Topanga Pizza!

22994 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills -

(818) 222-4944

A lot more than pizza. This is probably one of my top favorite Italian restaurants in the Valley. It is owned by a Japanese man who makes extremely delicious Italian food. Extremely affordable too. I recommend the Chinese Chicken Salad (I know, not very Italian but it's wonderful) - Their cheese ravioli is awesome, so is their homemade pizza. This is my family's "go to" restaurant - I've introduced many family and friends to this place. Very cozy and local feel regardless of being located in a strip mall.

Also, they make super yummy homemade Italian garlic rolls (w/ olive oil and garlic oozing down) they bring out free for you when you sit down. Ammazzing.

Hotel Surplus, Van Nuys

Looking to furnish your home with high quality furniture at extremely reasonable prices? You will love Hotel Surplus. I was really happy I didn't have to settle for Ikea quality (not that I don't love Ikea but you know what I mean)

Apparently high end hotels renovate every 4-5 years and sell their old furniture in bulk to warehouses such as Hotel Surplus. Two awesome things about this:

1. Hotels only select high quality pieces of furniture because they know their guests don't really give a crap about their room furnishings - so furniture must be durable enough to withstand wear and tear.
2. Furniture that is 4-5 years old in a hotel room that has mostly been vacant is nearly brand new

This place has awesome prices. I was looking for a living room pull-out sofa so that my guests would have a place to sleep when they come over. All pull-out sofas that I was looking at started at at least $600 used! My mom, the bargain hunter that she is, came across Hotel Surplus and bought me a queen size pull-out sofa (originally from the San Diego Hilton Resort) for $299. She also found this beautiful armoire for $179 (an original piece from the Casa Del Mar Hotel, Santa Monica). This item is really a worth a couple grand - we definitely got a steal. In fact you can still view the piece here on the Casa Del Mar Hotel website in their Penthouse.


Here are some pics of the furniture pieces in my new crib (armoire & sofa):

Seriously, go check it ouuuut!

The Hotel Surplus Outlet

6843 Valjean Ave
Van Nuys, CA 91406
(818) 787-7807

website: http://www.hotelsurplus.com/
(the website is not updated with furniture that often - you must actually check out the warehouse physically to find the deals)

Nuts n' Berries Cafe, Encino CA

If you happen to be in the Encino area and want a truly healthy/delicious lunch at a reasonable price, try Nuts 'n Berries Cafe. While it is located in the lobby floor of an office building on Ventura Blvd, I assure you the food is amazing and creative. Seating is limited but they have an outside shaded patio area which is small but provides comfortable seating.

Some of my favorites in rank order include:

Ahh-Raw-Sh salad: A HUGE salad made of Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onions, parsley, mint, avocado, mango, strawberries, walnuts, dates and a spicy lime vinaigrette. Super fresh and super delicious

Price: $8.50 (a truly reasonable price for the size, freshness and value)

The Mango: This is one of my favorite sandwiches! A truly imaginative creation of organix crunchy peanut butter, fresh mango and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. A nice mix of crunchiness and sweetness. The cayenne pepper adds a kick as well.

Price: $5:50 (includes a side of fresh fruit - the good kind, not just cantaloupe and melon, or tortilla chips)

Sweet Monkey: Another fun sandwich of organic crunchy peanut butter, banana slices and honey. Crunchy and sweet again.

Price: $5:50 (includes a side of fresh fruit - the good kind, not just cantaloupe and melon, or tortilla chips)

As you can see, very reasonable prices and the best part is that the food is delicious!

Nuts 'n Berries Cafe
15840 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 501-6808

Hours: 7am-5pm Monday-Friday

Fresh & Easy

From UK's famous grocery store chain Tesco comes Fresh & Easy to the U.S.



This is an awesome chain of grocery stores (all over southern California) that is affordable and offers fresh food items. I really like to get bags of fruit there. They also have pre-made meals for on the go that use fresh ingredients (i.e. they are perishable). I bought the majority of my ingredients for Thanksgiving from here. Also make sure to visit their website http://www.freshandeasy.com/ for really great coupons to print (such as $5 or $6 dollars off if you spend $30 or more) before your visit. Read their mission below:

	We treat people how we like to be treated and nobody tries harder for customers.
	We think fresh, wholesome food should be accessible and affordable to everyone.
	We're a neighborhood market, so it only makes sense that we care about our neighbors and our environment.
	People who are valued are better able to value our customers, so creating a rewarding workplace is very important to us

Keep a look out for a store near you! I promise, you'll be very pleased.

Emerging Importance for FRUGALITY

Given this recession, yes I said recession, there is a new importance/need for this blog which I have admittedly been terrible about updating. Let's start with one update per week about a new cost saving place. This week I actually have two! I guess I need to make up for my neglect. I'm thinking about having more of a focus. Since the holidays are coming up maybe I can share things along the lines of buying economical/practical/awesome gifts. I don't know what the readership is on this blog or even if there is any readership but if you are reading, then I hope this is helpful in some way or at least provides ideas. Anyway, times are hard right now for everyone and it only looks like it's going to get worse - but hopefully frugality will let our dollars stretch just a little bit farther :)

- Sash

Join my "Let's Eat LA" group if you like to eat out!

I've created this group to go explore yummy restaurants in the LA area! We're off to find new exotic, delicious but affordable meals around the San Fernando/Downtown/Westside areas of LA.

Join if you want to meet up for a dinner approximately every two weeks. Meet new people over an exciting/yummy meal.

http://groups.google.com/group/lets-eat-la

Kura Sushi, Costa Mesa, CA

I've been going to this place throughout college and just revisited it last Thursday- hence realizing WHY I went to this place throughout college. Really great sushi at a very affordable prices. What I particularly like about this place is that YOU decide how much you really want to spend. This place is always packed so be prepared to wait a little bit if you go in the evenings.

This is a revolving sushi bar- so different sushi dishes pass you by on conveyor belts. Plates start at $1.25 and the most expensive plate is $3.75 for something fancy (such as a Godzilla Roll which are absolutely amazing- baked/fried crunchy shrimp with eel and spicy sauce top). Spicy tuna rolls (my favorite) are only $1.75/plate. So you really decide how hungry you are and eat accordingly. I usually get 3 or 4 plates if moderately hungry (a crunchy roll, godzilla roll, and spicy tuna) and this tends to fill me up with a grand total of $7.75 (awesomeness.) Their deep fried green tea ice cream dumpling is also amazing for dessert.

Kura Sushi
212 E 17th St
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 631-3200

11:30a.m.-10:00p.m. (Mon.-Thu.), 11:30a.m.-10:30p.m. (Fri.),
12:00p.m.-10:30p.m. (Sat.), 12:00p.m.-9:30p.m. (Sun.)