valentine's day Sprinkles to open in San Diego (La Jolla) January 13, DC in February, NYC in April

The latest news via Sprinkles' website and this article from Patch.com. The DC store will be at 3015 M Street NW and the Manhattan store will be at 780 Lexington Avenue.

From Patch.com:

"This new location represents a big thank you to all our loyal customers who have made the drive up to our Newport Beach store over the past four years," said Nelson.

Together with her husband, Charles, Nelson decided in 2005 to launch her business after attending pastry school in San Francisco. Beverly Hills became their first location.

"I developed all the recipes from scratch," says Nelson, who now finds herself overseeing expansion across the country.

The La Jolla shop will be Sprinkles' eighth location. According to the Sprinkles website, grand openings in Washington, D.C, and New York will follow in February and April, respectively.

Sprinkles' menu features a rotation of over 20 flavors, including seasonal options. In addition, health-conscious dessert lovers will find no preservatives, trans-fats, or artificial flavors in the cupcakes.

With the growing emphasis on well-being and environmentally friendly and sustainable efforts, it seems the cupcake business is getting into the act. Cups, a cupcake shop that opened in La Jolla on Black Friday in 2009, uses organic ingredients and recycled materials in nearly all facets of its business.

valentine's day Monkey cupcakes, birthday bird cupcakes and fall leaf spiced caramel apple cupcakes

All of these cupcakes are by San Diego's Jennywennycakes, via her Facebook page. You can also find her @jennywennycakes on Twitter - contact her at one of those locations for ordering details. From Facebook:

Jennywennycakes, custom cakes baked from scratch from the best ingredients.

Special diets easily accommodated, vegan, gluten free or nut free.

Jenny is currently making cakes to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society


monkey and lion (lions, right? I sometimes have trouble with my animals!) birthday cupcakes



And something to capture the changing leaves and changing seasons:


Spiced cakes filled with caramel apple and topped with caramel buttercream and fondant autumn leaves

valentine's day San Diego: Dancing and Dining

Dancing Topiaries at the San Diego Botanical Gardens

Get your dancing shoes on!

We visited the San Diego Botanical Gardens (located North of San Diego in Encinitas) while on vacation last month, and were quite taken with the topiary flamenco dancers. It didn't take much to get into the act. In fact, a subtle invitation, and I was dancing....

Dancing at the San Diego Botanical Gardens

The gardens were a wonderful surprise. I had not realized that San Diego had such a developed public botanical garden. A friend of mine told me about it before we left for our trip, and I am so happy I got a chance to see it.

Lady in Green

There are sculptures throughout the park which make for a experience of delightful discovery. In the Bamboo forest, it was almost fairy tale like. Giant seed pods looked almost ready to flower.

valentine's day Each piece told a bit of the story. Lanterns to light the way.


Giant hat pins holding wisps of grassy locks in place.


And then there were those moments when a glance just made me hold my breath....water falling into lily ponds.

valentine's day
Layer upon layer of color and texture.

valentine's day
Spots for quiet contemplation filled with the scent of herbs and roses.


And then there were the plants that tall tales are made of, like the Giant Dutchman's Pipe which has fashioned itself to look and smell like raw meat to attract flies for pollination....curiouser and curiouser...




There were places for secret dalliances....




And trees that have stood the test of time....




And as we were leaving that day, a gift just for me.....



valentine's day Katydid

Another chance discovery on our adventures was a place that made us feel right at home. We returned more than once to The Mission in Mission Beach. The best breakfast to be had for miles around.

I had the corn meal blueberry pancakes and a Chai Latte. Apparently word is out....get there a bit on the early side and the wait is only a couple of minutes. Even if you are late....the wait is worth it. Hop onto the website HERE for menus telling about the goodness.

valentine's day Chai Latte complete with spoon to scoop up the foam. Best.

valentine's day Best Blueberry Corn Meal Pancakes with Blueberry Pure, Eggs and Bacon. Mmmmmm.

Next time you are in the San Diego area, try a little Dining and Dancing!

valentine's day San Diego: Lost in the Wonderland of The Urban Seed

The Front "Foyer" held a grand concrete table with a truly monumental bouquet of daisies which melded into the iron chandelier which was probably 5 feet in diameter.

I have a habit of losing my family when we are exploring. We were visiting San Diego's Old Town in a fun shop selling pretty trinkets and I was buying one of those hooded striped blanket type sweatshirts from Mexico, I turn around, and the family unit had disappeared.

The Urban Seed has beautiful sunburst mirrors. The sconces were beautiful! Note the great lamps and tin lanterns.

Well...they had to be somewhere, so I wander out looking for them and stumble upon The Urban Seed. I immediately forgot all about the family....I had found my "spot" in Old Town.

International flair, with the French style bench, Moroccan table, tropical bamboo chair, Spanish style candlestick holders, Mexican Tin Mirror.

The Urban Seed is a cacophony of garden delights and imported treasures carefully cultivated by, Maurice Taitano and Michael Bliss, husband and wife team. Maurice (wife) was in the shop when I walked in and we hit it off right away. Kindred spirits, we. She graciously led me through her little plot of Heaven while I kept stopping to take picture after picture. She had the patience of a saint.

