This is from an EXTREMELY talented guest, Dreama,  who painted our lavender adirondacks in the backyard at the Lavender Inn.  Visit her website:http://dreamatolleperry.co​m to see more of her paintings.         She writes:   “The subjects I choose to paint embrace those special moments in life.  The slowing down to stop and smell the roses, to feel the pleasure of sunshine warming the skin ….

It is a way for me to connect to these things, a touchstone of the goodness of life.  They fit me like a well worn coat.”

Lavender Adirondacks

This is from an EXTREMELY talented guest who painted our lavender adirondacks in the backyard at the Lavender Inn.  Visit her website:http://dreamatolleperry.co​m.   She writes:   “The subjects I choose to paint embrace those special moments in life.  The slowing down to stop and smell the roses, to feel the pleasure of sunshine warming the skin …. It is a way for me to connect to these things, a touchstone of the goodness of life.  They fit me like a well worn coat.”

Farmer’s Market To Table – Tour & Cooking Class

Farmer’s Market To Table  

Tour & Cooking Class     Sun.  August 7th   12 pm 

 

Join us as Suzanne Landry, author of the Passionate Vegetable, tours you through the Ojai Certified Organic Market to find the seasonal foods for the cooking class.  This will be a whole experience of cooking dishes that are made of freshly picked, seasonal & local vegetables & fruits and goods.  The class begins with a tour of the Farmer’s market, next door to the Culinary School and continues in the kitchen, where Suzanne will show you what amazing dishes you can make with the foods right in your back yard!  It doesn’t get Fresher than this!

The Menu Includes :  Stuffed Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese, Wrapped in Prosciutto, Tangerine & Roasted Beet Salad with Feta Cheese, Wild Caught Salmon Quiche with Peas, Fresh Dill & Thyme , Chilled Strawberry Rhubarb Soup

 

Don’t miss out on this exciting and fresh class!
We are so excited about the next class at the Ojai Culinary School! Participation is limited to 12 seats!  $65 per person.  Call to reserve your spot!  805.646.6635

Relax, Enjoy & Feel Better

Come to the Spa at The Lavender Inn and do just that!

While you are in Ojai or staying at the Lavender Inn, treat your body and mind to wellness and stress reduction Natural Results Oriented Skin Care Facials and Specialized Massage Therapy.   Just outside the front garden is the convenient Spa at the Lavender Inn.  Enter through the dutch door into a serene, comfortable setting, while listening to the fountain outside, just before going into a treatment room and relax with a massage or facial.

If your looking for Natural Results Oriented Skincare Mary’s  treatments & products are a reflection of her commitment to pursue long term strategies for the health and beauty of your skin.  Treatments include European Facial, Microdermabrasion, Ultronic Ultrasound, Oxygen Facial, and Organic Medifacial & more.  Mary Utilizes Natural & Organic products including 302 Professional Skin Care & Osmosis Skin Care.  Best of all, these products are available for purchase so that you can maintain and continue your treatment at home!

No matter what style of massage you’re looking for, Spa at the Lavender Inn will help you get it! We offer specialized massage that includes, Thai, Deep Tissue, Cranial, Swedish, & PreNatal massage and Hot Rock Therapy and more.  Mary will be happy to assist you in selecting the option that’s right for you.  If your staying at the Lavender Inn, you also have the choice to have your massage in the Romantic Suite or The Provence Cottage.

Contact Mary Nelson to schedule your appointment and design the treatments that are right for you!  805.646.2013

Come to Relax, Enjoy & Feel Better!

YUM!!

We’ve got some great Culinary Classes coming up and we’d like to share them with you!

First on the menu is Ellen Sherwood‘s class Aromas From An Italian Terrace  Sun.  July 17  1pm, right after the Farmer’s Market next door.   Although this class is full, a stand-by list has been started, and if enough individuals sign up, we will be hosting another class Sat.  July 6th 1pm

Ellen‘s philosophy is that the most satisfying food is the simplest… Perfect for entertaining!  Imagine yourself on a terrace enjoying perfect bites of sensual food  from Italy surrounded by family, friends, and guests… Ellen leads magical classes guiding you to create Italian cuisines and flavoring the class with the language and culture of Italy in a way that you will be comfortable doing it yourself!     Andiamo!

