Category: Josie in Paradise blog

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Oh… hi, Ohio heat is on on the coastline

Photos by Steven Drescher

This Great Lakes region of the United States is located ninety minutes west of Cleveland, two hours north of the state capital and accessible by the Glass City residents within about sixty minutes.

The area showcases the pride of Port Clinton, the lux of Catawba Island, and nooks and crannies of Lakeside Marblehead all situated on the mainland. Sandusky; home to Cedar Point, Kalahari, Soak City and more, shows off the world’s highest and fastest roller coasters to all developments on the coastline.

There’s more.

Those three islands listed are open to the public. The others, require an invitation. Take a look at the map I stole from MBI Developer, Ed Gudenas.

This setting is a mixture for mayhem. The epitome of an endless summer is achieved. Vacation rental demand can not be met. According to Lake Erie’s Shores and Islands ten million visitors will descend upon this land, again ninety minutes west of The Land,  generating close to two billion in sales. There are close to fourteen thousand full time hospitality positions and calls are out for bartenders to pour and mix at private summer soirees set against the saltless body of water for guest lists that extend deep into the Cavs roster. Inventory for real estate is low and anyone with waterfront property is king and or queen.

Set sail. Summer is here.

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Father’s Day Hot Tub Brats meat to make men rave

There isn’t be a more appropriate holiday to make a mark with meat other than Father’s Day. I already tested this dish twice. I serve up these succulent Hot Tub Beer Brats at a party and then, text my dad’s girlfriend in all caps that I have the BIGGEST SURPRISE.
The surprise: I purchased a meat product and then prepared the delicacy for the grill.
These can be steamed in the oven, too.

Check out my video captured at Marblehead Estates & Yacht Club or follow the simple instructions. If I can wow my own father with this marvel which requires only a few basic ingredients and a bottle or two of favorite brew, anyone can be the star of this supper or lunchtime show.

Steam for twenty minutes and then brown for ten on the grill. Using the oven doubles the steam time. The broiler can be used to crisp the outer shell. Serve with sauerkraut, potato salad, pickles (or dill relish) and spicy brown mustard.

Happy Father’s Day everyone. Dish adapted from Deep South Dish using Commodore Perry India Pale Ale.

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Two ME&YC Condos Under Contract Views of Sandusky Bay and The Point

A couple of condos went under contract this week that I showed with Lake Erie’s Lab Pup in tow (for one). The third story Bayside unit at Marblehead Estates & Yacht Club for $299,900 and the one directly below on the second floor for $269,900. The developer, Prephan Enterprises gave away a 50′ dock and also a 12×40′, 480 square foot cold storage unit to both buyers, just as an incentive to push this season’s sales as high as the Top Thrill Dragster. Not only is ME&YC located just six short nautical miles across The Bay from The Point, but is nestled directly off of Scenic Route 2 on the much-desired Marblehead Peninsula. During season everyone waits two and a half hours for a table at dinner.

All counter tops are made of quartz, the kitchen appliance package is included and the master bedroom features a private deck, walk-in closet and walk-in stone shower. The floors are nicely constructed of ceramic tile. All new owners need is watercraft, swimwear, a summer squad to hit all of Ohio’s Vacationland hot spots with, plus twenty percent of the price for a down payment. The lowest priced unit is $249,000, which equates to a mere fifty grand to buy into a development on Ohio’s coastline. Use of the 300′ private beach, clubhouse and other amenities is free. The next Open House is Tuesday 10 a – 4p.
Bayfront, canal, pond and regular lots are also for sale. This is a bring your own builder situation. Starting price is $49,900 and reaches $249,900 for land on The Bay. Josie can be reached at 419-862-7143.

