Shhhh....

OMG, authentic M Missoni galore @Nordstrom Rack in Palo Alto. Need I say more? Ladies, get 'em while they last! 

Lotsa colors, sizes and style.

Mochi Cream Gems

The new Mochi Cream shop in the Mitsuwa marketplace in San Jose is my new guilty pleasure. Make no mistake, this ain't no Trader Joe's mochi ice cream. Born in Japan, the flavors are to-die-for, true to the prestigious Int'l. Grand Gold Monde Award it received last year. 


These little ice balls come in an array of 24 of the most delicate and unique flavors you can ever imagine, from Double Mango, Rum Raisin, Blueberry Yogurt, Caramel Pudding, Apple Pie, Honey Cranberry, Black Sesame, White Chocolate, and more. Needless to say it was VERY hard to make my selections and I know I'll be back for more!

Don't be fooled by the tiny gem-like mochi creams, I gobbled down a couple and it's quite filling as it's made of mochi, which originates from sticky rice. If you want to read raves on Yelp, check it out here. 



Weekends are obviously crowded and I've seen long lines. I suggest trying a weekday evening after work like I did so you can take your time to make your picks, the last order closes at 7:45 pm Mon.-Sun.


Address:
Mochi Cream - in Mitsuwa Marketplace
675 Saratoga Ave. (off 280 Saratoga exit)

San Jose, CA 95129

(408)255-6699

Chop Chop

It's been a while since I last took a cooking class and I've been hearing some good stuff about the ones at Cavallo Point, a luxury hotel in Sausalito, California. The School is located on the second floor of Cavallo Point's flagship restaurant, Murray Circle.  Seems they have a variety of classes through the months of March - May and it might be worth a visit if you're tired of other classes in the city.

If you're a wine lover, this might be a great pairing for you:

SPRING CHEESES & RELISH

Thursday, March 22 6–8 pm
Join Sheana Davis of The Epicurean Connection to taste Spring cheeses made in California, prepare a selection of Spring relishes and enjoy a glass of Spring Wine. A trio of fresh Sheep and Spring Cow Milk Cheeses will be featured, including fresh made cow milk Ricotta, Sheep Milk Fraiche, North Bay Curds and Whey Luicca, a blend of cow & sheep milk.

• Award winning Delice de la Vallee with Raspberry Rose Petal Jam, served with Brut Rose
• Creme de Fromage with Lemon Zest, served with Sauvignon Blanc
• Spring Apricot & Meyer Lemon Compote, served with Muscat
• Cherry & Violet Relish, served with Champagne and Cherries

$65 / person + tax

Or go globe trotting if you're up for some Peruvian fare:

PERU

Friday, April 12 6–9 pm
Hands-on Class with Bites
A new monthly series featuring the cuisine and conversation from a particular country, ethnic region or city in the world. Imagine an ethnic-themed cocktail party, where each person is responsible for contributing a dish, story, music, photos, etc. of the featured region. Casey and I both recently wandered through Peru, so we'll use Peru to kick off this exciting new series.

• Causa
• Peruvian Ceviche
• Chicharrones (deep fried hunks of pork... YUM) served with a salad of lime, mint and red onion
• Smoked Trout and Potato Salad
• Skewered Beef Heart with Aji Amarillo

$85 / person + tax

For Foodies: Asia in a Box @Palo Alto

Ever crave for fine authentic Asian street food? Hmm... "fine" and "street" usually don't go hand-in-hand but someone's pulled it off well.


Check out the brand new Asian Box that just opened in the heart of Silicon Valley at the Town & Country mall in Palo Alto. Hailing from the Slanted Door in SF, Executive Chef Grace Nguyen has whipped up a great menu that uses sustainably grown and raised ingredients. The system is quite simple: just choose from a variety of items on the menu to construct your own "Box" to go.  

