Christine L.

12/31/2018

Like many others, we decided to go to Maui for our babymoon. Not too long before our trip, we decided to look into taking maternity photos there. I had dreams of romantic cotton candy colored skies and beautiful blue beaches and somehow preggo me not looking like a whale.

Enter Amanda. We found her online and loved her style. Reaching out to her, she was super sweet and always responsive in all our communications. She was always willing to answer any questions and gave plenty of tips on what to wear. She had us answer some easy questions about us and what we were looking for (as opposed to some who might push their own ideas of what they like), which put me at ease that we would get pictures that we'd actually love!

When it came to the photography day, she was there early to meet us to catch some gorgeous sunrise shots. The package we got was a half an hour, but Amanda was super efficient without making us feel rushed at all. We got a lot of variety in our shots, with several different backgrounds and settings. She put us at ease while taking the photos, and even as awkward as my husband and I can be, she made us feel and look natural. Amanda seemed to genuinely love love love seeing and capturing the emotion between couples and their babies. I loved this about her!

In short, Amanda delivered us gorgeous, stunning photos that people (including myself) were amazed by. I couldn't be happier with what she was able to capture, both in the scenery and between my husband and I and our baby to be -- they turned out better than I'd dreamed! I'd recommend anyone going to Maui to take photos with Amanda.

9/30/2016

I hate brassy, orange hair, but my naturally dark hair gets so boring. In comes Lily to save the day! She is so great at color and color placement, and my hair still looks so good as it grows out months after visiting her. I never really liked regular highlights on my dark, flat hair cause I'd get that zebra look, and roots would show almost immediately! Now that I've discovered Lily's balayage techniques, I'm hooked! She gets you this beautiful, multi dimensional, color melting look that is to die for. Lily is the first stylist that I regularly go to because that's worth it! And because my hair still looks great as it grows out and even as it fades, thanks to her amazing techniques. Appointments are hard to come by, but she takes care of her clients and accommodates however she can. Don't let her busy schedule deter you because she's worth the wait! Be prepared for several hours of work to go into your hair every session. Go in trusting her and her process, and get ready for the compliments you'll get on your hair.

8/16/2016

Our experience at Porsche of Livermore was great -- they weren't sales-y, got us what we wanted, and their service was outstanding. From the first email exchanges with Carsten to the experience on site, they were nothing but helpful and honest (even if it meant saying that another dealership was offering a great deal). They sent a driver all the way to San Francisco to get our payment and will do the same to service our car. The detail job with Adrian was amazing, and they made sure to let us know beforehand that removing the model designation (the name plate on the back of the car) could leave a shadow of the name on the paint. We opted to go for it anyway, and there's no sign of it ever being there. Carsten was a real pleasure to work with, as was the manager, Kevin and the finance guy, Bob. We never felt pressured, judged, or rushed. Carsten even sat with us in the car for some time to explain to us all the fun features before sending us off with our new car. It was a great experience at this dealership!

1/4/2012

This is still my favorite ramen. Though, I have to admit, I have a love hate relationship with Izakaya Sozai...because as much as I love their ramen, I hate their wait. But when I'm craving ramen, their broth just sends me to the moon and their spicy miso paste that they will serve you on the side just sends me on out to orbit. I would pass on everything else here, even their pork belly that can accompany the ramen (not as good as the pork already in your ramen). Don't share! Get your own bowl! I made that mistake once...never again......

1/4/2012

I heart liege waffles. I less than three liege waffles. I 52 liege waffles.

So when I heard about bloem and sugar, I was ecstatic. Something about those dough based waffles with pearl sugar....crisp and glistening, soft yet chewy...*drool*.

But alas, this liege waffle did not do liege waffles justice. It didn't have that same sticky, crisp but chewy texture that makes liege waffles so delicious. Sad, sad...but true.

1/3/2012

"Meh. I've experienced better."

Yelps's definition of two stars puts it perfectly. I def wasn't impressed. Though service was nice and quick for my togo order, my five spice chicken was tough and obviously previously cooked and reheated. Portion size was minimal and served with a salad. Garlic noodles were average.

Maybe an off day, but I doubt I'll back.

9/1/2011

I like this place. Is it wrong tho that I think I like this place mostly because their dessert was a perfect end to the meal?

Really tho, start to finish of this meal was really enjoyable, but I did have great company (Nicole L.)! Their avocado bruschetta was unique, tasty, tho I wish they had a sampler so I could've tried all three! We also had the
pork belly, roman style dumpling (which really is like a polenta cake) with broccoli and a deliciously runny egg, which was also yummy. For the main, we shared the anza pizza which had padron peppers, corn, garlic, white cheeses, and carmelized onion (no tomato sauce). This was good, tho it didn't blow my mind.

What did blow my mind tho was the dessert. They give you each a sheet of paper to fill out what you would like on your dessert. We opted to share one, which was a good choice. You can choose chocolate, vanilla, or swirl soft serve ice cream. Then you choose your base: warm bread pudding, fresh sugared donut holes, or warm molten chocolate cake. We chose the donut holes (it's a good choice). Then your toppings! You can choose from a variety of things including cocoa nibs and candied marcona almonds, which is what we did. The candied marcona almonds were to diiiiie for. Just simple elements all came together to throw a party in my mouth. Yum.

9/1/2011

man, this sandwich is money! mint! clutch! legit!

I've had the pan con chicharron several times now, and I'm happy for the addition to my short list of options for lunch around work. At $8 I'm content, (tho wish it were slightly cheaper) and I keep coming back. It's a sandwich about the size of a burger, and I'm stuffed after taking it down. There's fatty pork, fried yams, pickled onions, and this great white aioli in it and it never fails to satisfy. I've also had their lomo saltado sandwich (steak with tomato, onion, and fries) which was also good, but not as good as the pan con chicharron in my opinion.

Solid lunch option.

4/26/2011

Three girls were hungry late one night,
Just had to go out and get a bite.
Looked around and what do we see,
Artichoke Pizza! How happy were we!
So I stepped out into cold and snow
To get me some cheese topped dough.
Walked inside and ordered three slices,
Ready to top it which cheese and spices.
But when it came out,
I gave out a shout
Cause each slice was so big,
We must eat like pigs!
So each girl with her piece,
Creamy, cheesy, delicious grease.
Bite after bite until it was gone,
Then food coma set in, started to yawn.
Looked over to my friends;
Their slices were near to the end
Leaned on over and stole a bite
And was surprised that it tasted only alright.
But now you and I know, behold:
A pizza you shouldn't eat cold!

4/26/2011

This place is *packed* for brunch, so be prepared for a wait! Given the name of the restaurant, I just had to try something with a popover in it, so that I did. Eggs benedict over creamed spinach with smoked salmon on a popover?! Awesome twist on a traditional eggs benedict to put it on a popover, let alone creamed spinach instead of just spinach?? GENIUS.

Thoroughly enjoyed brunch with the girls, though my dish def was the best out of all of ours; the others were fairly standard. Service was attentive; they noticed we were cold and turned off the fan and even gave us a complimentary popover with that well known strawberry butter.