The Living Coast Discovery Center San Diego – An Adventure in our Backyard

December 21, 2012 by

Living Coast Discovery Center San Diego

Living Coast Discovery Center San Diego

I’ve lived in San Diego all my life and am still amazed when I find out about places I’ve never been before. When I first heard about the Living Coast Discovery Center San Diego while visiting their booth at the fair I was excited to find out how much they had to offer.

While we’ve been members of Sea World, currently have memberships at the San Diego Zoo and Birch Aquarium, and go to the museums and beaches whenever we can, we still crave new experiences. Especially when they’re only 10 minutes away from our house. The Living Coast Discovery Center offers this and more!

This weekend we headed out to the Discovery Center to participate in a VIP Experience. And boy did we feel like VIPs on our visit!

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Last Minute Homemade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

December 21, 2012 by

Last Minute Homemade Gift Ideas

Christmas is right around the corner and the days are flying by. If you haven’t completed your Christmas shopping consider these last minute homemade gift ideas!

Each is simple, easy, and from the heart. With few ingredients and supplies you can create a gift perfect for any friend or family member.

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Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

December 20, 2012 by

Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

One of my favorite cookies is a chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Combining the best of both worlds, healthy oatmeal and delicious chocolate chips! It’s no wonder that I’m always on the search for the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Well I’ve struck gold with this recipe and have improved it even more with the addition of some delicious butterscotch chips to give this cookie an out of this world flavor perfect for any celebration!

I’m sure you could probably make this even more rock star by adding nuts but I forgot and needed to get these in the oven for our playgroup cookie exchange.

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Chicken Korma with Saffron Rice and Peas Recipe

December 17, 2012 by

Chicken Korma

Indian food is one of my favorites. Second only to Mexican food. The only problem is… my husband doesn’t care for it. So the only time I get it is when I go out with friends or I make it myself when he isn’t around.

Lucky for me I had the opportunity to create a Life of Pi inspired Indian dish from ingredients found at World Market. I made this delicious Chicken Korma and paired it with some saffron basmati rice with peas and Channa Masala.

Not only is this meal tasty, it’s easy to make and includes5 ingredients in the main dish. If it weren’t for the rice I would have been able to make this meal in less than 30 minutes.

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DIY Popcorn Garland with @JollyTimePops

December 12, 2012 by

Jolly Time Popcorn Garland

 Getting Creative on a Budget: How to Make DIY Popcorn Garland

Getting crafty and creating items to decorate your home can be pretty daunting. And sometimes it gets rather expensive! But this DIY popcorn garland is neither daunting or expensive. So pop up your kernels on the stove and lets get to it!

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Miss M’s Ladybug Lemonade Birthday Party

December 10, 2012 by

Ladybug Lemonade Party

There’s something simply magical about a child’s birthday party. No matter what age they are, birthday parties are filled with joy and cheer! So when we asked my daughter what she’d like for her second birthday we were thrilled to hear that she wanted to include her love of ladybugs. And with that her ladybug lemonade birthday party was created.

After quite a few months of pinning great ideas, designing her birthday invitations (and asked the wonderful Cherish Paperie to print them), and coming up with a few ideas of my own for the food, decorations, and entertainment the day was finally here. And we were ready to party!

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Baked Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal Squares Breakfast Recipe

December 6, 2012 by

Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal Squares

Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Squares

If you’re a peanut butter lover AND watching your figure don’t walk, run to go make these healthy baked peanut butter and banana oatmeal squares!

These little squares are packed with flavor and super filling. Now you may be saying healthy oatmeal squares? But if you look at the recipe, there’s nothing “diet” about them. I mean they have butter and real sugar!

No skimping out on this one. If you’re like me and eat a hearty breakfast every morning, help yourself to two servings piled with bananas on top and non-fat vanilla yogurt on the side for an awesome and very tasty breakfast. Each square is only 4 WW+ points.

Seriously… go make these now. [Read more…]

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Taking The Picky Out Of Picky Eaters: Healthy Eating For Kids

December 2, 2012 by

One things most parents can relate to is the “picky eater” – you know, the kid who just doesn’t like what you offer them.

Well after a very informative parent meeting at my son’s preschool, I’ve come to look at the term “picky eater” a bit differently. And I’m doing away with it in my vocabulary! I’ve learned that what I consider a picky eater could match any number of adults I know. From my husbands distaste for tomatoes to my father’s distaste for anything nutritious (I kid… only a little).

My biggest take home of the night? Our children are not genetically geared to starve themselves. When they become hungry enough they will eat.

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Cranberry Cream Scones {Breakfast Recipe}

November 20, 2012 by

Cranberry Cream Scones

Whenever I need something quick and tasty for either breakfast or dessert I almost always go to scones. How can you not?

They’re super filling, very versatile and quick to throw together. You can put just about anything in a scone. Have some raisins? Throw them in! Down to a handful blueberries? Why not use those. And while your at it get some fun ingredients together for toppings. Cinnamon sugar, cream, powdered sugar icing, chocolate, strawberry jam… lots of options!

I also love that I can form the scone into any shape I want. I can make them into biscuits. I can cut them into small triangles or big triangles. I could even use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. And the best part about this recipe is that they not only taste super good on the day they’re made but they taste great the day after as well. The perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea.

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My Favorite Things Spa Party with NIVEA

November 19, 2012 by

My Favorite Things Spa Party

As a mother, one thing we often forget to do is pamper ourselves. We spend so much time making sure everyone else is being taken care of that we forget to take a few moments for us.

This weekend I decided to take a few moments for myself. And invite a few friends over to enjoy themselves as well.

One of my favorite types of parties to throw is a My Favorite Things party. Each guest brings their favorite item to share with the others; 5 of the same thing $6 or under in value. Since we’ve already shared our favorite thing, our favorite baby item, and our favorite children’s activity, I thought that we could spin the theme a little differently this time.

A My Favorite Things Spa Party!

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