PacificSD - Pacific San Diego Magazine

editor’s note
Laid in the shade...
The economic
downturn and
a consumer
uprising over
the hormones
used in store-bought dairy have
spurred local homeowners to
jump on the residential chickencoop
bandwagon, feeding their
families with eggs produced in
backyard micro-farms.
Well, cock my doodle do! I
did not see that coming. Here
I am, saving up for a cooler
phone and a bigger TV, and it
turns out the smarter money is
on being able to make omelets
when Ralphs is closed.
Other Finest City folk skip
the eggs and raise chickens
for the meat, like huntergatherers—minus
the hunting.
It’s all-natural, and I love
chicken curry, but I get attached
to animals easily. Raising
pets for food, especially fowlsmelling
ones, is not for me.
On the other hand, it might
be nice to know what I’m really
eating for once. And given what’s
happened to the value of my
home these past few years, I’m
probably overdue for a good cry.
Here on the sunny California
coast, home gardens are staging
a comeback, too. Our weather
is so badass, we’ve created a new
style of dining: yard-to-table.
Forget the cup of sugar, we’re
snagging veggies from the
neighbor’s cabbage patch, kids.
Home-growing can be a
healthy and economically
sound lifestyle choice, but it
has drawbacks, too. Case in
point: my SDG&E bill has
been killing me these days. One
fridge, a washer/dryer and some
lights? Oh, and my wife has a
hairdryer. But seriously, Sempra,
WTCluck?! At these prices, how
am I supposed to read to these
damn chickens at night?
This HOMES ISSUE of
PacificSD celebrates how San
Diego lives, from desert to
beach to mountaintop.
• Visit the North County
“man cave on steroids” owned
by TV’s Garage Mahal host and
former professional wrestler,
Bill Goldberg. (See “Muscle Car
Manor,” Page 34.)
• Take a spin in a one-of-akind
home atop Mt. Helix. It
rotates 360 degrees, giving every
room an ever-changing view.
(See “Taking Turns,” Page 41.)
• Learn design trends from
Robert Wright, co-founder
of Bast/Wright Interiors in
Hillcrest, and past president of
the American Society of Interior
Designers. Wright discusses
how (and when) colors from
fashion runways find their
way into paints on our living
room walls. (See Design of the
Times,” Page 50.)
Some people have smart homes.
My home’s an idiot. It leaks and
squeaks, and part of the kitchen
deck is only hanging on because
the termites are holding hands.
But it’s home. It’s where I’ve
built a life with my wife, and
we love it here. (Not that we’d
qualify for a mortgage if I we
did want to move.)
Stay cozy, San Diego, and
thank you for curling up with
PacificSD. I hope you find things
inside the magazine that help
make your own home life better.
Now please turn out the
light. It’s not the electric
bill—it’s that family that just
moved in down the street. Their
chickens get up in three hours.
David Perloff,
Editor-In-Chief
PAT ON THE BACK
I was able to spend more time at
home and less at the office this
month for one reason, the same
reason there are so many great
stories about San Diego homes
in this magazine: Pat Sherman,
PacificSD’s new executive editor.
Welcome to the family, Pat. House
rule—new guy’s on egg duty.
IT’S ON
THE HOUSE
Every day in March, let us shower you and the
rest of our reader family with love in the form
of $50 gift certificates from the San Diego
superstars shown here. For a (very good)
chance to win, play the game of the day at
one of San Diego’s most popular social media
gathering places: facebook.com/pacificsd.
EAST LAKE
NORTH COUNTY
EAST VILLAGE
Click yourself the prize of the day at facebook.com/pacificsd.
Thanks for playing from PacificSD, the magazine that loves you back.