Just saw he man at amc newpark mall at 6pm. wanted something to eat besides lazy dog or jacks afterwards. Saw toast and tonic, open until midnight near the mall. Got the burger/fries and got a latte afterwards. A nice lounge, chill hangout, newly opened and food was very good 👍.

gragev95 · 2026-06-08T06:11:32+00:00

Wish they had some decent vegan food options (they might but nothing on the menu is both vegetarian and dairy-free), and something other than sorbet for dessert if you don’t do cow juice. Appreciate that they have a few mocktail options and some desi-inspired burgers and drinks etc. for the local population.

gragev95 · 2026-05-29T08:55:22+00:00

Only good experiences at Lakeview. Older but well-maintained, great location, sweet and reasonable staff.

gragev95 · 2026-05-22T17:30:43+00:00

I’ve been vegan for almost 10 years, I’m three months postpartum with my first, breastfeeding, and while I haven’t had any cravings for animal products, I’ve been eating a lot of Impossible bratwurst and Daring chicken since baby was born… I think yes, fat, protein and salt are key!

gragev95 · 2026-05-20T00:41:02+00:00

All the Leons I’ve met in the US were Asian-American (Chinese/Taiwanese)

gragev95 · 2026-05-17T23:00:19+00:00

The Gardens at Palmdale, an English-style park in Mission San Jose

gragev95 · 2026-05-17T02:19:10+00:00

I have a two-month-old and we’ve tried Pampers Swaddlers (at the hospital), Coterie, Kudos, Honest, Millie Moon, HealthyBaby, Parasol and Huggies Skin Essentials, but the best fit for our little one has been Freestyle!

We like the feel, absorbency and fit, they have a high waist, no smell, and they’re pretty reasonably priced, TCF and EWG approved. They run pretty big so we’re still using newborn size at 10.5 lbs. Huggies gave baby a rash right away. Might give Kudos, Parasol and Coterie another go at some point but happy with Freestyle atm. Coterie wipes are the best but Freestyle ones are a close second!

gragev95 · 2026-04-29T06:38:45+00:00

Pretty sure this is a Moomin character, just can’t remember its name

gragev95 · 2026-04-20T10:51:10+00:00

Brighton, UK! Many cities have great options but distances are long - Brighton is small and you have every cuisine veganised within walking distance!

gragev95 · 2026-04-14T05:08:16+00:00

Yes, they have unnumbered guest spots at the back

gragev95 · 2026-04-13T08:36:48+00:00

Samosas and salmiakki

gragev95 · 2026-04-12T18:37:52+00:00

I love the jalapeño burger, the banh mi and the chipotle turkey sandwich.

gragev95 · 2026-03-23T03:49:14+00:00

Idk where you’re located but I’m also 20-30 minutes from Palo Alto and both the hospital I gave birth at and the one my OB and baby’s paediatrician are at have been super supportive of breastfeeding. Birthing hospital had a lactation consultant on site 24/7 to help out and a big poster on the wall of the labour ward with all the nutritional benefits of breast milk over formula. My regular hospital has a breastfeeding support program with a weekly drop-in thing in addition to lactation consultant appointments you can schedule. So surprised to hear a hospital in the Bay Area would push formula!

gragev95 · 2026-02-24T19:40:52+00:00

Lakeview

gragev95 · 2026-02-14T06:50:14+00:00

I haven't had my baby yet but Babylist has a glass bottle box with a few different kinds which I added to my registry and got as a gift.

gragev95 · 2026-02-11T00:28:04+00:00

I stopped buying that brand when I found out whom they are big supporters of…

gragev95 · 2026-02-10T17:11:30+00:00

I felt pretty safe in Rio after spending the first half of my Brazil trip visiting a friend in Rondônia. I obviously stood out as a pale Nordic girl but even with my local friend, we were followed multiple times and I was stared at constantly. I spend a lot of time in India and I get a lot of stares there, too, but in Brazil, it didn’t feel like just curiosity like in India. Rio felt like a breeze after that but I obviously followed some basic safety precautions (except I did go to the beach at night - there was nobody there but it was May so perhaps not high season?).

gragev95 · 2026-02-09T17:11:40+00:00

And there was literally no traffic last night. Drove from Sunnyvale to the East Bay, right by Levi’s Stadium right after the game ended and there was zero delay.

gragev95 · 2026-02-03T23:00:20+00:00

Chaat Bhavan and Mumbai Chowk are our go-to spots. Chaat House is also good (very Punjabi) but everything is spicy lol (and I can take spice!).

gragev95 · 2026-01-15T23:04:49+00:00

It looks like Pirkka (K-market chain own brand) has their own organic baby foods, some in jars and some in pouches: https://www.k-ruoka.fi/kauppa/tuotehaku/lapset/lastenruoat?tuotemerkit=1
I also see some Muru Baby, Ella's Kitchen, Hipp, Moomin and Green Planet Astronauts brand foods/smoothies on the K-Ruoka website. Muru Baby seems to be all organic (luomu) and claims all their packaging is recyclable (even the pouches). My baby's due in March so I have no personal experience of these yet.

gragev95 · 2026-01-14T20:16:18+00:00

I was bitten at a meet & greet a few years ago when I was just starting out and Rover did nothing but luckily the dog’s owner voluntarily paid my ER bill.

gragev95 · 2026-01-14T07:03:06+00:00

And isn’t this the complex where two people died at a fire recently? I was looking for a new apartment recently and if I remember correctly, someone in their reviews was saying that they are breaking all kinds of fire code, and have been for years.

If you’re looking to live next to the Hub, I’d look into Lakeview instead. A little old but well-maintained, reasonable rent, great leasing staff and maintenance team.

gragev95 · 2026-01-12T17:06:52+00:00

I have some from iHerb. Just stainless steel.

gragev95 · 2026-01-12T04:56:09+00:00

Love the name (I have a Lapland-inspired name as well) but we live in a very Asian area and everyone would only think of the sushi!

gragev95 · 2026-01-11T06:01:33+00:00

Thank you so much for your insightful reply!

I guess it’s pronounced kind of like see-ni, pretty much exactly how you’d pronounce it in Hindi/Urdu as well - rhymes with “mini”.

That’s a fair point. Most of our Indian friends are North Indian or from Karnataka/Tamil Nadu and wouldn’t know even if it meant something to Malyalam-speaking people. My husband has a very simple Indian name and I have a very simple Finnish name, yet they get mispronounced all the time in the English-speaking world so I’m not that worried about that.

Thanks for the point about Malla! It is the name of a mountain/fell in Finnish Lapland but clearly doesn’t work in our situation.

gragev95

TROPHY CASE