Every now and then you come across a hidden treasure. Yesterday I came across one at the Lakewood Mall called Body Basics. Now at first I thought this store was going out of business, but after talking to the employees, it looks like they are just trying to clear out some old items to get ready for some new items. Ladies, this is a great place to find some bargains! Here are my thoughts:
*$5 bras... enough said. Yes, you heard me correctly... just $5 and there isn't anything weird or cheap (aside from the price) about them. They come in traditional and razor back in multiple colors. I would suggest trying them on to find out which ones fit you best. Some are more padded than others, so make sure to check for the ones you want.
*Panties are 5 for $10. Check them out in the front bin for a variety of types and colors.
*PJ pants and tank tops are reasonable too. They have a variety of sleep wear for those looking for that new comfy and cute outfit.
Have you come across some good shopping deals? A penny for your thoughts?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
OC Fair New Year's Eve Block Party - Orange County, CA
For me there is always the debate each New Year's Eve if I want to stay in for a more quiet night or go out to a party. This year David and I decided to go out (since he was working last NYE) and see how the OC Fair's Block Party would turn out. We had an awesome time and I'm so glad we did this! Here are my thoughts on the event:
*They cater to all ages. In each of the buildings they had a 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and millenium stages. There were different cover bands that were pretty good... well except for the one playing Journey music. The Beatles and U2 bands were pretty good.
*Gourmet food trucks were in full force. Nouka, a Greek food truck, had one of the best chicken kabobs with tzatziki sauce. Two thumbs up! The Shrimp Pimp truck was just ok. Their batter was more like funnel cake batter than tempura batter.
*Don't buy your tickets on Ticketmaster. If they do this event again next year (which I hope they will), check out some of the discount sites like Travelzoo to save yourself some money.
What have you done in the past to ring in the new year? What would you recommend or advise to avoid? A penny for your thoughts?
*They cater to all ages. In each of the buildings they had a 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and millenium stages. There were different cover bands that were pretty good... well except for the one playing Journey music. The Beatles and U2 bands were pretty good.
*Gourmet food trucks were in full force. Nouka, a Greek food truck, had one of the best chicken kabobs with tzatziki sauce. Two thumbs up! The Shrimp Pimp truck was just ok. Their batter was more like funnel cake batter than tempura batter.
*Don't buy your tickets on Ticketmaster. If they do this event again next year (which I hope they will), check out some of the discount sites like Travelzoo to save yourself some money.
What have you done in the past to ring in the new year? What would you recommend or advise to avoid? A penny for your thoughts?
The Farm House Restaurant - Beaumont, CA
During my first trip to Beaumont (to visit my friends Erin and Chuck), we visited a family run restaurant called the Farm House Restaurant. The outside looks like a barn and it's located right next to the 10 freeway. The inside decorations are very mismatched, but you can tell that both locals and visitors alike seem to enjoy the comfort food this place has to offer. Here are my thoughts on this eatery:
*If you're on a diet, this is not the place for you. Let's just say that there don't appear to be a lot of low calorie or low fat items on the menu. I say everything in moderation. Enjoy a monte cristo sandwich or breakfast (which they serve all day).
*Support our local businesses. Now I must admit that I do enjoy a lot of chain restaurants, but I would hate to see them gobble up the smaller places. To keep them in business, we need to make sure to eat at these types of places more often!
*Try the home fries (aka breakfast potatoes). You can have hash browns in most places, but not all offer breakfast potatoes. They were pretty good. However, if you don't like green onions, don't order these.
*Just about 10 minutes away are some apple farms too! So if you want to get some nutritious food to your diet after your unhealthy meal, go visit them for some apples and apple products. Apple butter is awesome!
Do you have a favorite mom and pop restaurant? A penny for your thoughts?
*If you're on a diet, this is not the place for you. Let's just say that there don't appear to be a lot of low calorie or low fat items on the menu. I say everything in moderation. Enjoy a monte cristo sandwich or breakfast (which they serve all day).
*Support our local businesses. Now I must admit that I do enjoy a lot of chain restaurants, but I would hate to see them gobble up the smaller places. To keep them in business, we need to make sure to eat at these types of places more often!
*Try the home fries (aka breakfast potatoes). You can have hash browns in most places, but not all offer breakfast potatoes. They were pretty good. However, if you don't like green onions, don't order these.
*Just about 10 minutes away are some apple farms too! So if you want to get some nutritious food to your diet after your unhealthy meal, go visit them for some apples and apple products. Apple butter is awesome!
