July 14, 2015

HEDLEY & BENNETT'S MINI APRON LAUNCH

July 14, 2015/ Laurén

Recently we attended the adorable mini apron launch party for Hedley & Bennett. Their new kids collection is just as stylish and wearable as their adult aprons, but smaller (and beyond cute)! We celebrated the line's newest additon at founder/designer Ellen Bennett's beautiful Los Angeles home. Complete with great food and lots of arts and crafts for the kids, the shindig was a lot of fun. All images by Mary Costa Photography.

Photo by Mary Costa — Photo by Mary Costa

We were greeted by a bright and beautiful food spread by HeirloomLA. Colorful goodie bags awaited each guest.

Sweet Clementine's Popsicles were the perfect party treat.

All of the stellar party sponsors. Follow them on Instagram for your viewing pleasure.

Moms and dads got to relax and sip on mimosas while the kids enjoyed all of the activities.

This stylish cutie did some tie-dying.

Ellen's chicken coop was a popular attraction too.

Joy Cho of Oh Joy! and her adorable family.

Mila and Brixton played "Hey Jude" whether other guests enjoyed it or not. ;)

Thanks for having us, Ellen! xx

June 12, 2015

FATHER'S DAY GIFT GUIDE

June 12, 2015/ Laurén

Our favorite male contributor is BACK!! Artist, Cassette Label Owner, Entrepreneur and Bonafide DILF, Joe McKay, shares his Father's Day Gift Guide with us! His Valentine's Day Gift Guide was such a hit, we can't wait to see what's on his list now.

Joe and his 6-year-old son, Maceo. — Joe and his 6-year-old son, Maceo.

It’s common that people don’t know what to get Dad for Father’s Day. It’s also common that Dad ends up getting a pair or socks or a tie or even a coffee mug. Now look, there’s actually nothing wrong with any of those things IF that’s something that the old man actually likes! (Personally I love socks. And coffee. And bowties.)

I’m going to throw out a few ideas for Father’s Day for those of you scratching your head as to what to get your husband, dad, grandfather or even crazy Uncle Tony who was a real father figure in your formative years. Let’s do this.

You can never go wrong with at least getting the old man a card — jeez guys, that’s easy enough. My recommendation: hop on over to Golden Fox Goods and choose from an assortment of Father’s Day cards, as well as many others for all your other celebratory needs.

You’re bound to have a man in your life with a beard so lay off telling him how handsome he is when he shaves. Embrace his mountain man side and gift him something from Beard Buddy. I recommend the Small Starter Pack which includes beard wash and beard oil. I personally use it and love it. And to make it even better, BEARD BUDDY HAS A SPECIAL FOR TWINK +SIS CUSTOMERS! Enter discount code “TSDAD” at checkout and save an additional 20% off your entire order!

I’ve never seen a guy that didn’t cool as hell in a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Am I right? So I’m pretty sure that Pops will dig these super rad folding ones in whatever style you choose. My vote is matte black because everything looks best in matte black.

Is your Dad a hipster? Of course he is. So he can definitely pull off wearing these insanely rad Cosmos Joggers from The Quiet Life. It really is ok to wear sweats all day and go out to the market in them and even to work and not take them off for like 5 days in a row. My bet is that big Poppa is gonna do just that once he’s slides these bad boys on (I have mine on right now). If they seem too wild, grab him a hoodie or a hat - there’s tons of stuff to choose from but it sells out quick so don’t sleep!

Got a shutter bug always taking pictures of you & the kids? Maybe it’s time for a new camera bag. Domke makes some of the best & most rugged camera bags around. Personally I like the Little Bit Smaller Bag which is the perfect size for any DLSR and a couple of lenses. Choose from different colors and styles.

Maybe the guy in your life is like me and spends a lot of time at his computer and desk. Why not spruce up his work area with a little green?! Concrete Geometric hand crafts beautiful planters in a variety of shapes and sizes. I have two of them.

Concrete Geometric is also offering a special discount for Twink + Sis readers! From now until June 16th, enter promo code “POP2015” for 20% off your entire order!

For those audiophile guys, I’ve got a great gift! Pro-ject Audio Systems make some of the sleekest, most modern looking turntables on the market. He can spin his new vinyl all day long and with the USB option, he can digitize those rare, vintage albums! Choose from an assortment of colors. The Essential comes in a matte black option so there’s no question what my choice would be there.

Lastly, maybe Dad or Hubby don’t NEED anything - so get them out of the house DOING something they’ve always wanted to do. How about a Stunt Driving course?! Are you kidding me?! What guy wouldn’t want to learn how to do that?! Don’t worry he won’t pull any of those tricks while driving the little ones to school… yeah right.

June 09, 2015

JOHN KELLY CHOCOLATES

June 09, 2015/ Laurén

Frankly, I'm still recovering from the kids' tropical rager on Sunday. All I want to do is lay on the couch with the world's largest box of John Kelly Chocolates. Handmade at the their flagship Hollywood location, John Kelly uses only the finest natural ingredients for their confections. The two gentlemen who founded the company, (John & Kelly) opened their first shop and small chocolate factory on Sierra Bonita, off of Sunset Blvd., in 2004. They now have a second location in Santa Monica, on Montana Ave. I recently stopped by their Westside haunt to snap some pics and pick up some of my favorite chocolates.

Their signature peanut butter fudge, enrobed in Belgian chocolate and topped with pink Himalayan sea salt.

Great gift idea!

You can custom make a box or grab some of their greatest hits off of the shelves. The Walnut Caramel Clusters with Mediterranean Sea Salt are WINNERS.

A wall of chocolate and salt. My two faves.

More beauties from the case.

Father's Day is around the corner too, so if Dad is a chocolate lover, he will dig this! xx

---

John Kelly is located at:

1508 Sierra Bonita Ave., Hollywood

AND

1111 1/2 Montana Ave., Santa Monica

May 28, 2015

JOAN'S ON THIRD, STUDIO CITY

May 28, 2015/ Laurén

LA's favorite marketplace/cafe/caterer opened its second location, in Studio City, less than a year ago. And all I have to say is "Thank God." I love living in The Valley, but we are still working at stepping up our food game... Joan's on Third is my one-stop-shop for wines, gifts and cheeses. They also make the best crudités dips! They have an extensive catering menu on their website. And they are the perfect lunch meeting spot. I want to eat everything in their bakery and they always decorate so adorably for every season. I love you Joan's!!!!!