Day 359 – My Favorite Mexican bar, can you guess?

The Monkey at Carlos and Charlies Lake Mary

Ok, so before it looks like I am secretly paid by Carlos & Charlies I will keep it short… It just happens that we hang out a lot here and it happens to be my daily pic (again, I know!), not sure if it’s the music or atmosphere but it’s just what I need sometimes after a long work week. So tonight we met up with friends and just had a great time. I even learned how to shoot a Tequila “the smooth way”.

Friday Night at Carlos and Charlies Lake Mary

Friday Night at Carlos and Charlies Lake Mary

Day 358 – Applebees Lake Mary FL

Applebees Lake Mary FL

Since I grab lunch here every once in a while I didn’t want to leave an old classic unmentioned: Applebee’s. This location is right on the Park Place at Heathrow Plaza in Lake Mary. What I like about Applebee’s is that I always get what I expect. It’s also a great spot for casual meetings and of course to quickly pick up food and bring it back to the office ;o)

Here is their information:

Applebee’s
7055 County Road
46-A Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 444-9930

Day 357 – Caddies Pub Open

Caddies Pub Heathrow FL

Caddies Pub is open! I am definitely planning on stopping by soon (especially since I walk by several times every day) so I can write a bit more about what this new pub offers.

To be continued ;o) …

Day 317 – Walk on Water and Marie France Boutique – Shopping in Lake Mary

Walk on Water Boutique Lake Mary

Lake Mary is certainly not a shopping mecca but there are 2 boutiques located at Colonial Town Park that have become quite popular fashion stores for locals. Walk on Water and Marie France. Both stores offer fashionable clothing, shoes and accessories.

Walk on Water is a bit larger and also offers other items like luggage and home and gift items. You can also find a selection of men fashion. The atmosphere inside is very pleasant and it smells delicious, most likely from the scented candles that are being sold here. Brands sold here include for example Lucky Brand Jean, BCBG MaxAzria,Tommy Bahama and Michael Kors. The items I liked most at the store were the beautiful Vera Bradley handbags sold. I was quite tempted to buy one for myself… Keep in mind though that despite the occasional sale, items sold here have a higher price tag than at the outlet malls.

Walk on Water also has a location in Winter Park on Orlando Avenue.

Here is their information:

Walk On Water
1140 Townpark Ave # 1250
Lake Mary, FL 32746-4788
(407) 805-0477

Opening Hours:

Monday – Thursday 11am-9pm
Friday – Saturday 10am-10pm – great for shopping after dinner at one of the great restaurants at Colonial Town Park ;o)
Sunday 1pm-7pm

Just like Walk on Water, Marie France has also a location in Winter Park (Aloma Avenue). Their main store however is located in downtown Orlando (Thornton Park on Washington Street). The great news is that the Lake Mary/Heathrow location (opened here in 2005) is officially Marie France’s outlet store with ongoing sales. And it’s true, I saw some great clearance deals in here for both shoes and trendy, yet classy fashion. The very friendly sales associate told me that the boutique gets in new merchandise every week so it is definitely worth it stopping by here frequently. Most of items are only being ordered and once they’re sold they’re gone. That is making the fashion here even more unique. That also prevents us girls from running into each other wearing the same clothing on a night out ;o)

Here is their information:

Marie-France
1120 Townpark Ave
Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 829-8901

Marie France Fashion in Lake Mary

If you like boutique shopping and great service then you should definitely check out those two stores.

Know of other great fashion boutiques in Lake Mary? Feel free to post them here!

Day 287 – Cascata Spa and Salon Lake Mary

Cascata Salon and Spa Heathrow

So it has been over 6 months since my last hair cut… time for me to go again. Since I still had something left on a gift card Jose had given me for Valentine’s Day 2 years ago I chose Cascata for my hair cut (this is the 2nd time I am going here for a hair cut). Now I have to say I am not someone who goes to the hair dresser a lot (or to manicure or pedicure, in fact, that I have never done that!). I am quite unconcerned with the looks of my hair or nails as long as they look clean and taken care of. Despite all that though I have to say that I was very pleased with the great service and wonderful job Cascata has delivered – for the second time. My hair looked great and I walked out feeling a lot lighter

For any girl that enjoys manicures/pedicures, hair cuts/styling and day spas, Cascata is a great place! The atmosphere is very relaxing, the service great and they really make you feel special. I have gotten a massage here too (which was the initial purpose of the gift card I got) and I think it was a great experience, however I found out too that I am not the massage enjoying type of girl. Nevertheless, I highly recommend Cascata for a luxury treatment.

Here is their complete info along with the link to their site so you can find out about all the many services offered.

Cascata Spa and Salon
7025 County Hwy-46A
Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 833-3772

Open Tue-Thu 10am-8pm; Fri-Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 11:30am-3pm

[Quick personal note: In all honesty I have to say that I will return to Hair Cuttery for my next cut (in 6 months - yes, I really only go a maximum of 2 times per year) but that is a personal choice because of my lack of interest in hair, nails or anything related to that. So instead of spending $50 at Cascata I am spending $15 at Hair Cuttery for savings of $70/year - not a whole lot but at least something.]

