About Sweet Hazel's Sweets

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Houston, Texas, United States
My blog will focus on baking and traveling. I chose these two because I want to share with others my love and wonderful experiences I have when I bake for others, and the intersting things I taste and see when I travel. If you are wondering where the name came from, I named my bake shop after my mother who LOVED sweets, and also like to travel, but I think she liked the sweets more. On October 20, 2015, my mother passed on, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, although this disease took over her mind and body and her world she still remained the sweet gentle woman she has always been. So here's to sweets for my sweet Hazel.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

My Los Angeles Trip!

I decided to take a quick weekend trip to Los Angeles with a good friend and my mother-n-law and her two sisters.  My friend and I stayed at The Roosevelt Hotel, which was an awesome choice.







This hotel had so much rich history that took place there.  The hotel was build in 1927 and there has been a mixture of old and new Hollywood actors such as Marilyn Monroe, The Rat Pack, Shirley Temple, among others that have stayed at the Roosevelt and have filmed some of their movies there.  The stairs in the picture below are where Shirley Temple filmed one of her tap  dancing scenes from one of her movies.


The pool area and Tropicana Bar are also very famous for movie scenes.  The mural at the bottom of the pool is the original mural from 1927, but of course it has had some cosmetic work done to it.  Here is where movies such as "Catch me if you Can" starring Brad Pit and "Obsessed" starring Beyonce'  has been filmed, among a number of other movies.



Day two at our stay at the Roosevelt, my friend and I finally caught up with one of the staff at the hotel, who was gracious enough to give us a tour of the hotel.  He took us to the Blossom Room where the very first Academy Awards Show was held, which only lasted 15 minutes.  I ask why was it so short, and was told that there was only two categories back then, best male and female actor.  







After the Academy Awards Ceremony, everyone then gather in the lounge/theatre room where the after parties were held.  This room is now used to host parties and shows.


After settling into the hotel, we decided to explore our surroundings.  A couple of blocks from our hotel was another historic landmark, Musso and Frank Restaurant.  This restaurant was established 100 years ago.  Museo and Frank is known for their delicious martinis and steaks.  I'm not that much of a steak eater, but love a good martini, and Musso and Frank's martinis were great!


The next day we continued along our adventure to Korean Town, where we ate lunch.  My friend and I enjoyed a delicious smorgasbord of Korean bar b Que with all the trimmings.  
     After eating an awesome lunch, we then decided to try some cocktails at Good time at Davey Wayne's.  This was a very fun place to grab a cocktail.  The theme for this bar was a 70s 80s theme, and in order to get into the bar you had to go through the refrigerator door.  Once in, you were treated by two large green retro couches.  The music was great and the cocktails were great!




After our cocktails, we decided to continue along our adventure to Compton, California.  If you have seen the movie Friday, you will recognize these pictures.  Below are pictures of Craig, Ice Cube's , house in the movie, and Ms. Parker's house.  Currently other families reside in these houses.  Either they are use to random people stopping by taking pictures of their homes, or they are just plain  annoyed.  



Overall, I really enjoyed this trip.  There was plenty of history, good food, goods drinks, and good company.  I can't wait for my next adventure.  













Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Holidays: Road Trip, Christmas Eve Celebration, and Birthday Celebrations

     What a wonderful start to the holidays, my sister, daughter and I spend some time in Fredericksburg, Tx.  We began by going to all of the wonderful shops




If you are looking for something different you will definitely be able to find it in one of the unique shops in Fredericksburg.   After all of the shopping we worked up an appetite, we stumbled, literally stumbled over a restaurant that was located in a basement.


The town of Fredericksburg has a German influence therefore, the menu at Rathskeller was German food.  The atmosphere was very nostalgic and the food was authentic and good.  

