MojoPages VIP: CorePower Yoga

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I was invited to another MojoPages VIP event, this time a little different than what we are used to. The event involved yoga, food and of course some booze. We met at CorePower Yoga, in their new location in Encinitas, CA

My previous experience with yoga has been doing it at home with a video, so it's nothing more than stretching. And doing it at the gym with bright lights, the faint sounds of pop music and weights clanking. I normally avoid yoga because my tummy and big thighs get in the way of the poses.

From the moment you walk into CorePower Yoga, you have a feeling of calm and you immediately feel far away from the bustle of the day. There is a very nice flow from the entrance to the reception, the small lounge, the lockers, their boutique and of course the yoga rooms.

We had one session of Vinyasa type yoga for beginner's, there was quiet a bit of movement with the room slightly warm, dim lights, candles and soft music. Even though there was a competition among three of us for the worst in class and a pregnant lady next to me was doing most of the moves, I didn't feel self-conscious at all. I felt free to just do what I could and not feel inadequate. There was one instructor and an assistant helping us with the poses.

The session itself did give me a good challenge and when the instructor said we would be doing the last downward dog I felt like cheering out loud. Another thing I noticed is that as I began the session some of my muscles protested, but by the end of the session I was able to bend all the way and place my hands under my feet with my legs straight. I was very proud of me and my new found flexibility. I felt the session for days afterwards, especially in my core area.

Once we finished the workout we were treated to a very good and light champagne and some really yummy protein bars. We sampled several flavors like Banana Chocolate Chip, Chewy Macadamia, Lemon Vanilla and others. The bars were offered by a local nutrion company called FitzeeFoods, they are in the process of re-branding themselves and launching their new site, as soon as that happens I'll be updating this post.

FitzeeFoods' goal is to provide a nutritional makeover with ready made meals prepared daily with fresh, organic & all-natural ingredients. Depending on your budget and nutriotional needs they offer packages of up to three meals a day plus protein bars. There might be a possibility to have a MojoPages VIP event with FitzeeFoods, I hope that happens so we can learn more about them. In the meantime I can say the protein bars were very good.

So once again, Thanks MojoPages for another very interesting event and I look forward to the next one!

San Diego Fashion Bash 2011

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Thanks to my connections as a MojoPages VIP Reviewer I received a free ticket for a Fashion Bash event in San Diego. These types of events are promoted by Sassy City Chicks and are offered in LA, NY, SF, Miami, Dallas, Las Vegas, Chicago and San Diego.

"Since 2001, The Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash has grown from a typical trunk show sample sale, to a national shopping event held in 8 cities that showcases upwards of 50 + designers and over 100 labels at one single event."

This is the first event of this type that I go to and it was a lot of fun. It was held in a warehouse type building closer to the ballpark, very little foot traffic around that area until you reached your destination and there was a big line to get in. In spite of the amount of people everything was well organized. The lines went very quickly, the booze was great and everyone looked very fashionable.

Even though most of the clothing was in small sizes, I still managed to find some really cool tops and accesories. This time I didn't go near the spa area, but from outside I noticed people getting massages, airbrush makeup, hair-dos and the works.

The best part was the goody bag, when you go to one of these events make sure to get the ticket that includes the goody bag, well worth the extra $10. I got nail polish, samples of candy, gummy vitamins, panties from Frederick's of Hollywood, several things for nails, eye drops, lip balms.......and a Jack in the Box antenna ball (yeah, I know!)

So next year when they come back, go with lots of patience, your most comfortable fashion heels, plenty of spending money, deck yourself out in fashion and enjoy the evening!

MojoPages VIP: The Wellington & The Red Door

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Once again I was invited to a MojoPages VIP event, this time we visited two sister restaurants, both of them very unique in the Mission Hills area. We all met at The Wellington, a Steakhouse and Martini restaurant. My first impression as I went into the place was "I need to get me a boyfriend to come back here."

The restaurant looks so intimate, exclusive, yet comfortable, it is very small although the mirror on one of the walls gives it the appearance of being bigger. If I'm not mistaken I counted ten tables of different sizes and according to their website, The Wellington can accommodate up to 35 people. I loved the chandeliers, my eyes kept going towards them.

We were treated to a choice between two of their Signature Martinis, the Cucumber & Goose (grey goose, fresh cucumber, mint, simple syrup) and Vesper (Gordon's London Dry Gin, Chopin Vodka, lillet, lemon twist - shaken not stirred). I chose the Cucumber & Goose and my Mexican-ese came out, the vodka let the cucumber flavor come out in such a way that my palette made me feel like adding salt, lemon and chile, like I would do on a real cucumber.

The Owner welcomed us and introduced Executive Chef Brian Johnston, who is also in charge of The Red Door (right next door). After chatting with my MojoPages VIP peeps, we went to The Red Door Restaurant & Wine Bar and definitely it was like night and day.

