Photo courtesy of the Indian Beach-Sapphire Shores Neighborhood Association.

As the northern gateway to Sarasota, the Indian Beach and Sapphire Shores neighborhoods are rich in local history and a great place to just hang out. Buttressed on the north and south by The Ringling Museum and the Ringling College of Art and Design, respectively, the area buzzes with an artistic vibe and has plenty of places to soak it up, along with some really fine original restaurants, international cuisine, and venues for relaxing.

The homes are incredibly diverse, ranging from century-old wooden homes to more modern manses, and the properties that line Bayfront Drive have some of the most beautiful views in Sarasota. If you live there, you've probably already caught

Selling a home can be an extremely emotional process, especially when it's sitting on the market for longer than you'd hoped. For some, the results aren't always a quick sell for exactly the price you imagined. Instead, it's a collection of sleepless nights and a handful of fingernails chewed to the nub. If you're experiencing seller's fatigue, there are a few things you can do to lower your stress level and smooth the home-selling process.

1. Shoot for showroom polish. While plenty of homebuyers seek out fixer-uppers, most are eager to move in upon closing. This doesn't mean that you need to do a complete remodel or even a refurbishing. However, you do need to make sure that it looks ready to welcome in a new owner. That may mean a few fresh coats

With well over 45 courses in the area, calling Sarasota a golfer's mecca might be an understatement. Suffice it to say, golfers who live here are pretty happy with the choices available to them, but if you really want to get in the game -- like most things in real estate -- it's all about your location. Let me share with you a few homes on the market now that will surely appeal to avid golfers.

In the Stoneybrook Golf & Country Club, only a short distance from Siesta Key and bordering the Legacy Bike Trail, an affordable single-family home at 11974 Tempest Harbor Loop is a prime place to be immersed in the Florida lifestyle! An open, modern floor plan features a defined entry leading you to the combined dining and living area, with glass sliders

Photo courtesy of the Siesta Key Crystal Classic International Sand Sculpting Festival.

November is an incredible month to be in Sarasota. Although our leaves aren't changing like they do up north, we've still got a ton to celebrate this season.

To start off the month, on November 7-8 the 28th Annual Venice Art Fest offers free admission to this open-air festival, filling Historic Downtown Venice with the works of over 150 artists from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Venice takes it up another notch November 9-16 with the return of the Sarasota Chalk Festival. The theme of the 8th annual festival is “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry,” and will feature 500 national and international artists decorating the Venice Airport Festival Grounds and a number of