From City Farmers Nursery, we drove up the hill and turned on Fairmont Ave...
before taking the "scenic" route through El Cajon Blvd. to get to Normal Heights to our favorite bookstore...
where this fellow resides...
"Walk AROUND me..."
TC is obsessed with Bartleby the bookstore cat. The stairs seem to one of Bart's favorite spots. It was funny as I was walking up the stairs because there were two girls around the corner taking photos and trying to befriend the cat.
I walked past to the cookbook section where Felixia, the other cat, was standing guard. She is a bit more temperamental than Bart, but can be friendly sometimes.
The folks working here are always so nice. According to the lady, I was the first person to buy their new cat magnets (sorry, no photo but they feature the bookstore cats obviously). Asides from food, this was my first purchase for Black Friday.
I really like this store, Back from Tomboctou. They have such a great selection of folk art crafts from Mexico and other Latin American countries...
Such as this cute item called a "sorpresa" ("surprise" in Spanish)...
When you lift it, there is a tiny scene inside. If you look at one of the animals, there is a tiny insect on it. I'm not sure if it was in there already (it came wrapped) or if it alighted on the figurine when I took the photo.
According to the store owner, the sorpresas are from a town called Ilobasco in El Salvador. There are many villages that sell artisanal crafts such as this. This particular one, which I bought ($8 on sale instead of $12 since it was Small Business Saturday) was a Christmas scene obviously. There are other sorpresas available in which there are everyday type of scenes hidden under domes shaped like fruit or vegetables or tiny buildings. I find them quite charming. Apparently there is a "special" version (not sold here, but I read about it online) that feature a couple doing the, uh, horizontal tango, haha.
TC got her drink at BGCB, an Italian cream soda. One of these days, I'm just going to buy her a bottle of Torani syrup and Perrier so she can make her own at home. To our delight, several poles and columns were yarn bombed...
Afterwards, we made a quick trip to Donut Panic in Grantville. Cathy texted me that they had baklava (as seen on DP's Instagram). I was curious to try it out and also to see if there were any vegan donuts left...
The baklava was actually baklava cake. According to Linda, owner and baker at Donut Panic, she learned the recipe from an older lady and says it's much easier to make than baklava. I would have to agree with her since the thought of brushing phyllo dough sheets with butter makes me want to run to the hills screaming. I looked up variations of this recipe and want to try making this during vacation. The cake batter has almonds while the cake itself is topped with fragrant rosewater syrup and chopped pistachios. It was very moist and had an unusual floral flavor due to the syrup. I'm happy that we tried some that day.
We got two of the last three vegan donuts left, a chocolate sprinkle donut and an old fashioned, both of which were enjoyed by day's end. Linda, ever so kind, gave us a complimentary chocolate Kahlua vegan cupcake. This was such a nice surprise and once again, it was enjoyed later that evening.
For kicks, here's a video (in Spanish) featuring the crafts from Ilobasco. It's 10 minutes long and I don't expect you to watch the whole thing. Instead, just skip to the 5.40 mark to see other examples of "sorpresas", which are considered "tipico" (typical or "traditional").
Previous visit to Adams Avenue Bookstore and Broke Girls Coffee Bar:
February 2014in which we only saw Bart the cat...
Previous visit to Back from Tomboctou:
May 2014 in which Bert and I also visited the now defunct Vintage Religion...
Previous visit to Donut Panic:
August 2014
I thought we had a nice day out rather than braving the malls with all of the consumer madness. I think I'm going to keep it really simple this holiday season in terms of gift giving and entertaining...
4 comments:
The sorpresas are super cute! I totally want one now. The baklava cake looks yummy. I've made baklava before, I didn't think it was that bad haha.
I'm going to try making that cake. I just need the rosewater syrup. I thought I had it, but it was orange blossom. Instead. Bought a while ago but never opened.
I have rosewater and orange blossom that I've never opened as well! Hmm, will have to look into it. Or maybe do a Christmas cookie with it.
The baklava cake uses the rosewater. I wonder if I can just switch it out. I don't like rosewater all that much anyways.
Post a Comment