2200 Marsh RD
Wilmington, DE 19810
302.475.3209
10a-6p Mon-Sun

If you’re like me you have a deep appreciation for music. Music can bring upon so many feelings and help you get through the tough times as well as help you celebrate the good. Music is like a time machine. Taking you back in time to the moments that you discovered that special track or reminding you of certain events in your life. There is nothing quite like throwing on the perfect album and setting the stage for whatever you might be doing.

In the digital world that we live in, it is no surprise that vinyl is making such a huge comeback. These days if you buy music it is most likely one track at a time from iTunes or even worse yet, you don’t even own the music and pay a monthly fee to “Stream” your music experience. Both of these ways offer you a compressed track not true to the original audio form that the artist intended for you to hear. The days of playing an album from front to back and going on the musical journey that the artist wanted to take you on seem to be fleeting.

Believe it or not Vinyl Records still offer you the best audio quality listening experience. The sound of a record is more true than digital, compact disc, cassette or 8 track. Also, there is something special about having a collection of your favorite music, slipping the record out of its sleeve and taking it for a spin.

Many of you might have wondered what that old gray house on the corner of Marsh Rd & Grubb Rd. in Wilmington DE was. The house itself is a time machine, taking you back to a time when music was bought in store and searching for your favorite album was an adventure.

When you walk into Jupiter Records you cant help but smile. Jupiter has that old school, hole in the wall music store vibe that has been all but lost in this day and age. The entire 1st floor is covered with record crates awaiting you to go up and down every aisle and discover the album you’ve been looking for. There is always a record spinning on the house record player to give your Vinyl hunting day a soundtrack. With a wide selection of LP’s & 45’s, you are sure to find everything that you are looking for. The staff is very friendly and helpful and are always willing to suggest new music. They also have a section for used DVD’s and CD’s which they also buy, but its the Vinyl that truly makes this place magical.

Don’t have a record player? You wish that you did but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you have an old one with missing parts that you just don’t know what to do with. Jupiter Records usually has a great selection of used stereo equipment as well. From record players to receivers and speakers, they can help get you going in the right direction.

The days of walking into a cool music store and being able to talk music and get opinions on what you should listen to next have been lost up to this point. Jupiter Records is bringing those days back. If you love music, you owe it to yourself to swing by Jupiter Records an take a step back in time to when buying music was an experience.

Get Out, Get Local

Thank you for reading and remember,
Sunny Days are a State of Mind…

Realtor and Resident of Brandywine,

Jason Carro
RE/Max Associates
Realtor
The Carro Group
jasonscarro@gmail.com
302.433.6670

Cajun Kates
722 Philadelphia Pike
Wilmington, DE 19809
302.416.5108
cajunkates.com

Don’t you love amazing food? I consider myself to be a food connoisseur. When in reality, I just like to eat. Although food always tastes better in good company and when it is prepared with love. At Cajun Kates you’ll get both!

Cajun Kates was founded by husband and wife team Don & Kate Applebaum. Don and Kate met in the early 90’s in culinary school and their passion for food quickly turned to love. They spent 7yrs in New Orleans where Don worked for Emeril Lagasse at his restaurant NOLA in The French Quarter. Luckily for us they decided to take their passion for Cajun food and bring it to Delaware.

If you are hip to the area, you might know Cajun Kates from the Booths Corner Farmers Market. In August of 2006 they carved out a small slice of the market and pulled up 6 stools for customers to sit, chat and enjoy all of their Cajun and creole stylings. Big flavor came out of this little space that inspired Cajun Kates to open a new location on Philadelphia Pike last year.

Keeping the same charm of the Booths Corner location Cajun Kates cooks all food to order in the front of the house and still has 6 stools for you to pull up and chat while they work. Although the new location also has a dining room with plenty of seating if you prefer to sit at a table or with a large group. Walking through the front door you will always be greeted with the sounds of great music over the sound system and Kate and Don are always ready to talk about their favorite bands. Their love for music is only bested by their love for food.

BUT JASON, WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD!!!???

Whether its gumbo, red beans and rice, or jambalaya these amazing dishes tell a story. They take you on a journey to a city of soul where dreams can be heard on every corner through the music of its people. The flavors of these dishes are just as passionate as the people who make them. Cajun Kates serves up a Po-Boy with your choice of shrimp, catfish, crawfish or gator. An amazing sandwich and easy everyday favorite. But if you really want to reward yourself. The crispy Cajun mac and cheese will knock your socks off. Two fried wedges of mac and cheese with a Cajun crust, served with a sweet and spicy red sauce drizzle. It is quite possible that these are the building blocks of what dreams are made of. Every forkful will keep you coming back for more. Crawfish pie, muffaletta sandwich, popcorn shrimp and catfish fingers are some more local favorites that you can find on the menu. Each with their own special story for you to discover. Don’t forget to try their beignets with a cup of their New Orleans Chicory Blend Coffee to finish your meal.

