Tag Archives: blogger

Atlas World Fresh Market Grand Opening in Poway

A couple of weekends ago, I attended two events in one day. The first was the grand opening of the Atlas World Fresh Market in Poway. It is an amazing supermarket with everything from a deli, to a juice bar to an incredible Food Hall. I roamed around several times, taking in the variety of foods from all over the world, tasting samples and enjoying their fresh Juice Bar. I called my husband to let him know we needed to come back, not only to grocery shop, but to enjoy everything this amazing store has to offer, especially their bakery! Thank you Atlas Market for inviting me to your spectacular grand opening. My family and I look forward to returning again and again!

I have never seen so many kinds of honey, including actual honeycombs!

These are all made fresh in their Juice Bar!

My refreshing pineapple drink, so delicious!

The samples were so delicious, including their breads and Turkish coffee!

On my next visit, I’m going to be having a little something from their Bakery.

I’m pretty sure my husband would not know what to do with himself at the meat & seafood counter, or even the deli!

Looking for spices? Look no more!

This Food Hall was so amazing. My family and I need to come back and try everything!

Congratulations on your new store and thanks again for inviting me to your Grand Opening!

Catching Up: Spring Soirée at Kate Spade La Jolla

The day after the Kia Classic, I attended a Spring Soirée event at Kate Spade La Jolla, hosted by Conni of Art In The Find and Vanessa of Vanessa Balli. It was a lovely day for shopping, along with savoring yummy sips and treats. I’ve always adored Kate Spade because of the brand’s quirky, one-of-a-kind accessories and handbags, along with their the gorgeous classically retro clothing line. I own quite a few Kate Spade pieces (here and here), one of my favorites being the Goreski “Look Out” Glasses Bracelet (here). If you get the chance, get to a Kate Spade store to check out their latest collection, including the classic Sam collection of handbags.

Isn’t this AMAZING? These are gift boxes and bags!

I think Bjork would love these…

I need a Sam handbag in my life!

With beautiful soon-to-be-mommies, Conni and Vanessa (photo taken by @inkysnapper)

Catching Up: Kia Classic 2018

Back at it again, and I’m catching up on events as it’s been quite the busy few weeks! If you follow my blog regularly, then you will know that my husband, Deon, is not just a fan of golf, but he is an amazing golfer as well, winning eight amateur tournaments. Every now and again, we get the chance to attend a professional golfing event, and this year our first one was the LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad. Deon’s favorite golfer is Paula Creamer, but we missed her as we attended the second to the last day of the event. We ended up following Brooke Henderson and Lydia Ko for the bulk of the time we attended and we got to see Michelle Wie get interviewed after her round was finished. Check out the amazing picture Deon captured below!

The tournament took place at Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club and made me appreciate my hometown even more because I feel like I’m discovering time and time again that San Diego is simply one the prettiest cities in the world. It was lovely to walk around with Deon as he is so knowledgeable about the sport, and he’s definitely in his element when he’s on the course. Here are some pictures I took at the event, and I know you’ll agree that this course is absolutely gorgeous, as was the day. Cheers!

Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson

Until next time Kia Classic!

(That’s Deon walking on the left in the striped golf shirt)

Our complimentary custom caddie bib t-shirts: Of course Deon chose the Paula Creamer shirt and I opted for Lydia Ko

T.G.I. FUNKO: Ready Player One

As mentioned in a post earlier this week, Ready Player One is finally out! For today’s T.G.I. Funko, I’m featuring the first part of my RP1 Collection.

Above, we have the “High Five”. They are the Gunters who made it to the top of the scoreboard first in the contest to win control of the OASIS and the creator’s fortune. Below are the exclusives of Parzival and Art3mis from Hot Topic, GameStop and Walmart. I actually just finished completing the entire set of RP1 Funko Pop! vinyl figures and will feature the rest of them in next week’s post. By then, I will have seen the movie with my family and can offer a little bit of insight to how I feel about the book adaptation and how it translated to the big screen.

If you want to check out all Funko has to offer, remember to click on the banner on the right (or here) to take you to their official shop. Cheers and T.G.I. Funko!

Gleaming The Cube

It’s FINALLY time for Ready Player One to hit the theaters. I just got our tickets to see it this Saturday, and I absolutely cannot wait!

I just felt the need to feature these fantastic sandals by Katy Perry called “The Margot” because, like RP1, they are absolutely paying homage to my favorite decade: The 80’s. How perfect are these shoes? I just had to snap a few pictures in my mini-studio next to our son’s very own Rubik’s Cube.

Are you going to see RP1 this weekend? Let me know in the comments!

T.G.I. Funko: “I’m Mary Poppins Y’all!”

