Monika Depalo REALTOR consultant

Alaqua is a gated community in the heart of Heathrow-Florida

This community is between Sanford-Florida and Lake Mary-Florida. Having lived in Lake Mary and having worked in Heathrow it is more metro than country although there is selected areas where nature can still be appreciated as well as exercise trails.

For those who enjoy casual or fine dining there are both. For healthy treats there are a few smoothie establishments. For cafe lovers, there is more than one Starbucks, bagel restaurants, Dunkin' and more. Ethnic restaurants offer variety.

The president of Cypress Gardens lives in Heathrow as well as many sports stars. It is an easy drive to Orlando (about 20-30 minutes in non-rush hour traffice on I-4)

Skip Sonny's Barbeque next time and try the Smokehouse at Route 46 in Sanford, Florida

I'm glad I did, the dishes we ordered were all cooked to perfection, the rib meat was lean and fell off the bone, the portions were large, the club sandwich was more than two inches thick, the garlic toast was actually toast not soggy bread, and the 1/2 a chicken was a large chicken served with steamed vegetables and sweet potato fries (choice of two sides).

If you try it (or have tried it) please let me know what you think on the comment feature below.

The atmosphere is rustic and saloon like and the sauces are on the table and at the tabasco sauce is by other condiments at the serve yourself silverware area.

If you live in Lake Forest, Sanford, Lake Monroe, Sanford, or Sylvan Lake or the Preserve at Sylvan Lake in,Sanford, Florida this is truly right down the road.

You order at the counter and a server brings it out to you so you do not order from your waiter. Our waiter was very attentive. The brownies are also freshly cooked and tasted like they were right out of the oven!

Enjoy!

An Opportunity Knocks

There are many vacant land deals right now! Kiplingers even mentions the stock market (not day traders)and bonds have the same long term capital gain appreciation. Land does not depreciate. Land is the original homestead investment when they diviided all into tracts. So the gain will be evident over time.

So write me a comment if you wish for me to locate land for you or your family to pay for retirement, college and the like. This is a buyer's market and thee is a good amount of inventory for you to pick from to get land that will meet your needs. Land is not as shaky as the banks and CD rates, etc. As a licensed real estate consultant I'm here to assist you in meeting your investment goals. Stocks are not always as honest or forthright as land.

Chess pieces? or the Capital Building of the U.S.?

Architecture can set a mood. Being that I have an interior design background we were required to take architecture. Architectural Graphic Standards was one of the textbooks. We had to build bridges out of straws also as an engineering feat and then see how much weight the bridge could hold. We also made 3-D models, it was quite interesting.

I have a buyer now who is looking for a Key West style home and there are many Spanish and Contemporaries and it is harder to find them unless one looks in a historical town who promotes and advocates preservation. Many have been turned in to museums.

In Key West, there are many coastal style homes with bird watching type balconies on a second story to enjoy the view.

Let me know some of the styles that are popular in your area and which ones are diminshing and why, if possible.

Thank you.

"We have a suprise for you" , they said. "What is it?, I said "I can't tell you it's a surprise", they said.

" Is it something to eat?", I said. (I'm a good guesser)

"Yes", they said.

"Is it a dessert?", I asked. (Another good guess)

"I can't tell you-it's a surprise.", they said.

"I just washed my hair and it's not dry yet and I finished putting mulch on the planter so I'm not dressed to go out", I responded.

"That's o.k.-you need to get your surprise" , they replied.

"Can I have some time to get my hair dry and put on some jeans?" , I asked. (This must be what it feels like when Oprah, Ellen, Or Emeril surprise you at arrive at your home.)

"Yes, leave in 15 minutes",they stated.

So, I dried my hair put on my jeans and a better shirt and jumped in the car and met them and low and behold a "masterpiece". What a beautiful cake! For me?

This truly was a surprise! I have a wonderful family!