The combination of great food and great people make Cajun Kates a must stop in Delaware. Our own little local treasure. If you love the crunch and slightly spicy flavors of Cajun Cusine, you need to stop by and pay Kate and Don a visit. Tell them Jason sent you…

Philadelphia Pike Location Hours
Wednesday through Saturday 11a to 8p

Get Out, Get Local

Thank you for reading and remember,
Sunny Days are a State of Mind…

Realtor and Resident of Brandywine,

Jason Carro
RE/Max Associates
Realtor
The Carro Group
jasonscarro@gmail.com
302.433.6670

1709 Marsh Rd Unit B
Wilmington DE,19810
302.884.7601
http://www.facebook.com/breadandbuttercreambakery

Bakeries can be a magical experience. Especially when you find the right one. They take us back to our childhood. Like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, a magical land of sweets and treats. When you walk into a great bakery and see all the delicious goods in the bakery case, it sends a feeling through your body of excitement and joy. You cant wait to make and taste your choices and you feel like you’ve won a prize just for being you. Well good news Wilmington! A new bakery has opened up right here in The Brandywine Hundred and it is a magical world of wonder.

Bread & Buttercream Bakery on Marsh Rd near the corner of Wilson is an absolute dream wrapped in a pastry. All thanks to Owner Imad Jamal. Imad has been baking Moroccan and French inspired pastries for over 20yrs since coming to this country from Morocco. Walking into his bakery you are greeted and treated like an old friend even on your first visit. Within five minutes of talking with Imad you can feel the passion that he has for baking oozing out of him like the chocolate he fills his croissants with. The more he talks the more excited you get about getting your hands on all the delicious items displayed in his bakery case. One by one or five by five you need to work through them all because each one is even more delicious than the next.

Bread & Buttercream features a wide selection of muffins, croissants, cupcakes, cookies, macarons and more… all at reasonable prices, especially for the amazing experience that you will have while enjoying them. They also have a wide selection of freshly baked breads. Loaves and rolls to begets, get their early to get your hands on these wonderful breads. Great bread is hard to find these days, take it from a guy from North Jersey who loves his bread. Finding the perfect soft interior with the flavorful crispy crunch of the outer crust just got a lot easier.

One of the biggest treasures that you find here are THE CAKES!!! Although you will find that the bakery cases are filled with many treats and single serving cakes, Bread & Buttercream’s Imad Jamal takes orders on any custom cake that you would want and many that you never knew you needed in your life. If you think that what you get walking through the front door is amazing, just wait until you taste one of his cakes. Its not very often that a single bite can take you on such an amazing journey. Baking is an art, there is no doubt about that. With that being the case the cakes from Bread & Buttercream are an absolute masterpiece. Imad’s balance of flavors and attention to detail on not wanting to overpower you with sweetness is absolutely an art in itself. As beautiful as the cakes look on the outside they do not compare to taste that awaits on each and every bite.

Bread & Buttercream is a true sweet treasure. You owe it to yourself to stop by and let Imad and his team treat you like family. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion, holiday, family dinner or your own personal victory. Bread & Buttercream should be your first and only stop.

Get Out, Get Local

Thank you for reading and remember,
Sunny Days are a State of Mind…

Realtor and Resident of Brandywine,

Jason Carro
RE/Max Associates
Realtor
The Carro Group
jasonscarro@gmail.com
302.433.6670

I use to think positive thinking was crazy. How could thinking positively affect my life. There is no way that me simply thinking and hoping for the best would change my life’s outcome in any way. Glass half full? Glass half empty? Who the hell needs a glass anyway? I’ll drink straight from the fountain!

When I was younger it would be easy to say that things weren’t “peachy keen.” Of course they weren’t, I was a kid and things never happen quick enough or the way we always want when we are growing up. My parents moved me to Florida in the middle of my junior year from a small town in New Jersey. I didn’t want to go, I didn’t like it there, I liked my acting class I was leaving behind. I was leaving a great girlfriend behind, my friends, the place I loved and so on… But life happens and it is how we deal with it that matters most. Well, I didn’t deal with it very well at all. I was grumpy and carried around an attitude for awhile. So much so that it affected the new people that I was meeting in FL. I had a girl a few lockers over from me who was also new to town try to strike up a conversation with me and I blew her off. She was gorgeous! Yet my own attitude stood in my way of seeing what was right in front of me. Not to mention making an awful first impression on a pretty hot chic.

