It is that time of year again. Christmas is quickly approaching and its time to decorate your house. There are thousands of decorations to choose from in the stores and some stores just carry decorations. But with the rising costs of nearly everything, a lot of homeowners are tightening their belt. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a wonderfully decorated home without breaking the bank.

Austin's booming economy has always been a draw for restaurateurs and bar owners, offering tantalizing new opportunities and a constant desire for something new and different. The latest craze to hit the hip Texas capitol is wine bars "both older, established places that have been around for years, and newer, funkier alternatives are drawing in crowds like never before. This trend is particularly noticeable in Austin's popular downtown warehouse district, where several new wine bars and restaurants have cropped up in the past year, and have found success and popularity among Austin's young professionals and older patrons alike.

The For Sale sign is in the front yard. The house is clean and the lawn is mowed. Everything seems ready for prospective buyers to walk in and fall in love with your home. An offer for your asking price is imminent. That is the way it is supposed to work, but many sellers will attest to the fact that it's not always that easy. In this current market it is important to "stage" your home, showing it in the best way possible.

News of the economy is inescapable these days and most of it is bad news. The economy dominates the headlines, the evening news and our daily conversations. Sorting out what all the terms mean and what they have to do with your individual bottom line can be difficult. Here is a quick rundown of some of those ubiquitous economic terms:

What a magical time of the year, Christmas! Young and old enjoy this wonderful celebration. What can make it all more magical? How about the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park, everyone can find something magical at the display.

When operating on a tight budget, it's hard to justify technically unnecessary purchases and pursuits, like redecorating a perfectly good living room, or buying a new pair of stilettos. But you don't have to overhaul your entire living space in order to spruce it up and create the desired effect of change. There are plenty of simple, cost-effective ways to spruce up any space, without over-spending. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

For the month of October we saw mortgage interest rates bouncing up and down pretty wildly. For the month of November we have not seen any large one week changes but a steady trend downward. The 30 year mortgage rate has moved down for the last 4 weeks. For the most part the other three major mortgage products have moved down as well the last four week. With the 30 year moving down to 5.97 this marks the first time the 30 year rate has moved below 6 since October 9th. As far as the other mortgage products the 15 year fixed and the 5 year arm remained relatively stable while we saw a decent drop in the 1 year arm with it moving from 5.29 to 5.18. Here are mortgage rates for the major mortgage products for the last few weeks.

Mortgage interest rates moved down this week. 30 Year rates feel back below 6 dropping from 6.10 last week to 5.94. 15 Year rates all fell quite a bit going from 5.78 last week to 5.63 this week. Below are rates for the major mortgage products for the last few weeks.

Travis Heights is one of the most eclectic neighborhoods in Austin, and has a rich history. The neighborhood was originally an exclusive suburb south of the Colorado River, now known as Lady Bird Lake, and the neighborhood was established in 1913 by the Newning and Swisher families, along with General Stacy, for whom the parks in the area are named. The neighborhood was actually originally settled in the late 1900s, informally, but did not really expand or become fashionable until the early twentieth century, when it grew rapidly. The neighborhood's borders are generally considered to be I.H. 35 to the east and the lake to the north, and Oltorf to the south and Congress Avenue to the west, so the area is very accessible to the downtown area and the freeway, as well as the recently developed shopping and nightlife area referred to as "SoCo" for its location on South Congress Avenue.