One of my favorite parts about living in Miami is the gorgeous views from my balcony. I love looking at the downtown lights and the ocean. We’d all like to spend more time enjoying fresh air and take advantage of Miami’s gorgeous views. Adding some nice furniture and blinds to your balcony will make your seldomly used balcony into a cozy little getaway.Here are some of my favorite outdoor decor:Outdoor Blinds – A lot of the time, we tend to neglect our balcony’s because of how hot it gets here in the city. The sun feels like its piercing through our windows. Outdoor blinds are a great innovation to help bring some adjustable shade to your outdoor space. These blinds can range from $25-$75, but I would highly suggest making this an investment for your home. You want to make sure you are ... 11/09/2015

I Love Midtown Miami - Bistro Cassis on Buena Vista Boulevard  I just love where I live in Midtown Miami, near the Design District. Within a relatively small, highly walkable area of the "Shops at Midtown" district there are multitudes of delightful restaurants, some well-established and popular, others fairly new and still being discovered.  One of my new discoveries is the Bistro Cassis, a French restaurant. It was suggested to my friend, with whom I had dinner, by another friend - word of mouth rocks! From A to Z, the dining experience was a delight. The French Martinis (vodka and raspberry orientation) were pretty good as well. The soup of the day, mundane-sounding carrot soup, was absolutely delicious, with a hint of lobster-bisque.  Even a simple green salad came with a delicate, ... 10/31/2015

 Canvas Miami coming soon.          Canvas Miami, a 37-story building with 513 condos and 14,000 s.f. of commercial space, intends to infuse new life into an area that has otherwise been known for its proximity to the Miami City Cemetery. The area will also soon be known for the new Viacom studio production hub (I am excited about this!). With a plan to break ground this year, completion is slated for 2017. In the meantime, they've released new renderings of the amenities deck and lounge to illustrate the building's common areas.     Units at Canvas range in size from 620 to 1,110 s.f. with prices from the mid $300,000s to $600,000s.  10/30/2015

It's that time of year again! Candy, sweets and excited little ones who are still deciding on their favorite super hero or princess to dress up as on this halloween. Let’s all work together to make this fun festivity a safe one for our children and our homes. Here are some great tips on Halloween home safety.Keep pets locked up. Make sure to keep your pets safe in an enclosed room during the hours of 7:00 pm-9:30 pm. This is to make sure that your pets and the children are safe while trick or treating. Even friendly pets can get overly excited to greet the children at the door.Make sure your Jack o’ Lantern isn’t a fire hazard. Use flameless candles to ensure the safety of the children and of your home. The last thing you want is your lawn on fire!Light up the way  for trick or treaters... 10/08/2015

Plans for starchitect Rafael Viñoly's Miami River tower have been officially submitted to the City of Miami Planning Department by the developer, Kar Properties. The design is basically two rectangular towers placed at ninety degree angles to each other and connected at the bottom and the top, with a large waterfall (3 stories) cascading off the podium that will give the effect that it's coming out of the building's swimming pool. The 60-story towers top off at a height of 779 feet.Levels 7-46 will be condo, while 56-59, which connect both buildings, will contain a mixture of residential, 20 hotel units, and a restaurant or some other kind of commercial. These levels will be connected by high speed elevators on the building's exterior. There are 402 residential units total. No pricing h... 10/08/2015

  Cranes everywhere! What does this all mean?     In Greater Downtown Miami, developers have already completed seven new condo towers with a combined 1,900 units, and are constructing 23 more new condo towers with nearly 6,200 units in the area, according to the data. An additional 41 new condo towers with nearly 13,000 units are currently in the planning or presale phase of development. Besides the new condo towers announced for Greater Downtown Miami during this cycle, nearly 2,800 units are currently available for purchase on the resale market, according to data from the Southeast Florida MLXchange. In the first eight months of 2015, buyers acquired an average of less than 165 resale units monthly in Greater Downtown Miami. At the current transaction pace, Greater Downtown Miami has ... 10/01/2015

Active Rain Meet-Up in Beautiful Miami September, 2015  Last week we had an informal Active Rain Meet-Up in Miami with the charismatic and colorful Marco Giancola. We met for a brief chat at one of the favorite spots in the expanding Midtown section of Miami, the Sugarcane “Raw Bar Grill". It was a gorgeous day and the outdoor garden section was the perfect venue for our little get-together.  We hit it off right away, as I thought we would, exchanging lively stories of backgrounds and experiences. Actually, I’m not quite sure any stories got completely finished as we kept going off on different (although related) tangents. Of course, the dynamic and explosive Miami real estate market was part of the conversation, as was Active Rain, which is what brought us together.  It was great to be... 09/28/2015

 An Ibis Hotel is being built by Galwan, a Brazilian developer. This is the second new hotel this month that I have never heard of being built in Miami's Brickell area.Back in 2010  the lot had contained the home of a rooster-raising family, which a developer purchased and demolished for parking, sending the chickens to roam free. The proposed Ibis Hotel is planned to be 43 stories, with seven levels of parking and three levels of amenity space on the lower floors. It will have 520 rooms. Looks like a cool building from the renderings....stay tuned! 09/27/2015

If you have never heard of Fisher Island in Miami you will after this post. This striking penthouse is on the market with an asking price of $25 million. Imagine have a glass of wine on this terrace?Wrap around terraces with north, east and southern ocean views. The jetty on the left of the photo is where the cruise ships enter and depart Miami Harbor.Private beach anyone?  Interior living room.Kitchen with every modern convenience.MasterbathMaster bedroomEntry GalleryFive bedrooms and 5.5 baths in 7,600 sq. ft. There is an equity golf membership and private club for owners. Marina can accommodate your biggest yacht. This island is accessible by the islands private ferry or by your helicopter or your boat. Security is as premium on this discreet island just a hop to South Beach and down... 09/26/2015

