pumpkin carving

This is the first Halloween I’ve actually carved a pumpkin. I never got into it and I always thought it was like rocket science. Over the weekend, my sister and I went to Tahoe Scotty’s Pumpkin Patch. In my stuck up opinion, it’s really not a pumpkin patch but a “pumpkin stand.” I wanted to go to Tanaka Farms in Irvine (where it’s a real pumpkin patch) but the big bro has been busy.


I super excited to carve the face 🙂 I kept picking stuff that resembled my face lol

I was in love with the small pumpkins. I didn’t even want to carve the one my sister bought me but she insisted.

These looked so beat up! 😦

The middle of the “patch”

The two pumpkins we picked out. I begged my sister for a small one and she caved! Woot! 🙂

Big sis doing the dirty work…haha in my defense, I toasted pumpkin seeds for her afterwards

The face I carved. I was so proud

It looks awesome! Something about the eyebrows makes me laugh.

The face my sister carved.

The bigger stencils wouldn’t fit on the small pumpkin so I drew on a face with a sharpie. Again, it resembles my face! 🙂 I usually have that look on my face when I’m talking to people. Thanks for reading!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Amara Chocolate & Coffee (Pasadena, CA)

I got my chocolate fix on at Amara. It’s a cute little coffee shop in Oldtown Pasadena.

They’re famous for their coffee, hot chocolate, and churros.

This is the 12 piece cinnamon sugar churros with two dipping sauces. My sister and I got the milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

This is part of their breakfast menu. I think it’s called a arepa? Something like that. It had eggs, bacon, and smoked gouda. I didn’t like the taste of the outside because it was flavorless. All I could taste was the bacon. The eggs weren’t seasoned very well and the smoked gouda had no distinct taste. I LOVE smoked gouda so I’m not sure what kind of cheese was used.

This is called the Raymond. It’s venezuelan hot chocolate with salted caramel marshmallows. It was SO GOOD! 🙂 It’s definitely rich so I was glad I got the small. It’s not too sweet just very rich.

This was the cute flower they had on the table

My sister ordered spicy Aztec coffee. The cup and plate are so adorable! I might have to get a set of these!

Cinnamon sugar churro dipped in dark chocolate. These aren’t like the churros you buy at the fair. These are very crispy on the outside and are best when warm.

I carved a pumpkin! 🙂 I’ll have more pictures soon. It was my first pumpkin carving and I think overall it went very well. Thanks for reading!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Sinfully Sweet Apple Co (La Verne, CA)

My favorite red caramel apple with yellow flakes! 🙂 This is a caramel apple heaven for anyone. My sister sort of went crazy in this store.

The regular size caramel apples! So many choices 🙂

Caramel apple with chocolate and pistachios

The mini caramel apples! Again, so many choices!

The peanut and regular caramel in mini form.

Regular size camp fire caramel apple. It’s delicious!

My favorite apples with nuts! 🙂

This store is kind of like a hole in a wall kind of spot. It’s my caramel apple haven. The customer service is excellent! I got two red caramel w/yellow flakes for free 🙂 My sister and I bought some apples for our grandmother and she loved both. The woman who helped us was amazing. Great customer service is hard to come by. She was so sweet to us. That only means I’ll have to make more trips to La Verne! 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

I Like Pie Bake Shop (Claremont, CA)

Since it’s fall, I’ve been craving good pumpkin pie and apple cider. The cider has been a bit hard to find but the pie is definitely not. The pies at I Like Pie Bake Shop are the business. Their traditional pumpkin pie is my favorite! 🙂

This is their pumpkin pie. It’s so cute with the pumpkin cut out.

This is the holiday pear pie. It has pear, apple, and cranberry I believe. The crust is delicious and it’s not too sweet. They also garnish it with orange zest which gives it a nice citrusy taste.

The pie bag they packaged everything in 🙂

This is a picture of the glazed apple, cherry chess, and lemon buttermilk. My sister and I sampled the lemon buttermilk and it’s delicious! The glazed apple is an employee favorite but I haven’t tried it yet.

This is the traditional butter pecan pie. Holy cow! It’s so good but after a few bites I thought I might get diabetes. These are mini pies mind you.

The caramel apple crunch pie is also very sweet. I made the mistake of trying it last and I almost choked because of all the sweets.

The holiday pear pies on the counter.

The savory pies! 🙂 They have both sweet and savory ones which is great.

