About Silver Spring's Downtown Silver Spring

The 2010 Resolution Breaking, Ultimate Sugar High (Candy Store has opened in the Old Building that I last remember as being an Army Recruiting Station:
8408 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Downtown 20910

The smell inside the shop is intoxicating.  They make the candy in the building, fresh, no preservatives.  You can watch it being made.  If you are old enough to remember the candy sold exclusively at Woodward and Lothrup "Woodies" stores in Wheaton Plaza, Montgomery Mall, Chevy Chase and the original Downtown Woodies you are probably going to be in nostalgia heaven when you taste it.  The caramels are out of this world, even if you are not a "candy person".   Velatis has a history of candy making that goes back over 150 years starting in Richmond, Va during the civil war and in Washington, DC from a shop opened in 1866.  Their history is so interesting it is worth the read, as are the testimonials from people all over the DC area.  They plan to add ice cream to the menu at the shop and are having a Grand Opening in March.  Stop by and buy some caramels, you will not be disappointed!  Happy Sugar High!

Whenever I have to deal with getting my car repaired, I feel like I'm wearing a T-shirt that says:

"Hi! I'm Pat, and today I'm a license to print money!"

When I got back from Hawaii, my trusty old Lexus would not turn over. So it was AAA to the rescue. My battery was not just in a coma. After eight years of excellent health, it died during the December blizzard. When the AAA guy put in the new one, he ran a diagnotic test to make sure it was working properly, and it showed my might have an issue with the alternator.

The car has been running well, but AAA guy promised me that it would only do so for a short period of time before conking out on me again. So today, I decided that rather than push my luck, I'd get it checked out.

As the warranty just ran out, I called my old friends at Murray's Auto Clinic in Silver Spring. They'd worked on my old cars and were terrific - they never took advantage of the many opportunities they had to cheat me. But they were fully booked until Friday. When I asked if they could suggest anyone else, the guy told me that Fenton Citgo (8333 Fenton St in Silver Spring, MD) was the only place anywhere near as good as they were.

So I called.

The mechanic spoke to me and asked a few key questions. Is the battery light on? Are any other lights on? How did AAA guy check it out? And he took pity on me, saying to come by in half an hour and he'd look at it.

He ran the same diagnostic test that AAA guy did, and the car seemed to be doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing. He did his incantations and all and then said he detected no alternator issues at all. He suggested that the AAA guy installed the battery properly, it looked perfect, and that AAA's tester might have been off.

Now, here's the good part. As he prepared to send me on my way, I asked him how much I owned him. And he didn't want to charge me! I had to force a $20 bill into his hands!

So here is one local business that has one loyal new customer! Like the mechanic who recommended Fenton Citgo, they passed on an opportunity to make money on this silly woman who knows zilch about her car. And the guy was totally honest with me.

What a great example for all small business people!

Somewhere in Silver Spring . . . . the skeleton house was my pick for the best Halloween Display I saw this year.

My photos do not do it justice because they are taken in the daytime. There are skulls mounted on the gutters with fire spewing out of them (at night) like funeral pyres. Still can't figure out how they did that?

At night this yard really looks like a graveyard with skeletons hanging in trees, coffins, sitting in chairs, hanging from the highest window, sprawled on the ground in pieces. Someone is very talented and would be super at settting scenes.


Now that we are into November that means the annual Montgomery County Thanksgving Parade is aroung the corner. The Parade takes place on the weekend before Thanksgiving, Saturday November 21st this year.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon

Save the Date for the event that heralds the beginning of the Holiday Season!
Downtown Silver Spring on Georgia Avenue from Sligo to Silver Plaza on Ellsworth Drive to Fenton Street.

There will be Marching Bands, including the Redskins Marching Band and many High Schools from around the county, Macy's Parade type Balloons, floats, vintage cars, dogs, horses, ethnic dancing groups, police groups and fire trucks with Isiah Leggett as the grand marshall this year.

The Silver Spring Regional Center is looking for volunteer help with the Parade:
We need volunteers for the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade to act as balloon handlers- leading the giant Macy-like Thanksgiving balloons and dressing up in costumes to be on the floats. Also, we need assistance with set-up and break-down.

This opportunity is great for Groups!
Small Grp: 3-10: YES
Medium Grp: 10-25: YES
Large Grp: 25-50: YES
X-Large Grp: 50+: YES

The hours are from 7:30am to 1:30pm (you need to be present the whole time) on Saturday, November 21. Dress warmly, as you will be outside. You should try and wear black as your outside layer color. Once you arrive, you will be assigned a position and given directions about your volunteer job. Volunteers meet at the new fire station at 8110 Georgia Avenue. If you or your group is up for this Contact:
Elizabeth Gallauresi 301-793-2928 egallauresi@themodernmuse.com

ow, I am used to having to respond and act quickly when working with local realtors to stage properties. But my last project was the fastest one yet! The realtor called me on Wednesday, I viewed the space on Thursday morning and we staged it on Friday afternoon! Whew!

To our benefit, the house was only 1.5 miles from the office AND we were only focused on the basement level. But it was a long basement - 38' ft long by 11ft wide that was forgettable to potential buyers. And the good thing about it the basement and just off the garage, no stairs...items could basically come right in! Take a look at the photos below and let me know what you think!

Before

After -check out our handy work below!

DC/Maryland based realtors - don't show your vacant, sell it! We can stage your properties quickly too! Give us a call at ra reDoes rooms! We'd love to help!

The below listed 20910 Silver Spring, Montgomery County Maryland condo buildings show all their active listings for sale and rent in the MRIS as of today.  This is a keyword search, and sometimes you will also see homes listed from other areas. 

Whenever you check back you will be updated with the latest listings, as this info is updated daily.

 CONDO BUILDINGS:

• AURORA
• GLEN BRIAR
• HARTFORD-THAYER
• MICA AT SILVER SPRING METRO
• MICA AT SILVR SP
• PARK SUTTON
• SILVER SPRING ME
• SILVER SPRING METRO
• SILVERTON
• THAYER TOWERS
• THE CAROLYN
• THE CAROLYN CONDOMINIUM
• THE CRESCENT
• THE LOFTS
• THE VERIDIAN

To do your own searches for listings by county, town, and sales price.. Go to the home page of choicerealestate.net first, then click on the county you are interested in.  select your City in Step 1, then check "Residential, condo" in Step 2.  Select 'Save & search' to have NEW listings auto-emailed to you as they hit the market.