You don’t necessarily have to make millions of dollars annually in order to make your home eco friendly. In fact, there is one simple step you can make that will not only help save the planet but also reduce your electricity bill by 30-50 dollars over the life of the bulb. There are many pros to switching out your old light bulbs for new compact fluorescent light bulbs, halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light emitting diodes (LEDs)Other than the modern appearance,  energy efficient bulbs offer a lot more benefits for you, your wallet and the environment. Eco-friendly bulbs use 2/3 less energy saving you about 30-50 dollars on electricity bills. Eco-friendly bulbs prevent greenhouse emissions from power plants. Eco-friendly bulbs last on average  10 times longe... 09/25/2015

The sexiest master suite in Miami is for sale right now in one of the penthouses at Paramount Bay. What's a sexy master suite, you ask? Because it has massive windows looking out on Biscayne Bay, a wet bar and, if that's not enough, a bathtub right in the middle of the floor. Yes, right next to the bar. This is one of my favorite penthouses in Miami, and it's for sale right now. The asking price is $4.6 million, which, if you ask me, isn't bad for the location, the amenities and the killer master suite. Here's what you need to know. The building was built in 2010, so as these things go it's basically brand new. It has 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms and all the things you expect in an ultra-luxury home: hardwood floor, wine cooler, designer appliances, the works. But this is the kicker. Th... 09/16/2015

  When passing by this vacant lot one immediately notices that there is a stretch limo half buried in it. Sink hole in downtown? Not likely, is it a comment on how the decadence of Miami real estate development will bury you, or at least your car, alive maybe?" Turns out, it kind of is.   For Downtown Art Days, Fringe Projects had artist Nate Page create a temporary installation at the future site of the YOTEL HOTEL. Okay I have to admit I am not familiar with this brand and will post on what I discover soon. 09/14/2015

Tibor Hollo is in his mid-80s, he's a Holocaust survivor and he's one of the most successful real estate developers in the history of Miami. According to a 2009 profile of Hollo in the Miami New Times, Hollo has been as influential in creating a downtown urban core as anyone else. In fact, there were moments during the '50s and '60s that it was ridiculous to think that there would be much, if any, development south of the Miami River. When Hollo proposed a tunnel under the river to connect with Brickell, he said, "those sons of bitches laughed me out of the room." Of course, to look at the city now is to see his vision alive. Brickell is the most dynamic neighborhood in the City of Miami — and it's only getting bigger. Miami's financial district is now the standard-bearer of urban livin... 09/08/2015

 Record sales month hit for June.    More single-family homes were sold in Miami this past June than any other month in Miami's history. The month beat a 10-year-old record set back in June 2005. In all, 1,390 single-family homes were sold in June according to the Miami Association of Realtors. That's 73 more than the 1,317 sold in June 2005, and 110 more than last June. In the first six months of 2015, 7,100 single-family homes have sold in total, up from 6,543 over the same period in 2014.Prices on those homes also rose by 14.9 percent from last year, with a median price of $280,000. Those home are also selling pretty close to their listing price, with the average sale worth about 95.1 percent of the initial asking price.    08/23/2015

  Bodies & Faces | Local Miami ArtistBorn in New York and from Puertorican decent, this self taught artist is making molds of women and creating the most captivating body and face sculptures in the local Miami area. Also known for his Wynwood murals, his whimsical art has caught the eye of many. "The concept of my work is of a rebirthing in nature and is a bit metaphysical. I would like to think my art has accomplished a new way of expressing the most inner feelings of human nature whether they be positive or negative."  - BelloTTo find out more information about Bello, check out his FaceBook Page: https://www.facebook.com/richard.belloart or Website: https://bello.see.me 08/14/2015

Brickell Flat Iron Penthouse-KitchenStunning 10 foot high walls of glass bring the shimmering city lights and the bay views right in. The Master bath  The Exterior of the building and surroundsTwo bedrom plus den 2.5 bath, 2500 sq ft of luxury 54th floor living. Come see what the Brickell Flat Iron is all about. Yours for $1.4M 08/13/2015

When it comes to closing a sale, there are several deal breakers that buyers always share with their agents. Mold, insects and pests, and animal odors are common reasons for doubting to put an offer on your home. Whether you are selling or simply looking for ways to freshen up your home here are 5 tips for eliminating pet odors and making your home look more attractive for buyers. 1. Give your pets regular baths with a odor controlling shampoo.This seems like a no brain-er but you wouldn't believe how many people I know that don't bathe their pets regularly. I recommend using an odor control shampoo. I like the ones with ingredients such as oatmeal, lavender and pine needle. Adding a few drops of sage oil really helps to neutralize all the odors.      2. Buy an essential oil diffuser.Es... 08/12/2015

     Blue Condo-$997,000     This 2 bedroom plus den corner unit with spectacular unobstructed bay views just hit the market. 1870 SQ FT  with floor to ceiling windows State of the art full remodeling including extra closets. Kitchen with granite countertops. Electric system roller shades, travertine marble floors and amazing 11" high ceilings.Fitness center, spa, business center, 2 separate heated swimming pools at 6th floor roof top gardens. fountains and Jacuzzis. 2 Assigned garage parking spaces and 1 storage space. 08/03/2015

  This charming 2/2 @2 Midtown has exposed concrete ceilings, groovy industrial-retro looking windows, and open breezy kitchen, and a nice view of central Midtown and all the hubbub around there. The unit has an open-plan kitchen, a bathtub with a view, mulitple terraces, and lots of windows looking in three directions. Not to mention shopping, bars and restaurants downstairs. Asking price: $759,000. Call for more info. 07/23/2015

07/05/2015