The Rose Garden Neighborhood

One of my favorite San Jose areas is the Rose Garden neighborhood. The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden has been a favorite for our family since we moved to San Jose. We usually bring a picnic and my son rides his bike around the park while we walk. We have even had a few Easter egg hunts in the garden. I have also gone over there on my own just to sit and relax with a cup off coffee and listen to the relaxing water fountain and take in the sounds of the surrounding nature. It's a place where you feel transformed away from San Jose. A couple of years ago when I started my blog I came here and took a bunch of photos of all of the different roses. I ended up taking some of my favorite photos and made a card with an inspirational quote on it for my Etsy shop. Along with the beautiful gardens the neighborhood is full of amazing historical houses. Recently I went on the Rose Garden Home Tour and it was very exciting to tour homes that were fully decorated by professional local decorators and florists.

The main business area of the Rose Garden neighborhood is on the Alameda. There are mainly restaurants, bakeries, and a few shops. Usually after the Rose Garden we have lunch at Rosie's New York Pizza which is next to the Peet's Coffee. If you park on the side street Hanchett Avenue you come across this lovely mural painted on the Peet's Coffee building of a bicycle with roses and a heart balloon. I just love this mural. It makes you feel like it is part of this special neighborhood and it welcomes you with a warm fuzzy feeling! It makes me want to design a cute vintage bicycle party invitation. 

Rosie's New York Pizza is one of my family's favorite places to eat in this neighborhood. They have great New York style pizzas, great salads, and my favorite are their homemade garlic knots, served with marinara dipping sauce. The owner is the sister of the owner of Cafe Rosalena, which I have yet to try. Their mother Rosalinda Geldner owns Greenlee's Bakery down the street next to Cafe Rosalena. Funny that they all the have the name Rose in their names. 

On my recent adventure day in the Rose Garden neighborhood I went into Greenlee's Bakery for the first time. I can't believe that I waited this long to go into this fabulous place. This bakery has been there since 1924. They are known for their Cinnamon bread which is sold all over the Bay Area. They use all local suppliers to source the freshest and most authentic ingredients. I decided to have brunch there. The women working behind the counter recommended trying one of their crepes. I had the Florentine Crepe which was amazing. It had spinach, feta cheese, and onions, which balanced well with the sweetness of the crepe. After trying the crepe they gave me a free sample of their Mexican wedding cookie, which is my husband's favorite cookie so of course I got some to take home to share with my family. They were delicious! It was fun being there that day since they were making King Cakes and getting ready for Mardis Gras. I spoke to the manager about my blog. He gave some of the history of the local businesses and also let me take photos of the bakery. I definitely need to bring my son back here. He will love it. 

After Greenlee's I went across the street to Recycle Bookstore which is the same used bookstore that is in Downtown Campbell. This store has been in the Bay Area for 40 years. It has two shop cats, along with a huge selection of books for kids and adults, new and used. This is a sanctuary for book lovers. I took a look around in the kids section and picked up a used Mo William's Piggy and Gerald book called "We Are Invited To A Party". My son loves these quirky books. We actually just went to the live show called "We Are In A Play" at the Palo Alto Children's Theater. One of our favorite parts of the show was the skit of this book. Such a better deal to get this book used at about half the price. 

To end my Rose Garden adventure day I ended on a sweet note and the historic candy shop Schurra Fine Confections. This shop has been around since since 1912. Albert and Justin Schurra started their confection business with retail stores in Stockton and Modesto. In the 1930's they opened their store on the Alameda. It is a beautiful historic building. They had fun displays of Valentine treats. Apparently at Easter they have a fabulous display of Easter Candy. I will have to bring my son back to check it out. They lady behind the counter suggested getting their sea salt caramels with dark chocolate. She gave me two free samples. It was a perfect combination of salty with sweet. This is a great local place to purchase gifts for birthdays and the holidays. You can definitely eat your way through this charming neighborhood. 

Japantown

I have only been to Japantown a handful of times. The main street, Jackson, is very small with shops and restaurants. All of the stores are owned by Japanese immigrants. San Jose's Japantown has quite a history. It used to actually be a Chinatown until the 1930's when it became Japantown. 

The first store I went to was Kogura Co. I met the owners, Carolyn and her mother Kogura. They gave me some of the history around how Japantown started, such as about the first stores and restaurants on the street like Roy's Station and Nichi Bei Bussan. They also suggested going to Minato's and Gombei for the best local Japanese food. Carolyn and Kougura were kind in allowing me to take photos for my blog.  They were interested in my Etsy shop and wanted my business card. Kogura Co. offers authentic Japanese stationery, gift items, chopsticks, pottery, books, and origami paper. I have always loved blue and white Japanese pottery. I bought a really cute book for my son called "Everyday Bento" to get more ideas for packing his lunches. 

