Orchard Supply Hardware Woodland Hills Grand Opening March 21

When you think “home improvement store” you might not imagine this:

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But this is my favorite picture from a preview tour of the newest Orchard Supply Hardware, opening in Woodland Hills this Saturday.

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Since 1931 OSH has provided service to customers who are shopping for home improvement supplies and materials. This new 40,000 square foot location has a Workbench right inside the front door that is meant to help you even more: get things cut, windows and doors re-screened, keys copied, and more. The layout is friendly and the signage is quirky. There’s something lovely to look at wherever you turn.

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They even have a special aisle for “What-cha-ma-call-its.” After my own heart.

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The personal service extends, of course, to the staff. Everyone I met during the tour has been at the company for years, even for decades. They learn a customer service philosophy called C.A.R.E. that encourages them to not just help the customers but inspire them. A worker even did a little craft demo, inspired by Pinterest (she loves Pinterest) in the paint department.

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This is a wooden board painted with chalkboard paint and then festooned with knobs and stickers and outfitted to hang on a wall. Materials for this craft were provided in the gift bag that OSH sent home with the bloggers on the tour. Even though I am not crafty, I felt like painting something after walking through the store.

But my favorite part of the store is the nursery.

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There is a certified organic gardener on staff who stopped what she was doing to answer my many questions – why is my cilantro dying? How best to nurture the nasturtiums I planted to attract aphids away from my magic kale? As eye-catching as the beautiful plants are, the nursery’s stars were its staff members.

The store will have its grand opening this Saturday starting at 6:30 AM. Instead of a ribbon-cutting they have a board-cutting with a chainsaw and everything. And the company will make a donation to a local charity in honor of this day. You’re probably working around the house this weekend anyway, so if you need some supplies, I encourage you to check out this beautiful new store!

Woodland-Hills

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes Your Butt Hurt: a Pure Barre Workout

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I mean that in the nicest way.

And actually, it was my hamstrings that hurt – a good hurt – for days afterwards.

The lovely people of Pure Barre in Woodland Hills invited me to bring my friends and try one of their classes a few weeks ago. So one balmy spring morning, I and three of my friends (plus one sleepy little guy) drove east of Calabasas (I KNOW!) to check it out.

Pure Barre is in a multi-use building with parking on the roof, and plenty of it. You check in at the front desk and take off your shoes – no shoes on the classroom floor. You must wear socks to keep your feet and ankles warm because they will be working hard!

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Every class has the same general format. There’s a warm-up, a series of exercises for each body part, and then a great stretching cool-down. There are floor exercises, standing exercises, and barre exercises that have nothing to with ballet, really, which is what I had thought before coming into the class.

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There are also props – stretchy bands, balls, and hand weights, but all of that is provided so you don’t need to bring any.

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The exercises themselves are small movements. You isolate one muscle, it seems, and then squeeze the heck out of that muscle a bunch of times, then finally relax. It was hard – but not so hard that I felt like I had to give up. I rested plenty of times, but the instructor was always there to encourage me and keep me going.

What this mother of 2 loves is that the class is not bouncy. I like dancing and Zumba and boxing, but all the bouncing in those classes makes me feel like I have to excuse myself, if you know what I mean. I didn’t experience that here at Pure Barre. I got a tough workout that left me sweating and sore, without the worry that I’d have to run out of the room.

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Pure Barre Woodland Hills has a full roster of classes so you can find something to fit your schedule. They sell them in packs or you can pop in for an individually priced class, too.

Pure Barre Woodland Hills
21728 Ventura Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91364 US

Website

Sample Celebrity Cruises Cuisine Today in Woodland Hills


Lorenzo Davidoiu

Celebrity Cruises is land-surfing around Southern California. Today they are in Woodland Hills serving up their cruise ship lunch. Free samples and massages will be available, and full lunch can be purchased for only $8.00.

Location: Frosch Travel, 5850 Canoga Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Half of the proceeds will be donated to Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Celebrity Cruises' First Ever "A Taste of Modern Luxury Tour" Kicks off at The World Series of Beach Volleyball

“The Celebrity Cruises on-shore Culinary & Spa Tour will feature gourmet-quality cuisine from Celebrity Cruises’ signature restaurants QsineTuscan GrilleBistro on FiveThe Porch and Grand Epernay. Guests will sample shipboard fare prepared on site in a specially outfitted food truck by highly skilled chefs from Celebrity Cruises. Attendees also will be able to purchase full lunchtime meals at the event, with 50 percent (50%) of all proceeds from food sales will be donated by Celebrity Cruises to a charity. Complimentary neck and shoulder massages and professional masseuses will be on hand at each tour stop for guests to experience Celebrity Cruises’ AquaSpa & wellness programs.”   

Enter to win a cruise vacation for two in a luxurious double-occupancy stateroom.

This looks like a great event! Look at the menu!

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