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?

FEELING LUCKY??

http://www.tlrstable.com/stable-roster/two-year-olds/latigo-shore/

I'm not sure what lured you into this blog post, but if you are "feeling lucky," well then so am I. I'm not a big believer of abiding by my horoscopes' every word but today (Sept. 17) was supposed to be a day to clear my schedule and not sign any documents. A day so horrible that it might last another 6 months. Yikes! I don't normally abide by these cautioning words, but I didn't want to add to any misfortune today either, so the only thing I booked is dinner with a friend and former co-worker. I made it home fine and nothing bad happened today,...phew! Except that I still cannot for the life of me post a treasury cleanly and within the right size proportion to this blog, so sorry. I am seeking help on that one. I was so excited that I was featured in this great treasury by MiaRosina (http://www.miarosina.etsy.com/) about Good Luck. I think I need it and as she said , I'm sure we all do these days. As I was googling earlier, I also saw this article about a young yearling named Latigo Shore purchased by Malibu Moon, and I thought wow, this is quite the coincidence. I'm not a gambler, I don't know horses or breeding horses or racing (my Uncle Fred would have been a great consultant on this) but I was already feeling like I should put my money down on this pretty pony or at least buy a lottery ticket. What a gorgeous horse and hmm, interesting similarities on names. I feel a connection and after all it is Sept. 18 now, so the bad luck of the 17th should be gone by now, even though nothing happened, thank god! If anyone can decifer this link about the horse let me know if and when Latigo is running, because I will put my money on this yearling. Good luck to all and to all a good night.

September - Drummers & Jewerly Designers oh my

I have been lacking on my blog entries, maybe its because the last time I was here, I spent so much time adjusting my treasury screen shots and was frustrated that I could not get them to fit on my blog posts. arrgg. As evidenced below! Or maybe its because it was my birthday and although I'm not one to dread getting a bit older each year, this year I felt it was better to have a low-key celebration. Its a different year, the world feels uneasy and my world has changed. I'm not working in an office, I'm not commuting, I'm not managing people or crisis or working with big business, nor am I buried in a sea of emails from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. My husband says I'm happier and I laugh more and I know he's happy to not have me lost in the zone (the blackberry zone). So, things are different, but exciting and unpredictable, which in the end I hope is a good thing. I promised myself when I left the Network that I would write that script I've always wanted to write. Why not, I have the time right? Well sort of, I'm uh..um... working on it! You know, taking a "hiatus" from the rat race requires a bit of downtime and there are other pursuits like family plans that I've neglected sadly and now require my attention. Not to mention the continuing quest to consider what my next income based move will be. My husband has been supportive of my need to discover what's next and I LOVE the joy of creating things that people enjoy wearing. And some are wearing LATIGO MOON even on one of the most important days of their life - on their wedding day. I mean how great is that?! But it wasn't until my birthday that I realized I might have made a big mistake in venturing into jewelry design. I think through everything, I mean in PR you have to analyze every possible scenario and outcome when you make a move but in this case I have failed to realize the one negative of me playing with gemstones and making jewelry. This is it: when you make your own jewelry, when its time for your birthday, anniversary or Christmas, you may never get jewelry as a gift again. It hit me, "Hey, wait a minute." I told my husband, "You know, just because I make jewelry, doesn't mean that you have to stop getting me something pretty that YOU like for me?" We're cutting back now anyway, but I felt the need to make this proclamation now, early, before it sinks in for all eternity or when the economy and job outlook improves. I should have realized this when I started, I didn't really think that one through! I always laugh when I think about something my neighbor Doug said. He and his wife live next door to a kid who likes to bang on the drums. Not great when you want to go to sleep! Then recently, new neighbors next door to them also moved in. One is a pretty well known jazz drummer and his wife designs fine jewelry. So when Doug realized I started LATIGO MOON, he jokingly said, "Oh great, now I'm surrounded by 2 drummers and 2 jewelry designers!" His wife told me she plans on getting some more earrings from me. Sorry Doug!! If only I could make golf clubs or build a boat to make everyone happy around here.