About Me
For a faster, more profitable home sale
Greetings! My name is Marcy.
I am a transplant from the lush, temperate rain forests of Southeast Alaska to the stunning and fertile Matanuska-Susitna Valley in South Central Alaska.
I live in a beautiful city encircled by stunning mountains, from the imposing Pioneer Peak along the Knik River, the Talkeetna Mountains to the north and the Chugach Mountains to the south and east.
Even after seven years of living here, I am still taken aback by the breathtaking beauty of the Mat-Su Valley.
The Matanuska River divides my city, and though it looks deceptively calm, it is really quite dangerous. Many have perished in this silty and frigid glacier water.
At times, incredible winds originating from surrounding glaciers will sweep silt up from the Matanuska or Knik Rivers and blow it through town with a terrible force! These silt-laden winds funnel through town, affecting air quality, sandblasting cars, canceling baseball games...you get the picture.
The Mat-Su Valley is best known as the agricultural center of Alaska because of its fertile soil and long days, creating ideal growing conditions which result in some of the largest and sweetest vegetables in the world.
The long hours of daylight in the summer impart a particular sweetness to carrots, kohlrabi and many other types of vegetables.
Every summer, gardeners partake in "giant vegetable" contests, where the winners are revealed at the Alaska State Fair. This fair takes place in Palmer and goes from mid-August to September.
The Matanuska-Susitna Valley holds world records for giant kohlrabi, kale, rutabaga, turnips, broccoli and cabbage. The largest recorded cabbage was 138.24 pounds at the 2012 Palmer Fair.
We are blessed with an abundance of wildlife here in Alaska. I especially enjoy the moose passing through my property, stopping to dine on birch, willow and cottonwood leaves, or simply to nap in the sun.
In the spring, the cows often birth close to my house, (often too close!) until the calves are strong enough to run. They have learned that predators, (bears!) typically avoid people.
I was charged once by a moose while walking around my property with my dogs. It was a terrifying Jurassic Park-like moment!
I heard a deep-belly roar, trees parted and bushes shook as thudding hooves stomped toward me, and the biggest cow moose I had ever seen came straight at me!
First of all, who knew that moose could roar?!! Her ears plastered back and hair standing straight on end indicated the level of her rage. I thought it was all over, but luckily I was surrounded by huge cottonwood trees, which I quickly ducked behind.
The cow followed me around the tree until she caught sight of my dogs and took off after them. Then something unexpected occurred. The cow stopped, backed away about 20 feet and simply watched us. I sensed immediately that she was giving us a chance to retreat. And we did! As fast as my shaking legs could take me.
The reason why she charged became evident a few days later when she emerged from a corner of my property with twin calves.
So the moral of that story is, stay out of the woods from the middle of May to the 2nd week in June. Once calves reach a certain age, the cows are more relaxed around people.
My family and I enjoy the many hiking and biking trails in this area. Our favorite place is Hatcher Pass, a scenic mountain pass about 22 miles from Palmer.
My husband and son are more energetic hikers than me, enjoying mountain trails in the Chugach Range like, Matanuska Peak and Lazy Mountain, (don't let the name fool you-- it's not a lazy hike!) They have yet to climb Pioneer Peak, which rises over 6,000 feet.
I enjoy picking a variety of local berries to make jam and jelly; high-bush and low-bush blueberries, wild raspberries and cranberries.
Me standing under the famous burled arch at the finish line of the last great race, the Iditarod in Nome, Alaska. Wrapped in many layers, I was waiting for mushers to come in.How I became involved in home staging
Me helping pour concrete footings for our cabin foundation. As you can see, I am properly dressed for the occasion.I first became aware of home staging years ago when I was in the process of selling my own house. I was just hours away from expecting my first potential buyer when my sister, (who was visiting at the time) suggested that we "stage the house". "What's that?" I asked.
She explained that it was getting rid of clutter and hiding personal stuff to make the home more appealing to buyers. My sister rushed around the house, washing windows, clearing off kitchen counters, stashing appliances, even hiding things in the oven. My house sold that afternoon to the first person who viewed it!
Flushed with success and a newly confirmed believer in the power of home staging, I wanted to learn more about it. With a background in art and a strong interest in interior design, it was a natural fit for me. I pursued the subject and enrolled in a home staging and redesign course.
My home staging interest led me to work as a Realtor for a period of time, where I was able put my home staging knowledge to work. It was a valuable experience and an interesting study in human nature.
Working as a Realtor certainly provided me with plenty of useful information for my do-it-yourself home staging website, plus I saw first-hand, the power of home staging!
My husband was a home builder for many years and eventually moved on to running larger construction projects. I like to think that I absorbed a bit of construction knowledge over the years simply by association.
Together we remodeled and sold three houses, two of them 100 years old, so I learned quite a bit about the problems you can run into when remodeling an old home.
It was fun to see the different home decor styles of past eras as we peeled away wallpaper layers, lath and plaster and flooring during the demolition process.
We even found treasures hidden inside walls, window sills and attic crawl spaces. We found old coins, ancient newspapers, shopping lists and old pictures from the 30's. We even came across a secret stash of empty whiskey bottles hidden behind a wall in one home!
Here some pups from Lucy, my English Springer Spaniel's only litter, 2015. You'll find Lucy featured throughout my pages. What does this have to do with home staging? Not a thing! But simply too cute not to share. We kept the one on the far right.I've always been a do-it-yourself kind of person, so when I thought about the kind of website I wanted to create, a diy home staging web site seemed like the perfect fit.
Perhaps you live in an area without access to a home staging professional? Or maybe you just have a question about choosing paint colors, arranging furniture or how to make a small space look larger.
Whatever your question, I hope you find the answer here. If not, just ask me and I’ll be glad to answer.
Alaska Pictures
Admiralty Island is also known as, "Fortress of the Bears," home of the highest density of brown bears in North America!
Devil's club are highly prized by Native Alaskans for their medicinal value, and I find a cup of devil's club tea very energizing.
Devil's club is a beautiful, but treacherous plant that grows throughout Alaska. It's also known as the "devil's walking stick" for good reason!
The branches are covered with very sharp thorns that are quite painful and difficult to remove once imbedded in the skin. In late August, it has berries that turn a beautiful bright red.
Walking along Petersburg Creek in SE Alaska. My grandpa had a dairy and kept his cows here during the summer months. In the fall, he loaded them onto a barge to spend the winter at his barn in town.
Son and corgi romping in the snow.
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