The Parlor

Welcome to The Parlor!  We are your online portal to Santa Monica, California and the surrounding areas.  If you are planning your next west coast vacation, we can guide you through every step of finding the best Santa Monica accommodations, transportation, and attractions.  We’ll show you the best restaurants so you can experience California’s hottest dining establishments.  Take a peak at some of the most popular tourist attractions and read stories of other families who visit Santa Monica each year.  Whether you are searching for Santa Monica real estate or just some quick information for an upcoming vacation, The Parlor has everything you need in one convenient location.  Enjoy!

If you are traveling through southern California, then you must stop off at the Santa Monica Pier. This historic and romantic pier offers so many things to do; there is certainly something to suit your need for adventure.

Most recognizable is the Santa Monica Pier Amusement Park. This park overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean. You can take a ride on the Pacific Wheel, the only Ferris Wheel to be located on a pier. The Ferris Wheel is 130 feet tall, overlooking the ocean. Or perhaps you have a need for speed? Try the West Coaster, the Pacific Park’s 55-foot-tall steel coaster. There are many more fantastic rides to choose from, like the scrambler, the drop tower, and bumper boats just to name a few.

In addition to the Pacific Park, there are countless shops to get some great California and Santa Monica memorabilia. You’re to find just what you are looking for to commemorate your trip, and you might even find something to bring home to the family!

The restaurants on the pier offer a wide selection from the freshest seafood to great American fare like burgers and sandwiches. You’ll definitely be able to find something to fill your tank!

In the summertime, the pier places host to the Twilight concert series. You can hear some of the best local artists from reggae to rock!

There is just so much to see and do at the pier, it would be hard to be bored here. That’s why the Santa Monica Pier is a must on your travel adventures. Whether you are visiting Los Angeles and taking a tour of the city or you are on a road trip across the country, the Santa Monica Pier is a must see destination.

Finding the perfect restaurant can be tough. Everyone has different tastes and palates that really complete the meal for them. Wandering into a new city and looking for great restaurants can sound romantic and exciting, but going in without any preparation will usually lead to overpriced food and sub par service. Asking your friends for recommendations is typically the smartest way to get a laser targeted tip. Santa Monica is an amazing place to visit, and the following are a list of the restaurants that should be recommended to anyone looking to get the best that Santa Monica has to offer.

First and foremost, getting to Border Grill is an absolute must. The original restaurant was created in Santa Monica and has since spread to places like Las Vegas and a few others. Mexican food is typically the go to food for anyone looking to dine in Southern California, and this modern Mexican restaurant fits the bill in a fantastic way. Combining traditional Mexican dishes with modern cooking techniques yields some of the best tacos, burritos, and enchiladas that can be purchase anywhere in the world. Authentic and modern are not usually offered in the same restaurant but Border Grill somehow combines the best of all these worlds.

Another great restaurant to check out is Hillstone. This restaurant is the perfect go to restaurant when shopping for affordable steaks in a busy atmosphere. Every night is not the right night to go out for expensive meals and Hillstone fits the bill.

Finally, the El Cholo Restaurant is widely considered to be the best restaurant / bar area to travel to if you are looking for food and a night of entertainment. Known for their margaritas and their carnitas, a delicious meal is only a few miles away.

It is never easy to make final arrangements for a loved one; the period following a loss is one of the most emotional times we will experience in life. It is especially difficult if the deceased left no specific instructions as to their post-life wishes. Many a close knit family has been split apart arguing over the final arrangements for a family member; for instance, one part of the family thinks the deceased preferred to be buried, one part thinks they wanted to be cremated. It’s easy to see how making final arrangements can be extremely stressful.

For families living in and around the Santa Monica area, there are several caring, compassionate funeral homes. The Community Mortuary believes in providing personal care and attention to every detail so that the final service for your loved one will do honor to their life while providing peaceful closure to those left behind.

Santa Monica’s funeral services department has caring counselors to assist with making final arrangements for any kind of service such as burial, burial at sea, cremation or inurnment. If you require human remains to be shipped to or from the area, local funeral homes can handle the arrangements for you. Choose a full service funeral home whose main concern is helping grieving family and friends to carry out last wishes of the deceased or if needed, make final arrangement decisions to suit the bereaved.

Making final arrangements is less difficult when you deal with a friendly, respectful, knowledgeable staff at the funeral home. In Santa Monica, the city offers the finest services custom designed to your preferences; you need not worry about high-pressure tactics luring you into services you neither want nor need. Santa Monica counselors will work with you; they will explain the various service packages and make certain you understand your legal rights before any agreement is confirmed. Counselors walk you through everything you need to know to make the right service decisions.

