Foodie Corner: Vanilla Bakeshop and Bru's Wiffle

Santa Monica is probably one of my favorite cities. I love hanging out at 3rd St. Promenade and looking at the Beach.
Bru's Wiffle

This past Sunday was Easter Sunday. I am part of the LA Foodies meetup group and they were having a brunch at Bru's Wiffle. If you are not part of this meetup group, sign up. Every week there are several different events. It's a great way to meet new people and enjoy delicious food.

Street parking was very easy. In this area, parking is free on Sunday's. There are tables outside and inside. If you're looking to enjoy the Santa Monica sun, outside is a good choice. We were a party of 8 and we sat inside. Since it was Easter Sunday, the place was packed. We had made reservations earlier, so we were promptly seated at our time. It didn't seem like the wait was long. I loved the festive colors of the green table and yellow napkins. 

Strawberry Arnold Palmer

Breakfast Slider

There is a wide variety of waffles including chicken and waffle, banana split, chili cheese waffle, and pizza waffle. I ordered the breakfast sliders. As well as, strawberry arnold palmer. The strawberry arnold palmer looked like it was made from fresh strawberries. There were seeds in it. I really liked my order. The slider has mini waffle, turkey sausage, egg, smoked applewood bacon, and cheese. I have to admit the reason I ordered this was because it came on mini waffles. How cute are these! I drizzled the maple syrup on top and delicious. This is exactly how I would like my breakfast every morning. I eyed one of the guest waffle pizza. It looked exactly like a deep dish pizza. I am going to get that next time I come.

I paid $20 for this meal including tip - Breakfast Slider $12.50, Arnold Palmer $3.25. Was this worth $20? I would say probably not, but most gourmet restaurants in Los Angeles are in this range. I plan on coming back again to at least try the burgers and waffle pizza.

I would recommend bringing a family member or date. Happy Eating!

Vanilla Bakeshop

After eating at Bru's Wiffle, I met my sister at the Promenade for some dessert. There are only a handful of dessert places on the Promenade, which include Angelato Cafe, Candy Baron, Tutti Frutti, Wetzels Pretzels, Yummy Cupcakes, Caffe Bellagio, Pinkberry, and Vanilla Bakeshop. I really hope that they bring a bakery. It seems like it is divided into Cupcake or Yogurt. I have to say I already tried Yummy Cupcakes and didn't enjoy their cupcake. We were directed to Vanilla Bakeshop for better cupcakes.

Display Case

Entering the store, I fell in love. It is one of the cutest little stores. The display case is so pretty. I love how they decorated each cupcake. Each day they offer a different set of cupcakes.

Old Fashioned Cupcake

I opted to get the Old Fashioned Cupcake. It is a dark chocolate cake with a whipped cream center and vanilla bean frosting with white sprinkles and a cherry on top. My sister got 3 baby cupcakes, Blackberry Passion Fruit, Mint Cookie, and Fleur de Sel.

Mint Cookie, Fleur de Sel, Blackberry Passion Fruit

Overall, we really didn't like the cupcakes. I really wanted to like them because the shop was so cute. One thing that could of made a huge difference was if they put the cupcake out of the cold case. My sisters baby cakes were a lot softer, which made it more enjoyable. My Old Fashioned Cupcake was a bit hard and the cream wasn't creamy. The Blackberry Passion Fruit was the only one that I thought was slightly tasty.

It looked like other people were enjoying their cupcake, so I assume that I might just not be a cupcake person. If anyone knows of a cupcake shop that can wow me, please let me know.

We paid $3.50 for the Old Fashioned Cupcake, $5.25 for the 3 baby cakes. Was it worth it? Unfortunately not, but it doesn't hurt to give this a shot if you're in Santa Monica.

Happy Eating!

Sharon's Lessons in Love

Photo was taken by Silvia Sar at the Foreign Cinema restaurant in San Francisco, CA.

Special even for DrawBridge

The one area people seem to have the most trouble is love and relationships. I know I struggled for years to cope with my loneliness. At the age of 25, I'm finally at a place of peace with myself. Everything that I learned about relationships actually make sense to me now. I want to share some valuable lessons I have learned through my romantic relationships.

