See if you can win big at Seminole Casino!

The recently expanded Seminole Casino Coconut Creek near Blue Isle offers some of the best gambling experiences, entertainment and fine dining in the south of Florida.The casino offers over 2,300 state-of-the-art slot machines, 65 popular table games and no-limit high stakes action in the Stax Poker Lounge. The Player’s Club area – the first of its kind in the US – eliminates waiting lines via revolutionary interaction technology, allowing guests to get straight into the action. There is also a high-limit area with 12 table games and over 60 slots.

Excellent dining is provided by a selection of South Florida’s finest restaurants, including:

• Fresh Harvest Buffet Restaurant
• Nectar Lounge and Sushi Bar
• NYY Steak
• Sorrisi Italian Restaurant
• Sunset Grill Sports Bar and Outdoor Restaurant 

In addition, the 1st Street Deli provides a delicious selection of bagels, sandwiches, soups and more. For live entertainment, the casino’s Pavilion and Legends Lounge are among the best possible venues near Blue Isle.

Open 24/7 throughout the year, the complex also includes 5,700 square feet worth of retail shops to spend your winnings in, so go ahead and have a wonderful time, remember to gamble responsibly and come back to share your experience here.

Photo credit: n3lson

Help those in need in the community by working with Gateway Community Outreach

There are many nonprofits near Blue Isle and they can all use your help. And helping the community is part of what makes this such an incredible place to live. It is a sense of sharing and helping those that are having a difficult time. Everyone needs a helping hand at some point in his or her life and that is exactly what Gateway Community Outreach is doing.Gateway Community Outreach has simple roots. The premise of the program began by helping out in a local church food drive for those less fortunate. Two cans of corn and a dream took shape. It was a dream to help people get back on their feet and become independent again. For 16 years Carol Ray has reached out to the community through the program. Her staff and volunteers have helped over 150,000 people needing a helping hand.

There are many nonprofits near Blue Isle you can choose to help but consider helping Gateway Community Outreach. You can give money, food and even your time to helping your neighbors persevere through difficult times. And if you know someone that is having a hard time and needs assistance…point them to the program for help!

Photo credit: criswatk

A fireworks show is just one of many things to see in nearby Pompano Beach

There’s a lot happening near Blue Isleif you‘re looking for things to do. Pompano Beach, very close to our community, has a lot of events coming up this summer:Pony Rides
Every third Saturday of the month, Sand & Spurs Equestrian Park is offering $3 pony rides, from 9am-11:30am.

East Village Uncorked
If you go down to the 2600 and 2700 blocks of East Atlantic Boulevard on the first Fridays of May-September, you’ll find East Village Uncorked. There will be live music on two stages, street side art displays, and free wine tastings at participating shops, from 6pm-9pm.

Intergalactic Bead Show and Sale
Sterling silver, pearl, precious gems, hand-blown glass, vintage and more. From 10am-5pm, June 2nd-3rd and September 22nd-23rd.

Free Car Seat Safety Check Saturdays
Four out of five car seats are not properly installed, and Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue Station 24 will be doing free safety checks from 9am-noon, June 9th, July 14th, and August 11th.

4th of July Fireworks
An all-day beach bash with music, bounce houses, and crafts will be followed at 9pm by a fireworks show at the pier.

Venture over to Pompano Beach, near Blue Isle, this summer to discover even more fun things to do!

Photo credit: JosephHart

Let Katy help your child find his/her musical voice

Music enriches your child’s mind in myriad ways. Studies have shown that children who take music lessons perform better at math and knowing a musical instrument can boost your child’s confidence. Among the many kid-friendly activities near Blue Isle Apartments are some great locations for music lessons to give your child an advantage.Autry Music Studio is a wonderful local studio with professional, quality instructors, proven reliability, and plenty of class options. Lessons are offered for all ages and skill levels, and in a broad range of musical talents.  Guitar, piano, string instruments, brass instruments, drums, and singing are all offered here with proven results and confidence-boosting performance opportunities.

