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Mixture
Category:
Furniture
2210 Kettner Blvd
San Diego, California 92101
(619) 239-4788
Mixture is one of the new(ish) furniture retailers on Kettner Boulevard. (Apparently, in addition to inventing Little Italy, they are likewise trying to invent a "design district" here as well). ...
Mixture is one of the new(ish) furniture retailers on Kettner Boulevard. (Apparently, in addition to inventing Little Italy, they are likewise trying to invent a "design district" here as well). The style of the store is very modern -- the lines are clean, and the colors are very hip and bold. The space itself is like a large loft, very open and bright. The downstairs has sofas, rugs, desks (the vintage styled school desk is awesome!), and then some coffee table type design books and small design-y gifts. Upstairs are some shelves, smaller sofas, pillows and some coffee tables.
The emphasis is on upscale, high-end design pieces, so the sofas will typically set you back about 3-4k, though they occasionally have floor model sales where you can get anywhere from 30 - 70% off. The good thing is you likely will not see the furniture elsewhere -- and the pieces would perfectly complement the "urban" loft type spaces going in around the Little Italy/ Gaslamp/ East Village areas.
Unlike other designer type furniture stores, the staff here do not have an attitude or any snobbery. They seem very down to earth and chatty. A fun place to browse and dream about your future million dollar residence(s).
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Pannikin
Category:
Coffee Shops
675 G St
San Diego, California 92101
(619) 239-7891
We had their Blood Orange tea elsewhere at first. But by dumb luck I managed to trace the source to Pannikin -- a retailer that specializes in coffees and teas. A lot of the teas you won't find...
We had their Blood Orange tea elsewhere at first. But by dumb luck I managed to trace the source to Pannikin -- a retailer that specializes in coffees and teas. A lot of the teas you won't find elsewhere, and there are many unusual tisanes (herbal teas) as well, which is usually tough to find much beyond the usual mint and hibiscus tea suspects.
The space downtown is very charming, with a lot of ambiance. Besides the counter with rows of teas and coffees lined up, they have filled the stores with small knick-knacks from the world over. Naturally they have lots of teapots and mugs for sale as well. I would imagine that this would be the perfect place to find a gift for an aunt, grandma or mom at Christmas time too.
The teas are on the expensive side (about $4-5 for four ounces) but they are very tasty and fragrant. You don't need very much to brew up a mug either.
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Mid-Century Design is located on Park Blvd right next door to the coffee shop and cafe... which makes it a good place to window shop if you are killing time waiting for friends to show up.
The...
Mid-Century Design is located on Park Blvd right next door to the coffee shop and cafe... which makes it a good place to window shop if you are killing time waiting for friends to show up.
The store is pretty small in terms of square feet, but they definitely pack (or should I say "stack"?) a lot in there. All the kitschy, hip mid-century stuff that either looks as if it belongs in an architectural catalog (here's looking at you, Eames) or an Austin Powers set is the sort of style you'll find here. Turnover seems to be pretty quick, so you can check in here every few weeks to see if they have anything that meets your needs. If you don't see what you're looking for, the owner will take down your name and number and give you a shout if he finds a piece and brings it into the store.
Prices here, while not amazingly cheap by any means, are pretty reasonable. Mid-century seems to be all the rage now, so the price tags seem to have likewise shot up. Every time I've been in here (that's many!), the staff have been nice and friendly. I ended up buying two chrome lamps that I have been very pleased with, and continue to check back to see if they have the elusive table of my dreams.
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Located in the Cedros Design District, the Cedros Gardens offers some greenery to add to your home and garden once the furniture shopping is done. Most are of the bedding plant (pansies, gerbera...
Located in the Cedros Design District, the Cedros Gardens offers some greenery to add to your home and garden once the furniture shopping is done. Most are of the bedding plant (pansies, gerbera daisies, etc) variety, but there are also vegetables like tomato plants, peppers, and herbs. Cedros Gardens does not use pesticides on their plants, they are all organically grown, so if you want to have some of the plants indoors, this is reassuring. Everything I purchased was very healthy and vibrant (unfortunately, I have a black thumb and promptly killed them all by allowing them to bake in the sun).
The prices here are a little high, I'm assuming because of the real estate and not using pesticides. The staff is not consistently friendly -- one time I was there, they were very helpful and would check up on me and ask if I needed assistance and on another occasion, they pretty much ignored me and when I was paying for my purchase, they couldn't even be bothered to say thanks.
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My Honda Civic was long overdue for its 60,000 service check. I'll admit, I procrastinated because I dread taking my car to the mechanic, especially in a new town where I don't know where to go. I...
My Honda Civic was long overdue for its 60,000 service check. I'll admit, I procrastinated because I dread taking my car to the mechanic, especially in a new town where I don't know where to go. I am always afraid of being scammed in some way, I guess.
JC Honda came recommended on another website, so I decided to give them a whirl. Taking the car in was a breeze, I didn't have to wait long and they had it inspected and ready to go in the time they said they would. Best of all, there were no "mystery" ailments that they identified. They were straight up and honest about their recommendations and were not pushy about any of the things that they recommended. In the end, I had them do a realignment too because the car was really needing one. They did a really good job, and the estimate was right on the nose and I was satisfied with their work.