Here's how it works:
1) Choose your starter from a few types of rice, salad, or noodle.
2) Pick your fave main dish from pork, shrimp, tofu,etc.
3) Pick your add-ons (veggies have a choice of wok steamed or wok spiced), add condiment toppers and choose your sauce.


And voilà, you have your own new Box!  
To see the full menu go here.

Address: 855 El Camino Real, #21, Palo Alto, CA (Inside Town & Country Mall)
Open: M-Sat. 11-7, Sun. 11-5


Follow them on @asianbox

Luxury Consignment

Luxury is luxury, vintage or not. Thanks to The Real Real, you now have access to vintage high-end fashion goodies at home, 24/7. It's a free member shopping site for vintage high brand resale.

The unbelievable line-up of their brands are a notch up from Gilt.com and I can't imagine how fun it'd be to be a buyer there. From Hermes to Valentino to Tods, here is the Big Apple's 5th Ave. delivered to your screen, enjoy!

The Hermes Birkin is still available at $11995, a steal? (Site says good condition, judge for yourself!)

WhatTF?

I was thrilled earlier this year when I heard Tom Ford was releasing a private blend lipstick collection! But when I heard it was a limited release sold only at Bergdorf Goodman I was like WhatTF? (Ha, ha, a spin on Tom Ford). I frantically flipped thru my calendar to look for my next upcoming trip to NYC but realized Neiman Marcus now owns Bergdorf . Well it turns out they only carry a few colors and not the whole collection :-(

So a few months ago when I found a 30 min. break during a biz trip in the Big Apple, I hopped in a cab to head to the basement floor of Bergdorf, where all things makeup are so elegantly presented. Victory was had and I tried on 5 different colors, ended up loving "Pink Dusk" and "Blush Nude". Swooping up a total of 4 (some to use as gifts), I made it back to my conference in time. Talk about a shopping spree!! Now my "Pink Dusk" is an everyday fave and I can't express how smooth and luscious this lipstick feels. Not to mention the beautiful white/gold container it comes in. Coming to the West Coast sometime in Nov., these collections can finally be had in select Nordstrom stores too. Which color will you choose?

Standing Up

'Tis the season to start worrying about how to keep your boots "up" this winter as must-have 2010 selections line the retail shoe floor. You know you're bound to get that pair you've had your eyes on cuz it's what a girl's gotta do :-)

I found this clever boot stand online and I must have it! Available only in Asia so I'll have to get this on my future trip.

Halloween is around the corner!

I'm bummed I didn't grab this outfit earlier; it's 11 days till the 10/31 Spooktacular festivites and this outfit is sold out :-( So what's the plan now? Betty Draper of MadMen (ugh, don't have the figure) or focus on an awesome doggie outfit for my pup instead? Or maybe go as the Whitehouse party crasher D.C. Housewife? Check out Yandy.com for some crazy outfits.

The Ultimate Cooking Class!

New York is the focal point of all things "foodie"; at least that's how I feel after enjoying over 3 years of lavish wining and dining in the Big Apple when I lived there. And oooo, how I miss those days where the moment I found a hot new restaurant, I'd be dialing on my phone a month ahead to try to get dinner reservations at these highly coveted locales. How many times was I disappointed to hear the busy tone forever and ever? From Bouley to Per Se, to WD-50, persistence paid off and I was eventually able to get a table, although it was sometimes just at the bar or for lunch. And I've gotta say, every meal was worth the effort!

So what's a foodie's passion these days? I do own a load of cookbooks from various chef's that I've followed but it's sometimes hard to translate the recipes in print and you wish the chef could show you a demo. Well I just came across a fantastic event in October that will allow you to have a hands-on cooking experience with the "Who's Who" of the NY restaurant scene. No kidding, the chef's list has names like Jean-George, Bouley, Morimoto, Portale, etc. It's called the New York Culinary Experience and surely an experience indeed! A 2 day course will get you in the kitchen with fellow amateur chefs and you get to cook with the chef of your choice (total of 4 chefs as classes run in AM and PM with a panel session for lunch.) It does come with a hefty ticket price of $1395 plus tax, but that's probably a total of what I would pay for 4-5 pricey dinners at the restaurants these chefs operate so maybe it's worth it if you get to mingle and have direct access to their techniques. If I can think of a good occasion to "gift" myself, I think this is one item I'd like to sign up for. Check our their website for the 2009 details and to reserve a spot for 2010 if you're the "affluent" kind :-) http://nymag.com/nyce/about.html

Show It Off!