If you’re not sure where your child’s musical talents may lie, Katy Peterson Music Studio is a wonderful place to start. She offers personalized music instruction catered to your child to help them find their own musical voice. Many parents remember feeling chained to an instrument with rote, enforced practice sessions. Katy Petersen works to free the student from those constraints by catering her teaching style to each student’s individual preferences and needs.

Give your child the leg-up they deserve with the lifelong benefit of music lessons, Blue Isle!

Photo credit: keb

Relax at one of the parks near Blue Isle Apartments

Tradewinds features areas for recreation and sports on over 600 acres. Go horseback riding, enjoy the aviaries at Butterfly World, or run on one of two certified 5k race courses. [Map]

Cypress Park

Open fields and wooded areas with paths for walking and jogging, five picnic shelters, and a sand volleyball court. [Map]

Fern Glen Park

This park has a nature area, volleyball court, playground, bocce ball court, and half basketball court. Grills and tables are also available at picnic pavilions. [Map]

Volunteer Park

Very close to Fern Glen, Volunteer Park has a playground, tennis and volleyball courts, a walking path, a half basketball court, and two picnic pavilions. [Map]

This park features a playground, four tennis courts, four pavilions, three basketball courts, and a jogging path. [Map]

These are just a few of the great places for you to enjoy exploring near your Blue Isle Apartment in Margate, FL.

Photo credit: Andres Rueda

Pet Name: Ivy
Breed: Schnauzer
Age: Baby
Male or Female: F
Size: M
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Pet Name: “Hootie”
Breed: Dachshund
Age: Adult
Male or Female: F
Size:

S

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Pet Name: DYLAN
Breed: Chihuahua
Age: Young
Male or Female: M
Size: S
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Pet Name: Georgia
Breed: Terrier
Age: Adult
Male or Female: F
Size: M
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Pet Name: HUNTER
Breed: Hound
Age: Young
Male or Female: M
Size: L
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Pet Name: 15875715
Breed: Hound
Age: Baby
Male or Female: U
Size:

M
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Pet Name: CHIP
Breed: Silky Terrier
Age: Young
Male or Female: M
Size: S
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sneak peek: matt & kathy allison

Prior to finding this home, Matt & Kathy Allison spent a year looking for a place in Claremont, a leafy suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The house had been built in the ’60s and was a typical mid-century modern ranch house. As soon as the couple stepped over the threshold, they knew it was the perfect home. For the past two and a half years, they have been doing basic renovations — restoring the wood floors, painting and redoing the bathrooms. When the couple’s now 22-month-old son, Nathan, was born, Matt decided to leave the music industry to become a stay-at-home dad. He taught himself how to cook by making his way through all 60 of Jamie Oliver’s 20-minute meals (and documented the process on his blog, “I’m No Jamie Oliver”). Things are about to get extra busy at the Allison house — Kathy is expecting a little girl this fall! Thank you, Matt and Kathy! — Amy Azzarito

Image above: The fireplace is a central focal point of our home; we don’t have central heating, so it’s a great source of warmth in winter. The armchair was a reupholstered thrift store find, and the atomic drum lamp was designed by The Lampshade Studio using Skinny laMinx’s Orla print in black. The wall scones I’d often seen in magazines like Dwell and on the set of Mad Men and tracked down their maker, Trifon of Palm Springs Vintage in California, who made them for me and shipped them half way around the world. The starburst clock was an eBay purchase from a store in NYC, and the small trinkets on the mantel were collected on various trips to markets and thrift stores. The paint colours are by Plascon paints, a low-VOC satin finish from their Cashmere range. Most of the rooms are painted in the same colour: an off-white called “Ivory Snow” with brilliant white accents, and the green accent walls in the living room are called “City of Green.”

Image above: The focal point is these beautiful masketeers ducks. I’ve always admired them and was able to nab them from an Etsy seller over in Oregon who graciously undertook packing and shipping them to me, despite being wary of international shipping.

