Time for New Home Furnishings/Decor? Wayfair’s Got It!

After a year at home basically 24/7, it might be time to refresh. And by that, I mean buy new furniture, or a new area rug (that’s me!), or find some new home decor that brings you joy.

Wayfair has some crazy deals right now on all of those things! And if you are on a budget, fear not. Save up to 70% on furniture and decor at Wayfair.com. Sign up and receive promo code for 10% off.

I’m really looking forward to shopping for a new rug this weekend on Wayfair. Our current rug has been in our living room since (almost) day 1. 6 years is a long time for an area rug, especially one that was pretty inexpensive to start with.

  • Shop for a new look with our exclusive gallery of designer-decorated rooms.
  • Stay up-to-date on your account with the new MyWayfair, featuring notifications for exclusive promo codes and more.
  • Shop limited-time deals on furniture and decor at up to 70% OFF. New sales launch every day at noon.
  • Browse by departments, refine your search, and get inspired when you search by room.

 

 

6/25/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals

bright boxes

Good morning!

This week has been busy, but we are settling into our summer schedule. There are a lot of cute PDF summer schedules that you can print online, and I’ve seen a lot of people post them on Social Media. I’ll be making a slightly more realistic one this weekend for our family. If it turns out ok, I may post it.

As summer is upon us, here are a few freebies to keep your kiddos occupied and fed this summer:

If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. While the State of California is open, I’m not recommending that we all pile into the car and hit the mall. Please remember that most states have not yet reached herd immunity rates. Be safe, be careful.

Freebies:

Free Sample of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free Spin Scooter Rides & Helmets for Healthcare Providers
Free Sample of MiN New York CODA Fragrance
Free $5 Twitch Gift Card
Free Wildflower Seeds from AirWick
Free Dose & Co. Collagen Supplements
Free Bromley’s Smooth Operator 7-Blade Razor
Free Bag of Country Archer Beef Jerky Sticks
Free Sample of Downy Unstoppables at Sam’s
Free Chomps Original Beef Stick
Free Subscription to Esquire Magazine
Free Subscription to Parents Magazine
Free Killer Creamery Ice Cream Sandwiches
Free Coffee Grounds for Your Garden at Starbucks
Free Skin Microbe Test Kits
Free Spin Master Extreme Sports Megathon Party Kit
Free Sample of Ralph Lauren Ralph’s Club Fragrance
Free Eczema HQ Magazine
Free Kids Organizational Storage Item
Free Hallmark Card Every Month
Free Sample of Coach for Men Cologne
Free Skin Discoloration Products + 100 eGift Card
Free Karma Rub Elemental Pain Relief Lotion Sample
Free Sample of Ralph Lauren Ralph’s Club Fragrance
Free Sample of IT Cosmetics Hello Results Retinol Cream
Free Subscription to Shape Magazine
Free Biggby Coffee
500 Free Tickets at Chuck E Cheese
Free Bottle of Frunutta Melatonin
Free Samples of Herbal Zap Health Drink Mixes

Deals:

Steve Madden Men’s Crossbody Bag ONLY $23.04 (Reg $36)
Sonoma Goods For Life Patriotic Tees ONLY $3.99 (Reg $10)
Thermo-Electric Water Dispenser ONLY $57.02 (Reg $100)
Hanging Cosmetic Bag ONLY $5.99 Each Shipped (Reg $20)
Disney Princess Vanity Toy ONLY $29.88 (Reg $50)
Kate Spade Darcy Small Slim Crossbody ONLY $89 (Reg $249)
Insignia 10-Qt Digital Air Fryer Oven ONLY $59.99 (Reg $150)
Remington Men’s Body Hair Trimmer ONLY $26.30 (Reg $50)
Fast & Furious 8-Movie Collection Box Set ONLY $28.99 (Reg. $60)
Fisher-Price Train Ball Pit ONLY $19 (Reg $40)

Special Needs Resource Foundation Presents Free, In-person Read 3×3 Literacy Event!

Join the Special Needs Resource Foundation of San Diego and San Diego Family for our FREE in-person event on Saturday, July 24 from 9-11am at the San Diego Central Library – 330 Park Blvd, San Diego, 92101.

Three authors, Doreen Cronin, Alex Montoya, and Reginald Brown, will entertain children of all abilities with a book reading and a unique, themed craft. Parents can gather resources from local businesses. One free book per child, while supplies last.

To Register or learn more about this event, click here.

And if you are looking for something fun to do later that day, check out the Free San Diego Youth Carnival at the Jacobs Center. 

Tryazon: Host a Hues & Cues Game Night!

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food. You can learn more about Tryazon here.

The creators of Telestrations and Blank Slate introduce Hues & Cues in this new Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, sponsored by The OP! What hue do you think of when someone says “apple”? Hues & Cues is a colorful game of communication where players are challenged to make connections to colors with one and two-word cues. Players try to guess the specific hue from 480 colors on the game board. The closer the guesses, the more points you earn! It’s great for families and parties!

Tryazon has 300 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with two copies of Hues & Cues, one to enjoy and one to give out as a door prize! Learn more and apply here: https://www.tryazon.com/hues-and-cues-game-night/ 

6/21/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis week marks the first week of summer school for the big kid and a reading summer program for the little one. I’m excited for them to get out of the house and be with other kids.

We hit up the county library last week and picked up our summer reading stuff and checked out a huge stack of books.

Last weeks’ trip to the grocery store combined with the free summer lunches meals that I didn’t have to go to the grocery store over the weekend for this week. That’s great because the price of groceries has gone up exponentially over the past few weeks, so I’m leaning more on stores that have good deals like Grocery Outlet, and using my cashback apps like Fetch Rewards.

