Nicole Connerley

Jan 31
2015

San Diego Museum Month February 2015

This February is Museum Month in San Diego! San Diegans will have a chance to discover what’s new at 45 area museums with incredible savings. Macy’s Museum Month was created in 1989 and since then has grown every year. This year will have the most museums participating than ever before. It is a great way to promote awareness of our amazing museums. Perfect for field trips for children’s classes or just a day out with children.

If you wish to participate you may pick up a free Macy’s Museum Month Pass at any local Macy’s store to enjoy half-off admission to all of the participating museums through the entire month of February.

“This community program is special for us as every year—our customers and employees plan their calendars around Museum Month. We’re thrilled to officially be part of the title, marking the significance of our long-term partnership with the San Diego Museum Council,” said John Gorham.

SVP, Macy’s Regional Director of Stores – Southwest Region. “Macy’s Museum Month extends our reach in the community and we are proud to support a variety of new exhibitions and favorite museums and make them more accessible with a discounted admission.”

Museum Month passes may be picked up at any of Macy’s 15 locations in the San Diego area, including Temecula and Imperial Valley. Guests with a pass may bring up to three people to participating museums to receive half-off admission for the entire party. Additional fees may apply for special exhibitions at participating museums.

Each pass also features an exclusive $10 coupon off any purchase of $30 or more at Macy’s, which may be my favorite part!

Participating museum’s include:

Adobe Chapel
Barona Cultural Center & Museum
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Bonita Museum & Cultural Center
California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum
California Surf Museum
Coronado Museum of History & Art
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
Gaslamp Museum at William Heath Davis House
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Junipero Serra Museum
La Jolla Historical Society
Living Coast Discovery Center
Lux Art Institute
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House Museum & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Downtown
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts
Oceanside Museum of Art
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Archaeological Center
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Botanic Garden
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
Santa Ysabel Store
The New Children’s Museum
The San Diego Museum of Art
Tijuana Estuary Visitors Center
Timken Museum of Art
USS Midway Museum
Veterans Museum & Memorial Center
Visions Art Museum
Warner-Carillo Ranch House & Museum
Water Conservation Garden
Whaley House Museum
Women’s Museum of California

Museum Month is generously sponsored in part by:

Jan 31
2015

Try uber for free now to Feb 16, up to $30!

by Nicole Connerley

By now you have at least heard of Uber, even if you have yet to take a ride with Uber. If you have not and are wondering what is Uber? Uber is a taxi, private car or ride share just a touch away with your mobile phone. Uber connects you with a driver in minutes. Download the FREE app in cities around the world. You can request a ride with the push of a button and track your driver’s progress to your location. Plus, they will notify you once your driver arrives so you can wait comfortably indoors.

We are teaming up with them! The best part? If you sign up using my invite link below, Uber will credit your account for $30 off your first ride: https://www.uber.com/invite/uberSoCalSavvyMom (please note this is a referral link, you will need to use it to receive $30 off your first Uber ride, regardless of where you are in the world).

With the super bowl tomorrow it may be the perfect time to try Uber. There will be a lot of DUI check points this weekend because of the big game. Please be safe and if you are going to drink do not drive, contact Uber your first ride is FREE! We love Uber because they make it so easy for you, when you are ready to go you just find a driver near you and wait a few minutes for them to arrive. You are not charged per person as with some driver services. The quotes are very reasonable, rates depend on time of day and demand.

I hope you enjoy your first ride! Let me know if you have any questions or see support.uber.com if you have any questions about how it all works. It is so simple and easy, I promise once you Uber you won’t ever go back!

Jan 30
2015

Join us at the leading Lifestyle Conference 2015

by Nicole Connerley

Social Media Influencers The Nation’s Leading Lifestyle Bloggers Conference hits LA Feb. 19-22, 2015!

SoCal Savvy Mom is attending the fifth annual Lifestyle Bloggers conference next month and I would love for you to join us! The Fifth Annual Lifestyle Bloggers National Conference will inspire and educate bloggers through training, celebrity workshops and more. We were lucky enough to attend last year’s conference as well, and I can NOT say enough great things about it! Because you are a SoCal Savvy Mom reader we have a special VIP code which will cut the cost of the conference in half! *Details on this may be found at the bottom of this post.

