WizBlog

Crystal Cove Cottages | part 3 of 3

" ... comfort was allowed to come to them rare, welcome, unsought a gift like joy."   ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

The beginning of the Adventure -
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3 (includes a video)
**
And now ... the rest of the Adventure -

Our WizWog family loves the beach. Come to think of it, the family except maybe Sam and TeeTee the Kitties, but they're a different story altogether ... ha!

Some say we get a mood boost at the beach because of the negative ions. (see here: Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes). That may the scientific explanation. But for us, we think it's simply because the beach is like our lives - it's unpredictable. It's comforting. And it just plain feels good to be there.



Our blog was created to share a little bit about who we are and what we love to do. This time at our little cottage getaway pretty much captures that in a nutshell. Something about these historic little hideaways makes us feel better than even See's dark chocolate raspberry truffles. Well, maybe not better ... but just as good.

In just the minute or two it took us to walk over the tiny back stoop (whatever ever happened to back stoops and inside back porches?), pull open the sqeaky-springed vintage screen door, and hear its reassuring heavy wood reassuring slam, then smile at the 30's-style delightfully-PeptoBismol-pink kitchen, we knew we'd been captivated by the charm of this cottage community.






Original plywood walls painted dark brown, scuffed plank floors, vintage quilt wall hanging, braided living room rug. Brass bed tucked into the sun room for oceanview perfection. Had the original 1930's residents just invited us as guests for a night or two?

By the way - The book you see Wizzy enjoying below - special thanks to Wizzy's mom and dad for this totally perfect Christmas gift - Crystal Cove Cottages: Islands in Time (Amazon link)


A CD of Bocelli arias, a down quilt snuggle to watch the deep yellow-red sunset, an occasional waft of musky sea breeze, a delish dinner at the on-site cottage-turned-restaurant (Beachcomer Restaurant, Crystal Cove), a rare Wizzy Scrabble game victory, and the reassuring soothing swoosh of shorebreak just below us. An absence of technology. No need to look up the definition of content. We were living it!

Grab a latte and c'mon along - share our journey of contentment. Click here for the slideshow: Crystal Cove Cottage ~ a WizWog adventure.

Crystal Cove Cottages | Part 2 of 3

A little history of these "Islands in Time" ~

Tucked between multi-million  housing developments and golf courses of the Orange County coast lies a small settlement of rustic beach cottages seemingly frozen in time.

From silent-film location to rum-runners' hideout, scenic setting for a vibrant landscape painting community to 1950's luau-party headquarters, Crystal Cove has all the while remained a bohemian yet family-friendly village.

In the 1920's, the primitive and beautiful Crystal Cove attracted the attention of the booming silent film industry. Planting palm trees and building small palm-thatched 'cute' to portray a "paradise of the south seas," film makers transformed Crystal Cove into an exotic location. For years every cottage built at Crystal Cove kept its palm thatch to meet the needs of the filmmakers.

Owned by the Irvine Family, from the early 1900's generously allowed employees and friends to build small shelters and cottages along the beach and against the bluffs..

In the mid-1970's Crystal Cove cottages were placed in the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1979 the California State Parks system purchased Crystal Cove from the Irvine Family. 

The daunting task of cottage restoration began in the late 1990's. With a total cost of $14 million, Phase 1 included restoration of 22 cottages, 13 of which are available by reservation for overnight accommodations. Other cottages were rehabilitated and now serve as the Beachcomer Cafe, the Park Visitors' Center and other Park housing and operational support.

For a direct link to Chapter One of our historic adventure, click here:
Crystal Cove Adventure - Part One

Below is a an little video - 5:00pm, February 19, 2008 (yes, we're a little behind *wink*) - from us to you -  introducing our Crystal Cove Adventure - Part Deux.

Next chapter tomorrow, along with pictures from our step back in time - literally back to the future.

Our temperature hit the high 80's today, so it's odd to remember it was only 54 degrees at 4:30pm, and got down to the upper 30's in the night - really cold for SoCal. But it explains  our being so bundled up in the video.
   

