December 10th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
I have moved back to the Pacific Northwest to be with family and friends for awhile. This is the small town of Langley which is located on Whidbey Island in the State of Washington. The population of Langley is about 1000; this is small town at it’s best!
Winter is here; today it was 18 degrees. I understand that it is cooling down in Las Vegas and snowing in Arizona and New Mexico.
Here is my new puppy Sam; a boxer, black lab and bulldog mix. I had to put down my last dog, Bailey, about a year ago and Sam is turning into a very good friend. Having a puppy is all about child proofing your home; I guess my memory is short since it’s not a lot of fun.
Here is a photo of the studio where I live.
This is the main building on the 8 acre site that my friend Ron Kasprisin has developed. He also has a small vineyard called Kasprisin Ridge which is very young; only 15 gallons of wine this year.
Ron is building another cottage that he plans on renting as an artist’s studio. I wrote a post on my new blog site that talks about Ron and his watercolor work. Click here for the link to the article and my new blog site. The link to the main blog, Whidbey Island Life, is here.
I have to tell you that I do miss Vegas. My blogs showed a side of the city that many people don’t really appreciate.
I have put together a slide show that gives you a better idea of what Whidbey Island is all about.
If you click here you can view it.
I plan on being back in Vegas in a year or so; wishing you all a Merry Christmas and great Holiday Season!
Mark
September 29th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
My first link is from Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess; with her Buttermilk Bay Chicken and New Orleans Coleslaw. Great recipe and photos!
Here is a recipe from one of Chicago’s best food blogs. Proud Italian Cooking is a great site that will provide you with many unique dishes. Cooking for a crowd and liking lasagna?
I couldn’t pass on this other article from Proud Italian Cooking; pears with gorgonzola reminds me of a dish that I had when I was living in Seattle.
From italian foodies we have a recipe for italian beef stew; with the weather cooling down and entering the fall this is great comfort food.
Also from italian foodies, to go with your itailian beef stew, we have creamy mashed potatoes!
Have a good week and enjoy the 80 degree weather; summer is finally over……gasp!
September 21st, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
I stopped by the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix this morning to get some photos and to just look around. Some of the information that I have is second hand so you may want to call ahead if you’re planning a visit.
The hours of operation are Sunday thru Thursday from 10 a.m. til 10 p.m. and Friday thru Saturday 10 a.m. thru 11 p.m.
Cost: $6.50 per ticket (or $6 each with the purchase of five or more tickets).
The best package is $18 per hour; you get access to all the rides you can handle in that hour. I would advise that you go at a less busy time so that you get more bang for your buck. They have a number of birthday packages and I would encourage you to call the track at 702-259-7000. The Gran Prix is located on North Rainbow Boulevard next to U.S. Highway 95 just south of Lake Mead Boulevard.
Age/Height/Weight restrictions: To ride the Kiddie cars you must be 4 years old or younger, or shorter than 54 inches. To ride on the Gran Prix Cars you must be at least 16 years old. To ride the newest addition, the Tornado Twister, children must be 38 inches to 47 inches tall and accompanied by a parent or at least 48 inches tall to ride unaccompanied. For all other rides you must be at least 54 inches tall.
It seems as though every city has some kind of mini gran prix or bumper cars and this one looks pretty complete. If your trying to avoid the strip and don’t want to travel to far from Summerlin this might be a good alternative. I hear that the weekends can be fairly busy so you might try the evenings after dinner. This is really about kids and rekindling some memories for the adults.
The Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix has it all. Kind of a “Chuckie Cheese” with race cars. They have food, arcade games, a Super Fun Slide, a mini-roller coaster and three styles of miniature race cars.
You can start with the Go Karts and have a little fun racing your kids.
The Sprint Karts are a step up in challenge with quite a few spinouts. One of the safety features of the Sprint Karts is that when one car spins out, all the other cars automatically slow down and stop, if necessary. Once the heroic pit crew gets everyone facing the right way, your car starts up again and you’re ready for some harmless road rage.
If you’re 16 you’re able to run a time trial in the Gran Prix Cars. Basically a race against your own time, and without fear of interference from other drivers, you’re allowed two laps to run the winding track without spinning out or running into the tire bumpers.
This is just what the name says – a mini grand prix racetrack where kids old enough get to drive the race cars. Those too small can drive with an adult. The arcade here is good sized and there are rides outside. The Tornado looks like a winner. The party area is one big room, so there is no private space, and it’s really noisy. Kids love it though; its just kids being kids!