Be happy with yourself. Love yourself.

This was probably the toughest thing that I learned. I always thought this meant that you don't need a man and you can be independent, but that's not what it means. When you're truly happy with yourself, you're not worrying about the future. You are in the present moment enjoying everything that is happening. When you love yourself, you love how you are today. You love your body, your personality, and who you are.

A relationship isn't going to make you happy.

I used to seek love from others because I didn't love myself. I came from a family where love was foreign. I thought if I found a guy, he would make me happy. Unfortunately, this wasn't true. If anything it made me more insecure and unhappy. I could never fill the void in my heart. This is why I encourage everyone to come to a place of happiness and love prior to jumping into a relationship.

Walk in the truth

Always be honest with yourself and others. If you want to be in a relationship that leads to marriage, say that. Don't act like what you think will keep the other person. If you want to date other people, be honest about that. Don't lead the other person on. If someone doesn't want to be with you because of your honesty then that person isn't right for you. If that person isn't right for you, let them go. There is someone out there that will appreciate them. Be fair and kind.

You can't change anyone, Only Yourself

If someone tells you that they don't want to be in a serious relationship, there is nothing you can say or do to change that person's mind. If a person is lazy, you can't "train" them to not be lazy. The only thing you can control and change is your behavior. If you can't tolerate the other person's behavior then you need to leave. Don't stick around thinking that person is going to change. They might change, but it'll be on their terms not yours.

Relationships are friendships

Every relationship that I know that worked started off as a friendship. This doesn't mean friends with benefits. Either the two people were good friends prior to dating, or became friends while dating. These are a few qualities of a meaningful friendship:

• Can share anything and know that person won't judge you
• Enjoys spending time with you
• Usually the first person you will share exciting news with
• Makes you feel safe, you can trust them
• You can laugh and cry together

Be the best you and never stop learning

If you have a list of qualities you want in another person, you need to be the same as that list. If you want another person to have a job, then you need a job. If you want that person to be fit, then you should be fit. You can't demand that another person be a perfect person, when you're not perfect. Be the best that you can be. This goes hand in hand with being happy with yourself. Do things that will be an asset in your life. Don't stop learning. My grandfather is 90 years old and he still take English classes. He hangs out at the community center and exercises everday. Think about all the things you wanted to do, do them.

Forgive others and stop complaining

Most of us carry a backpack of baggage. You have to forgive others and let things go. You are only hurting yourself when you don't. Believe me it's hard, but you can do it. One thing that really helped me was prayer. I would pray to god and he would help me come to peace. You don't have tell the person, only if you want to. Complaining about others can put a huge burden on your partner. It's okay to vent once in awhile about something, but after you do, let it go. If you talk about it over and over again, that's when it becomes a complaint. Honestly, would you like to hear someone constantly talk about the same topic. Let it go.

Appreciate the other person

The #1 reason why people cheat is a lack of appreciation. Be thankful that person is in your life. If that person is so unbearable, then leave. You don't need to do something to hurt them. Shower that person with words of gratitude. Material things can be nice, but honestly words are so much stronger. Tell that person often how much you love and appreciate them.

I hope that these tips will help you build a stronger relationship with yourself and others. 



Dealing with Abusive Family Members

Often when people speak of abuse, they refer to physical abuse, but there are many types of abuse. In addition, there are many types of abusers.
Unfortunately, I grew up in an abusive household. It has taken me many years to erase that time and forgive my abusers. It is true that many children grow up to be abusive adults. It isn't because they want to, rather that is all they know how to do. I used to be an abusive person. I was never physically abusive, but I had moments of uncontrollable anger. I was completely unstable. When I realized that I was living a hateful life, I changed. It makes me sad, but I can see how there are members of my family that are still abusive.

I found 28 Signs of Abuse, but I narrowed it down to 18. On the site Sanctuary for the Abused (SFTA), they refer to the abuser as a male, but I am going to interpret those signs about family members. I will highlight the ones I find in this family member.

