Malibu, California ... Our vacation house for Christmas 2011

This poor little blog has been so neglected.

The beauty of blogging for fun is that it really doesn't have to be a "must-do" type of thing :) 

I already have a million things that *have* to get done every day, and this is just not one of them.

So...sorry if I left you high and dry.  It's just how life goes sometimes :)

And this time, I was actually away on vacation! In the fabulous little town of Malibu, California (and Newport Beach where we spent the first few days).

My very generous brother rented this fabulous house for us all, and it couldn't have been more perfect!!

So...this post is all about the house and Malibu. I'll do a separate post with the real vacation photos :) Mostly for my own record ;)

sigh.

It was VERY hard to leave this place!

Just look at it!!

Our own pool and hot tub, with a little waterfall. so perfect.

With our own beautiful sprawling lawn. The boys loved to run and run...and run. There were even a couple of horses in the field below. And fruit trees with oranges and grapefruits growing :)

A pretty nice spot to BBQ...

The house, or should I say "villa", was really private with an electric gate and a circular driveway.

So private, in fact, that Tom Cruise was in this very driveway to use the in-house recording studio a few weeks ago!  We were asked when we arrived if we'd mind terribly if "Meatloaf" came to record for a few hours. haha. They didn't end up coming, but kind of funny all the same :)

The patio was pretty perfect for lying in the sun while the boys were napping.

The inside of the house was really beautiful. It was the perfect mix of "light and airy" and  cozy. As soon as we arrived, everyone just seemed to relax immediately. It's the perfect house for a family vacation. Big enough for the kids to run around and have fun, but with enough separate living areas to allow some privacy and relaxation. It cools down at night a lot, so we enjoyed using the two gas fireplaces a lot. So cozy!

The kitchen was HUGE! It was so perfect for preparing a big turkey dinner with all the fixings. Thank you, mom! :) I made the gravy ;) Does that count?  It has sure made our little kitchen back at home feel like a closet. :(

This big family room was perfect for Santa :) It was also ideal for everyone to snuggle up on the huge couch and watch a movie in the evening. There was a huge media system built in with surround sound and every media machine you can imagine. There was a whole drawer full of remotes! haha. 

The location was perfect as well....only a quick 1 minute drive (literally) down the hill to Zuma beach!

photo source: wikipedia

Or 5 minutes to Paradise Cove for the yummiest coconut macadamia pancakes you'll ever have :)

photo source: wikipedia

Or, if you're in the mood for some celeb-spotting/retail therapy....it was only about 7 minutes to the Malibu Country Mart / Lumber Yard where you can peruse through amazing stores like Kitson, Alice and Olivia, James Perse....or hit up Nobu for an amazing meal (if you go, don't leave without trying the chocolate spring rolls for dessert....oh my..I'm still thinking about them) :)

The Malibu Country Mart has got it all figured out....a nice playground in the middle, with delicious snacks/coffee/lunch for the dads/grandparents to enjoy (while watching the kiddos)....while the mommas shop away to their hearts' content ;) haha.....at least, that's the idea. Never really happened.

photo source: wikipedia

It's been very difficult to leave the California sunshine and return home to the Vancouver rain :( But....tis life. 

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season!

xo