In House to Home this week, you must read the story on the Atlanta Botanical Gardens — it’s only in print so no links today.

Also, Sue Scholz pays tribute to Donna Davis of the Presque Isle Garden Club. Read her story here.

Check out all our stories this week:

» Enter Historic Homes Contest
» Homeowners want automated security
» 10 tips to make fridge shine
» Homemade, natural remedies keep pests at bay
» How to take care of oak trees

Pam Parker has written about real estate, home improvement and remodeling for 25 years. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three.

Last year, my team and I tracked and interviewed countless murder suspects, got the dirt on wealthy families that shaped Erie history and had a rip-roaring good time at the Watson-Curtze Mansion.

I felt like I was at Downton Abbey. And you can too!

It’s a real life game of Clue where actors portray the suspects — and they are stationed in various rooms of the four-story mansion and neighboring Planetarium. Everyone has a story, but you can’t always believe it — because one of them is a murderer!

Is it the doctor? The gardener? The lawyer? The spurned ex-wife? The mistress? The nanny? The long lost son or the guy who pretended to be the long lost son? Clues, clues — you must find all the clues! 

Join us — dress in your best 1920s fashions, enjoy the cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and desserts. And find the murderer!

Saturday, June 15 at  6 p.m. The after party begins at 8 p.m.

Teams of six can register for $250 before May 24. After, teams are $300. The Erie County Historical Society will match individuals and couples with a group if you do not have a team.

If you can’t make the game … join the Roaring 20s themed after party at the mansion. Tickets sold separately at only $20.

Hurry — this event sells out every year! Call 814-454-1813 x24

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom of three.

I’ve been to The Reserves off Arbuckle Road before, but right now there are five houses for sale in that region, and all are impressive. Here’s a link to my story in this week’s House to Home. That hubba-hubba great room at left is inside 275 Edgewater Circle — open house tomorrow. The list of homes for sale is at the end of this article.

We have plenty more on the local front. Click on the articles below:

» High Point market puts accent on statement makers – Meadville’s Marie Feltz gives us the news 
» Orchids mimic animals at weekend show Sue Scholz is going to the orchid show this weekend at the ice rink — you’ll see more than flowers
» Chalk one up for paint flowing at flower shop I visited Le Jardin in Edinboro — some must see decorating ideas.

Here are details on houses for sale in The Reserves:
275 Edgewater Circle
• $649,900
• 1.18 acres
• 3,210 square feet
• Built in 2005
• Five bedrooms, four baths
• Karen Antonio, of Howard Hanna, is the listing agent. For a closer look, attend an open house Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., or call Antonio at 825-6097.

If you have never seen the Niagara Pier condominiums, get to the next open house fast when there is one. The units — all located right off the Bayfront Parkway — have become popular real estate lately. Read my story here in House to Home.

Other information in House to Home includes:

» Garden club plant sales in full bloom
» Hay-fever season sign of pollination
» Grow your own organics
» Plant native grasses to save water
» Color your door, entry hall
» Tilling soil for yard art
» Designers provide privacy tips for open floor plan

You’ll go down in history!

Share some Erie history with us! The Erie Times-News celebrated 125 years of delivering the news on April 12, and we are celebrating all year. We want to hear your stories of home restoration. Click here for all the details on our Historic Homes contest. Reminder: This is a web contest, so you must submit everything on the Internet. The grand prize winner gets a weekend stay in one of the oldest brick buildings in North East — The Grape Arbor Bed & Breakfast.

Pam Parker has written about real estate, home improvement and remodeling for 25 years. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three.

Check out House to Home this week and get a park view right now — buy one of four homes for sale on West 24th Street priced from $75,000 tp $104,900. These two-and-a-half-story  homes include a lot of square footage and great views.  Read my story here.

The rest of our stories include:

» Right plants yield big results in small gardens
» Sputnik blooms, recalls 1950s space race
» Cattin’ around town plants ideas
» Pizza oven tops off backyard patio
» Tongue-and-groove returns to home décor
» Backsplashes make big impressions

You’ll go down in history!

Share some Erie history with us! The Erie Times-News celebrated 125 years of delivering the news on April 12, and we are celebrating all year. We want to hear your stories of home restoration. Click here for all the details on our Historic Homes contest. Reminder: This is a web contest, so you must submit everything on the Internet. The grand prize winner gets a weekend stay in one of the oldest brick buildings in North East — The Grape Arbor Bed & Breakfast.

Pam Parker has written about real estate, home improvement and remodeling for 25 years. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three.

Don’t let this morning’s early snow scare you inside. The sun will shine today and tomorrow — it’s a great weekend to hit 140 open houses. In House to Home, you’ll find a lot of them this weekend. Read my story – open up to 32 pages of open houses andh ere’s a link to the open house map.

