My Summer Bucket List

summer bucket List

Summer is almost here! It is my favorite season of the year. I love being able to wear cooler clothing and enjoying summer days and evenings. I love warm days by the water, picnics, barbeques and just relaxing.

summer bucket List

Of course I am a planner so I have to have a summer bucket list. Here is mine:

  • Go to a County Fair
  • Visit Northern California
  • Visit the Beach
  • Go Wine Tasting
  • Visit the Getty Museum
  • Visit 5 new restaurants
  • Read two books (anyone have suggestions?)
  • Clean my closet
  • Experiment with my new camera (my early birthday present)
  • Have a Sangria Party
  • Take my kids clothes shopping
  • Take my mom to tea
  • Remind my blog readers that Google Reader is going away (this is the reminder to please follow via email or Bloglovin’ so you do not miss a post) :)

What is on your bucket list this summer?

Beach

 

 

 

 

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Saving Time With eMeals

eMeals-simple-336x280

Now that summer is here, I am ready for fun outdoors. As you know, I love saving time when I can, so that I can spend time with family and friends and I want to share a tip with you on a service I recently had the oppotunity to review.

Do you ever have trouble deciding what to put on your family’s menu each week? I do, and I  do not menu plan every week. Some weeks it gets done and others it just doesn’t happen. But did you know that you can get a menu plan developed especially for you and your family emailed to you each week?

emeals logo

Thanks to emeals, you can.  If you have not heard of emeals, this is how it works. You pick the menu plan that works best for your family and emeals will send you menu ideas with recipes for you each week. They will also send you a grocery list with the items you will need and it coordinates with your favorite grocery store so you can take advantage of store savings.

Slow-Cooker-Chicken-eMeals_opt

The menus are developed based on your needs and they will base the menu on your family’s size, dietery desires and tastes. Here are some of the plans currently available

  • Classic Meals
  • Clean Eating
  • Simple Gourmet
  • Paleo
  • Vegetarian
  • Low Carb
  • Low Fat
  • Portion Control
  • Natural & Organic
  • Gluten Free
  • Lunch Plan
  • Breakfast Plan

There is even a Slow Cooking plan which is awesome for summer because you can  spend time out and about enjoying the summer days with your family and come home to a cooked meal.

If you are looking for some packable lunches for work or daycamp that change things up from the typical P & J, they have a cool summer lunch program with 5 lunch ideas each week for only $4. They have a breakfast plan available too.

Oh and did I tell you, right now, you can use the discount code SUMMER for a 15% discount? Check out how it works here.

While you are thinking about it, be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter and of course, Pinterest. .

Disclosure: I received a complementary plan subscription for review. All opinions are my own.

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Meghan’s Birthday Party Snickerdoodles

HB Megan

Today I am participating in a wonderful birthday celebration for Meghan of The Tasty Fork. Meghan shares some wonderful recipes on her blog and I am so excited to be a part of her birthday celebration!

 

birthday

I am bringing my Snickerdoodles to the party.

HB Megan

This recipe is the one I currently use and is adapted from the Heartland cookbook published over 20 years ago. I have tried several adaptions and this is my favorite and has been my go to for many years. These cookies are so soft and light and are tasty as ever.

Snickerdoodles

Try them and be sure to give a Happy Birthday shout out to Meghan!

 Snickerdoodles

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter sugar and eggs. Combine dry ingredients separately and incorporate into butter mixture. Chill dough at least 1 hour. While dough is chilling, prepare topping.

Topping

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form into balls and roll in topping mixture. Drop by teaspoonful onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-11 minutes until golden.

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles for Meg

These are one of my top ten favorite cookies. What is in your top ten?

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Sharing this here:

The Creative Princess

Free Car Wash for So Cal Hondas this Weekend & A Giveaway #HelpfulHonda

Honda Free Wash

I’m was asked by SoCal Honda to help spread the word about their upcoming
Father’s Day free car wash event this weekend. My first car was a Honda Accord and I loved my car! It got me all around California when I was in college. So I am sharing this cool event for my SoCal Honda friends.

During this Father’s Day weekend (6/15 & 6/16), the helpful guys in blue are
taking over 7 different car washes all over SoCal and will be treating Honda
drivers to a free car wash courtesy of the SoCal Honda Dealers- just one
more way SoCal Honda is being helpful.

Honda Free Wash

The event starts at 10am at each of the select car washes and the first 60
Hondas will get a standard wash and vacuum. This Helpful Honda Event will be at selected locations in:

Ontario, Whittier, Huntington Beach, North Hills,
Corona, San Clemente, and Culver City.

To find out specific location information, follow them on  Facebook and Twitter for the announcements. Even if you are not here in Southern California, they are also giving me a couple of items to giveaway to one lucky reader:

Honda ShirtTravel Mug

You can enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. I did not receive any cash compensation, gift cards or any cars (although I will know I have really made it when someone gives me a car). The giveway prizes are provided by SoCal Honda Dealers.

