Sara Happ and Sugarfina Summer Celebration in Beverly Hills

Sara Happ hosted a Summer Celebration at candy store Sugarfina in Beverly Hills in which guests enjoyed sweets (of course), cocktails by Purity Vodka, and Sara Happ lip scrubs and touch ups by Glam Squad. I enjoyed a watermelon mojito while perusing Sugarfina's shelves and what seemed like endless displays of the most beautiful gourmet sweets. Owners Rosie and Josh travel the world to bring the latest, greatest, and sweetest candies to their shops. Sara Happ is the creator of the cult classic, The Lip Scrub, and her various lip scrubs combined on display among the candy created a very delectable and inviting surrounding (I didn't want to leave, but did get maxed out on sweets).

Check out the Sara Happ site here, and visit a Sugarfina near you or shop online!

Nekter Juice Bar Cocktails at SOL Cocina & Solita Tacos

For the rest of this week, SOL Cocina in Newport Beach and solita Tacos & Margaritas in Huntington Beach will be serving up specialty cocktails with Nekter Juice Bar's Nekter on the Rocks. Yes, you read right, specialty cocktails using juice mixes from one of my favorite juice spots! solita will be featuring the solita Bubbly Beach Berries, made with Nekter on the Rocks' Beach Berries mixer, a breezy blend of strawberries, blackberries, lemon, agave and basil. SOL Cocina will be featuring The SOL Sunset, made with Nekter on the Rocks' Arizona Sunset, a blend of grapefruit, orange, blood orange, peach and agave.
I got to taste the cocktails for myself, and I have to say the Bubbly Beach Berries was my fave. I also took home two bottles of Nekter on the Rocks along with a recipe and will be attempting, keyword, attempting to make the cocktails myself. You can pick up any or all three Nekter on the Rocks juices from any Nekter Juice Bar location!
Here are the available flavors and how to make your specialty cocktail:

Beach Berries � a breezy blend of strawberries, blackberries, lemon, agave and basil.
Just add vodka and a splash of club soda for a Beach Berry Martini - basil for garnish. Make a splash into your favorite champagne for a Beach Berry Mimosa, or add to sparkling water or club soda for a non-alcohol refresher.
SoCal Margarita � a healthy California-inspired take on the classic margarita, made with lemons, limes, orange and agave.
Just add tequila for a refreshing margarita! Add SoCal Margarita mix to sparkling water or club soda for a refreshing, citrus-filled spritzer.
Arizona Sunset � a dazzling sunset in a bottle made with grapefruit, orange, blood orange, peach and agave.
Add to your favorite rum, and pitch a mini umbrella under the desert sun! Just add vodka for a beautifully bright martini, or sprinkle a dash or two into Champagne for a Sunday morning mimosa.
Last two photos provided by Kimberly Luu

Grand Marnier Tasting at the Center Club in Costa Mesa

You may have seen that I celebrated the Summer Solstice with Renee at Grand Marnier's Summer Solstice Party at the Roosevelt Hollywood. Before that, I had gotten to attend a Grand Marnier tasting with Andrew at the Center Club in Costa Mesa.
Prior to the formal tasting and dinner, we had small bites and Grand Marnier cocktails. Once we sat down for dinner we were taken through an amazing 5 courses accompanied by the Grand Marnier Grand Cuvee Collection and Fine Marnier Lapostelle Wines, hosted and curated by Master Distiller Patrick Rageunaud. I enjoyed learning about the history and craftsmanship of Grand Marnier all from the Master Distiller himself; there's really a sense of pride and passion that goes into every step of making cognac and wines.
I like that Grand Marnier's cognacs have unique and signature tropical orange notes, and Andrew and I couldn't stop raving about the Lapostelle Wines; we tasted the Clos Apalta and Chateau Sancerre, both from Chile. Each dish served by the Center Club wasn't better than the next, but a phenomenal flurry of flavors individually and with the cognac or wine pairing. My favorites included a perfectly seared scallop as well as goat cheese beignets on a bed of asparagus. Learn more about Grand Marnier here and the Center Club here.
Photos taken by Olga Mironova