GOLF + CUPCAKES

Drove down to San Diego for a day last week.



Met up with our favorite NASCAR Driver Tayler Malsam. Had lunch at Mission Beach and then played a little golf.





Weather was sort of hazy all day but whatevs. Still beats a day at the office.





Anyway, came home and Matt and Nicole had shipped in a case of miniature cupcakes from New York for my birthday.



Two years ago Ruchir and I stumbled upon this girl selling cupcakes out of a literal hole in the wall in SoHo. They tasted so good I wrote an e-mail to them at that time inquiring about franchising opportunities and tried to convince Matt that we quit our jobs and open a location in SoCal. Unfortunately they said they weren't into franchising at the time.



Fast forward and in less than 2 years they've gone from this hole in the wall to 4 stand alone legit full-size cupcake shops - all in Manhattan. Still delicious. Still making money by the truckload.

27

When you're a kid there are so many things you want and a few you think you need.

And then you get a little older, get some money and start to cop all that shit; the flat screen, the Audi, the gadgets, all of it. At first it's cool but after awhile you start to see that there's sort of a law of diminishing returns. Some of the stuff does change your quality of life but most of it doesn't. You start to look at what really makes you happy and what things are actually worth.

It's true that there are a lot of things in this life that money can't buy.

But that's still not going to stop me from breaking out these Retro Pennys today. I've wanted these shoes since I was 13, however I couldn't afford them at that time because I was unemployed. Thank God that Nike re-releases these every few years and now that I have a job (sort of) I actually own them in several colors.

Have a good day. Buy yourself something that you don't really need.

BROOKLYN

While I was back east I stopped in NYC for a day.

Met up with my boy Phillip Shung who runs a design studio called Pixod/Sundree down in Brooklyn. Phil hit us up last year after he saw our Represent Kobe project online. The power of random little street art projects is amazing sometimes.


On our way to lunch we passed by this incredible mural done by a couple guys named Cam and Coby. Phillip knows everyone in Brooklyn so he made a call and 30 minutes later Cam was giving me a tour of their studio.


Cam was a real humble guy. I like his style - I think it's different than a lot of other stuff out there. We spoke a bit about bringing him out to the West Coast and getting him some buzz out here. So much of the art world is about hype and marketing, it's crazy but I'm excited to see where things will go for him.


Cam's studio and apartment were both in the same building. His apartment had nothing but finished paintings, sketches and workout gear inside.






His studio was literally covered with paint and art supplies. He shares the space with Coby and a couple of other dudes. It was a cool space - reminded me a lot of the vibe of an art college.

CAR SHOOT

Did a photoshoot out in Anaheim last week.


Shot stuff for a new ad campaign we're working on with the guys over at The ID Agency.


My boy Petra, who works at Drissi - a creative studio up in Hollywood, came out and helped us shoot some behind-the-scenes video. Petra and I used to play Intramural Basketball together at Cal State Long Beach (2007 - 6' & Under Champs - no big deal).



We probably shouldn't show off too much until next month when the ads launch, so, more photos to come...

NBA SUPER BRACKET 2K11

Our new Playoff Bracket Challenge is up and running.

For the longest time, all of our friends used to fill out brackets on paper and we'd all try to compete over who could predict the NBA Playoffs. It made no sense to me that everyone in America fills out a March Madness bracket when no one even watches college ball while NBA playoff brackets are almost non-existent.

So a few years ago we did some tinkering in Flash and created this bracket for our friends and family. We'll send the winner an $84 gift card to Chipotle. Plus, this year's bracket is way more legit - there's a public Leaderboard so you can see how you're doing at all times and view your friends' brackets and ridicule them for their awful picks.

Fill yours out today. Monday was the original deadline but we'll probably take entries until midday Wednesday. Feel free to share the link with all your tweoples - the more the merrier.



We bit the bullet and made finally made a company facebook page. Yes, we're aware we're the last people on earth to do this. I won't get into all the pros and cons of 'social media' at the moment but let's just call this an experiment and we'll see how it goes. At the very least if it drives a couple people to this blog then it's safe to say we'll have tripled our readership.



0484 tweets. The CliffsNotes version of our blog. Enjoy.

BEANTOWN

Drove straight from Philly to Boston.


Well, actually, we took a minor detour and stopped in at the Mohegan Sun out in Connecticut.


Nice place. They have a 24-hour Krispy Kreme. Ruchir and I played craps for awhile with a French guy who looked just like Kevin Durant.


Anyway, onward to Boston.


Brunch at The Breakfast Club in Cambridge. Yelp was all about this place - it was alright but nothing to really to go crazy for.


Went over to Harvard and walked around the campus a bit. There were a lot of tourists and also a lot of stuck up Ivy League kids with chips on their shoulder. I wish I'd been wearing my Cal State Long Beach shirt - I'm sure people would've stared at me like I was handicap.


Harvard Library.


Stumbled upon J.P. Licks. Delicious homemade ice cream in some unique flavors. This place was Ruchir's favorite part of the trip.


Boston Common.


Banksy.


Dinner at Joe's on Newbury. Nice place. Very well designed. Not too expensive. When we were in these cities for just a few hours, sometimes we used Yelp or asked strangers for recommendations to find a decent place to eat. But in this case we just looked for the busiest restaurant in the neighborhood and that strategy worked out fine.




Crashed at a hotel in Mystic, CT. Lakers/Thunder game went down to the wire so we streamed it via P2P4U.net. Technology (mixed in this case with a bit of piracy) is amazing.

PHILLY

East Coast Road Trip Stop #1: Philadelphia

Ruchir and I took off for a few days to drive around the East Coast. Stopped by CVS and picked up all the essentials; Gummy Worms, 5-Hour Energy, Pringles, Teddy Grahams, etc.


Went to Independence Hall to see the Liberty Bell.


Weren't necessarily part of this tour group but the guide seemed to know his stuff and was definitely within earshot so I can't say we didn't blend in and follow him around for a few minutes.


Streets of Philly.






Washington Square.


Grabbed dinner at Pizzicato on Market Street. We were walking by and saw that this place was packed so we stopped in. The hostess walks us through the whole place, past the coat room into this private bar/lounge area that looks nothing like the rest of the restaurant and seats us there by ourselves. Felt super secluded - and not in the 'VIP room way', but in the weird way.


Whatever, the food was good.

INSTAGRAM DC

Took the red-eye out to DC for a few days.


Set up shop.


Check it out - new Kettle brand Doritos-style chips. Mind blowing right? They're not bad. Picked them up at George Washington Deli - best sandwiches in DC.


Ruchir and I went online and found a little hole-in-the-wall gym located in the back of a church. It was sort of weird - they play pickup basketball there with a giant electronic scoreboard and a 13-minute running clock. I've played in a lot of gyms and I've never seen anything like that. Whatever - it was a good run.


Dinner.


Dupont Circle.

Photos courtesy of Instagram