See more of Matt & Kathy’s Cape Town house after the jump . . .

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yeah no yeah

Typographic prints make me feel like dramatically throwing all the accessories off my countertops and embracing an uber-modern minimalist style. I never actually do it, but something about the simplicity of these bold alphabet prints lends itself to that clean look. These prints are from Hannah and the team at Yeah No Yeah in the UK and are screen-printed by hand as posters measuring approximately 16 x 20 inches. You can choose any letter of the alphabet online right here for $65. I’d love to see a blog have a contest where people send in pictures of the best wall spelling made with letter prints like these. I bet this community would have some pretty clever entries . . . xo, grace

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hand-painted walls

Whenever I have a vision for changing something, I become very impatient to see it completed. This amazing dining room transformation from Ava Roth reminds me how wonderful it can be to tackle slow, epic projects, working bit by bit when you have a spare moment and watching your work grow from one little section into a gorgeous, dreamlike expanse. Truly a labor of love, these illustrations took Ava a little over a year to complete and are all painted freehand. You can read more about Ava’s process, including her paint brands and colors, after the jump. Thank you so much for sharing, Ava! — Kate

Photographs by Brenda Liu

Read the full post after the jump . . .

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after the jump: todd oldham interview (mp3)

Yesterday was one of the scariest and most exciting days I’ve had in years. For the first time in nine years, I put my headphones on and stepped in the radio station to record the first episode of my new radio show, After the Jump. I wasn’t just nervous to be on air again; I was nervous (and honored) to spend a half hour talking to one of my biggest heroes, Todd Oldham. And of course, he was just as delightful, kind, inspiring and genuine as I expected.

The show aired live yesterday at 12pm (and will be live every Monday at 12pm right here), but the MP3 file is ready to check out if you’d like to listen! Todd talked about everything from working with MTV and La-Z-Boy to how each of his projects allows him to tap into a different part of his creative passions. He was an absolute joy to listen to, and I hope you’ll take the time to listen when you have a chance. Todd has been one of my biggest inspirations since day one and continues to be one of the best examples of someone who is insanely talented but also insanely humble, kind and good. Click here to listen, download the file or bookmark it to listen later. The podcast should be on iTunes in a week (then you can subscribe and get them automatically).

*Thanks as well to Screaming Females (my favorite band) for letting me use their song “Bell” as the theme music for my show. They have a mind-blowingly awesome new album called Ugly — check it out here.
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Indulge in yummy ice cream and soak up the old school atmosphere at Cherry Smash

In the mood for some cold, creamy, sugary goodness, Blue Isle? If so, you don’t have to drive far! Cherry Smash, an ice cream parlour in Coral Springs, gives you everything you need to satisfy that sweet tooth while also providing an old school atmosphere that takes customers back in time to days gone by.

Not only does the shop offer tasty ice cream, but there is an immense collection of antiques as well, which is one of the most exhaustive in the county.  After just 2 months open, the owners – Sal and Sheila Bellassai – made plans for a 2,000 square foot expansion next door to the existing spot.  Even more antiques will be added, since the two have been collecting for years.

Among the antiques on display are a 1920 wood burning stove, 1939 fire truck, player piano, 1929 Ford pickup truck and an electric Lionel train that travels all around the store.  Customers come in for the ice cream but once they’re there, they are drawn to the large assortment of antiques, making it an attraction in its own right.  In addition, the tradition of the store is to take pictures of every customer who visits, then putting the photos on the ceiling and on Facebook.

Cherry Smash, which is located at 8000 Wiles Road (under 4 miles from Blue Isle), is open from 1 pm to 10 pm Mon-Thurs, 1 pm-11 pm on Fridays, noon-11 pm on Sat and 2-9 pm on Sun.  Visit the site linked above for more information or call 954-346-0999.  Have any of you Blue Isle residents been to the store yet?

Photo credit: becco

Live music hits South Beach next month during the Miami Madness Weekend event

Memorial Day will be here before you know it, and with it comes the biggest Memorial Day weekend in South Beach – Miami Madness Weekend 2012!

