One of the main reasons I moved north to Jupiter, FL from Miami was the pure ease of living. Less congestion. More manageable environment. Really laid-back atmosphere.  And when I think of easy living, I just naturally think of brunch.

Now, there are places, like Washington D.C., where brunch is a serious event. So serious it has spawned the verb ”to brunch.” 

Jupiter is just the contrary.  Here you can put on your flip-flops and your jeans and head over to the Hurricane Café for a more than respectable Eggs Benedict … the Juno Beach Café for fluffy blueberry pancakes … or bask in the beachy ambiance of the Loggerhead Café while you munch on a ginger-spiced French toast with almonds.  Or you  can go completely native at The Royal Cafe with fried eggs, home fries and a mug of java.  Or stop by TooJay’s for the proverbial lox, eggs and onions.

No verbs. No formalities. Just lazy Sunday fare at good local restaurants that reinforce a good decision.  Jupiter isn’t just a place to live.  It’s a way to life. And it feels great.

In an area as upscale as Abacoa in Jupiter, FL., you’d expect child’s play to encompass something a bit more sophisticated. And indeed it does. No, I’m not talking about a swimming pool or home theater. I’m talking about real theater run by real thespians.

Craig Wich Studio for the Performing Arts

This nonprofit studio offers truly professional dance, voice, theatre and film acting classes for ages four on up. Tucked away in nearby Tequesta, it is quite literally a cradle of talent … nurturing students who share a true desire to learn, grow and perform. And are they ever in good hands!

Craig Wich, the Artistic Director, has taught and directed opera, musical theater and dramatic arts in hundreds of venues across the country… including the Boston Conservatory, The Boston Lyric Opera, and, more locally, the Maltz Theater. His School Director, Judy Gelman, and Acting Coach, Marc Durso, have taught students who have gone on to perform on Broadway, in touring companies, regional theatre, film, TV, and commercials.

All kids act out. But some would rather just act!

For those budding talents, this is an extraordinary opportunity. There is instruction in musical theater, choreography, you name it. And lest their parents get bored waiting in the wings, there are also acting classes and workshops for adults.

You’d expect to find this level of creative education in New York or LA. But to find it in Jupiter, FL is rather like finding the proverbial pearl in the oyster.

Performing arts are just one example.

There is, in fact, a wealth of artistic, educational and recreational opportunities for children, in the Jupiter area … where play is the thing. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out and see for yourself!

I have no trouble making waves now and again. That’s our right and privilege. But it always amazes me how people respond and what they respond to.

I recently developed a marketing piece aimed at people who live in Miami. It was short, but not sweet. It referenced all the problems everyone recognizes…the traffic congestion, crime rates, inadequate schools and unplanned urban sprawl. In short, it told the truth. It’s why this long-time Miami resident finally moved up and became a Jupiter Realtor/resident. Why so many people are moving north of the Broward County line. To the small-town ease and big city amenities of the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens area.

One response I got was particularly interesting. The woman called me four times. I think she had to work up the courage of her indignation. A self-appointed spokesperson for the Miami area, she was determined to let me know I had no right to malign her fair city. She didn’t deny what I said about it. But her anger was off the charts.

Now I ask you, is my opinion of Miami worth all that fuss.

Maybe, just maybe, if she’d come with me to the Green Market in downtown Abacoa on Saturday morning, she’d get it. That’s when a number of local organic farmers truck in the fruits of their labor. And if you haven’t been, you need to go.

Talk about fostering a real sense of community in the old-fashioned go-to-market kind of way! Everyone turns out for healthier produce, a chance to chat and mingle, to support local growers and enjoy fresh picked tastes no grocery store can offer.

There’s an info-byte for you. Emotional, physical and economic health all one tasty bit of green grocering. Who knew?

Anyone who knows Jupiter knows it’s a wonderful place to raise kids. Pretty much anywhere you go you see happy, active kids fully involved in and enjoying life… biking, skating, playing baseball, swimming, skate-boarding. So much so, I thought I’d seen it all. Then I ran across the Veggie Kids on my Saturday morning pilgrimage to the Abacoa Green Market!

The three oldest kids in the remarkable Shirley family— Renee 12, Josiah 10, and Katie 6 — grow and sell their own homegrown, remarkably oversized produce under the guidance of their father, Steve, an agronomist. The 7,000-square-foot garden they tend is on the family’s Jupiter Farms property. Not only do the kids produce seasonal produce (October till June)… tomatoes, eggplant, beans, squash, radishes, carrots, onions, potatoes, corn, broccoli, cauliflower and GIGANTIC cabbages… fresher and more luscious than any this blogger has yet seen. But they now also have fresh eggs year-round from 22 free-range chickens and a website filled with all sorts of smart saleables. These kids are single-handedly reviving the concept of cottage industry!