I would recommend JC Honda to any Honda owner who is looking for a reputable mechanic to service their vehicle.
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Closet
Category:
Women's Clothing
4475 Mission Blvd
San Diego, California 92109
(858) 483-7112
Out of the teenybopper type clothing stores on Mission Blvd, the Closet has the widest selection and the best range of clothing. You can get your clubbing clothes, casual lounge about outfits,...
Out of the teenybopper type clothing stores on Mission Blvd, the Closet has the widest selection and the best range of clothing. You can get your clubbing clothes, casual lounge about outfits, workout pants and tops, and even purses and hair accessories here. Everything is inexpensive, probably the most expensive item is around the $35 mark (though it goes without saying that everything is made in China or some sweatshop). This place is always crammed with people, usually small framed/ thin 20 something kind of girls. Forget about finding any large or plus sized clothing here... and even the size "large" runs really small! Dressing rooms are a premium, sometimes you have to queue up for awhile to hide behind the curtain to try your stash on (you can't be too modest either, as these curtains aren't very good at concealing much). The same can be said about the cashier. Lots of lines to wait in, but you can get oodles of stuff for a song.
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Gala Foods is the only grocery store serving the Golden Hill/ South Park area. It is completely old school, like one of those 50s style grocery stores from small town mid-america, complete with a...
Gala Foods is the only grocery store serving the Golden Hill/ South Park area. It is completely old school, like one of those 50s style grocery stores from small town mid-america, complete with a large arch at the entrance (think: old Safeway).
It isn't particularly fancy, hip or updated inside, but they do keep the store very tidy and neat. Also, it is the only grocery store in San Diego that carries frozen Lender Bagels which just endears me to them. It's been a long time since I've been in a grocery store that has the store manager sitting in the booth in the center of the store, but Gala Foods still has him there. Any time you have a compliment or complaint, you can find him quickly and he'll do his best to please you... I find it amazing there is still a store that does this!
Produce is adequate. Not a huge selection, but it has all your basics. In fact, tomatillos and avocado prices here can't be beat. The meat and dairy section is very small (there is no butcher as far as I can tell), but if there is anything you need, just tell the store manager and he'll try and get it for you. I have been very impressed with his attitude.
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The Cracker Factory Antiques Shopping Center is one of those antique spots that allows many vendors to rent a space and set up a booth. So a lot of it is hit and miss. I will say though that there...
The Cracker Factory Antiques Shopping Center is one of those antique spots that allows many vendors to rent a space and set up a booth. So a lot of it is hit and miss. I will say though that there is more life in the ones on the main floor than the ones upstairs, but I am sure that goes without saying.
My favorite booth is the Japanese antiques. You can see old tea cabinets, ceremony trays, screen dividers, chairs, even ancient samarai warrior outfits (sorry, don't know the proper name!). There are a lot of unusual pieces there, and if textiles are your thing, they have a good selection of kimonos and obis.
Upstairs is a booth by an Arts and Crafts style woodcrafts person. The pieces are beautifully constructed and amazing to look at. Wish I could afford them!
Good overall representation of items here -- everything from old dentist's cabinets to fiestaware. The building itself is fun to look at and walk around, since it's old and creaky.
Nearby is the Gaslamp district, so you can walk around the neighborhood and make an afternoon of it.
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I had to crack up over the name of this store when I drove past it originally. In fact, I knew I had to go in just based on the name alone.
Frock you is a smaller vintage clothing store, but...
I had to crack up over the name of this store when I drove past it originally. In fact, I knew I had to go in just based on the name alone.
Frock you is a smaller vintage clothing store, but with a pretty good selection. They are located near Henry's Marketplace and the library, so sometimes parking can be a bit tough. They carry both women's and men's clothing, with an emphasis on clothing from the 60s and 70s, though you can find the odd thing or two from earlier decades. There are some shoes and purses, but it is mostly clothing. They also have a small collection of vintage labels and stickers from the Deco era, which are a lot of fun to look at. Outside of the store is a small patio where you can get refreshments and espresso to perk you up after shopping (or as a pre-shopping adventure!).
Prices are good, and the people there are very friendly. It seems a lot of people in the movie business come here to find costumes and accessories, so I guess it must be a pretty good find.
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It's very rare to find a vintage clothing store that has a wide selection of clothing from decades other than the 60s and 70s. Wear It Again Sam seems to specialize in finding those elusive clothes...
It's very rare to find a vintage clothing store that has a wide selection of clothing from decades other than the 60s and 70s. Wear It Again Sam seems to specialize in finding those elusive clothes from earlier decades. On my last trip in the store, they had a section of exquisite party dresses from the 20s and 30s, lots of bias-cut, glamourous slips from the 40s and a ton of cute poofy summer dresses from the 50s. There was also a rack of vintage kimono's and several shelves of vintage shoes. My favorite section is the purses - they have a lot of classic patent leather purses from the 50s and 60s. They are, like everything else, in great condition.
Wear It Again Sam also has men's clothing (in the front of the store). Hats, gloves, costume jewelry and coats can also been found in nooks and crannies throughout the store.
Prices are on the high side for vintage (most items are above $60) but considering the condition and the age, it is reasonable and certainly a lot less scary than trying to find similar things on ebay. At least you can try these on and see them in person
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