Dressed Up for Halloween: Moonbridge Doughnut Studio in LB

I didn't know Moonbridge Doughnut Studio in LB even exsisted until a couple weeks ago when a friend sent me a photo of a variety box of cute doughnuts she got from there. Upon further investigation, it turns out that this boutique doughnut studio has fancy looking doughnuts specifically geared toward Halloweeen festivities which piqued my intrest even more. Without further ado, it was time to trick or treat myself. 

It's a quaintly charming store front tucked in a unassuming small strip mall. One of each doughnut, or thereabouts, is out on display then plucked from the back and boxed up for take away once you place your order. 

All of the Fall Line Up doughnuts and Moonbridge Doughnut Classics were out along with a few other different themed ones. Beyond the cuteness of how they're dressed up, all of the mouth watering and somewhat unique flavors make it that much harder to choose. 

They all look so good and sound yummy. It boiled down to a tough choice between the Scream and Poison Apple Fall Lineup and the Sprinkle Bomb and Coffee and Cigarettes off of the Moonbridge Doughnut Classics list. To mix my flavor palate  up a little bit I chose the latter on both fronts.  

Poison Apple doughnut from Moonbridge in LB
photo by Nikki DeMartini

To be honest, it was the Poison Apple medallion that caught my eye. The red and green are so bright and the green even has a little shimmer to it. Apparently that and the fact that the Scream doughnut are vanilla was all that I could see. There was no discription of flavors on display but for whatever reason I had apple on the brain. Apple flavor had to be part of the Poison Apple doughnut right? Apple filling. Apple icing. Something. 

Wrong. 

Nothing. 

Poison Apple doughnut from Moonbridge in LB
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I was tricked by this treat! 

The Poison Apple medallion turned out to be white chocolate, not fondant, which was a nice surprise but not apple. The Biscoff cumbs covering the out side of the doughnut are very fine and light giving the doughy doughnut a little bit of a crunchy juxtoposition. But it wasn't enough. The seductively sweet carmalized tatse of beloved Biscoff cookie was lost in every mouthful. 

For all intent and purposes both doughnuts are raised doughnuts as opposed to cake doughnuts. These aren't tradional raised doughnuts, though. These are brioche doughnuts. 

Brioche is a French bread enriched with eggs, butter, milk and a pinch of sugar making for a dense yet soft, slightly sweet, thick and rich bread that is scrumptiously close to being in the pastry family.  So close in fact that some consider it a pastry/bread hybrid. 

Poison Apple and Coffee & Cigarettes doughnuts from Moonbridge  in LB
photo by Nikki DeMartini

As soon as I sunk my teeth into the chewy mouthful of the Poision Apple doughnut I remembered my friend had said that Moonbridge doughnuts reminded her of Challa, a delicious traditonal Jewish bread. Yeast-leavened enriched, Challa has a lighter, softer texture that Brioche but the two are still very similiar and as previously stated, delicious. 

Next up, Coffee and Cigarettes, which is also the name of a great independent film featuring a slew of actors and  musicians. 

Coffee and Cigarettes doughnuts from Moonbridge in LB
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The way this doughnut is decorated is phenomenal. On top of the Vietnamese Coffee icing is piece of Italian breadstick half of which has been dipped in white chocolate, smudged with red frosting and some crushed Oreo sprinkled on top of the doughnut to look like ash. It is very aesthetically pleasing, however, I removed the breadstick cigarette before eating the doughnut. In no way is this doughnut bad but more of the Vietnamese Coffee icing would do it some good. For as over dressed as these super cute doughnuts are, they miss the mark on flavor. 
 And they're not cheap. Prices are not advertised so beware! Female owned by co-owners Kim & Anabelle, this artisial bakery was born out of a shared story of grief and hope to celebrate curiousity and wonder. That's something worth supporting, maybe not everyday but no one should be eating doughnuts everyday. 

Moonbridge Doughnut Studio keeps rolling out more spooktacular looking doughnuts all dressed up for Halloween that are sure to make every ghoul and goblin smile when they see them. 