Clearly, at their house, kids rule. But don’t take my word for it. Visit their website at www.veggiekidsfarm.com and discover one more reason why buying a Jupiter home is ideal for any family who really wants to put down roots!

Tuscany is all about family

Picture it…a long table heaped with food, bottles of wine and la familia. That’s Under the Tuscan Sun. Under the Florida sun the picture is a bit different, but the net effect is the same.

Emphasis on family. A fneighborhood filled with Mediterranean-style homes, built safe and soundproof by DiVosta. Ranging in price from $275,000 or thereabouts (depending on today’s market) to about $650,000 … from townhouses to 5-bedroom single family in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Fresh wide streets lined with trees, front porches, bike lanes, friendly neighbors. Dads throwing baseballs, kids playing catch, mom’s walking dogs. Families headed toward the park, the clubhouse, the pool, the ice cream parlor in downtown Abacoa.

Now if all that sounds a bit more Pollyanna than Anna Maria, so be it. But the prevailing, overarching, unmistakable theme is still the same. When you talk about Tuscany, you talk about family. No better place to raise one than Tuscany at Abacoa in Jupiter, FL.

I’m a New Jersey girl. My sole experience with fish before I moved to Florida was ordering it Sunday morning at the local deli. But, when I moved to Miami and married an honest-to-Pete Floridian, I got a crash course in everything with gills.

Five years ago, we escaped to Jupiter. Two fugitives from congestion, urban sprawl, high crime rates. Moved into a townhouse on a lake, just across from where we were building our dream house.  We were home in Valencia at Abacoa.

Now, in those days, we still commuted daily to work down south. And they were long days we put in. So every night that first summer, when we got back home, we went out to the lake to unwind, kick back, fish for bass.

I learned to cast and I learned to jig. But most of all I learned to appreciate the consummate skill of my husband, the bass master. As this picture will attest, the lakes in Abacoa aren’t mere decoration.  They constitute an eco-system that makes fish stories like ours possible.

So how big was he? He was THAAAAAT big!

Some believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I believe in the rainbow itself. Particularly when it’s perched outside my window, overlooking palm trees and pool. It’s one of the perks of a Florida summer…the calm after the tropical storm. I believe a view like this is pure gold…and could make anyone a Florida convert. Complain about the humid summers all you like. But I’ll take all the sun-drenched rainbows and balmy Jupiter nights I can get! That’s my view. But then, I’m partial.

So there I am, standing in my flip-flops watering the lawn. And my cell phone rings. A convenience we’ve all come to take for granted. And who, pray tell, is on the other end but a prospective client in search of a house in my neighborhood…Valencia at Abacoa. Ordinarily, just another day at the office, another client call.

But this particular call was placed from my website to my phone with one mouse click. This particular client had Googled® me. Visited my site. Found the click phone conveniently placed throughout. And decided to try it out. A moment later we were connecting…on a range of topics from her home requirements to her arrival date in the States.

I’m not quite sure which of us was more shocked. The client at just how well that little gismo works. Or me, at what a convenient tool I’d installed.

Yup. You just gotta love technology.

For the past two nights, the Maltz Theatre’s Conservatory for the Performing Arts (COPA) in Jupiter has performed J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s tale, Peter Pan. Ironically, this was a children’s tale performed by children to appeal to the child in all of us. This two-day production featured 82 kids who had attended a 3-week acting camp sponsored by COPA. And the play was their season’s denouement.The children were, of course, adorable. But what was so remarkable was the level of quality of the production, in view of the prep time and age levels involved. Naturally, the sets were utterly professional and completely delightful, as was the music. But so, too, were the casting, acting, choreography and direction.

Christina Reagan, a would-be thespian since the age of 5, played Peter with confidence, stage presence and a rather remarkable singing voice for an 11-year-old. She hit every note with skill few adults could match. Her archenemy, Captain Hook, played by Spencer Ballantyne, showcased his burgeoning talent with several singing numbers of his own. And Sydney Carbo, as Wendy, was a remarkably skilled young actress with a surprisingly mature singing voice. And the rest of the cast, ages 10-12, followed suite. Read the rest of this entry