Are your family photos and kiddie artwork piled in a box somewhere? Well it's time to get them out and flaunt them on your walls! I recently came across Streck (http://kidsartdisplay.com/cart/index.php), a beautiful and unique bulletin board-style frame that you can order in 50 different fabrics. The ribbons that stretch will easily re-position along the board and hold your photos or artwork in place. It's soooo easy to use and you can even get personalized name or message cards made to match the frame. I had one created for my friend to match her blog and she just loved it! Sophistication at it's best.

Zazzle Dazzle

I remember the days my mom would take me to local merchants in the area to get our towels embroidered with initials, or have customized mug cups printed with our kiddie pics for granny to have. Well, fast forward 20 years and the online world is full of merchandise customization and I have friends printing their own stamps and ordering customized dolls that look like their kids (a bit scary!).

On a personal note, I recently decided to print some contact cards and used Zazzle.com. I chose them for the variety of reasons: design, cost and speed. I ordered on Sunday evening and had my cards in hand by Tuesday afternoon! But what really caught my eye were the custom shoes you can order http://www.zazzle.com/shoes. How fun would it be if I could get my nephews to wear the shoe of their dreams! They have slip-ons and sneaker-type shoes that allows you to print anything you like. Looks like I'm going to get two huge smiles on their birthdays this year!!

Just Stand Up!

What do I like about http://www.pandora.com (internet radio)? Aside from the fact that you can listen to a variety of music on multiple devices for free, I love their recommendation engine. You can create channels of artists that you like and Pandora will automatically deliver music that's close in style and taste to the artist that you're listening to like "Just Stand Up!", a collaboration by Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, and Fergie that just played on my station.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with their founder last year and his passion to shed light on unknown artists and give them a chance to shine is really at the core of their business model. There are literally more than 50 people in the room listening to CDs and analyzing the beat, tempo, tone, etc., slicing and dicing the music to make sure that they have a great recommendation engine. To combat the hefty unfair music licensing fees charged to them by music labels (it's ridiculously higher than regular radio station fees), they've successfully incorporated rich media ads that attract lots of brands that's helping bring great revenue. Great news as I sure don't want to see Pandora disappear! In addition to being able to purchase the music on Amazon, etc., you can also "gift" stations; just customize your fave artists or songs and package it up and send it by email for your friend. Such a clever way to acquire users.

If you aren't a Pandora user, what are you waiting for? Access and start jamming today!

Winter Luxury: The Ritz Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe

Happy 2010! How did you ring in your New Years? I was fortunate to have an opportunity to join my wonderful friends for a quick trip to Lake Tahoe and had lots of fun in winter wonderland. On our way in, we drove by a new Ritz Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe that just opened a few weeks ago. While our destination was a beautiful lakeside home a few miles ahead, who can resist checking out the Ritz?
This majestic Ritz is a gorgeous property that makes you feel like you've suddenly jetted to a European ski chalet. We checked everything out from the restaurants that were decked with New Years eve celebration ballons, to the ski shop and the spa. Everything is very pristine, with a warm and modern decor, truly fitting for the grandiose Ritz. The hotel is situated mid-mountain on the Northstar-at-Tahoe ski area, and features a ski-in, ski-out access with a great gondola that connects the property to the village area. If you can afford winter luxury in this economy, this is the way to go! It's only about 3 hours+ from San Francisco if you don't hit bad weather.