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I attempted to purchase our first Funko Pop! exclusive, online through a major retailer. There are times where exclusives are released at conventions like the San Diego Comic Con or the LA Comic Con. There are also other exclusives that can only be obtained at a major retail chain, such as Wal-Mart, Toys r Us, Hot Topic or Game Stop.

This is the Yondu Funko Pop! figure from the Guardians of The Galaxy 2 collection. It was an exclusive from the Emerald City Comic Con, shared with Target. My husband and I actually stayed up until midnight on the day of the sale, and I was able to score this fantastic new Pop!

If you want to check out all Funko has to offer, remember to click on the banner on the right (or here) to take you to their official shop. Cheers and T.G.I. Funko!

T.G.I. Funko!

We are a family of hobbyists. We definitely like to collect items, build things, and frequent places that we love. My husband’s latest endeavor has been the Funko Pop! vinyl figures. He started his collection a couple of years ago, but it really started to build during this last San Diego Comic Con and the LA Comic Con. We are known to spend an entire day in search of certain Pop! figures when they are released, and his obsession has now rubbed off on me! Not only have I joined my husband in collecting Pop! figurines, but I recently became a Funko affiliate.

In celebration of my new affiliate status, I will be sharing pictures of our collection every Friday in a post called “T.G.I. Funko!” (Special thanks to my hubby for the title!)

Today, I’m showing selections from my very first “vaulted” items, which are from the Pop! Animation series. When I was in my 20’s, I loved The Animaniacs cartoon series. I immediately snapped up the Dot, Yakko and Wakko Pops when they came out at Hot Topic, and they recently became a part of the Funko Vault (above). When an item is “vaulted”, they are no longer available for retail purchase. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get them through a collector or eBay, but you will most likely be paying outside the retail prices that I paid for my collection.

Recently, I came across another wonderful pair from the same animated series as The Animaniacs, which are Pinky and The Brain (below). These are not vaulted yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they become vaulted soon.

If you want to check out all Funko has to offer, click on the banner on the right (or here) to take you to their official shop. Cheers and T.G.I. Funko!

People Are People

It’s always great when friends can turn you onto a new brand, because it opens up your wardrobe to more choices and creates versatility. Jenna from Lucky Little Mustardseed is one of my favorite local bloggers, who I’m so proud to also call my friend. She has been wearing Cabi for sometime now, and recently turned me onto them after their recent Cabi Clothing Scoop introducing their Spring 2018 collection at the San Diego Convention Center.

What I love about this jacket is that it is SO retro, and completely lends to my style. I wore the jacket with all black, including this now sold-out People are People t-shirt. The shirt is by Christian Siriano in collaboration with Leggo Your Ego. I first saw it on the runway from his Autumn/Winter 2017 collection, where he ended the show with the outfit below. Christian was also featured on Depeche Mode’s Facebook “Fan Takeover”:

I incorporated Depeche Mode’s “People Are People” into our Fall 2017 show at NYFW as a symbol of what I stand for as a brand and designer. We placed the song during the finale walk and I think that got the message across rather strongly because it was placed at the end. The message that is: people are people, we should all be celebrated in our own way no matter what age, size or skin color. It wasn’t a political statement that I was trying to make, but rather a statement on human rights. It’s about supporting everyone, which is why I casted a diverse range of women to walk in the show. Everyone deserves to be represented.

As a brand, it’s important to be inclusive because anyone can be a customer. Clothing should be fun and make women feel beautiful in their own skin.

– Christian Siriano

(Photo from Christian Siriano’s official website)

Believe it or not, Christian Siriano also collaborated with Impress Manicure for matching People are People press on nails! I bought two sets (one to keep and one to wear), and they lasted a little over two weeks. I love the matte finish and easy application. Of course, my retro-outfit was rounded off with some 80’s inspired accessories: a robot cross-body purse, a Duran Duran album cover lip palette (I’m wearing the color “Rock-On”), and a cassette tape cell phone case. Yup, you can take a girl out of the 80’s, but you can’t take the 80’s out of this girl!

Outfit: Windopane Jacket by Cabi (no longer available); “People are People” t-shirt by Christian Siriano x Leggo Your Ego (sold-out); Unknown brand pants; Savannah Animal Print frames c/o Select Specs; Hat from Topshop; Leather ankle boots by Zara; Ring by Wendy Brandes; London Underground cuff c/o designhype; Karl Lagerfeld watch; Cross-body purse from ASOS; Nagel x Urban Decay “Rio” lip palette; Cassette Tape phone cover c/o Banggood

Included this fun outtake, where I’m wearing my sister’s “new wave” sunglasses!

