Monday, December 29, 2008

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.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

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)