September 14th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
LuCucina Limerick has a nice recipe for asparagus and parmesan tarts at her italian foodies site.
Have you every wanted to take a shot at making homemade mayonnaise? Delicious days has a receipe that is complete with photos at this link.
Cris Stoddard’s post on the Flickr Blog has some great photos of the Station Fire in California; perhaps great isn’t the right word. Here’s the link.
Hubble Smith writing in the Ls Vegas Review Journal talks about home sales in Las Vegas. Click here to view the article.
September 9th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
Summerlin Golf Courses:
This is a continuation of the post that I wrote on Siena Golf Club. The Arroyo Golf Club is the sister club to Siena. That relationship can work in your favor with their special promotion that is currently available. You have a discounted rate if you play both courses within a 5 day time frame.
Arroyo Golf Club 9th Hole.
Arroyo Golf Club #16
Arroyo is an Arnold Palmer designed course in the Red Rock area of Las Vegas.
Number 14
Finnishing Hole at Arroyo Golf Club
The course is located in a planned community of Summerlin and is about 20 miles from The Strip. Arroyo is 6,883 yards and plays to a par 72. The course will challenge you with it’s water hazards and plentiful bunkers. You might want to click here to view my post on Siena Golf Club; it has all the information you need including website links and other information of value.
If your’re heading back to the strip The Red Rock Resort and Casino might be a good side trip; a great place to have a cocktail or gamble away some of your winnings from your round of golf?
Should you choose to play both courses; you might schedule a trip to Red Rock Canyon between rounds of golf. This is a great place to rock climb or to just take a short hike and enjoy the wonder of the Canyon.
September 3rd, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
Summerlin golf courses offer some of the most dramatic views in the Las Vegas Valley. The towering background of the Spring Mountain Range is a perfect backdrop for an early round of golf with your buddies.
I dropped by The Siena Golf Club a couple of weeks ago and thought I would share my experience. Siena’s rolling fairways and artful bunkers are the first thing that meets the eye. Remember, artful can sometimes be tough and these look to be!
The golf course was designed by Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt. They have worked extensively with golf’s biggest names – including Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Fred Couples and Nick Faldo on numerous high-profile projects. This one is a beauty.
I met with Tony Lenzie the Director of Golf at Siena and he provided me with the photos for the post. The ability to use a lot of photos on a blog is a big advantage; it does give you a feel for what you can experience.
So, if you are heading to Vegas avoiding the rain or snow; Siena is a course that you want to put on your list. Locals are the heart and soul of our courses in Las Vegas and are always welcome.
There is a definite Italian influence in the architecture at the Club.
The Siena Golf Club is a gathering place for fine dining and many other social events. The Siena Bistro, a 2,500 sq. ft. Italian-themed restaurant and bar features a private patio with fireplace and a casual patio that provides beautiful panoramic views of the golf course, Lake Siena and the Las Vegas Strip.
Chef Daniel Concepcion’s desire to serve great food has rewarded Siena with “The Best Kept Secret Restaurant”, “Best Wedding Venue” from Five Star Reviews Magazine.
Siena Bistro also offers a regular daily menu serving breakfast, lunch and the most recently added “Siena Nights” dinner menu available on Wednesday and Thursdays from 5:00-9:00p.m. Other favorite seasonal buffets such as the Sunday Brunch, Easter Champagne Brunch, Mother’s Day Brunch and the Thanksgiving Day Brunch always bring a crowd.
Kinda draw you in? Their website can be reached by clicking here.
August 30th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
The best outdoor dining in Las Vegas is on a lake.
On Lake Jacqueline in the community of Desert Shores you’ll find Garfield’s. I seriously don’t think you will find a better atmosphere for family dining; it’s a special place with special people. Garfield’s is a family restaurant with a French twist.
The restaurant has a nautical feel and the patio dining, on the water, is wonderful. The Las Vegas weather is so conducive to this style of dining, especially as we enter the month of September.
Garfield’s is named in honor of Sir Garfield Sobers, Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on the playing fields of Barbados in 1975. Sir Garfield is considered the greatest all-around Cricket player of all time.
Executive Chef Jean-David Groff-Daudet is on the left.
