Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

Staycation Location: Santa Monica's Casa del Mar

I feel like my life's been all work and no play lately.

However, thanks to another assignment from AskPatty, I got to feel like I was getting a little bit of downtime last week, courtesy of the Ford Motor Company, which held a launch of its new 2013 Fusion in Santa Monica -- and arranged for me to stay there overnight...

...at the gorgeous Casa del Mar, which is right on the beach. Here's the view from my guest room window:

Back when I was a professional meeting planner, I toured Shutters on the Beach, which was, at the time, Santa Monica's only hotel located right on the beach. I fell in love with the place. While the lobby was huge, it felt intimate, like a family beach house on Cape Cod (that is, if your family is the Kennedys). I admired the luxurious furnishings and the sumptuous bathroom fixtures (because my favorite thing to check out on these hotel tours was the dream bathrooms in all the best hotels).

Most of all, I loved the whimsical little touches, like real books on the shelves (which could be exchanged for other titles, if a guest preferred), toys strategically displayed and rubber duckies for the whirlpool tub.

I never booked an event there, because the meeting space did not work for my employers... but I have spent the last 18 years longing for an opportunity to stay there.

Alas, the rack rate for weekend guest rooms at Shutters starts at $550 -- and that's for a room WITHOUT an ocean view. We've never been able to justify spending that kind of money to stay so close to home.

Casa del Mar Luxury

A few years ago, the owners of Shutters opened Casa del Mar, right next door. Needless to say, I was pretty happy to learn that Ford would be putting me up there. It's right on the beach like its sister hotel, but has a different look; instead of Hyannisport, think George Clooney's Italian villa:

And you still get unabashed luxury, as you can see from this shot of the four-poster bed and fainting couch in my ocean-view room:

My room had the same kind of selection of books and toys I remember from my tour of Shutters...

Guests at Casa del Mar don't have to fiddle with dinky little drip coffeemakers - instead, you get the full Keurig treatment...

And yes, you still get a rubber ducky to play with in the oversize whirlpool tub...

Santa Monica Dining

After checking in, I was directed to a lunch buffet on the veranda. I only ate salad, roasted vegetables and a little grilled chicken - but there was also sea bass and fennel crusted chicken, and a lovely array of dessert.

I have to say that the dressings on those salads were really good. The Caesar dressing had the right combination of cheese and anchovy. The surprise was the balsamic dressing on the arugula and grilled asparagus salad, which had a lemony tang to it. (Note to self: find a recipe for that!)

I cannot tell you about the dinner at Casa del Mar, because Ford usually transports their guests offsite for the evening meal, and our hosts promised us a special treat. Needless to say, there is a lot to choose from down there, from Chez Jay to Whist (both within walking distance).  

Ford had indeed arranged something special: a drive up PCH to the Annenberg Community Beach House for a buffet meal catered by Wolfgang Puck.

I've already written of my admiration for Hollywood's favorite chef. He was nice to my kid. It almost doesn't matter how good the food was.

But the food was good. From the passed hors d'oeuvres (like the truffled figs pictured at right) to the braised fennel salad to the dessert buffet... All was delicious.

And you could not beat the ambiance.

Back to that Tub

But to be perfectly honest, I could not wait to return to the hotel for a bath in my room's "hydrothermal massage tub." I had not thought to pack any bath supplies, but didn't need to, as the bathroom included a lighted glass cabinet with all sorts of wonderful cosmetic and grooming items for sale.

This is described on the Shutters website as a "privately curated apothecary." I just thought of it as a bathroom minibar.

I splurged on a lavender and chamomile bath bomb for relaxation and had a good soak - all while watching my favorite shows on the small HDTV screen mounted above the sink. I wondered if the remote for that TV was waterproof. Fortunately, I did not end up having to test it.

I slipped into one of the two Frette bathrobes available in the room and resumed my TV viewing on the BIG HDTV above the desk, but not before getting a little freaked out by the noise that was emanating out of that tub. It turns out, it has a drying cycle. Pretty cool.

I checked out the following morning, enjoyed a lovely buffet breakfast on the veranda, and spent the next several hours driving the Ford Fusion (review to be posted soon on AskPatty). I finished my drive in time for lunch (a similar buffet, but none of the salads this time included that amazing lemony balsamic dressing). I picked up my car from the valet and drove home. And while there is no place like home, I have a feeling I'll be spending my next 18 years hoping I can go back to Casa del Mar.

