The Hottest Nuts in Town

The Hottest Nuts in Town.  Those words on a banner caught my attention when I was strolling with my family in Historic Old Town Temecula.  The banner was promoting a quaint little store called "Jack's Nuts" and they serve - you guessed it - nuts.  But these aren't just any nuts.  These are freshly roasted nuts in many tasty flavors, including Sour Cream and Onion, Jalapeno Ranch and even Jack's "Extreme" Fire Nuts (complete with warning label).  And the nuts are served with a side of midwest hospitality - the owners were born and raised in Michigan. 

In one word?  Yumminess.  In three additional words?  Cute and charming.  I'm even in love with their logo -- it's simple, hometownish and perfectly fitting the vibe of this cool little spot.  If you ever find yourself in Temecula, California, you must stop by Jack's Nuts.  If you're not a fan of nuts, they also sell fresh caramel corn and flavored popcorn, Midwestern chocolates and fudges.  They are not on the main street (Front Street) of Old Town, so you may miss them if you're not paying attention.  Thankfully one of the owners parks her logoed car on the corner where you need to turn on Fifth Street.  Just walk down and look for the sign that says, "The Hottest Nuts in Town."  And if you can't make it to Temecula, no worries.  They are also online at http://www.jacksnutsstore.com/. 

Jack's Nuts
42072 Fifth Street
Historic Old Town Temecula, California

I've Always Loved Cupcakes...So What?

I love cupcakes.  I always have, always will.  I was so happy when cupcakes became the "in" thing because it became easier to get my hands on the little cakes that I love.  But lately I've noticed a lot of hate on cupcakes.  Some say there's a cupcake bubble and it's about to pop.  That the hype is over and that cupcake love has reached its maximum capacity. That it's time to move on to the next big thing.  I say, go ahead and move on.  Cupcakes hold a special place in my heart.  If you move on to the next big thing, there will be more cupcakes for me.  Hooray!   

What makes me love cupcakes so?  Well, when I was growing up, my mom didn't bake me cupcakes.  That's not a slam on her at all.  I ate lots of other great food -- sweets and otherwise -- that were a part of my Filipino culture.  We had leche flan at almost every party, along with bibingka, puto and other Filipino treats.  Cupcakes?  Not so much.  But whenever there was a bake sale at school (remember those? bake sales?) I saw cupcakes and gravitated toward them.  Little cakes with frosting, sprinkles and a rainbow of pretty colors.  They looked so fancy and special.  And since there weren't any cupcake shops back then, cupcakes really were fancy and special to me.  Today, when I see a cupcake, I remember the bake sales from my childhood.  Eating a cupcake brings me back.

When Sprinkles and other cupcake shops started to open and grow in popularity, I realized that maybe others had this special attachment to cupcakes.  I felt like a community of cupcake lovers were coming together at these establishments.  I'm probably making a bigger deal out of the cupcake craze than most (and maybe people will think I'm a little crazy for writing this post).  But I think that everyone has a food item (or two) that brings them back to some place in their past.  Admit it.

So if the cupcake craze is truly over, so be it.  You go ahead and move on to the next thing.  Just don't hate on me and my love for cupcakes.  I will take it personally.

The Fake House

Anytime we're expecting guests at our house, it takes a full week to "get the house in order."  And by "get the house in order" I mean dust, mop and wipe AND clear the house of any sight of clutter.  And by "clear the house of any sight of clutter" I mean "hide everything behind closed doors and if all else fails store it in my upstairs walk-in closet." 

I call it our "fake house."

Everything appears in order but in actuality, all the mess is hiding in the nooks and crannies of the house.  Nothing actually gets organized.  It just gets put away.  The sad thing is, if you have enough people over throughout the year, things just keep getting more hidden...until they're so hidden you don't even know where to find anything!  Such is my life. 

I love visiting other friends' houses when they are not perfectly in order.  Not at all because I like to see failure.  It's because they become more real to me and I become less critical of myself.  Not everyone can keep a clean house 24/7, 365 days a year and take care of kids and own a business and be a good mom and wife.  I don't think it's even possible to do all of that, is it? 

If you find someone who can do it all, let me know.  I can guarantee there's something "fake" about her.

Le Sac Dress: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...

Labor Day weekend, I happened to be in Camarillo, which so happens to be the home of the Camarillo Premium Outlets.  I'm not one to let an outlet center shopping opportunity pass me by.  Especially during a holiday weekend.  So I found myself in an American Apparel outlet store where I met the dress of my dreams (at least for now): American Apparel's "Le Sac Dress."  It doesn't look like much on a hanger. It's a basic drape dress.  The cool factor: long, versatile straps that you can wrap around in at least a dozen ways to create at least a dozen different looks.  I am amazed at how easy it is to change the look of the dress simply by changing the way the straps are wrapped around.  Even better - the dress was 30% off due to the Labor Day sale. Major score!  It regularly retails for $38 which may seem a lot to some people for a basic cotton dress.  But just think if you had to buy 12 different dresses instead of buying 12-in-1! Two days later I purchased a different color strap to further increase my look options.  The other bonus: the drape aspect of the dress pleasantly hides any "trouble spots" one might have.  Hope my hubby doesn't get sick of the Le Sac Dress. I may be wearing it more than a dozen times the next few weeks. 

