I adore cupcakes… they’re like a delightful piece of your childhood come back to life!  So I actively seek out cupcakerys with quality fare.  I also adore cupcakes in miniature!  Just as tasty, but less guilt… although I tend to eat three to four mini cupcakes which is the same as one large cupcake….but I digress.

San Diego Style Weddings Photoshoot - Photos by San Diego Wedding Candids

In Los Angeles I have a favorite cupcakery, so I have been in search of a favorite San Diego Cupcakery.  Sweet Cheeks Baking Company is at the top of the list!

I first tried a Sweet Cheeks cupcake at a networking meeting for the San Diego Association of Bridal Consultants… it was a Red Velvet Mini.  I was intrigued by the tasty cupcake made from the BEST ingredients.  When you go to their website this is what you’ll find:

Mom used to make us eat cookies with oats and nuts, wheat germ and whole wheat flour…
We thought she was nuts herself, but as we’ve grown up, we recognize the need to introduce wholesome ingredients in our baked goods.
Using NO transfats or artificial ingredients, we incorporate the best of whole fresh eggs, whole wheat flour, flaxseed & wheat germ, fruits & nuts, and top quality purees & chocolates.

So not only do these sweet treats TASTE good but they are also GOOD for you!  (okay, that may be a stretch….but I’m trying to justify my vice here!)

I actually called up the Sweet Cheeks ladies in July of last year for help with a photoshoot my friend and I were working on.  We were designing a tabletop and wanted to used a boxed cupcake as the favor.  However our color scheme was black and raspberry pinks with a hint of lime green.  Not exactly colors used to entice one to food.  But Sweet Cheeks came through for us beautifully!  They delivered Blackout Chocolate Cupcakes with a perfectly pink frosting which we boxed up in clear boxes with a lime green ribbon.  We could not have been happier!  And it photographed wonderfully!

And recently, at another party I tried their Chewy Chocolate Cheeks which are like fudgey-browine-cakey morsels….YUMMY!!  I think I actually chased the server down to get another one.

The Wedding Luncheon - Photos by Barnett Photo

But, they do more than cupcakes!  For The Special Event’s Wedding Luncheon at the Hard Rock Hotel they did a full wedding cake which was both beautiful and interesting.

And on a recent visit, I walked into their kitchen (which smells like delight and happiness) and they informed me they had been baking banana nut bread and cheesecake that morning!

Elaine (the Right Cheek) and Donna (the Left Cheek) at Sweet Cheeks are such a delight to work with, do such an excellent job, and have such a passion for what they do.  It is quite a treat to work with them.

Sweet Cheeks Baking Company
4564 Alvarado Canyon Rd., Suite A*
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 285-1220
*This is their kitchen and offices…there is no storefront at the moment but we are eagerly awaiting that day!

Very few Downtown San Diego locations are as hip and modern as the Hard Rock Hotel.  A complete event venue, the Hard Rock offers guests rooms (obviously), event space,  dining, and nightlife!
The guest rooms are sleek & sexy with flat screen TVs, snake-skin headboards, fun & funky furniture all of which just beckons you to have a fabulous time!

Image Courtesy of HardRockHotelSD.com

The event space is the killer part!  Most of the rooms have huge windows which allows for natural light to come streaming through.  And if you have ever spent an entire day in a meeting room with no windows…you know what a treat that is.  Legends ballroom can accommodate up to 500 guests and sports high ceilings which compensates for being the room without windows.  But, again, the high ceilings eliminate any sense of claustrophobia.  And the staff delivers great service!  For those who missed the visual recap of The Special Event Wedding Lunch, nearly 500 event planners flooded the Hard Rock Hotel.  The service was great and the food was delicious!

Mary Jane’s Coffee Shop is one of the dining options at the Hard Rock Hotel and has the retro vibe without being a time-warp to the ’50s.  The Hard Rock also features Nobu San Diego…need I say more!   Sweetwater Saloon and Moonstone Lounge are also part of the Hard Rock nightlife.  And all this put together means your guests are guaranteed a good time!  And we haven’t event left the hotel yet!

Image Courtesy of HardRockHotelSD.com

In the heart of the Gaslamp District, the Hard Rock Hotel is centrally located to nearly anything your guests would want to do or see in San Diego.
For whatever event you may be planning, the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego should definitely be on your list of places to check out!

