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Librae Bakery

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Yesterday, on the most beautiful day of 2026 thus far, I made my way to Librae Bakery down in the East Village. Spring perfect weather, everyone in a good mood, topped with the perfect pastry = my cup of tea! I first heard of Librae Bakery in the Fall when I did the Bakery Half Marathon — and it was one of my top finds. But I had never been there until this week! And it is a MUST GO TO if in the city.

 

The store is so cute and has tables to sit inside. They have a variety of sweet and savory pastries, as well a handful of sandwiches (they look to die for — they are made to order, but I saw some people eating it and they all looked fabulous). I loved everything in the store, but especially this croissant disco ball. Can I have this for my apartment? (I also loved their sweatshirts with croissants on them — but I was focused on finding the perfect pastry to eat).

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Birley Bakery

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My new all-time favorite bakery in the neighborhood is Birley Bakery. Everything about it is perfection. The downstairs is a little bakery — and the upstairs a tiny restaurant / cafe. Everything they sell is beyond delicious. For example, I don’t like almond croissants, but at least three times a week, I stop by and get an almond croissant. WHO KNEW? THEY ARE THAT GOOD.

 

Located on 69th between 5th and Madison — this bakery has the yummiest croissants, cookies, Madelines, cakes, bread, baguettes, everything.

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Two LA Sandwich Shops

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Before our trip, my brother and I decided that we wanted to try some of the best sandwich shops in town. So I did a lot of research — both on the types of sandwiches and the proximity to Culver City — and we made our picks. AND THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT. So delicious — if you are going to LA, you must go to both of these shops!

 

The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills

 

An institution famous amongst tourists and locals. A restaurant and high end grocery store and cheese store.

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Pasta Party

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The past three weeks I have been taking cooking classes with some friends — it has been a highlight of the week. Fun, tasty, and a great way to break up the week. On that certain day, we decided to do a late afternoon class and include our daughters and make it a pasta party. It was a great night.

 

Flowers to have for the party! If I don’t have time to go down to the flower market, I like to get my flowers at Trader Joe’s — cheap, good quality, and great selection.

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Cinnamon Roll Crawl

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(Sorry for the silence last week — I fainted last weekend, hurt my head, and was dealing with that for most of the week. I rested a lot, and tried to not be on screens — hence my absence. But I am back!) For whatever reason, I decided that this weekend, I needed to do a self-guided Cinnamon Roll Crawl. I spent a lot of time (once my headaches disappeared) researching the best cinnamon rolls in the city and my plan to do it.

 

For whatever reason, I decided that the best way to get there was to RUN! So I ran along the West Side Highway to get downtown (because of course, the best bakeries are downtown).

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NYC Bakery Run 2025

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This past Sunday, I ran the first ever NYC Bakery Run. A half-marathon with 8 bakeries. Yep, the route covered 8 different bakery stops. All were incredible — and it was such a fun and different day! Thank you, Tipster, for putting together such a fun, successful and unique day!

 

The run was put together by Tipster. Tipster is a website and journal that is in the know of everything cool, hip, and new. This was their first issue in NY (It is based in Copenhagen) and it covered all the best bakeries. So it made sense that their big NYC start was a half marathon with 8 of these bakeries listed. We went to all of the ones listed above minus Apollo Bagel and Win Son Bakery.

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Trader Joe’s Fall Haul 2025

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OK, call me a basic PSL lover (I actually don’t love pumpkin spice lattes, but I LOOOOOVE anything pumpkin), but when I went to Trader Joe’s recently, I was so excited by all the Fall goodies. So of course, need to share with you my haul (and yes, I am like my 13 year old daughter who loves to share hauls). And I am so happy (so happy that I have been back twice in one week to get more of some of these items).

 

So good so delicious. Can’t stop eating these.

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Yaks on the 5

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Last week, we dropped of my son, Cruz, at his boarding school in Ojai, California. Per his request, he asked to drive down from Oregon. He had never been on a “road trip” before so we crammed 14 hours of driving in two days. One of the highlights of the drive was asking chatGPT to find the best spot for lunch in between Eugene and San Francisco. And sure enough, it found a winner (thank you, AI!) We had a truly enjoyable lunch, right off the 5 (Interstate 5) — Yaks on the 5.

 

The drive.

Thank you, Ken for driving! I made a basket. 🙂

We made it to California!

And finally to Yaks on the 5 — a burger place! The line was manageable and we were able to eat outside, so win win all around.