Do you have a favorite mom and pop restaurant? A penny for your thoughts?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Jersey Boys - Las Vegas, NV (Tip inside on free souvenir!)
Sin City has truly revolutionized and has become a destination for more than just gambling. I'm not a big gambler, so one of my favorite things to do in Vegas is to check out the shows. I've seen almost every Cirque du Soleil show, most of the musicals and even some of the off the wall variety shows. During this holiday visit, we decided to go see Jersey Boys. This show was very entertaining and I would recommend going to see it! Here are some of my thoughts on the show:
*Want to get a free souvenir? Yes, I said free. Now I can't guarantee that this will happen forever, but when we went to go see the show, I wanted one of the posters so I asked how much they were. Apparently they are $15 a piece, but if you take a short survey (and by short I mean like 5 questions) you can get one for free. Try this out at the inside souvenir stand on the main floor. I would recommend waiting until it's a little less crowded (after the show when most people have walked out). Plus, if you wait until then you have a good chance of meeting the performers since they walk out and park at the structure that everyone else parks at. We rode the elevator with one of them and he was very nice!
*Inside this theater, I think the better views would be in one of the front and center Loge seats. Yes orchestra is nice, but this way you won't have to worry about anyone tall sitting in front of you. The theater is not terribly huge so almost any seat is probably going to be a good seat.
*Check out the Tix 4 Today booths. They have multiple locations and often offer tickets to this show there. Be advised that if you get the tickets there that you will want to head straight to the theater box office afterwards since you have to redeem the voucher to select your seats.
Have you seen this show? Have you seen other shows in Vegas? A penny for your thoughts?
*Want to get a free souvenir? Yes, I said free. Now I can't guarantee that this will happen forever, but when we went to go see the show, I wanted one of the posters so I asked how much they were. Apparently they are $15 a piece, but if you take a short survey (and by short I mean like 5 questions) you can get one for free. Try this out at the inside souvenir stand on the main floor. I would recommend waiting until it's a little less crowded (after the show when most people have walked out). Plus, if you wait until then you have a good chance of meeting the performers since they walk out and park at the structure that everyone else parks at. We rode the elevator with one of them and he was very nice!
*Inside this theater, I think the better views would be in one of the front and center Loge seats. Yes orchestra is nice, but this way you won't have to worry about anyone tall sitting in front of you. The theater is not terribly huge so almost any seat is probably going to be a good seat.
*Check out the Tix 4 Today booths. They have multiple locations and often offer tickets to this show there. Be advised that if you get the tickets there that you will want to head straight to the theater box office afterwards since you have to redeem the voucher to select your seats.
Have you seen this show? Have you seen other shows in Vegas? A penny for your thoughts?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Black Swan - Movie
I can see why they are predicting that Natalie Portman might win some awards for her performance in Black Swan. I'll admit that I was hesitant to watch this movie, but after reading some of the reviews I decided to go ahead and check it out. After coming out of the theater, I wasn't sure how I was feeling. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think it was very well done even though it was a little darker than I usually like. Here are some of my thoughts on this film:
*Don't go see this with your family. By this, I mean you might feel slightly uncomfortable watching some of the more adult scenes if you're there with your parents. Consider yourself warned. :)
*Consider this somewhat of a psychological thriller. It's not the type of film where you're sitting on the edge of your seat, but it does mess with your mind a little. In fact, I think some scenes were developed to make you question what really happened.
*The dancing is pretty amazing. Kudos to Natalie for spending almost a year preparing for this role and learning ballet. I know some of the scenes they had a double step in, but the majority of it appears to be her. Not an easy task especially for this type of movie.
Did you see this film? Would you recommend it to others? A penny for your thoughts?
*Don't go see this with your family. By this, I mean you might feel slightly uncomfortable watching some of the more adult scenes if you're there with your parents. Consider yourself warned. :)
*Consider this somewhat of a psychological thriller. It's not the type of film where you're sitting on the edge of your seat, but it does mess with your mind a little. In fact, I think some scenes were developed to make you question what really happened.
*The dancing is pretty amazing. Kudos to Natalie for spending almost a year preparing for this role and learning ballet. I know some of the scenes they had a double step in, but the majority of it appears to be her. Not an easy task especially for this type of movie.
Did you see this film? Would you recommend it to others? A penny for your thoughts?
