Free Summer Events in ALL OC cities

Summer time brings warm weather and bored kids, so I thought I would help fill your calendar with free things to do.  First up, take your kids to a movie (or concert) at your local park.  Grab your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic basket filled with dinner and treats (or grab a $5 Little Cesar pizza), some microwave popcorn (pop it at home before coming), and some drinks and join a big crowd of other tired and frustrated parents to relax and watch a movie under the stars.  The best part: it’s free.  The worst part: you have to take your kids. 

Here are a link to your local cities websites to find out exact time, dates & movies being played:

Aliso Viejo

http://alisoviejo.patch.com/events/avca-movie-night

Anaheim

 http://www.anaheim.net/article.asp?id=4124

Brea

http://www.cityofbrea.net/eventsOpen.cfm?id=1104

Buena Park (concerts in the park)

http://www.buenaparkfinearts.com/concerts.php

Costa Mesa (concerts in the park & free movies)

http://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/CMcommunityEvents.htm

Cypress (concerts on the green)

http://www.ci.cypress.ca.us/whats_news/12_concerts.html

Dana Point

http://www.danapoint.org/index.aspx?page=545

Fountain Valley (concerts in the park & movies)

http://www.fountainvalley.org/calendar/index.php?month=7&year=2012

Fullerton (outdoor concerts)

http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/residents/community_events/summer_concert_series.asp

Garden Grove (concerts in the park)

http://www.ggcf.com/

Huntington Beach

http://www.surfingmuseum.org/events.html (surfing themed concerts)

Irvine

http://cityofirvine.org/ (Sizzling Sunday Concerts)

http://www.ocgp.org/2012/04/movies-on-the-lawn/ (Movie at the Great Park)

La Habra (Children events all summer at their museum)

http://www.lahabracity.com/custom.cfm?name=cityeventsOpen.cfm&id=1427

La Palma

http://www.cityoflapalma.org/index.aspx?NID=220

Laguna Beach (Shakespeare in the Park)

http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=373&TargetID=1,2,3,7,8,6,11,12,13,14,5,15,16,4,17,18,19

Laguna Hills (community camp out)

http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/civica/inc/displayblobpdf2.asp?BlobID=3908

Laguna Niguel (concert in the park)

http://www.cityoflagunaniguel.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=1991&month=6&year=2012&day=16&calType=0

Lake Forest (concerts & movies in the park)

http://www.lakeforestca.gov/cals/recreation_calendar.asp

http://www.lakeforestca.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7026

Los Alamitos

http://cityoflosalamitos.org/recreation/?page_id=32

Mission Viejo2 (movies at the lake- YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE LAKE which is complete crap since not every neighborhood in the city is allowed to join the lake membership which leaves about 3 neighbors left out of about 95% of the fun things to do in the city during the summer. Can you tell that this ticks me off?  I hate this city)

http://www.lakemissionviejo.org/moviesmoonlight/index.html

Newport Beach (Shakespeare by the Sea & Concerts in the Park)

http://www.newportbeachca.gov/index.aspx?page=72&recordid=5456

http://www.newportbeachca.gov/index.aspx?page=72&recordid=5446

Orange (concerts in the park)

http://www.cityoforange.org/depts/commserv/special_events/concerts_in_the_park.asp

Placentia (concerts in the park and movies in the park)

http://www.placentia.org/index.aspx?NID=379

http://www.placentia.org/index.aspx?NID=386

Rancho Santa Margarita (concerts in the park)

http://www.cityofrsm.org/

San Clemente

http://san-clemente.org/sc/NewsOnly.aspx?PageID=497

San Juan Capistrano (summer concerts)

http://www.sjc.net/events/summer_nights.html

Santa Ana

http://www.fairhavenmemorial.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=99334

Seal Beach (summer concerts)

http://www.sealbeachchamber.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=225

Stanton

Nothing listed on their city website

Tustin (Concerts & Movies in the Park)

http://www.tustinca.org/documents/ConcertsInTheParkFlyer2012.pdf

http://www.tustinca.org/departments/parksrec/events/documents/MoviesInThePark2012.pdf

Villa Park (Summer Reading Event)

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?eid=MDFkY20xaHBmZ2JlYzZhaDQ5ZWVjMG9vNW8gaW5mb0B2aWxsYXBhcmsub3Jn&ctz=America/Los_Angeles&pli=1&sf=true&output=xml

Westminster (summer concerts)

http://www.westminster-ca.gov/depts/cs/events/annual.asp

Yorba Linda (concerts in the park)

http://www.ci.yorba-linda.ca.us/~ci26/city-departments/parks-a-recreation

Please post a comment if I left out an event that you know of.  Some areas like Ladera Ranch and Talega offer summer events, but don’t put it on a public website for others to read about it.  So if you know of other great summer family events on a budget… email me or share in the comments section.

