel-and-dime store ware; opera glasses; pots, pans, paintings and pickers’ tokens; quilts; Roseville pottery; slot machines; tea cups, cozies, pots and service; utensils for every use; vases; what-not cabinets; Xmas decorations from years past; zebra-printed textiles
Every letter of the alphabet is expanded beyond ordinary imagining in Dale Thomas’ four-decade old collection of wonders, all for sale at Nice and Fleazy Antiques.
Conversation and consultation also offered.
Nice and Fleazy Antiques
9131 Bay Ave., North Beach
410-257-3044; W-Su 10am-5pm
Bring Bay and Seaside into Your Home
This year is the year of the jellyfish. Jellies all over the place, from jewelry to art. Don’t like jellyfish? Ophiuroidea has many sea-inspired items, from sea stars to seahorses.
Ophiuroidea features coastal-inspired home furnishings, art and gifts, showcasing local artisans.
Ophiuroidea is part shop and part workshop, so you never know what we might be working on when you visit: glass mosaic art on vintage windows, beachy furniture or hand-painted wine glasses, jewelry — who knows! If you love the coastal breezy lifestyle, the sand between your toes and the sun on your face, you’ll find something you’ll simply love and just have to have. Now arriving, our 2011 spring and summer items are a blend of unique home accents and art, from the muted driftwood colors to fun and brightly colored hand painted art.
We’re located a few blocks from the St. Michaels Marina if you’re coming by boat. If driving, you’ll see Ophiuroidea right next to the Eastern Shore Brewery & St Michaels Winery when you first come into town.
WineFest at St Michaels, April 29 to May 1, is sure to be a great time.
Ophiuroidea
Kim Hannon, owner
609 S. Talbot St. St Michaels
410-804-4432; www.ophiuroidea.com [email protected]
ThFSu 11am-4pm-ish; Sa 11am-5pm-ish
Chart Your Dreams On Your Walls
Dream of old places and new horizons. Maps — and anything else you have — can be framed or mounted to fit your decor and whims.
Tired of looking at the same-old same-old on your home and office walls? Wimsey Cove Framing & Art is featuring a large inventory of historic maps of the world and of Anne Arundel County and Maryland that adds interest to any wall. Come in and select one showing your community or where you’ve been or where you’re going.
We also carry work by Muddy Creek Artists Guild members as well as feather folk art from Peru.
Wimsey Cove Framing & Art is a full service frame shop, offering high-quality conservation framing for artwork, memorabilia, diplomas and certificates. Owner and framing designer Elizabeth Ramirez is an artist with 16 years’ experience in the business. Our service is personal and turn-around fast.
We have the largest offering of frames and mats in Southern Anne Arundel County and can handle any size or complexity. If your artwork is too large for your vehicle, we will pick up and deliver in Anne Arundel County.
Wimsey Cove Framing & Art
Elizabeth Ramirez, owner
3141 Solomon’s Island Rd., Edgewater
410-956-7278; www.marylandframing.com
Tu-F 10am-6pm; Sa 10am-4pm
Choose Art for Love — and Size
Choose art that you love, not something that happens to have the same color scheme as your room. When you feel emotional connected to your art, you will be happy to see it again and again. Look for pieces that remind you of a time, place or special event. Or choose a piece that makes you smile.
Size matters as well as love. Mats and framing add to the original size, so allow plenty of room in your placement plan. The art you love isn’t flattered when we need to use a narrower frame molding because there isn’t space for one that is better proportioned to the art. On the flip side, a framed piece that is too small can look out of place on a large wall. Base the size of your art on your room size, wall size and nearby furnishings.
Family-owned and operated since 1968, Medart Galleries offers expert custom picture framing for your art and memories. We also carry fine original oil paintings and limited-edition prints by local and national artists. In addition to local and Chesapeake art, aviation and military art are specialties.
Remove dog and kitty nose marks from your windows by wiping the glass with a piece of light-gauge (000 or 0000) steel wool.
For high-quality, meticulous full window washing, as well as power washing and gutter cleaning, call Dr. Glass Window Washing, recommended by Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com) and Better Business Bureau. We wash for homes, condos and businesses.
Dr. Glass Window Washing
Bill Mitchell, owner
920 Barnegat Ln., Annapolis
410-626-0782; www.windowcleaningnow.com
M-Sa 8am-8pm
Don’t Let Trash Overwhelm You
Instead of going back and forth to the landfill, let the dumpster come to you. Small, medium and large-load dumpsters can arrive the day you call.