Video: WizWog Crystal Cove Adventure - Feb 2008

ETA: Part 3 of 3

Balboa Adventure | Part 2 of 2

Adventure continued from here: Balboa Adventure | Part 1 of 2

Dear Readers: Sorry for the delay - you can stop sending emails asking for the rest of the Adventure. *wink*

Leaving our big-eyes calico kitty in her tree, we continued down the bay sidewalk where boats from dinghys to yachts are moored. Doncha love the "Private Pier" sign? So hoopty-doopty - heehee -
 
Each home and yard has its own unique character. Continuing down the sidewalk -


Like someone in the WizWog family, these residents were reluctant to put away their Christmas decor.

Check our the upper left corner of the first floor roof - yep, it's an angel.

Cottage back - obviously no cranky homeowners' association to restrict style, decor or color.

And the front -

A couple more interesting pieces of architecture -


Since Balboa Island had its beginnings with the establishment of wharves and railroads in the early 1900's, much of the Island has a definite vintage feel. So our last series of Balboa photos have been given that style post-processing.


Most of the homes - now very expensive prime property - have been remodelled several times over the decades, but there are a very few that appear nearly abandoned. Strange, property values being as high as they are.

And a couple built in about the 1950's, probably when Wizzy was swimming in this very bay.


And Wizzy's favorite vintage guy, Woggy. Like cheese and fine wine - getting better with age!

(mini) island adventure | 1 of 2 parts

... where the cats are fat and lazy, the houses are quaint and enchanting, and the living is creative and carefree ...

Sounds pretty much like a perfect WizWog adventure destination.
Balboa Island - a long-time local legacy location (can ya tell we love alliteration?).

Wizzy has photos from the early 1950's, where she is swimming with her sibs on the north end of this teeny local island. Somehow, despite a plethora of commercialism aimed at magnetizing tourist $$, during the off-season - most of the time between Labor Day and Memorial Day - this charming destination, about 15 minutes away from the WizWog home, still holds culinary and visual treasures, just waiting to be discovered.

Just one teaser today - the rest to follow tomorrow.
Several times a year we visit - usually for breakfast at Wilma's Patio, a small family restaurant. Then a walk with our cameras, strolling for ever-changing details to capture.

This little lady was actually at eye-level, lurking with catlike mysteriousness deep within the branches of a front-yard tree, momentarily pushing her head into view and allowing us to briefly skritch her fuzzy forehead. We snapped this as she withdrew to near-invisibility, watching sidewalk pedestrian traffic from the safety of her tree lair.

christmas marketing

"The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her."
~ Marcelene Cox

We think that's true of both men and women. Right from our first meeting, that was the case with us. We love the adventure of shopping together. If there's anything we love as much as good eating, it's meal planning and shopping. Dunno what it is - but we just laugh our way from Produce to Bread and every aisle between.

Shopping for our Christmas Week meals was no exception.
We planned for several days. Christmas Day breakfast was strata (yummy recipe below) and fresh orange juice.

Christmas Day's supper menu was:
Roasted turkey breast, Gulliver's corn, Spiced Apple & Cranberry Chutney, peas, dressing (casserole style), and homemade punkin pie.

The Excursion
The stacked shopping carts almost look like a sleigh, you think?


Wogg enjoys imported cookies for late night snacking ...


While Wizzy goes for good ol' domestic Pepperidge Farms.


It was mid-afternoon. Renee - our bagger - had worked all day and was tired - but she told us we made her day because she loved the whimsy of our hats ... and how much we looked like we were enjoying them. She'd be right!
 

Tyler and Wogg check the total.


A little shadow play in a ray of sunshine (it was about 72 degrees outside) on the parking structure wall.

By the way, for all of these pictures we used our new Canon G9 point-and-shoot - a Wizzy birthday gift from ... yup, her darlin' Mr. Wogg :)


WizWog Breakfast Strata
1 pound pork sausage, browned & drained on paper towels
6 slices bread, cubed (we used homemade Country French bread)
2 cups shredded Jack cheese
3 green onions (green only), chopped & sauteed
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
Optional: 1 small can chopped Ortega chiles

Layer bread cubes, sausage and cheese in a lightly greased 7x11 inch baking dish. In a bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt & mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the break cube mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with fresh juice or fruit ... and eat with gusto!

let there be LIGHTS!

"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind." ~ Mary Chase

Did I mention we love lights? And Christmas lights are just icing on our cake.

Darlin' Woggy dutifully schleps the box home from our off-site storage, then unravels slightly snarled strands, which we know we packed away UNsnarled last January. What the heck do they do during the year?