More sweet pies that didn’t sound as appetizing.

The caramel apple crunch pies on the counter.

The best pumpkin pie ever! I’m totally biased though because I haven’t tried the pumpkin pie from Julian’s Pie Company.

Choices! So many choices! I felt like I died and went to pie heaven. Is there such a place?

The pumpkin pecan cream cheese pie. The crust on this one was the best! However, the cream cheese was a bit overwhelming. I’ll stick with the traditional pumpkin.

All the pies we bought were 4.50 each with the except of the pumpkin pecan cream cheese one. That one was bigger and priced at 6.50. The prices are definitely a little steep but it’s damn good quality pie. I know Marie Calendar’s definitely does not make pumpkin pie like I Like Pie Bake Shop. I love the hole in a wall cute places and this is one of those places. The decor was very cute and modern. I’ll have to come back to try the savory pies! 🙂 The mini pies are so cute! It inspires me to try and make them on my own. My adventures about the Sinfully Sweet Apple Co next!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Julienne Gourmet Market (San Marino, CA)

Julienne’s is ah-mazing! I made a trip today right after work because it’s five minutes away. Their sandwiches are delicious. Of course, I had to splurge once I saw what was inside. I was like a kid in a candy store.

This is the lamb sandwich, jalapeno aioli, and chocolate pudding that I got. I haven’t tried the aioli or sandwich yet but the chocolate pudding is divine. It taste like mousee. It’s light but still very chocolatey which is perfect for my palate.

The sandwich made another appearance! 🙂 I also got chocolate chip cookies and kahlua pecans. I haven’t tried the cookies yet but the pecans are flippin amazing. It’s very addicting! These pecans are no joke. They taste like coffee, brown sugar, and chile. There’s a bit of a kick at the end which is great. It’s a bit expensive but well worth my addiction.

I also got a chicken tarragon salad sandwich on rosemary currant bread. AH! It was so effing good that I’m mad at myself for only buying one 😦 Until next time! I’ll be back with adventures from my pie and caramel apple shopping as well as pumpkin carving. Rachelle, I’m carving a pumpkin! I’ll have to let you know how it goes! haha 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Vanille de Patisserie (San Marino, CA)

I went to a bakery in San Marino last week looking for yummy goodies. I did find yummy goodies but not exactly what I had in mind. I really wanted to try all the different cakes and tiramisu that the bakery had to offer but the portion sizes are SO SMALL. For a bite size tiramisu, it’s almost $5! I could get a brioughnut from ConfeXion! I did find some goodies though. I have no idea what these are called but they’re delicious. I always look for them in Asian bakeries. So far, Cathy’s Bakery has the best ones.

I also got orange iced tea. I think it’s mixed with orange juice but surprisingly, it was delicious. It tasted like orange, lemon, and tea which is pretty awesome. It sounds simple enough right? Some places have weird tasting teas so I was a happy camper. The picture looks horrible 😦

This is probably the ugliest cheesecake I’ve ever seen. And I’m including the ones I’ve made from scratch. Like the saying goes, looks can be deceiving. This cheesecake was more souffle like than cheesecake like but it was so flavorful. I couldn’t stop eating it. Even my mom really liked it and usually she doesn’t eat cheesecake. I always know something is really good when my mom likes it too 🙂

I’m planning a weekend trip to visit the Sinfully Sweet Apple Company (hopefully I don’t go too crazy) and the I Like Pie Bakeshop near the community college I attended. I can’t wait to try their chicken pot pie! It looks so delicious in the pictures. Can’t go wrong with pie! 🙂 I’m also trying to plan a trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine for their glorious pumpkins and corn maze. While I’m there, I’ll probably pick up some stuff from their CSA share.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Project Give: October Giveaway Winner!

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Congrats Heather from Life of a Traveling Navy Wife! 🙂 You won four delicious caramel apples from Sinfully Sweet Apple Company. Please email me with your shipping information and caramel apple choices.

Project Give will post a new giveaway the first of every month. Come back to check out more 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Project Give: October Giveaway

Welcome to the second giveaway of Project Give! It’s October! Which means, a Halloween themed giveaway. I’m not really sure why I decided to have a Halloween themed giveaway because I usually don’t do anything but eat caramel apples. I’ve never carved a pumpkin before. And I’ve never been trick-or-treating. Did I grow up in a bubble? Probably. I thank my parents for that every year by reminding them they robbed me of my childhood. ANYWAY, I’d like to tell you a story about a very special young man that deserves every bit of praise and then some.