Last winter my boyfriend and I decided we needed to get away from our real lives for a couple of days so we sat down and started to plan a vacation. We had a few requirements. Neither of us could have been to the destination before, it had to be romantic, it had to have lots of things we could do, and it had to be warm. After a great deal of debate, we decided to go to Santa Monica.

I love Santa Monica. I loved the fact that there was something oddly intimate about strolling, hand in hand, down the Santa Monica pier with my boyfriend while the sun set each of the nights we were there. I also loved the fact that there was no shortage of romantic little restaurants that we could take advantage of. We even rented a car and drove to a local vineyard where we sampled wine and laughed until our sides hurt

I’ll admit that as much as I loved the romance of Santa Monica, I also liked the fact that it was just a fun town to hang out in. There was so much to do. The streets are full of these tiny little shops and each one looked more interesting than the next. We also hit up the organic market where we spent hours trying out fruits that we could never have gotten at home. When we went to Palisades Park I felt like I was ten years old again and I never wanted to leave.

I loved going to Santa Monica, but I also think that I would like to bring my girlfriends to the city for a wild and fun weekend. The city is certainly perfect for just such a trip.

Both of the previous houses that I owned in Santa Monica came with indoor whirlpool tubs already installed. I never gave much thought to the process of installing Jacuzzis until I recently bought a house that did not have a Jacuzzi included.  When I first found the house, I fell in love with its location in the suburbs of Santa Monica.  It was remote without being removed from the convenience of the city.  The only downside was the missing Jacuzzi, but I decided to just purchase one separately and have it installed as the finishing touch on the perfect house.

I assumed that I would go to a Santa Monica dealer and pick out a model that I liked and the whole process would be quick and easy. It was not until I was at the store that I realized just how wrong my thought process really was. There were all sorts of things that I had to think about. One of the first issues that cropped up was whether or not I wanted one of the whirlpool tubs or if I would prefer an air tub. I didn’t even know what the difference was until the sales person explained it to me. Apparently the biggest difference is that instead of pushing water through the jets the way a whirlpool Jacuzzi does, the air tub pushes air. When I asked if what got pushed through the jets really made any difference, the sales person shrugged and said that people who were looking for a hot tub that would help them heal from sports related injuries often opted for the whirlpool Jacuzzi, whereas the air tub was used by people who enjoyed laying back and relaxing.

Since I am all about taking it easy while I am in any kind of bathtubs, I decided that the air tub would be the best match for me. I got lucky; the sales person who was helping out seemed to really want me to get the model of air tub that was perfect for me. Another person probably would have just let me point to one, but not my sales person. He was great, before I made a final decision he had the three indoor saunas that I liked filled with water and told me that before I made my final purchase I needed to make sure that I was comfortable. He said that the tub had to be filled because tubs can feel very comfortable when they are empty, but then feel differently once they are installed and filled with water.

The sales person showed me some customer reviews of 2 person tubs that had been written by others who had bought the same model that I was considering and also urged me to go online and find more reviews. Reading through all those reviews gave me a great deal of insight into the type of maintenance my new air tub was going to require.

When I was happy that I really was making the best possible decision, the sales person put me into contact with both an electrician and plumber who came to my house way in advance and made sure that everything was ready. The returned the day the tub arrived and made sure that it was installed properly and that everything was running smoothly. Now that I have my brand new air tub, I really could not be happier with my beautiful Santa Monica home.

Rainey is working as a part-time waitress at a cute little Santa Monica cafe while she attends college. She goes and visits her grandmother in the local nursing home each Sunday. She volunteers at a free medical clinic every other Tuesday passing out coffee and signing in patients. She eats breakfast every Thursday morning with her dad in the old drug store. They sit at the counter and she spins around in her chair twice before leaving. Her soft red hair flows down below her shoulders and she always tucks her hair behind her right ear. She stops by her home on the way back to school and tells her Mom about her week. One thing is certain – Rainey is definitely a creature of habit.

One week the clinic closed due to snow and Rainey was stuck at home alone as her parents had gone away on a business trip for her father’s company. In the quiet of the morning she realized she actually did not know what to do with her newly found free-time. She tried calling a few friends, but no one was home. She pondered going outside several times to walk in the snow, but she had never been a fan of the cold. She called into work and offered to come in, but her boss said they were not going to open until tomorrow because the pipes had frozen. Rainey collapse with exasperation into her father’s chair and spotted her laptop perched on the bar in the kitchen.