Hope this helps you out!

Adorable Baby Shower Gift... for cheap!

Lollipop Washcloth Gifts

Our Northeast Editor, Karrie, is amazing.  Not only is she a mom of three little ones under the age of 6, but she is a Super Nanny and in her spare time… she’s crafty!  By spending only a few minutes with her you will quickly figure out why I consider myself extremely blessed to have caller her my Best Friend for years.

Her newest craft are these adorable lollipop washcloth gifts that are perfect for you to bring to the next neighborhood baby shower.  I’m usually in a hurry (because I forgot that it was on my calendar) trying to run really fast to Target and grab whatever is left on their registry (usually something really lame or very expensive) and shoving it into one of my “hand me” down gift bags (I refuse to pay $5 for a bag), so having something a little “extra” tied to the card would make it at least look like I spent more than five minutes out of my day.  So, grab out your pen and paper (or press “print” or “pin” this to Pinterest) and make a list of supplies.  When you find time to sit down and make one, make more like ten.   That way, you can keep them next to your old baby shower bags for when you need something cute… FAST.

Lollipop Washcloth Gifts

Supplies:
Favorite Ribbon
1 roll of Clear Plastic Wrap
Infant wash clothes in fun prints or colors (I like the Circo 3 packs)
1 pack of Gerber or Nuk metal handle baby spoons

Cut one strip of clear plastic wrap about 15 inches wide, then cut into two pieces (each strip will make 2 lollipops).  Coordinate your washcloths and colored spoons (I like to match the pink/purple spoons with the pink washcloths, etc.). 

Starting from one corner, roll washcloth toward the opposite corner, keeping the roll tight and the width about 1 inch.  

Doesn't she have gorgeous hands... and ring!

 Now take long end and roll into a snail shape.

Washcloth Snail

 Holding the roll tight, place spoon on back of roll, cover with plastic wrap and tie ribbon around neck of spoon.  I attached gift tags to ribbon using a hole punch.  

Ready to wrap with plastic wrap.  See top of post for completed picture.

Party Invitations: Cute & Budget Friendly!

I'm always having to buy party invitations; from birthdays to graduations to retirements to birth announcements.  It seems like it is never ending and very expensive.  I'm not a huge fan of evite.com for nice occasions (works great for a Super Bowl Party or BBQ), and I should also admit that my mother has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for years and I like keeping her and her friends employed.  But those really nice fancy schmancy invitation stores in Newport Beach are out of my budget!

So my favorite "go to" website for invitations/announcements is Etsy.com.  There are so many wonderful crafty people on that website that are willing to do all of the work for you and not charge you a ton of money.  You can buy ones that they print on really nice card stock and mail to you or you can purchase a digital file and have them email it to you which then you can print at home or at any store with a photo lab.

Depending on the event, I usually buy the digital file.  They can range in price from $5-25.  I always request that they size it 7x6.5 (will let you know why in a minute) and I typically receive an emailed proof within 24-48 hours.  The only thing that is hard is picking out which card because there are so many great ones.

My Thing #3 is turning one on the 4th of July (he's my lil' Firecracker), so this was the style I picked for him:

The seller is "Poofyprints"and I would HIGHLY recommend

It was on the more expensive side ($21), but I fell in love.  The seller was great, I ordered it at 11pm and when I woke up at 8am it was already completed and in my inbox.  I then sent the digital photo off to Costco (on their website you can upload your photos) and picked the "photo greetings" which are $14.99 for 50 and $5.49 for an additional 25.  The reason why I love printing them at Costco is because they include the envelopes.  This is a true savings.  It was always expensive to find 5x7 envelopes (I would end up buying some ugly invitations on Target clearance just to use their nice envelopes), so this cuts down my expensive and the time it would have taken me to stop at another store.

Now I just need to pick up some stamps at the grocery store (forgot to grab them at Costco) and mail them out. One less thing to stress over.  THANK YOU ETSY!

Damn you perfect Pinterest blog people!

