All Entries in the "Palm Beach County" Category

SunFest 2009

SunFest, Where Music Meets the Water, is here again.  Founded in 1982, SunFest is Florida’s largest waterfront music and art festival. Held annually in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida and attracts more than 280,000 visitors.  With over 3,000 volunteers, the SunFest has made a positive impact on the community.  This year’s SunFest dates are April 29 – May, 2009.

Plan ahead to receive ticket discounts:

Month of March

April 29, 2009 Opening Night

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Entertainment:

Advertise Your Business on Blogging Jupino

As a community blog we like to provide current information about the community, people and businesses in Jupiter and the surrounding areas.  We have grown tremendously since our inception just one year ago.  Blogging has been a tremendous way for us to meet new people and learn more about the area we live in.  We would like to share our success with everyone in our community by asking you to send us an article about your place of business, neighborhood or story about your favorite place in Palm Beach County.

Interesting and captivating articles will be posted on our blog for everyone to see.  We want articles that serve a purpose to our readers.  Just telling us about your business simply won’t do.  Be creative and send us your best!  Pictures are highly encouraged. 

We are fortunate to recieve high traffic volume each month from readers around the world.  This is a free service for those working or living in Jupiter and surrounding areas.

Help us to make Blogging Jupino the best community blog in Palm Beach County.

Send your articles and questions to squirk@cobblestonefl.com.  No hard copies please.  Digital format only.

Cinematic Couture at Palm Beach Gardens Mall

The kids, grandma and I spent Saturday doing what every girls favorite past time…shopping for shoes! I make no apologies, it needed to be done! The kids each left victoriously with a pair of shoes in hand! Nothing is more satisfying than finding perfect pair of shoes.

We shopped at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens. Over past few years, the mall has immensely improved with designer stores such as Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Chanel and more. The interior design has been updated to attract the sophisticated shoppers in the area.

This month The Gardens Mall has a fascinating exhibit, Cinematic Couture, of costumes used in recent films. There they have 40 costumes on display from movies such as:

The exhibit will be on display through April 28. Visit Gardensmall.com.

For the Last Minute Christmas Shopper

I’m a last minute shopper. My shopping never begins before Black Friday and is very rarely complete before Christmas Eve.

Luckily, retailers understand that there are many of us shopping procrastinators out there. Here are the holiday hours for some of the malls and shopping centers in the area.

The Gardens Mall will be open from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. now through Saturday. Sunday from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

For the die-hard discount shoppers, the mall reopens Wednesday from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Palm Beach Mall – Open today and Friday from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Monday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Downtown at the Gardens – Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

City Place – Thursday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Good luck and happy shopping!!

Fortune Magazine Forecasts Population Growth in Florida

Palm Beach County has been hit hard by the housing market. Foreclosures were up by 68% in November. We have a four year supply of houses on the market and the Palm Beach Post reminds us almost daily how bad our market is. All the negative talk can stall our market even longer.

Well, I am here to send some positive news your way. The December issue of Fortune magazine highlights some of their best stock picks for 2008. St. Joe, a Florida based company, was listed as one of the top “Ten Strong Stocks for ‘08.” St. Joe Co. is the biggest private landowner in Florida. The housing market brought the stock crashing down from $82 to $28.

What is interesting is why the stock is forecasted as a top pick. As stated in the article, “The Census Bureau is projecting 33% population increase for Florida – the equivalent of six million new residents – between now and 2020.” Reaffirming our philosophy of why we began investing in Florida. Florida is unique to most other states in the nation. Our population is projected to keep increasing not decreasing. Our state is a top destination to retire for baby boomers. Our industry is expanding with the increase of businesses moving into our area. Including in our immediate area where Governor Charlie Crist just approved $94 million in state funding for the Max Planck Society to bring their German based bio-imaging center here to Jupiter.

We may be going through some tough times right now, but we have some strong signs of a promising future. What we do know is that housing prices have been the lowest they have been in years. Whether they will keep dropping is questionable. What we do know is that we will recover and prices will go back up. Making now a great buying opportunity.

Dining Out in Jupiter at Samantha’s

By Susanne Quirk

We dined at Samantha’s in the Jupiter Shoppes this weekend.  It was our first visit there although Samantha’s has been around for a couple of years.  I was eager to go because close friends of ours had recently dined there and raved about the place.  I don’t mind saying that they are quite the critics when dining out.  Their reviews carry weight with us because they dine out almost nightly and have acquired a long list of restaurant recommendations in the process.    They won’t hesitate to give you a detailed critique along with their recommendation! 

Samantha’s is quietly tucked away in the Jupiter Shoppes located next to the now defunct billiards place.  Inside and outside dining is available.  The restaurant is very cozy and intimate.  There are not many tables and that is a nice change from the mega chain restaurants that are flooding the area and can be so difficult to get into.  The seating is limited and I would advise making reservations.  We did not have reservations, however the hostess was very pleasant and fortunately was able to squeeze us in.   

