A Wicked Halloween: TNBC at El Capitan

Hello everyone,
I hope you're all having a wonderful Halloween! Whether celebrating it early this weekend or today, this is one holiday that I think everyone needs their fair share of. I'd like to share with you the wonderful thins I've been doing today to get into the spirit.

This is something I've been wanting to do for over 5 years now, and when I saw the tickets drop in price I felt like today would be better than no other! I'm talking about watching The Nightmare Before Christmas in 4D at the El Capitan Theater. If you're not familiar with this theater, El Capitan is an old Hollywood theater which Disney had purchased to create as a premiere for all of their shows. Whether it's live entertainment in the beginning, or special effects through the show, you haven't quite watched a Disney film until you've seen it at El Capitan. The last I saw a show there was Pocahontas when I was shy of 9, so I think I was well over due to return.

We dressed in our costumes for the day, and I finally got to wear my Elizabethan apparel again. It was nice to see Eugene in his frocks again. I put on some spooky eye makeup to finish the touch, and we were off to the theater! I like going to Hollywood early when I can because the traffic is awful during rush hour. As planned, everything went smoothly; we even went through the side streets and made it just fine.

As they let us in early, we were greeted by Rob Richards, the official Organist of Disney. He was playing an organ on stage spell binding us with Disney classics and a little Phantom of the Opera. The side wings were littered with jack-o-lanterns and decor which was so amazing; it was the same sensation that you get when you go to Downtown Disney (I will have a post about that soon). When we had the lights dim, they started the show with a classic Disney short(1952). It was so awesome to see a classic short on the big screen! I can say that I can scratch that off my bucket list finally. When they requested us to put on our 3D glasses, I knew the main event was raring to go.

4D is basically 3D with theatrical effects. They added wind when the leaves were blowing through Halloween Town, chilled air in Christmas Town, Lighting effects to show ghost and stars, fog, and the best of all; SNOW! They had fake snow fall from the balcony at the last scene. I can't really explain the experience other than go when you have a chance! It was so charming to see childhood nostalgia redone in a creative way. It shocked me to hear them announce that this movie was celebrating its 20 year anniversary!

At the end of the show, we looked about the Frankenweenie displays they had through the theater. As you entered you're greeted by the cast of puppets that were actually used in the film. They even had a set from the film to display. When you go to the bottom floor of the theater, they had a Frankenweenie showcase. They had even more sets, props, and research treatments of the staff on display. I loved cemetery hill the best! It had Sparky's freshly dug up grave.

We left fairly early to prepare our goodies at home. Eugene and I picked our favorite chocolates and dropped then in a souvenir tub of popcorn I got from the show. We also littered the table with slices of Candy Apples and Pistachios (they had Frankenweenie on them which made me giggle). I filled a Carafe of Lemongrass iced tea to drink in goblets and we waited patiently for the Trick or Treaters to arrive.

We've still on our marathon of Harry Potter movies, but I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Hallo Eve! How are your festivities?

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Sweet Tooth Teas: Chado

You can't escape it around this time of year; sweets have been invading around every turn! Not that it's a bad thing, I'm in the search of the perfect candy apple and popcorn balls... Mmm... And why do all of the kids get all the fun with their Trick or Treating anyways? It's about then I decided to get my sweet kicks the way that I do best: with tea! These teas are not sweetened by sugar, but have natural indulgent qualities you can find in desserts. However, most of them do go excellent with milk and sugar!

 This is my first post about Chado Tea, and the selection I am writing about today has one of their classics as well as something new. If anyone is visiting SoCal I highly recommend you stop by a Chado Tea Room. They are mainly located in Los Angeles, but they just opened a branch in Hollywood behind Mann Chinese Theatre. The one that I frequent is in Old Town Pasadena, mainly because that entire strip is littered with tea houses and it makes my shopping easy. I'll have to do a Tea Crawl one day to show you... that seems interesting...

