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.)

Santee Street/Alley, Downtown LA

Well if you've ever been to Santee street on the weekend, then you know it's uncomfortably crowded. However, if you decide to go during the week or are willing to battle it out then there are deals to be found (whether you are shopping the black market for knock offs or other trendy styles at a discount.) Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of junk you must wrestle through in order to find the good deals but if you're willing to search you can get great shirts/blouses for $5-10, summer dresses for close to the same and LOTS of shoes. My favorite find was Converse sneakers for $25.99- the cheapest I've seen them elsewhere is $29.99. But beware, most places only take cash so make sure to bring plenty for your splurge!


Many stores such as POP USA sell authentic name brand jeans (Seven, Citizen, True Religion) for 30%-70% off but there are also many street vendors that sell knock offs if you're interested in that.


Santee street is located in Downtown LA's Fashion District. The best place to park is between Santee and Maple St.

Late Night Spot- Studio City

My boyfriend and I were looking for a late night spot to dine the other night in Studio City and came across a Mexican restaurant full of nightlife called Mexicali.

So the food isn't the most amazing thing but the pros about this place is that it's open late (open until 1am even on weekdays) AND prices arn't to out of control. It is also a great place to hang out for twenty- thrityish crowd. Admittedly, it is a little noisy since it's probably the few decent night spots available. Also be warned that service isn't spectacular either. BUT, if you're looking for a late night spot with a fun atmosphere that's reasonable- this fits the bill

I got a cup of Tortilla soup for $3.70 on their menu. Another tip is to come Monday night when their whole menu is 30% off.

Mexicali Cocina Cantina
12161 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604-2515
Phone: (818) 985-1744

CVS Brand Products

This is probably not a big secret but in case you are not aware of CVS branded products which basically include everything under the sun- I'm more focusing on their toiletry/household products.

Unlike other store brand products which try to rival mainstream brands, CVS actually maintains a high level of quality and similarity to mainstream products. I love CVS products- and I've tried a whole range of them from their Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleanser knock off, to all kinds of lotions, to body washes, etc etc- their standards are pretty high. Even if they are not the "real deal" they do a pretty damn good job- so next time you run out of lotion or toilet paper, buy the CVS store brand and save a couple bucks :)

The first entry

Living is not cheap, especially living in California. My mom told me of her days of youth shortly after she graduated from UCLA in the mid seventies. She started with a salary of $12,000 which she reckons in her days was decent (I find that hard to believe since that seems like nothing these days). She could afford to live on the westside in her OWN apartment, eat out , go "fun" shopping, and travel all on that budget.

I only dream of that kind of lifestyle these days. Salaries have definitely not kept up with rising costs of living and even though I make what could be considered a decent salary for a kid just out of school I still feel a tug every month. Gas is near $4.00 per gallon, minimum wage is $8.00. This means people on a minimum wage salary only are barely able to pay for their transportation alone, if that.

I wish I had a passion for politics and I wish I could change the way things are. I don't see myself in the near future being able to turn this around. I can only hope that whoever is our future president will take this challenge on. What I have decided to do in the mean time is start my "Frugality" blog to keep track of all saving money tactics I've come across. Whether shopping wisely, good but reasonable restaurants, tips, free services- whatever it may be I'll try to make note of it. I know it's not much, but maybe it will help some of you- at least those in the socal region.

Let's just see how this goes :)