The menu is extensive and I wanted to provide it here for you.  So, I searched online and in my search I also found some great reviews consistently making claims that the calamari is to die for.   We didn’t have an appetizer to give you our thoughts on that, but we did have dessert.  But before I get into that I’ll go over our entrees first.  I had the usual Filet Mignon and I was quite impressed.  It wasn’t my preferred Oscar style but I was pleased with all 11 ounces encrusted with Gorgonzola, Roasted Garlic Cream & Red Wine Reduction - all for $38.   Great price since we’ve paid more than that for smaller portions.  My steak was so big I didn’t pay too much attention to the mashed potatoes and seasoned vegetables.  

Dessert was the best part of the dinner.  I perused the dessert menu and found a delicious bread pudding loaded with vanilla bean ice cream, bananas and drizzled with caramel.  Pure heaven!

We enjoyed everything about Samantha’s.  The food was great, the service was top notch and I can’t wait to go back for the dessert. 

There’s a great website for those who dine out frequently www.SouthFloridaDines.com.  This website is packed with restaurant reviews, menus and more.  They also offer gift certificates at discounted rates.

Black Friday In Jupiter, Florida

By Susanne Quirk

My sister and I would kick off our holiday shopping on Black Friday. It was a tradition that lived on for years until I moved to Florida in 2001. This year we will be reinstating our shopping tradition in Jupiter, Florida. This will be the first year that we celebrate Thanksgiving with my mother, sister and her husband here in sunny Florida.

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. The retail industry claims it is the biggest shopping day of the year. It is the day that can bring many retailers out of the red and into the black in terms of revenue. Also, a big indicator of what retailers can expect for the remainder of the holiday shopping season.

So, I wanted to do my homework to be prepared for our big shopping day. I went online to search for the latest information on Black Friday. Whoa! I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. I came across websites established for the sole purpose of providing information for Black Friday.

Here’s what I found…

1. Black Friday 2007 - Claims to be the Official Black Friday 2007 Website. This site is pretty loaded. You can subscribe to their mailing list. Categories include Adscans, Online Deals, Message Boards, Store Hours, create a shopping list and more. Click on the Features category and you will get a list of the Best and Worst Deals and Most Popular Deals.
2. Black Friday@ Gotta Deal.com – Lots of information including the latest news about Black Friday. The Black Friday FAQs are helpful. Most Wanted Items was not available when I checked.
3. BlackFriday.info – Pretty straightforward stuff here.
   • black friday ads
   • shopping list
   • coupons
   • deals
   • contact us
4. BlackFriday.net – Simplified here with ads and codes.

Each site had a long list of stores that provided adscans and coupons/deals. Some sites list more than others so you may need to view a few of them.

Check out the Palm Beach Post. They are providing helpful tips each day in the paper and Thursday’s Accent section will have a complete list of store hours and events. The Palm Beach Gardens Mall will text message deals at the mall. Text 97904 and receive messages about giveaways and deals! Text “Save” to WMart (96278) for Wal-Mart shoppers and “GO” to sams1 (72671) for Sam’s Club.

Happy shopping! Know of another website not listed here? Let us know.

ARTrageous at Abacoa Town Center

By Susanne Quirk

The ARTrageous festival will be at the Abacoa Town center this weekend. It’s the 2nd annual event for artists to display their fine art work. Mediums include photography, sculpture, glass, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, mixed media. This is a great opportunity for fabulous finds for your home. 

The festival is Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Admission is free.

Living on the Water

Visit our new Listings category at Blogging Jupino. After careful consideration, we created the category to provide a unique service to our clients. We also thought it would be a great way for readers to learn more about our area.

Our first home is a beautiful Key West style ranch. Located in a quiet neighborhood in Jupiter called Perigon Point. Just west of Alternate A1A, it was built in 1980 and is located on the water with easy access to the ocean just minutes away. What is interesting is that it is unincorporated. The property is not considered to be a part of the Town of Jupiter. Therefore, homeowners do not pay taxes to Jupiter. How great is that?

It is a beautiful home where you can relax and unwind at the end of the day.

Business Expo Fundraiser to Benefit Children & Families

The holidays have always been a time when we think about those in need. Well, here is a great opportunity for us to give back to our community. On November 29, two charities, The Palm Beach County Heart Gallery and Santa’s Sleigh Riders, will benefit from the Holiday Business Expo Fundraiser at the Abacoa Golf Club. Santa’s Sleigh Riders is funded by Families First of Palm Beach County. A $10 donation is all that is required to shop for the holidays with local businesses. A silent auction, door prizes, including a chance to win a cruise. That’s right – win a cruise for two aboard the Mariah, spa certificates, gift baskets, golf foursomes, weekend getaways and a chance at 5 day/4 night stay in St. Thomas. The first 100 attendees receive a FREE gift.

Be sure to bring your recycled ink and toner cartridges. Cartridge World of Wellington will be hosting an additional fundraiser and will donate all money received from your cartridges to these two charities.

Business booths are still available. For more information, contact Brenda Ammon at (561) 307-4978 or email Brenda at ultimatehealth4u@aol.com