What is the point of living in Miami if you don’t have a little fun every once in awhile? Our Miami, the new Millennium Miami, has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting places in the world. This Miami has become the gateway to America, a new-world city that is part culture, part resort, and part nightlife.

While much of the country will be pretending to enjoy their winter wonderlands this month, some of them wise up and come here for December in Miami, during the peak of our tourist season. That’s because not only is the weather considerably better than most places right now, but there is some great stuff to do in Miami for the holidays.

Enjoy the Holidays, Miami-style

1. The Santa Crawl- December 12th – The Santa Crawl  is becoming a Miami tradition. It’s improved each year with better organization, attendance, and participation. If you want to fit in with this crowd, squeeze into your Christmas-themed attire and join a couple hundred other Santa’s, reindeer, and suspiciously human-looking elves, as you move from bar to bar. Participants are given wristbands and route cards and are led through one of multiple routes (so everyone is not hitting the same bar at the same time). What’s that? Why yes, I will have another!

2. Miami SantaCon – December 19th – Christmas comes but once a year, so come and drink some beer and be merry! There’s absolutely no rule saying you can’t partake in more than one Christmas-themed pub crawl; and really, isn’t that the point of a pub crawl?! This round is free to participate in, but make sure you’re appropriately garbed if you want to receive the advertised drink specials.

3. Santa’s Enchanted Forest -Through January 2nd – Looking for something the whole family can enjoy? Look no further than Santa’s Enchanted Forest. That’s right, we have our own Christmas theme park. One ticket grants you entrance to all of the rides, and you enter into a wonderland of holiday lights and decorations as you drown in mountains of chocolate-covered marshmallows.

4. The Orange Bowl- December 31st – If candy canes and elves aren’t really your thing, then perhaps I can offer you the best football game of all time? The Super Bowl doesn’t count, and the Rose Bowl can eat it. Every year around this time, two of the country’s best teams face off in Miami. The stadium has been updated this year and it will be our first playoff semifinal in the new CFP system. Tickets might be hard to come by, but that is why they make large-screen TV’s.

5. Bring in the New Year – Miami might be the party capital of the country, all year long, but that doesn’t mean we let it fizzle out toward the end. Nope, we go all out, at all levels. From luxury, million dollar velvet-rope events on a yacht that would never let me in, to party buses, and the famous orange drop! There is a lot to do.

Since Miami is the #1 party city in the country, I’ll just leave this little list here.

Seasonal Comfort Foods – Miami Style

On top of being a world-renowned vacation destination, Miami also offers some great seasonal comfort foods– albeit, with a little bit of Miami flair involved.

If you have a seasonal favorite, share it with us on our Facebook page!  

Here’s are just a few of our favorites:

Coquito – A Miami Spin on Eggnog

Image Credit: Alejandra Ramos

If you’ve never tasted coquito, you don’t know what you’re missing. Coquito is a popular Miami favorite during the holidays! You can make your own, here.

Flan – A Traditional Style Custard

Though, not technically a “holiday” dessert, Flan is another favorite we look forward to during the holidays. Flan is found in recipes as far back as ancient Rome, according to this site, and was originally a savory dish that was not too sweet, but rather, aromatic and pleasing to the palate.

If you’re feeling up for the challenge, you can follow this recipe and give it a try!

Work Hard, Play Harder

We have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to celebrate this month. While these lists are short, I didn’t even talk about the Hip Hop Nutcracker or the Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, but there just isn’t enough room to cover it all.

Just remember: before you go back to working hard, take a moment with those special in your life and enjoy all that Miami has to offer.

~J.C.

The post December in Miami – Your Guide To What’s Happening appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

We Love Christmas

Here in Miami we only see snow on television, but Christmas comes no matter the weather! And we are thrilled to spend the holidays in the warmth of family and friends.

We also want to take a moment to wish each of you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. And we hope that 2015 is your healthiest and most prosperous year yet!

Aren’t new beginnings refreshing? We think so!

Cheers to 2015!

