By Kristy B. Yule, MIRM

VP Marketing, Newland Communities

I know, I know… you’re probably thinking, “There are more than 133,000,000 blogs (yikes!), why do we need another one?” The thing is, most blogs have a more singular point of view (mommy stuff, real estate, money topics, green living, celeb gossip, etc), or you’ll find a blog that is someone who, in reality, is posting a blog knowing that they will be the only one to ever see it. Well, simply put, we want  to talk with you (not just at you or at ourselves) about a more diverse groups of topics.

Briar Chapel is known for being the largest Green Home community in the Triangle, and we are very committed to developing a green community and green homes. However, our guests/homeowners look to us for information on a huge variety of other topics such as Arts/Culture, Wellness, Living Green and  buying a new home, so we had a thought – what if we ask people in the community who are experts in all of these things and more to contribute to our blog?? Great idea, right?

So, who will you be hearing from here? We have assembled a wonderful team of guests bloggers including:

The Pittsboro General Store

The Abundance Foundation

Chatham County Arts Council

UNC Wellness

Triangle Offroad Cyclists (TORC)

Southern Energy Management

Back Solutions

Chatham Co. Schools and Woods Charter School

Bank of America

And representatives from our builder team and from Newland Communities.

Whew, that is some list!  As you can imagine, each of these groups bring a unique perspective and expertise for the different topics we want to cover, and we feel they will provide the best sources of information for your questions/concerns.

That’s the who, now a little more on the what.

In our posts, we will discuss a variety of issues, from navigating your new home purchase to benefits of buying and living green here in Chatham County. We will also focus on issues of lifelong learning around the Arts/Culture. You may not be aware but Chatham County has a large number of local artists who are doing amazing work. This makes sense for us, since Briar Chapel has a robust public art program that will continue to grow as our community grows. (You can learn more about our community art here.) Wellness is another vital attribute of Briar Chapel. Whether it’s our extensive trail system or our commitment to building sustainable and healthy homes, we feel that providing a community that makes it easier to maintain an individual’s wellness is important for their quality of life.

Oh, and in case you are thinking that this is going to be all real estate and no fun, no worries, we’ll also have fun tips and ideas for moms, families, kids, empty nesters… you know, everything but the kitchen sink kind of deal!

And to prove it, here’s my fave thing du jour – a breakfast parfait that’s quick, easy, and sooooo darn good. Below is my own simplified version of this idea from Ellie Krieger of the Food Network.

Breakfast Parfait

• ½ cup of natural yogurt
• ½ cup of oats
• ½ cup of skim milk
• ½ cup of fruit (I prefer mixed berries)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Handful of nuts

Mix yogurt, oats and milk and leave in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, add the fruit, honey and nuts and you have a nutritional, healthy and easy breakfast!

So, this is what we’ve been working on and thinking, but we would love to know what you think! We encourage (nay plead!) for your input and feedback. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on this entry and on what you want to know more about in future postings.