san diego

Select Southern California Museums FREE ADMISSION 2/5/2023!

Abby H.

Here in San Diego, February is Museum month, and that means 50% off admission to selected museums. Digital passes good for 50% off of up to four passes can be printed here, or visit your local City of San Diego or County of San Diego Library branch location.

Don’t forget that there is also Free Museum Tuesdays all year long for San Diego Residents and military families.

If you have an EBT/SNAP card, you can access over 1000 museums nationwide for FREE. Check out Museums4All here for more details and search for your local museums.

If you are looking for a fun road trip, or live outside San Diego County, there is a collection of 30+ museums in the LA/OC/Santa Barbara area with free admission offers next Sunday, 2/5/23.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
American Museum of Ceramic Art (Advance tickets required. Visit www.amoca.org to make a reservation.)
Armory Center for the Arts
Bowers Museum
Catalina Museum for Art & History
Cayton’s Children’s Museum (Advance tickets required. Visit www.caytonmuseum.org to make a reservation.)
Craft Contemporary
Descanso Gardens (Advance tickets required. Visit www.descansogardens.org to make a reservation.)
Fowler Museum at UCLA
Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University
Hammer Museum
The Getty Center
The Getty Villa (Timed tickets are required for the Getty Villa. Visit www.getty.edu to make a reservation.)
Japanese American National Museum
La Brea Tar Pits & Museum (Advance tickets required. Visit www.tarpits.org to make a reservation.)
Laguna Art Museum
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Lincoln Memorial Shrine
Long Beach Museum of Art
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) (Advance tickets strongly recommended. Visit www.moca.org to make a reservation.)
Muckenthaler Cultural Center
Museum of Latin America Art (MOLAA)
Museum of Tolerance
Museum of Ventura County
Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Monica History Museum
Santa Paula Art Museum
Skirball Cultural Center (Advance tickets strongly recommended. Visit www.skirball.org to make a reservation.)
The Wende Museum
The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum
USC Asia Pacific Museum

For more information and details, check out the website.

 

 

Give the Gift of the Farm with the Yasukochi Family Farms Black Friday Sale!

Abby H.

On Tuesday I posted about practical gifts for busy families. Little did I know that Yasukochi Family Farms was having a sale this weekend!

This is an amazing sale!

This sale is only good today, FRIDAY, 11/25, and ends on Sunday, 11/27! To learn more or order, check out their website.

One month of CSA Boxes your choice of regular box or Jumbo box. and 1 bottle of olive oil. I love this olive oil, it’s the best I’ve tried.

I get a Regular sized box each week, and it’s good for a family of 4 or smaller. A Jumbo-sized Box is perfect for larger families or for families that are vegetarians or vegans.

 

November: 2 Dream Dinner Bundles!

Abby H.

Looking to simplify your meal planning this month? Dream Dinners has your back! This month Dream Dinners has 2 Special Bundle Deals this Month

8 Medium Meals for $199

  • Mini Chicken Pot Pies
  • Sherry Cream Chicken Over Rice
  • Cattleman’s Pie
  • Thanksgiving Burger w/ Rosemary Shoestring Fries
  • Layered Verde Chicken Enchiladas
  • Honey Pecan Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Applesauce
  • Layered Ravioli Bake
  • Chicken Paella

6 meals for $149 

  • Mini Chicken Pot Pies
  • Sherry Cream Chicken Over Rice
  • Cattleman’s Pie
  • Thanksgiving Burger w/ Rosemary Shoestring Fries
  • Layered Verde Chicken Enchiladas

This offer is not available on-line. To place your order call/text 619-460-6800 or email lamesaca@dreamdinners.com.
*This offer is only available for a limited time. Contact your store by Wednesday, November 16th at 5 pm to place your order. The bundle offer includes 1 of each entree listed. Any changes or substitutions will be subject to the current retail value of the entree.

 

 

Ooly: Awesome Gifts for your Little Artist!

Abby H.

Recently our friends over at Ooly sent us a little box full of creativity. The kids and I love to do art, make stuff, and express our creative sides. I was stoked to receive the Rainbow Sparkle Glitter Markers, and Chunkies Paint Sticks.

Margaret and I had a blast! The glitter markers are incredible. The glitter is very fine and sticks onto the artwork, even after the marker ink has dried. We colored and colored, without any loss of color or glitter coming from the markers. Parents, I repeat: There is NO glitter transfer!!

And the Chunkies? Perfection. She loves to paint, but I don’t love the setup and mess. These Chunkies solved my problems and let her express her creativity with paint. She loved that the paint dries quickly, and it didn’t get all over her hands (issues that we’ve had with other brands of paint sticks).

Ooly has art supplies for any level of an artist, in several mediums. If you haven’t embraced your inner artist, but love planners or journaling, Ooly has you covered too. They have a pretty extensive of cool journaling and planner supplies!

They’ve put together a Gifts under $20 section, which is perfect for holiday gift exchanges, as well as 8 Bonus Boxes. OOLY’s Holiday Bonus Boxes offer an array of goods to keep you crafting, drawing, painting, and molding. Find the one that’s just right for you and bring your vision, story, or design to life! I’m picking up a bonus box for each of the kids for the winter holidays. I know the kids will love the freedom and creativity each bonus box brings.

And shopping with Ooly gets even better- Now through November 7th, score a free set of Stampables Scented Double-Ended Stamp Markers with any purchase of $60+. Details can be found here.

Disclosure: Ooly sent us samples to try without an expectation of a review, however, once I received the markers and paint sticks, I was so excited to share them with you, I jumped at the chance to share their deals. I love supporting local companies!

 

Low Cost Laptops and Desktops from C2K (San Diego County)

Abby H.

Does your school age kiddo need a laptop or desktop for school work?

Do you live in San Diego County?

If you answered yes to both of these, check out this awesome program from North County Regional Education Center in San Marcos.

Sign up here by October 31, 2022 to take advantage of this event, which takes place on November 5, 2022.

There are two laptops and one desktop to choose from, and the prices start at $100, which is a really great deal.

If you have any questions, please call 858-200-9788 or email programs@c2sdk.org.

Grossmont Healthcare District Open House!

Abby H.

This was in my email this morning, and in the past, the Grossmont Healthcare District has had some really fun events, including an open house last year where I won a set of pots and pans!

The open house is on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 10 AM – 1 PM. At 10:30 AM, a brief program in the auditorium will feature highlights of the hospital, library, and district history. Then stay for:

  • Enjoy free food and beverages
  • Live music from Paul Nichols, Intentional Healing Music
  • A community painting project with Linda Bounds, new stARTs therapeutic arts program
  • A walking art tour with Carol Lockwood, La Mesa Historical Society
  • Crafts in the Library
  • A drumming fitness class
  • A scavenger hunt and more

 

The Library address is 9001 WAKARUSA ST. LA MESA, CA 91942. More info and RSVP information can be found here.

Dream Dinner October Mini Bundle Offer!

Abby H.

It’s back! Dream Dinners is now offering Smaller Minimum Orders for a limited time*! Beginning this week until October 21 you can order Eight meals for Only $189

The October Dinner Bundle includes:

  • Parmesan Herb Crusted Chicken with Oven Roasted Broccoli
  • Cranberry Buttermilk Chicken with Almond Green Beans
  • Maple Pork Tenderloin with Bountiful Baked Beans
  • Firehouse Three Cheese Pasta with Meatballs
  • Maple Bourbon BBQ Chicken with Bacon
  • Old Fashioned Meatloaf
  • Autumn Chicken Pie
  • Tortellino Al Forno

This offer is not available online. To place your order call/text 619-460-6800 or email lamesaca@dreamdinners.com.

*This offer is only available for a limited time. Contact your store by Friday, October 21st at 9 am to place your order. The bundle offer includes 1 of each entree listed. Any changes or substitutions will be subject to the current retail value of the entree.

 

If you are new to Dream Dinners, check out my amazing giveaway here!

Giveaway: Meal Prep Starter Pack from La Mesa Dream Dinners!

Abby H.6 Comments

I am so excited to share this giveaway with you! I’ve partnered with La Mesa Dream Dinners to give away a Meal Prep Starter kit that contains 4 medium meals (a medium meal feeds 2-3 people, but in our family of 4 it usually feeds all 4 of us with a couple side dishes added) or 2 Large Meals, which feeds 4-6 each.

Y’all know I love Dream Dinners. Dinner is on the table in 30 minutes or less, and there is no chopping, measuring, or shopping for ingredients. It’s awesome for us busy folks- I put 1-2 Dream Dinners in the fridge to defrost Sunday night, and we’ve got easy meals for our busiest nights.

With the kid’s extracurriculars and therapies, every day is busy right now. I’m up at 5:45am making breakfasts and lunches, washing dishes, and feeding the kitty. By the time 5pm rolls around, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour plus in the kitchen.

Dream Dinners is cheaper than takeout, healthier, and many times, it’s the same amount of dishes to wash. Yes, I serve takeout on plates and use silverware. I’m not eating Chinese takeout out of the little paper boxes with my hands.

If you are new to Dream Dinners, check out my post here with all the details, and how they compare to other meal kits.

Onto the Giveaway- Enter using the Rafflecopter widget/link (it’s not mobile-friendly) below. For a mobile-friendly entry, click here.

The first and easiest entry is to check out the October Menu here and leave a comment on this post letting me know what you are most excited about trying. Then click ion the Rafflecopter link below and complete the remaining entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Fine Print: This giveaway will run from 10/11/2022 until 10/19/2022. A winner will be chosen at random on 10/19/22 and will be notified via email. The winner must reside in the San Diego, CA county area and pick up their prize directly from La Mesa Dream Dinners. The winner’s contact information will be supplied to La Mesa Dream Dinners to coordinate the delivery of the prize.

This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

2022 San Diego Halloween Events!

Abby H.

It’s that time of year: Spooky Season! We’ve got our Halloween decor up, and I’ve started the kid’s costumes. They love wearing their costumes as much as possible, so we’re always looking for fun Halloween events.

Here are just a few that are big hits with my little ghouls:

As more events pop up I will add to this post, and post on Social Media as well.

Talk Back- If you know of any free Halloween events in San Diego, please leave a comment!

 

 

 

October is Kids Go Free Month 2022 Edition!

Abby H.

October is a great time to be a kid in San Diego!

This October 1-31, kids 12 and under receive free admission at many arts, cultural, and science museums and historical sites in San Diego County.

For those of us with curious kids, this is perfect! Kids can get into over 40 museums in the San Diego area free with paying adults (all the info can be found here).

Some of the participating organizations include:

Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Fleet Science Center (Galleries only)
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Living Coast Discovery Center
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House Museum & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego History Center
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
Timken Museum of Art (it’s always free for everyone FYI)
Women’s Museum of California

A full list can be found here. Oh, and as part of free October, Kids can get into the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park free when accompanied by a paying adult!  Other Kids go free attractions include: Legoland, Sea World, and the USS Midway!!

*Some museums charge fees for special exhibitions, programs or films. Some museums may limit offer use to once per month per guest. Purchase of a Balboa Park Explorer Pass does not qualify as a paid adult admission for the Kids Free in October program. Purchase of a Go San Diego Pass or card does not qualify as a paid adult admission for the Kids Free in October program at most museums; call museum(s) before visiting to enquire.