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Mission Viejo

You’re Invited to Kaleidoscope Center’s 5th Annual Easter Garden Party!

February 26, 2015 / Family Fun, Lifestyle, Orange County

Spring is on its way, with Easter not too far behind it! Mark your calendars because you are invited to Kaleidoscope Center’s Fifth Annual Easter Garden Party. Come out for this free family event on Saturday, April 4th from 12 to 2:30 p.m. when The Easter Bunny will hop into town!

The event will take place in the courtyard of the main level of the center and will kick off with an Easter egg hunt at 12 noon. Children should bring their own basket to collect Easter eggs. Passport cards will be given out to the first 200 children attending the event. They will help direct the children to Kaleidoscope businesses where they will each receive a candy-filled egg. (participants will receive one egg per business)

Children enjoy visiting with the Easter Bunny at last year’s Easter Garden Party at Kaleidoscope.

The Easter Garden Party will also offer a complimentary photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny for guests who bring their own camera. Adding to the fun will be cookie decorating from Donna B’s Bakery, free face painting, and a petting zoo with bunnies and baby chicks.

Connect with Kaleidoscope Center on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Union Market Mission Viejo at Kaleidoscope Center Announces First Restaurants & Retailers

February 14, 2015 / Kaleidoscope Center, Lifestyle, Orange County, Shopping

Union Market Mission Viejo has announced more than a dozen specialty retailers and restaurants who have begun construction at Kaleidoscope Center! It will open a 28,000 square foot space in early summer, featuring 20 independent retailers and chef-driven restaurants. This is such exciting news! Here’s a sneak peek of what’s been announced to join Union Market Mission Viejo so far:

Restaurants

Portola Coffee, a specialty coffee bar that was recently honored as Roaster of the Year 2015
Milk Box, a healthy, playful and premium brand bringing organic ingredients to milk teas, along with boba and desserts
Hummus bowl, a fresh, organic hummus bar
Oyu Shabu, a Japanese Shabu-Shabu that offers a fun hot pot (cook it yourself) dining style
Poke Shack, offering a unique and interactive experience where guests will build their own meal with an array of fresh ingredients to suit their preference. Diners will watch the process as their bowl of rice, choice of protein, sauce, vegetable and condiment is prepared to order
Kroft, featuring a farm to table menu and reinventing comfort food with fresh, local, organic, sustainable and seasonal ingredients (F.L.O.S.S.) with sandwiches and poutines (Canadian French specialty fries.)
Central Bar, serving specialty craft cocktails and libations, using only fresh and local ingredients, and a wine bar featuring eclectic and small boutique wines. Central Bar will offer an educational and fun experience with monthly wine and spirit tastings
Anchor Hitch – Seafood and Raw Bar, is a contemporary take on the traditional fare of a fish and oyster bar, focused on sustainable and fresh seafood
Noodle Bar, traditional Vietnamese Pho with a modern build-your-own experience
Youngstone Cheese Shop, featuring cheese plates, fondue, and build-your-own grilled cheese sandwiches
Market 2 Plate, offering pasta and freshly made salads

Retailers

Bambu Earth, responsible and natural soap and skincare products
Miel, women’s clothing and accessories

Other concepts soon to be announced include a bakery, olive oil bar, juice bar, a baby & children’s boutique, home décor, and a jeweler.

Union Market Mission Viejo will include indoor and outdoor dining with stunning views overlooking the city of Mission Viejo, as well as communal areas to dine, meet with friends, or relax over coffee.

Be sure to follow all the happenings at Kaleidoscope via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Beautifully Updated Dining Pavilion at The Shops at Mission Viejo Isn’t Called a “Food Court” Anymore!

December 16, 2014 / Lifestyle, Orange County

Dislcosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own!

A few months ago when I was walking around “My Mall”, The Shops at Mission Viejo, I noticed some changes going on in the area formerly known as “the Food Court”. I got really excited when I saw signs posted indicating that some stylish changes were happening to the area, transforming it into a “Dining Pavilion”! I love anything stylish and I LOVED that it was getting the new, more grown-up name “Dining Pavilion”, too!

This was just a rendering of how the space was intended to look but I swear I see myself sitting back there! (the one on her cell phone)

Renovations to the former food court began in August. Some of the features of the updated dining pavilion include a new layout, tile, furniture, and some new vendors, including a Starbucks!!! (coming soon) Meant to enhance the customer dining experience at the center, The Shops at Mission Viejo’s upgraded Dining Pavilion includes a color palette of warm, brown, and wood tones, accented by mosaic tiles and neutral tones that complement the darker wood details. Fresh orange and lime-colored furniture play off of the wood tones, displaying a contemporary and clean style. In addition to new flooring and lighting, the Dining Pavilion also showcases a more open layout that improves the flow of traffic and visibility throughout the dining area. Additional highlights include high bar top counters and electronic charging stations designed so guests can work on their laptops or charge their phones while they eat. Other touches include communal tables big enough to accommodate large families or groups wanting to sit together, which is helpful for large parties or birthdays, common for the family-oriented Shops at Mission Viejo. The entire area now displays a clean, contemporary look to complement the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired style of the mall’s overall architecture.

