orange county

Giant Orange Festival Includes Chef's Challenge, Lil Jon

Filed under: Events

Chefs will be sizzling under the hot California sun this weekend at the Giant Orange Festival in Irvine, California. A celebrity chef challenge hosted by Food Network star Adam Gertler (shown at right), comedienne Judy Tenuta and celebrity image consultant Daniel DiCriscio will be held at noon on Saturday July 17. Celebrity Chef Challenge participants include Chef Bert Agor (Ruth's Chris Steak House), Ken Cruz (Riptide Rockin' Sushi & Teppan Grill) and Eddy Rocq (Rocq Catering). Live musical performances follow the Celebrity Chef Challenge with Lil Jon, The English Beat, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow and others.

The event supports several Orange County-based nonprofit organizations including the Wyland Foundation, Alzheimer's Association and many others. General admission tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the event. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $60 which includes access to party pit at main stage, private VIP area with bars, seating and restrooms (and hopefully some shade, it's going to be a hot one).

Tags: Adam Gertler, english beat, food festivals, irvine, Lil Jon, orange county

Tamra Barney In The O.C., Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The real estate sell off from the Real Housewives television shows continues. We are back in the O.C. for a look at the home of Tamra Barney, one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County." The Real Estalker reveals that Tamra Barney and her husband Simon recently put their Ladera Ranch, California home back on the market. They first listed the five-bedroom home last November. The Real Estalker also took a peek over at Redfin where the home is listed as a short sale. According to property records the pair paid $1,320,500 for the home in 2005. They are set for a loss as they are only asking $1,149,000 for it now.

For your money you get the standard Tuscan-style inland Orange County home, beige on the outside, dark wood and tile on the inside. The backyard is rather nice with a saltwater pool, spa with a waterfall, a built-in grill, bar, fireplace and firepit. The kitchen features a large granite-topped island with barstool plus a separate breakfast table. Dispensing with the usual flatscreen television over the fireplace, the family room has a large television built in to a wood cabinet. The living room and dining room are separated by a half wall which keeps the dining room from being too narrow. I don't watch the show so I don't know if this is how her home usually appears but it looks staged and ready for sale to me.

UPDATE: This home is no longer on the market.

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Gallery: Tamra Barney In The O.C.

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Tags: california, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, ladera ranch, LaderaRanch, orange county, OrangeCounty, real housewives of orange county, RealHousewivesOfOrangeCounty, tamra barney, TamraBarney

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Jeana Keough In Orange County, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

We mentioned a few weeks back that Jeana Keough, one of the women on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" was in default on several of her properties. After receiving a loan modification she decided to list her family home in the Coto de Caza area of Orange County California. She listed the seven bedroom home for $5.5 million and the pictures are now online. The rather fuzzy photos show the French Country estate with a guest house, basketball court and a large pool and spa with covered patios and a firepit. Inside the home has high ceilings, lots of draperies and plenty of beige. There is a two-person office with a view of the hillside, large family room with built in wet bar, game room, library and a media room formed by a pull-down screen, a couple of leather chairs with cupholders and some large speakers. This home has been listed at $5.5 million in a town which is stuffed with multi-million dollar properties on the market. We're not too optimistic about her chances of getting her asking price. She told the Orange County Register that the property was once worth $6.5 million and is now worth around $5 million.

UPDATE: This home has been pulled off the market.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Jenna Keough In The O.C.

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Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, coto de caza, CotoDeCaza, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, jeana keough, JeanaKeough, orange county, OrangeCounty

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A Real Housewife Of The O.C. Seeks To Avoid Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Jeana Keough, the former Playboy model turned real estate agent/reality TV star is having a bit of trouble in the Orange Country, California real estate market. She stars on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and owns four homes including three rental properties. She has told the Orange County Register that all four homes are in trouble. Last month,her lender filed a notice of default for a $1.3 million mortgage made in 2003, saying that she owes $37,538 in unpaid bills. She's also under fire from the homeowner's association in her neighborhood, Coto de Caza which says she owes $3,732.

