Cutie Pies from Laurie's Pie Bar in Long Beach

 When it comes to holiday time desserts, pies take the cake.
Cupcakes do come in a variety of holiday appropriate flavors like gingerbread, chocolate peppermint and eggnog, there's something about pie that sparks that special yule time joy. 

In search of pie for my Dad's then upcoming Christmas visit I stumbled apon Laurie's Pie Bar in Long Beach. No bakery's holiday menu would be complete without the Thanksgiving classic, pumpkin pie and the Christmas favorite apple pie as found on Laurie's menu along with a an assortment of fruit pies, mousses, meringue and my Dad and I's go to this time of year, pecan pie. 

Cutie Pies from Laurie's Pie Bar in Long Beach
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I almost walked right past the quaint downtown storefrontwhere it's so tiny! All of Laurie's pies are baked from scratch everyday, a fact confirmed when you walk into to the cozy little store because it smells like you walked into a piece of pie!
They have vegan pies, gluten free pies and savory pies. You can get a whole pie, slice of pie or a cutie pie. You can even take a pie making and baking class at Laurie's Pie Bar!

Let's go back to cutie pies...

A Cutie Pie from Laurie's Pie Bar is a grab & go pie. Layered inside a small mason jar filled with a mousse pie: pressed crumbled crust on the bottom, pie filling in the middle topped with and fresh whipped creme to top it off. When you pop the lid off the top of a Cutie Pie it resembles a cupcake which brings us to my review. 

At $10 a pop, I was happy to see that the cuties pies are larger than they appear in photos on-line. I got Banana Cream and my Dad got Mexican Chocolate. Both of the flavors we got are only available as Cutie Pies. 

Holiday activies kept us busy so we didn't get to around to enjoying our Cutie Pies until a few days later. 

Banana Cream Cutie Pie from Laurie's Pies in Long Beach
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I thought for sure the whipped cream topping would be melted and sad looking but when I popped the lid off of the mason jar I was pleased to see the whipped cream was still intact. Spoon in hand I dug right in. The thick layer of banana creme made it tricky to get to the crust at the bottom for a fully rounded bite. Tricky but not impossible. 

The whipped cream was still fresh and there was a lot of it. The banana cream was not overpoweringly banana flavored even with the slices of real banana in the middle of it. The graham cracker crust was crumbly and offered a bit of savoriness and texture to the whole, sweet, creamy,  kit and cabodle. It was a tasty mouthful when all three fit on the spoon. Pressing down once reaching the crust layer helped get all three layers of the goodness in one bite. 

The whole banana cream Cutie Pie itself was rather sutble when it came to it flavor. Even with the thick layer of whipped cream and even thicker layer of banana cream it wasn't overpoweringly sweet either. 

It's not an overdulgent sweet treat which is perfect for this time of year when we overindulge in everything or at least tempted to. I gobbled my Cutie Pie right up and honestly could have eaten more. At the end of his visit my Dad still hadn't had his so I sent him off to the airport with a spoon and his Mexican Chocolate Cutie Pie in his pocket. 

 I don't frequent pie shops too often so I'm not sure if there are other Cutie Pies out there. Laurie might be on to something here. Great for eating on the go, pinics, party favors or if you're saving a little pie for later a Cutie Pie from Laurie's Pie Bar is sure to put a smile on your face. 

 

Halsey for the Holidays

Barely three years after releasing her forth album, If I  Can't Have Love, I Want Power angelic faced songstress with a tempest past, Halsey, added album number five to her catalog. On October 25th, 2024  she dropped The Great Impersonator. 

In 2020, Halsey's album Manic topped my best albums of the year list.
Hesitantly approaching my own healing adventure, I found that listening to her lyrics from that collection of songs soothed me before realizing that they did so because they made me feel seen.
Learning more about Halsey herself made me appreciate her more.