The Red Door is a sophisticated neighborhood restaurant, with very gourmet tasting food. We got a sampler which included the Red Door Crab Cakes, Braised Pork Cheeks in a puff pastry, Sweet Potato Fries, something that look like mini finger size pizza (not sure what it was) but everything was just amazing. And I strategically posted myself in the best place of the restaurant: in the bar next to the food and wine. By the way, the wine was great as well, normally I don't like reds, but I loved this one. It was Vino Valpredo, Squeezebox Red, Sonoma; which is a zinfandel, cabernet & syrah, cherry & cranberry-wonderful.

Unfortunately I had to leave early since I had another event to go to. But after the event and checking their website, I found out the many charitable things the restaurant does. For example one of their specials is the Helping Our Neighbors:

"Monday & Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 bring in your unemployment check stub dated within the last 30 days and receive a free entree."

You can connect with The Wellington and The Red Door in the following ways:

Twitter
@TheWellingtonSD
@TheRedDoorSD

Facebook
The Wellington
The Red Door

Check out what we said on MojoPages:
The Wellington on MojoPages
The Red Door on MojoPages

And once again, sign up for MojoPages, review your favorite businesses, become a VIP reviewer and I'll see you on the next event! I'm getting better at this whole socializing thing, and of course, I'm in great company.

Cucumber & Goose Martinis

The padded wall looks very nice!

Love the chandeliers

Corner table great for a larger party

The Wellington in Mission Hills

The Red Door

A Tapestry on one of the walls

My MojoPages VIP peeps

Executive Chef Brian Johnston

Image having dinner and looking at the night life outside

The Red Door Crab Cakes

Cheers!

MojoPages VIP: Place 360 Health + Spa

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This is my 3rd VIP Event with MojoPages and in a separate post I'll talk about how you can become a VIP and why you should do it. This time I want to concentrate about my experience at Place 360 Health + Spa.

I live near Dowtown so going to Del Mar is always a treat, especially when a business is on Camino del Mar, just love the view of the ocean as I drive down on Del Mar Heights. Place 360 is located inside the Del Mar Medical Arts building in the second floor.

As soon as you enter the Spa you will notice all the attention to detail in the decoration and ambiance; on the floor, ceiling and walls you will see some beautiful details without being overwhelming.

The event started with a tour of the spa where we got to see the different massage and consultation rooms. As the name says Place 360 wants to provide complete health to the body by offering Health Services such as Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Custom Herbal Remedies, Life Coaching, Nutrition and Outdoor Fitness. As well as making us look pretty with Body Treatments, Eyelash Extensions, Massage, Skin Care, Semi-Permanent Makeup, Waxing & Tinting. The rooms themselves are amazing, very beautiful and look very relaxing.

My first stop was the Relaxation Room which is used as their waiting area where you can begin to unwind. And I was lucky I had a chance to wait, before getting to the event I went to see a football match at Shakespeare's Pub & Grill (Manchester United vs Tottenham) the place was packed with fans from both teams. Then I had to rush to Del Mar, I was with a testosterone and adrenaline overload and took me time to unwind and get in the tranquil mood. The Relaxation Room, plus snacks and pomegranate mimosa did the trick.

Before the event we had to fill out a questionnaire and among other things we told the spa what we were interested in and they catered my visit exactly to what we said. My second stop was with Toni, my new favorite person in San Diego. Toni Elwell is an amazing Massage Therapist & Skin Care Specialist with 16 years of experience. She had a true calling for the profession since she turned 14 and even though her credentials are amazing, I was won over by her voice. As she explained my massage, which would be concentrated on the feet, my neck with a touch of aromatherapy (exactly what I asked for) I just felt so at ease. And she was truly wonderful.

The attention to detail is not only concentrated on the decoration, but also in the way Place 360 serve the clients. Among them, extreme cleanliness, Toni explained several things that the spa does to ensure that very high standards are met. Also, depending on the type of treatment you book, you may get to use the Steam Shower, which, is covered by stones brought directly from Bali. You can see the same detail in the bathroom.

After the massage several of us spent an hour with Kimberly Higgins, Life Coach & Nutrition. The session was very interesting, I've always been curious about what life coaches do and from what I understand there's no one way, everything depends on the client. Kim gave us some tips we could take with us and in many ways it felt like a therapy session. We asked her what would be the difference between the two terms and she said that therapy dealt with people who had a trauma and checked more into the past. Life Coaching is for individuals that might find themselves stuck and just need the extra push, she concentrates more on the "now" and the person's feelings. The process looks very interesting and something many people (including me) could benefit from.

Then Kim changed her hat from Life Coach to Nutritionist and explained how she looks at nutrition, not with a rigid diet guideline, but looking at your habits, food preferences, time and feelings. She says that our bodies can direct us as to what it needs, when I tried that later in the day, my body/mind said Spanish rice and re-fried beans. And it makes sense, when we deprive ourselves by eating what is considered healthy, we'll probably end up eating more because we are not satisfied. I greatly enjoyed the time spent with her.