1. Change in Circumstances

• Unemployment, Underemployment
• Expelled
• Trouble with the Law 
• Move back home
• Broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend

As SFTA states, Underemployment in itself isn't a sign. It's more the fact the person might feel badly about their circumstance.

2. Emotional Dependency
Constantly needs to be reassured that they are beautiful, smart, intelligent, etc.

3. Boundaries

• Violate your personal space and things
• Intimidates you by getting too close
• Touches, pinches, grabs you against your will
• Ask you for money and gets angry when you don't give it to them
• Guilt trips you into giving in

4. Controlling Behavior

• Controls where you go, what you do, with whom and for how long
• Controls money and money decisions
• Won't allow you to share expenses
• Refuse to work and won't share expenses
• Won't help contribute to the family (Ex: chores)
• Protective to the point of controlling
• Gets angry when you're late

5. Jealousy

• Jealous of your relationships with friends and other family members
• Accuse you of being uncaring and putting other people first
• Unhappy with your accomplishments

6. Abusive Family of Origin
As I stated, abusers often learn abuse from their families. Violence becomes a normal part of their life.

7. Low Self Esteem

• Becomes threatened by others easily (Ex: someone is prettier than me)
• Damages your self-esteem, demeans your growth, demands your silence
• Overcompensates (Ex: Puts on revealing clothes, excessive make-up)
• Gossips and belittles others
• Fishes for compliments

8. Alcohol/ Drug Abuse

• Denies that they have a problem and refuse to get help.
• Signs of Alcohol/ Drug Abuse: unable to function properly

9. Difficulty Expressing Emotions/ Secretive

• Unable to identify feelings and express them directly and appropriately
• Becomes very angry and sulk
• Holds grudges
• Lashes out at you for no apparent reason
• Blame Shift; Never responsible for what happens

10. Blames others for feelings and Problems

• Believes they are victims
• Blames others for everything that goes wrong
• Manipulative
• Will reflect their feelings onto you
• Holds you responsible for suicidal and self-abusive behavior

11. Hypersensitivity

• Quick temper
• Unable to handle frustrations without getting angry
• Easily insulted
• Rant and rave about minor things like chores, or doing chores
• Constantly looking for reasons to become angry
• You feel like you're walking on eggshells

12. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Seems like two different people with mood swings from nice to explosive. Will change behavior for others, but will lash out at you.

13. Emotional Abuse

• Ignore your feelings and call you names
• Curse and yell at you
• Belittle your accomplishments
• Manipulate you with lies, contradictions, and false promises
• Humiliate you in public
• Use sarcasm as humor
• Argues with you constantly
• Says they don't want to listen to you

14. Isolation

• Keeps to themselves
• Extremely secretive
• Lashes out at you if you ask them about their day or what they did

15. Cruelty to Animals, Children, or Others

16. Past Violence
Any history of violence to solve problems. This can include beating people up even if they were in the right.

17. Threats of Violence

• Punishes you by breaking loved objects
• Terrorizes you into submission
• Pound on tables, punch holes in walls, destroy furniture, and throw objects.

18. Any Force During an Argument

SFTA states that even just one or two of these is enough to consider someone abusive. The hard thing is if a family member is abusive. As you can see, there are a lot of highlighting. This is not a complete list and I'm sure there are more signs, but use this as an outline.

If you're an adult, the best thing is to live away from the abuser and have little contact with them. Raise your self-esteem and learn to have boundaries. The hardest thing for me to learn was to say no to my mother. She was literally destroying my life, yet I couldn't say no. I realized that I was being unkind to her and myself by saying yes. Since I have developed strong boundaries with her, our relationship has been much better. This other family member ended up moving out of our family home, so the abuse has stopped. I have also made it clear that I will not help this family member.


If you're a child, this is much harder. The way I got out of abuse was just looking forward. I worked hard in high school and made sure I had good grades to go to a good school. I moved away for college. If you have an adult you trust, please go talk to them. I felt ashamed of my abuse. If you feel this way, don't. There are many people who have gone through this. There are options out of abuse, such as living with a non abusive family member. Talk to someone that can help you such as a school counselor.