 

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Seasonal Splurge: Tires with Tread Advan Sport All-Season

Paying is painstaking buy the payoff is all glory. This winter I said forget it to a two-carat diamond tennis bracelet and hello to a new set of all-season sport tires. I shopped around all fall and my mechanic told me where to head. He sent me to Discount Tire, (in Perrysburg, Ohio) where “all they do is tires.” I wanted something ultra-sporty because there isn’t any sense in driving a turbo-charged import with tires that don’t offer premium performance. Yokohama has a new model, the Advan Sport A/S that sells for about one-hundred dollars less (purchase of four) than Michelin. Made for supreme handling the structure showcases a performance shoulder to enhance cornering. The asymmetrical tread design aggrandizes “spirited driving across (insert adective) weather conditions”. After seeing car after car in the ditch on my way down Scenic 105 this morning (after I shoveled the driveway) I was happy to have them. They can be bought on credit with 0% financing for six months. For a look at the look go here. Where I was headed down the Coastal Ohio Trail click this.

 

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Second Home for Summer Marblehead Estates & Yacht Club

I’m out at Marblehead Estates & Yacht Club showcasing the boat slips, luxury condos and lots for sale. The lots are situated in four different places around the development.

  1. Traditional Lots $49,900
  2. Pond Lots $59,900
  3. Canal $99,900 – $119,900
  4. Bayfront $249,900

 

As you can see from the feature photo the kitchen countertops are made with a striking quartz. Here’s a look at the living space in the second floor condo, two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo overlooking the marina. The third bedroom has been left out to make for an open floor plan and open up extra space for dining.

The condos are designed for a weekend escape, or summer place in Ohio’s Vacationland! For the fashion I’m wearing today during this March snowstorm go here. A look at the prices again and information for connecting with me. Call my Ohio number, or if you have the 305 saved in your phone, feel free to use that.

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Fall in Love with the Fashion when the temps are freezing wear the warmth

When I realized via an email from the Perrysburg office we were about to be hit with a March Snowstorm I could have quivered and called in. But, instead I took advantage that all winter gear and fashion is on clearance and relished in the fact the wintry mix is a fashion show to celebrate.

As always, I tossed on Victoria Secrets high waist ultimate yoga pants in the must-have black.  The pants are sixty dollars and can be worn with anything (as you’ve seen multiple times). I almost wore them to Thanksgiving dinner. The top is from the 2000 collection and I venture outside every winter in this item wondering when this fashion piece will appear worn. The material  turns the heat back into my body.

My cousin gifted me a Mossimo Marbled Infinity Scarf. I just can’t get enough of this adorable accessory. Sometimes I toss the textured fabric around my neck when I’m working at home or in my pajamas for a stylish effect. A pink, white and grey fair isle ski cap is the only color for this wardrobe scheme. I picked up the head warmer at one of the local sporting goods store.

The showpieces of this March Snowstorm fashion spectacular: Payless’ knock-off option of the Sorel Joan of Arctic Boots. The Women’s Torrent Weather Boot showcases a faux fur cuff which coordinates perfectly with the American Rag Coat. The duck boot design is achieved with leather and rubber and special features to keep the toes warm when the mercury falls as low as thirty degrees below celsius. Right now the mercury reads twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Joan of Arctic Boots, given four out of five stars for warmth and comfort are about two-hundred dollars. Deemed best for heavy snow the brand touts a vulcanized rubber shell.

The parka is the American Rag Faux-Fur-Trim Puffer Coat. Wear this when the real deal is maybe just a bit much for the office, and… for showing real estate in arctic-like elements. I’m out at Marblehead Estates and Yacht Club with plenty of boat slips, two and three bedroom condos, plus pond, canal and bayfront lots to sell. This is a premium, lux living resort community. For a quick low down on the real estate go here.

 

 

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Feb 26: National Tell a Fairy Tale Day pr & pourin' rum

All pics Steven Drescher
Dress, by Daftbird Wild Lily Boutique MM 82 Oceanside Islamorada

I’m not going to get into the details of the face wrinkles I accumulated in my 20s after being handed over a newsroom devoid of a night side reporter, photographer, co-anchor and/or a producer.