 

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 US Residents Only. No purchase necessary to enter.  A winner will be randomly selected via RaffleCopter and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

 

Strawberry and Raspberry Empanadas

Strawberries, Raspberries

Remember the Coconut and Lime Cupcakes I made last month as part of the Lady Behind The Curtain challenge? Well it is time for another one. This month’s challenge was strawberries and raspberries. I have to say that I do love strawberries and cook with them often, however, I do not use raspberries very much.

Strawberry and Raspberry Empanada

I do not know why that is, but I just tend to buy strawberries, blueberries and blackberries more often. This is what I love about these challenges, is that it gets me out of my routine. So today I am making some  Strawberry and Rasberry Empanadas. They are really simple to make with prepared ready to bake pie crust dough.  These are perfect for a breakfast or brunch in the summer. They also make a nice dessert or snack.

Strawberry Raspberry Empanadas (Turnovers)

1 1/2 cups strawberries – cleaned, stems removed, drained and sliced

1 cup raspberries –  cleaned and drained

1/3 cup sugar

2 ready to bake pie crusts dough circles (14.1 oz package)

2 tablespoons sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place strawberries and raspberries in saucepan over low heat.

Add sugar.

Strawberry and Raspberry Empanada

While mixture is heating, smash berries together. When berries start to bubble, simmer about another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using a 3 1/2″ – 4″ round cookie cutter, cut out circles from pie crust. Place dough circles on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. You may need to re-roll pie crust depending on the size of the cutter you use.

Place about a tablespoon of the fruit mixture on each circle.

 

Strawberry and Raspberry Empanada

Fold over dough in half and secure by pressing down with a fork.

Secure turnover

 

Bake 14-16 minutes on a greased or lined baking sheet until lightly brown. Roll in sugar while still warm. Let cool.

 

Fruit Empanadas

Makes about a dozen.

Strawberries, Raspberries

 

If you would like more information about this challenge, click on the button below.

 Lady-Behind-The-Curtain-Dessert-Challenge-Banner

Do you cook or bake with raspberries? If so, what do you make?

For more recipes with the strawberry and raspberry combination , see what other bloggers whipped up, below.

 

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Friendship Fun – #SafewayGevalia #cgc

Gevalia Coffee

 

The weather has been so nice lately in Southern California and I have been wanting to spend some time outdoors with family and friends. The other day, our good friends called and said, “let’s barbecue” so together we threw an impromptu gathering so that we could enjoy each other and the beautiful outdoors.

I did not have a lot of time to prepare, in fact, I just had a couple of hours. So I went to my local Safeway Store to pick up some items for the occasion. I found a wonderful cheese platter in the deli section.  The cheese was pre-sliced and ready to serve. I picked up some crackers as well. I love that I can find some easy party and picnic items that do not take a lot of time to prepare from Safeway, and are reasonably priced and delicious.

Gevalia Coffee

I also picked up some fresh-baked cookies from the bakery and headed to the coffee aisle. There I picked up a bag of Gevalia coffee. If you have never tried Gevalia, I would recommend you try it. The coffee is very rich and flavorful. Gevalia began brewing coffee in Gavle, Sweden in 1853, where traditional cast-iron roasting developed its distinctively rich, smooth (and never bitter) taste. The coffee is ground extra-fine and is delicious. Gevalia also now comes in single serve cups for your Keurig® K-Cup® Brewer, perfect for a quick cup.

Gevalia

*Kraft Foods is not affiliated with Keurig, Inc. KEURIG and K-CUP are registered trademarks of Keurig, Inc.

Gevalia coffee comes in many varieties and you cannot miss the bright bags in the market. My favorite is the House Blend, but the French Roast and Traditional Roast are also excellent.

Gevalia Coffee

After our teriyaki dinner, my good friend Deanna and I talked about her daughter’s graduation, how we were going to celebrate Father’s Day and our upcoming vacation that our families are taking together to Portland, Oregon next month. When we get together the time goes by really fast. We have shared many,many great times together and we laugh for hours. We plan to grow very old together!

Makefriends

When dessert time came, we enjoyed our Gevalia coffee and our tasty sugar cookies from Von’s bakery. It was the perfect pairing! We enjoyed our coffee and time together until the sun came down. Until our next get together – cheers! For more information on Gevalia coffee and promotions, be sure to follow them on Facebook.

Have you tried Gevalia coffee? What sweet treat would you enjoy with it?

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Target Beauty Concierge Program

Natural cosmetics

I had a great experience at one of my favorite stores this week. Did you know that many Target stores in Los Angeles and Orange County, California now have a beauty concierge to help their customers? I  met up with Lorine, a beauty concierge, at my local Target store after work one day this week. It was so helpful and refreshing to have someone give me some personalized service and attention, without feeling like I had to spend a lot of money on cosmetics.