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas Lights - Southern California
One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to go see Christmas lights. It's festive, it's fun and best of all it's free (usually)! The challenge is knowing where to go which I've found it's not that easy to figure out which areas have something to offer that's not just your basic few strands of lights. Here are some of my favorites if you're in the Southern California area:
*See the boat parade! The great thing about this is that it goes to multiple beach cities. I've personally witnessed it in Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Diego. If you've gone to one city during the year, you don't necessarily need to go to another city because it's pretty much the same thing repeated. Go early and claim your viewing area because most of the routes are first come, first serve. Dress warm (well, unless it's 80 degrees like it was for a few days this December), bring a blanket to sit on, and bring some food to enjoy.
*Balboa Island has some really nice houses that put out a lot of effort to decorate. One of the houses even has a snowman made out of real snow! Grab some food at one of the local restaurants and then take a walking tour around the island.
*There is a neighborhood in Fountain Valley off of Brookhurst right across from Mile Square Park that has a lot of decorated houses. Park at the lot in front of the park and then cross the street. I think you'll enjoy the many houses in this area since quite a few of them get involved.
*Apparently you can choreograph your lights to music now. There are a handful of houses out there that do this and it's pretty cool. If you look it up online, I know there is at least one in Cypress, Buena Park and Brea.
Where do you like to go see Christmas lights? A penny for your thoughts?
*See the boat parade! The great thing about this is that it goes to multiple beach cities. I've personally witnessed it in Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Diego. If you've gone to one city during the year, you don't necessarily need to go to another city because it's pretty much the same thing repeated. Go early and claim your viewing area because most of the routes are first come, first serve. Dress warm (well, unless it's 80 degrees like it was for a few days this December), bring a blanket to sit on, and bring some food to enjoy.
*Balboa Island has some really nice houses that put out a lot of effort to decorate. One of the houses even has a snowman made out of real snow! Grab some food at one of the local restaurants and then take a walking tour around the island.
*There is a neighborhood in Fountain Valley off of Brookhurst right across from Mile Square Park that has a lot of decorated houses. Park at the lot in front of the park and then cross the street. I think you'll enjoy the many houses in this area since quite a few of them get involved.
*Apparently you can choreograph your lights to music now. There are a handful of houses out there that do this and it's pretty cool. If you look it up online, I know there is at least one in Cypress, Buena Park and Brea.
Where do you like to go see Christmas lights? A penny for your thoughts?
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Porto's Bakery and Cafe - Downey, CA
My parents have been talking about Porto's for a long time (the one in Burbank I believe) and have brought me a sweet treat from there every now and then. I have enjoyed the desserts, but it wasn't until recently that I actually decided I needed to see what this place was all about. If I could sum it up in one word... ahhmaaazziiinnggg! Yes, that's a real word. ;)
Here are my thoughts on this treasure of an eatery:
*You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Now I didn't eat every single sandwich on the menu, but everything my parents ordered (and we ordered a lot of things) was delicious.
*I would recommend the Cubano sandwich. It's very yummy and I couldn't get enough of the fried plantain chips. I'd go there again just to buy more chips! Surprisingly not very sweet with just a touch of salt... yummy goodness.
*Save room for dessert. If you're ordering food from the cafe side, you only get to pick from a smaller selection of their desserts. There's a reason that the bakery side has its own line... there are so many to choose from and they are equally tasty as they are beautiful. I love the tiramasu and the cheesecake. Yes, I ordered multiple desserts during this visit... don't judge me. :)
*It's always busy. A good sign of a good place to eat is when it's busy during all operating hours. Porto's is always busy, but very worth the wait.
Go eat at Porto's and do it now... this is one of the best eateries I've ever been to. Have you been there before? Have any advice or opinions? A penny for your thoughts?
Here are my thoughts on this treasure of an eatery:
*You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Now I didn't eat every single sandwich on the menu, but everything my parents ordered (and we ordered a lot of things) was delicious.
*I would recommend the Cubano sandwich. It's very yummy and I couldn't get enough of the fried plantain chips. I'd go there again just to buy more chips! Surprisingly not very sweet with just a touch of salt... yummy goodness.
*Save room for dessert. If you're ordering food from the cafe side, you only get to pick from a smaller selection of their desserts. There's a reason that the bakery side has its own line... there are so many to choose from and they are equally tasty as they are beautiful. I love the tiramasu and the cheesecake. Yes, I ordered multiple desserts during this visit... don't judge me. :)
*It's always busy. A good sign of a good place to eat is when it's busy during all operating hours. Porto's is always busy, but very worth the wait.
Go eat at Porto's and do it now... this is one of the best eateries I've ever been to. Have you been there before? Have any advice or opinions? A penny for your thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)