On Saturday, December 6, I attended the public Dining Pavilion Celebration to celebrate all of these wonderful changes.It was an all day event that featured festive holiday music including live entertainment, a face painter and a balloon artist. The first 250 guests at the event received swag bags filled with retailer goodies and food coupons. Giveaways were also held every hour during the event. Mall shoppers enjoyed samples and special offers from Dining Pavilion eateries, which included Blaze Pizza, Charley’s Grilled Subs, Great Khan’s, Muscle Beach Lemonade & Hot Dogs, Panda Express, Paradise Bakery & Café, Rubios Baja Grill, Ruby Thai, Sarku Japan, and Smashburger.

I really love the finished look of how the entire space turned out. I love how open and how bright it is with natural lighting coming from the ceiling area. The couches set up with a coffee table in between them allow for families to gather and have an intimate conversation while enjoying some food and drinks. The comfy chairs provide resting areas for dads who don’t want to trek through the mall with their daughters who are on a shopping mission or even moms who are trying to grab a quick bite to eat while feeding their infants. The high bar top counters with barstools are welcoming for single shoppers or even a couple of girlfriends who are lunching in the middle of their day. It is just such a bright and cheery space now, more than it was before.

This is Emi’s new favorite spot to read in the mall!

Now let’s get back to the part where I mentioned a Starbucks coming soon though! Yep, it’s all very excited as The Shops at Mission Viejo is preparing for 700 square-foot standalone Starbucks with café-like seating! It’s set to join the center next year, on the upper level in the Dining Pavilion. I squealed in excitement when I saw the area where it’s going to be! It was almost like “my mall” gave me the best Christmas present ever, putting this sign under the tree! I cannot wait for Spring 2015 now!

Connect with The Shops at Mission Viejo on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram too!

OC Simon Malls Will “Spread Love” By Giving Out Free Simon Giftcards to Select Shoppers! Get There!

December 5, 2014 / Lifestyle, Orange County

The Shops at Mission Viejo will be bringing to life its holiday ‘Spread Love’ campaign on December 6 by surprising randomly selected shoppers with free Simon Giftcards®. The event will encourage the giving spirit of the holidays by offering the lucky shoppers two cards, one to keep and one to share with a fellow shopper. The Simon Giftcards will be distributed at random by The Shops at Mission Viejo management teams.

“Our shoppers demonstrate time and again how generous they are by contributing to our local food and clothing drives, donating to Simon Youth Foundation®, and participating in our community events benefiting others,” said Patsy Sanquist, Director of Marketing and Business Development at The Shops at Mission Viejo. “On December 6, we want to say ‘thank you’ to our shoppers while tapping into that contagious spirit of generosity and encouraging Giftcard recipients to ‘Spread Love’ to other shoppers.”

So…who’s ready to head to the mall now? Will YOU be one of the lucky ones selected? How exciting is all of this?

Look What’s Joining The Shops at Mission Viejo This Summer!

May 12, 2014 / Uncategorized

I love to keep in the loop about local events and happenings at my local mall, The Shops at Mission Viejo. The center has some new and excited additions coming this summer. Patsy Sanquist, the direct of marketing and business development for the center was quoted as saying, “We’re proud to continue to offer new shopping and dining experiences at The Shops at Mission Viejo. Sperry Top-Sider and Blaze Pizza will make perfect additions for the summer.”
Sperry Top-Sider, the leading nautical performance and lifestyle footwear brand and inventor of the world’s first boat shoe, is set to open a 1,783-square-foot store on the upper level of The Shops at Mission Viejo, near Center Court and across from the Microsoft Store. An icon of American style for more than 75 years, Sperry Top-Sider offers a full range of Sperry men’s, women’s and children’s lifestyle and performance footwear, including sea-worthy sandals, comfortable dress shoes and performance boat shoes, as well as unique Sperry branded and curated apparel and accessories. Also slated to open this summer, the leading build your own artisanal pizza chain Blaze Pizza will offer signature “fast fire’d” pizzas in a blazing hot oven while guests view the creation process. Diners can also create their own pizza by choosing from more than 40 fresh-made sauces, hand-selected vegetables and a variety of artisanal meats and cheeses. In addition, the menu features signature salads, fresh lemonades, and house-made S’more Pies. For pizza fans with specific dietary needs, Blaze Pizza offers gluten-free dough and vegan cheese. Blaze Pizza is slated to open a roughly 880-square-foot space in The Shops at Mission Viejo’s food court.
I’m so excited for both of these openings. It’s just know it’s going to be a great summer at The Shops at Mission Viejo!
For more information, visit The Shops at Mission Viejo on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShopsAtMissionViejo, Twitter at https://twitter.com/ShopsMV or Instagram at http://instagram.com/ShopsMV.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was provided with information by The Shops at Mission Viejo.