Lorina

Lorina was very knowledgeable about makeup, skincare and hair care. She said that she attended an intense training program with Target. In fact, Lorena also happens to be a licensed cosmotologist. I asked her if she would suggest a lipstick that would not be drying to my lips. She asked me questions on whether long-lasting or shimmer were important. I liked that she wanted more information about what would work for me before suggestiong something. She shared a couple of recommendations with me and gave me some advice on using a lip balm with sunscreen as a base for my lipstick. She said with summer coming, it is really important to protect our lips from the damaging sun rays.

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I received a tour of the various product lines. There are anti-aging, natural, hyper-allergenic, and organic specialty lines now at Target. I can see why the Target concierges undergo an intensive training program  with so many choices.  They are also “brand agnostic”, which means they do not subscribe to one particular brand.

Natural cosmetics

This was true my experience with Lorina. We talked about illuminators, beauty balms and mascara extensively and she recommended products from different brands. I was impressed by this because at Target, there are many products from wonderfully frugal brands such as e.l.f cosmetics to salon quality brands like Enjoy and Fekkai.

Target’s beauty concierge  personnel can help with

  • makeup 
  • skin care
  • nail care
  • body hygiene
  • hair products
  • fragrance
  • hair appliances

Hair applicances

The best part, there is no cost for this service. As you know, I love streamlining activities and now, I can really get more accomplished while at Target.

Each Target with a beauty concierge will have the hours posted in the make up aisle at the store. No appointment is ncessary. The beauty concierge will be wearing a black apron.

Beauty Concierge Hours

The Beauty Concierge Program will launch at stores in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Northern Virginia.

This is not a sponsored post. I did not receive monetary compensation or any products. All opinions are my own.

Do you like the idea of a beauty concierge to help you find a product?

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Summer Cleaning Tips

Summer Cleaning Tips

Now that the weather is warming up here in Southern California, we are preparing for summer. We like to spend time outdoors and every spring, our backyard needs some attention because of all the rain and wind we get here in Orange County. It is time to clean for summer.

So today I am sharing my Summer Cleaning Tips.

Summer Cleaning Tips

Outdoor Seating – We have some outdoor cushions that get dirty from the moisture and leaves that blow around the area. I have found that the best way to clean these is to spot clean with a delicate cleaner and then wash with a hose. Be sure to check the fabric directions before you do this. I also like to spray my cushions with fabric protector once the fabric dries.

Outdoor Furniture

Concrete – Our backyard is the home to some bird nests and although I absolutely love hearing the birds chirp in the morning, they leave quite a mess on our concrete. They come every year and build mud nests that eventually come down with the rain in winter. I use just a little dish soap with water and a good brush to clean the area where they left their droppings. I use a towel to soak up the cleaning water, then finish off with a powerwash.

Barbeque – Our BBQ grill is cleaned after each use, but before summer we like to really clean the outside and grates. A wire brush is best for the grill to get all the residue off. Oven cleaners work great for grills once they are removed. Be sure to check your grill’s manufacturer directions and ensure that the grill is off and cool before attempting to clean it. Similar cleaning techniques also work for firepits and fire features.

Grill

Rain gutters – This is the time to get all of the leaves and such out of the gutters so that they are ready for the next season. While we did not get a lot of rain last year, the Santa Ana winds blew quite a bit. It is amazing how many leaves and twigs get caught in the gutters.

Outdoor Light Fixtures – Since we will be spending time outdoors in the evening, I like to clean out any little critters that may have made these their home during fall and winter. The glass panels are easier to clean if you clean them regularly.

Lanterns

Water Features - We have a fountain in our backyard and this is another area that collects leaves and branches. If you have a pool or spa, you are probably on top of the maintenance. Now is the time to stock up on extra chemicals tha you might need this summer.

Pest Control – If you have some pest strips or old citronella candles from last year, replace them with new ones for the upcoming season. Be sure to place in safe areas away from pets and children.

Fountain

Ceiling Fans - Now is the perfect time to dust off those ceiling fans before all the dust that lands on them gets blown all over the place. I find that dusting with feather dusters is effective, but to really get the dust off, they need to be cleaned with a damp cloth.

Air Filters – These should be changed more often than once a year, but in case you have gotten behind schedule, this is a great time to do it. Before the air conditioner starts running, cleaning the filters will allow for more productive air flow and a healthier environment.

Door Tracks – With all the traffic going in and out of the back door, this is a great time to clean the door track. Talk about gross, it amazes me how dirty these tracks can get. I use a spray cleaner for these. They never get quite as clean as I would like.

Are any of these items on your summer cleaning list? How do you clean for summer?

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