Anyways, Chado is home to over 200 teas. They are the leader in tea culture being brought here to California. Infact, this weekend I'll be attending the second Tea Festival hosted by them in Little Tokyo. I'm so excited! I love going to tea there when I want a surprise and a little bit of tea gossip. I'm always scouting their new blends and asking of the new harvest when they arrive. They are the only tea house I know of that carries both First and Second Flushed Darjeeling.  That's a big deal! It's through interaction and lectures through them that really kicked off my inspiration to be a Tea Connoisseur. One day I hope that dream comes true, but until then, I just love tea and everything I can learn about it.

My sweet tea collection is for people like me who love the taste of scrumptious sweet pastries and delicate things. These blends add have those qualities as well as the smooth taste of tea. It just hits the spot! And you get the best of both worlds.

These are my Sweet Tea Choices:

White Coconut Vanilla: OMG! This tea is so heavenly!!! I am a huge fan of classic Coconut Cake with custard filling and this tea has those exact qualities. My favorite teas from Chado are mainly their White Teas. The blends they make with them are no exception. This tea was being served iced in champagne flutes when I was there and Jordan, the manager, brought some for us to sample. I was hooked at first sip! It's delicate and slightly sweet with the ending note of warm vanilla and toasted coconut. They usually garnish their iced teas with a slice of strawberry which I felt enhanced the flavor. I've had this tea with plums as well and it seems to pair with any fruit. I love this tea in the morning with toast. It gives me just the right amount of energy with just the right amount of indulgence to get my day going right. Steep longer if you want and intense contrast between the tea leaf taste and the sweet coconut vanilla notes.

Phoenix Black: Several of my friends go for this tea whenever we get the tea service. It's a great beginners black tea, especially if you have a sweet tooth. Unlike most black teas, it's easy to over or under steep a tea, add too much milk, or find the right amount of sugar. The Phoenix blend is hard to really mess up. It's a black tea infused with honey, caramel, and vanilla. When smelling it you instantly pick up the aroma of rich amber honey. The blend is done so tastefully and can be enjoyed any way that you enjoy it. I think this is why it's one of their most popular blends. If you enjoy that creamy dessert taste without the caffeine, they apparently have a Rooibos version of this; I'll have to try it sometime. This black tea blend is a favorite of mine when I want the steep taste of black without the fuss of milk and sugar. It's also a great tea to go to to pair with cream desserts like napoleons, cream puffs, or a scone and cream for that extra boost of sweet decadence.

I'll be posting a second post of Sweet Teas as well. In the meantime I highly recommend browsing their selection online at: www.chadotea.com . If you can't make up your mind call a location and pick their brains. All of their staff is knowledgeable and versed with their teas it's ridiculous. Happy Tea Hunting!
-Stef

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Lane Bryant Late Summer Haul

It's that lovely time of year in SoCal where the Summer clothing goes on sale to make room for the Fall.  The great thing about this is that Summer weather lingers well into late October like it is this year. Another bonus is it never gets all that cold (other than the occasional hail storms) and you can wear just about anything with a good coat or sweater. I went on a haul with a coupon in hand and got some really good finds! I figured it's about time I do this post since I've already done two OOTD with this haul. You can see those here and here.

Here's what I got:

I love this top as it's sheer in the back for those extra sticky hot days here. I've been wanting one of these but could never find anything tasteful in my size. Clever Lane Bryant only made the back sheer with a super light cotton in the front. I adore the screen print with has half dots in gold glitter under it. I'm totally rocking this to the Tea Festival as the hot weather is slightly picking again.

 I found a Seven dress at such an affordable price! I was so shocked! I've been looking for good versatile dresses lately as I carry alot of light sweater and over vests in my wardrobe. I love this because it's so hard to find a long cotton dress. I also love that the stripes are subtle and go with almost everything.

I call this my Echoing Green shirt! The artwork on it looks like something that would have been on their early 90s albums. I love the way everything is grey-scaled and the flowers just pop it to life.  Charcoal Grey is also my absolute favorite color and it's so hard to find nice shirts in that hue.