Are you addicted to Pinterest?  Do you spend hours and hours every week looking on that website for adorable new ideas from photography to home décor to cooking to crafts with the kids?  It is filled with links to so many adorable blogs.  Blogs filled with pictures of perfect families and perfect homes that are actually cleaned (not just pictures of homes where toys were shoved off to the side and cropped out).  I hate those blogs. 

Seriously though, where are those people’s kids when they are doing all these cute crafty things?  I have about 1,249 DIY ideas that I want to one day work on, however, that one day won’t probably show up until I’m retired (AKA- my kids move out) and by then they will be completely outdated.    I can’t even shower alone, so how on earth does some expect me to get out a nail gun and a table saw?  That screams “trip to the ER” and missing body parts.

I finally decided to go through all of my pins and pick a project to take on; one that didn’t require any hand tools or much time.  I came across this pin:

Doesn't the picture just ook amazing?  Do you see even a speck of  water mark in tht sink?  Or maybe some dust on that window?  Grease on the back splash?  NOTHING, because these Pinterst bloggers are super-human creatures.

Cute, right?  I thought it would look nice next to my sink.  The blog is http://www.natalme.com/ and the author who is a mom of four kids and a photographer and a home décor guru and pretty much a person who will make you feel like crap because it’s two in the afternoon and you are still in your pajama’s and staring at dishes in the sink but looking through her blog envying her life.  Oh, you don’t ever do that?  Yeah, me neither.  And besides, if you click on the “About Me” tab you will realize she lives in Utah.  Which right way is a red flag that she is going to be pretty and crafty and amazing at blogging.  Don’t believe me?  Well if there was a Blogging Olympics, then Utah would win the gold medal every single year.

Alright, back on topic.  I went to Ikea and picked up a plate ($1) and a candlestick ($4) and two soap/lotion containers $6.  I then stopped by Lowe’s and grabbed some spray paint (the candlestick was originally black) and some heavy duty glue.  All of this sounds pretty easy, right?  WRONG.  The Ikea kids play area was filled, which meant I had to drag all three of my brats (I meant “boys”) through that enormous store all while screaming “DON’T TOUCH THAT” and “GET BACK HERE” and trying to smile at those who stared.  Then we had to repeat the same conversation at Lowe’s.  By the time I got home, I turned on the television for them and ran to the side of the house hoping they wouldn’t follow.

I quickly scraped up the candlestick with some sandpaper I “borrowed” from my husband’s garage (yes, he owns it).  I then sprayed the candlestick, waited for it to dry, and sprayed it again.  After all of that, I took a long break to stop a fight that broke out between the boys and a remote control and even made time to breastfeed the baby.  When my husband arrived home and the kids went to bed, I glued the plate to the candlestick.  24 hours later it was ready to go.  I threw a cloth napkin over the top (thank you Target clearance), put the soap bottles on it, and displayed it by my sink with pure satisfaction.  I FINALLY DID A PINTEREST PROJECT.

Here is my AMAZINGLY AWESOME soap dispenser platter-thingy:

I couldn't put mine by my sink or window because both are dirty and I didn't feel like cleaning them!

I might attempt a new project next year… maybe.

***DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK/TWITTER, FOLLOW THE LINK RIGHT OVER HERE ------------>

Nursery Décor on a Budget

Baby Boy #3- Nursery

I am kind of cheap, cheap as in very thrifty.  Last year we (as in ME, but my husband stood next to me so I will give him a tiny bit of credit) gave birth to our third son.  By the third, things are a little bit different.  You’re not freaked out as much on buying all the latest and greatest new baby gadgets and reading all the baby books; instead you consume yourself with wondering how the heck you will wrangle all these kids together on a Disneyland outing without any help from your husband who works too many hours. 

At the last minute, we decided to work on a nursery (unlike the one we started at 5 months along with #1).  We took a vote and everyone decided on a “Robot/Planet/Rocket” theme.  After some searching a found an adorable crib bedding set from Target (cheap), but was quickly disappointed when I realized it was sold out online and in the store.  Thankfully, my sister and mother hold the title of “Queen of the Thrift Stores” and came across two brand new sets (Target sends their clearance to local thrift stores ALL the time) and two canvas pictures.  Score!