I was the guest of Executive Chef Jean-David Groff-Daudet, “Chef JD,” for an afternoon lunch. The Chef suggested their Panini Seven Hours Leg of Lamb with roasted peppers, Harissa dressing on Ciabatta Bread. The sandwich was delicious and perfect for an afternoon meal on the lake.
For the full article click here.
August 24th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
This weeks Summerlin News and Blogpaper starts with a great recipe from italian foodies. Lorraine has a wonderful sense of taste and style. Her photos really draw you in; kinda makes you hungry? Here is her link from accross the Atlantic.
Here is a piece from Michael Malandra. Michael is an extremely gifted landscape photograher and water color artist. He posted this back in June; he has some really stunning photographs that I thought you would appreciate. Michael has an affinity for the Southwest and Las Vegas. You can browse his site and he will share his experiences with you. Sometimes its just fun to explore someones site; enjoy his passion.
So what is life like at a research camp in Antartica? Zach Shepard wrote a post for the Fickr blog and you can find out. Great photos and much cooler than Vegas.
More cute from Cute Overload.
How about a Robot to help you clean the house? Laura June writing for Engadget shows us a little peak at the future; who knows what they will be able to do in 50 years!
Have a great week!
August 22nd, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
The Kellogg-Zaher Sports complex off of Washington, in the Summlin area, is a park where you can do just about anything that you want. The park is another monument to urban planning in Las Vegas. They may pack the homes together rather tightly but the communities all seem to have an abundance of parks and facilities that provide our children with endless hours of enjoyment.
Soccer is big time in Las Vegas and you will find many fields of dreams.
I actually drove by the complex to take a few photos of the Dog Park. It was a quiet day; not too many of our furry friends were around. This is a photo of the dog park for larger dogs over 25 pounds.
The action was at the park for dogs 25 pounds and under; pretty laid back.
A great place to sniff around and be with your pals.
Just spending some quality time with your best friend ranks up there pretty high.
August 17th, 2009
Posted by Mark Clawson
Here is the last post from Kathleen Cragun on Home Staging.
Before I get to that rocket science part, I want to refer to an article in last Sunday’s Seattle Times (June 3). In the Real Estate section was an article on tips to make your house sell fast, introduced by a huge picture. Much good advice was given BUT a few things made me cringe, so I just want to warn you what NOT to do.
Do not paint your kitchen cupboards Gloss white. I already mentioned not to use gloss white on walls in an earlier post. When was the last time you saw a new model home that had GLOSS white cabinets? White maybe, but NOT gloss. If you are redoing old cabinets Gloss white will show every flaw, every brush stroke, every imperfection! It is a finish that should only be done by professionals ( sprayed on) but also one that is not really a “with it” thing to do.
If your cabinets are stained wood, there are products you can get, like Cabinet Magic, Liquid Gold, that will cover scratches and revitalize cabinets, sometimes miraculously. They are also easy to apply, most are rubbed on with a soft cloth. Oak cabinets almost always look bad painted. Regarding painting anything, it is very important that it be done well. If you can’t do it well, you shouldn’t do it yourself. It takes time and patience and skill to do a good job. Prepare to give it that. It isn’t called sweat equity for nothin’.
Other advice in the article regarding fixing up Kitchens and Bathrooms, “You can do all this for cheap.” If it looks like you did it “on the cheap”, it will not help you sell your house. A very good bit of advice given was to hire a home inspector yourself to go through your home and get a list of things that need to be fixed. That way you shouldn’t have any unpleasant surprises when your buyer’s inspection is done. I have done this and it was very helpful and brought peace of mind.
The idea of staging is to present your home to stand out from the rest. It should be a well-maintained home, not just looked like one on the surface. We want the buyer to be happy living in the home, not just happy buying it, don’t we? No cover ups, no law suits.
Many of the clients I have advised on fixing their homes before they sold, did quite extensive things like replacing very outdated kitchens and bathrooms. When they saw how good they looked, every single one wished they had done these things as they lived there and enjoyed it themselves as well. Something to think about!
OK, OK, The Rocket Science part. Presentation. Now that you have done all the things recommended in the first three posts, the fun part begins but also the part that you may want to call in your staging advisor to complete. Not all designers and stagers are created equal. Some are better than others just as some home builders, lawyers and hairstylists are better than others. This is advice I should have given you in the beginning.
Ask your real estate agent for a referral to someone who does it right. Check out a portfolio of before and after photos. Look at model homes they have done or if you have the chance to see, what does their own home look like?
For the full article click here.