Patuxent Roll-Off is a locally owned demolition and roll-off and front-loader dumpster service. We serve Anne Arundel, Calvert and Prince George’s County as well as the Eastern Shore and beyond.
Patuxent Roll-Off
2124 Priest Bridge Dr., Suite 18, Crofton
410-793-0503; 888-728-8936
www.paxcos.com
M-F 7am-4:30pm; Sa on call
Easy Does It for Kitchen Floors
For your new kitchen floor, consider cork. Its forgiving surface is easy on the feet and knees.
For floor coverings of all sorts, see Floor Systems, in both Anne Arundel and Calvert counties. Floor Systems sells and install all flooring coverings: carpeting, ceramic, porcelain and natural stone tiles, hardwood or laminates, sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl tile and a wide selection of green flooring products. Green flooring options include bamboo, cork and a wide variety of recycled products.
Floor Systems, Inc.
• 15 Oxford Way, Huntingtown; 410-257-7380
• 5809 Deale-Churchton Rd, Deale; 410-867-7978
www.floorsystems.net
M-F 8am-6pm; Sa 8am-3pm
For Earth-Friendly Treasure Hunting, Go Antiquing
Antiquing is recycling at its best. Instead of buying new, come see how much fun going green can be.
Galesville Crossing Antiques focuses on reusing, restoring and repurposing. In our mix of country antiques, vintage curiosities and repurposed home items, our goal is to have something for everyone. You’ll find old furniture, linens, tools, kitchen items, bottles, glassware, fishing lures and vintage accessories and clothing. On the new side, we also stock essential and fragrance oils, candles and pillows.
1. Check your credit. Call me today for a copy of your free credit report.
2. Evaluate assets and liabilities. I will help you assess your spending habits and understand monthly cash flow.
3. Organize documents such as tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements.
4. Determine a realistic comfort level as it applies to your projected housing expense.
5. Figure out a down payment. Some loan programs still allow for zero-down mortgages. I’ll help you determine what types of loan programs are available to you.
I work with you to provide financing for home purchases and refinance transactions through 1st Mariner Mortgage.
Plant veggies and herbs starting now for a plentiful garden this summer. Growing vegetables and herb is a pleasurable spring and summer activity. Herbs display well and add fragrance to the garden as well as flavors to your cooking and inspiration to tea making. Herbal plants are generous, so you’ll have plenty to dry for winter use.
Grow your own, and you’ll taste the difference.
Also brighten your garden, deck or patio with vibrant flowers. Try trailing annuals like nasturtium for pops of color and for a tasty peppery tang in salads. Add mounding petunias in bold new color combinations.
Walk through our gardens for inspiration. We can help you create any idea.
Now sure how? Take a Willow Oak class to learn how to be a productive gardener.
Maria Price runs Willow Oak Flower & Herb Farm as a nursery, florist and educational environment. We offer a wide selection of veggies, berry plants, herbs, bedding plants, perennials, shrubs and fruit and citrus trees. as well as cut flowers. Seasonal classes and teas are also scheduled in our gardens.
Willow Oak Flower & Herb Farm
Maria Price, owner
8109 Telegraph Rd., Severn
410-551-2237; www.willowoakherbs.com
M-Sa 10am-6pm; Su noon-4pm
Gardens Begin with Good Soil
Plants flourish from the soil up. Many garden problems result from bad soil quality: poor drought tolerance and fruit flower or leaf discoloration or drop may mean your soil needs improving. Excessive need for fertilization and insecticides also often send that message.
Natalie Robert, owner of Good Deale Gardener, and her team install and maintain flower and vegetable gardens, and do general yard care, clean up and small-lawn mowing.
Instead of applying harmful chemicals, they use sustainable gardening methods to care for your soil and all it produces for you and your family.
Save time and money by gardening greener. One way: Upgrade and modify your irrigation system with the newest water-saving products.
With for generations of landscaping and irrigation excellence, Complete Landscaping Service helps with all your lawn needs.
Complete Landscaping Service
Tom Woods, manager
2410 Crain Hwy., Bowie
301-218-1800
www.completelandscapingservice.com
7am-5pm
Help Your Air Conditioner Keep You Cool
When your systems are running, check air filters every month. A dirty filter slows down your airflow and wastes energy as the AC tries to make you as cool as you want to be. The dirt and dust from your dirty filter can cause clogs, too, causing unnecessary and expensive maintenance issues. Many unnecessary service calls are due to clogged filters.
Air conditioners usually work well enough for 10 years or more. But a 10-year-old system is inefficient compared to recent models, as savings of 20 to 40 percent can be seen in today’s models, according to Energy Star.