Next door to Kogura is a really small Gallery shop called Petite Galleria. They carry high quality handmade everything! Petite Galleria is considered "The smallest boutique in the land! A testament to the Tiny House Movement". It is a gallery that puts committed artists on their path. "Where artists create inspiration with time and care". They carry art, jewelry, stationery, bath and body items, fashion, home, health, music, and fun button pins which would be fun to carry in my Etsy shop to go with party themes. My favorite piece of art in the boutique is #334182 by artist Jason McHenry.  All of his pieces are named by number. His art pieces all have mixed mediums. I especially liked that he incorporated Pantone chips into his piece. I love Pantone colors since I used to create color palettes from Pantone chips when I was in the fashion industry.  April, the owner who runs the gallery boutique, is also an artist and musician. She composes her own music and even does music videos. We chatted for awhile as she showed me around the gallery. She was super warm and friendly and even gave me a sample of some chocolate covered mango that she sells.  

My favorite hangout in Japantown is "Roy's Station Coffee and Tea". Roy's used to actually be a gas station in 1947 owned by Roy and Mike Murotsune. They have a great patio to hang out and enjoy delicious food and coffee. I decided to take a break from shopping and try their huge chocolate croissant which is always my favorite being a chocolate lover and all. They heated it up for me and it was delicious!

After enjoying the beautiful weather on the outdoor patio at Roy's my last stop was at Nichi Bei Bussan, a truly historic shop and museum. I had the owner Arlene tell the history of the store, her family, and Japantown. The store has been there since 1948, owned by her grandfather who originally owned a store in San Francisco during the big earthquake in 1906. The store carries Japanese gifts, stationery, fabric, and does consignment of Japanese costumes such as traditional Kimono's. 

This whole adventure day in our local Japantown inspired me to create more Japanese themed party items especially with the blossoms starting to bloom with our early Spring weather. I am looking forward to seeing the Sakura at Hakone Gardens next month, another Japanese place I love in the Bay Area. I think it would be fun to do a Origami and Sushi party invitations. I did this Japanese Tea Party invitation for my Etsy shop with cherry blossoms. About 4 years ago I also designed a Japanese themed birthday cupcake topper for my friend's mom who once lived in Japan. I really enjoyed doing this project since I love Japanese design. Here is to another successful adventure day in my hometown of San Jose. 

Downtown San Jose

When I moved to San Jose almost 11 years ago a friend took me downtown one evening to show me around.  It was a bit of a culture shock compared to what I was used to seeing in San Francisco. Every year since then however the downtown area has improved with better restaurants, hotels, and other urban improvements. My favorite section is by the Plaza De Cesar Chavez off of Market Street. This is a central gathering area for many especially during the holiday's when there is Christmas in the Park, something my family enjoys each year. You have the Fairmont Hotel, The Sainte Claire Hotel, The Montgomery Theater (where we go twice a year for the CMT productions), The Tech Museum, and The San Jose Museum of Art. I have been a member of The San Jose Museum of Art for several years now. I usually bring my son with me to check out their new exhibits and to do the hands-on projects in the lower level.

As a member of the art museum I also get invited to events. One of my favorites was the "Booze and Brushes" where you paint on a small canvas any subject that you want while sipping wine. I painted a still life of pastries and a latte from a photo that I took in the Left Bank of Paris. I have it hanging in my office space at home. I think it would be fun to do a pastry party invitation. 

The latest event at the San Jose Museum of Art was a "Members Day" for the Rainmond Strapran exhibit just last week. This exhibit was very exciting and inspiring. He was influenced by California life style and light.  He lived in Northern California his whole art career. His paintings are purely Californian. They are based on reality and imagination done in a full prismatic spectrum. Strapran was influenced by French Post-Impressionism, such as Cézanne's still lifes, which I love! The monochromatic colors in all of his still life compositions have a Picasso feeling to them with either warm or cool colors. His paintings of fruit still lives have movement in them and a horizon line. I just love it! This would be a great exhibit for an art class field trip to study still lives and color theory. 

Strapran was also inspired by California marinas both in northern and southern California. He did several landscape, architecture, and marina paintings in Antioch, Aptos, Benicia, Santa Monica, and Sea Ranch. I was really drawn to these painting for his use of all the blue hues mixed with grays. I think these were my favorites in the exhibit. He referred to the paintings as kept ghost towns. People were obviously there at one time, where their expensive indulgences were left behind in the form of docks and boats. These scenes lack action or excitement. No one is out sailing and boats remain anchored or tethered. His paintings have an eternal state of quiet to them. Along with being a painter Strapran was also an actor. "Strapran speaks quietly, he works quietly and he makes fundamental statements quietly too". This exhibit made me want to go home and paint more and somehow incorporate my paintings into stationery for my Etsy shop. 