We usually get a CSA box on Mondays, but I opted to skip this week because we have so much leftover from last week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I did a little meal prep over the weekend, mostly cutting up melons, making salads, and cooking a batch of beans and rice for lunch this week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: We pick up free school lunches during the summer for the kids, I also have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Burgers and fries
  • Monday: Spinach Salad, Chicken Tikka Masala, rice
  • Tuesday:   Pulled BBQ chicken, roasted veg, noodles
  • Wednesday:  Meal o’ snacks: Fruits, crackers, cheese, granola bars
  • Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, bacon, and fruit)
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit, salad

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Become a Just Egg Ambassador!

Have you heard of Just Egg? 

It’s an egg substitute made from plants. And now you can share Just Egg with your friends and family!

Your friends might not believe an egg made from a plant is possible, let alone delicious. But you know it is. Now’s your chance to prove it to the skeptics: gift free JUST Egg to up to three friends. And JUST egg will reward you with a free product too.

When you share JUST Egg with your friends and family, you’re being a force for change in our food system. Because it’s made from plants, JUST Egg is free of cholesterol and it uses less water and carbon emissions than chicken eggs.

Here’s how it works

Step 1: Get your ambassador code and forward it to 3 friends

Step 2: Your friend buys JUST Egg (and saves the receipt)

Step 3:Your friend uploads the receipt and gets reimbursed

Step 4: Then, you get a free JUST Egg product too

 

You understand how a better world is created one bite at a time. So JUST egg is giving you this free JUST Egg to start a conversation that will spark change. Join the bigger conversation at #ShareJUSTEgg. Full terms and conditions here and if you have any issues or questions, please reach out to wecare@ju.st.

Free Donuts for Father’s Day!

You know what Dad’s like?

Donuts. And saving money (or maybe that’s just me dad).

This deal is pretty sweet- Two free donuts for all dads on 6/20/2021 at either Mary’s Donuts location (Santee or Lakeside).

You have to bring your kiddos with you.

Sign up for this deal here.

San Diego Summer Fun on a Budget

681517ea18b6760354438c6a7f6190f1.jpgIt’s time for kids to finish up school, and be let loose on the world.

Now that places are reopening at 100% capacity, there are a lot more options for summer adventures.

Free Music Lessons from Staump Music School.

Kids Bowl Free all Summer!

$1.00 Movies all Summer with Regal Cinemas

Free Summer School Lunches (Gotta keep them fed this summer). Lots of locations have events or activities nearby, so you can have fun and have a free lunch!

The splash ground at Santee Lakes is GREAT! It’s only $2.00 per kid (on weekdays, $3.00 on weekends) to play and if you park outside the Santee Lakes, you don’t have to pay to park! Take a picnic and it’s a great frugal outing! We go at least once a week in the summer and it’s always
a GREAT time!

If you are looking to beat the heat and need something free, check out the Waterfront Park downtown. They have a great splash pad area for kids, a really fun playground, and a big grassy area for picnics. Only downside- no shade trees.

Balboa Park still offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park. Another free activity in Balboa Park is the Botanical Garden and Lily Pond. Right next door is the Spanish Art Village, which is fun to explore as well. Pack some snacks and make a day of it.

San Diego County has great parks, as do most of the cities in San Diego County! Our favorite parks include Big Rock Park in Santee, Kennedy Park in El Cajon, La Mesita/Junior Seau Park in La Mesa, Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa (great for little kids).

I also find lots of local events and free fun stuff by checking the “Events You May Like” section on Facebook Events.

Free Music Classes from Staump Music School

We received this email from the school district yesterday, and I wanted to share this free deal with y’all.

If you are looking for something fun for the kids to try this summer, Staump Music School is offering a free month of voice, guitar, piano, or ukelele.

Have you been thinking about enrolling your child in music lessons? Now’s your chance to try it 100% risk-free!

What is a 30-Day Lesson Pass?

Their 30-day lesson pass is good for four 45-minute class sessions throughout one month! In other words, you will have one 45-minute group class each week for four consecutive weeks.

How do you sign up for a lesson pass?

Visit Staump Music School’s website here and complete the form.

Your child will get to experience the joys of music for an entire month, completely risk-free! We want to make sure your child truly enjoys their class & has so much fun they want to keep coming back!

This is a really fun opportunity, and if your kiddo has expressed interest in learning an instrument or singing, this is a great way to see if this is something they can get into and enjoy without committing to a lot of lessons (or money).

6/14/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis week is our first full week of summer vacation! This week both kids are free, meaning no summer school or structured learning. We’ll be playing and swimming all week long. I’ve got a bunch of errands and phone calls to get done.

Yesterday was my big trip to the grocery store. The price of groceries has gone up exponentially over the past few weeks, so I’m leaning more on stores that have good deals like Grocery Outlet, and using my cashback apps like Fetch Rewards.

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I didn’t do any meal prep yesterday, so I’ll be doing it after the CSA box arrives this morning. Next week we’ll be taking a hiatus from the CSA box. We eat less when it’s hot out, and I don’t want any food to go to waste. It’s going to be hellaciously hot this week, so the meal plan reflects that with lots of cool/cold food.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: We pick up free school lunches during the summer for the kids, I also have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Soup, Salad, and  Toast
  • Monday: Salad, Protein shakes, and Texas Toast
  • Tuesday:   Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, bacon, and fruit)
  • Wednesday:  Meal o’ snacks: Fruits, crackers, cheese, granola bars
  • Thursday:  Roasted Veg, chicken, potatoes
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit, salad

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?