Posh Parsimony: Berlin / Fingerprints

This place is great and a hidden, hip treasure. They have some of my favorite things in one beautifully, renovated building. There are two parts to the experience: eats and entertainment.

Berlin is the coffee shop connected to the record store and created by the owners of Portfolio Coffeehouse.

They serve coffee, loose leaf tea, healthy breakfast and lunch items and sweets. A local pastry makes the vegan desserts and they run out all the time. Every once in a while, I call when leaving work to see if they still have any cupcakes. Tonight they hadn't run out, sooooo I got one. It was really tasty!

I wanted to plan my 30th birthday here this past October just because I love this table so much. I decided against having a party but I do think this place could host some amazing events once they get their beer/wine license. The communal table is beautiful and the succulents melt my heart. When the weather is agreeable, they open the sliding doors on the left. The urban setting, a cup of tea, a good book and music via headphones can make for a great afternoon. It's a mix of New York, Seattle, a little bit of Paris and one of the many reasons why I love Long Beach.

The cafe leads to the book store in the back.

My beautiful and intelligent friend Leah & her boobs are part of a photography exhibit.

The bookstore has new and used books. Check out the brick in the back, I love it.

Here are a couple of my favorites that I saw while searching for new reads.

And then there's this jewel about releasing your potential and energy with the help of dragons and pearls..... I'm sorry Rebecca, I don't think I am ready to catch it.

Fingerprints was a staple in Belmont Shores on 2nd Street for years but moved to its new location last year. It is a music store that sells new and used CDs, records, DVDs and local products like clothing and jewelry. They also have shows in-house. Their website has a picture of the Foo Fighters playing in the store! Every time I go into the music section, I like to think the giddy excitement I feel is similar to how teens in the 80's felt when searching for something new. I always walk in hoping to find something that will make me love music more and find a new artist that can articulate what I feel. There is so much music to discover, it can easily take hours to cover the many racks. Lately I have been really into collecting records. I don't have a record player but plan to get one soon.