Air-conditioning system isn’t a cure-all for heat. If a house has inadequate surroundings, even the newest air conditioner will have to work extra hard, negating energy savings.
Attic insulation, double-pane windows, tree shade, and sealed windows and doors are all important outside factors.
Belair Engineering has kept Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties temperature controlled for 49 years. In upgrading air conditioning, the Belair team factors in attic, windows, doors and other areas where insulation can help keep costs down.
Services for all seasons include installing gas fireplaces, gas furnaces, humidifiers, air cleaners, cooling and heat pumps and home-emergency standby backup generators. Belair Engineering is also a reliable source for plumbing fixtures and installation: commodes, hot water heaters, garbage disposals and kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
With paint, clever accessories and a good eye, old furniture gets a new lease on life — and you get a cottage look with bonus points for recycling and reusing.
Cottage Chicks specializes in painted vintage furniture, kitchen wares, collectibles for home decor, reasonable prices and personal services. In addition, Cottage Chicks carries a unique selection of nautical and garden goods.
Owner DeLuca appreciates the craftsmanship of older furniture. She’s always on the hunt for a treasure in the rough that she can salvage to paint and repurpose. Cottage Chicks still promotes going green and Made in the USA. Local artists also have space here.
Cottage Chicks buys as well as sells. “If you have stuff to sell, call,” DeLuca says.
Cottage Chicks
Linda DeLuca, owner
5954 Deale-Churchton Rd., Deale
443-607-6228; 410-507-2728
www.cottagechicksdeale.com
M-Sa 10am-5pm ; Su noon-4pm or by appointment.
How to Go Window Shopping
Before you buy new windows, learn what the sticker is saying.
R values measure the resistance of heat flow from one side of a window or wall to the other. The higher the R value, the better off you are.
U values are the inverse of R values. U = 1/R. So the lower the U value, the better off you are.
With windows, U values are the typical Unit in general. A U value of 0.32 or less is considered energy efficient in this temperate zone.
SHGC stands for solar heat gain coefficient. Put simply, it’s the amount of radiation from the sun admitted through a window. Energy Star recommends a rating of 0.40 or less in this area.
Low-E stands for low emittance. A Low-E coating is a microscopically thin metallic layer that is invisible and helps reduce the U value by reducing heat flow.
See Annapolis Builder for windows and all your home work, from improvements and renovation to additions and new construction. We’ll also help you make your home energy-efficient with energy audits and solar hot water and electric.
Annapolis Builder
Mike Kinnahan, owner
410-320-5928; www.annapolisbuilder.com [email protected]
It’s Not Your Same Old Siding
Add appeal and interest to your home with siding accessories. Among new products are wide corner posts, window trims and detailed moldings. For ideas visit jameshardie.com, certainteed.com and fypon.com.
Brightview Builders installs the best in windows and siding.
Choose from a broad range of siding and exterior trim: James Hardie cement board siding; all types of vinyl siding; and stone or brick veneers. Our high-performance window choices include Andersen, CertainTeed and Pella.
Call to schedule a free consultation.
Brightview Builders Inc.
Mark Vanreuth, owner
Arnold; 410-647-3100
www.brightviewbuilders.com [email protected]
Know What You’re Getting When You Finance or Refinance a House
Knowing your options before you finance a home helps you choose the financing that meets your current and future goals.
Fixed-rate home mortgages, for example, let you predict your monthly payments because interest rates remain fixed for the life of the loan.
Adjustable-rate home mortgages (ARMs) give you potential savings with interest rates that adjust periodically on predetermined dates to reflect market conditions.
Construction-to-permanent home mortgages deliver mortgage options for every stage of your home-building project, including construction funding — all with just one application
Wells Fargo Advisors gives you access to mortgage and home equity financing products, provided by our lending affiliates, to help meet a variety of needs, whether you’re building or buying a home, remodeling your existing home, paying for education expenses or tackling another project.
In addition to home financing, I offer customized investment strategies and a full range of investment products.
Wells Fargo Advisors
Gregory Milburn, CRPC®, Financial Advisor and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor SM
2661 Riva Rd. Suite 1011, Annapolis
410-897-5701; 800-766-2240 [email protected]
Landscape for Good Looks and Good Eating
Edible landscaping is the biggest news in gardening. Over four years, sales of herbs, vegetables, fruit trees and other edibles have increased exponentially throughout the garden industry. People tell us they want to know where their food comes from. They’ve discovered that the flavor of homegrown produce is vastly superior to that of store-bought fruits and vegetables. Function is being combined with form as gardeners plant such ornamentals as rosemary, blueberry bushes and fig trees that look beautiful in the landscape and have practical value, too.