DISCLOSURE: I received no compensation for this post about Casa del Mar. I just like staying in five-star hotels and then boasting about it.

 

Why Reading is Fundamental

I was really, really proud of myself last week, because I successfully juggled ALL the crazy projects I am working on at once: MOMocrats website, MOMocrats podcast, MOMocrats newsletters -- and actual writing for pay!

I was still working IN THE ZONE when I received another email from the Ford Motor Company:

Ford Teen Driving Safety Campaign Joins Variety for Power of Youth Event

Ford is one of many automakers that sponsors a teen safety program. I dragged my daughter to one of their events a few years ago, and now that she's actually able to drive, I have been waiting for them to come back to Southern California so she can experience it behind the wheel. I signed up on their website and everything, and was a little bit miffed that I had not received an invitation to sign up for their event on Saturday. 

So I did what any other mother with a contact would do: I sent off a wheedling email, asking if there was any way we could attend this event that was closed to the public. And my contact there was good as gold: she got us in. 

But I really should have read the initial email with the press release.

And I should have realized that something was up when we pulled into the driveway at Paramount Studios and the guard asked, "Are you guests -- or talent?"

That was my first clue that this Ford Teen Safety event was not what I expected.

The second clue was when we arrived on the scene to check in and discovered a scene that looked like this:

There was a banner welcoming us to Variety's Power of Youth event. It turns out that this is an annual party the venerable Hollywood trade publication throws to honor the entertainment industry's youngest philanthropists and showcase their favorite charities. 

I really should have read the rest of that press release.

We were near the entrance of one of the lot's fake standing city streets. I was supposed to look up another Ford contact at their tent, and could see it -- but first, we needed to get through a registration line, which consisted of about a dozen really beautiful youngsters -- all dressed to the nines -- and their parents.

In front of us was a gorgeous, skinny girl -- who appeared to be about 12 -- wearing about a pound of makeup and high heels that were killing me just to look at them. In front of her was a gorgeous African-American woman (who I guessed was a few years older), also wearing dangerously tall shoes. A young woman who looked a lot like the oldest daughter on Modern Family squealed an excited greeting. They hugged. 

I glanced at my daughter, who was wearing cut-off shorts, a t-shirt, sneakers and no make-up.

Did I mention that it was about a hundred degrees on Saturday? I was feeling really sorry for all those young girls in full makeup and heels.

"This is not what I expected," my daughter said. 

Me neither. "You know, there's a really good chance they won't let us in," I told her. "If not, we'll just do something else," I said.

An event worker went through the line distributing Cartoon Network-branded sunglasses. Cartoon Network was one of the sponsors of the event, as was Ford. Workers offered bottles of chilled water to those of us in line. We took some.

My contact at Ford was good as gold. We were on the list, even though we had no right to be there. We were given our badges and wristbands and made a beeline to the Ford tent.

The Jonas Brothers were there, being interviewed along with a kid in a wheelchair. I took a photo as surreptitiously as I could -- and captured a shot of the Jonas whose name no one can remember.

There was a lot going on with the teen celebrities and the Jonas Brothers and the like, so the Ford safe driving team were very welcoming, even eager to be interviewed and take us for a safety demonstration. It turned out that Saturday's presentation was on the dangers of texting and driving -- something I would have known if I had read that press release. This is why my kid is genuinely surprised in this video, when the instructor orders her to take out her phone and start texting.

Once I shot that footage, my job was done. We were free to wander around and enjoy the party, but neither one of us could shake off the feeling that we had crashed an event where we didn't belong. 

We stuck around long enough to take a few more photos.

There was an Allstate booth where everyone was invited to pledge not to text and drive, so we stopped there. And when I grabbed Friday's copy of Variety, which touted the event -- and revealed that one of the honorees was indeed, Sarah Hyland, the actresss who plays Haley on Modern Family.

We stopped at the Ford booth one more time so I could get one more interview... and then, we made our way back to our own car to drive home. We had to walk down some steps to get there, and I'm really clumsy and have a bad habit of falling down stairs (even wearing flat shoes), so I always do this really, really slowly -- so I totally blocked another young event attendee, who wanted to go up.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT WAS?" my daughter whispered.

It was Mark Urie, a favorite of hers when he starred in Ugly Betty. He has a new CBS-TV show, Partners. 