The Menu Includes :  Spicy Shrimp with Garlic & Parsley, Grilled Seasoned Skirt Steak Topped with Arugula, Tomato, Lemon Salad, Pizza featuring Ricotta, Summer Squash, Zucchini and Tomatoes, Joey’s Olive Oil Cake with Mascarpone Cream & Pistachios, Vanilla Gelato topped with Balsamic Sauce garnished with frozen Black Grapes

And coming this late Summer & Fall, we’re excited to have some more exciting classes.

August 7 Farmer’s Market to Table , which includes a tour of the Ojai Certified Organic Market next door to the Inn & cooking class with  Suzanne Landry, who will be demonstrating what you can cook with fresh seasonal foods.

August 28 Aparna, The Mistress of Spice will be teaching “Cooling Vegetarian Foods”, and it couldn’t come at a better time.  Her menu will include, Cooling and Rejuvenating Jamaica — a hibiscus drink, South Indian Cucumber Salad with coconut, lime and cilantro, Avial– South Indian Coconut and Vegetable Curry, Fresh Fennel and Orange Salad , Delicious Mango Mousse.  Did you ever notice that the countries nearest the Equator have the Spiciest foods?  As it turns out, that’s the way you can stay cool.  Can’t wait to see why?

September 11 Korean BBQ made with locally sourced ingredients with Cindy Liu   LooHoo’s .  So excited to have Cindy teach her first class with us. “LooHoo’s® Inc, is based in Ventura County, California and is committed to supporting the local economy, and engaging in sustainable and scalable business practices.”  This should prove to be a very exciting class!

October 9, Look forward to another amazing Tuscan Dinner hosted by Ellen Sherwood.  These dinners have been a huge success and although 60 seats are available.  They go fast!!!  so sign up soon.  The menu for this dinner is not yet set but you can take a look at the last Tuscan dinner we had to get some idea about how grand it is!!

Classes are limited to 12 participants so be sure to sign up soon.  If you can’t, make one of our scheduled public classes, then you might consider an intimate, private class designed by you!    Contact us  for details, or visit our site.

Create your own Private Class!   Let us cook up a celebration for you – whether it’s a birthday, a bridal shower, or just a group getting together. We can tailor your class to your group’s cooking skill level and type of desired menu. Chefs will work side by side with your group to create a memorable meal. See below for more on private classes.

So many more great classes coming up… stay tuned, or sign up for our newsletter to get  a once a month announcement by clicking on the the “join our email“ section on the bottom left of our site.

Hope to see you there!

To Watch a short Video of Ellen doing a demonstration for HGTV, visit our Facebook page!

Mr Hope, Lavender Inn’s Permanent Resident

In  October of last year, we discovered a little kitten next to our front porch, keeping dry from the rain.  We tried to grab it to bring it inside to keep warm, but he ran off.  For the next several days, we kept food out to see if it would return, but didn’t.  It was the next week when we saw a whole litter running towards the neighbors house, but we couldn’t see exactly where they went.

Beth decided to go to Noah’s Apothecary to buy some cat food and find out if there was any way to save them and find a safe home for them. While she was there, she ran into a good samaritan that, as a hobby, would gather stray kittens & cats, nurse them to health and find homes for them.  Sure enough this good samaritan, found the kittens and their mom, took them to vet and cared for them until she found them all a home.

Several days after the kittens and mother were taken away for care, we noticed a mature black & white cat roaming around the area we found the kittens.  He would return daily and when he’d see us would run to Inn’s garden.  We were convinced that he was the father and felt terrible that we might have separated him from his family.  We couldn’t tell for certain and by then it was too late.  All of the kittens found a safe home.

One day in November, we finally saw where the cat was hiding.  Underneath the outside staircase in our garden.  We started to leave food out for him and made him a little bed, but we never saw him.  Finally, Beth set out his food one morning and she sat next to it calling out for the cat.  It took a while, but sure enough, the cat came out from underneath the building and slowly went to eat his food.  Beth did this for days, until he gained enough trust and let her pet him.  She couldn’t have been happier.  At that point he was officially  the “Lavender Inn Cat”.