Last week thousands of event industry folks descended upon Downtown San Diego for The Special Event 2009 industry conference.  This led me to take up the duty of finding a restaurant for several of my fellow event planners and I to have dinner and catch up.  I was looking for something that seemed very “San Diego” but that also served great food and was centrally located for everyone.  I happily came upon JSix during my decision making process and could not have been more pleased!

JSix is a restaurant on J Street and Sixth in the Gaslamp District of Downtown San Diego.  They serve up a California Cuisine that is terribly hard to resist!  I dined on the Duck Confit and the Lobster & Crab Cakes that evening.  The duck was so deliciously cooked it simply fell off the bone and had the perfect hint of pink to it.  It was served a perfectly paired sauce (the name of which escapes me) and a meyer lemon risotto that I could have eaten all evening!  And let’s not forget the Crab Cakes!  I typically have issue with crab cakes because they can be a bit too greasy or oily for me…not these!  They were crispy and delicious…end of story!

Between the eight of us that were there that evening we tried a good portion of the menu and we were all not only pleased with the food but delighted at how good it was!

JSix prides themselves on serving not only quality tasting food, but also with quality ingredients.  They make several trips to local farmer’s markets to get the freshest foods they can find.

And I have not even touched upon the restaurant itself!  Sleek and modern but with fantastic lighting, the restaurant invites you to stay and linger for a while.  Cozy up to the bar and have a cocktail while you wait, observe the action in the kitchen which is a nice open layout for the patrons to view, or sneak upstairs to the JSix Rooftop Bar for a decidedly different atmosphere but with the same great food and drinks.  And while you’re there don’t forget to have a Pear Flower Lemonade!

JSix is a great location for a smaller sized rehearsal dinner of maybe 15 people.  If you have a larger group or want a private room you can enjoy the quality food from the Hotel Solamar which is immediately adjacent to JSix.   And let’s not forget the JSix Rooftop Bar which can host private events as well.

I’m a sucker for great food and great ambiance and JSix certainly makes the cut!

JSix Restaurant
616 J Street (At the corner of 6th Avenue)
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: 619.531.8744

I LOVE the love and support from my fellow planners! So when Green Orchid Events tagged me as one of their top 10 blogs I was psyched…and now its my turn!  But I am a picky blog reader and don’t subscribe to nearly as many as I could or should…so as far as faves go I only go to 8…but its quality not quantity!

This is how it works:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award.

Downtown San Diego has been enjoying quite the boom!  The Ivy Hotel opened in 2007 as THE chic & luxe hotel in the Gaslamp.  It was shortly followed by the Hard Rock Hotel and let’s not forget the newly renovated W hotel.  But now we have another treat to add to the mix…Se San Diego.

Designed to be an oasis amongst the buzzing downtown, walking into Se is like walking into another world.  The attention to detail in the lobby alone is incredible…stingray skins cover the concierge and reception desks…but the staff will immediately inform you that no stingrays were harmed in the process.  The skins come from a preserve and were gathered after the natural shedding process…how’s that for chic and eco-friendly!

A custom designed lighting sculpture hangs in the lobby and is more akin to a mobile than anything else.

And that’s another thing!  Installation pieces abound throughout the hotel.  The staircase wall is lined with a fin-like installation, the restaurant (Suite & Tender) has black wood panels with etchings of different words and phrases (some naughty and some nice), and the spa reception desk has an awesome backdrop of miniature teacup-like sculptures in the loveliest shade of foam green.  Its worth the visit just to see the art in the joint!

And the guest rooms….dark hardwood floors.  I was sold on that alone!

The hotel bar is cool, dark and sexy…perfect for an evening drink.

No expense was spared in the design of this property.  Boasting mainly an Asian-inspired theme, Se actually fuses together inspiration from every conceivable point in the world but in the most fluid aesthetic imaginable.  Incredibly tactile, you want to feel everything you see, but the sensory experience does not stop there.  The quirkiest part of the hotel are the elevators…white acrylic walls with embedded crosscuts of wood pieces that emanate the most subtly sweet aroma.  Again…the attention to detail is beyond anything I could have imagined.

And let’s not forget the ballroom.  Located on the 4th floor (someone correct me if that’s wrong), the east wall of the ballroom is filled with windows from floor to ceiling, and the ceiling has a sculptured element with wood panels overlapping each other.  I love the modern feel of the whole space!

As you can see, I like the place.  So next time your downtown and find yourself near the House of Blues cruise into the bar of their new neighbor…Se San Diego.

Image Courtesty of SeSanDiego.com

Website: SE San Diego

Address: 1047 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Se has had their soft opening and is due for their Grand Opening in February.