Local Resources

Luxury Homes For Our Canine Friends in Miami

March 28th, 2010 Categories: Local Resources, South Florida Living

No, this is not my latest listing in Pinecrest.  This is one of the cutest dog houses I’ve ever seen!  I was driving west on 152^nd Street and had to do a 180 so I could appreciate these little homes closer.  They impressed me to no end.

The luxury dog houses are created by Ricardo and Janeth.  He is a master carpenter who specializes in custom yacht carpentry.  As the luxury market had dwindled a bit, so did the amenities associated with it.  In a moment of inspiration they decided to make custom homes for our furry friends.

My precious Fifi and Lola would love to live in any one of these homes.  There’s the little red shingled barn, a boat house with its crisp white paint, chimney stack and shiny golden anchor (look at those porthole windows!), and the stone villa, with its textured walls, and windowed gable.  Sooooo cute!

The attention to detail in these homes is impressive.  To order your own custom home for your furry best friend, you can contact Ricardo or Janeth at 786.285.9431 and tell them Maggie sent you.

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In The Doghouse In The Redland

January 10th, 2008 Categories: Local Resources

Looking for a new home for Fido in the Redland? This place has the most adorable doghouses, custom made by Mike.

They range from teeny weeny little ones for Fifi to sprawling ranches for Brutus. One of their nicest models is called Ines. Loved that!

When I stopped by to snap the pictures I couldn’t find anyone to give me prices so I will have to report back on that.

You can find these lovely doghouses on Krome Avenue and 272 Street. Apparently, they also have them over on US1 and 262 Street, although I haven’t been over there to verify that. Maybe today!

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Krome Offers Best Price On Gas

December 17th, 2007 Categories: Local Resources

I haven’t written an article in over 2 weeks. Ouch! I have been swamped with work and apologize to my loyal readers. All 7 of you =)

And this article is not real estate related but I wanted to get it out there.

Living in the Redland, I travel along Krome Avenue a lot. I use it to drive down to Homestead as well as up to Kendall. I have been stopping to fill up my gas tank on either SW 232nd Street or SW 248th Street and Krome Avenue. At these intersections you can find 2 gas stations at each (for a total of 4) that offer gasoline at under $3.00

My office is in South Miami and I find myself in Kendall a lot too. I have seen gas at $3.25 in most places. Even with my small gas tank, I usually pump 15 gallons. At $.30 that’s $4.50 in savings at each fill-up. I fill up 2-3 times a week, so it adds up.

Sincere thanks to the Krome Avenue merchants for allowing me to continue driving my real estate customers around for a little less money =)

Spoken by Maggie Dokic | Discussion: 12 Comments »

Miami Redland Lychee Love

July 9th, 2007 Categories: Local Resources, South Florida Living

The season is upon us again. I love this time of year in the Miami Redland. May, June and July always mean there’s lychees around somewhere in the Redlands.

For those of you who may not know what a lychee is, I’ll explain. Well, I’ll give you my take on it. I was only introduced to them 4 years ago. They quickly became my favorite fruit. The fact that I can only enjoy them a short time each year makes them even more precious.

Lychees (pronounced lee-chees by most, and lie-chees by others) are also called (incorrectly) lychee nuts sometimes. They’re not nuts at all and the seed is not edible. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about lychees here.

Lychees are smaller than a ping pong ball and usually heart shaped. The skin is warty and leathery and breaks easily when you bite into it to get the fruit. The flesh of the fruit slides out easily and is reminiscent of a huge, luscious grape. Lychees are related to mamoncillos, or quenepas, if you know what those are. Lychees are native to China and I’m so glad they found their way over here. They are slightly acidic but sweet although not overly sweet.

I have 8 lychee trees in my yard but the hurricanes of 2 years ago have prevented us from getting much fruit. Last year we got none and this year only 2 of the trees produced, and very little at that. Lychee trees usually produce fruit only every other year but the hurricanes made our waiting time even longer.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving along 147th Avenue and gasped and pulled over. I gave my mother a terrible fright! She thought something was wrong, but no, something was RIGHT! There alongside the road was a farmer selling his lychees! At $5 a pound I only bought 2 pounds but would have bought more if I had had more cash on me. To demonstrate how popular lychees are around here I have to tell you that by the time I finished paying for my lychees, there were 6 other cars waiting to buy theirs. I asked him if he would be back the next day but he said he didn’t have that many to sell. I understood totally. They’re hard to find this year. That also explains the price. One can usually find them for $3/lb and at the end of the season even $2/lb.

I can’t wait for next June!

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