Although he was no longer afraid to come out and eat, he never let us get too close. In January we had our annual INNCourage Retreat for Women with Cancer.  One afternoon while all the ladies were lounging in the garden, the cat came out of nowhere, approached one of the Ladies and sat right on her lap.  Her name was Hope.  You can see the picture above with Hope.  So Beth and Kathy finally gave him a name, Mr Hope.

It was at that moment that Mr Hope’s life was forever changed.   Mr Hope greets all the guests in the garden, sits with them for breakfast & demands to be pet.  There’s only one type of guest that he doesn’t like… the dogs.

We’re thrilled that he’s made his home at the Inn and we wanted to share his story.

The Lavender Gourmet

Join us on Sunday, June 26th at 1pm, as Jennifer Vasich, Author of The Lavender Gourmet, shares her experiences of blending Lavender & Herbs into her recipes.  It’s the perfect way to complete your sunday after visiting Ojai’s Certified Organic Farmer’s Market next door to the Lavender Inn.  And if came to Ojai to be at the Lavender Festival, it’s the perfect way to find culinary uses for your fresh picked Lavender, especially if you got it from the New Oak Ranch, who will have a booth at the Festival.

One of this year’s speakers at the Ojai Lavender Festival, Jennifer is also the founder of the Michigan Lavender Festival and Successful author of the popular Lavender Gourmet, has a very interesting history on how she became a Lavender Connoisseur.

Join us at the Ojai Culinary School.  The Menu includes, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Mediterranean Salsa with Toasted Pita, Lavender-Feta Fattoush (salad), Grilled Chicken Marinated in Lavender Lime Marinade, Rice Pilaf with Toasted Almonds and for dessert…….Lavender Watermelon Sorbet 

Participation is limited to 12 people.  $65 per person  Call to reserve today  805-646-6635

8th Annual Ojai Valley Lavender Festival

The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival is right around the corner.  On June 25th from 10 am – 5 pm, Libbey Bowl and downtown Ojai will be filled with people from all over the world enjoying the sights, aromas, colors and  textures of Lavender.  Ojai has seen this festival grow for eight years to a festival that boasts over 5,000 visitors a year and growing!

This is a festival for every age!  Bring your family & friends to enjoy Art, Craft, Food and Music!

As always, The Lavender Inn has a booth at the festival and will be doing a raffle for a One Night Weekday Stay at the Lavender Inn, which includes a Room  with balcony for two, Wine & Cheese in the evening & a Full Breakfast in the morning.

Come to our booth and sign up for the raffle or visit the Inn (just one block away) and go for a tour of the Inn.  You’ll be happy you did.  The gardens are beautiful!

The mission of the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival is to demonstrate and promote the many uses of lavender, to broaden public awareness and to educate potential growers/farmers about the benefits of plants that celebrate the Ojai Valley’s Mediterranean climate, and to promote Ojai as a unique and welcoming destination.  Hope to see you there!

 

More than just an INN

The Lavender Inn is not just a Bed & Breakfast.  It has become a platform for finding ways to help others.

Over three years ago, we started a retreat for women with cancer called INNcourage.  Once a year we close our doors to the general public for three days, to provide a space for healing, INNcouragement, comfort & love for women with cancer.  Members from our community extend themselves to contribute dinners, lunches, massages, facials, yoga, counseling, and love, while we provide the place to rest, make friends, elevate souls, have time to one’s self, think about nothing and, of course, have a delicious breakfast.

When these beautiful ladies attend the retreat, they come in not knowing that when they leave, they stand taller, smile longer and feel lighter.  You’ve heard it said before… “It takes a Village…” and we can’t thank those that participate in life changing retreat enough.  Thank you:  Feast for feeding our souls, Ann & Mary for relaxing our bodies, Brook for Healing our hearts, Casey for bringing out our inner beauty, and so many more.

INNcourage is not a cure but it is a REfresh button.  Read more in this amazing article written by Heath Croft in Innkeeper Quarterly.

Another amazing program that we’re involved with is Clean the World.  The Lavender Inn has joined  Clean the World  in their effort to help save one million lives each year by donating it’s slightly-used soap and shampoo.  These products often end up in landfills and contaminate fragile ground water systems.

