January was a really off month for me. I had a lot of anxiety about work, my finances, and life. Oh, and I also scratched our car, thanks in part to Mercury Freaking Retrograde. Though you might not have been able to tell via this blog or Instagram, the struggle was real. I may or may not have have ordered Domino’s Pizza and nearly cried to my girlfriends about it. But that’s why this blog is so therapeutic for me; it reminds me to focus on all the things I have to be thankful for.
Here are the five best things I saw, ate, and did last month…
1. Being featured on Apartment Therapy. I’ll be honest, I’ve always, always, always wanted to be featured on this shelter site. Just as cool was seeing how excited my friends were for me. I felt so loved!
For jewelry designer Michelle Watson, it all started at Cirque du Soleil. More specifically, it started backstage, where she worked behind the scenes in props and wardrobe at the famed Canadian circus company. It was there that the performers kept asking Michelle where she got her self-made jewelry, and the idea for an official jewelry line came to life.
She launched Mimi & Lu—a combination of her name, her husband’s name (Michael) and her dog Lucca’s name—in San Diego in 2007 and has since been featured in People magazine, Exquisite Weddings, and other publications. Her line of delicate, handmade pieces includes charm necklaces, cuffs, dangly earrings, and rings. (The Esther ring is my absolute favorite!)
Today Michelle talks about her love/hate work relationship and being a city girl at heart…among other things. Plus, read a head for a giveaway and special discount for My SoCal’d Life readers!
As far as healthy lunch and snack takeout options, San Diego’s downtown was sorely lacking. Actually, the options seemed downright abysmal. In the few months I worked at San Diego Magazine last spring (filling in for an editor on maternity leave), I was always at a loss for those times I didn’t pack a lunch. Do I try the overpriced salads or bear with something heavy like Pad Thai? There weren’t any sandwich places that checked the healthy and tasty boxes, and Jimbo’s seemed like too far of a walk. What’s a hungry worker bee to do?
Thankfully a few months ago the East Village welcomed Sol Cal Cafe, a vegan market and cafe with an in-house naturopathic doctor. (You know you live in Southern California when…this combo doesn’t faze you at all.) The brainchild of an integrative nutritionist and a former NFL player, the cafe serves juices, smoothies, acai bowls, blended coffee drinks, food, and cookies. Yes, the prices can seem steep—$9 smoothies and $11 salads—but keep in mind the quality of ingredients. Everything on the menu is concocted in-house and made with organic, local, GMO-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and unrefined ingredients.
I loved the lettuce tacos for a light meal, the kale salad is quite sizable, and more than a few of my friends recommend the quinoa chili. And I’ll be back to the glossy case of macarons, almond cookies, and raspberry crumble bars. Check it out:
There are so many coffee shops cropping up in San Diego. Heartwork Coffee Bar is new to the Mission Hills neighborhood and serves local roasts by Dark Horse and James Coffee Co. Double snaps for vegan donuts by Papa G’s. The one above is a French toast flavor.
