I Should Do This More Often

It's true. I had a week of "I should do this more often" moments. Monday morning, I had to get a stick pony for Zoe. I went to Main Beach Toys, got the pony, put it in the car and walked on the beach. Then sat on a bench in the warm sunshine and watched the waves and people while listening to the waves. It was free, simple, relaxing and it's always there for the taking! I should do this more often!

I sat down at my computer and paid bills. Before the due dates. It felt great to get them done and not have to think about them again for four weeks! Most months, I dread it, put it off til the last minute and then feel bad. Better to get it out of the way early if at all possible. I should do this more often.

I went to the car wash, which I basically detest. This car wash is in no way fancy. It is simple. Covered with vining flowers and surrounded by Sweet Gum Trees, which provide fall colors for us. We are fall foliage challenged here in So Cal. The koi pond and water fall keep it cool and as does the shade. A light breeze blows the leaves off the trees to swirl down to the ground. So pretty, so relaxing and again simple, if I take the time to relax! I should do this more often.

Thursday night I got an invitation from a Realtor friend of mine, who was having a private showing for Realtors and friends. I took two friends with me and we saw two homes. Both on the market. One for 26 mil and one for 32 mil. The first house had valet parking, which was great. Lots of hills, lack of parking. We put little paper shoes over our shoes and went inside this 10,000 sq ft home. From the photos on the internet, I thought I would love this house more. I was wrong. It was purchased from Ricky Nelson's family and completely remolded and of course made into a dream home, at least for some. While the extensive work and river rock work and beautiful windows and such attention to details were great, it was choppy. No flow. We got lost a couple of times. Stairs that we thought would lead to another area of the home, just led us to another room, and resulted in going back down the stairs to find another staircase. Six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, three kitchens, but very tiny dining area, game room, media room and bedrooms. Major lack of closet space too. Balconies with amazing views above the sandy beach. A long staircase to the pool and spa, a bridge, steps down to the beach. All nice, but not my kind of home. If I had that kind of money, I would never plop it down on one huge home. We were treated to champagne and appetizers on one level of the home. The other level had a chocolate bar, and coffee. Here is a small tour of the home if you want to see it. I hope the link works! sugarloafpoint.com

The next home, in which the Internet did it no justice was much more homey and open. The layout was great and the use of the land was outstanding. Although dated in parts, the bones were there. Each level with decks the length of the home. All doors and windows looking out to the ocean. You could hear the waves breaking throughout the house. Unlike the other one. The huge picture window in the enormous kitchen was awesome. It lowered into the wall to open up to the outside deck. It had the biggest island I had ever seen. While we were strolling the decks, I found this table with and umbrella and I said, I would plop my ass right here and never leave! The closets in the master were to die for! Huge. With a center console with drawers. Lots of shoe space. And they had his and her closets! There was a gym, right off the office. A sauna, spa. A room behind the laundry room was full of vases for flower arrangements. The lighting was perfect inside and out. There was a media room, where my friend the Realtor dared us to sit on the couches to see if we could get up after sitting there for five minutes. The couches were down, and we could literally feel them conform to our bodies. I have a down couch, and it doesn't conform to my body! I took a couple of photos of my friends sitting there, oh so relaxed. We finally made it outside and the pool looked like it belongs in a resort. Surrounded by lounges and umbrellas and lots of lawn. Above the pool was a kid's paradise. A full size play house. A huge tree house. Play structure as well. And did I mention the sound system throughout the home, inside and out? There was a full bath near the pool area, where one could shower and change before heading back into the main home. There was also an outside shower with a drinking fountain. Of course this would be handy to wash off the sand from the steps off the pool area, which led down to the beach below. I would change things, like wallpaper, floor, and maybe take out some of the built ins that were dated. But, for 26 million, you would think nobody would have to do this. It happens every day of the week here in Laguna. Again, if I had that kind of money, I could a place on the beach and the mountains, on a lake with a boat for fishing and of course a dock. But, I would not need a huge house with a four car garage. I would get multiple homes.

I told my Realtor friend that the Internet did not do justice to the house. He said they taped it on a June gloom day. I suggested a night time video of all the lighting and it would show the warmth of the home. Here is the link if you would like to see it, and even if you don't! Rockledgebythesea.com

After the open houses, we went to dinner. We had so much fun, despite the fact that our waitress was a royal bitch. We were shocked by how rude she was. We ordered appetizers and told her to hold off on one, as we were not sure yet if we wanted it. Almost immediately, she puts the one thing we did not order on the table and walks away. My friend tells her as she is whizzing by, that she thinks there was a mistake. We were not sure about that dish. The waitress says, Fine. She takes the plate and puts it on the counter near the kitchen and tells the chef, "They don't want this!" She brings out three prawns with two sauces. We needed spoons. I started to ask her if we could have spoons, and before it was out of my mouth, she said, "I am getting your plates!" Then we asked for spoons. My friend asked if she could explain the sauces to us. She goes into a robotic state and tells us what she knows. The restaurant is called Mozambique and the food is African. We had no idea what the spices were and thought it would be nice of her to let us know! When dinner was done, we actually had to figure out how to give her less of a tip. She was rude and nasty. There was NO way I was giving her a 20 or 25% tip, as I normally do. The bill was $87 and she got an even $13. Then we sat there for another hour and a half and chatted! We were on the roof of the restaurant and it was heated and the atmosphere was great.

I went out to get the car from the valet, while my friends visited the bathroom. The valets asked how dinner was and I told them, that the waitress was a royal bitch. I explained the whole thing to them and they were very apologetic. They asked if I wanted them to get management for me. I told them, No, I suspect my friend is taking care of that, as she emerges shaking the hand of the manager in the parking lot! He told her that if she would have complained earlier, he could have given us free desert or something to make up for it. We waited until the end. It was okay though, we had a girl's night out and had a blast. The waitress just made it more memorable. We decided we are going to have more girl's nights out. Once a month. And we all said this is something we should do more often!