Check out the landscaping!
House Of The Week
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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Mar Vista Farmer’s Market Wrap-Up 3/7/10
Today my guest was Tara Settembre, a Mar Vista resident whose blog is When Tara Met Blog, which is awesome and I recommend checking it out. 
She bought a loaf of bread 
and some honey, and she got a sandwich from Earl’s Gourmet Grub (the grilled gouda), 
which looked delicious and she said she enjoyed it very much. 
Thanks for sharing a meal with me, Tara!
Today in the Green Booth, Melissa Davis of CommunityMama was on hand to show off the great work she does as a volunteer at Grand View Elementary’s learning garden.
The Venice Grind Revisited and Reviewed
The Venice Grind is our Mar Vista coffee house default. It’s the perfect spot to meet with friends and hang out over coffee, and of course, since there’s free Open Mar Vista Wi-Fi, it’s a great spot to sit and work, too. And now the Venice Grind has made some subtle changes that are making a big impact.
I have to admit, in the past, I didn’t love the coffee there: too bitter for me. However, when I was recently at the Venice Grind for the launch of the OPEN Daily, I treated myself to a latte and Loved it! First of all, a-dor-able foam art, but more importantly, a delicious, smooth — key element — hot beverage. 
Turns out the Venice Grind now serves Stumptown roasters coffee, which I admit I’d never heard of before last week, but I can assure you, it’s worth knowing about. Excellent coffee.
The other change I noticed, and happily so, was the quiche. I’ve eaten their quiche many times, and, again, in the past, I felt it was perfectly passable but nothing to write home (or a blog post) about. However, the quiche is now lighter, with a sweeter custard and a lovely herb mix. I really like the improvement; I’ll be back for more.
Check out the Venice Grind on UpTake.com as well.
The Venice Grind, 12224 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista 90066
Help A Neighbor Out: Mar Vista Fire Victims’ Benefit
A fire on February 23rd at 3712 Meier Street left a home badly damaged and a family in chaos, and you can help. 
The Estigarrivia-Albertini family were awoken in the night by the fire and had trouble escaping the flames because the bars on one room’s windows were bolted in place and in another room a safety latch on the bars didn’t work as it was supposed to. Jose, Maria and their daughter Luna all suffered burns and smoke inhalation, Jose having been affected the worst.
Maria and Luna have by now been released from the hospital, and it’s hoped Luna will start back to school soon. Maria is still receiving treatments at the burn center, but unfortunately, Jose’s condition is still critical and he remains heavily sedated in the burn center.
A benefit garage sale has been planned for March 27th, for which they are accepting donated items to sell, and if you’d like to participate in that, please contact Jennifer Hemsley (jennifer_hemsley (at) yahoo (dot) com).
I am indebted to Reverend Elizabeth Oakes for providing me with this family’s story to share here. It’s heart-breaking and I want to do all I can to help them with their recovery. Please join me. And please make sure your own homes are safe.
Mar Vista’s Gone Green!
Click to play: “Mar Vista’s Gone Green”
An original song by Mar Vista’s own Didi Pop!
Green Green Green Green
Mar Vista’s gone green
I’ll tell you what I mean
We’re teaching kids the dream
You gotta love Mar Vista
We got a lot of class
We’re putting in drought resistant plants
And taking out the grass
We shop the farmers market
For flowers, honey and fish
It’s local and organic
And super-duper delish
Mar Vista’s gone green
I’ll tell you what I mean
We got a big blue bin
We put our plastic in
And as for the burnt toast
We toss it in to the compost
We’re teaching kids the dream
Mar Vista’s gone green
We got the greatest thrift store
They got everything we need
I get my favorite clothes there
And all the books I read
We got a big wide bike path
An easy ride to the beach
We’re saving money not using gas
Keeping our cars off the street
Green -we’ve got a solar panel
Green -we’ve got a water barrel
Green -We’re harvesting our rain
We’re teaching kids the dream
Mar Vista’s gone green
Green Green Green
Gone Green
{Song and lyrics used with permission.}
House Of The Week
Solar panels on two sides.