Be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up. It is not your fault if a family member is abusive. They are responsible for their actions just as you are responsible for yours. Everyone deserves to be happy. You don't have to allow abuse to continue in your life. I have stopped my abusers from abusing me. I know you can stop it to.

Gratitude Changes Your Attitude

"Be thankful you're alive today because how else can you make a change" - Sharon Jun



The quickest way to change your mood is to start thinking about all the things you are grateful for. Here are some things I am grateful for:

I am grateful for my health

I am grateful to have a roof over my head and food in the fridge

I am grateful for my family

I am grateful for my job

I am grateful for my car

I am grateful to be living in the USA

I am grateful for being me

When you start appreciating the things you have, your life will change. I used to be a very unhappy and bitter person. I hated people and was jealous. It took a huge toll on my life. I had a lot of things taken away from me and I was literally starving. Then I remembered how God had helped me get out of so many situations. I became thankful for all the things I had. I may not have much, but I have more than many.

There's a really good scene in a Korean drama my mom watches. During the royalty days of Korea, young girls were tested to be the future Queen. The 3 remaining girls were intereviewed by the King. The sad thing about this time was that the 2 girls that were not chosen could never marry. You can imagine how important it was to be chosen. The King asked each girl "How much am I worth?". The first girl, had no reply to the answer. The 2nd girl, which was the royal familys favorite, said that nothing could measure the Kings worth. He was as grand as a mountain and calm as the river. This sounded like the best answer. The 3rd girl, which was the Prince's favorite, said one coin. This shocked the King. Then she explained that a homeless person knew the worth of one coin. That one coin was everything and so is the King to his people. The 3rd girl was chosen.

When you realize the worth of your life, then you will see your life change. Those bumps in your life were not for nothing. You have a greater purpose and those bumps are shaping you. I know that without my experiences, I wouldn't be the compassionate smart woman I am today.

Be Proactive About Your Dream

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

I discovered that the Los Angeles Community College offers non-credit classes. Today I attended the "How to start a business in Los Angeles Legally?" class. It was a 4 hour class that provided me basic information about what documents I would need to start a business. I was able to get answers to most of my questions. It cost me $70, $55 for the class and $15 for materials. I took home a Business Plan Template and a Booklet about starting a business. Plus the teacher gave his business card if we had further question.

This is the first step for me in realizing my dream. I mentioned in an earlier post that I now know my dream is to own a business. The hardest thing is taking that first step towards realizing your dream.

Keep in mind (I'm directing this towards those with a business in mind, but this can relate to any dream) ...

• NEVER give up. If you reach an obstacle think of creative ways to get around that obstacle. There is always a solution. One thing I have learned is not to be afraid to share a problem. You will be surprised by how much other people can help or at least direct you to help. Personally, I love helping people and providing them with information.
• Have a plan. Often times people think a business plan isn't necessary, but working for two failed start-ups I can tell you that it is very important. A Business plan is the road map and research for your business. Anyone can start a business, but not everyone can run one. You don't need a fancy plan, but have something written down that will give your business direction. I highly recommend taking a class because it gives you structure.
• Research, research. Anytime you do anything, research it. It's easy to be mislead when you're excited about something. A classmate mentioned Chase Storefront as a way to start an online store. I looked at the Chase website as well as googled "reviews" and "comparison sites". I want to know the good and bad, so that I can make an informed decision.
• Take things slow. I know that whenever I rush to do something, I make mistakes. In business, a mistake can cost thousands of dollars. It might seem cheaper to rush into things, but it can lead to other problems. Plan things out and take it slow.
• Build healthy relationships. Be a positive empowering person and reflect that in your attitude towards vendors and customers. If a vendor or customer is negative, it might be a good idea NOT to do business with them. They can create a lot of stress and anxiety. You DON'T have to work with anyone. Do what is healthy for you. I believe that like attracts like. If you are positive, you will find more positive people around you. 

Your dreams can come true.

I know my dreams are coming true and I'm excited. I will keep my blog updated on my journey.