Cruzzie and his burger.

Ken had a pastrami sandwich.

All of it so delicious.

Toosh and the burger, too.

 

I had a salad with wings and ribs on it (picture didn’t turn out) and they were the best ribs I have. ever. ever. ever. eaten. So highly suggest Yaks on the 5 if you happen to be in that neck of the woods, and also suggest chatGPT for recommending such a great spot!

Holbox + California Science Center

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Apparently all I do is eat, but when in Los Angeles last week, every activity was planned around where we would eat. My (extremely cute) 90 year old uncle is so adventureous and doesn’t just sit at home — quite the contrary, he is out and about all the time, in touch with the best restaurants and exhibitions, etc….So he suggested going to the ONLY MEXICAN RESTAURANT with a MICHELIN STAR (Holbox) which was right next to the California Science Center — and we jumped on both.  We LOVE science museums (interactive, fun, interesting) and we love Mexican food — so win win win!

First of all, this cliche view never gets old. But I loved it on this particular night because you could see a sliver of the moon — nothing makes me happier than pretty skies.

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George’s

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It has been a minute since I posted — not because I didn’t want to or because I didn’t try, but because I was having issues with the website and uploading images. All that to say, sorry! And I am back! And with so much content! In the past two weeks I have spent time in San Francisco area, Oregon, Los Angeles, and back to Oregon — and I have found some incredible things to share! So stay tuned and report back to the blog! In the meantime, I wanted to first share with you an incredibly tasty donut shop in San Francisco. So good that if you are anywhere in the area, you will want to go to George’s. They don’t just sell donuts, but also cocktails, champagne, and meals too. But we went for the donuts.

 

So cute — love George’s donuts and merriment.

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Mango Sorbet

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I might as well make this a baking blog now because that is all I have been wanting to post about recently! HA! I am the worst cook, but I love baking and experimenting in the kitchen. Recently, we made mango sorbet AND mango ice cream in a bake off — and hands down, the winner was the mango sorbet.  So if you feel like making something SUPER easy, delicious, and refreshing, make this!

 

First, you peel the mangos (make sure they are good ones — it makes all the difference). Then, you blend them with water, a little sugar, some lime juice, and THAT IS IT!

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Chez Panisse Blueberry Cobbler

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Love nothing more than picking fresh fruit in the summer! So this past week, went to one of the many blueberry farms in the area and picked 6.5 pounds of blueberries! Since we always keep 1/3 fresh to eat, 1/3 freeze for future use, and bake something with the remaining 1/3, I went down the rabbit hole of what the best recipe would be to use with these delicious blueberries. Thankfully, found NYTimes recipe on Chez Panisse Blueberry Cobbler and knew that it was a winner. Sure enough, this dessert is incredible and easy to make (double win)

 

Blueberry picking! Literally half go in my mouth, the other half in the bucket.

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Caffe Panna

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Nothing beats a scoop of ice cream on a hot day. Actually, even on a cool day, a scoop of GOOD ice cream makes everything better. Last week, I was introduced to Caffe Panna, an ice cream shop located on 19th and Irving, started by Hallie Meyer (the daughter of Danny Meyer, famous and fabulous restauranteur). I was super excited to try this ice cream, and it EXCEEDED my expectations. It was so so so delicious, and I want to go back and try multiple different flavors. And yes, I am lactose intolerant, and ice cream hurts my stomach, but this ice cream was worth it, trust me.

 

How cute is the store front? It Is just a window where you order and receive the ice cream.

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Steve’s Key Lime Pie

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I have a lot of favorite desserts, but one of my TOP favorite desserts is key lime pie. And now just any key lime pie, but Steve’s Key Lime Pie. Steve’s pies are sold at dozens of stores in Manhattan, but if you want the freshest, then you have to travel to Red Hook in Brooklyn to his store. Yep, 30 minute drive — but oh so worth it. Especially on a beautiful sunny day, nothing beats eating Steve’s Key Lime Pie with the water view.

 

We used to come out to Red Hook every weekend to grocery shop, walk around, and feel like we lived in the burbs. Now, it is a fun adventure to go just to look out at the water and eat pie.

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Doughy

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As many of you know, one of my favorite pastimes is to browse gourmet grocery stores. Yes, I know, weird, but nothing is as calming and fun than being in a great grocery store! So it is no surprise that on one of my recent trips to a great grocery, I came across, Doughy. Doughy is a healthy cookie dough company, where you can eat the dough raw, or bake it like a normal cookie. This dough is vegan, gluten free, grain free, low in calories and sugar, and made only with 7 ingredients. WAAAAAAYYYY healthier than eating Pillsbury cookie dough (which I often do) and also, way tastier.

