All Entries Tagged With: "Palm Beach County"

Easter Fun in Palm Beach County

Updated Saturday, April 11

Time to celebrate Easter and we have compiled a list of Easter activities in Palm Beach County scheduled for this weekend.  Have a wonderful Easter and go easy on the Peeps!

Abacoa:

Roger Dean Stadium:

Jupiter:

Saturday, April 11th
9:30 – 11:00 am
Jupiter Community Center
210 Military Trail
Jupiter, FL 33458

For More Information
(561) 741-2400

Hunt begins promptly at 9:30am. Kids- Bring your own basket to collect eggs & candy. There will be egg hunt areas for ages 3 & under, 4-6, and 7-10. Immediately following the hunt until 11am, there will be additional activities including visits with the Easter Bunny, inflatables, face painting, and arts & crafts. Beginning at 10:30 am there will be a ballet performance of “Alice in Wonderland” by the Jupiter Community Center ballet classes. Be sure to be on time for the Easter Egg Hunts as they do not last long. REMINDER: Please bring a bag to put candy in and get there on time.

Palm Beach Gardens:

Age Groups:  3 years & under, 4-6 years, 7-10 years.  Bring your own Easter Basket

9:00 a.m. – Face Painting

West Palm Beach:

April 11, 2009

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Event begins promptly at 10:00 a.m.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, please contact the Flagler Museum at:
(561) 655-2833 or via e-mail at mail@flaglermuseum.us

Each year the Flagler Museum’s Whitehall Society hosts an Easter Egg Hunt and Egg Roll on the South Lawn of Whitehall the Saturday morning before Easter.  Children are encouraged to bring their own Easter Egg Basket for the Easter Egg Hunt on the Museum’s South Lawn. General admission for the Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Egg Roll is $5 for children and $15 for adults. There will be no admission charge for children and grandchildren of Museum Members at the Sustaining Level and above.

John Favole, News Anchor for WPTV News Channel 5, will be the Master of Ceremonies. Museum gates open at 9:00 a.m. for a visit by the Easter Bunny and Easter arts and crafts. The Easter Egg Hunt begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. Light morning refreshments will be available on the South Porch.

Proceeds of the event will help to underwrite the Museum’s Newspapers in Education program. Published in conjunction with The Palm Beach Post, the Newspapers in Education tabloid will be geared toward 4th and 5th grade students and will be made available statewide. It will help students understand the development of Florida and Henry Flagler’s essential role in that process.

Prescription Discount Card for Palm Beach County Residents

Written by Susanne Quirk

Palm Beach County residents can receive a prescription card to receive discounts on prescriptions not covered by your health insurance. The program is offered through the NACo (National Association of Counties) and is sponsored by Caremark. Anyone living in Palm Beach County is eligible for the program regardless of health, age and insurance status. The average savings is about 20% of the qualifying prescription and as much as 50% off mail order prescriptions. Funny, the card can also be applied towards pet prescriptions.

Call 1-866-489-7594 for further information about the program.

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.

Hidden Gem In Jupiter

By Susanne Quirk

Today, I was out running errands and was reminded of one of Jupiter’s hidden gems, Dune Dog Cafe. A casual cafe that reminds me of Jimmy Buffet, Key West and Margaritas. Don’t get me wrong – it is definitely a great family place. It is a place where every local has dined (embarrassed to mention if you haven’t) and a must visit for every tourist, family or friends visiting the area. If you’ve been to Jupiter, then you’ve been to the Dune Dog.

The Dune Dog Cafe is tucked away off of Alt A1A in Jupiter. An open, outdoor cafe where the relaxed atmosphere makes me feel as though I should be kicked back on a boat listening to Jimmy Buffet. A nice little reminder you are in paradise! And the icing on the cake? Thursday night is lobster night for $15! Can’t beat that. They also have your usual fare – hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, etc. Let us know about your hidden gem.

Celebrate Halloween at PGA Commons

PGA Commons is celebrating Halloween today at 4:00 p.m.

Spooky schedule:

4-6 p.m. – Trick-or-treating for youngsters at participating stores and restaurants

5-7 p.m. – Family-style dinner specials at Oakwood Grill, Spoto’s Oyster Bar and Vic & Angelos

7 p.m. – Pet Costume Parade

Be safe and Happy Halloween!

Residential Homestead Property Tax Simulator for Florida

Written by Joe Quirk

I came across a couple of tax simulators created for the Florida Association of Realtors. The first simulator is a property tax simulator that will allow you to calculate your taxes under the newly proposed Super Homestead and the current Save the Homes tax system. It allows you to enter specific information based on your personal situation and will analyze which tax system would work best for you.

The second simulator helps you to determine if your taxes would be lower with the proposed Super Homestead. The tax reform is slated for the January 2008 ballot.

The current property tax situation has many people caught in a quandary. When originally proposed and approved, the Save our Homes idea was well received. I don’t know anyone that could have imagined back then, how our property values would have appreciated. The good news is most all homeowners have had tremendous equity improvement in their homes. The bad news is what your new tax would be if you bought a new home.

Our elected officials MUST come together and approve a major form of relieve to allow the residents of Florida to keep their property taxes affordable, to allow residents to move buy new homes with some form of portability and to get our economy moving in the right direction.

Many of our local builders, contractors, mortgage underwriters and other friends and neighbors that were employed in the housing sector have been devastated by layoffs and company closings. A tax bill that offers true relief will kick start our local economy, create many new jobs and get some of the old ones back.

Please contact your public officials and get them to get on board and get us all some “real” relief.

Lets talk…Are you for or against the proposed changes? Give us your thoughts.

Could the New Low Pending Home Sales Stimulate Housing Market?

By Joe Quirk 

There was an article in the Financial Times yesterday defining some market indicators that made me wonder if we are we at a turning point in the housing market.  The article, New Low In Pending Home Sales Offsets Rally in Financials, written by Chris Bryant and Michael Mackenzie, touched on the National Association of Realtors’ announcement that pending home sales dropped to a record low 85.5. 

The fall was much higher than anticipated and an indication that sales might continue to drag in the coming months.  However, there was something else going on in the financial markets.  The S&P Homebuilder Stock Index surged as high as 8.4 per cent.  The reason,  Citi Investment Research said that now is the time to buy into the weak homebuilder sector.  Then, following NAR’s data on pending home sales, it dropped slightly and closed at 5.4 percent higher at 453.31, but still a nice high. 

Homebuilders with strong balance sheets are benefiting the most.  Pulte Homes (DiVosta), DR Horton and Beazer Homes are all prominent builders in Palm Beach County and all three builders are seeing anywhere from 5 to over 12 per cent gains in stock prices.

Does this mean new stimulation for the housing market and a recovery is in sight?  Possibly.  I’m not in the business of predicting the market and don’t have my crystal ball in front of me to give you a definite yes or no.  No one can predict exactly when we will recover.  There are too many variables.  However, we can take a look at all the indicators and see what direction the “experts” are going in.  

Past history can tell us that consumers spend when they are confident about the economy and we are seeing consumer confidence with the current gains in the financial markets.  A strong financial market and an all time low housing market makes for a breeding ground for buyers confidence to spill over into the real estate market. 

The housing market now is a buyers market.  Anyone able to buy a home or investment property should be doing their homework, researching properties and buying.  Don’t go into analysis paralysis as to whether housing prices will go any lower.  Timing the market is a fools game and you will wait forever for a lower price.  Be satisfied that you’re getting a good deal.

Always feel free to contact me if you have any questions about buying or investing in real estate.