We love pears and we love butter, so it was only natural that we’d fall head over stilettos for Seedling Fruit’s pear butter. The succulent pears are cooked to a butter consistency and slightly spiced (slather the stuff on pancakes, toast or waffles for a treat). The fruits that actually make the cut are picked at the height of their ripeness, as indicated by a very scientific refractometer, which just goes to show that this company is serious about its products.

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Kimesha Wing’s fresh-baked Taylor Made Cookies are named after her first born child, Taylor. Brace your sweet tooth, we’re about to list a few of the extensive offerings: Chocolate chip, 
white chocolate chip and macademia nut; peanut butter kisses; Madelines; tea cookies; Mexican wedding cookies; Mexican Wedding Cookies with cranberries and pistachio; Snickerdoodles; lemon blueberry drops; and the list goes on. We’ll be supplying Jolly Old Saint Nick with sweets from this collection come Christmas Eve. There will be no coal in our designer stockings this year, that’s for sure.

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We’re bread people, so this statement might comes as a shock: we have actually considered forsaking butter for award-winning, family-made Pasolivo oils, produced in California’s Paso Robles. The extra virgin olive oil is superb and it makes Marie’s homemade foccacia bread that much more incredible. The proverbial liquid gold is estate grown and pressed from fresh grown Tuscan olives—a difference you can taste.

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Chantilly is French for sweetened whipped cream, but it’s the top-notch cheesecakes we crave at Southern California’s Patisserie Chantilly. Chantilly Fromage is the chef’s signature. It boasts a luscious cream cheese filling that’s baked on a buttery honey graham cracker crust. Other fresh-daily sweets are made using the highest quality ingredients, some of which are imported from Japan. Just the mention of these delicacies is enough to set our tongues wagging.

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Form - kitchen timer, egg slicer and a salt & pepper set – three products with four functions. Boil an egg; slice it and eat it with salt and pepper.
Intelligent design, with a touch of humour that makes dull everyday routines a bit easier to take! Design Charles Job for Normann Copenhagen

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When it comes to gourmet toffee, we’re suckers for Valerie Confections. Flavors like mint, orange, ginger, almond, fleur de sel, classic and hazelnut are nothing short of sublime. Whenever possible, they’re made with organic, sustainably grown ingredients. We know what you’re thinking: they’re almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

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Bathroom scales aren’t much fun, but kitchen scales are another story. We’re adamant about measuring to a tee (wouldn’t want to sabotage grandma’s recipes), so we love this mod-looking design by Soehnle, which looks pretty when left to sit out on the counter top. The scale’s tempered glass top holds everything from cheese and grains to chocolate. It measures in grams and ounces with conversion, and also has an additive weighing function (lithium battery is included).

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For a healthy, hot breakfast in a hurry, we refer you once again to the L.A Sports Club café where the small kitchen plates fluffy scramble specials, whole wheat bagels, chicken and apple sausage. Don’t have five minutes to spare? We haven’t seen the delicious zucchini bread in a while (much to our dismay), so grab a pre-wrapped muffin from the counter display (careful which one you choose, some are extremely heavy) and a fruit smoothie.

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JF Japanese Café and Sushi Bar in Del Mar, California is one of Marie’s favorite places to catch a quick bite of edamame and sashimi, as well as an impressive view (an outdoor patio overlooks the sapphire-hued Pacific Ocean). Well-executed beef sukiyaki, chicken teriyaki, charbroiled seabass, tempura, and shrimp fried rice are among a few of the other masterpieces on the menu. Sushi lovers will take comfort in classics like lobster roll, giant clam, quail egg, eel, salmon skin and spicy yellow tail. Chase them down with sake or hot tea, both of which will warm your insides.

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The company known as Built started with a two-bottle wine tote made from neoprene. Along the way, the makers fell in love with the material, particularly the thick, abrasion-resistant kind that’s used by coral reef divers. Enter Over-Built, a line of water-proof lunch bags, laptops and totes that are extra durable and able to flatten to fit in a suitcase or bag. If you’re the kind who can’t help but make a wrinkled, stained mess of your usual paper bag tote, peruse the collection to find a creation that fits your day-to-day needs.

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