 

I fell in love with this company that I needed more than the little tub I got at the grocery, and went straight online, to their website and purchased a case of 3. I have yet to try all of them, but knowing that I finished a mini tub on my own, I have complete faith that I will be able to eat all this before summer time.

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Two New NYC Restaurants

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This past weekend, we wined and dined in some new restaurants — both of them we loved and would return in a minute. Therefore, needed to tell you all, as both are special and must visits.

 

Cafe Louis Vuitton

 

Located on the 4th floor of Louis Vuitton’s NYC flagship, this cafe is a gorgeous location to have a special meal.

 

Tusia did her hair and looked gorgeous for our mother-daughter Good Friday (aka no school) date.

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Juice Press Sprouted Almonds

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OK, I didn’t believe it at first — but there is NOTHING like these almonds. Nothing. Sorry, I wish you could find “sprouted raw almonds” that tasted just like this from somewhere else, but nope, not possible. Only from Juice Press.

 

These almonds. Worth the hype. I didn’t want to believe it. But they are this good. Trust me. You can buy them at Juice Press (which btw, ships nationally!)

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Green Goddess Salad

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My daughter does not eat salad. Like ever. Never have I ever seen her eat a salad before. And yet, somehow, she not only devoured this entire salad at a friend’s friend’s house (yes, friend of a friend), but demanded that I get the recipe and make it for her. So when that happens, you FOLLOW THROUGH. Thank you, Dana, for giving me a new salad to feed my child and finally saying she eats salads! Ok, so this salad is from Baked by Melissa (who knew she did anything other than cupcakes?) — and trust me, make it. Your non-salad-eating-child will change their mind. It is basically a lot of healthy, nutritious, delicious greens all in one — dressing and the salad itself.

 

Ingredients:

 

GREEENNNNNN

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Thai Diner

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Always on a hunt for an adventure and a new restaurant, I read about Thai Diner and knew it was somewhere I needed to try. So I dragged the family there this past weekend — and loved every minute. HIGHLY recommend if you are in the city! Or if you come to visit — loved it. A mixture of diner food and Thai food — lots of flavor, spice, and deliciousness. It opens at 10 am, we got there at 11:45 am and had a 45 minute wait, but. we roamed the streets of Soho, so didn’t feel like a wait. There was a line around the block for 2 hours when we left. 2 HOURS!!!!

 

Located in Nolita on Mott street — across the street from my favorite (but no longer there) retail store, Warm, RIP). Easy to get to from our place on the subway.

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Pop Up Bagels

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One of Tusia’s best friends brought over THE BEST BAGELS AND BUTTER I have ever tasted. Currently all the rage, Pop Up Bagels, is rumored to be one of the best (if not the best) bagel in NYC at this time.

 

They have a lot of locations in the tristate area — 3 in the city (UWS, UES, downtown) — Westchester, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Every time I have walked by, the lines have been out the door. So when our bestie stopped by with bagels and butter for us, it was a win win HAPPY day!

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Paris Biggest Croissants

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The morning of Tusia’s birthday, we went on a hunt for the biggest Pain Au Chocolate / Croissant in the city. I had done some research and found that it was 1.5 miles from the apartment. So, that is what we did. We walked, we looked, and we HUNTED for the croissant. Thankfully, our scavenger hunt worked out, and we got it. It surpassed our expectations and highly recommend everyone do this on their next Parisian Adventure. The croissant is from Philippe Continci and it was not just beautiful to look at it, but incredibly delicious. We kept asking how something THIS big, could be so flaky, light and tasty. 10/10 recommend.

 

Croissants.

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From Lucie

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I love cakes — both eating them and admiring them. This past weekend, I needed some cakes, and instead of going with an old reliable basic one, I decided to find a new and different one. And I am SOOOO happy that I did! I found “From Lucie” located in the East Village — and they were exactly what I wanted — delicious and beautiful.

 

Fresh flowers.

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House of Joy – Dim Sum

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After our excursion downtown to Mercer Labs, we went to Chinatown for dim sum lunch. Through a friend I met on vacation (an Australian Chinese woman), we went to House of Joy. This was truly a cultural experience — very authentic — and I loved every minute of it.

 

Girls outside the restaurant. I love Chinatown, it has such character, flair, and high energy.

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