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.
A European-inspired flower cart bursting with bright blooms smack dab in San Diego’s Little Italy—could there be anything more charming? That’s the idea behind Claudia Cruz’s solo flower operation, La Belle Bloom, located in the pedestrian-friendly ‘hood, where customers become friends and people-watching is a wonderful perk of the job. But Claudia’s also a very in-demand floral designer, creating custom arrangements for special occasions (ahem, Valentine’s Day) as well as weddings. In fact, she designed the flowers for one of the recent weddings I blogged about in my side gig as a blogger for Exquisite Weddings‘ The Bride Suite. Oh, and she makes a killer Frida Kahlo costume, no?
Today she chats about chilaquiles and finding peace in tall buildings…among other things.
Name: Claudia Cruz Age: 23 Neighborhood: University Heights, San Diego Job: Owner/operator of La Belle Bloom
What did you eat for breakfast today?
This morning I ate chilaquiles (fried tortillas with a spicy sauce) with mushrooms and avocado. I’ve recently gotten into waking up early enough to make and enjoy a good breakfast!
What’s the best thing about your job?
Best thing about my job is getting to work and play with flowers all day, it really doesn’t get old. Having friends and regulars come by and have a coffee and a chat. I also love crazy go, go, go days (hello, Valentine’s Day!).
The worst?
Interestingly the thing I like least about my job is being a business owner. You take your work home with you, there is never an OFF button. It’s also scary to never really know what kind of a sales week/month you will have.
How do you tackle a creative block?
The only way I can really tackle a creative block is to walk away from a project. Sleep it off and when you are ready, talk to people because even if they are not in the same creative industry, they have insight to offer.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, M.D. which are true stories by told by a doctor at Bellevue Hospital in New York about patients he has helped or failed to help. I love hearing/reading stories about people’s lives. I am also reading Mexico: The Cookbook by Margarita Carrillo Arronte. There is an entire section dedicated to sauces and salsas!
What’s your favorite spot in San Diego and why?
Anywhere in the city. I get a sense of calm when I am anywhere within the confines of the big buildings, it’s odd to describe. I’ve felt this way since I was in middle school and learned to ride the bus and could go anywhere I wanted! Downtown was always it.
What was the most awesome thing about today?
This is cheesy, but I am so so thankful for the opportunity to be alive. And an even bigger bonus, that I am healthy! Totally and completely priceless.
I’m not usually one for quotes, but after seeing the above one-liner in a card from one of my best friends on Monday and then randomly again on Instagram yesterday, I felt like someone was trying to knock me over the head with its meaning. And man, is the time ripe for it.
I’ve never really had questioning years before. I almost always knew what I wanted. I wanted to go to journalism school; I wanted to study abroad in Australia; I wanted to move to New York; I wanted to work in the TV department at Entertainment Weekly. Hell, for three years I knew I wanted to do an around-the-world trip. Almost every year was an answer realized, which is certainly something to be thankful for.
But now this eternal planner is having a very unplanned last couple of years. The world of freelancing and self-employment is a tenuous thing. Where is your next paycheck coming from? Are you hustling enough? Did you network enough? Life can feel like a perpetual question mark, and I admit, it sometimes gets the best of me. It throws me into a deeper tailspin of questions: Am I doing the right thing? Can I survive with such instability? Will I see the light at the end of the tunnel? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
One friend recommended that I journal my thoughts to make them seem less scattered. Another reminded me that really, all of us are struggling with something. My friend who sent the card didn’t even know about my recent feelings of uncertainty, but she inadvertently woke me up to the realization that I don’t always have to have everything figured out. It’s a daunting thought for someone who likes things so figured-out, but I’m learning to roll with the punches. Succeeding sometimes, failing miserably other times.
Career, relationships, parenthood, what have you—I think this quote is a powerful one that extends wherever you need it. It’s helped me breathe a little more easily this week. Hopefully you find some solace in it, too.
In New York I was inspired by fashion, but in California I’ve been completely enamored with homes—the living rooms, the backyards, the back patios, and even the entryways. From what I’ve seen in these last two years, people take a lot of pride in their living spaces (even when renting!) and use those spaces to reflect a distinct lifestyle, one that brings the outside in with a mix of bright colors, Spanish-style architecture, and inviting layouts.
Here are 6 looks I’m currently crushing on and for more inspiration, come follow me on Pinterest.
When you think San Diego, there’s a good chance that the upscale beach community of La Jolla is what comes to mind. A cobalt coastline, impressive bluffs, well-manicured green space, chi-chi boutiques, and real estate porn as far as the eye can see—this is La Jolla on the surface. There’s also a longstanding seafood hole-in-the-wall, a contemporary art museum, my favorite French toast of all time, and a series of murals dotted throughout La Jolla Village.
For all my picks, check out my Neighborhood Guide in the latest issue of San Diego Magazine.
What a pleasant surprise to wake up Monday morning and see that our apartment was featured on Apartment Therapy! My friends Jenny and Becca of Found Creative Studio had come over last month right before my family visited—so the apartment would be in the best possible shape—and snapped a bunch of photos for us. Now looking at this post, it’s so satisfying to share the progress we’ve made in two years. As one reader so flatly commented on Apartment Therapy, it looks like a “first apartment,” and I’m OK with that. It’s the first time we’ve cared about, curated, and collected pieces that are important to us, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.
And the timing couldn’t have been better. Seeing our wee abode on a site I love so much was a treat during an otherwise weird, anxious, bummed-out spell I’m currently experiencing. I blame Mercury retrograde! (If you seem extra loopy, incoherent, irritable, and altogether lost, blame the planet of Mercury, which is in retrograde starting today until February 11.) Why bring this up? So you know that even though these pictures make everything look perfect, rest assured that things are not always perfect, a disclaimer that I think most bloggers don’t say enough. (For instance, we cleaned for nearly a whole day to get our apartment to look this clean.)
Astrological mood shifts aside, you can read the full feature on Apartment Therapy. Plus, I’ve got more photos after the jump:
