april

April 2025 Upcoming Clothing Swaps

Abby H.

I love clothing swaps- If you have read my blog, you know it’s one of my favorite ways to refresh the kid’s wardrobes (and my own).

And as always, if you are looking for more information about clothing swaps, check out my post (with other San Diego, CA area resources)  here.

April means Earth Day is coming up! And that means clothing swaps!

Clothing Swap at La Mesa’s Earth Day Fair!
Join I Love A Clean San Diego for a free clothing and accessories swap during the City of La Mesa’s Earth Day Fair on Saturday, April 19th, at the La Mesa Community Garden! Swap your gently used clothes, shoes, and accessories and find your next favorite outfit while helping keep textiles out of the landfill.

La Mesa Community Garden – 5080 Memorial Dr.
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
No registration is needed – walk-ins are welcome!

Women’s Clothing Swap
Location: The Chapel at Grossmont
5651 Water St, La Mesa, CA
Saturday, April 26, 2025
10 am-2 pm
How it works:
Bring your gently used* WOMEN’S CLOTHING, accessories, shoes, etc. and trade them for items you want to take home. No selling, no buying, just swapping. You simply drop off your items on the front table and you can start shopping for items you want to take home – free! Come and drop off all the items you want to swap and leave with items that will bring value to you.
Items can include:
-Gently used* or semi-new clothing pieces
-Gently used* or semi-new shoes
-Jewelry pieces
-Accessories: scarfs, hats, purses, belts
*Items should be freshly laundered and either on hangers or laid flat in a box (not in bags, please)

Reminders:
– SWAP FOR YOU. NO LUGGAGE PLEASE. NOT FOR RESALE.
– Bring a bag to take home all your finds.
– Wear tights and a fitted blouse to easily try on clothes.

California Climate Credit- Savings on Your April Utility Bill.

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-04-13 at 9.24.20 AM.pngImagine my joy when I opened my email this morning and I found out I have $44.85 SDG&E bill!

And if you have any of the following utilities: PG&E, SDG&E, SCE Pacific Power and Liberty Utilities, your April bill will have a credit.

The California Climate Credit. From the CPUC website:

“Twice a year, millions of California residents receive a credit on their utility bill identified as the “California Climate Credit.”  The California Climate Credit is part of California’s efforts to fight climate change.  This credit is from a state program that requires power plants, natural gas distributors and other large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy carbon pollution permits.  The credit represents residential utility ratepayers’ share of the payments from the State’s program.  The credit program was created by the CPUC, which also oversees the program’s implementation.

Currently, all residential and eligible small business electricity customers of PG&E, SDG&E, SCE Pacific Power and Liberty Utilities receive the credit, as do all Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) customers.  In addition, natural gas residential customers of PG&E, SoCalGas, Southwest Gas, and SDG&E also receive the credit.  Customers don’t need to do anything to receive the credit – it is automatically applied to their bills.  The credit amounts vary among utilities, CCAs and from year to year.

If you’re not sure whether you’re receiving the Climate Credit, the first thing to do is contact your utility or CCA, the same as you would do with any billing questions.  That’s because although the CPUC oversees the credit and can help with any remaining questions you have, your utility or CCA is best positioned to access your individual records and answer questions about individual accounts.”

The 2nd credit will be on the October bill.

In addition to this credit, we also use the TIME OF USE billing to our advantage. Here is an article I wrote about last summer with some tips about how to save on your utility bill. Time of Use billing isn’t for everyone, but we use it as I am able to do the bulk of our energy using chores during off-peak hours, such as dishes and laundry.

And one thing that I find super helpful- We signed up for Ohm Connect a few years ago and it texts and/or emails you when you should conserve more power due to the demand on the power grid. It’s a win-win situation: You save money on your power bill, and you earn points from Ohm Connect that you can cash out for Paypal, Amazon or Target Gift Cards, OhmConnect store credit (to buy energy efficient thermostats, smart plugs, etc.) You can learn more about OhmConnect here.

April 11 is National Cheese Fondue Day!

Abby H.9 Comments

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Who doesn’t love cheese? Ok, so vegans and those who are lactose intolerant, but the rest of us LOVE cheese!

The Melting Pot is celebrating National Cheese Fondue Day April 8-11 with an awesome build your own fondue deal for just $12 per person.

Step 1 – Select Your Cheese Blend: Aged Cheddar and Emmenthaler or Gruyere, Raclette and Fontina or Butterkase and Fontina

Step 2 – Select Your Base: Lager Beer/Bouillon blend, White Wine, Vegetable Bouillon or Redbridge Gluten Free Beer

Step 3 – Select Up to 3 Add-Ins (additional items are $.50 per item): Brie, Feta, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Basil Pesto, Creole Mustard, Green Goddess, Salsa, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Garlic, Spinach, Artichoke Hearts, Bacon, Jalapeno, Almonds, Walnuts, Asparagus, Artichokes, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Potatoes, Scallions, Shallots, and Diced Tomatoes.

Step 4: Select Your Seasonings: Black Pepper, Garlic & Wine Seasoning, Mustard Powder, Nutmeg, Tabasco, Worcestershire

Step 5 – Select Premium Add-Ins (Optional – $1.50 each) Serves 1-2:

Andouille Sausage, Salami, Prosciutto, Apricot Almond Orange Crackers,

Grilled Vegetables – Bell Peppers, Asparagus, Fingerling Potatoes

Roasted Vegetables – Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Zucchini

$12.00 per person*
All cheeses are served with artisan breads, seasonal fruits and veggies.
Choose one per cooktop. Vegan cheese available. See server for details.

*Price includes: cheese fondue for 1 and artisan dippers. Tax, gratuity and surcharge not included in price. Must order per person. Valid only on April 11, 2019. A 4% surcharge will be added to all Guest checks to help cover increasing costs and in our support of the recent increases to minimum wage and benefits for our dedicated Team Members.

To find your local location and book a table, click here.

If you want to celebrate National Cheese Fondue Day at home, here is my favorite Fondue recipe.

 

Talk Back: What’s your favorite cheesy dish? Do you like Fondue?

 

Mabel’s Labels honors Autism Awareness Month with 30% Off!

Abby H.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Mabel’s Labels’ will be honoring Autsim Awareness Month by offering 30% off Custom Medical Tags, Kids’ Medical Labels and Kids’ Safety Bracelets.
Promotion begins today, 4/2 and will run through Tuesday, 4/30. Click the link below to get started!

30% off Custom Medical Tags, Kids’ Medical Labels & Kids’ Safety Bracelets from Mabel’s Labels 4/2-4/30.

Ibotta: April is Referral Cash Match Month!!

Abby H.

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Ya’ll know I love a good Cash Back app, and Ibotta is pretty high on my list. In fact, prior to writing this post, I cashed out for $32.58. I had to share this latest promotion!

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 7.59.23 AM.pngApril is Referral Cash Match Month!
During April, get $5 for every friend who signs up with your code and redeems an offer AND we’ll match their cash back for you — whatever they earn this month, you’ll earn too! Sounds pretty sweet.

If you aren’t sure about all this Cash Back App stuff, check out my post here. But here is just an example of how you can earn money for stuff you usually buy:

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And this offer is available at over 50 stores (including Costco). There are also offers for fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meat, breads, shelf stable food, canned goods, frozen food. There are 75+ offers on the Ibotta App at any time.

 

Disclaimer: This post contains my referral link, and if you sign up and complete the offer, I’ll get the deal too. I use the money I earn from referrals on the blog to pay for hosting fees and giveaways- And also my weekly trip to Starbucks. You can check out my Disclosure for all of the deets.

Legoland for only $30 on 4/29/17!

Abby H.

img_1693Looking for a good deal on Legoland Tickets?

Check this out!

The Carlsbad Education Foundation (CEF) is hosting their annual ‘Celebrate Carlsbad Day™’ at LEGOLAND® California Resort.

  • What: Specially-priced $30 LEGOLAND tickets
  • When: Saturday, April 29
  • Time: Enjoy extended Park hours 12pm-8pm

LEGOLAND will donate a portion of the event proceeds to the Foundation to support district-wide science initiatives for students at all CUSD Schools.

 To purchase tickets online, visit www.CarlsbadEd.org

This event happens once a year! If you are looking to do a frugal trip at Legoland, check out this post about doing Legoland on a Budget here.