Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas we host our annual "Thanksmas Party" to  give our employees, trade partners and families we have built for the opportunity to give back to The Salvation Army of Cleveland County.  This organization is very dear to our hearts.  Santa always comes to make sure everyone has been good and we get the opportunity to have our pictures taken with the Big Man!

Our team also takes a day and Rings the Bell!  This is such a staple of the holiday season as much as the BC Clark jingle!  If you have never volunteerd, you are missing out!  It is such a great way to spread some holiday cheer.  When they say, every penny counts, it truly does! We had fun this year and tried to put a really LARGE check into the kettle.  Needless to say, it didn't work!  Click on the picture and you can check out the video we did!

Our focus on giving back and The Salvation Army is not limited to Christmas Time.  We had the opportunity to build The Judy McKown Children's Activity center that opened last year.  This beautiful building gives families a safe warm place to go to and be mentored by those in our community.

If  you are looking for somewhere to give- check out The Salvation Army!

Jerry Arias is the man behind the floor plans at Landmark Fine Homes.  During the bid process, you might have liked one of our basic floor plans but decided you wanted to do some changes. Jerry takes those ideas and turns them into realty!

Jerry grew up in Costa Rica so his recipe is one that was shared throughout the year, especially Christmas Eve.  No celebration is ended without a good “arroz con leche” (rice with milk) a very traditional Hispanic dessert, very sweet and made with lots of love, and memories to cherish for a life time.

"The main Holiday for us is Christmas Eve where all the extended family gets together. Normally a big party celebrated at the living grandparent’s home. Where the ladies of get together to prepare and cook Costa Rican Tamales (bigger and thicker than your normal Mexican tamales, and each one is wrapped around with green banana leaves), we also cook big pots of “arroz con pollo” (rice with chicken) and veal meat. While the men sit and talk about soccer or watch the best game of the season all over again. The children are just children, running around, playing, climbing trees and becoming friends with any new cousins they missed over the past few years. The teens and young adults just relax and catch up on everyone’s life. Any gifts are given to the children and the grandparents first, all other are done at each family’s home, keeping the families together, The celebration goes on all morning through the late night, until the last one leaves after cleaning the grandparents’ home. "

ARROZ CON LECHE (COSTA RICAN RICE PUDDING)

COOK TIME

30 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 can sweet condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 4 cups of milk
• ½ cup of water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
• ½ cup raisins
• 6 cloves
•  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a saucepan, bring rice, milk, water, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and cloves to a boil over high heat.
2. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add the sweet condensed milk and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the evaporated milk, the vanilla extract and the raisins and cook for 10 more minutes until it thickens to the desired consistency. Add more milk if you want your Arroz Con Leche thinner, as it will thicken once it cools down.
5. Serve it chilled or at room temperature.

Online Source: http://www.oliviascuisine.com/the-world-cup-gourmet-series-costa-rica-arroz-con-leche-rice-pudding/

Didn't Al's recipe yesterday look yummy?  If you missed it be sure and check it out on the Blog, Facebook or Pinterest!

I don't know about everyone else, but some of us at the office are all about the desserts.  If chocolate is in the title, then we are  all in for skipping the main meal and just eating it!  Today's recipe is one that looks pretty easy but is loaded with flavor.  Aren't we all for the easy during Thanksgiving?

Kelli Thompson in our Accounting Department shared this one.  Kelli graduated from Westmoore High School in the Moore Public Schools District.  She continued her education and graduated from OU with her degree in Accounting.  She has lived in Oklahoma all her life and is the mother to twins, a boy and a girl, as well as 4 dogs!  Some fun facts about Kelli:

• She prefers emails/texts over talking on the phone
• HUGE football fan
• She loves Fall/Winter but hates Summer
• Would love to live in Monterey, CA someday (After she retires from working at Landmark is what we told her!)
• She has a younger sister who lives with her parents. Her parents are still married and live in the same house she grew up in.
• Her favorite color is black
• Loves Diet Dr Pepper and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups
• Enjoys Cooking and Baking with her Daughter
• Watching Football with her son
• The whole family loves Ghost Adventures 

Landmark Fine Homes has had the privilege of building 2 homes for this wonderful family.  We had the opportunity to spend some time in their beautiful home in The Preserve at Parkside to catch up and find out what all they enjoyed about working with us.

