Temecula Pat & Oscars...Part Two

Okay, word is that the Pat & Oscars company filed Ch 7 bankruptcy. They are restructuring their entire operations which includes closing several stores. The Temecula Duck Pond location is closed for now (and 60 employees were laid off) but there are plans to re-open under new management at some time in the future.

Stay tuned....

Pat & Oscars at the Temecula Duck Pond....Closes?

Is it true? I heard today that amid a big corporate overhaul, our local Temecula Pat & Oscar's is (temporarily??) closed.

Without knowing the specifics, I would be so surprised if Pat & Oscar's as a company survives yet chooses to keep the Duck Pond store closed, since it always is packed and remains popular with families even during tough economic times.

Anyone have any info?

City of Temecula Fourth of July Parade

Our friend and neighbor Autumn Boden sang the national anthem to open the 2011 City of Temecula Fourth of July parade in Old Town this morning. She did a terrific job! It was thrilling hearing her beautiful voice amplified throughout the entire Old Town district. She got a great response from the crowd.

Then I opened my Californian newspaper this morning to find this article describing her singing like this:

In a performance that belied her youth, the 12-year-old delivered the national anthem in a clear, unwavering voice without affectation or apparent flaws, despite the legendary difficulty of the lyrics and melody.

Wow! Just, wow.

Hope you all had a fantastic Fourth!

Hair Feathers & Tinsel!

We are back from a vacation in Washington, D.C. You hope when traveling with kids that they appreciate cultural differences in different parts of the world. For instance, my nine year old noticed that nobody had "hair feathers" in Washington. She did see some at Dulles Airport (tinsel, too.) I pointed out to her that the airport isn't always a great gauge of local style because people from all over the world are just passing through.

"Maybe those people are from California," she said.

Sure enough, one of the hair feather gals was on our LAX-bound flight.

Where can you get feathered and tinseled here in Temecula? Element Salon was one of the earliest local pioneers of this trendy-trend. (Element does great blow-outs, too!)

Also, the Fantastic Sam's near Baron's offers hair feathers (basically fancier looking fishing lures attached with hair extension beads, in a variety of sizes and colors) for $10 each (price includes feather and installation) or three for $25.

Sources for hair feathers and hair tinsel in Temecula:

Element Salon (near Bruegger's, across Winchester from Chapparal High)
(951)695-5400
39584 Winchester Road
Temecula, CA 92591

Fantastic Sam's (in the Baron's shopping center)
(951)695-6204
31867 Rancho California Road
Temecula, CA 92592

Two Cool Venues -- Gershon Bachus Vintners and Monteleone Meadows

A winter day at Gershon Bachus

So I'm watching The Soup and who pops on the screen but the unflappably professional Joe Vizcaino ("Joey"), Director of beautiful local winery Gershon Bachus Vintners, deflecting the "advances" (?) of the Real Housewives of Orange County.

I had the reception for my adult bat mitzvah at Gershon Bachus, and I cannot recommend them highly enough for a supremely special, luxurious event.

Oh, and did I mention....their catering is by Sorrel? This is no rubber chicken dinner. Nope. My guests were talking about the "adult grilled cheese" (with Chef Adrian's special house-made fig chutney) for days.

You'll feel like you're hosting family and friends at your private Tuscan estate at Gershon Bachus, while at this other cool location I just discovered, you'll feel like you invited them to your own secluded, edenic meadow.

Tucked away off Winchester near Benton Road in French Valley is Monteleone Meadows. I was honored to attend a dear friend's daughter's First Communion in the Catholic faith. They attend Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, which doesn't have their own building yet.

Ever driven along that stretch of Winchester heading out toward French Valley where you pass Fausto's Bail Bonds, with all the Hummers and other cool cars with "Fausto's" signs in their parking lot, then the Catholic church that meets in the Moose Lodge? That's Blessed Teresa's temporary home. (By the way, that is the new Moose Lodge location, and it used to be French Valley Winery.)

The congregation held First Communion for a bunch of children, and the mass was delivered from a beautiful lakeside gazebo at Monteleone Meadows. What a lovely setting for a special day.

This is a beautiful setting for a variety of events, especially weddings. I can't vouch for venue-catered food. I was at Catholic mass so I had....doughnuts and coffee, of course:-)

Gershon Bachus Vintners
www.gershonbachus.com
37750 De Portola Drive (on the De Portola Wine Trail)
Temecula, CA 92592
(877)I LUV GBV

Monteleone Meadows
www.monteleonemeadows.com
35245 Briggs Road
Murrieta, CA 92563
(951)677-6403

My Ongoing Love Affair with Old Town Temecula

I will be so sad when this school year ends and our younger daughter won't be going to school in Old Town Temecula anymore.

It has been so much fun having her enrolled at Kid's World. We live closer to their second location (near Van Avery Prep and Hillcrest on Santiago) but I opted for the Old Town location instead because....well, it's Old Town!

Some of the highlights of being in Old Town several times a week with a preschooler have been:

* strolling down 2nd to MsChevious Boutique to check out what the mannequins are wearing (outfits changed daily)

* sampling old timey candy at the Sweet Shop

* picking her up early from school to have lunch on the patio at Palumbo's or Soro's

* shopping for fun girly home decor and crafty items at Farmer's Wife

I also happen to have a wonderful mechanic at Valley Auto Werkes, which is in...Old Town. He's right near CM School Supply and Campini's, and I just discovered that there is a gun store in the commercial space being Valley Auto Werkes.

No more boring waiting in the "customer lounge" while they are working on my car.

For instance, the other day, my car was making a weird noise (which the mechanic later identified as "metal on metal" in the rear brakes; uh oh! Glad I didn't decide to "fix it" by just turning the radio up louder.)

He needed it for a few hours so I ambled down Old Town Front Street, window shopping along my way to Cafe Bravo, which was hopping! I thought I'd stumbled in during a rush but it never slowed down. I sat there for almost three hours, just people watching. Many Old Town folks consider Cafe Bravo like a second office, and people were having business meetings, signing leases, working with their graphic artists, discussing school fundraisers, having post-yoga lattes, or simply hanging out listening to music (there was a violin/accordion jam session on the outside patio.)

Oh, and a quick Old Town tip: the newfangled, beautiful, brand new City Hall has restrooms. Just in case.

Get Feathered at Sweet Cheeks

Want one of those cute little feather hair extensions we keep seeing all over town? Sweet Cheeks in Temecula (on Overland at Margarita, near Costco, in the same shopping center with Wahoo's and San Diego County's Credit Union) is having a special "feather" event this Saturday (also known as "tomorrow"), May 14, beginning at noon. Call (951) 695-0826 for info and to reserve a spot.