He's such a good sport, cuz he knows the bright result makes us grin.

Checking for connections -

A few last-minute adjustments.

Hmmmm, maybe just one more strand for extra magic? Did we overdo it?

LOL!
OK, the for-reals finished project.
Thank you, sweet Wogg. Another Christmas where you've lit up our home ... and our hearts.
Did I mention we love lights?


P.S. Even if you've seen this "Christmas Lights Gone Wild" video, it's worth another look. Christmas lights on steroids! [for our email subscribers, click the link below to go to the WizBlog, then click the video to view]

winter garden fantasy

Calling "Roger's Gardens" a nursery would be like referring to a Ferrari as a car. There's something so spectacular about both, you just gotta experience then to understand - KWIM?

Our annual Christmas Adventure to Roger's is a much-anticipated event. They spend from July through mid-October preparing their Christmas displays. From October through December, they're open until 9pm, so we always plan on a little bite to eat out, then an evening stroll through Roger's fairyland.

We can feel the nostalgic warmth of Christmas as we enter the gardens. Red, rich walls and curtains, and dozens of beautifully adorned trees accented with multicolored lights set the stage for this winter fantasy.


From carolers to sparkling white amaryllis. Graceful and stylish handcrafted outdoor furniture. Countless tiny sparkling white lights. Christmas wreaths, garlands, elegant pointsettias, and live spruce trees. Acre after acre of manicured landscaping, hundreds of thousands of lights and decorations. Room after room, dense with themed trees, gorgeous lush Christmas arrangements, and ornaments -vintage to contemporary. And did we mention the lights? Oh how we love the lights.




This WizWog Adventure officially marks the beginning of our Christmas season.

But there is really one special thing which is the purpose of this visit. And we know it's something we need before November 18th.

We'll reveal the object of our sojourn in tomorrow's WizBlog edition.
In the meantime, can you guess from these four clues?

1 - Earth and water
2 - 5 weeks
3 - Brown & green
4 - Inside & outside

Crystal Cove Cottage Community | Part 1 of 2

Very, very occasionally we need a business break to soothe our souls.
A few weeks ago the weather was too perfect to stay inside.
We found these photos this afternoon and wanted to share with our readers.

Midday, midweek found us cruising up Pacific Coast Highway, windows and sunroof wide open to let in the warm 75 degree day while we sang along with Cher, "Gyyyypsies, Tramps and Thieves ..."

From Dana Point, through Laguna Beach, and up to Corona del Mar to the Crystal Cove Cottages. We hadn't been there since the start of the renovation about a year ago, so we ventured up the coast to take lunch at the new restaurant at the cottages - between Laguna and Newport Beach.

Parking in the lot on the upside of PCH, we walked to the end of the lot, down into the natural California chapparel on a narrow path, under the highway through this tunnel, and out the other side, emerging in the cottage community.

These cottages were built nearly with cardboard and bubble gun, but are highly beloved and offer great photo ops. This is one of the couple dozen abandoned, dilapidated structures th scheduled for renovation over the next few years.


We thought the turquoise corrugated tin roof was quite sumthin' !
 



Woggy's "hood ornament" pose -







Residing in one of the renovated cottages, The Beachcomer Restaurant is nestled at the base of the beachfront cliffs, with a stunning panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. While most tourists feel compelled to eat outside, we decided to enjoy a rare Guilty Pleasure - hamburgers & fries - at an old-fashioned diner booth just inside the door - it was too hot outside (75 at the beach is HOT).


What a glorious day! 

Check out the menu, especially the photos: Beachcomer Restaurant menu . Then see below ...

This was taken in front of Wizzy's grandparents' home on Lido Isle, just a couple of miles away from Crystal Cove. Her brother was born in January 1950, so that make this summer 1950! That makes Wizzy 4-1/2, dad 27 and mom 25.

This is how Wizzy spent most summers, clear through about 15 years ago - just chilling at the beach, no sunscreen. Well, she did start wearing a top at about age 5. <wink>



Edited to add for your entertainment - the rest of the Crystal Cove Adventure (includes a fun WizWog video - and a nostalgic musical slideshow). Grab your fave beverage, relax for a few, and enjoy!
Part 2 of 3 - Crystal Cove Adventure 
Part 3 of 3