I love this tank because it has this slight shark bite taper and it's long. This will be so great to rock with leggings. I also love the little bit of glitter on it so I can sport it with some of my pop or rockability looks.  The blue stripes are also a beautiful shade.

This shirt is so soft and relaxing. I just loved the way that the sleeves slouched on my arms to give it a great curvy look with the boyfriend shirt appeal. This shirt also has these pretty stripes with a bit of metallic silver thread spun in it. It's so easy to dress it up or down. The screen print just adds the right amount of texture to dress up or down the accessories. 

Isn't this the coolest shade for a chunky sweater? I really love that fire red orange tone that goes great with any neutral shade! It's also rare to find a chunky quarter sleeve sweater as well, and it falls just above my waist so that I can wear it with a short dress or skirt without killing the lines of an outfit.

I was a couple of dollars short from my coupon working so I got this nail polish in the color of 'Morning Dove'. I'm so glad I did! This nail polish goes on super thick and only needs one coat. It dries fast and is very flexible resisting chipping. Their nail polish all have a super shine metalic finish. It's really playful!

I'll be having fun with these finds, so expect to see more of them. Happy shopping everyone!
-Stef

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Out & Abouts: Eaton Canyon

As the weather gets cooler I want to get out more. The whole summer consisted with Love rushing to my house and us dashing to a cafe for some AC and iced tea. You can guess that that got rather dull rather quickly. So when the sticky SoCal heat mellowed out a bit, I've been running a muck outdoors as much as possible. I've also been dreaming about tranquil scenery with my stressful career; rolling hills and sweet strolls through greenery and fresh natural scents.

My puppies were getting cabin fever; it's been almost 3 months without a good run. I've been feeling guilty about it but there's not much you can do when it was constantly 100 degrees outside. I wanted to make it up to them so I made sure to pull out all the stops.

I brought my pups to Eaton Canyon, which is nestled at the foot of the hills of Sierra Madre. I remembered hiking to the giant fountain and back when I was younger, and I never took Love through there. With the fog and light rain, we were guaranteed that there would be no sticky unpleasant sweat and heat to bother us. When we got there I was so surprised at how packed it was! We barely found parking, and when we did we were surrounded by groups of hikers. There was no way that we were going to have a tranquil walk with that crowd, so we opted for the next best thing and took a light stroll near the nature center.

It did the trick! I was welcomed by the sweet smell of wet earth mixed with buckwheat and sage blossoms. That smell is so heavenly to me and marks a huge chuck of my childhood. I enjoyed the sound of wildlife and the light stroll through the picnic areas and little trails. I also got to give the pups a little extra time to stroll about and sniff things without such a big crowd around us.

The trail was short so we took our time, we made sure to take every little route. One thing that was memorable was the Outdoor Classroom which was basically a small amphitheater with a fire pit. We dreamed of using it for outdoor plays in the Spring; something we will definitely look into. The thought of it was an adventure in itself. Love saw his first look at California Quails as they flew over his head and started to run in a line. A little fact is that I LOVE Quails, I think they're one of my most cherished animals. It was so wonderful to hear their little beeping noises again and share it with him.

At the end of the day the pups were completely wiped out and slept early. I hope to bring them out more to outing like this. Next time we'll take the hike to Waterfall for sure! It was just the right bit of tranquility that I needed.

-Stef

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Outs & Abouts: Phoenix Bakery

I'm an advocate for cheap Asian cuisine. Here in SoCal there's just no way around it. There's absolutely no point in spending on an expensive meal when there are so many small cozy businesses to choose from. More importantly, it's much fresher than you will get and the expensive competitor and there's much less guess work as to what they put into the food. I worked on a few restaurant brands in my time as a designer and let me tell you that the food industry can be revolting! Most things are microwaved and deep fried at chain stores expensive and cheap alike. So I'm super picky as to where we eat. Thankfully there are plenty of options in the Greater Los Angeles area. It makes me feel great that I support small, local, and family owned businesses. Phoenix is a great example of this.