The Clean the World program is helping to save lives around the world by donating discarded soaps & shampoos so that those less fortunate can benefit from the practices of good hygiene.  3.5 million children under the age of 5 will die this year to two deadly diseases – acute respiratory infection & diarrheal disease.   Even more tragic than these is the facts that these deaths could be prevented by up to 65% through simple hand washing with bar soap.  Today in the United States alone, we will throw away 1-1.5 million bars of soap.  We save unfinished soaps and shampoos and deliver them to the program and distribute to those in need.  For ways that you can contribute from home, click here. 

It doesn’t end there.  All of the ladies from the the Lavender Inn contribute in being of service to others in our special way.  Wether it’s making cash donations to causes, assisting someone in the community or simply being there in conversation, Kathy, Beth, Diana, Caitlin, Genoveva, Tanya, Pam, Michelle, Vanessa & Conchita are always here to lend a helping hand.

Glorious Gardens

Our Gardens have never looked so good.  Thanks to our fabulous Gardener Daniel, the efforts of our Innkeepers and the SPECTACULAR spring we’ve had, our gardens have flourished.

Our Front porch and garden is a perfect place to lay back on chaise, read a book, people watch and enjoy the soothing sound of the fountain.  It’s a great place to hide yourself  behind the veil of roses and flowers and still be part of the Ojai activities.

The main garden off of the breakfast veranda has a beautiful, large, green lawn, a pond, a gazebo flanked by vines and flowers, hidden seating areas and a breakfast nook.  It’s perfect for so many activities like crocket, reading, enjoying your home cooked breakfast, having a picnic, lounging, meditating, inviting friends to enjoy tea or simply kicking back and enjoying the view of the mountains.  We’ve had so many great events in this garden, including weddings, yoga sessions, Women’s Socials, Tuscan dinners, family reunions, outdoor cooking classes, to name a few.  This year the garden is flourishing with beautiful flowers, tall trees and hundreds of frogs in the pond.

You’ll often get a taste of our organic herbs & vegetables from our Herb & Vegetable Garden.  Depending on what we’re serving for Breakfast or Wine & Cheese, you might sample fresh picked Basil, parsley, Dill, Sage, Oregano, Rosemary, Kale, Strawberries, Squash, Tomatoes and so much more.  We’re fortunate to have this great Ojai weather and be able to grow food and share it, year round.

If you’re staying in the Provence Cottage, you’ll get to enjoy your own private garden with beautiful flowers, a fountain, lounge chairs and a breakfast table, all shaded by our grand Mulberry tree.  It’s the perfect garden for peace, quiet, & privacy.  If you don’t need a garden of your own but would enjoy having views of the gardens and the mountains, you might enjoy staying in the Garden View Room or Lavender Garden Room with private terraces or the Tree House Room with 180 degree view of the gardens and mountains!

If you haven’t seen our gardens, come visit and we’ll be happy to give you a tour!  You can enjoy more pictures of our garden in our photo gallery.

No More Nylons – Women’s Business Social

The Lavender Inn is happy, once again, to be hosting The Women’s Business Social on June 8th from 6-8 PM.  Women from Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and some times San Diego County, come to socialize, network and make new connections.

This event should prove to be yummy!  Since Ellen Sherwood will be serving up a delicious menu to go along with the cocktails!  The Menu includes: San Miguel Mediterranean Pizza, Fresh Arugula Salad with cherry tomatoes and signature lemon dressing, Vanilla Gelato with black grapes & balsamic sauce. If you miss out on her delicious food at the social, consider coming for one of her amazing classes, as she will be teaching a class at the Ojai Culinary School on July 17th.

“No More Nylons is sponsoring the Women’s Business Socials to promote vibrant, worthwhile conversations between women in business.

The Socials create a free, professional network, to bring the AMAZING women together to talk, connect and promote the work they love doing. That’s what No More Nylons is all about. Doing the work you love… and being who you are. If you’re new to town or even visiting, this is a great way to soak up the local flavor and get to know the women that make this town purr…”

Hope to see you there!

Families Welcome !!! (children of all ages)

Every once in a while we receive calls from parents or families organizing a reunion or grandparents having a get away with their grandchildren, asking whether we are kid or baby friendly.  We’re happy to say that not only are we child friendly, but we embrace it!  We love having families with children stay with us.

