Tis the Season for Entertaining! When entertaining rolls around, charcuterie boards that are festive for the holidays is my go-to entertaining spread! Let’s talk about creating the ultimate festive charcuterie board with cheeses and fun additions! Meat and cheese boards are customizable, gorgeous, require no cooking, and are the perfect hearty appetizer spread! Charcuterie boards are not only gorgeous, they contain a combination of flavors and nibbles for a simple no-fuss party snack! It’s not difficult to prepare a meat and cheese board that everyone will rave about! First off … how do you pronounce charcuterie?  [shahr-koo-tuh–ree]. Secondly… What is a charcuterie? Charcuterie is the art of preparing meats which are often cured or smoked such as bacon, ham or salami.  A charcutier is a person who prepares charcuterie and while the term is loosely translated in English to “pork butcher”, any kind of meat can be used. The wonderful thing about a charcuterie board is its versatility. You can mix and match flavors and textures. You can focus on a particular style or region. You can leave some items off the menu altogether. For instance, you could nix bread or crackers from a gluten-free board, or substitute fig salami for Italian salami and hummus for pâté on a vegetarian board. Or double-down on variations of a group favorite (a culinary tour of the pâtés of various regions of France, anyone?). Now that we have all that out of the way. Lets start building this thing. Board: Find the right boards to build your platters. Large cutting boards, marble slabs, slate boards or ceramic platters are great options. Meat: I estimate about 3-4 slices of meat per person when building a board.  I try to include a variety of flavors and textures for example a sliced pepper salami, a rolled prosciutto and thoughtfully piled ham. Cheese: Choose a variety of cheeses; about 1 or 2 oz per person as an hors d’oeuvre.  Look for various hard and soft cheeses from mellow to sharp.  Cheeses are easiest served already sliced. Bread and Crackers: Again variety is key, I like to include buttery flaky crackers, grain crackers and thinly sliced and toasted baguettes. Fruit & Nuts: Both dried and fresh fruit will add gorgeous color and lots of flavor to your charcuterie board! As you are purchasing fruits, keep a variety of colors in mind for a beautiful board.  Nuts should be shelled and salted. Pickles, Olives and Dips: Adding small bowls filled with dill pickles, olives, jellies, mustards and delicious dips is a great way to add some zip and flavor to your board. Most of the items can be prepared, washed and/or sliced ahead of time meaning this easy appetizer can take just minutes to prepare. If you are looking for some major charcuterie inspo below is a list of Sultan Newman Group’s favorite places to take family and friends around Denver! FNG – Highlands 3940 W. 32nd Ave. | 720.667-3727 www.fngrestaurant.com Colt & Gray – LoHi 1553 Platte St. | 303.477.1447 www.coltandgray.com The Bindery – LoHi 1817 Central St. | 303.993.2364 www.thebinderydenver.com Hearth & Dram – Ball Park 1801 Wewatta St. | 303.623.0979 www.hearthanddram.com Urban Farmer – Down Town 1659 Wazee St. | 303.262.6070 www.urbanfarmerdenver.com Fooducopia – Wash Park 1939 E. Kentucky Ave. | 303.722.7838 www.fooducopia.com Culture Meat & Cheese – RiNo 2669 Larimer St. | 303.292.2222 www.culturemeatandcheese.com Max’s Wine Dive – Capitol Hill 696 Sherman St. | 303.593-2554 www.maxswinedive.com Cattivella – Stapelton 10195 E 29th Ave. | 303.645-3779 www.cattivelladenver.com Vinue – Cherry Creek 2817 E 3rd Ave. | 720.287-1156 www.denverwinebar.net Barcelona Wine Bar – RiNo 2900 Larimer St. | 303.816.3300 www.barcelonawinebar.com Sip | eat + drink – Down Town 891 14th St. | 720.464-6765 www.sipeatdrink.com Neighbors – Park Hill 2202 Kearney St. | 303.333.1149 www.neighborsparkhill.com The Preservery – RiNo 3040 Blake St. | 303.298-6821 www.thepreservery.com Deep Roots Winery and Bistro – LoDo 1516 Wazee St. | 720.328.4786 www.deeprootswines.com Thank you so much for visiting our page! If you are looking for a property to host all your events at please contact one of our team members at the Sultan Newman Group!  