Finally it was acupuncture, something I've never done before. My practitioner was Dwayne Lee, L.Ac. board certified in both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. My major area of complaint is the tension on my neck, since I spend an ungodly amount of time in front of a computer. He gave me some pointers for correct posture while I'm sitting at my chair (which I'm doing today) and then he began the treatment. He applied the needles on the back of my neck, a couple in my back and a couple on the side of my calves close to the ankle.

As I said, this is the first time I do it and he explained what I should expect. I did feel a small discomfort at the beginning, but nothing bigger than a pinch. I was left to relax and let the needles do their work, after awhile I no longer felt the needles, but the muscles actually got more tense, which is normal. I felt a little dizzy when we were done and from what he told me I would feel better by the next day. And he was right, my neck/shoulder area does feel little better. Although I know I need heavy duty help and will most likely return....but with Toni and her amazing hands. Sorry Dwayne.

Place 360 Health + Spa.

MojoPages: Night at Ave 5

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I was invited to another MojoPages event, this time it was at Ave.5 located on 5th Avenue in the Bankers Hill / Hillcrest area, this is an amazing restaurant that is now among my favorites.


We were greeted by the Mojo Hostess and proceeded to be amazed by Mike Yen, Ave 5's Molecular Mixologist. First we had these crazy drinks on a spoon. The one that looks like an egg is made of peach something with something and something placed on this solution that turned it into the yellow ball. The white is made from a champagne reduction with something and something and once you "drank" it the yolk part popped inside your mouth and there was an aftertaste of Pop Rocks. Amazing!

The second spoon also tasted amazing with the little balls popping and releasing a really yummy drink. Mike explained how he made it and the ingredients, but thanks to many years in metal concerts, my hearing is not as it should be so I didn't catch some of the explanation.

Then he made us a drink without a name that contained Gin infused with green tea, lemon and honey, was processed in this canister. It was christening Mojo Tea, hope it catches on, it was awesome. And to finish off, we had a PumpkinTini...so cute and yummy.

Mike also made a drink called Cotton Candy Cuban, he served a martini glass with cotton candy (which he makes himself) and you pour the drink on top of it dissolving the candy. I didn't taste it, but it looked so cool.

Now the drinks are not the only great item in the restaurant, their menu is to die for. We met the Chef and Owner, he greeted us told us about the food we were about to try. We had risottos, salads, mussels, tortellini, fries and I can say each bite was amazing. Everybody cleared their plates....twice.

To finalize the event, we had pumpkin creme brulee topped with pomegranate seeds. The Chef explained how he likes to make layered creme brulee's and it really was very good.

Ave 5 prides itself with using locally grown food from their own garden located in Ramona, their menu is seasonal and I know I said it a lot, but it is amazing!

MojoPages VIP Reviewer Welcome Soiree

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For the last fours months I've been writing reviews for MojoPages; the first 50 reviews were from different places (mostly bars, pubs and restaurants) I've been to in San Diego. Eventually it got a little more difficult to remember places and names, so I started making it a point to visit new places (mostly bars, pubs and restaurants). Turns out my efforts have been noticed and tonight I was invited to the first ever VIP Reviewer Welcome Soiree, to do some wine tasting.

The event was held at Vin de Syrah, a Spirit and Wine Parlor located on the corner of 5th and E Street at the Gaslamp. The decor is unreal, first of all the door is hidden, this place is in the basement so you go down some stairs. Once you're down there it looks like a dead end, with three walls covered in street art and one solid wall of greenery, turns out that's the door. I was about to go back up when someone opened the door for me.

I went to the event by myself and felt overwhelmed when I saw there were a lot of people milling around, there was a charity event going on with several vendors. Of course, as the Super-Star Mingler that I am, the first thing I did was head to a corner, sit and hide with my cell phone. Fortunately, there was another poor soul in the corner, feeling just as awkward, if not more, than me. He went there for a speed dating event, but got the dates wrong. He offered to get me a drink and I declined (Damn it! Will I ever learn!), but I was there for an event and finally saw some people sitting with wine glasses in front of them and I was Home. Who knows what happened to that guy, my heart goes to him since I remember my Speed Dating Experience.

The event was very interesting, I learned about two different wines, had yummy appetizers and meet some of the people I've only seen in the website. In many ways it was a surreal experience since I still feel like a small town desert girl. And there I was in a great city, at a nice place, with pretty and confident people; thankfully I do look the part. I've spent so many years learning how to dress, accesorize, hair, makeup, etc and now its all coming together. Every time I felt out of place, all I did was do a quick glance to a mirror to realize I looked just fine.

When I arrived at the event I received a goodie bag with coupons from the different vendors, as well as samples of potato chips and an energy drink. And as a parting gift, MojoPages gave us a cupcake from Cupcake Love, it was so good and on top of the icing it had the logo of MojoPages printed in edible white chocolate.


Originally I thought this would be a big event and was surprised to see it was small and somewhat intimate, where we actually had a chance to talk and get to know each other. I am honored to be included in this group and really felt VIP.