All photos by Rholnna Jiao unless otherwise noted

Blonde Ambition: The New Starbucks Flavor Sensation at Rancho Carmel Plaza!

My weekends have been quite interesting lately, especially with my husband! I finally got the chance to hang out with him for a full game of golf last weekend, which was actually quite fun. But our weekends have lately been filled with “The Hunt”, as we’ve come to name the all consuming search for Funko Pop! vinyl figures. On the way to Barnes & Noble in the Carmel Mountain Ranch area, we dropped by Rancho Carmel Plaza, a little strip mall usually frequented by me and my sister. I wanted to try the new coffee flavor sensation, Starbucks Blonde Espresso.

I do have to say that this is one of my favorite Starbucks locations because of this very seating area (below). It looks more like a comfy living room rather than a coffee shop, and if you placed an ottoman in front of me with my favorite movie playing in the distance with a nice cup or coffee or tea, I swear I could sit there for hours.

On to the coffee: I really loved it! It is a light roasted espresso, and is supposed to be creamy with hints of lemon and orange. I was told by the barista that the Blonde Espresso would be smooth and sweet, and I would have to agree. I had the Blonde Espresso Latte and I drank it straight without adding any type of sweetener. After that kind of first impression, I am anxious to try all of their Blonde Espresso offerings: the Blonde Vanilla Latte, the Iced Blonde Caffe Americano, the Blonde Cappuccino, and the Blonde Flat White. But I think I will also ask if they will do a shot of Blonde Espresso on its own, just so I can get the full taste of the espresso and see if I can taste those citrus notes at its purest.

Starbucks is located at 10195 Rancho Carmel Drive, San Diego, CA 92128 and they can be reached at (858) 613-7754. They are open Monday to Saturday from 5:00 am to 8:30 pm and Sunday from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Cheers and here’s to one smooth cup of (Blonde) ambition!

FTC Disclosure: I received compensation to patronize a business at Rancho Carmel Plaza. Although I did receive compensation, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

The Latest From LEGOLAND®: LEGO NINJAGO Days Jan. 13 & 14

Where did the time go? It’s 2018 already, and we’re starting off with a bang at LEGOLAND^® California Resort! It’s Ninjago Days this weekend to celebrate the opening of the new 4D movie, LEGO^®NINJAGO^® – Master of the 4th Dimension!

We attended the media preview last night, but in all honesty, we missed the movie! After picking up my son and then my niece, we hit more traffic than anticipated and arrived after the last showing. We still caught some of the fun of the evening, and we’ll definitely come back to watch it. But YOU can still catch it this weekend! Check out all of the information below, mixed in with some pictures from the event last night.

I’ve also included pictures from when we attended Ninjago Days last year in celebration of The Ninjago Movie and the new video game back in September 2017. Cheers!

WHAT:

The LEGO^® NINJAGO^® phenomenon continues at LEGOLAND^® California Resort during LEGO NINJAGO Days Jan. 13 & 14 to celebrate the opening of the new 4D film, LEGO^®NINJAGO^® – Master of the 4th Dimension, playing exclusively at LEGOLAND Parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers nationwide. Guests are invited to join in the LEGO NINJAGO fun at the family theme park and meet some of their favorite “The LEGO^® NINJAGO^® Movie” characters including Lloyd, Sensei Wu, Kai, Jay and Nya. Guests can also participate in activities such as completing a scavenger hunt in Miniland U.S.A. and put their ninja gaming skills to the test with the brand new “The LEGO^® NINJAGO^® Movie” video game. All activities are included with the price of admission into LEGOLAND California Resort.

WHEN:

January 13 & 14, 2018

WHERE:

LEGOLAND California Resort, Carlsbad, CA

ACTIVITIES:

LEGO^® NINJAGO^® – Master of the 4th Dimension

Become part of the 4D action as you join the NINJAGO heroes at a very special training session in the 4th Dimension in this exciting 12 minute movie

THE LEGO^® NINJAGO^® MOVIE™ Character Meet & Greets

Meet the stars of the “The LEGO^® NINJAGO^® Movie™” in LEGO^® NINJAGO^® World!

Miniland Scavenger Hunt

Find the ninjas in Miniland U.S.A. and complete your entry form for a chance to win a LEGO^®NINJAGO^® prize pack!

WB Family GameSpace featuring THE LEGO^® NINJAGO^® MOVIE™ Video Game

Master new skills and upgrade your weapons in your training to find your inner ninja in this brand new video game.

Images from the Ninjago Days Blogger Event – September 2017

Dominic was masked and ready to go!

Brian Austin , Manager, Brand Marketing Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. He was explaining the game and movie tie-in, in addition to answering questions. He was so nice!