2011 and still only a few posts!

Writing infrequent blogposts make you realize how fast life goes by when the last post was 2010 and before that it was 2009. It's almost like I was avoiding a post. Probably didn't want to admit what was really going on or "address" any feelings that might require a kleenex. Yeah, so I've been non-committal and tried to be unemotional (but that's hard) in an unpredictable economy as life hits you head on with questions about family/kids/etc. I've been fortunate to work as a consultant in PR and am so happy with my contracts these days -2010 and 2011 have been great. Someone I worked with said wisely, "Always be nice to those you work with, you never know when you'll work with them again." How true is that? I recently discovered that I might run into people whose decisions I may have disagreed with and inevitably there are characters I wish I didn't have to see or even promote, but I'm a professional - I always try to be nice, and like a professional publicist I put myself last and the person I'm promoting first. A friend of mine saw this in action when a star I worked with who I thought I had helped make a huge star turned to me and in a very insecure and catty moment mocked my cell phone that I happened to be holding when I was talking to him. He then asked if he could borrow it to call someone. My friend who didn't work in Hollywood said, "I could not do what you do!" I immediately came to his defense (sort of like a verbally abused person really), until I realized what a BS moment it was. He was being a complete jerk and my friend saw it ALL. Now I decided life is too short, I refuse to work for jerks if I can possibly avoid it. Nice guys and girls only. Call me.

Memories & Memoirs - Confessions of a Confused Career Professional

So I always set up this blog for one purpose, to write and pursue my next adventure but forgive me bloggers and followers - I have sinned - its been almost a year since my last posting. My confession: I have always been an entertainment publicity executive for my entire career. Please, I am not a "flack" - hate that! And, I'm not a red carpet tramp. I don't bring my camera with me to get shots with the stars. I'm a behind the scenes professional who likes to be "behind the scenes." In 2009, like for so many professionals, the economic crisis changed everything. I took time for myself and induced myself with creativity. I literally tried to think of every venture under the sun that would incorporate my love for the beach and the ocean and my desire to never commute again with a little PR. I felt a new industriousness that I never felt before. How do I take beach glass from my walks along the tidepools and turn it into an empire, or how do I take my god awful 60's bath vanity and update it with a Home Depot -new decorator flair at minimal cost? And how do I make a satisfying living in this lousy economy? I taught myself how to make jewelry and threw myself into giving our vanity a very beachy/spa makeover. But, where is the empire? Well it took many months of devotion and dedication to these hobbies and I realized I just needed TIME OFF to be able to ponder these big questions, adjust to the shock of not running on the treadmill of a busy career and then cry over the fact that I spent so many years devoted to my career that I should have spent toward having a child. I needed to get off the 24 hour news cyle of craziness. I determined after some much needed time off, that I was still interested in translating my media and PR experience and credentials into consulting and freelancing for now, but I wanted to do it on my terms from my home office. A six week job turned into eight months and that has just ended, so once again I'm back on the question of what's next? I'll just find another gig, no worries. Yet, I still feel there is something else I'm not tapping into. Writing- maybe. That screenplay I said I would tackle, maybe I should just get everything off my chest in a book? I have people I'd like to share my stories with, but I am shy. I'm not a braggert, I don't like upsetting anyone, is a book too public? My book editor/instructor reminded me that sometimes its good to write the truth, after all, it's stranger than fiction. That's for sure. But I realize if someone is going to speak up, it may as well be me. What do I have to lose? If I get published and readers read it then I guess I should be so lucky to worry about the reaction then. For now its just another adventure... a new pair of earrings I made, or a new look for my vanity. I'm still wondering if its too late for my empire to include kids.

Avalon, Catalina My Zagats Guide!

So if you are looking for that perfect place to dine on the island, I can offer you some incredible spots....Great food, wonderful atmosphere and fine dining are all possible in Avalon. These are my absolute favorites and in no certain order:
ARMSTRONGS - Fantastic Fresh Fish and Local Catches, Scenic Dining, Great Service, Great View
STEVES STEAKHOUSE - Incredible Fresh Delicacies, Fun Historic Atmosphere, and Great View
VILLA PORTAFINO - Perfect Choice for Elegant Fine Italina Dining, Incredible Pastas and Excellent Bar, Service and Dessert Dining
CC GALLAGHERS - Worth a visit to shop and explore the retail but dine with elegance and explore wine tasting and gourmet food delicacies at the same time. Beautiful shop.