Keough, who recently announced that she wasn't not planning to return to the show, has said she's working on loan modifications on all four homes and that's why they are going into default. She has renters in her three other units but isn't sure if she is going to sell.

Gallery: Celebrity Foreclosures

Jeana Keough from the Real Housewives of Orange County

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Tags: coto de caza, CotoDeCaza, jeana keough, JeanaKeough, orange county, OrangeCounty, real housewives of orange county, RealHousewivesOfOrangeCounty, reality tv, RealityTv

Why Lamborghini Orange County Closed Their Doors

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

In November, we mentioned that California's Lamborghini Orange County, the world's largest dealer of the exotic Italian cars, had suddenly closed up shop. Now the whole story is unfolding and it's quite intriguing. The OC Register checks out court documents accusing the owners of Lamborghini Orange County in Santa Ana of selling their cars at heavy discounts and not paying their creditor. A lawsuit filed by Volkswagen Credit Inc, says that it paid for Lamborghini O.C.'s cars in advance of sale and never received the $12 million owed for the vehicles.

In a separate suit, the owners of the dealerships, Vik Keuylian and his sisters Asdghig, Nora and Sossi Keuylian are also accused of defaulting on a $3 million loan from East-West Bank. And in Las Vegas, Stephen Cloobeck, owner of Diamond Resorts, is suing Vik Keuylian for $340,000 for taking his 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago and never paying him for it. The high-profile dealership was famous for its celebrity clientele some of whom may be driving cars that the dealer never paid for.

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Tags: lamborghini, orange county, OrangeCounty

More Hard Times In The O.C., Opera Pacific Closes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Charity

Another casualty of tough times in Southern California's Orange County appears to be opera. The recent staging of "The Barber of Seville" may have been the swan song for Opera Pacific, the area's professional opera company. The company was founded in 1986 and has been going strong for years but currently a limited circle of patrons has been unable to swing the $4 million to $5 million in donations needed to fund a season's budget of about $7 million to $8 million. The LA Times reports that the company has canceled its two remaining operas "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Salome" and has put its its office, set-storage and rehearsal building in Santa Ana up for sale and laid off all but two members of the staff. Donations to the arts are often first hit when people scale back their philanthropy in tough times.

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Tags: arts, california, opera, orange county, OrangeCounty

The Biggest Lamborghini Dealer Closes Up Shop

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Southern California's Orange County is one of the state's wealthiest areas and it is home to many luxury brands but the OC Register reports that the world's largest Lamborghini dealer, Lamborghini Orange County recently closed. The dealership usually sold a full 10 percent of all the Lamborghinis produced in the world and Lamborghini has planned to move its North American headquarters to Santa Monica partly to be nearby its big dealer. The owner of the dealership has not commented on the situation but Pietro Frigerio, chief operating officer of Lamborghini America is quoted as saying that the dealership's financial stress is due to "several unfortunate business decisions" made by the dealership in addition to the economic stressors. At least nine Orange County auto dealers have closed since January but none were as high profile as the Lamborghini dealership. The OC dealership is now padlocked and the lot is vacant.

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Tags: california, car dealership, CarDealership, lamborghini, orange county, OrangeCounty

Stadium Lofts Auctioned In Anaheim

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Another week, another condo auction. This weekend, buyers lined up in Anaheim, California for a chance to bid on 58 deeply discounted Stadium Lofts condos. Potentials buyers could save between 24 percent and 29 percent on the condos which are located near the Angels Stadium. The OC Register reports that by Saturday afternoon, developer Windstar Communities LLC had received $5,000 deposits from each person for 48 condos.

The condo project has 390 units total but the developers had some trouble selling them so they decided to put the 58 units that had attracted the least attention from buyers up for auction. A 1,082-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath condo went for about $350,000 which is approximately 25 percent off or a savings of $114,300 off the original listing price.