Foot "Fur" Candy

What's a girl gotta do when you need to trek through some snow all day and don't want to ruin your UGGs? With a sudden trip to Tahoe this week, I realized I hadn't had a snow boot in years! After hitting up about 6 sports shops this week, my sad verdict on snow boots was that I'm never going to find one that's economical, light, warm and of course, waterproof. Gee, can it be that hard??

I saw so many brands from North Face to Alpine, and it was an eye opener to learn that my size was mostly sold out in these stores. Wow, Californians, are you all in ski country this week? I eventually came to the conclusion that great brands are too pricey (duh, how about the UGG tall boot for $240!) and the cheap ones had soles and sides made of plastic you feel like a robot in them! I was dismayed that I'd never find "the one" and I'd end up having to sacrifice my poor light colored UGGs.

But alas, after dragging myself to Sports Authority in pouring rain, I finally met "it"!! A boot on sale for $59.99 and it's called the Kamik Brooklyn boot and the best thing is that it's very light, waterproof and cute. The design is similar to a North Face boot which was about $170. With very comfy fleece lining and a breathable membrane that lines the entire boot to keep it waterproof, this was a big winner!!!! I got one in black and it even came with extra baby pink shoe laces, so cute! You can buy this online at Sports Authority with no shipping fee this week (they only have brown online), but here's a better link that has a good photo of the exact one I got in black.

If you're headed to winter wonderland and need a cute winter boot, be sure to check the Kamik brands out.

My Secret Closet - Boutique On Fifty Seven (NYC)

Before I caught my flight on Friday, I managed a very quick visit to Boutique on Fifty Seven, a small but gorgeous designer brand showroom/sample sale boutique that sits right across from Bergdorf Goodman. This boutique is only open to the public by appointment or during the once a month sale. It boasts a long list of celebrity clientele and helps stock wardrobes for movies and TV, which means great quality + good service. The owner (pictured here) is a gorgeous designer/fashionista herself, Kasia Bosne, who has a degree from the Fashion Institute and caters to savvy fashionistas.

The boutique has brand new items and samples; all about 70% off retail. Brand line-up is truly dazzling and selections are great; from Lacroix, Valentino, Blumarine, Missoni, Pucci, Chanel, Gucci, Chloe to Kasia's original design. She sources everything directly from Europe so there are lots of designs you can't get elsewhere. Kasia helped me sift through tons of gorgeous dresses, tops and coats, and I was bummed that the Chloe short boot I loved was a size 39 and too big for me. It was a steal for $390!

Well, what's a girl to choose in just 30 min. before dashing back to my hotel? The boutique is too damn fun to leave!! In the end I chose a very plush and soft black cardigan/jacket that's Kasia's original design, along with a necklace and earring set for the upcoming holidays. My secret is out, will you visit soon? Be sure to check her website (hyperlinked above) and make an appt. before you go!!

Heavenly Dinner at A Voce New York

I'm back in NYC this week for work, yay! Growing up next door to a vibrant Italian family, I find myself never being able to compromise when it comes to selecting Italian restaurants. Here in NYC, Il Cantinori and the now closed L'Impero were on my go-to list, but last year I discovered A Voce, a contemporary and delish Italian restaurant located near the Flat Iron district on Madison Ave.

Well today I had the honor or dining at their newly opened location in the Time Warner Bldg. with amazing views of Columbus Circle!! My trick in getting last min. reservations at the most popular restaurants: call close to dinner time, make a late reservation (chances are, they've had last min. cancellations) and be prepared to kill some time at the bar. Yes, New Yorkers do go home, so chances are you'll get in like us if you're good to eat at 10 pm (7 pm my time in Calif., perfect!) ** This pic is not from tonight, thus the daytime photo.

Tomorrow evening I'm dining at Alto where the well acclaimed former chef of Fiamma and L'Impero, Michael White will work his magic. Stay tuned!

[My A Voce Dinner]
Wine: Glass of sangiovese, merlot, cabernet sauvignon blend - Le Volte, Omellaia, Tuscany 2006 (Super Tuscany style red wine, very soft and has all the great notes of a cherry, hint of oak, and strawberry. I loved it!)