I believed, at the time, the bromidic work involved was sui generis to the broadcasting industry. I did not have, or have had any intent to work that hard. Ever. In my life. I thought other “labor” was appropriately appropriate for attorneys, and the blue collar sector that includes: welders, plumbers, pipe fitters and construction workers.

I moved to an island in 2009 because I was ready to cash in on my fairy tale existence.

On the island (of Key West) I had the vision I would sit in an office as mellow as a champagne sunset sail around the island, fly under the radar, cobble together a loose column on occasion (when I felt like doing so)  and that clients, readers and customers would show up voluntarily with their ideas sketched out on what they wanted for marketing and promoting their own business.

I was wrong. In wrong town. On the other side of the planet. There were more tears melded into that entrepreneurial venture that sweat generated from the tropical heat. An aunt supplied me with a card last month which brought laughter and a stream of tears to my eyes:

A Birthday Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there was a princess who was like a size four or something. She could eat and drink whatever she wanted and always stayed really skinny and had flat, firm abs even though she never went to the gym. Every time she tried on jeans, the very first pair fit perfectly and made her butt look amazing. She lived in a great, big, beautiful castle with her handsome, multimillionaire husband, who was busy all the time buying her giant diamonds, taking her to Hawaii, giving her foot massages, and telling her how beautiful she was. 

My three occasions of early retirement have shown me the Fairy Tale isn’t as fun as connecting the business dots. For summer 2016 I wanted to develop and build business relationships on the Lake Erie Islands. The ferry launch is thirty minutes from one of my hometowns and a childhood home. Business on the beach in my backyard it was and will be for 2017.

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I took off approximately two days in August, one in July and a couple here and there in June. When I am the voice of reason, on an island with more bottles of rum than a life jackets there is going to be a haul to write about.

Short of the story is — I worked (some) sixteen and seventeen hour days that dragged on to weeks on end. I had one goal — to develop business relationships with the island business owners. Quitting, calling in, missing the ferry, forgetting to show up and playing hooky across the lake at Put-in-Bay wasn’t an option.

America belongs to the worker, to the visionaries, to the business men and women who don’t take less than one-hundred and ten percent from anyone they interface with. The country is built on sweat. Not the day dreamer or the employee doing as little as possible. Fairy Tales don’t exist, and if they do…as outlined above the ending leaves little legacy.

One day, she was eaten by a dragon, and no one cared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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33030: Hair with a Zip Code of its Own going four-eyed to fight frizz

My hair has its own zip code. Located in the 33030 somewhere in between Key West and Marquesas Keys. Full of body, bounce, curl, texture and unfortunately frizz.

 

 

Here’s a look at the untamed tresses in South Florida.

Melissa Blanco, owner of Salon Blanco, or Teresa Nusser, stylist at Country Hair Creations in the Village of Woodville are responsible for smoothing the cuticle. They both use the Brazilian Blowout. A polymer system is placed around every hair strand to keep the curl and lose the frizz. My hair is stripped, the coating applied, hair dried and straightened, then washed and dried again. The process takes roughly two hours. To get the glam we both go geek in glasses.

Right now Country Hair Creations in the Village of Woodville has the lowest Brazilian Blowout cost of any community in Ohio or Florida. $175 and this includes full-size bottles of Acai Anti-Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner that cost an additional $36 per bottle. That leaves enough money to check a suitcase when flying south for spring break to someplace sunny and surrounded by water.

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Soaking in this Import Spa Line Champneys Distant Shores

There’s a standout line in the spa products I’m using this season. My aunt gave me Champneys Spa Indulgence Distant Shores Bubble Heaven and Body Butter. Heaven is precisely the correct word used to describe these products. I’m also crushing on the packaging. Bottled up in a cushy fuchsia rimmed with gold, the bottles set the tone for luscious smells of passion fruit, mango extracts and citrus oils. Use has me swooning for a loooooong romance season where everything and anything flushed in tones of rose scores. Made in Thailand this bubble bath and body butter both contain grapefruit and lemon peel oil, plus fruit extract and bark oil. The scent and luxe of ingredients equals love I can give to myself all year around.