We have found that many people are nervous about custom building a home.  Landmark Fine Homes works hard to make sure the process is as easy as possible.  Everything is broken down into steps as to not be too overwhelming for anyone.

Diana knew what she wanted when she saw it but wasn't sure how to make it come to life.  That is where our Design Team came in to fill in the gaps.  She was able to come into our Design Studio and work with our Team Member to make her selections.  She didn't need to drive all over town to find things.  She could come to our office and see it all put together.

Take a minute and listen to what all the Teels had to say about their experience!

How could you even begin building a home without these two guys?  Meet Jason and Brian- otherwise known as our Estimating Guys.

We joking say they began working here when they were 12.  LOL!  That is a little stretch but they have both been with Landmark Fine Homes for many years.

Jason Underhill, Director of Estimating, has been with Landmark Fine Homes since its inception in 2000.  Once he graduated from Oklahoma City University, he decided to stay at Landmark Fine Homes and continue full time.  Because of his longevity there isn't a floor plan that we have built that he hasn't seen.  That knowledge alone is priceless.  If you have a idea, Jason will know if it can be done in any particular plan.   He will be one of the first people you meet once you go under contract with Landmark because he runs the Plan Review meeting at the office.  This is where you go through the details of the contract and floor plan to make sure we have everything covered. Nothing is finalized until this meeting takes place.

As Director of Estimating, Jason is the person who not only anchors our pricing department but also our CAD and Design Team.

Brian Philips is our Estimator.  The great story about Jason and Brian - they went to College together and were in the same Fraternity.  So if you are wondering if they can work together as a team- the answer is YES!  Brian is a numbers guy- no doubt! He works closely with our Sales Team to get the ideas that our customers have, put those into a floor plan to be able to determine the cost involved and get those back to the Sales Team to be able to show you those ideas on paper.  He works hard to make sure all those ideas become a reality for you the potential homeowner.

If you are looking for a TOP NOTCH team of Estimators, there isn't any better than Jason and Brian.  Not only are they great at what they do- they are great guys!

Are you ready?

Winter is right around the corner as temperatures continue to drop!  Now is the time to take care of a few maintenance issues around your home to make sure you are ready!

• Be sure and disconnect all outside hoses.  If you forget the outside water faucet can freeze and burst pipes inside the walls.
• If this is the first time to you have turned on your heater you may experience a burning smell.  This is completely normal.  There might also be some smoke that could set off your smoke detector.  The smoke will usually clear away quickly.  Opening a door or window will usually help.
• A good rule of thumb is to change out your batteries on your smoke alarm at the same time you change your clocks.  It is not too late!  Make sure those batteries are good.

What are other things you do around your house as the temperatures drop?

Have you ever walked into someone’s home or business and wondered what were they thinking when they decorated their bookshelves?  A well-decorated shelf is like the perfect icing on the perfect cake.  These are some things we like to consider when decorating our bookshelves:

• Set your shelves at different heights so it doesn’t look too uniform.  Remove a shelf entirely if needed.
• Use several pieces of greenery, but be sure not to overuse the greenery (always try and place the greenery on different shelves.  If you have a bookshelf with corresponding sides then try not to use greenery on both shelves that are at the same level or on a shelf that is above or below the shelf that has greenery already.
• Use family pictures in frames.  5X7 and 8X10 work the best.
• Use books.  I love using old looking leather-bound books the best.  I have found these at garage sales and library sales.  It is a good idea to not put them all on one shelf.  Place them in groups of 3-5 in all different varieties.  Stand them on their ends, lay them down etc.
• Use fabric if you can.  Choose one with a complimenting color to your décor and scrunch it up under some books or a picture.  This adds a perfect pop of color.
• Don’t be afraid to lay things on their sides.  You can do this with metal and wooden candle holders, decorative boxes or chests and baskets. This is what we did at one of our model homes in Carrington Lakes.
•  If you want a warm and cozy feeling then use warm tones when choosing your décor.  If you want a clean look, then use the cool tones with straight edges.  Mixing the two can look nice too, but I would be careful when doing so.