French Armoire, Red Lacquer Bamboo Chair

There is a charming collection of rooms here, each with its own flavor. The overall feel is of the historic influence of European colonization of Mexico. Full of sunburst mirrors, lanterns and twig adorned chandeliers, antiques, garden elements, unique and perfect accessories and gifts. The Urban Seed could have held my attention all day.

Rustic Wood Settee, Gilt Sunburst Mirror, Planted Urns, Moroccan Lantern create an inviting vignette.

I was a little bit under a spell I think. Are you?

Blue Wire,Chandelier, Limed Gate leg Table, with all of the surrounding garden elements, charming!!

I glanced at my watch and realized I had abandoned my family, who by now was surely worried. I said my goodbyes to Maurice and rushed back to reality.

Pedestal Table with modern vase....great contrast! Loved the small paintings on the shelves.

But I was sad to go. I will have my pictures to remind me to return very soon.


Beautiful hand made beads hanging from bare tree branches. Glass Bowls of botanical matchbooks. Gorgeous mosaic table.


Huge mirrored sconces, metal star lantern and wire sphere.


Lots of succulents, cactus and beautiful garden elements. Great twig table!


More!

This is the Seed Room. Maurice and Michael are continuing to sell vegetable and flower seeds in the footsteps of Charles Ledgerwood who started the company known as "Reliable Seed" in this same location. These are the original seed bins. Click here for the full story!

valentine's day And here is the lovely Maurice. She and her husband Michael design gardens as well. Be sure to check out their website HERE.

Thank you Maurice for the wonderful tour! I will be back soon.

My family was indeed beginning to worry, so I am glad I finally found them in the Mexican Tile shop across the courtyard. It was time for a Pina Colada and Guacamole....and our next adventure.

valentine's day Have a Peaceful Labor Day Weekend!

valentine's day One of my favorite photos from our vacation to San Diego...the Dovecote in the Children's Zoo at the San Diego Zoo.

Happy Long Weekend!

valentine's day Extraordinary: Extraordinary Desserts

Creme Brullee

I just have to ask....is it fair? One does try to keep one's figure, but really.....the battle is already lost as soon as one enters HERE. But then again, who cares, when surrender is so delicious?

Caramelized Chocolate Lava Bun

A friend of mine, who happens to know my penchant for sweets, suggested that I check out a little place by the name of Extraordinary Desserts. I thought, "why not....the kids always like to go to bakeries". We were planning a walk through downtown San Diego anyway to see the changes since I had been there last (did I mention before that Tim and I met on New Year's Eve in downtown San Diego? Anyway, I digress....) After our hike through the city, a little refreshment might be just the ticket.

Lemon Cupcakes

Little did I imagine I would end up looking like the the latest Lotto winner as soon as I entered the door. I have never seen so many and such beautiful desserts in my life....and believe me, I have seen plenty.

Chocolate Strudel

At first we just sat there staring with our jaws hanging open. One enters Extraordinary Desserts to the full view of the pastry cases. You must pass them to get to the seating area. We discovered that there is no "dessert menu". When you are done with your meal, you get up and peruse the cases, and try to narrow down the choices to one. Ahem....our waitress thought we had gone AWOL since we were trying to decide for at least 15 minutes.

Raspberry Linzer Danish

By the way, Extraordinary Desserts does have very tasty salads, sandwiches and paninis, which we did eat as well. Tim kept it light with a hummus and olive plate. I had a delicious smoked salmon sandwich, and my daughter had a grilled cheese panini....all very good!

Coffee Cake and Choclate Chip Cookies

But really, what could upstage these confectionery superstars? Here are just a few more pictures just you can understand why my defenses were overrun.

Flourless Chocolate Cake heaped with Fresh Fruit

Chocolate Covered Truffle Loaf Bundt Cakes and Cream Cheese Brownies

Cakes ready for Take Home

After I realized surrender was really the only option, I relaxed and enjoyed the clean and contemporary surroundings punctuated with an Asian flair. The restaurant had a relaxed feel, but I still felt like I was in a place where I would be pampered.

Extraordinary Desserts Restaurant Interior

Extraordinary Desserts Desserts Case Display

So....are you curious as to what we picked? Tim had huge self control and only ordered the Kiwi Lemonade (made with crushed Kiwi fruit....there were many other flavors as well....yum!).

Tim's Kiwi Lemonade and Hummus Plate

That control seemed to fizzle as soon as my, and my daughter's, desserts were brought to the table. My daughter had the chocolate croissant bread pudding.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

I had the Nectarine Crostata. (I am a sucker for fruit desserts of any kind.) Tim dove across the table like it was his last meal. I literally had to move my plate out of reach before it was completely devoured. My poor daughter had to fend for herself at that point. Nothing comes between me and my dessert.

valentine's day Nectarine Crostata

For more info about the restaurant hop on over HERE and for more about the amazing chef and founder, Karen Krasne, click HERE