theres no getting around it: portola is the gold standard of coffee shops. i mean coffee is serious business there. the baristas wear lab coats and make coffee in beakers and they have a testing lab in the back room. it’s that intense. but the coffee here is gooooood. not normal good but “spend-all-my-extra-money-on-soy-lattes” good. the fact that they have a tea bar next door and an acai bowl place down the hall doesn’t help the amount of time and money i spend at the mix mart. its so bad the people who work there are starting to know me by name. birdy, the place with amazing acai bowls, also carries brown bear eats baked goods, which is my friend and her moms cookie company that has the best treats i’ve ever tasted. and the fact that most things they make are gluten-free or vegan makes it all the better.

so with all the said, i thought that the mix mart would be my perfect place to take my friend christina who is visiting from arrowhead because she is a fellow fine coffee, veggie packed salads and gluten-free vegan baked goods lover. we had lunch at the new green leaf (so yum but a little too hectic for my liking) then headed over to portola for a drink. everytime i hang out with christina, i’m reminded why we are best friends and how blessed i am to have met her half way across the world. we had so many laughs and reminisced about good times and talked about our plans for what’s next in our lives. we always have a great time together but it’s really great to hang out with her on this side of the world. so blessed to have such great friends! love you girlie