Homestead Gardens is the largest enclosed garden center in the DC/Baltimore metropolitan area. We stock full lines of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, houseplants, garden supplies and decoratives, and we offer full landscaping services.
Homestead Gardens
• 743 West Central Ave., Davidsonville; 410-798-5000
• 522 Ritchie Hwy., Severna Park; 410-384-7966
www.homesteadgardens.com
M-F 9am-7pm; Sa 8am-7pm; Su 9am-6pm
Love Art. Buy Art.
It’s Good for Your Karma.
We see a trend of purposefully supporting art and fine crafts made by local artists who are striving to survive in our challenging economic times. We also see a renewed sense of awareness about the value of surrounding yourself with works of art that ring a personal bell, a kind of celebration of personal and aesthetic connections that defies trends — and simultaneously defines you.
Nancy Collery Klapper and husband Jeff have created Main Street Gallery in her grandmother’s house as an intimate gallery environment overflowing with art, adornment and ideas that they share with the public four days a week. The gallery, which opened in 1991, evolved from Nancy and Jeff’s belief that art, diversity and the creative process are necessary facets of life, essential for the well-being of the human spirit and cause for celebration.
Visitors are welcome to stop by for a look at Main Street’s unique environment and enjoy a visit to the working tile studio on the premises where Parran Collery (Eartha Hand Made Tile) uses traditional tile forming techniques to create hand pressed and hand glazed terra cotta tile designs. The art and fine craft on display includes original paintings, decorative tile, mosaics, jewelry, ceramics, hand blown glass and an abundance of unexpected treasures, from functional to fantastic.
Main Street Gallery
486 Main Street, Prince Frederick
410-535-3334
www.nancysmainstreetgallery.com [email protected]
W-F 11am-5pm; Sa 11am-4pm
The Market Is Right for Home Buyers
The real estate market in our area has sprung to life in the past month, foretelling a strong spring market. According to a report from the Metropolitan Regional Information System, February home sales in Anne Arundel County were up 28.9 percent versus a year ago, and median home prices increased 6.1 percent. Meanwhile, new listings jumped 27.1 percent this February versus a year ago.
Even with home prices rising, bargain-priced homes are still abundant throughout the area. For example, in southern Anne Arundel, there are 220 homes for sale, and more than a third of them are priced under $300,000. In Calvert County, the median sale price for a home is $260,000.
Meanwhile, mortgage interest rates remain near historic lows. On March 17, the interest rate for 30-year conforming loans was 4.75 percent.
Low interest rates and reasonable prices make the prospect of buying a home near the Bay very attractive. Many buyers this spring could be Washington-area residents seeking a vacation home in Bay Country.
Buyers of second homes will save on their income taxes, as mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible on a second home, just as they are on a primary home. For homeowners who have paid off much of their primary home’s mortgage, this can be a welcome tax deduction.
If the economy improves in the next few months, look for these upswings in the real estate market to become even more dramatic.
Slattery Real Estate/Continental Properties Ltd. provides quality real estate services for clients from the nation’s capital and its suburbs to the Western Shore of Chesapeake Bay. As longtime Southern Anne Arundel County residents, Steve and Julieta Slattery are your hometown realtors.
Slattery Real Estate/Continental Properties Ltd.
Julieta and Steve Slattery, owners
202-270-8962
www.slatteryrealestate.com; [email protected]
Mark Tomatomania! on Your Calendar
Tomato lovers unite! Tomatomania! is back for the third year at Greenstreet Gardens. On Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1, we’ll introduce 175 varieties of rare, classic and brand new tomato plants, grown right here in Southern Anne Arundel County. The aisles are crammed with every size, shape, color and taste you can imagine.
Tomatomaniacs and Greenstreet’s knowledgable staff are on hand to help you with everything you’ll need to make your tomato season a huge success, including pots, organic lobster compost fertilizer, stakes and enthusiastic expert advicers, including Mike McGrath, Your Garden Guru from WTOP Radio.
Greenstreet Gardens is your one-stop gardening shop in Southern Anne Arundel County. The 165,000 square feet of greenhouses are filled with beauty; most of the annuals and perennials we sell are grown right here on our 65-acre farm. Up to 75 people — whose knowledge about plants, growing and landscaping designs is unparalleled —offer the personalized customer service you just don’t encounter anymore. Greenstreet is open year round; stop in and immerse yourself in beauty in every season: gardening accessories, outdoor living furniture, Vera Bradley, jewelry, birding products and much more.