She began checking her e-mail and tried  finding some new friends on her social network. An ad came up for fancy bingo and she decided to give it a try. Playing UK bingo reminded her of her childhood school days where you placed a token over a letter, word  or picture when it was called. She remembered the joyous moments when someone would yell “bingo” and everyone would crowd around with excitement. She missed that fun. The preschool song danced through her head about the farmer and his dog. She decided to play no deposit games at citybingo and see what came. She enjoyed playing for most of the afternoon until her battery in her laptop died. She moved on to watching television and found herself awaking from a nap before she knew it.

She remained snowed in for several days. A neighbor came over and checked on her. She said her parents had left word in town they were concerned. The phone lines had still not been restored in their neighborhood. Some friends stopped by and they ate chips and salsa while they caught up and she even ventured out to sled with them. She was glad she had, it was so much fun. Rainey missed her parents. She was not afraid to be alone, but having her friends over made her realize how much she was missing companionship and conversation. As she went through her day the bingo song continued to sing at freewill in her head. She found herself even humming it at times. She played dandy bingo again that night and many times in the coming days.  Eventually, exploring new bingo websites just became another habit that was part of Rainey’s day after she finished her shift at the café.

If you’re looking for a family getaway that’s got a little something for everyone, Santa Monica is the place to go. One of the most popular tourist spots in Los Angeles, Santa Monica will leave you screaming for more.  Exploring the attractions could take an entire week, so make sure you hit some of these highlights during your trip.

First, the obvious thing to see in California is always the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  Santa Monica beach attracts more tourists than any other beach in LA. Of course this means that it’s also extremely crowded during the peak traveling months of the summer, but that also means endless opportunities for people watching. The swimming is great in the cool waters of the Pacific, and there are also plenty of water sports available.

If you prefer a peaceful getaway, the sound of the waves, and early morning walks with the sand between your toes, you may want to go during the winter months when the wave of tourists is nowhere to be found.

Santa Monica Pier is a California beach icon. No matter what you are looking for, the carnival-like feel of the pier is sure to deliver. It has an amusement park, an arcade, a carousel, a trapeze school (yes, an actual school to learn trapeze), and the world’s first solar powered Ferris wheel. Standing 130 feet high, a ride on the Ferris wheel will give you a fantastic view of the entire coast.

For education and entertainment, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, or SMPA for short, is the place to go. It offers the chance for an up close look at some of the ocean creatures and the opportunity to even touch some of them. Sharks and rays are the most popular attractions and children love that they get to touch a sea cucumber. To make a day of it, there is a children’s center that offers art and other activities.

For something a little different, be sure to stop by the outdoor farmers markets. The absolute best place to get fresh cut flowers and mouth watering produce from local organic farmers as well as an afternoon of entertainment. There is definitely a reason why Santa Monica is flooded with tourists year after year, so add it to your list of places to see and experience every aspect of it for yourself.

Santa Monica, California is easily one of the most lively and beautiful places to live; of course this means that it’s also not cheap. The real estate market in California has seen a 40% drop, but Santa Monica remained untouched. Despite the rising cost of real estate, Santa Monica has a lot to offer its residents so if funds are not an issue and you love shopping, eating, beaches, and the night life, then this just may be the place for you.

The Up Side

Imagine waking up at home every morning and having to decide between sunny beaches or Hollywood and downtown LA; that’s the life in Santa Monica which sits right between the two. Another definite perk is that virtually everything is within walking distance so you don’t have to fight traffic to drive anywhere. Being able to walk to the beach, restaurants, or even to get your groceries is definitely a huge plus when it comes to the California traffic.

The locals all boast the fact that there really seems to be nothing lacking in Santa Monica. You’ve got the beach, entertainment, and all the restaurants and theaters you could possibly want. There is very little reason to have to drive long distances since everything is right in your backyard.

The Down Side

Remember that Santa Monica is a tourist town, which means that if you cannot handle endless crowds of new people plowing through on a daily basis, you may want to plant your roots elsewhere.

Another thing that may make you uncomfortable; Santa Monica is big on the nightlife- the loud kind with parties and music and screaming teenagers. This is definitely a location for those who don’t mind noise, like to party, and are not looking for a nice quiet place to retire.

Housing: What to Expect

So if you’ve decided that Santa Monica is calling your name, it’s time to start looking at houses. Some of the main neighborhoods include Sunset Park, College Streets, Gillette’s Regent Square, North of Wilshire, North of Montana, and Santa Monica Canyon.

These offer single family homes, condos, and town homes. The average cost of rent is about $2.83 per square foot, and if you are looking to buy you can plan on paying about $604 per square foot.