There's a lot of therapy talk these days, however the negative stigma that characterizes mental illness is still strongly prevalent. And it doesn't dissipate when and if you find yourself coming to terms with having a mental illness yourself.
Halsey understands.
That understanding is monumental because it leads to compassion which takes away shame carried with it. The heavy burden of internal shame can lead to autoimmune diseases, various health aligments, chronic pain, further mental illness, substance abuse, addictive behavior, depression or suicide.
Learning about your or a loved one's mental illness and figuring out the tools to use to manage it, or them, is self care though it may not feel like anything but at the time.

Earlier this year when I heard The Great Impersonator for the first time it hit my ears like a call back to the Halsey we heard on Manic. Moreso than on her last album, 2021's  If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power.
With softer tones and melodies rather than industrial driven anthems, Halsey highlights her vulnerable side in a vulnerable way once again on this album. The singer who's always changing her appearance on and off stage, took her chameleon like fashion approach one step further on this one. She fully encapsulated the album title with promotional press photos of herself made up as different music icons from across generations: Dolly Parton to Aaliyah to David Bowie and Bruce Springstein, she pulled off each look flawlessly. 

Halsey's The Great Impersonator album cover 

These Halloween costume inspiring photos are in direct relation to the album title itself. Right under the surface of the psyche of someone who battles mental illness lays something that a lot people do that even more people probably don't  realize.
We mask.
In order to fit in and not be looked down on, pittied, or treated differently for having a mental illness people will essientally "mask" who they are when around certain people or situations to be precieved as being (more) in accordance with what society and culture deem normal therefore acceptable. While masking is a coping mechanism it's not necessarily a healthy one. 

Halsey's The Great Impersonator, from it's title to how was was promoted to the 19 tracks on it is an homage to this mental illness behavior. Another step in bring awareness to and ending the negative stigma surrounding mental illness issues and the people who have them. 

Track number four, "Letter to God (1974)" struck a cord with me and the transition from track 4 to track 5 , "Panic Attack" holds the magic of listening to an album. The way that the songs are paired ttogether in such a way that they melt from one to the next as the album plays on is the audible synchronicity that makes the art an album and listening to an album, rather than single songs on their own, magical. If you're unsure of what I mean, listen for yourself. 
"Panic Attack" sold me on that first listen, it's my favorite song on the album and the stand out one in my opinion. An intentional listen to it's lyrics offers a better understanding of  daily mental battles so many people struggle with in secrecy.

About-Face "Light Lock" lip gloss by Halsey
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Along with making music Halsey also has her own cosmetics line. About-Face launched in 2021 "for the generation of e-girls and e-boys out there who want to express themselves with vibrant pigment and messy make-up" as Halsey herself puts it.
If  you dive a little deeper you'll discover that about-face is a therapy term. In therapy "about face" means a complete change in perspective, attitude or behavior. Essentially a radical shift in someone's approach to a situation or or issue they are working on; it signifies a significant reversal of direction or viewpoint.
Most likely it's not a coincidence that About-Face came about 3 years after Halsey's toxic relationship with rapper G-Eaze ended and she started healing from that.

So far I only have one About-Face product: a frosty blue glittery lip gloss that I would have killed for when I was in the 7th grade and never did find that perfect shade of iridesenct blue gloss. 

Her high performance, vegan, clean make-up and cosemtic products are inspired by and for a diverse artistic community. They're loud, glittery, fun and they come with a message of acceptance. 

I Would Leave Me If I Could - A collection of poems by Halsey
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Ten months after releasing Manic Halsey released a book of poems "I Would Leave Me If I Could" in November of 2020. The passages give more insight to her inner workings. 
 Reading them made me think of the album Manic and I'm pretty sure some of her poetic writings were plucked from the pages and used as song lyrics. It serves as another reminder that as isolating as mental illnesses can be, if you do have one you are not alone and it's nothing to be ashamed of. 

There are three different options right there for giving the gift of Halsey this holiday season, we love options!
 Whether it's the gift of her music, her make-up, her book of poems or all three, the biggest gift that Halsey gives is the gift that keeps giving: compassion and understanding without shame which leads to self love.
Don't keep your or a loved one's mental health underwraps, have a happy holiday!

I Would Leave Me If I Could - A collection of poems by Halsey & About-Face "Light Lock" lip gloss by Halsey 
photo by Nikki DeMartini