Before you remodel, consider these 4 questions & ask your realtor, AKA someone on the Sultan Newman Group team! After years of living in a home, there’s nothing quite as exciting—or daunting—as the idea of undertaking a home remodel. While the prospect of a shiny new house is irresistible, you want to make sure the project addresses any issues you’ve had with your home through the years. In short, making the space more applicable to your needs takes thoughtful consideration and careful planning. “As a professional organizer, I’ve seen homes that were aesthetically gorgeous but just didn’t flow well for my clients’ needs,” notes Patricia Lee, a professional home organizer writing for Houzz. “…For the most successful remodel, you’ll want to consider how you live now and how you’d like to live ideally. After all, remodeling is a chance to set new, more organized habits.” Lee suggests homeowners consider these points before getting started: What isn’t working? Think of the way you use the spaces in your home. For example, where do your children do their homework? Is this place conducive to concentration (and supervision)? Do you have a dedicated space for important papers, electronic chargers, keys, computer work? List the issues you would like to address to streamline your home’s efficiency. Do you have adequate storage space? Is your pantry space big enough, or do food items overflow onto your counters? Do you have a place for the family to stash backpacks, purses, and mail when they enter the home? If not, plan new areas to accommodate these items. (For example, you might add a mudroom so purses and other items can be neatly stored out of sight from the rest of the house.) Is your family situation in flux? Are you planning to have children soon? Their storage needs can be substantial. By contrast, if your children will soon be grown and out of the house, this can open rooms for new uses. Will your aging parents be moving in? If so, you’ll need to think of items like a ground level bathroom with a walk-in tub, an in-law suite or mini kitchen that can allow them some independence. Are there better ways to use existing spaces? Do you have a living room you never use? Think of putting it to better use. Have a closet that’s not pulling its weight? Consider turning it into a work space with a desk for a computer or drawers for craft items, etc. To sum things up, look at every inch of your home and reconsider its uses. Then let the project begin! Feel free to contact one of us on the Sultan Newman Group team and we will be happy to provide a list of our preferred contractors to ease some of the worries!   REMAX of Cherry Creek Photo by Harprit Bola on Unsplash  

11 Easy-Up, Easy-Down Decor Hacks for Stress-Free Holidays Give or take a Scrooge or two, everybody loves the holidays: Decorating the tree, hanging lights, hanging holly … all those things! But you know what nobody loves? Taking all those things down. Because, wow, what an unorganized mess. Before you go all Scrooge, get your jolly back with these simple holiday decorating hacks. #1 Protect Ornaments With Holiday Recyclables Anne Arntson for HouseLogic Trimming the tree should feel like the happy ending of a Lifetime holiday movie, not a game show guessing which box will contain broken memories. Keep ornaments safe for next year by stowing them in leftover party cups, hot-glued onto a piece of foam board cut to fit inside a storage bin, recommends Lisa Woodruff, a Cincinnati-based professional organizer. Or pack ornaments away using bubble wrap from holiday packages, or egg cartons from those countless cookies you made. All of these options make for shock-absorbent padding that’s more durable than paper towels or tissue paper. Richelle Hesselink You dream of decking every hall, every year, but when the holidays roll around, you’ve got a brisket to bake and cocktails to clink. So focus your festive energy on just one iconic focal point — a wreath on the front door or greenery on the mantel — something that easily changes with the seasons. Or, create a display that makes you feel merry year-round. (Try repurposing storefront letters to spell out “LOVE” or “JOY” — sentiments that never go out of season.) #3 Get a Decorating Toolbox Courtesy of Lowes.com Before you can hang a single strand of lights or sprig of mistletoe, you have to find the gosh-darn zip ties, track down the floral wire, and repurpose a few extension cords. Just thinking about the prep work makes you ready for a long winter’s nap. But this year’s gonna be your prep for next year, and the years to follow. As you put everything up, keep a running checklist of what you need. Then stock a toolbox that gets replenished every year. #4 Leave Your Light Hooks and Nails in Place for Next Year If you like to trim your home’s roof and siding with holiday lights, you know what a hassle it is to find last year’s nail holes while balancing on a ladder with your extremities slowly freezing. So, this year, use hooks that match your siding (not nails because they fall out easier) or paint them so they are indistinguishable from your siding or trim before you put them up. Then leave them up when you take down your lights. Come next year, just rehang your lights and bask in your twinkling success. #5 Wrap Lights Around Cardboard   Christina Hoffmann for HouseLogic There’s nothing like a multicolored knot of lights to put a damper on your bright holiday spirit. So as you take down this year’s lights, wrap them around empty gift boxes or cardboard. Make a small notch on each side to keep the ends snugly in place. Next year you’ll spend less time untangling your lights and more time basking in them. #6 Hang Wreaths on Rods or in Rafters Russell Gregory All year you look forward to hanging that wreath you got for a steal at an after-Christmas sale. Rather than tossing it in a trash bag, where it can too easily get seriously mushed or even forgotten, hang it on a rod or from nails hammered into the attic rafters or garage walls, Woodruff recommends. It will be easy to find, and will be in pristine shape for next year. #7 Store Your Tree With the Decorations on It Chris Baldwin No, seriously. If strategizing the placement of skiing Garfield and his 107 dangly friends is your least favorite part of holiday decorating, skip it after this year. Ask someone to help you tightly wrap this year’s decorated (artificial) tree — yep, ornaments and all — with heavy-duty stretch plastic wrap (the type that professional