My wonderful dentist, Gwen, commissioned a wine-themed wedding cake for her very intimate reception at her sprawling custom-built, Tuscan-inspired estate in Tustin Hills. She and her fiancé, Dave, are wine enthusiasts, they have a climate-controlled wine cellar in the bottom level of their house, as well as a champage room, and even a grape-crusher and wine bottling machine!
Instead of one large cake, we did individual cakes for each table, with different wines commemorating events in their life...the Dom Perignon bottle was popped when Dave proposed, the Veuve Cliquot marked the completion of the house, etc...can you tell they like wine?
Each wine bottle was copied exactly as the original, and the cake "boxes" were different flavors of cake and matched the logos on the wine bottles.
BIG NEWS in the Hapa household: No baby, no engagement ring, but I did get an ICE CREAM MAKER!!! And when you think about the years of pleasure I'll get, it's pretty darn good.
Recently, I went on a walk I had been meaning to do since I moved to Cardiff. I visited the Self-Realization Fellowship -- a non-denominational meditation center, affectionately known as Swami's to the surfers and local community. I read about their meditation garden, which sounded like a nice walk. And indeed it was. Here are a few photos.
I get a lot of email forwards from friends; I often even enjoy them (especially if work is boring that day). However, there are some best practices which I wish people would follow to make email forwards more enjoyable or at least tolerable. Here are mine; feel free to add your own.
- Remove all headers, signatures and email addresses from the forward. Spammers collect that information, and that's often how we get on spam lists - making us all more targeted for viruses.
- Remove the FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW: from the subject line. One FW: is plenty.
- Don't look dumb and spread rumors and myths. Check the validity of your email on Snopes.
- You will never get money, or some cool thing to pop up on your screen, or save lives... by forwarding an email. And you will not lower gas prices, either. You can, however, annoy your friends and put them and yourself on spam lists. When in doubt, see #3.
- If your email is going to get me in trouble at work, label it with "NSFW". The last thing I want is my boss staring over my shoulder at some naked dude.
- Unless you already know I agree with your politics, don't send me something political. If you really want to express your political opinions, talk to me or start a blog.
Thanks.
I've recently become a convert to frozen yogurt. I never liked it before, because it always just seemed like a cheap imitation of ice cream. I'm not a "light" kind of person. And definitely not a "lite" person. Give me a taste of the real thing, rather than a wheelbarrow full of the second-rate stuff, I say.
However, after having been introduced to Yogurtworld by Miso, I found a frozen yogurt that actually tastes like.... yogurt. I like it. As soon as I was around a Pinkberry, I had to try it, just because I was intrigued by their business strategy (enticing customers to eat $5 yogurt so they can sit in a $400 Ghost chair). And a couple weeks ago, a Red Mango opened in my neighborhood so I tried it this weekend to compare. So, dear readers, treat yourself to my yogurt showdown!
Ambience
Pinkberry: better
Red Mango: good
Yogurtworld: better
Pinkberry definitely has a cool thing going on, with killer branding and those oh-so-chic Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs and mod tables. Like most trends, though, after you've seen your millionth Ghost chair, it's not that remarkable. I still think it's a beautfiul chair, but the effect is somewhat dampened when the table has sticky circles of melted Pinkberry* on it.
Red Mango is a sad little copycat of Pinkberry. Even the name. It just makes you feel sorry for it. Sigh.
The Yogurtworld brand is a much more divisive brand. Luxury it is not. Funky, though, and I love it. The store is full of signs touting the amazing health qualities of yogurt, such as: "Improve lactose intolerance", "Prevent acne", and "Promote fresh breath." They also explain why Yogurtworld yogurt is superior to its competitors: "Taste, smell, body, color, finish, texture, our horoscope and lucky numbers, scientific research and lucky numbers."
My sense of humor may be a little "off", but I find Yogurtworld quite endearing.
Variety of Toppings
Pinkberry: good
Red Mango: better
Yogurtworld: best
Yogurtworld is a clear winner in this category. They probably have over 30 different kinds of toppings, including the regular faves as well as fun stuff like Cap'n Crunch cereal and more exotic toppings like lychee and mochi. My usual combination is non-pareils and mochi, and sometimes mini reese's cups. Oh yeah.
Variety of Flavors
Pinkberry: good
Red Mango: better
Yogurtworld: best
Yogurtworld is completely self-serve, with probably around 20 flavors. Red Mango has a decent selection for a regular yogurt place but can't compare to the world of yogurt. Pinkberry is downright disappointing with 2 flavors - original and green tea. Boooooring.
Taste
Pinkberry: good
Red Mango: best
Yogurtworld: better
*Pinkberry cannot actually call itself a frozen yogurt store because... it's not even yogurt! It's fake stuff. Throughout the store they have to say things like, "Would you like a small Pinkberry or a large Pinkberry?" Which annoys me almost as much as Starbucks' "tall, grande, venti" categories which I still refuse to say. Red Mango tastes the most like real yogurt - tart and tangy. Like I said, if you want something that tastes like ice cream, just go eat ice cream.
Quality of Ingredients
Pinkberry: good
Red Mango: best
Yogurtworld: better
Red Mango's toppings and yogurt ingredients look pretty pristine. All natural, no preservatives. Yogurtworld looks good too, although being self-serve their toppings are sometimes spilled all over the place. The yogurt at Red Mango tastes just slightly better than Yogurtworld.
And the winner is...
Yogurtworld, by a nose! The price and choice of flavors and toppings can't be beat. But, Red Mango is within walking distance, so it's a good option for those late night cravings.
What question do you hate being asked?
"What are you?"
I'm Hapa (duh) - Vietnamese, Chinese, Irish and French. My ethnicity isn't totally obvious just by looking at me. I actually really like answering questions about my ethnicity, but the question should be "What ethnicity are you?" Or "what's your ethnic/racial background?"
"What are you?" just sounds like you're classifying a breed or something. I'm a lot of things. I'm a woman, I'm young (sorta), I'm a marketer, I'm a blogger....
Some time ago, I wrote a post about blood diamonds. Today I came across an interview with the new DeBeers CEO in the WSJ, and I thought it only fair I post a link. Good news: the wave of negative publicity (from the movie, Blood Diamond, and numerous other articles, protests, etc.) has acutally changed the way they do business.
DeBeer's diamonds are now 100% conflict-free. They no longer control the supply and competition, and they only capture 40% of the market today, as compared to 80 - 90% before. They follow the Kimberly Process for certifying conflict-free diamonds. These changes have occurred over the last 6-7 years, according to the article.
I'm not convinced that DeBeer's is a perfectly ethical company, by any means. But I think this amounts to a huge steps in the right direction. The Kimberly Process is really important, but it does need more teeth. It's essentially self-monitoring, whereas it should be monitored by impartial 3rd parties.
Welcome to the little world of Sweet Gems Cakes!
I am a young cake studio, located in beautiful Huntington Beach, California, and I specialize in all matters of cake design, from simple weddings to elaborate carved sculptures. There is so much happening in my work, and this is a chance for my loved ones to keep tabs on me, and see all the cool things I get to make (as I never get to see them because I work all the time). So please, enjoy the photos and my pathetic attempts at humor...
Yes, I really do!
Here's another quickie........
Hey everyone, happy 4th!
Today I received an email for "Subscriptions for Soldiers" from magazines.com, soliciting $10 donations, which would provide a soldier with a free year-long magazine subscription. I thought it was a pretty good idea, so I did it. I thought some of my neighbors might like to as well.
I'm against the war, but I know these guys go through a lot. And they could probably use a little slice of home in the form of their favorite magazine.