QB or Not QB, That Is the Question

QB or Not QB, That Is the Question
Such a well-written article from Daily Candy about some yummy treats.

Fav Boutiques - I Can't Keep Secrets

I must admit - I myself am often drawn to chain stores. I visit my fair share of Forever 21s, Bananas, Gaps, Anthropologies, Urban Outfitters, Zaras, Mangos, etc. However, I love when I stumble across a cute litte one-of-a-kind boutique - the type of boutique you'll only tell your closest friends about because you really don't want everyone to know about your "secret" shop. The problem is that most people go to the chains and it takes loyal customers to keep these cute little boutiques afloat. I've seen some of my favorite stores shut down, perhaps because they weren't getting the support they deserve. So I'm dedicating this blog post to a couple of my favorite boutique stores - and I promise to continue to write about boutiques and support them (read: buy things from them) as often as I can!


Doppochic
Neighborhood: Belmont Shore
4913 E 2nd St.
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 438-4303

Every time I wear something I've purchased from here, I get compliments. They only sell women's clothing and accessories and some are on the pricier side, but they often have sale racks with items as low as $15. If you're hungry, you can shop here while waiting for a table at the next-door creperie.


The Circle Outlet
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
2395 Glendale Blvd, A2
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 665-5336

Local Indie designers at outlet prices. 'Nuff said. Now you won't always find the same designers or a variety of sizes and you'll have to buy what you like when you see it because it won't be there again. But if you're a serious shopper like I am, you know these rules.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, baby. More to come on this subject. Trust me.

Cool Beans

Coffee is an integral part of my life. Like many people, I feel like I "need" coffee to get through most mornings. I met the love of my life (now my husband) in a cafe and we gave away coffee beans in an espresso cup as our wedding favors. "Coffee" was one of the first words both of my kids learned, since they hear the loud espresso machine every morning. And it was more difficult for me to give up coffee when I was pregnant than to give birth to my two kids. (Okay, that last one was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.) I take coffee seriously. So believe me when I say this: Lamill Coffee Boutique in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles is, in my opinion, one of the best places to get coffee in Los Angeles.

Lamill Coffee Boutique elevates coffee to a whole new level. At Lamill, coffee is treated like a fine wine. The menu is about 10 pages long and includes choices for type of extraction and beans. Just like looking at a wine menu, you can learn exactly where your coffee came from, what type of flavors you can expect or how the beans were farmed. After all of the choices, I opted for Organic Black Onyx, a coffee blend from several countries that has a bittersweet flavor like dark chocolate. I loved it from the first sip. I only had one appetizer -- The Artic Char Tartare. Even this was absolutely divine. And for dessert? Espresso Chocolate Panna Cotta, which is Bailey's ice cream, coconut ravioli and chocolate coconut streusal. So yummy I can't even describe in words how yummy it was. And to top it off, this place is dolled up really nicely with a modern, lounge-y, classy edge. So cool.

I can go on and on and on but I'd rather have you go there an experience it for yourself. Here's all the info. If you love coffee, you will love Lamill.

Lamill Coffee Boutique
1636 Silver Lake Boulevard
Los Angeles, Ca 90026
www.lamillcoffee.com

Hey Hayes Valley!

Just got back from a perfect trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. It had just the right mix of planned activities, spontaneous adventures, meet-ups with friends and family, delicious food and of course...great shopping! Although I grew up in the Bay Area, I never really got a chance to explore all the nooks and crannies of this charming little big city. One 'hood that I absolutely fell in love with -- Hayes Valley.

Located between the historical districts of Alamo Square and Civic Center, I had heard Hayes Valley was revived when the freeway was torn down after the '89 quake. The streets are lined with cute, one-of-a-kind shops and sidewalk cafes. Not many tourists (well, I guess we were there, but most people around seemed to be locals) and no chain stores. One of those neighborhoods where people hanging out are either residents or tourists avoiding the touristy parts of town.

Here's a rundown of the shops I heart: Miette, a charming pastry and candy shop; Lavish, filled with adult and kiddie accessories, clothes and goodies for the home; True Sake, America's first sake store; and Fiddlesticks, a kiddie clothing store and sister store to Lavish.

My only regret is that I wasn't able to spend enough time here. But I can definitely come back again...and again...and I can find all of my favorite stores online, too!

Passport to Twelve by Twelve

I checked out the new Forever 21 store at Lakewood Center housed in a former Mervyn's. The cuteness is deafening, so much so I'm dizzy just thinking about it. They have my absolute favorite line at the moment -- Twelve by Twelve. Part of the growing F21 family of brands, it's vintagey, classy and of higher quality. A little pricier but definitely worth the extra cash. I even love the hang tag -- in the shape of a Passport and says, "This shows that you have style, good taste, and that you know fashion." Yes, yes and yes. Twelve by Twelve...I love you!