What a delight it is to finally have an upscale Italian restaurant right here in our St. Augustine golf course community. Villagio, the new eatery in the Renaissance Resort Hotel in the heart of WGV opened on 11/11/11 and offered $11.00 wines and $11.00 entrees for three nights. The response was so overwhelming that the kitchen had difficulty keeping up with the demand, but for those who were less than enchanted during that opening, it is well worth a return visit. And if you haven’t dined there yet, you will be pleasantly surprised. The wines by the glass are generously poured and each evening, in addition to a nice wine list, they feature 3 good wines by the bottle at greatly reduced prices. The menu is diverse, and there are daily specials – such as a quail dish recently offered. (more…)
Journal
January 6, 2012
Villagio at the Renaissance Impresses with Great Italian Fare
December 22, 2011
Standard Pacific Homes to Break Ground on New Homes in GroveWood
In November, national homebuilder Standard Pacific Homes closed on 16 homesites in the neighborhood of GroveWood in our St. Augustine golf course community. Standard Pacific Homes will soon break ground on four spec homes on the GroveWood lots, ranging from about 2,500 to 3,500 square feet. Pricing will start in high $200,000s. The featured floor plans include the Kingfisher (2,469 square feet), Cambridge (3,051 square feet), Belmont (3,536 square feet), Carisbrooke (3,226 square feet) and the Palladium (2,912 square feet). An extensive list of upgrades come standard on all the homes. Davidson Realty’s Mirtha Barzaga was the Realtor for the transaction.
Founded in 1965, Standard Pacific Homes has built 113,000 houses nationwide over nearly five decades. As they have grown, Standard Pacific Homes has remained faithful to our original vision: to build thoughtfully designed homes, well-crafted to provide quality of life for the families who live in them and complement the neighborhoods they share. (more…)
December 19, 2011
Pet Sitting for the Holidays
The holidays get hectic, but between shopping for presents and packing for travel we need to remember our furry friends! There are plenty of people located in or around our St. Augustine golf course community that would be happy to help take care of our feline or canine family members.
For in-home pet care, give All Ears Pet Sitting a call at 904-687-9610. Pets are more relaxed in their own environments surrounded by familiar sights, sounds, and smells. You don’t’ have to worry about dropping your animal off or picking it up. They are available for vacations, holidays, business travel, mid-day dog walking, and transportation to and from the vet and groomer. (more…)
December 13, 2011
World Golf Village Holiday Lighting Contest Underway Now – Vote For Your Favorite!
For young and old alike, touring the neighborhood to view holiday light decorations is one of the purest pleasures of the seasons. There’s plenty of twinkle to ogle in our beautiful St. Augustine golf course community. In fact, there’s a contest around holiday lighting going on right now in World Golf Village. It’s not too late to enter your home and show off your holiday decorating prowess, or enter a World Golf Village neighbor. Then view all the leaders and vote for your favorite holiday lighting display online.
The World Golf Village Holiday Lighting Contest is now in its 5th year. Starting in 2007 with just seven homes entered, it has grown to nearly 50 homes vying for the top prize and garnering thousands of votes. The current leader board for this year’s contest includes festive homes throughout the Neighborhoods of World Golf Village, including Kingsbury, Bearsford, Waterbury, Turnberry, Grovewood, Tuscan Wood and Windmill Estates. View the homes currently on the leader board here: www.wgvsocial.com/leaders.htm. (more…)December 7, 2011
18th Annual Night of Lights in St. Augustine
The Night of Lights in St. Augustine is a tradition for my husband, Bob, and I along with many other St. Augustinians. Every year we look forward to St. Augustine city officials flipping the switch in the Plaza de la Constitucion illuminating the entire city for thousands to enjoy. Millions of tiny white lights fill buildings, parks, gardens, shops, restaurants and more. This year was particularly special because the Bridge of Lions was lit up for the first time in over 5 years!
Bob and I started our evening eating at The Columbia Restaurant, which is a treat in itself! The Original “1905” Salad and the Spanish Bean Soup are our must-haves and what made The Columbia famous in St. Augustine! USA Today calls the Columbia “One of the 10 Great Places to Make a Meal Out of a Salad”. From there, we had to stop in the Tripp Harrison Gallary – one of our favorite local artists. (more…)
December 5, 2011
Wreath Making Event & Silent Auction Raises over $1,400 for the Ronald McDonald House!
We had a blast this past Thursday night at Davidson Realty making our holiday wreaths and bidding on beautiful holiday decorations! Tis the season! Not only was it fun, but we raised over $1,400 for the Ronald McDonald House - a great organization providing a “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost. Neighbors from all over our St. Augustine golf course community including World Golf Village, Kensington and Palencia came to participate and help raise money for such a great cause.