One of the organizations that I follow is Operation Homefront and they do a lot to help lower enlisted military personnel, veterans, and their families. Every year they have an award called the Military Child Of The Year award. It’s awarded to one military brat in each branch of service. I was reading the profiles for the winners last year and the Navy recipient caught my eye. He was 9 years old when he won the award (I think he’s 10 now). They call him Nate The Great. When you’ve heard about what he’s done in those short 9 years, you’ll understand why they call him that. Nate’s father is in the Navy and he has three older brothers who are also in the military. I believe two joined the Navy following in their father’s footsteps while one became a marine. He’s the second youngest of six children. What I thought was crazy was the fact that three of his brothers and his father were all deployed at one point. He probably has more volunteer hours under his belt than I do. He devotes his time to leading the anti-bully committee at his school and volunteers at the USO in San Diego. He also writes a blog. Yes, you read correctly. At the age of 9, he has a blog. His stories are awesome too! Nate, if you’re reading this than just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re such an inspiration.

When I thought up this project I was focused on helping military spouses because my friend’s a military spouse. Than I thought to myself, what about military kids? I can help military spouses by helping military kids. I’ve heard many stories about mom or dad (in some cases both) missing holidays and special occasions that it breaks my heart. Part of what Nate does with the USO is help military spouses by helping other military kids who have their mom or dad deployed. I brainstormed and decided that my love for Halloween came from caramel apples. Inspired by this 10 year old young man, I only saw it fitting to share the apples this year. So to all the military spouses who have kids (or husbands with a sweet tooth/you have a sweet tooth), celebrate Halloween this year with FOUR delicious caramel apples (2 of your choice) from Sinfully Sweet Apple Company. You do not need to have kids to enter in the giveaway. I’m not here to judge 😛 All giveaways are funded by me, unless otherwise stated.

I’ve become quite the caramel apple snob over the years. As a caramel apple snob, I don’t take to the ones they sell at The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory or the grocery stores. The apple has to be tart and crunchy. The caramel has to be gooey and delicious and not disgustingly gloopy that it sticks to your teeth. The best caramel apples I’ve had were bought from a hidden gem in La Verne, California. Sinfully Sweet Apple Company! They’ve dedicated most of their store to caramel apples. Their apples are huge! I usually share one with someone. They’ve also been featured on The Food Network show Kid in a Candy Store.

2 Halloween apples
– Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas): caramel apple dipped in white chocolate with a face drawn
– Minion (Despicable Me): caramel apple dipped in yellow colored white chocolate with spiked hair made with shaved chocolate and a face drawn

2 apples of your choice (pick two please!)
– White Chocolate Raspberry: caramel apple covered in white raspberry flavored chocolate, rolled in crushed Oreo cookies and drizzled with red color ganache. Also garnished with a raspberry gummy
– Snickers: caramel apple covered in milk chocolate, rolled in crushed peanuts and drizzle with more milk chocolate. Garnished with sliced Snickers
– Red Peanut (one of my faves!): apple covered in red caramel (it’s a little sweeter than regular caramel) and rolled in crushed peanuts (you usually find these at the grocery store)
– Apple Pie: caramel apple covered in white chocolate, rolled in cinnamon sugar, drizzle with more white chocolate, and garnished with a rose candy
– Red Caramel OR Regular Caramel: apple covered in red caramel or regular brown caramel

To enter the giveaway, you must…
– Be a military spouse
– Have a blog
– Enter through rafflecopter (only rafflecopter entries will be accepted)
– Live in the U.S. (this giveaway only ships in the U.S.)
– Only enter this giveaway once

The winner will be announced on Sunday at 8pm via my blog. The winner will have two days to contact me with their shipping information and caramel apple choices. If I have not been contacted within two days, another winner will be chosen. Since the apples are perishable, they will be sent directly to your doorstep to ensure freshness.

Each giveaway will include a Cherish Every Moment bracelet and card to support The Dax Locke Foundation. Please consider making a donation and help Dax’s mom, Julie reach her goal of raising $1.6 million to run St. Jude’s hospital for one day in his honor.

Project Give will have a giveaway posted the first of every month. Good luck to everyone!
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Fail Sweetly,
Justina