"Well, that was your first Hollywood party," I told her. "I bet some of the photos will be in People magazine. Not of us, of course."

She was fine with that. And so am I.

But next time: I really have to read those press releases.

 

Drowning My Sorrows in a Little Shopping

I'm a little less obsessed (possessed?) than I was yesterday.

Life goes on, after all. And you know the old saying: When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Well, it was a popular t-shirt slogan in the 1970's - most often seen in Beverly Hills.

Tonight, I will be at the Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash, at the Petersen Auto Museum on Wilshire. As I'm kind of broke right now (latest home-related disaster: dead, diseased tree that must come down this weekend, at a cost of $500 I do not have) -- I expect it will be a form of torture as I resist the temptation to drown my sorrows in designer handbags at up to 80% off.

Care to meet me there? You can purchase a ticket here ... and if you use the code GEN AD at checkout, your admission is free! (This will save you $10 - money you can apply to your purchase of fine leather goods).

Note that GEN AD free admissions DO NOT include the snazzy tote bag that will be handed out to paying customers, and that those with the totes get complimentary spa services and cocktails. But you can have the bag and the shopping too, for half-price ($12.50 ) by using THIS code at checkout: CHEVROLET12.

DISCLOSURE: I will be attending the event free as a guest of General Motors, who will be showing off some of their new model Chevys and Buicks. I am receiving no compensation this post.

I'll be tweeting from the event and posting photos of anything good I don't buy. Do let me know if you're there, too!

 

The Streamys!

I think it was obvious that the Streamys, honoring web-based television, is not your mother's Awards Show. For one thing, this was only the production's second year.

I really noticed the difference between the two in the days leading up to the red carpet. Preparation to attend the Academy Awards was intense. I had to go through a security check weeks ahead of time... just to sit on the bleachers before the show. And while I was never exactly sure what to expect when I got there, the information I did receive was pretty detailed.

Besides, it was the OSCARS. I didn't need a lot of background on the nominees; the movies get plenty of media coverage.

With the Streamys, I got the feeling that they were making it up as they went along. Information was slow in coming and when I did get it, it seemed incomplete. 

On the other hand, when I arrived at the Orpheum Theater on Sunday, I was greeted by staffers who were actually friendly. You can tell that this isn't just a job to them - there are a lot of people working here who are passionate about being on the ground floor of a brave new media world, and that's really cool.

We felt the same positive energy when we got out to the red carpet. I haven't yet mastered the art of camcording myself for the purpose of blogging, so was relieved when my new BFF (and fellow Los Angeles Mom Blogger) Bernadette agreed to team up with me. She's an experienced actor and comedian, (and is gorgeous to boot!), so it was a no-brainer to hand her the mic and let her go. (I've always been more comfortable behind the scenes anyway).

I admire Bern because unlike me, she can think on her feet. Just prior to our red carpet setup, we were given a huge packet with the names and photos of 73 nominees plus 41 OTHER attendees. 

I was surprised to discover how many well known actors and personalities were expected to attend. I checked off the ones that would impress my husband (who had not been happy Sunday morning that I was going to be away for the day): Ileana Douglas, Justine Bateman, Wil Wheaton, Cheri Oteri, Tom Arnold, Ed Begley, Jr.,Tim Meadows, Ricki Lake, Greg Proops, Kevin Pollak, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Robert Englund, "Weird Al," Keanu Reeves, Jaleel White, David Faustino, Greg Grunberg and Patrick Duffy.

I don't know how many of those folks did show up - I can tell you that few of them made it to our spot on the red carpet. The best-known one we did get to interview was Duffy, which was great for me because my husband was a HUGE fan of "Dallas"... and I had actually sort of met him before... back in 1986, when he guest hosted on the Tonight Show. No, he did not remember me delivering script pages to him in his dressing room, but he remembered the event, and I got the feeling it was a painful memory because he said he was so nervous that night.

It didn't show. He was totally professional... and really nice. And you know what? Patrick Duffy is still nice. He even posed with me so I could send a photo to my fanboy husband.

I wish I had been as familiar with the rest of the red carpet arrivals. Thankfully, each guest who came down the red carpet was preceded with an aide carrying a placard that stated who the person was and why he or she was there.

But without seeing their work, I was at a loss at what to ask them.