Greenstreet Gardens
Ray and Stacy Greenstreet, owners
391 West Bay Front Rd., Lothian
410-867-9500; www.greenstreetgardens.com
MTuWFSaSu 8:30am-5pm; Th 8:30am-6:30pm
Mondays and Tuesdays
Are Bargain Days
Savings tips: Save $25 on your first cleaning. Schedule your cleaning for Monday or Tuesday and double your first-time savings.
The Maids sends a team of four maids to your home to vacuum, dust and clean bathrooms and kitchens. Visits can be weekly, biweekly, move-in, move-out, seasonal or on special occasions. State-of-the-art HEPA filtration vacuums help us clean better.
The Maids
Wayne Phillips, owner
410-761-7300; www.maidsmd.com [email protected]
The Season — and Savings — Are Right for New Doors and Windows
Not too hot and not too cold, spring is the season to replace worn-out, ill-fitting or troublesome windows and doors with attractive, energy-efficient options. Virtually all Marvin windows and doors meet or exceed Energy Star guidelines. Choose five or more Marvin windows now, and save $250 on installation.
Traditional Window and Door is an independent, locally owned Marvin Windows and Doors retailer serving the Annapolis area for seven years. Owner Greg Browning promises excellent installation and service.
Free in-home consultations now being scheduled.
Traditional Window and Door
Greg Browning, owner
1825 George Ave., Suite G, Annapolis
443-949-8725; www.twdllc.net [email protected]
showroom hours: M-F 8am-5pm; Sa 8am-1pm
Second-Time Shopping Keeps the Wheel Turning
Reuse and recycle by buying and selling gently pre-owned furniture and goods.
Second Wind Consignments offers a large, constantly chaning variety of merchandise both big and small. With over 450 consignors, selections stay fresh and offer great deals. The longer goods stay on the floor, the greater the savings.
Consignments accepted Tuesday through Friday. Please call ahead.
Spring and summer are also the best times to clean your chimney for next year’s fires and add a new hearth to your home.
Bay Stoves is a retail hearth store selling inserts, freestanding and new construction fireplaces and stoves fueled by wood, pellets, gas, gel and alcohol. We also sell outdoor gas or pellet grills and the Big Green Egg. With the cookout season on its way, now’s the time to add a Big Green Egg or gas or pellet grill to your outdoor kingdom.
Bay Stoves
Janine Medlin, owner
3157 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater
410-956-7101; www.baystoves.com [email protected]
Tu-Sa 10am-5pm
The Time is Right for Solar Energy
Solar Energy Systems continue to decline in cost as adoption rates increase dramatically in Maryland. Here are a few tips:
1. If you have an old or failing water heater, contact a solar hot water installer first before replacing the heater. The installer can save you that expense and put you on the list for a grant from the state. The solar water heating incentives (federal, state, county) are excellent. In fact, the Maryland legislature approved a substantial new solar water heating incentive in March of 2011. Call an installer to learn more.
2. If you have a pool, consider the most cost-effective form of solar energy: pool heating. Don’t install a conventional pool heater until you first consider clean and free solar energy. Solar Pool Heating Systems pay back in less than two years on fuel savings alone.
3. If you’ve been considering solar electricity (photovoltaic or PV), then there is no time like the present. Installed costs are down 50 percent in the last three years. But the incentives are declining, so there is no time like the present to invest in the predictable return from solar electricity.
Solar Energy Services, Inc. — a local business serving the Chesapeake region for more than 30 years —designs and installs solar energy systems for residential, institutional and commercial facilities. Use solar to generate electricity, to heat hot water and to heat residential and commercial pools.
Solar Energy Services, Inc.
1514 Jabez Run, #103, Millersville
410-923-6090
www.solarsaves.net; [email protected]
Your Invisible Irrigation System Wants Spring Oversight
As spring arrives, if you have an irrigation system, now is the time to start it up and evaluate all components. Adjust all spray nozzles, clean all filters and observe rotation for accurate coverage. Check for functionality of the rain sensor. Set the controller for the proper time and date. Also run times of each zone based on the season. And don’t forget to install a fresh battery.
Keeping your system working efficiently will ensure a lush, green lawn during the long, hot days of summer.
Garner Exteriors installs and maintains irrigations systems as well as designing, building and maintaining your total landscape.
Garner Exteriors
Lisa Garner, owner
Dunkirk; 410-867-0000
www.garnerexteriors.com [email protected]
