Sweethearts Dessert Lounge ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪⋆

 Sweet for Sweethearts Dessert Lounge

The cutest place you could ever ask for when looking for somewhere to get a sweet treat, support a women owned business, and meet new friends in your community!

Sweethearts Dessert Lounge is the cutest place in Anaheim! Well at least in my opinion. When I first found Sweethearts I was looking for a cute place to study that was close to home and served a good matcha drink. 

The first time that I went to Sweethearts I was so surprised by how good the desserts were, especially the banana pudding, and the passion fruit lemonade. One of my favorite things about this shop is their revolving menu which means they are always putting out a new drink or dessert! But don't worry because they do have set menu items that never change. Every time that I try something new I'm left speechless by how tasty the treats are and just how cute of a place it really is. 

This is a sneak peak at the sweethearts menu that is posted daily on Instagram and their seasonal rose milk tea!

Aside from how good the drinks and desserts are it feels really good being able to support a small business owned by women. The girls that work and own Sweethearts are all sisters and you can really tell how much they love what they do through how much they put into their business. I can officially call myself a regular at Sweethearts because the shop owners know my name. 

I think my favorite part about Sweethearts dessert lounge is the community that they are building through their business. They often host different themed markets and pop up shops inside their dessert lounge. While the place itself is really small that never stops them from having multiple vendors who are local small business owners in the area. These markets also appeal to a lot of different people. 

Flyers for each event are posted on their instagram account. The two photos on the right are from their valentines Day event.

I myself have gone to their K-pop themed markets and their Valentine's day pop up. They have also hosted a couple of Sonny Angel trading events! At these events you get to meet a lot of people who have similar interests and live in the area. Sweethearts also does specialty drinks to match the theme of the event! While supporting small businesses at these pop up events Sweethearts Dessert Lounge is also creating community by hosting these events and being a place where people can gather. 

Overall I think Sweethearts Dessert Lounge is such an amazing place and its important to support businesses in our community that truly define what community is all about. 

Their Instagram is @sweetheartsdl :) 

How To Make Blueberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Spring break has just come to a close and finals are right around the corner, so what better way to ease the stress that comes with the end of the school year than to make these super easy and delicious oatmeal cookies! 

Growing up, oatmeal cookies were a staple in my family, so this recipe is a token of childhood nostalgia. After years of messing around with different ingredients and inspiration from other recipes, I can confidently say that this oatmeal cookie recipe will forever be my favorite.

The burst of flavor from the blueberries and chocolate chips in these cookies is almost surreal. Blueberries thrive in late spring, making them the perfect fruit to add and the best cookie combination for spring; who doesn’t love berries and chocolate? 

Taking approximately only 30 minutes, this super quick and easy recipe will tempt you to make these cookies all the time. Don’t miss out on impressing your friends and family with this delicious dessert that will leave everyone begging for more. 

Whether you need a study snack for finals, a dessert party platter, or a quick breakfast on the go, these cookies will have you covered. 

Check out my recipe below to get started!

Prep: 10-15 minutes

Total: Approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

¾ cup blueberries

½ cup unsalted butter 

1 tablespoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 egg

1 cup almond flour 

1 cup dark brown sugar   

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 

cooking spray 

Appliances

Mixing Bowls

Rubber Spatula 

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons 

Whisk 

Baking Sheet 

Parchment Paper 

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add unsalted butter to a saucepan under medium heat until melted and brown. 

3. Next, add the browned butter, one egg, brown sugar, and vanilla into a bowl and whisk together until smooth.

4. Add almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a separate bowl; mix into the butter mixture until smooth. 

5. Add oats, blueberries, and chocolate chips to the mixture. 

6. Next, line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray oil on the sheets to avoid having cookies stuck to the pan.  

7. Make small ball shapes with the cookie dough and place them onto the parchment sheet. 

8. Bake cookies for about 11-12 minutes until golden brown. 

9. Once fully baked, let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes. 

10. Enjoy!

The Power of Second-Hand Shopping

 

Many people go through life never stepping foot in a thrift store or second-hand shopping, and quite frankly, that is extremely sad to me. Second-hand shopping is one of the most sustainable ways to shop for so many everyday items that we need. There are thousands and thousands of clothes in landfills due to mass production and overconsumption of micro trends that are short-lived. People buy their clothes from Shein, amazon, H&M, and so many other fast fashion organizations, when they can find a high-quality, lifelong item at a thrift store for a fraction of the cost. 

Although thrifting is something that requires technique and patience, I have learned over the years that every piece of clothing that I like and keep for a long period of time is something that I bought second-hand. I have gotten to the point where every piece of clothing, and most of the shoes, jewelry, purses, etc are all from thrift stores. This has taken a lot of learning, time, and trial and error to find the best ways to second-hand shop. In this blog I will give you my top tips and tricks to second-hand shopping, and then some of my favorite places to do so. 

1. Don’t skim the racks! 

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when thrift shopping is thinking you will find most good things by just skimming through the racks! There have been so many instances where I found something that I would have never found if I hadn’t looked at every piece of clothing on the rack. I think too often, people get impatient and don’t want to inspect everything, and I am not saying you have to, but there are so many hidden gems on the racks that are worth the extra time and effort to find. You took the time out of your day to go to the thrift store, might as well make it worthwhile! 

2. Check the ends of the racks! 

Never forget to go to all of the racks and check the ends! So many people go through their finds and leave all of the items they don’t want in a single rack end. There are so many good pieces at the ends of racks that you may skip over. Sometimes, I will even go to the ends of the racks first if I see that it is a busy day because typically that means a lot of the clothing is already picked through. 

3. Don’t be discouraged by one bad thrift trip. 

If I stopped thrifting every time I had a bad trip, I would never thrift again. There are good days and there are bad days, that is just a part of the process. You will not always find the exact item you are looking for in one or two trips, but you shouldn’t be discouraged by this. All good things take time, and if you are patient, you will eventually find what you are looking for. 

4. Try to go to the thrift stores earlier in the week. 

There have been so many weeks where I decided to go to the thrift store on a weekend, and was overwhelmed by the crowd, and underwhelmed by the items. This is typically because, by the end of the week, everything is picked through. If you try to go on a Monday or Tuesday, you will likely have better luck because they will probably be restocking the racks. This is the best time to get in there before everyone else and scope out some new finds. 

5. Go by yourself! 

Now this tip may be controversial. I personally think it is so much more enjoyable and productive to go to the thrift store by yourself for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is that you can put your headphones in and just get in the zone. Thrifting isn’t like normal shopping, it takes some focus to find what you are looking for. Also, it tends to feel competitive when thrifting with people who have a similar style to you. That may seem silly, but there have been so many times my friends picked something up that I am dying for, and all I can do is be jealous. Lastly, when you are alone you can take however long you want to without anyone else waiting on you. The worst feeling is when someone is following you down the aisles and you feel extremely rushed. 

In conclusion, thrifting is something that takes a little bit to get used to, but once you start shopping second-hand, you won’t go back.