Dining, Arts & Entertainment

Local Santa Clarita commercial winemakers Steve Lemley and Nate Hasper, owners of Pulchella Winery, are pleased to announce the relocation of their winery from Paso Robles to Valencia, as well as the opening of the first certified winemaking facility of its kind in the Santa Clarita Valley to service the Ventura, Santa Barbara, Central Coast, Southern California Los Angeles and Temecula area vineyard owners, winemakers, distributors, restaurant owners or anyone else looking to have their wines produced in a professional facility by professional winemakers with a proven track record.

A new year is a time to be serious – serious about the importance of art and in particular the visual arts in our lives.  First, we have to understand “why art is part of life!”  Art has existed in all civilizations.  Through centuries, art has been produced in every culture and was a means of communication and self-expression in all cultures.  It is important to learn how ‘visual art’ plays an active role in our lives each day and involves decisions we make.

The presidential election has been on our minds for a long time and is now over and we can now give a lot of our time to other issues that are also important.  One of the things that we do not think about is the amount of creativity that was needed to keep the issues of these national elections relevant to everyone.  You may wonder what creativity is.  How is creativity evident in our lives everyday?

On September 30, 2012 proud parents Karlo and Erin Galloway welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. 

“Don’t Be Fooled: Not All Yogurts Are Created Equal” – That article headline on the National Yogurt Association’s website aboutyogurt.com really caught my attention, and it should catch yours as well.  One sentence particularly caught my eye: “But yogurt-lovers should take notice: there are products in the marketplace that take advantage of yogurt’s healthful image, but that do not contain live and active cultures.”

It’s so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and for many of us, the only sane moments we get to enjoy during this time are when we sit to savor a warm meal.  At Piccola Trattoria we try not to let the stress of the season stop us from enjoying time at the dinner table with friends and family.  It’s our favorite method of celebrating and even though we would love to spend days preparing for a holiday meal or a mid-week get together with friends, it’s not always possible.  So what is our solution?  Lasagna of course!

An ice sculpture is formed strictly from… you guessed it, ice.  I remember the first ice sculpture I ever saw, we were at a buffet and there was a giant clam with raw shrimp and cocktail sauce inside.  It was pretty neat but the first time I saw an ice sculpture being sculpted I was blown away!  Our carver Gary whipped out his handy dandy chainsaw and I watched the ice chunks fly.  Sculpting ice is truly an art, ice as the canvas and a chainsaw, die grinder, and razor sharp chisels as the tools to create a masterpiece.

You are flying ahead.  Sprinting down the road.  Traveling with a purpose.  Doing what you have always wanted to do.  Then it stops you.  A difficult memory, a reminder, a person you thought was tucked away in the past.  It knocks you over, takes you down and leaves you struggling to gain your vision back to before.  It happens fast. 

We’re spreading the holiday spirit and warming the hearts (and bodies) of dogs in need this season with our 2nd Annual Blankets for Pups drive at The Poached Pair.

Many local junior high and high schools are taking advantage of Wendy’s of Santa Clarita’s key tag program to actively assist in raising much-needed funds for their schools.  Since last May, guests at any of the four Santa Clarita Wendy’s restaurants have been buying special key tags for a dollar each.  The dollar goes to the Hart District school that the guest designates, and the key tag entitles the holder to a free Junior Frosty with every purchase until school lets out next summer.

As a child I often dreamt of waking up Christmas morning and finding our house and neighborhood blanketed with snow.  Although I knew it was a long shot I still ran to the window to check.  Oh well, I guess the presents from Santa would have to do.  Yes, unfortunately we live in snow challenged city. 

On Monday, October 1, the City of Santa Clarita welcomed the John Lennon Educational Bus to Santa Clarita for the first time.  The Bus, which tours the country, is designed to inspire youth who have a passion for music to learn about the entire digital workflow process by creating an original work in one day.

Hello Comedy Friends!

It is that time of year again.  The decorations are going up already.  People are ready to start re-gifting.  We have one friend who gives us stuff we have given to her.  One year she actually gave me a book that I had loaned her a couple of years before. That’s cheap!  
This is one of my favorite seasons for comedy.  Think about having your Holiday Party with us.  We can seat 95 people with great food and hilarious comedy.

If you are a curry lover and have not yet tried the Thai-style yellow curry, you are missing out big time! The signature authentic Thai-style yellow curry is made with the rich, creamy curry along with other ingredients that complement each other perfectly to create this outrageously delicious dish. Have you ever wondered what ingredients are used in this creamy, delicious yellow curry? Well, here is your answer!

Mimi’s Cafe, a favorite French-inspired neighborhood bistro, is introducing a new store-within-a-store restaurant concept at its Valencia, California location this month. The revolutionary concept consists of a new French bakery and coffee bar, carryout section with grab-and-go options, full-service bar, and bistro with four distinct French-inspired dining areas, as well as a new “Mimi’s Bakery, Cafe & Bistro” name.

Celebrity Tribute, Zonta’s largest fundraiser of the year, Fabulous Follies in the Zonta Lounge will honor Shelly Hann.  This community organizer and volunteer extraordinaire will be in the spotlight Friday, November 2, at the Odyssey Restaurant in Mission Hills.  This Las Vegas-style extravaganza will feature music and lounge acts.  Proceeds benefit Zonta scholarships and projects.  

He’s a working actor in Los Angeles and she’s a frozen yogurt enthusiast, and just a short time ago, Robert and his wife Peggy decided to embark on a new business adventure together.  After 16 months of sampling national chains and other independent frozen yogurt places, they knew they could elevate the concept and product to a new level – an ‘out of this world’ level.  Thus, the idea of Planet Yogurt was born.  

Last month I travelled all over Santa Clarita, looking for some new places to possibly meet single people.  Well the verdict is still out, but so far I have to agree with a lot of my readers, that it’s really tough to meet someone out here. Obviously it’s not for a lack of trying, or even a lack of singles.  There are thousands and thousands of single men and women out here.  So why is it so tough?