The Phoenix Bakery that I go to is located in South Pasadena, but I know they have a few chains further towards Arcadia/Alhambra area. They are a Chinese deli with Hong Kong/ Taiwanese cuisine which is much different from the common Mandarin Cuisine that has been franchised and popularized with places like Panda. Anyone thats never tried Taiwanese or Hong Kong food I beg you put it on your bucket list to do so! The difference is that their foods rely more on spices complimenting the main vegetable or meat and less reliant on sauces and oil. The desserts are heavenly too, but that's a whole other blog post. I'm going to talk about my love for egg noodle soup.

Top to bottom:
Yangchow Fried Rice & Egg Noodle Soup w/ BBQ Pork & Veggies

Egg noodle soup is sort of a pho/ramen hybrid thats savory. The noodles are thin made with egg and rice flower which lends a rich flavor in itself. The broth is a simple clear broth that has a few spices. What really makes this dish amazing are the toppings! I like to keep mine simple and go for the Barbeque Pork and some fresh steamed bokchoy. The meal is light with the broth but hardy with the firm texture of the vegetables, noodles, and meat. It's heavenly!

Love went for the Yang Chow Fried Rice. The rice is lightly seasoned with spices and vegetables, but it's famous for it's steamed shrimp and Chinese sausage. Chinese sausage can best be described as a small more intense version of chorizo except sweet and loaded with exotic spices. Give it a try if you have the chance, but make sure it's not used by itself because it's flavor is overpowering alone.

Mmm nothing like Dim sum Desserts

We were going to get dessert, but I really wanted to grab some tea so I'll leave that for another post as I mentioned. Phoenix may look like a little whole in a wall, but their dishes are top notch! Other dishes I recommend are their Congee (a rice porridge), Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Deep Fried Rock Salt Sole Fish. For vegetarian options they make an amazing pickled tofu that I enjoy with the Sauteed Mushroom and Greens.
-Stef

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Cocary Hot Pots: Outs & Abouts

 The beauty of living in the LA area are all of the interesting specialty shops that are around. I know that if I ever leave the state I'll miss the variety that I get here. There's always something to do if you're feeling up to it. That's why I thought it would be nice to create Outs & Abouts; a section of posts dedicated to the fun things that are around here that I enjoy. This week I'm going to write about my favorite Hot Pot place, Cocary.

Some of my family still lives in Monterey Park; famous for it's Chinese culture. When my mom first came to the United States she stayed with her older sister and family for a few years in this city. So the food and ways of Monterey Park have become a tradition and a piece of everyday life for us. Whenever family flies over, we ALWAYS eat in Monterey Park. Cocary happens to be a place only popular with my immediate family, so I make the trip myself whenever I can.

Cocary is not your stereo-typical Chinese food. It's what you might consider a variation Korean BBQ houses. The tables are equipped with a pot that has a huge bowl in the center which they fill with soup broth and the outside of the bowl has dished out areas to grill meat. (If you've ever watched the anime Ruroni Kenshin, Akabeko is a Hot Pot Restaurant.) There are refrigerators in the back where you pick out the things that you want to cook, this is for both the soup and the grill. We chose beef to grill with eggs, fish-balls, and veggies to boil in our soup. 

Another thing that I love about Cocary, especially on cold days are the unlimited porridge and steamed rice. I love topping my porridge with the grilled meats and veggies. This day I tried the Oyster Mushrooms stir fried in the satay sauce; it was so yummy! I made sure to make room for my vegetable soup. The spiced broth they use is so heavenly; alot of the locals toss noodles in their soups but I like mine veggied up to the max!

 The best part of this place is the price; we only paid about 20 bucks for the two of us and we were stuffed to the brim. This is definitely a fun place for big groups and raises plenty of good conversation. I also recommend that you come try the lunch bar, where they have a train of the dishes come by for you to cook on a mini personal hot pot in front of you.

 

Until next time,
-Stef

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