Tracy C.'s Profile

My taxes have been pretty straight forward these past few years, but I'm still not confident enough to tackle my tax returns on my own. I had left the task to professionals, but in one case, I didn't receive the documents for my tax return until several months later, after making countless requests via email and phone, and at other times, I paid over $150 for (what I believe to be) a simple tax return.  This year, I searched Yelp to see if there were any other tax preparers in the area, and I found Burbank Tax Services.

Jorge Menendez really knows his stuff and is very fast and efficient. His secretary was also very helpful when I ended up having to reschedule my initial appointment. I am planning on going to grad school this year and hopefully buying a house, and he was able to answer the questions I had about how it could possibly effect my tax returns for next year. He even said that I could email him if I ever had any tax or financial planning questions. I would highly recommend Burbank Tax Services, and will definitely be back next year to file my tax return.

My friends and I are big fans of Boiling Crab and Boat House, so we were excited to find a Cajun seafood restaurant when we were in Vegas. I'm totally over eating at buffets when in Vegas because I can no longer justify paying $40+ for AYCE when I can't even eat a lot anymore. I did notice that some Yelpers have mentioned seeing this place on Man Vs. Food. I guess I must have missed that episode, but I did see Adam's picture framed on the wall there!

I ended up eating the shrimp, dungeness crab, and crawfish with mild garlic butter sauce. I usually order mild whenever I eat at Boat House or Boiling Crab, which is the perfect amount of spicy for me, but here at Hot N Juicy Crawfish, mild was a little too hot for me to handle. Our server did warn us that their food was a little bit spicier than other places, so I should have better prepared myself. It took a while for our party to finish the food because everyone's mouths were on fire, but we won the battle against the food, even if it was only mild!

This is my favorite club in Vegas. My first experience was back in December for a friend's birthday. Although I don't remember most of the night, I know I had a good time. We had bottle service, but there were 20+ people at our table. You'd think they would have given us a bigger table knowing how big our group was, but NO... Obviously, it was a bit crowded, especially since our table was right by the dance floor, and the outside was closed off because of the cold weather.

If you plan on going to XS, make sure it's in the spring/summer, because that's when the outdoor area is open. I was just there this past Saturday night, and it was an amazing experience. We did get bottle service again, but this time we got a cabana. It was located on the second level outside, where we had an amazing view of pretty much the entire club. The staff was very accommodating to us (maybe because they knew one of my friends is the "cousin" of one of the waitresses there, which is how we got the reservation in the first place!). If you plan on getting bottle service there, go for a cabana instead of a table by the dance floor. There are also beds lined around the pool in the outdoor area that looked pretty decent. Maybe next time...

My gym membership expired, so I was looking for something else to do for exercise. I decided to try jogging here since it's really close to where I work, and it's been pretty good. The entire path is pretty level, so it's easy enough for anyone to go through. It's in a good neighborhood, and I see families and people walking their dogs on the path whenever I go, so I feel really safe whenever I'm there.

I've only been here once (so far), but it was a very pleasant experience. I usually do my own nails, but if there's some sort of special occasion, I'll leave it up to the pros.

I came here for the Simple Gel Manicure where they use Biosculpture Gel. It's different from the regular UV gels you'll find at other nail salons because it's a lot more pliable and flexible, and so they are more durable and will last longer. Mine lasted for about three weeks without any problems. I would have kept them on longer but my nails had grown so long.

I came there with UV gel nails from another salon, and it took a long time for them to remove, which didn't bother me because I was very impressed with the amount of care they gave me. Whenever I had artificial nails or enhancements taken off in the past, the nail tech would just peel them off (along with bits and pieces of my real nails!), which is totally damaging. At Soak, they soaked off and gently removed as much of the gel as possible before the actual manicure.

Their prices are also very affordable compared to other nail salons I've been to. I would glady come back again for a Simple Gel Manicure.

My friends and I found this place by accident. Our initial plan was to eat at Season Thai, but when we got there at 2PM on a Saturday afternoon, it was closed! WTH?? So we walked around to see if there were any other places to eat, and we found Seoul Korean BBQ.

Their menu is fairly small, and is comprised of most of the staple foods you'd find at other Korean BBQ establishments (bibimbap, bulgogi, short ribs), but I was most impressed when I saw that they also had meat jun! I was first introduced to meat jun by my boyfriend during my first visit to Hawaii almost 6 years ago, and we have it every time we go back. It's available at almost any Korean restaurant in Hawaii. The funny thing is that not a lot of people here in L.A. know about it. Even our Korean friends had no idea what it was! It's basically thinly sliced meat cooked in an egg batter served with some sort of special sauce.

So I ended up ordering the meat jun, and it was pretty good. It was somewhat different to the meat jun that I'm used to (they used bulgogi instead of brisket), but overall, it was still pretty good. The portions are fairly large, and you can even request additional side orders (which my friends took advantage of).

I'm pretty sure we'll be back for more, since it's close by. A great alternative to driving all the way to K-Town!

The boyfriend and I had gone snowboarding Sunday morning for the first time this year and I hadn't been to the gym in months, so I was totally out of shape. I wasn't even able to last the full 8 hours for the lift tickets we bought because my legs were badly cramped and I had somehow tweaked my right knee.