Day 275 – Carlos’n Charlies Lake Mary Opening Party

Carlos'n Charlies Lake Mary

Yay! Carlos’n Charlies in Lake Mary (at Colonial Town Park) is finally open! Since Jose and I were assigned to help the manager find a home in Lake Mary/Sanford we met him early on and were invited to the grand opening VIP party (Friday June 19th)! The party was a great success – it started at 6pm for invited guests with free drinks (love their margaritas!) and opened for the public at 9pm. At that time people literally stormed the place – I think I wasn’t the only one that couldn’t wait for Carlos’n Charlies to open

We got to try some of their appetizers, lots of their drinks and experienced a great party night – this atmosphere is supposedly normal for any Carlos’n Charlies location but I heard their restaurants/bars in Cancun and Acapulco are the really wild ones – even though, there were several guests dancing on tables and chairs. The music was perfect: a mix of pretty much everything, all very up beat. Sing along classics, pop, Latin music and rock. So I am glad to announce: with Carlos’n Charlies, Lake Mary has a new party location – and pretty decent Mexican restaurant

Some quick facts:

• Carlos’n Charlies is not only open for dinner but also lunch with specials starting at $7.99.
• Happy Hour is every day from 3pm-7pm with $2 Margaritas and 50% off their wine.
• Thursday nights is FIESTA LATINA starting at 9pm with $2 Margaritas and $5 Mexican Appetizers.
• Vamonos Taqueria (also opening in Colonial Town Park soon) belongs to Carlos’n Charlies as well.

Here’s their complete information:

Carlos’n Charlies
951 MARKET PROMENADE AV
LAKE MARY, FL 32746
(407) 333 3482

Below is a little gallery of pictures taken during the opening party and a “snapshot” video.

Carlos’n Charlies Lake Mary

Day 264 – Papa Joe’s Pizza in Lake Mary FL

Papa Joe's Pizza

If you’re feeling like having a quick pizza or craving some pasta, Papa Joe’s is a good place to go. I personally think that it’s worth paying a bit more elsewhere when you want to eat Italian food but I think the Pizza here is pretty decent and, like I said, it’s not a place to spend an evening – it’s the quick occasional pizza, as in “pizza after a movie” or “pizza because it rains outside”… This particular location can be found right next to the Amstar Movie theatre in Lake Mary’s Colonial Town Park.

Here’s their info:

Papa Joe’s Pizza
960 Colonial Grand Ln
Lake Mary, FL 32746-4778
(407) 936-3300‎

Day 261 – Colonial Town Park Entrance by Night

Colonial Town Park

If you live in the area you have certainly seen the nicely lit columns at the entrance of Colonial Town Park – they can even be seen when driving on I-4 once you pass the 98 (Lake Mary) exit. Exiting at 101 A will then bring you to one of my favorite nighlife spots in lake Mary, Colonial Town Park. Here is just a snapshopt of the beautiful Colonial Town Park entrance area. Wish the flash of my camera was a bit stonger…

As many of you know I have written about Colonial Town Park and its many restaurants several times. If you’d like to find more info about it please just copy paste Colonial Town Park in the search box of this blog to your right.

Day 257 – The Little Gym Lake Mary FL

The Little Gym in Lake Mary

The Little Gym is located on the Park Place at Heathrow Plaza. I personally have never been inside, most likely because this gym is specifically for kids and I do not have kids yet. However, judging t by the concept, I think it is a really neat idea and great activity for the little ones.

Here is their info for those of you who are looking for things to do with/for their kids:

The Little Gym
1541 International Pkwy
Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 833-0083

The Little Gym has over 250 locations worldwide. To say it with their own words (quote):

“We are curriculum based and coach the children in a way to make them feel good about themselves. This approach increases not only the children’s self-confidence and physical skills, but their cognitive and social skills too, such as taking turns and closure.”

Day 239 – New Bar Caddys Pub at Park Place at Heathrow Opening June

Caddys Pub Heathrow Opening Soon

Update: As it seems the opening date has been postponed for a bit. I will keep you posted here. The opening may not even take place until July…Stay tuned!

More good news for the Lake Mary/Heathrow area: Caddys Pub at Park Place at Heathrow is scheduled to open on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 (just a couple of days after the scheduled opening of Carlos’n Charlies across the street at Colonial Town Park).

Caddys Pub will be an upscale sports bar – as many say, just what this area needed! I am glad to see this new bar opening – not only because it will only be about 20 feet from my office (Watson Realty). It was quite a shock to see Spice Steakhouse go after a relatively short period of time. Before that, the location was known as Harvey’s Bistro, a great upscale restaurant.

The place next to this new sports bar is still up for lease (formerly a pizza place, then Urban Flats, then Wine Down) and will hopefully soon be the location of yet another night life spot in the area.

Right next to my office

So we actually went inside the new Caddys Pub that is still undergoing its major face lift and talked to Randy Dunn of Coast to Coast Painting Inc. Randy is in charge of the remodeling (from Spice to Caddys Pub) and from what I can see he is doing a fantastic job. The place already looks quite different. In case you like what he has done, give him a call at 407-844-6194 to see how he can help you remodel your place.

Below are pictures of the work in progress inside Caddys Pub. I can’t wait to see the completed work on June 16th!

Caddys Pub Heathrow Opening Soon

Right next to my office