After eating we continue shopping and enjoying the beautiful Christmas decorations and sceneries.  Below are lights that lit up the side walks:





After returning from our road trip to Fredericksburg, I then began preparing for our Christmas Eve Celebration that we host at our house every year.  Below is a picture of the appetizer/sweets table that I created for our guest to enjoy:



After celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family, the day after the Christmas is my sister's birthday.  We met for happy hour and some of our friends and family also joined us.  That is me on the left:


No, the celebrations does not end there, December 29th is my daughter's birthday.  We celebrated by giving her a birthday brunch.  Below are picture of the sweets that I prepared,her brunch menu and our wonderful chef that prepared all of the food.


Banna Pudding

Cookies and Cream Brownies

 Dessert Bar
Peach Pies
 The Chef

 Where the Guest Picked up their menus

The Menu


Whew! Now it is time to rest and began preparing for the next celebration?  Happy New Year Everyone!


















Thursday, May 9, 2019

A Royal Mother's Day

    So... my sister and I decided to give ourselves an early Mother's Day gift.  This past weekend we decided to visit Seattle, Washington, and Victoria Canada.  While in Seattle, we went to Pike Place Market where we visited  the first Starbucks Coffee Shop.   We also stopped y the Flying Fish Market.





 




    In between visiting these Seattle Landmarks, of course we started to get a little hungry.  It wasn't quite dinner time, so we decided to grab a quick snack, but it wasn't just any ole snack, we stopped by Beecher's for their famous Mac-n-Cheese.  Beecher uses their own in house cheese, Flagship, and Jack Cheeses. This had to be the best mac-n-cheese I've ever tasted, sorry mom and Aunt Justine.  Needless to say, this snack hit the spot.


     After our snack, we continued walking through the market where we came across some wonderful fruit stands and spice markets. We also came across a cute little doughnut stand, that served cute little doughnuts, and of course we had to stop and try them.  They were served directly off of the conveyor belt and placed into a brown paper bag.  They were warm and sugary, what more could you ask for. (I'm going to really have to hit the gym after this trip)  After eating the delicious doughnuts, we continued to walk around the market where we saw jewelry, candles, fresh lavender, honey, meats, cheeses, and much more for sale. After walking for a while, of course we got hungry again and spotted a cute seaside restaurant where we had dinner and ended our day at the market.










     After leaving the market, we decided to walk over to the space needle.  I wasn't interested in going inside, so I only took a picture of it.   We also wondered by the Underground Troll, what an interesting sculpture.




Day two of our Mother's day Trip, my sister and I decided to take the ferry over to Victoria, Canada
 It was a two hour ferry ride with beautiful panoramic views of Mount Reiner and beautiful shore lines.  Once we arrived to Canada, we took a shuttle bus to Butchard Gardens, what a magical place.








     After our visit to the Butchard Gardens, we decided tot have afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel.   A little history for you history buffs.  Queen Elizabeth II stayed at the Empress and enjoyed afternoon tea there as well.  Princess Diana also enjoyed  drinking her afternoon tea there as well.  My sister and I enjoyed the entire experience, from tea to an assortment of appetizers and desserts.  I chose the Rose Congo Emperor tea, a favorite of Princess Diana.

The Empress Hotel

Tea Setting

My sister and I in front of the Empress Hotel.  
I'm on the left...Hi!!


Inside the Empress Hotel

Pictures inside the Empress Hotel

Me inside the Empress, Hi, again!


Cheers!


Me sipping Tea

The Tea Menu

The Tea Set 

Another picture of the outside of the Hotel


     After our afternoon tea, we decided to take a walk around this quaint little town of Victoria, Canada and take a look at some of their local shops and some of the historical buildings before we had to head back to the ferry to return to Seattle.  Once on the ferry, while drinking a glass of wine, I thought about all of the beauty this world has to offer, and was very thankful that I had the opportunity to experience it my sister.




     With everything I have experienced this past weekend, I would like to say happy mother's day to all mothers.  Please stop and do something special for yourself, even if it is just stopping to enjoy a doughnut, because you deserve it!!!