Robyn Sexistential Tour @ The Forum 9/23/2026

Kia Forum 9/23/2026 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

When a girlfriend in the same age group as me asked if I wanted to try to see Robyn at one of her two shows at KIA Forum I said yes right away. Not because I'm a huge Robyn fan but because it was a guarenteed good time and I was waaaaay over do for a ladies night, dancing, smiles, good vibes and live music of my own choosing. We snagged resonably priced tickets with a not completely shitty view of the stage on September 23rd, the show added by popular demand ahead of her September 24th show. 

The 47 year old pop senstation released her debut album, Robyn Is Here, 31 years ago. Thirty one years! Her ninth studio album, Sexistential dropped on March 27th, 2026 bringing her back into the public eye eight years after her eighth studio album Honey. The new album came nearly a decade after her 2010 albums, Body Talk, Body Talk pt. 1 and Body Talk pt.2 made the Swedish singer a globally known popstar. As the nostalgia wave of reboots and sequels surfacing decades later continues, fans eagerly welcomed her back to the scene yearning to be brought back to better, simpler, hopeful times we remember from the mid 2000s. 

The show started with the silhouette of the star who was behind a thin veil covering the stage keeping her and her band under wraps. Moments after the music started, in a flurry of bright strobe lights, she emerged between two pieces of flowy fabric to a roaring crowd and we were off!

Electrically mesmerizing from the get go, Robyn mercilessly carried the show all on her own. In an instant everyone around us was up on their feet. Her sweet, breathy voice never altered as she worked the stage and she worked it: strutting, singing, rolling around, seductivley using her mic stand as a prop. A vision of owning your power, Robyn had everyone in the venue in the palm of her hand and we loved it. There were solo spot light moments but for the most part the stage and the floor were drenched in alternating bright lights and pulstating strobes. She threw in a few wardrobe changes that got hotter and hotter as she dared to bare more of her physique while her songs continued to bare more of her heart and soul. 

Robyn @ Kia Forum 9/23/2026 
photo by Anne Ngo

She candidly shared that she used to feel embarassed for writing sad love songs but having a baby shifted her perspective about it. After two long standing relationships ended in heartbreak, at 44 years old and as a single mother, Robyn had a baby boy thanks to IVF in 2022. Talk about owning your power. 

Robyn @ Kia Forum 9/23/2026 
photo by Anne Ngo

 

She  did a cover of The XX song, "Life", a sort of mash-up of her song "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do" mixed in with Britney Spears and Madonna's "Me Aganist the Music" coupled with "My Neck, My Back" by Khia and accoustic versions of "Be Mine!" and "Show Me Love". Even though the tour was in support of her latest album, the 21 song set only included a handful of new songs while the rest was comprised of selections from across her catalog.

Ending her three song encore under a shower of glitter on an otherwise dark stage, Robyn herself was moved to tears when her backing band peeled back the music and the crowd sang the whole chorus to her hit single, "Dancing On My Own". She wasn't the only one moved to tears as my own eyes started welling up. Turning to my friend, we saw that we were both fighting back happy, feel good tears. It was quite a moment. It was quite a show. It took me by surprise how earnestly good Robyn is live and I'm so glad I didn't miss it. 

Robyn @ Kia Forum 9/23/2026 
photo by Anne Ngo 

The North American leg of the Sexistential tour came to an end when she headlined night one of the  fifth annual Portola Music Festival in San Francisco. 

Millennials in Italy and Australia get ready for a heartfelt show when Robyn heads your way at the end of the month and late November.

set-list 9/23/2026 

1. Blow My Mind

2. Fembot

3. Talk To Me

4. Hang With Me

5. Ever Again

6. Dopamine

7. Honey

8. Life

9. Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do

10. Sexistential

11. Really Real

12. Love Kills

13. Be Mine!

14. Show Me Love

15. Light Up

16. Sucker For Love
17. Industructable
18. With Every Heartbeat 

Encore

19. Missing U

20. Call Your Girlfriend

21. Dancing On My Own