As we move into 2015, we have so many big projects in the works—our Metal Roofing Conference, for example—and we hope that you will stay tuned! If there is anything you might need, feel free to give us a call. We’d be glad to help you find a solution for your roofing needs!

~J.C.

The post Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

Our Traditions

Our office is filled with fun people and their crazy families. So, we asked around and gathered everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Here’s what we each came up with!

Mike said: On Thanksgiving, my family normally gets together at my uncle’s house to eat dinner and watch football games on TV in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Our family has grown to about 20 people, so we do a family prayer before eating and then have a “buffet style” self serving station. We eat turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork, plus endless amounts of desserts. We sometimes take family pictures and sometimes sit down around the couch talking about “what’s new” in our life, like work, vacations, etc.

Roxana said: Our family gets together at my aunt’s house, where we have a thankful tree tradition. She takes a dry tree branch, and makes leaves out of paper where we each write things we are thankful for. We then dress the branch with the leaves and realize there are plenty of reasons to give thanks. We look forward to this every year.

Juan Carlos said: My favorite part is the pork stuffed turkey!

Daylin said: I don’t really like turkey, so I eat other things. I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my super large Cuban family and have the food that I wish I was able to cook, but can’t and won’t. The important thing is to be together and give thanks.

James said: I get to see my girlfriend’s family that I don’t see often as they live two hours away in Okeechobee, Florida. I also share their American traditions such as playing corn hole. And I like to eat turkey, ham, and bacon… for sure all that good stuff.

Cheers!

May all of you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving with your families!

~J.C.

The post We Are Thankful appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

That means hurricane season is already here! The tropical storm Arthur briefly became a hurricane and hit the east coast around the Fourth of July, before reverting back to a tropical storm and moving on northward.

There have been a lot of storms and rain here in Miami recently, but we’ve been really lucky for the past several years when it comes to hurricanes.

Still, that’s no reason to get complacent! Take the lull in heavy storms and hurricanes as an opportunity to get your home or commercial space outfitted to handle this kind of weather in the future!

You’ll want to have metal roofing installed before the next major storm comes to call.

Want to know more? Just ask us!

~J.C.

The post Hurricane Season in Full Force appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

If you’re not ready yet, it’s important to start preparing now to minimize any damage to your home in the thick of hurricane season. Fortunately, there’s a way to significantly improve your home’s strength in a hurricane, and it’s called metal roofing.

Here are two big advantages of having metal roofing on your home during hurricane season.

Durability

Damage to your roof cover is one of the most dangerous and devastating effects of a hurricane. The problem is, if the roof gets partially damaged or completely destroyed, the rest of your home is vulnerable to wind, water, and other elements. Without a roof, you could lose your entire home or sustain permanent damage to your furnishings and belongings as soaking wet plaster and insulation collapses onto the lower levels.

Metal roofing is the solution. It has a tremendous amount of wind resistance compared to traditional roofing materials, possessing the capacity to withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour. They are also leak-proof and built to be strong against the elements.

Longevity

A traditional, non-metal roof has an average lifespan of about 17 years. During hurricane season, you do not want to be worrying about whether your roof is nearing the end of its lifespan.

Unless you bought your home brand-new and you’ve lived in it for well under 17 years, you run the risk of having a roof that’s deteriorated and even more vulnerable to harsh weather. Every 10 to 20 years or so, you also need to reproof a roof made of a material like asphalt.

A metal roof is known for its amazing longevity, especially compared to other roofing materials. You can expect more than 50 years out of a metal roof, which basically means you’ll never have to replace it. There’s a peace of mind in knowing that your roof’s expiration date is not going to come in the middle of any foreseeable hurricane season.

Prepare Now

Having a roof with durability and longevity is so important during hurricane season. I can’t stress it enough. The fact that a metal roof can withstand intense weather and last for decades makes it a perfect choice for South Florida, not to mention the other benefits you get with one.

If you don’t quite know how to proceed to get ready for hurricane season, give us a call! We want to make sure you’re set this season.

Talk to you soon!

~J.C.

The post The 2 Biggest Advantages of Metal Roofing During Hurricane Season appeared first on Metal Master Shop.