movers use, which you can find at home improvement stores). Next year, just cut the wrap and reshape the branches. Happy holidays indeed. #8 Or Give In and Buy a Tree Bag BalsamHill.com Every December 26, you begin to dread awkwardly wrestling your artificial tree back into its original packaging. This year, go ahead and spend the 50 bucks on a tree bag or box, Woodruff says. It will seal out dirt, dust, and bugs, won’t smash the branches, and some styles even allow you to store your tree fully or partially assembled. Plus, just knowing you can skip the reassembly next time makes for an extra happy New Year. #9 Trim Those Trimmings Give Back Box Getting out decorations should be a welcome walk down memory lane — not a guilt trip through items you “should” display but … ugh. So when you take down this year’s decor, follow the old rule for paring down your wardrobe and get rid of anything you didn’t use — you know, that carol-singing mounted fish from your dad or Nana’s crocheted coaster set — and donate them. “If it’s a sentimental item, take a picture of it,” Woodruff says. You won’t waste storage space and, come next year, you’ll be greeted only by items you love and use. #10 Organize By Room If you’ve got snowmen in every bathroom and a jingle bell on every drawer, you may end up with mountains of half-empty boxes piled everywhere for longer than you spend enjoying the decor. Get your halls decked more efficiently by sorting your boxes of trimmings by room, Woodruff suggests. Then, label each light strand by location — mantel, doorway, tree, etc. Decorating is merrier when you can grab a bin and make an evening of it, one room at a time. #11 Create a “Must-Have” Bin  Anne Arntson for HouseLogic Put all your favorite decorations in one “first-up, last-down” bin. Next year, you’ll spend more time enjoying your cherished menorah or manger and less time rummaging to find it. Thank you for taking the time to read up on some of the best holiday hacks we have seen. Sultan Newman Group will definitely be putting some of these into practice this year. Hope you have a great Holiday Season. Let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you! –Sultan Newman Group    Article by: HouseLogic

3 Home Improvement Projects to Boost Your Bottom Line With home prices at record highs and interest rates ticking upward, more homeowners are staying put. The result? People are heading to home improvement stores in droves. “America is in the middle of a home renovation bonanza,” notes the Denver Post. The newspaper cites a recent HomeAdvisor’s True Cost survey that found that Americans invested over four times more in home improvement between March of 2017 and March of 2018 ($6,649) than they did over the previous year ($1,492). Sultan Newman Group has a list of preferred contractors in the Denver area and we are happy to hand over to you for all your bigger projects! For those considering leaping onto the bandwagon, the Post notes that not all projects are equal when it comes to adding sales value to your home. It quotes HomeAdvisor home expert Dan DiClerico, who offered this list of key projects to take on, in terms of resale value: Upgrade kitchen: Cosmetic kitchen makeovers, such as new appliances and countertops, can add 5% to a home’s value. For a median-priced home in Colorado—$367,000— that could add $18,000 in sales value. Increase livable space: The True Cost survey found that adding space to a home, as in finishing a basement, boosts the bottom line by 5%, adding $18,350 to the value of a median-priced home. Renovate bathrooms: Simple updates can make a big difference. Re-tiling the shower or bathtub, updating the faucet and sink and installing new tile can add 2-3% to your home’s value, boosting the bottom line by $7,340-$11,010. If you are looking to get renovate your home please let one of our team members know. Since we have been in the business for so long we have a list of contractors that we have used for years and would be happy to share that contact information with you. Sultan Newman Group ReMax of Cherry Creek Photo Copyright: Jared Rice / Unsplash  

Are you making these decorating mistakes? Here’s how to fix them! You’ve tried your best to make every room in the house shine, yet somehow you keep missing the mark. If only you could afford to hire a design professional. But there’s no reason to despair. Many decorating mistakes are easily fixed—and without the investment of a $200/hour designer. Recently the website Houzz listed common design mistakes and offered easy-to-follow ways to fix them. Here are four tips to improve the look of your home: Declutter your shelves. “Putting every ornament you own on open shelves often leads to a distracting mishmash of nondescript items,” notes Houzz. The website suggests taking every item off the shelf and categorizing each as “beautiful, interesting or out.” Place anything in the latter category in a “no” pile. Then, once the sorting process is over, study what’s left with an eye toward showing every item in its best light. For instance, “[y]ou might want to paint the back of the shelves to emphasize lovely shapes and colors among your chosen collection,” Houzz suggests. Brighten up a white kitchen: White kitchens are popular these days, but without the right approach, they can seem bland and sterile. Houzz suggests displaying kitchenware to add interest. For example, “Hang great-looking saucepans from wall hooks, leave a stack of pretty dishes out on display or set a bowl filled with fruits or veggies on the counter.” Also, brighten select spots with flowers, small colorful appliances, and so on. Take care when hanging art: Homeowners often make the mistake of hanging art too high, says Houzz. Aim for the picture’s center point to be at eye level when hung in places where people stand. Aim lower in places where people will be seated. If in doubt, hire a professional to help; this is one area where it’s worth the investment. Create a focal point: When you walk into your rooms, do you find it hard to know where to rest your eyes? If so, chances are, you’ve neglected to designate a central item of interest. When planning a room, start with a focal point—a stunning piece of art or furniture, a mirror, a rug. Then arrange the rest of your décor to complement it. If you like what you already have, pick one item to be the focal point and rearrange your furniture to direct attention to that item. Photo Copyright: Unsplash Re/Max of Cherry Creek Blog