I then went to Craigslist (my best friend which I would marry if it were legal) and searched for some accessories like an Ikea green rug, chairs, and a mirror.  My sister found me a perfect solar system mobile from Pottery Barn which was a big hit with my older boys too.  And then the search began to find something that would fill the side wall.  After a lot of late nights on Pinterest and Etsy, I decided to get the boys to help out.  They drew pictures of robots (my middle was only 3 years old at the time, so I printed a robot on cardstock and he colored it).  I then framed them with Ikea cheap frames and hung them on the wall.  I think they are perfect (and cost pennies to make):

Artwork created by Big Brother 1 & 2

One of my last items I found was a cute little sign/poster (bought off etsy) that filled a little open space by the closet:

Bought off of Etsy

The total for the whole nursery was well under $100 (we already owned the crib & dresser which has been passed down from each kid).  It may not be magazine worthy, but we love it.  So needless to say, a piece of cardstock and some colored pencils is a great way to decorate a room for cheap while keeping your kids involved.  Another idea is to have your kids paint a canvas.  If you don’t want to spend much money on a large canvas, buy an ugly canvas picture at a garage sale, thrift store, or dig it out of a trash can on trash day.  Put a layer (or two) of base color paint over the ugly picture and it will be ready for you to create something new. 

Short on time breakfast ideas!

When you get bored with the usual quick breakfast items for the kids like cereal and oatmeal, what else do you grab/cook?  Last week I decided to make a batch of breakfast burritos, while watching my late night reality shows (don’t judge), and freezed them for the husband and kids to grab in the morning and heat up in the microwave.  They loved them.

Breakfast Burritos

Tortillas

Scrambled Eggs

Hash browns (frozen, defrost ahead of time)

Bacon/sausage

Salsa

Cheese

I cooked the eggs, hash browns, and bacon over the stove.  I heated the tortillas up by steaming them: boil water in a pan, put a strainer over the top, place the tortilla on the strainer and cook for about a minute then flip.  I then stuffed each tortilla with all of the yummy ingredients.  After rolling them up, I wrapped them in foil and put them in the freezer.  To heat up, remove them from the foil wrap a wet paper napkin around it and cook on high in the microwave for a few minutes.

An example of steaming the tortillas:

Steaming a tortilla: pan has boiling water (small amount) then put on top of strainer (Ikea) and flip a few times

Roll them up and wrap them in foil:

Roll up the burrito and then place the foil over the top (tightly) and freeze

Another quick and easy go to breakfast is German Pancakes.  My kids crave them (I blame our neighbors for this)!  But the good thing is they only take a few minutes to prepare and a short time to bake.

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put butter on a cookie sheet (with sides or a 9x13 ungreased pan) and place in the oven to melt.  Meanwhile, place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender, cover and blend until it bubbles.  When the butter has melted, remove the cookie sheet and pour the batter inside.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with lemon wedges (squeeze on top) and some powdered sugar.

They look funny after you bake them

But they taste SO good!

Now I need to go buy some more eggs, I’m officially craving German Pancakes!

Buy a gift card... get free groceries!

One of my favorite grocery store deals is when you purchase a gift card and receive a cash credit to be used on groceries.  It usually happens during a holiday like Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.  Since Father’s Day is on Sunday, the deal is ON this week.  However, they’ve made some changes.

This year Stater Brothers, Albertsons, and Vons will be giving you credit to be used on groceries when you purchase gift cards.  The change from previous years is they are now restricting this offer to only a select gift cards.  In the past, I use to stock up on gas cards (since I was going to be buying gas anyways) and earn about $50-100 in grocery cash.  So this change is a HUGE bummer, but if you were looking to buy one of these cards anyway or shop at one of these stores soon… then makes sure to jump on this deal. 

Here are the details:

Stater Brothers
Must purchase $50 or more on one of the following select gift cards and save $10 on your next shopping trip valid 6/6-6/19, one per transaction:
Lowes
Lucille's BBQ
Itunes
Applebees
Express 
Visa gift card

Albertsons
Save $20 on your next shopping trip when you purchase $100 in a single transaction using your Albertsons Preferred Savings Card, valid 6/10-6/21, of a gift card towards:
Itunes
Lowes
Kohl's 
Bass Pro Shop
Sears
Applebees
Jcpenny
Cabela's

Vons
Purchase $50 in one of these participating gift cards and get $10 loaded on your VonsClub Card, one $10 load per transaction, valid 6/6-6/19:
itunes
Express
Gamestop
Staples
Jiffy Lube
Lowe's JcPenny
Old Chicago
Rock Bottom
Bass Pro Shop
Regal Entertainment
Nike

Make sure that you check the dates on the store credit coupons, don’t let the money go to waste by not using them on time.