Which leads me to negativity. Thinking positively has the same affects in different ways as negativity. When you are walking around feeling down, bad and grumpy. That’s who people meet. That’s the first impression that people get of you. Who wants to be around negative people all the time? When you walk into a store to buy something and two people are standing next to each other. One looks miserable and angry. The other looks happy and full of energy. Aren’t you going to gravitate towards the Happy person? Even if subliminally you don’t want to deal with someone especially when you are trying to get help, who looks like they are in an awful mood. That’s just a possible precursor for how your whole experience is going to be. Or if your out with friends and you don’t  understand why you are single. Don’t you think that being negative might scare off potential matches for you? I know I personally was intimidated by woman who looked angry and mad. It was always much easier to approach someone in a good mood.

In my early 20’s, I used to think that in everywhere I went and everything that I tried to do. That I would climb mountains and work hard and at the top of that mountain there was always someone waiting for me to kick me back down to the bottom again. Then something changed. What!? I’m not quite sure. I think I just got tired of the same ole same ole. I decided to change my frame of mind. I was going to start climbing these mountains with a ladder on my back. When I got to the top I was going to open up that ladder and climb it so that I was that much higher than everyone at the top. Suddenly, EVERYTHING CHANGED!

I started thinking more positive, I started acting more positive and I started being more positive. Suddenly I was being recognized for my hard work. Goals that I had set for myself were starting to be achieved fairly easily. I was happier and best of all. My happiness was starting to have an effect and spread to others. Now when people were meeting me, they were meeting someone that was high energy and happy. Someone that tried to make those around him happier. All the little things that I used to dwell on, now seemed to melt away. I wasn’t letting “the world bring me down.” Not that I was suddenly Mr. Jolly go lucky all the time. Happiness just seemed to come more naturally. I had never been happier and couldn’t believe that I used to be so down.

When you start thinking positive, you start acting positive. You start being positive and people start to see you in a positive light. There is a chain reaction that happens. Not only to you in your life but also to those whose lives you interact with.

If you go into a store and the person behind the register is in a bad mood or down. It’s possible that your interaction with them can put them in a better mood or make them smile. Then you leave and they are in a better mood to the next person in line and that may turn that persons day around. Now you have affected two people. They may in turn affect more people and the cycle continues. All because of you…

Positive thinking can change your life, your world and the world of others. It can put you in a better place, open doors for you and help you accomplish anything. When you are having a bad day, just remember the only that has changed is your prospective.

Thank you so much for reading and remember…

Sunny Days are a State if Mind…

– Jason Carro

Realtor and Resident of Brandywine

I have travelled and lived in many different places. I have been all over the country and even to a few islands. I’d like to think that I’m “well traveled” (whatever that means) I have had many adventures and have truly enjoyed the places I have been. So when I start talking to people about my past, the first thing everyone says is “Why Wilmington?” I usually answer with “Sometimes you just go where the wind blows.” Which in this case is true. The universe takes you where you belong. I find that no matter who you speak to, no matter where they are, people always want to be or go somewhere else and don’t understand why anyone would want to be where they are. After I settled in tho… I started to look around and think about where I was. Wilmington DE, is a great place to be.

Seasons

After not living in the seasons for so long coming back to them was absolutely fantastic. It gives you such a change of scenery and keeps things fresh. Every 3 months we get a new backdrop to our lives. If you don’t like Heat, Fall is coming! If you don’t like Fall, (who doesn’t like Fall?) Winter is around the corner. Then Spring before you know it. The first year we were here, my wife who grew up in California and had never been west of Texas. Her first Spring and Fall, she cried! She had never been a part of the seasons changing and was so taken back by their beauty. I think most people who grow up in the seasons, take for granted how truly wonderful they are. If I had to spend one more Christmas looking at palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights…. UGH

Also here in Wilmington we are right in a little warm pocket of the east coast. Yes it still gets cold and we still have the beautiful change of seasons, but we don’t deal with a whole lot of snow. As little as a half hour North of us might get a foot or two, and we get a dusting. Yes, their are times that we get a decent amount of snow, but never as bad just North of us. Just enough to enjoy winter a bit and build a few snowmen and have a couple of sledding days.

Location

One of the best parts of living in Wilmington DE, is our location! We are so perfectly located just off of I-95 30min South of Philadelphia, 2hrs from NY, 1.5 from Baltimore, 3hrs from DC, 6hrs from Pittsburgh. So many cities are so close, all reasonable driving, flying or train rides away. Day trips galore!

Also the feeling of the area. To me Wilmington/Brandywine/ most of New Castle County area. Has the feeling of a small town but big enough not to be. Yet still that quaint feel that everyone knows everyone, and I like that.

Other Stuff

There seems to be so much STUFF going on! From Art Museums to Festivals, State parks and sporting events. There’s a lot to do here! If you find yourself saying “Jason, what are you talking about?” Well then maybe you are in the right place and the articles to follow will help you find out.

Thank you SO much for reading and remember,’

Sunny Days are a State of Mind…

– Jason Carro

Realtor and Resident of Brandywine