Traveling to Catalina

People come up to me all the time asking for advice and recommendations to travel to Avalon on Catalina Island. I have my secret getaways and hot spots, but I also can tailor what you want for a destination based on your personality. If you want to plan a wedding, let me know because I set mine up from the mainland on the Island and it was fantastic! Here are my top 5 Wedding destinations/venues for you to consider on the Island:
1. Catalina Casino Ballroom
2. Wrigley Mansion
3. Catalina Island Country Club
4. Descansco Beach Club
5. The Banning House

Olympics

Congrats to Bodie Miller for the Gold!

Hello, Cowgirl in the Sand...

I did this treasury with the Neil Young song in mind as well as my memories at Malibu, when my neighbor would get on her horse and head up on the beach. Malibu was different when I was a kid, yes, I'm sure there are still people riding horses on the beach, but Malibu that I knew was more remote and unknown when I was a little girl. We had fond memories of our neighbors raising Bambi, an injured deer they took in and revived, that lived in their beachhouse. Bambi would sit in their house and watch tv with the family and eat grains out of yogurt cups. We have some great old home movies of Bambi prancing up and down the beach at Latigo, like a funloving dog of ours. Those days are long gone. Sadly. The place is different. So maybe thats why I fixated on the Cowgirl on the Sand theme. It rang true with me when I heard it as a youth in Catalina, it reminded me of Lonnie in Malibu on horseback, and then I just had this overwhelming sense of wishing California was still that magical, majestic place where you could still see people enjoying life on the beach, unbridled and free and when your property and freedoms were yours. The way California used to be. I was born in the wrong era perhaps.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=91851

Feeding the Fish

I just added the perfect gadget to my blog, well its perfect if you like feeding the fish like I do. Check it out and feed the fish!

I have this sentimental love with fishing or maybe it stems from my sentimental memories as a kid with my family. I do recall throwing the ping pong into the fish bowl and taking the little goldie home as a pet. At Marineland when I was a kid, I recall winning a couple of orange goldfish and getting my own freshwater pearl ring right out of the oyster that I picked. In Avalon, I won awards for the largest and most fish caught off the end of the pier and when I was at Camp Fox with my Dad for Indian Princesses, I had the time of my life fishing off the pier with Dad. My least favorite part was after the nibble, I left that up to the experts. So maybe that is why I am just a little obsessed with feeding the fish. They come to me, nibble, I can see the big ones and the pretty ones but I don't have to take one home. We can both meet for a bit, then depart for our respective homes. So this summer, just when I thought I knew everything about Catalina and Avalon, my mom tells me about this... I'll call him a GENIUS, teenage kid, who sets up a fish food candy type dispenser off the pier. For 25 cents, you too can feed the fish three handfuls of food. I'm hooked. I'm literally working my way into the dispenser, I'm wrestling with the kids next to me to put my coin in the machine and my hand next to the feeder to get the food. Dont worry, Im not crazy, I give food to the kids as well and share! This guy was with his family off the cruise ship and tells my mom and I that he saw a 350 lb seabass under the pier. We're smiling and saying "Really?" and inside thinking, "yea, right!" but last time we parked the boat off Joe's, all the guys were talking about it. Ross did witness the monster under his boat. Unbelievable, because I missed it! I'm paying good money to make a teenage genius rich and I don't get to see the Giant Sea Bass? I did get a koi fish as a pet before I adopted my cat. Once the cat moved in, boy did she love watching little fishy. (but don't worry, fishy lived a long life even with Jazzy around). On our honeymoon in Kaui when we dined under the thatched roofed restaurant feeding the giant koi below, I was in heaven. There is something so peaceful, beautiful, escapist and fascinating about watching these beauties and being transposed to an exotic setting for a unique experience. Any fish stories of your own?