After the art exhibit I browsed around the art museum gift shop which has great decor items, gifts, art items, books, stationary, and journals. I enjoyed looking at the fun journals with inspirational quotes such as "Unplug every day". I have always loved collecting journals to write my thoughts in.  I was told that I should add more stationary with quotes to my Etsy shop. This has been a trend with stationery for the last few years. Here is one that I have in my shop with one of my favorite quotes, "What Ever The Question Is Chocolate Is The Answer". Also another big trend that I have been drawn to is fancy water bottles such as the brand Swell water bottles. I love mine which is in metallic matte grey. I carry it around as an accessory and to keep healthier by drinking more water. I was excited about the colorful display of water bottles they had in the gift shop which lends itself to a great color palette. 

After the museum I ended my downtown San Jose day with an Al Fresco lunch at "San Pedro Market".  This marked opened up a few years ago in downtown and it has become a hot gathering spot. This is the first time I have been there during the week in the day and it was packed with business people. I love the outdoor space with a great patio area to hang out in. I went inside and picked up some shrimp tacos from "Loteria Taco Bar". Their tacos are great! They have a variety of tacos with fresh ingredients. It was yet another a great adventure day in a local Silicon Valley area! 

Downtown Willow Glen

We moved to San Jose in 2007 from San Francisco. It is hard to believe that we have lived here almost 11 years now. We started out living in the lovely neighborhood of Willow Glen. It was great being so close to the cute down town area where we could walk or ride our bikes over to Lincoln Avenue for breakfast or dinner etc... Even though I don't live in Willow Glen anymore I still hang out there quite often as if I was still living there. The downtown has changed a lot since we moved. It has become a lot more upscale with nicer restaurants and shops. 

When I started blogging a couple of years ago my favorite spot was at the Top Nosh Cafe. I was sad that it did not last long and has now seen two more cafes open and close in its place. I loved hanging out there since it had so much natural lighting and an real urban feeling. The current cafe here is called the "Purple Onion" which also has a location in Los Gatos. I started coming here last week to work on my blog. The space is just as I remembered it and the food is excellent! I enjoyed a yummy spinach quiche, which comes with a really nice mixed greens salad served on a cool industrial rustic tray. I decided that this will be my new (old) official blogging spot. 

After some hard work writing I walked up the street to the store "Magpie". I have always been inspired by this little shop which has a very shabby chic feel to it. I browsed around the store a bit and enjoyed looking at their decorative and party items. They have really cute birthday candles and numbered cake toppers that add an extra touch to a party. 

I was also drawn to their vintage style dessert and Paris themed items, which would be great for birthday parties. One of my best sellers on Etsy has been my Paris Party invitations. I would like to design more to go with those invitations such as cupcake toppers, banners, and favor bags and sell them as a whole package. The store also offers crafting workshops which sound fun! 

After Magpie I headed across the street over to the cute boutique "Ibiss".  I have always enjoyed looking around in the store. They have super cute and stylish clothing, accessories, gift, and stationery items. When I walked in the girls working there were super friendly. I told them that I was working on a blog and asked to take photos. They showed a lot of interest in what I was doing so that made me feel great. The store is merchandised and displayed by color, which I love. The had fun stuff for Valentines Day along with some neat San Francisco themed items.  I definitely left my heart in San Francisco and still like to consider it my hometown. The staff at Ibiss told me they sometimes have a pop up shop in San Francisco so I'd love to catch that on one of my excursions back "home".  I left there inspired and ready to start shopping for Spring!

To end my day on a sweet note I crossed back over the street to one of my and my son's favorite cake places "Susie Cakes". I love the retro feeling you get when you walk in the doors. I like the combo of the mint green color with the reds, very 1950's. This bakery was inspired by a girl's love of baking with her grandmother just like I did as a child. All of the baked items have a very homemade taste to them. The cakes are super delicious and really moist. They have fabulous cookies, whoopie pies, and cakes and cupcakes. Right now they have a fun Barbie cake on display with two-tone white and pink frosting, so cute! This cake reminds me of my childhood in the 70's and 80's. I was so into Barbie. A vintage Barbie party package was one of my best sellers on my Etsy shop a couple of years ago, which included invitations, cake, toppers, flag banner, and favor cards. Barbie is still going strong. The bakery is also all set for Valentines Day. My shop also sells Valentines Cupcake Party Invitations which were one of the first invitations that I sold on my shop. I love to bake heart cookies with my son on Valentines day. I just love this time of year, so much fun!

Along with all of their fabulous treats they have great party items. Candles, cake toppers, plates an napkins with fun quotes. On display they have fun numbered candles for cakes and cupcakes, along with simple candles. Every year I get my son a number for the age that he is turning. We put it on his pancake in the morning of his birthday and on his cake for that evening. It is a fun tradition. I was really attracted to the pastel color palette of their simple candles. Pastel is really hot this season! This was yet another great adventure day in a local downtown area in the Silicon Valley.