Now that you don’t have to scramble looking for something to do that weekend, you can look forward to May 25th and all that the holiday will bring.  So what will be included in Miami Madness Weekend? Here is some of what you can expect:

• 3 daytime signature theme parties
• A-list artists/celebrities
• Top DJs and radio personalities in the country (DJ Entice, DJ Boof Of, Da Union, DJ Epps, DJ Prostyle)
• NBA & NFL athletes
• Supermodels

…and, of course, a dose of the vibrant South Beach nightlife scene! If you’d like to see how previous Miami Madness Weekends panned out, click the link here.  Be prepared for surprise celebrity hosts, an appearance from G-Unit and parties by the pool! A full food menu and BBQ will be available on site.  The festivities will be going on from 1 pm-9 pm each of the 3 days.  While they will be happening about 20 miles away from Blue Isle, it’s well worth the drive and, if you’d like to, you can just stay out there and party all weekend!

Do you think you’ll attend at least one of these weekend days, Blue Isle residents? Sounds like it’ll be lots of fun!

Photo credit: eamon1

House tour! A vintage but minimal Toronto apartment

This apartment, inhabited by young entrepreneur Nikole, used to be a “bachelor apartment.” In the beginning of the 20th century, bachelor apartments were created in old houses for young, unmarried professionals who were just starting out. The space is just 350 sq. ft., but the amazing light and bright walls keep the space airy.

Nikole used to work as a pastry chef, so her kitchen and amazing array of tools is one of the most important areas of her home.  You can see her shop, full of nifty tools, here.

I don’t usually go for accent walls, but I like this charcoal gray ones. It keeps the space from being overly feminine.

Go to Covet Garden to see more and read the story.

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When life gets hectic, it’s the little things..

Phew…sorry for the neglect this week! I have a lot of major deadlines this week..my average bedtime the past two weeks has been 3 AM. Anyway, I figured I’d take time today to post some eye candy, not only to inspire you, but also to give me a much needed break from my current projects.

Here are some little (and big) pleasures to indulge in if you can…

a peaceful soak

a meal enjoyed without TV and catching up with those you live with but don’t necessary get to talk to everyday!

A beautiful place to read…

The piece you’ve had your eye on for ages and finally get to bring home

Little details that make life beautiful

What makes your life beautiful?

via 1. Mag 91, 2. Design Interior, 3. TradHome, 4. Adore Home, 5.  ?

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Table inspiration and eye candy

Pretty uses for one of the most versatile pieces of furniture.

The most apparent use – for dining…highlighted here by a conversation-starting chandelier and a salon style wall.

If you’re like me, you can never choose just one book to read. A table gives you the space to spread out.

My office desk is more like a table, because the surface space is so vital to my productivity.

1. House of Fifty 2. Traditional Home 3. & 4. Ryland Peters & Small

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Fresh and inspiring home offices

As some of you know, I work as a freelance web designer. Working for oneself definitely has it’s perks, but with it comes a lot more responsibilities, as you are accountable for everything. I am always extremely busy, which I enjoy, but last week I was drowning, and spent most nights up until 3:30 AM to meet my deadlines.

Paramount to working from home is having a home office and work space that is extremely comfortable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Everyone has different work styles, and the furnishings and layout you choose will depend on that and the type of work you do.

A lot of desk surface is a MUST for me
via 91 Mag

Inspiring artwork is always good for when you’re having a creative block.
via Small Space Style
 

This office is probably closest to my own, except I have to have one of those ugly office chairs in order to be comfortable.  I also need a very large monitor for my work.
via Adore Home Mag
 

A little chest of drawers helps organize smaller supplies and various cords we need for all of our gadgets these days.
via Bolig
 

I keep magazines for reference, and have several shelves dedicated to storing them.
via Heart Home
 

via Rue Magazine
 

via Southern Living

I’m interested to know, what is essential for you in your home office?

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