I really wanted a massage afterwards, so I sent a text to my friend and asked her about this reflexogy place she and some of our other friends had gone to that she really liked. At first, she forgot the name, but then remembered it and it turned out to be Jolly Foot. I called early in the afternoon to see what time they closed, and lucky for us they close at 10:30PM nightly. I didn't think about making an appointment because I wasn't sure what time we'd be able to get there, so we just took our chances.

We ended up getting there at around 8PM. Since we didn't have an appointment, the receptionist asked if we could wait 20 minutes, and we agreed.

Keep in mind that this isn't your typical spa massage, so you shouldn't be expecting a Swedish, shiatsu, or some other similar form of massage. The main difference between reflexology and the typical spa massage is that a lot of pressure is used, and that's exactly what we got and exactly what we needed.

I felt so much better afterwards that I was walking "normal" again (I had been limping a little since we left the mountain). My boyfriend even mentioned that it was one of the best massages he'd experienced. I had taken him to get a Swedish massage on time, and he ended up hating it.

I think we'll be coming here every month from now on. It's only $20 for an hour, and they even give you a stamp card (1 free session after 10 visits), so it's pretty affordable.

This place is great... It's close to work, it's super clean, AND it's open later than other nail salons during the week. I came in the other night to get UV gel nails, and that is exactly what I got.  I didn't get my technician's name, but she said that if within 2 weeks I encountered any problems, she would fix it for me because they had just started using new gel products. It's been about a week now, and my nails still look fabulous!

I thought long and hard, and finally decided to try the Brazilian Blowout. If you don't know what it is, it's the hottest thing since Japanese straightening (which I've also gotten done), but WAY better because: 1) it's actually good for your hair; and 2) the entire process takes less than 2 hours.

I had called the salon on Friday, hoping to get an appointment for later that evening, but their stylist that does the Brazilian Blowout, Sedik, wasn't available, so they took down my name and number and said they would call back. So later that day, I get a call directly from Sedik, and we scheduled an appointment for Sunday at 9AM (which is 1 hour before their normal business hours) because I really wanted to get it done sooner than later. The next day (Saturday), I got another call from Sedik to confirm that I would be at the salon for my appointment the next day.

So, I get to my appointment Sunday morning, and Sedik takes a look at my hair and asks me a couple questions about what I normally do with it, and says that the Brazilian Blowout would be really good for me. (A little background on my hair: I have naturally dark brown hair that goes a couple inches past my shoulders. My hair is thin and a little wavy.) The first part of the procedure was washing my hair with a clarifying shampoo to get all the gunk out. After it was washed, she sectioned off my hair with clips and applied the solution to my hair while combing it out straight. After my hair was coated with the solution, she blow-dried then flat-ironed my hair to seal it in, and then my hair was rinsed. Next, the magic happened... Sedik said she was going to show me how my hair will turn out without using any styling implements or brushes; she only used the blow-dryer to dry my hair. My hair looked so gorgeous and healthy! I was very impressed.

I also ended up buying all the after-care products (shampoo, conditioner, and hair balm) even though they are more expensive than most hair artistry brands, but I figured if I invest a lot of money on my hair, I might as well do what I can to make it last as long as possible! After all, I would be saving myself so much time by not having to spend the extra effort into styling my hair. The information I've read on-line says that it should last about 2-3 months, but one of the other stylists there said that one of her clients is going on 6 months with it. They said that to get the most out of it, I should only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, and that a little goes a long way with the after care products. I was also instructed that I shouldn't wash my hair until after 48-hours, which hasn't happened yet as I type this review, so I'll be back to update. All in all, the amount I spent on the Brazilian Blowout along with the products ended up costing as much as what just the Brazilian Blowout would be at a pricier, high-end salon.

I am extremely satisfied with my experience at this particular Fantastic Sams, and would highly recommend the Brazilian Blowout here to anyone. I'll gladly be back in a couple months when the magic is gone. =)

I've been trying to grow out my hair for a while now, but I've been wanting to get a haircut because my hair was just blah. I never really had a regular stylist, so I would usually just try out different places. I decided to give T-Birds a try since it's right down the road from work. I called their salon at 6PM and asked if I'd be able to come in for a hair cut, and they said I could come on down. I found street parking fairly easily, and later on they told me I could park across the street or around the corner if the street was full.

I was greeted by the owner, Martina, and Cassie was my stylist. I told her I wanted my bangs cut and a trim all around, so she tackled my bangs first. The last time I wanted my bangs cut, the stylist was so nervous she barely touched them, and basically, they didn't turn out the way I wanted. Cassie did a great job on them. Next, she shampooed and conditioned my hair, and then on to the rest of my hair. She noticed that I had an A-line (short in the back, long in the front), and explained that she trimmed a little in the back, and cut more off in the front to get it even all the way around. She also commented on how healthy my hair is, which I was glad to hear, because the last stylist I went to noticed how damaged my hair was, and from then on, I'd been working on reviving my hair.

While I was getting my hair did, Martina asked me if I was a fan of strawberries, and offered me a cup of the juicy fruit. Apparently, I had caught her on a shopping day (which, according to her, rarely happens... haha), and she had a whole box of them.

Cassie did a really good job at blow drying my hair, and she even took the time to double-check on her work, making little snips here and there to make sure everything was even.

When I first came in to the salon, they mentioned that they were getting ready to close up shop, so I'm very glad that they were able to accomodate me, and I'm even more happy with the quality of service I received, not to mention my awesome haircut. This was probably one of the best salon experience I've had (so far).

I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for hair services. They even offer nail, waxing, and make up services. I've already booked a manicure for next week!