Since I'm a "mommy blogger," I thought I'd go the Jewish mother route and ask if their moms were proud of their nominations. But one of the Kodak reps had a better idea: Her standard question is "What was your most memorable Kodak moment?"

It's a wonderful question, and Bern ran with it. EVERYONE we approached seemed to enjoy answering, and they even seemed happy to be talking to "mommy bloggers," as you can see from this clip:

Embarassingly, I did not know who these wonderful people are! I did NOT get their names on video at the beginning of this clip, I don't recognize their faces on the cheat sheet we received and I've been searching the web for a nominated show with a robot for the last 30 minutes, and can't find them. I'm hoping someone will see this and tell me so I can credit them - because they were so cute!

UPDATE: Someone named Jake commented on this clip over at YouTube and told me they are Casey McKinnon and Rudy Jahchan and got nominated for A Comic Book Orange. Now that I know who they are and what they were nominated for, I've got to go see their stuff. They're adorable.

I learned quickly just how tough it is to be a camera person at a live event (as evidenced in the clip above). I did take film classes when I was in college, and camera work was NOT my forte (one of the reasons I quickly switched my focus to writing). I did my best trying to Bern and the subjects in frame without shaking the little camera too much, but I'm afraid I wasn't always successful, and at one point during a really great interview, my screen went black. One of the Kodak ladies figured out that I'd had my finger over the lens.

OOPS.

This is reminiscent of our old home movies, all of which have shots of my dad's nose as he used to check a gauge in front of the camera with it still running.

Fortunately, I was mindful of the position of my finger from that point on. It's just too bad we lost that particular clip.

We ended the day with something like 35 video clips, and one of the reasons I'm this late in posting about it is that it took me the rest of the evening and all of yesterday to upload them - UNEDITED, AND UN-TITLED - to YouTube. And since my connection kept dying in my home yesterday.. I'm still not finished.

This was my first time working in HD (we were using Kodak's newest pocket Zi8 camcorder, and it's awesome... several of the video directors we interviewed told us they used it too!)

Web TV makes me all tingly, because I'm reminded of the early 80's, when MTV launched and music videos were the Hot New Thing. Low budgets fostered creativity, and it was obvious that this was a New Art Form. It was like the wild west, and very exciting. I had the same feeling again in the late '90's, after the introduction of Mozilla and the World Wide Web began developing rapidly.

Web TV is kind of like that. Although a lot of the nominated series were underwritten by corporations (and so had enough budget to display professional production values), there were plenty of nominees who got there by the dint of pure creative energy...AND the winners were decided by viewers who voted online. If these technologies had been available 30 years ago, I would so be trying to be part of this world, because it's still something of a level playing field.

At any rate, it was nice to be visiting it... and terribly exciting.

DISCLOSURE: I was not compensated to write this post. I received press credentials to attend the Streamys as a guest of Kodak, who is a major sponsor of the show. I did receive a Zi8 camcorder to use on the red carpet, as well as a small digital camera and digital frame...BOTH OF WHICH I'm giving away this week on my Review Site, SoCal Stuff - click here to find out more and enter the drawing.

Meet Me at the Streamys!

I'm getting ready for my close-up as a red carpet correspondent at the Streamy Awards, so this post will be brief.

It's ironic that I got professional makeup for my gig as a "Bleacher Fan" at last month's OSCARS... but have to do my own today (and get all dressed up, to boot).

That's just one of the differences between attending the Mother of All Awards shows and an upstart honoring web-based entertainment. I figure the coverage will have a guerrilla-style approach... beginning with the fact that the celebrities arriving on the red carpet will be interviewed by bloggers armed with pocket HD camcorders.

I am told there will be Internet access in the press room, and this time, I've been invited to bring my laptop... so I plan to have some clips posted once the red carpet arrivals have been seated and the festivities begin.  And starting at 6:00 Pacific time, you can watch the show live online (naturally!) on the Streamys website, here.

In the meantime, PLEASE enter my drawing at SoCal Stuff for the popcorn popper. I'm announcing a winner tomorrow... as I start another drawing for some more cool prizes, courtesy of Kodak.

DISCLOSURE: I am receiving my press credential at the invitation of Kodak, who also provided me with a Zi8 camcorder and an M530 EasyShare digital camera, which I will be using to document this event. They also sent me a Pulse electronic picture frame to display the photos I am taking there. I am receiving no monetary compensation for my participation at the Streamys.