Pasta: Mezzaluna taleggio filled pasta, butternut squash, brown butter, fried sage (Totally blown away by the delicate size, cheese filling and velvety sauce. I think A Voce has the best pasta dishes in the world.)

Dessert: Fig sorbet (you can order from a variety but I thought this was fitting for the season. The fig flavor is not so strong so this one was a bit disappointing but cleaned my palette very well.)

Shimmer like it's Summer!

I can't believe almost a year has lapsed since my last blog. I give no excuse for my laziness but have tons to share so stay tuned!

This summer I discovered the GlowFusion® Micro-Tech™ Intuitive Active Bronzer at Sephora. I've received so many compliments I just have to share the secret. According to the manufacturer's (Fusion Beauty) write up, it's the first cosmeceutical brush-on glow treatment, engineered with Topical-Injectable™ technology to smooth, firm and protect skin. Featherweight formula sweeps on fresh sun-kissed radiance as it nourishes, softens imperfections and minimized fine line with potent age-inhibitors.

Believe me, this stuff works and my skin feels like it's really glowing! Comes in threee shades to match your skin so don't give up on the summer shine just yet and keep on glowing this winter with GlowFusion.

Cashmere is nice!

Brrrr! It sure has been chilly these days, even in sunny Calif. These are the times I love to soak in nice long baths, and since December is my birthday month, I usually get gifted with things that keep me warm. This year my dear friends teamed up and presented me with a beautiful ivory cashmere robe and I can't tell you how much I've been cherishing this. Surprisingly, it's as warm as fleece without the bulkiness. Yes, it's a splurge but if you're thinking of making someone smile this Christmas, I bet it's an item that's sure to be cherished. Restoration Hardware is having a sale and they carry many colors to meet your taste; be sure to check it out and stay warm (or make someone warm)!!

Saving tips on Christmas Gifts

With the bleak economy these days, aren't you sick of reading depressing stories in the media? But these stories do make you stop and think -- shouldn't I be saving more for my piggy bank? But yikes, 'tis the season to be shopping and the hoidays are right around the corner!! Doesn't look like Santa's been tuning into the news and Rudolph's already on his way out the gate.

Don't fret just yet, I think there are unique ways to cut corners this year and "something different" than the conventional shopping mall gift might make you look creative, and yet not really stingy. I think giving something pricier in a category where one might not spend as much for themselves is the trick. Like a really nice party platter at Crate & Barrel for $50 goes a long way than a $50 gift basket of olive oils, salami and crackers. Here's a really cute food idea from Dean & Deluca if you're looking for a hostess gift or a casual gift. The fine grocery purveyor from NYC really does a nice job in sourcing their stuff and I love their "Let it Snow Cookies" (regular price: $58 --> now for $29.50) or "Santa's Sugar Cookie Work Shop" (regular price: $68 --> now for $34) More ideas to come!

Smooth and Silky!

Surprisingly, '08 has been a year of "change" for me from the get-go. Even before our president-elect became president-elect. But my "change" has been more in the cosmetics category. Rare for me as I tend to stick to a particular brand for years. My recent favorite at the Neiman's counter is the Guerlain Parure Aqua liquid foundation. Comprised of elements like "ocean spring water" this foundation is the lightest I've ever encountered, yet still does the job of a nice "cover up" minus any thickness. It's amazing stuff and I'm pretty speechless. It seems to have mineral ingredients as well, which is probably why it's so nice for your skin. I usually use Bare Escentuals Mineral Powder for daily use and love the stuff, but with parties around the corner and the need to be "covered up" a tad more, the Guerlain Parure Aqua is a gem. I was in a PR meeting today and the PR agency founder mentioned our messaging "needs to be in a concise package that tells the compelling truth"; well put! I feel the Guerlain Parure Aqua really delivers on its promise and is exactly the representation of the quote above. Something many marketers like us fail to deliver, so refreshing!