Representatives from Interiors Revitalized made sure everyone left with a stunning creation. And, a big thank you to Dr. Berry and the Village Chiropractic Center of Florida for donating the gorgeous decorations. I think the wine might have helped with everyone’s creativity! We had holiday music helping us get into the Christmas spirit and enough holiday cookies to last us until next year. What a fun event!
We hope you enjoy the video above of our special night. To donate to the Ronald McDonald House or to learn more about this spectacular charity please visit http://rmhc.org/.
November 30, 2011
The 2011 Festival of Trees Debuts Friday at the St. Johns County Convention Center at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village
The Festival of Trees with its amazing variety of beautifully decorated trees never fails to spark my creative energy. Browsing the more than 60 decked-out Christmas trees and wreaths provides inspiration and fresh ideas for tackling my own holiday decorating. The event is free and open to the public at the St. Johns County Convention Center at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village from this Friday, December 2nd through Sunday, December 11th.
The Festival of Trees started back in 2005 and has become a well-loved tradition in World Golf Village and throughout Jacksonville and St. Augustine. It provides much needed support for needy families right here in St. Johns County with proceeds benefiting The United Way of St. Johns County and The Empty Stocking Fund. You can simply admire the trees, or you can “vote” for your favorite creations with a $1 donation which goes to charity, or you can even take a tree or wreath home with you by bidding through the silent auction. (more…)
November 21, 2011
Local Events to Celebrate the Season
When you live in beautiful St. Augustine, Florida, the holiday season is not signaled by a nip in the air but rather by something much more magical and festive. Something that lights up the night and tickles the fancy. Something that draws neighbors from Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, Julington Creek and other places both near and far. It’s the Nights of Lights of course, which turned on the switch this past weekend and set historic downtown St. Augustine a twinkle just like it has for the past 17 years. In fact its the mild winter evenings in St. Augustine that make the Nights of Lights so inviting. Strolling downtown’s cobbled streets, walking along the Matanzas Riverfront near the Bridge of Lions, browsing boutiques and enjoying the cafes under a canopy of sparkling white lights is sure to put anyone in the holiday spirit. Nights of Lights shines on St. Augustine every evening until January 31, 2012 and is a great evening outing for family and friends visiting from out of town.
Here are some other festive events happening in and around our St. Augustine golf course community: (more…)
November 15, 2011
Two Custom Homes by CornerStone Homes Underway in World Golf Village
Last week Mark Downing with CornerStone Homes, who is one of our favorite builders to work with, took us on a tour of some of the new construction sites in our St. Augustine golf course community. CornerStone Homes has built many homes in St. Johns County communities like Nocatee, Murabella, and World Golf Village. They are currently building two custom homes on beautiful lots in GroveWood and Waterbury by the Links. Mark talked about a few of the things that sets CornerStone Homes apart and also told us a little bit about our new World Golf Village neighbors.
The gorgeous home that backs up to the preserve in GroveWood will be occupied by a physician retiring from the northeast. The homebuyer has a friend in The Village and loves to play golf so the King & Bear and Slammer & Squire were huge selling points for his decision to relocate to the Neighborhoods of World Golf Village. CornerStone’s other new construction project is a custom home in Waterbury by the Links. The buyer is relocating to our gated community from Miami. The spectacular home is situated on the King & Bear golf course. (more…)
November 10, 2011
Inside the Hall of Fame – What You Might Not Know
I visited the World Golf Hall of Fame this week and was lucky enough to have Director of Exhibits Andy Hunold give me an “insiders” tour. View the video and you can take the tour along with me.
First of all, I had no idea that the flags right outside the Hall of Fame represent the countries the members are from. It’s an impressive display that sets the stage for what’s to come inside the World Golf Hall of Fame. I was also not aware that our St. Augustine golf course community is home to the only sports hall of fame in the world with an IMAX theater. If those things are not news to you, then how about this one…Did you know there have been over 50 exhibits displayed in the Hall of Fame to date? Pretty impressive, right?
The Hall of Fame currently has 136 members. These members are made up of both players and contributors to the game. The process of induction is depicted just inside the Hall of Fame. It really helps to understand how difficult the process of selection is. There are five criteria – the PGA TOUR ballot, International Ballot, LPGA Ballot, Lifetime Achievement Ballot, and Veteran’s Ballot. Andy does an excellent job of explaining the induction process in the full length video. (more…)
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