Much like you would expect from a city in California, the weather in Santa Monica is almost always picturesque. If you are looking for a new place to live and would prefer to avoid the colder weather, Santa Monica should be one of your top choices. The fact that it has a warmer climate and beautiful weather throughout the year is one of the best reasons to make Santa Monica your home. Those living in the city enjoy an average of over 300 days of sunshine per year.

With all of those days of sunshine, it makes sense that many of the activities that residents of Santa Monica enjoy are done outdoors. Of course some of the most popular activities include the ocean, scuba diving, and surfing.  If you are a fan of the beach (and who isn’t?!), then just think of all of the time you could spend relaxing on one of the many public beaches in Santa Monica.

If fishing is an activity that you love, then rest assured that there are plenty of opportunities for that as well in Santa Monica. Perhaps one of the best ways to find out all there is to do in the beautiful Santa Monica weather is to come and visit. Even if you just want to spend time riding bikes or taking walks, there are plenty of places in Santa Monica that will allow you to spend some simple time outside enjoying the many days of sunshine.

One time of year when you will not see as many sunny days in Santa Monica is late spring, early summer. Many mornings in May through July you will find yourself waking up to a sky full of fog. The temperature of the air and the water in this area are what causes this fog, but it is nothing to worry about because it often times is cleared up by noon. This is just in time for locals and visitors to go out and the beautiful city of Santa Monica.

Are you currently planning a trip to California but are not sure what stops to make or what cities to visit? Well if you have not yet added Santa Monica to your list of places to go, then you may just need a few good reasons why this should your first choice for a vacation destination. If you had not already guessed, the number one stop on your trip to Santa Monica should be the beach.

Santa Monica’s beautiful Pacific beach is a great place to go for any group traveling to the city. Families, singles and couples should all makes plans to spend at least one day of their vacation relaxing on the Santa Monica beach. While the little ones play in the water and sand, adults can enjoy sunbathing or perhaps a game of sand volleyball. To make things easy, remember to bring towels and beach chairs with you. Having lunch on the beach is easy with a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches.

Another stop that you will want to plan for is the Santa Monica Pier. This is a must if you are traveling with children as there is an amusement park, but will also be a lot fun for a couple wanting to spend some time with only each other. Though locals may call this area a tourist attraction, many people could not imagine visiting Santa Monica without a stop at the Pier. If you are heading to Santa Monica to get a real feel for California, you would not want to pass up the chance to see this great attraction.

If you love water and all of the creatures that live in the water, then the Pier has another great stop to offer you. The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium offers visitors the chance look at fish and other sea dwellers that those who do not live near water might not otherwise get a chance to see. Visitors who want to avoid the busy beach can still get a great California experience by making a stop at this great Aquarium.

There are dozens of fabulous restaurants just waiting for your in Santa Monica.  Foodies love the city because it has a global range of cuisine so you can experience the world from one location. No matter what kind of food suits your fancy the best, everyone loves a restaurant with great ambiance and Santa Monica, CA has its fair share of those.  Here are just a few of the hottest dining spots in the city that you don’t want to miss on your next trip to California.

1. Melisse

If you are looking for a great wine list and a menu that really takes advantage of the seasonal offerings of the Californian growing season, then Melisse is the restaurant for you.  With a contemporary French cuisine specialty, there is something on the menu to suit everyone’s taste at Melisse. Like any great French restaurant caviar s definitely on the menu as are a number of specialty dishes prepared by the house chef.  You will pay a pretty penny for dining at Melisse though with most menus items above the $50 mark.

2. Capo

Capo features modern Italian cuisine and a great ambiance.  Located right near the beach you and your guests can dine on homemade pasta, fresh seafood, and fireplace-grilled meats.  Like any great Italian restaurant the wine list at Capo is extensive.  Reservations are a must on the weekend, and since the restaurant is favored by business clientele dressing the part is important as well.

3. The Lobster

If seafood is your thing The Lobster has what you need.  Standing on the corner of Ocean Avenue and the Pier, The Lobster has been around for decades and is a favorite hangout for locals.  For fresh seafood at a reasonable price The Lobster is the place to be, and if you want to bring the family it is no problem at all.  The Lobster is also a great place for an event since the restaurant offers banquet facilities.  If you want to eat some great seafood and be a part of Santa Monica history no trip is complete without a visit to The Lobster.

4. Musha

One more to check out is Musha Restaurant.  If you enjoy Japanese cuisine with a contemporary twist then Musha Restaurant will have a couple of great entrees to tickle your taste buds.  Whether you like sushi or the traditional fried egg rolls, a visit to Santa Monica is not complete without taking at least one night to have a meal at this yummy establishment!