Friday, February 26, 2010

Paris by car

Who needs to go fly all the way to Laduree to have a taste of good ole Paris when there is Bottega Louie in downtown Los Angeles?

You must have heard of this place already but I don't know where I've been because I just heard about it the other day and I needed to check it out asap!

So after our family visit to MOCA (museum of contemporary art) we decided to go and check it out.

The place is huge! 10,000 square feet in all! With super high ceiling!
It has a small market, Patisserie and restaurant.


image source
It was awesome, we had dinner there and these are what we ordered.

Pork chops with apple sauce
Fettucine alfredo
Bianca pizza (2)
Pepperoni pizza
Portobello mushroom fries (2 orders)
Calamari

Let me just say that the Portobello mushroom fries is to die for that I still have dreams about it! And the Bianca pizza as well. All the rest were not as good so don't even bother to get those. The pizza dough is hand tossed and you can watch them while they make it.


And of course, for the best part!!!
Do you think I would leave the place and not go home with my long time obsession that is---French Macarons!?!

Yes, my pretties they do have this little divine thingies! And they are awesome!
Exactly what I thought they would be. Only they are way too small and way too expensive! But you know it's worth every penny if it would make you jump up and down with glee!

So I bought a dozen macarons, 2 of each flavor

Strawberry
Coconut
mint
orange
lemon
Chocolate

and one
lemon cupcake and
chocolate cupcake

My favorite was the mint and coconut. The coconut was also thicker than the rest.
Don't get the cupcakes, they are very small and very dry but the frosting is divine. The packaging also is super pretty.

One mini cupcake- $2.50
and
the macarons cost $21 a box or $1.97 for one piece.
Not bad but if you compare it with the ones you can get from Trader Joe's which is 40cents a piece then it just sounds crazy.

But... I still love it and I know you would so go there now and let me know what you think okay? I would love to hear your thoughts about it!

Oh I know these awesome pictures will make you drop everything and run over there now!


image source

They looked so huge here but we were quite disappointed to see how tiny they were!






And look at this Laduree macaron replica from the infamous Marie Antoinette film?
I think this costs $8 each.


I love these coconut macarons!

Oh and the box is just beautiful! I got a green one and it's just as pretty. No bows though. I should have asked, I deserve a dose of pretty.

Their packaging is truly awesome, from the little details like these super tiny stickers with their logo on it and their tissue paper amongst other things. I appeciate that this company is into details like these. It's just awesome!
The only thing I didn't like was that it's sooo loud. You can barely hear the person you're talking to because the place sounded like a market due to the high ceilings. It sounded like everyone was talking on a megaphone! It was crazy. The place looked so romantic but It didn't FEEL romantic.






Here are some more photos I took at home. My son loved it so much he kept going through the box and getting them!





caught red handed!
Look at how he is looking at me. Of course, I had to give in. His happiness is more important than mine.
I love my new fisheye lens! Isn't it cool? It made my dslr work like a toy camera!

Did you like this post? Hah, all the macaron love. I wonder when I will ever get over this long time obsession.
Have a happy weekend!

coming later...




Paris by car...
You won't be disappointed... And I am enjoying these new fisheye lens!.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Your happy place

I made a new blog about favorite places of amazing bloggers and artists.

Please check out the blog here

favorite space of Wonder Thunder

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Bows on my mind

I am obsessed with bows! And when I see pictures with anything that has bows, my knees weakens.

















So pretty! Have a wonderful day my pretties!

Every girl is Alice ..in some way.

I have been obsessed with Alice in Wonderland since I was a little girl. When I was growing up in the Philippines, my dad would give me a ton of videos to watch and one of them happened to be the 1985 tv version of Alice. I played it again and again and again.
I never got tired of it even though I had memorized every scene.

It became my escape when everything in my family was falling apart. I had imagined that I was Alice many times, falling into the rabbit hole, getting lost in a wonderland and that when I finally go back to the real world, everything would be better than how I have left it.

Alice kept me sane. That was why this whole thing is so special to me. It was a little secret that no one knew about but I held it so dear in my heart.
And now Alice shines a different light in my life, my dad is now long gone and she serves as a reminder of him. Odd, I know but that's how it is. Alice will always hold a special place in my heart. For many she is nothing but a trend, a trend that might fade away after all the hype dies down but for me she is a part of who I am and I may grow old and my hair may all turn gray but there would always be a part of me that will never grow old and that little girl will always have Alice in her heart .




So, you must imagine how excited I am for the Tim Burton film. I don't care if it makes or breaks Alice, I am just excited to see how the wonderland looks like through Tim Burton's eyes.


It may be too wacky but it's okay. It's a wonderland, anyway.




What a melancholic post on a beautiful Tuesday morning.
I hope you don't mind. Some days, I am this way.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Things I love...lately.

Things I love that make me happy.



High tea


Pretty dresses

found here


Laduree pastries

found here


Pretty cups

found here

This pretty building

found here

EAT ME cupcakes



tea time in the forest




old typewriters, I miss those things!

found here


Have a happy week!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Bunny love

Obsessed with bunnies!
Maybe because of my long time obsession over Alice in Wonderland?
I just can't wait for the movie to come out! Are you excited too?


found here


found here


found here


found here


found here

me