Wanted to make sure you’ve heard about our April Incentives at Lewes Landing and our MOMENTUM Event Saturday, April 21st!

We are celebrating with a “SWEET 16” event at Lewes Landing on April 21st, because we are down to just 16 home sites left in the community. The countdown is on! We will have 9 homes available to tour on Saturday, floor plans include the Mulberry, Herring Point, Kingfisher and Henlopen. This gives you an opportunity to view these homes with different structural and cosmetic options all in one place! Plus you’ll be able to enjoy delicious desserts from local restaurants here at the model, tons of beverages and some great giveaways including a $5,000 vacation voucher!

Since we are almost sold out and we are heading into our Summer season, incentives have been temporarily increased for the event and are available now!

$16,000 OFF BASE PRICE + $16,000 TOWARDS OPTIONS = $32,000 OFF YOUR CONTRACT PRICE!

We also have our Home Site Special on Site 35, where the developer is giving $10,000 off the lot price which means you’d be saving a total of $42,000 off your new home!

I hope to see you here on Saturday and PLEASE don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me if you have ANY questions in the meantime!

The Mulberry has its first anniversary in April and we’re celebrating in true Schell Brothers style. The Mulberry has been a hit and it’s made many strong hearted people melt when they walk through the front door. For good reason, and not just because I greet them as they enter (couldn’t resist that one). To celebrate, we’ll be throwing a party on Saturday the 21st of April as part of the Momentum event. We’ll have party food, drinks and prizes along with some very special incentives!!!

Not only is The Mulberry celebrating its first anniversary, but The Sanderling will be having its baby shower!!! Ha. Yes that’s right, it’s the grand opening of the new Sanderling model at Villages at Herring Creek. The model is already sold – actually it sold even before the construction process was finished – that’s how great it is! You can come and see two Courtyard Series homes in one community! The Sanderling starts at $292,900 at Herring Creek.

The Courtyard Series was revealed one year ago with the opening of The Mulberry and has received rave reviews ever since. We foresee The Sanderling following in the footsteps of it’s bigger brother, The Mulberry.

Consider this your personal invitation to come along to my party and who knows, maybe you’ll win what you’ve always been wishing for. While you’re here you can check out our superior building techniques in person; we’ll have two homes under construction that are a stone’s throw away from the model. To top it off, you’ll get to wear a Schell construction hard-hat so you look the part! What more could you ask for?

Not the only big anniversary at the beach this year

I couldn’t conclude this blog without mentioning another big anniversary in the beach area – Funland. I’m not sure you can go to Rehoboth or Lewes and miss out on Funland. Can you miss it? Would you want to? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Opening night is a big event for all locals no matter how many times you’ve visited before. It’s a must. A bit like the Mulberry in many ways.

The Funland season begins Mother’s Day Weekend and runs through Labor Day. Do I need to tell you about the flying frogs or the silver goblet? If I do then you definitely need to spend more time at Funland.

Check out The Funland Story video on YouTube and 50 Years of Funland photoset on Flickr.

2011 St. Patrick's Parade in Milton. Photo by Kathy Sperl-Bell.

March is the sign of many things, such as the beginning of Daylight Savings Time on March 11^th, or the first day of Spring on the 20^th.  Yet, the most celebrated day in March is the 17^th, St. Patrick’s Day. And nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like good Irish stew, green beer or stout, and a parade.

The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade didn’t take place in Ireland, but in the United States. On March 17^th, over a thousand Irish soldiers who had served in the English military marched through New York City. The music and parade helped soldiers reconnect to their Irish roots.

For 35 years, Irish patriotism was celebrated by American immigrants and societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernia Society. Bagpipes and drums became a staple of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and that’s still true today.  In 1848, the societies merged their parades and now boast more than 150,000 participants with over 3 million people watching the procession along New York City’s 1.5 mile parade route.

But, if you find yourself far from New York this year, you can still enjoy a parade right here in Delaware.  Milton’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, sponsored by Irish Eyes Pub will be held on March 11^th, starting at 2 pm.

So, come on out for the parade and stop by for a visit to Heritage Creek afterward.  We’ll share our favorite Irish recipes with you.  For starters, here’s one we love for Beef and Irish Stout Stew:

Beef and Irish Stout Stew

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean beef stew meat, cut into 1” cubes
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 ½ C Guinness®
• 2 C chopped carrot
• 1 spring fresh thyme
• 1 T chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Toss the beef cubes with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Dredge the beef in this to coat.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides. Add the onions, and garlic. Stir the tomato paste into a small amount of water to dilute; pour into the pan and stir to blend. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the pan, and as it begins to boil, scrape any bits of food from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This adds a lot of flavor to the broth. Pour in the rest of the beer, and add the carrots and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

You’ve attended grand openings before so you know what to expect, right?  Well, this one will be double the fun with TWO spectacular homes to tour at Breakwater.  On Saturday, October 15th from 11:00 to 4:00, you’ll have the opportunity to explore our newest Courtyard Series home – the Kingfisher – along with the Salt Meadow, our long-anticipated Twin Home.

Your Kingfisher tour will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn about Schellter™ Advanced Building Science first-hand.  Exploring the home will be like visiting a gallery where you can see, hear, and feel the impact of high performance features.  Learn even more by walking through our homes in various stages of construction to get the behind the scenes view of Schellter™ Advanced Building Science.

We hope you’ll stop by for a tour or just to enjoy some of the great food, beverages, fun, and surprises that make Schell Brothers events so special.  It’s the perfect way to gear up for the Jazz Festival in Rehoboth that weekend!

OK, now, be honest – when you saw “two-for-one” in the headline, did you think we were offering two homes for the price of one?  Well, not quite, but we promise some special grand opening incentives that will have you smiling!  And, how about the latest interest rates?!  These low rates are sure to change in the future but one thing’s for sure: Breakwater is one-of-a-kind and homesites are dwindling.  There’s never been a better time to come out and meet your future neighbors.   See you soon!

One community, one builder, eight homes!

If you’re interested in joining us for the event please contact us at 302-228-2719 or 302-945-3080.

Cheers!

Schell Brothers joined in the 4th of July festivities in Bethany Beach by donating a truck and volunteers for the annual holiday parade.  Our team was honored to host Grand Marshal, Matt Denn, Lt. Gov., and give out candy and water to the crowd.  My daughter, Farris, and I had fun volunteering together for this event, as you can see from our smiling faces in the pictures.  Many thanks to Phil Terhune and the rest of the Schell Brothers team for making this happen.  We’re already looking forward to next year!

As local real estate professionals, we really enjoyed being able to attend the EXPOsure trade show event. It was a rare opportunity for us to see actual demonstrations of the cutting edge technology that is being incorporated into each new Schell Brothers home. We talked to Lou about the new innovations to improve air quality and reduce illness. We spent time with Kim analyzing and understanding the theory behind heat transfer and energy preservation while being able to see the new 4tress framing improvements. It is clear why Schell Brothers is so well respected in our industry, as every detail of the building process is analyzed and inspected.

Throughout the event, we wandered from interesting conversation to interesting conversation talking shop with the talented group of hosts and many of the area’s brightest professionals. With the positive energy and excitement, the hours went by in a blink. Independence Hall was the perfect setting for the amazing array of displays and demonstrations. It was like a science fair for building!

Please thank Bethany Blues for the tender and delicious Bar-B-Que, and the group that made the event happen. We have come to expect first class from Schell Brothers, but this event was truly extraordinary.

Our friends at Ocean Atlantic Sotheby’s have organized a fine homes and art walk through Rehoboth this weekend. “Stroll & Roll” should be an interesting exercise (literally). It kicks off this Saturday, June 25th, 2011 at 9am simultaneously at each of the 11 homes for sale on the tour, so you can take your pick and jump in wherever it’s most convenient for you. Check out the map.

Each beautiful home will offer complimentary refreshments and a featured local artist displaying select works of art. In fact, two of the artists also moonlight for Echelon – Ivana Biela and Matty Adler. If you visit four or more of the homes you will earn a chance to win an original painting from Matty, like the one above.

The stroll ends at noon at the Ocean Atlantic Sotheby’s office (330 Rehoboth Ave.) with refreshments, live outdoor music, and face painting for the kids… and exceptionally confident adults. If you go, take some pics and leave some comments here.

The 3rd annual Independence pontoon cruise took place this past Friday, June 18th, and 30 of Indy’s finest were on board! This year’s cruise left from the Rusty Rudder and pontooned up the Rehoboth Bay and through the Indian River to the west. The weather was fantastic, the beverages ice cold, and the music featured the “oldies but goodies” that are so near and dear to our 55+ hearts! Who says you can’t be in your sixties and live life as it should be! After the cruise, many of us stayed at the Rudder for drinks and dinner outside on the deck while listening to the music of the steel band. Everyone had such a great time and we are already looking forward to a return trip again next year.

What a way to show your sweetie how much you appreciate them! Indy held a fantastic breakfast yesterday morning at the clubhouse to celebrate Valentine’s day.

42 people attended this affair and were treated to French toast, eggs, quiche, scalloped potatoes, ham, delectable sweets – and most importantly MIMOSAS!

Many recent homeowners came and experienced what life is all about here at Indy – and they loved it! The feeling of friendship and collegiality filled the halls of the clubhouse in the morning as Indy showed once again that its inhabitants sure know how to experience life as it should be. We just love our growing community and its wonderful people!!

Photos provided by Alvin and Harriett Smith.