Happy Holidays Everyone!

This year, our office holiday party took place at Buon Appetito Ristorante- an exquisite Italian restaurant located in Cudjoe Key. Cudjoe Key is in the Lower Keys at mile marker 22 and a 30 minute drive to Key West. The food is absolutely delicious and the service outstanding. None of the guests had to wait for their bread basket to be refreshed or their water glass filled. The staff at Buon Appetito made the entire evening a treat. In fact, the only disappointment was that I wasn't able to finish all the food they served us.

The five course meal consisted of a crisp Caesar salad, Eggplant Rollatine filled with fluffy ricotta cheese, half portion of Fusilli Montanara...but wait, there's more! The main course was a choice between Chicken Marsala, Veal Piccata, or Grouper Francese. I myself had the grouper which was topped with the most delicious sauce you can imagine. For dessert there was a decadent chocolate cake topped with strawberries and drizzled with a strawberry sauce.

In true "office holiday party" fashion, our office held a White Elephant gift exchange. If you've never done this before, it is a game where all of the participants bring a generic gift and are given a number. When your number is called, you can choose to either open a present from under the tree or you may steal someone else's gift (obviously, if you are the first person called you must choose a gift from under the tree as there aren't any gifts to steal).

Before I go any further, let me explain Naomi. Naomi is a wooden carved doll which has been passed along throughout the offices and stands in the lobby until the next holiday event. She is supposed to bring good fortune to the agents in that office (and is also rumored to be a fertility doll). For about a week before the holiday event all the agents in our office were getting pumped up about taking Naomi from the Key West office.

The excitement began when the person just before me chose a gift from under the tree, opened it up, and lo and behold it was Naomi! Since it was my turn next, I quickly stole the doll and hurried back to my seat hoping no one would notice and steal her from me. Alas, one of the Key West agents did tear her from my grip, but I am happy to say that our Lower Keys office did end up with Naomi in the end. Naomi sits in our Lower Keys office where she will remain safe and watching over us through 2008 to bring good luck to our agents.

Cudjoe Key boasts its own marina and restaurant and is one of the few neighborhoods which has ground level concrete homes. The canals are wide and deep with easy access to both the Atlantic and Gulf. To see homes in our Cudjoe Key area or anywhere in the Florida Keys, visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or write me at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

"Want to change your life? Just add water!"