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Tags: anaheim, condominiums, condos, orange county, stadium lofts, StadiumLofts

Newport Beach, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home on the bay in Newport Beach, California doesn't have a lot of land or oodles of space but the contemporary style and open floor plan make it a dream bachelor pad. The home has two bedrooms plus loft space. Folding doors open out onto a waterfront terrace next to the boat dock. The home also includes commercial space with a separate entrance and parking. The downstairs has fabulous built-in shelves. The magic hasn't quite spread to the upstairs which seems rather banal. It is listed at $4.995 million. After the jump, bring your books!

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Tags: california, contemporary home, estate of the day, newport beach, NewportBeach, orange county, real estate

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Saleen Opens Southern California Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

We've mentioned the droolworthy Saleen cars before, now the boutique auto maker has a store. The Saleen store is located in Orange County, California at the Irvine Spectrum. The store is split in half with one side devoted to "lifestyle" (gear, posters etc.) and one side devoted to the technical side including interactive displays about Saleen performance. The store features a dissected Saleen Mustang under glass so you can really check out what is under the hood. The store also has two driving simulators that let you race a Saleen S7. To fill up you and your car there is the Saleen N2O Bar that offers ice cream, oxygen, Red Bull and soda for people and nitrous oxide and hydrogen for cars. The Irvine manufacturing plant is located nearby and factory tours can be scheduled.

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Tags: automobile, cars, irvine, orange county, saleen

Portabello Estate Could Set Record

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Frank Pritt, founder of software company Attachmate Corp, is selling his custom-built Corona Del Mar estate and if it hit its list price of $75 million, it would set a record as the most expensive residential home sold in the United States. The 30,000-sq. foot home, interestingly named the "Portabello Estate," stretches to all the property lines on its 1/2 acre lot, adding the additional square footage (1/2 acre = 21,780-sq. feet) in additional floors. It boasts 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, multiple pools and a private grotto, though the beach that it sits on is not private. Most realtors don't think that the Orange County house is likely to make its asking price not only because it is far more expensive than any neighboring properties, but the house is right on a main road and offers virtually no privacy.

Full details are listed at the website of the realtor, John McMonigle.

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Tags: $75 million, beach, corona del mar, estate, expensive, home, house, orange county, portabello estate, PortabelloEstate

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Coto de Caza, Estate of the Day

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Tonight is the season finale - possibly the series finale - of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Orange County, a show set in the heart of Orange County, California, in a development called Coto de Caza. Since the show is ending, it's only fitting that our estate of the day is from the area. Coto de Caza is a large development with approximately 4,200 homes. It has a private golf club, with a course that has been rated one of the best in the country, a tennis club, an equestrian center and a nearly 500 acre wildlife park. Homes start around $500,000 and go up to multi-million dollar estates. This Tudor-style equestrian estate is one of the multi-million dollar homes.

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Tags: 12 millio, 7 acres, california, coto de caza, estate of the day, home, horses, house, nestate, orange county, pasture, property, southern california, television, tennis court, the oc, tv

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Orange County Luxury Dealers Get Posh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Yet another story about posh car dealerships comes from the OC Register which reports on a $65 million new Lexus dealership which is said to be one of the most expensive car dealerships in U.S. history. The new Lexus dealership is located down the street from Fletcher Jones Motorcars, the nation’s largest dealer of Mercedes-Benz. The amenities are pretty sweet in both places. The Fletcher Jones dealership has a valet, the Newport Lexus dealer will have a service concierge. Fletcher Jones has a Starbuck’s and the Lexus dealer will have a Wolfgang Puck Café. There are also entertainment options including large TVs and a putting green. I’m not quite sure why they need this in the O.C. but there will be a year-round fire in a cozy fireplace at the Lexus dealer. A BMW dealership in Santa Ana also a Diedrich Coffee shop and is building a $31.5 million showroom that will include iPod stations and individual televisions at every seat and a barbershop that will offer haircuts. All this might actually make going to have your car serviced a fun trip rather than a chore.

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Tags: car dealerships, lexus, luxury cars, mercedes, orange county, OrangeCounty