What would we do without people like eco-friendly Ioana Hagiu, founder of OC based Luscious Organic Desserts? Even with her vegan ways, she will not let us be denied moist, decadent desserts. Sorry, but when we think of gourmet desserts, vegan treats never even come to mind. Thankfully Luscious Organic Desserts has changed that forever.
For years, Ioana has been baking dairy-free desserts for her lucky friends and even baked her own elegant tiered wedding cake (btw, she wouldn’t recommend that.) She wasn’t satisfied with vegan bakery goods that focused too much on whole grains and eggs and butter replaces with something funky. So three years ago, she created Luscious Organic Desserts, a collection of 25 cupcakes, delicious muffins, beautiful wedding cakes, moist brownies, fantastic cookies, special order cinnamon rolls (you have to eat hot and fresh) and more.
She credits the, “I can’t believe this is vegan” taste to natural and organic ingredients with no hydrogenation, no refined sugars, and no bleached flours—just straightforward classic flavors without dairy. Luscious is eco-conscious from its ingredients, to production, packaging and delivery. Luscious Organic Desserts has a huge celebrity following, find them at the Coachella VIP booth next month, and available soon—vegan cookie dough and brownie batter! soon. Moms who have kids suffering from allergies say she’s a godsend. Surprisingly, vegans are just a small percentage of her customers. Most are non-vegans who don’t even know they’re missing dairy ingredients.—they’re just wowed by her amazing desserts.
You can find Luscious Organic Desserts at Mothers Market in Santa Ana and Laguna Niguel; Lavender Lounge in Dana Point and San Clemente; The Greens Cafe in Irvine; Seed Peoples Market in Costa Mesa; Vegi Wokery in Cerritos. Order for birthdays, special events and weddings at 949.378.7172
Stock up (and save 25%) on the hippest spring looks for men, women and kids at Original Penguin’s 4th anniversary party at Fashion Island Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. Enjoy refreshments while supporting a good cause—a portion of the evening’s sales will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County. Original Penguin is at Fashion Island (adjacent to the koi pond) in Newport Beach. RSVP or more information. 949.720.1560.
La Beauté, a salon, skin care and beauty supply store in Costa Mesa, is offering Greer’s OC readers a special: just mention us and receive 20% off your entire purchase (excludes Kerastase and red tags); and a $25 gift certificate with purchase of $100 or more through Sept. 17. Top name brands available include Redken, Moroccan Oil, Pureology, Alterna, Peter Thomas Roth and Yonka. Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 2300 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa. 949.631.5888.
The summer sale is on now through Sept. 1 at Westerly, Corona del Mar’s source for hip designers like Elizabeth and James, Current Elliott, Vena Cava, Patterson J. Kincaid, J. Brand, Chick with Guns and many more. Save 20% off full price merchandise, and with sale merchandise—save 50% off first item, 60% off 2nd item and 70% off third items.. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 2908 East Coast Hwy in Corona del Mar. 949.313.7111
Anaheim Patio at The Market Place is hosting its 12th annual Labor Day Weekend tent Sale Friday through Monday. Save 15 to 75% off dining sets, chaise lounges, umbrellas, bar stools, firepits, seating groups, outdoor entertaining accessories and more. Also choose from select barbeques and fireplace items, as well as one-of-a-kind items and discontinued products. Top brands featured are Brown Jordan, Tropitone, OW Lee, Hanamint, Malin, Summer Classics and others. 13722 Jamboree in Irvine.714.669.9271.715 E. Birch St. in Brea. 714.671.9445. 6811 Warner Ave. in Huntington Beach. 714.894.0382.
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