The Lavender Inn is like being at home.  Our large fenced garden is safe and perfect place for kids. We have a pond with frogs, a beautiful lawn, a hammock, and outdoor games.  If that’s not enough, we are one block from Libbey Park with a huge children’s area, one block from the new skate park, five blocks from the kids club and Rec center, four blocks from the bike rentals and bike path, and walking distance to hiking overlooking the Valley.  What more could you ask for?

To top it all off, we’re always ready for a special breakfast and evening snack for the little ones.  Just let us know what you need.

It always surprises us to hear that we are the only ones to allow newborns at the Inn.  Bring your Pack & Play and we’ll make room for you and your precious one!

When you book with us, let us know your children’s ages are so that we can best suggest the appropriate room or rooms.

Hope to see you and your family soon!

Ojai is Starting June Off with a Bang!

The long awaited Opening Gala of the NEW Libbey Bowl June 4th.  The evening consists of dinner and a concert.  Ojai is going to be starting the Summer in style!  For more information on the history and long path to the restoration of the bowl, visit the official website.

If that weren’t enough, the following week is the classic 65th Ojai Music Festival.  June 9th-12th, Ojai Valley will be filled with sounds of amazing music.  For more information on the 2011 program, visit the Music festival website.

The events in Ojai, on the first week of June are a perfect way to start the summer in the Valley.  If you can’t make those, consider the Lavender Festival, Art in park, Ojai Film Festival, Ojai Wine Festival and everything in between.   For more listings visit Ojai Events and check out our Calendar.

… and what better place than the Lavender Inn to book your stay!  We’re at the center of it all and walking distance to most of the festival events, hiking, restaurants, shopping and more.  Come for a tour.

See you soon!

Hot off the Presses!

The Lavender Inn has been getting a lot press in recent years and we’d like to share with you what people are saying.  Visit our Press Page for some of the publications.  Here’s a recent article by  Sue Richter in Examiner.com .  You might also enjoy seeing what our guests are saying by visiting our Trip advisor site.

Hope these inspire you to visit!

U-Pick Lavender at Ojai’s New Oak Ranch

It's gorgeous and peaceful at New Oak Ranch

The lavender season is rapidly approaching and New Oak Ranch, Ventura County’s favorite destination for lavender lovers will once again be open on weekends for U-Pick lavender. Beginning Saturday, June 18th,  our friends and owners Bill and Karen Evenden will welcome visitors on weekends from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm through the end of July.

Fields filled with long, graceful rows of aromatic lavender traditionally evoke romantic thoughts of distant European destinations…glorious Provence, Tuscan hill towns, even the islands off the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.  But now visitors enthusiastically add Ojai, California to the list.
Touted for its beauty, aroma and healing properties, lavender has been cherished for centuries and in recent years, it has become a popular choice with gardeners thanks to its draught tolerant attributes.  And creative cooks around the world are discovering its interesting and pleasing flavor when used in their favorite recipes.

Visitors to New Oak Ranch, located in the scenic Upper Ojai Valley are invited to wander the seemingly endless rows of gracefully curving lavender, clip an aromatic bundle (clippers are provided), snap a photo, purchase lavender products or olive oil and enjoy a picnic lunch under a sprawling walnut tree. And if the timing is right, they might even find a still in operation – a chance to observe and learn how the intensely aromatic and highly valued essential oil is extracted from the plant.

In addition to lavender, New Oak Ranch produces Ojai Pixie tangerines and outstanding extra virgin olive oil created from the properties’ 1400 olive trees.  No doubt, the crops and landscape create a definitely Mediterranean atmosphere.   Visit the Ranch and slow down:  experience the country air.  But please, don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes.

U-Pick Lavender begins the weekend of June 18th and runs through July 31st.
Hours are Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and weekdays by appointment (please call 805-640-1189).
Admission to the Ranch is free but there is a $5.00 per bunch cutting fee.
New Oak Ranch is located below the Ojai Foundation at 9599 Ojai-Santa Paula Road – just 6 miles east of Ojai and 12 miles west of Santa Paula.
For more information about New Oak Ranch – or for a map, please visit our website at http://www.newoakranch.com.

This is so fun and not to be missed!!!