More great House to Home stories include:

Sue Scholz has a terrific story on how to Grow colorful gardens you can eat. She interviewed Rosalind Creasy, edible landscaping expert, who will speak at Mercyhurst University Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Taylor Little Theatre, 501 E. 38th St.  That photo at left is one of Creasy’s edible gardens. Sure looks good today — no snow on those chairs. Here are some of the other terrific stories:

You’ll go down in history!

Share some Erie history with us! The Erie Times-News celebrated 125 years of delivering the news on April 12, and we are celebrating all year. We want to hear your stories of home restoration. Click here for all the details on our Historic Homes contest. The grand prize winner gets a weekend stay in one of the oldest brick buildings in North East — The Grape Arbor Bed & Breakfast.

Pam Parker has written about real estate, home improvement and remodeling for 25 years. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three.

It’s a great weekend to celebrate Erie history! The Erie Times-News celebrated 125 years of delivering the news yesterday, and we are celebrating all year. We want to hear your stories of home restoration. Click here for all the details on our Historic Homes contest. The grand prize winner gets a weekend stay in one of the oldest brick buildings in North East — The Grape Arbor Bed & Breakfast.

We have plenty to celebrate in House to Home this week. Countryside has a grand opening of its Phase II section in Summit Township. The Maleno development is a neighborhood of patio homes. It is something to see, and the design center, housed inside a patio home with a walkout basement, gives house hunters a look at all the latest and greatest ideas for building a new home. It is a must see — visit Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Natalie Washburn gave me a tour, and there is always something new at Countryside.

More great House to Home stories include:

Sue Scholz celebrates award-winning zinnias this week.

Daffodils can make artistic displays, and they are finally in bloom!

Hotel spa-style baths and bedroom decor ideas are easy to incorporate into your home. Read the story here.

Raised gardens appeal to all gardeners even the host of GardenSmart — read it here.

Kitchen faucets have gone high tech.

Tulips are coming! The tulips are coming — read about the fiery orange variety here.

You can add a vacation home feel to your home. Here are tips from designers..

Plastic has become a novel furniture design tool. Look at what folks are doing with it.

Don’t forget all the open houses this weekend. I’ll be out there looking, too. Here’s a link to the open house map.

Pam Parker has written about real estate, home improvement and remodeling for 25 years. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three. 

It’s the lap of luxury this week in House to Home. More than 75 luxury homes — priced from $400,000 to $2.5 million — are on the market right now in the Erie region. They are certainly well above the average home price, but the interesting thing is: This market is active, and some of the homes are selling — fast. See the homes at www.realestateerie.com website.

Tom and Ortrud Torti of Coldwell Banker Select in Erie sold a stunning $470,000, 2,400-square-foot home on nearly 12 acres in McKean Township in eight days. The photo above is the living room.

Another $600,000 home that Loretta Schaal of RE/Max has listed is getting a lot of traffic. Read my article here.

Sue Scholz gives us news on the latest award-winning vegetables and the schedule for the 53rd Annual Builders Association of NW PA Home Show at Family First today and tomorrow. Read it here. We have a lot more for you in House to Home. Enjoy!

The sun is shining. I’m hoping my daffodils pop open in the next few days. I need to see some yellow flowers!

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.

This week, House to Home takes us to some interesting places. I visited a gorgeous bit of history at 614 Cherry Street in Garden Court. Read about it here.

Plan a patio – don’t we all want to sit on that patio right about now? Even thought it’s a little chilly, you can plan for warmer days and decorating with tips from local decorator Marie Feltz Click here for some great ideas.

Sue Scholz gives us the dirt on the upcoming home show at Family First Sports Park. Read her column here, and check out the Builders’ tab in today’s newspaper.

We have much more for you this week. How do you decide on countertop heights? Many homeowners choose multiple heights, and it makes a great home remodeling design. Read about it here.

Look what one designer did with a tiny kitchen. Move the walls and voila — read it here.

Make your own stained glass, and get the value of a wake table — a table that, well, holds some deadly value. Click on the links to read all about it.

The sun is shining as I write this. Let’s all enjoy it, and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one. 

Check and checkmate for style this spring. Checkerboards and windowpanes are back.  Some of this I like, and some of it is way off the charts for me, but the geometric patterns are hot this year, and some are throwbacks to the 60s …. and the 80s and probably decades before that. In fact, I had a red and black checkerboard skirt and vest suit my mom wore in the 40s. It was awesome. I think Twiggy wore some of these.
These images are all from Elle magazine. Check out the rest of the runway images — some are very entertaining – here.
On the local front, AJ’sin the Colony Plaza  is hosting a trunk show today with Geiger coats today from 1 to 5 p.m. Enjoy!

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.