The 2015 Lifestyle Bloggers National Conference (#LBNC15) is a multi-day, boutique blogger conference and is focused on providing the necessary training and instruments needed for professional bloggers to properly elevate their creative vision, transforming their blogs into polished digital publications and valued content sources.

From the founder:

“This conference was inspired by the overwhelming need among lifestyle bloggers for tools and training to help them take their craft to the next level,” said Ana Lydia Ochoa-Monaco, Founder & Creative Director of #LBNC15. “We’ve been working hard to make sure this year’s event is bigger and better than ever, and we couldn’t be more excited to share our wonderful speakers and programs with the blogging community.”

Why you should attend:

VIP reception Feb. 19 at the Citadel Outlets – luxe setting replete with delicious appetizers and libations
Leading brands including Ford Motor Company, OPI, Corner Bakery, Citadel Outlets, Fresh Brothers Pizza, Maker City LA, and Oubly
Blogger Junket, with nationally recognized lifestyle and business experts
Celebrity Keynotes with:
Cisco Pinedo, Founder of Cisco Home
Effie Weiss, Cupcake Wars winner Author and self-made Millionaire
Daisy Teh, Founder of the Award-Winning Multimedia Blog “The It Mom”
Matt Kovacs, President of BLAZE PR and 2014 PR News Award Finalist
Pauline Campos, Latina Magazine “Dimelo” Columnist and Award-Winning Blogger

Tickets for the two-day event range from $149.99 for a one-day pass, to $199.99 for a two-day VIP pass. *Enter VIP code NICOLEVIP at checkout and the ticket price will drop from $199.99 to only $99!

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Lifestyle Blogger National Conference and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Limited sponsorship & partnership opportunities are available by contacting: info@llbloggers.com.

Pictured: Havi Goffan the CEO of Target Latina, Ana Lydia Ochoa-Monaco Founder & Creative Director of #LBNC15, and Nicole Hughes SoCal Savvy Mom at last year’s Lifestyle Bloggers National Conference 2014.

Jan 28
2015

Organic no oil Carrot Zucchini Bread

by Nicole Connerley

This is my favorite recipe for carrot zucchini bread, I made this today using all organic ingredients and it was great! I knew I had to share it for my fellow organic loving readers. I am always trying to make anything healthier, especially if it already contains sugar. One of the reasons this bread is a perfect healthier option is due to no oil. Vegetable oil for this recipe would normally be around a cup, which would amount to nearly 2,000 calories and 220 grams of fat! Apple sauce (especially organic) is an amazing substitute for oil while baking, saving calories and fat.

The next item we switch for a healthier version is whole wheat flour, while whole wheat flour and regular flower have the same calories the whole wheat is much better option. During the process of making white flour most of the nutrients and fiber naturally found in flour are lost. Sometimes the nutrients are added back into white flour but not in its natural form, which is another reason white flour is so over processed. Below are the ingredients and directions to our delicious Organic no oil Carrot Zucchini Bread.

Buying organic ingredients does cost a little bit more depending on where you shop, but it is the best choice you can make for your family. If a food label does not bear the USDA Organic label, it could still have organic ingredients but not enough to be approved for the seal. What the seal means is that it is produced and processed according to the USDA standards. The seal is voluntary, but many organic producers use it to prove that it is indeed organic.

Most food items that are completely organic — such as fruits, vegetables, eggs or other single-ingredient foods — are labeled 100 percent organic and can carry the USDA seal.

100 percent organic. To use this phrase, products must be either completely organic or made of all organic ingredients.
Organic. Products must be at least 95 percent organic to use this term.
Made with organic ingredients. Products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients may say “made with organic ingredients” on the label, but may not use the seal.
Less than 70%. Foods containing less than 70% organic ingredients can’t use the seal or the word “organic” on their product labels, even if it does include organic ingredients.

Below are the ingredients and directions to our delicious Organic no oil Carrot Zucchini Bread.

1 1/2 cups Organic Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 cups Organic Unbleached White Flour
1 ts Himalayan Sea Salt
1 ts Organic Baking Powder
1 ts Organic Baking Soda
2 ts Organic Cinnamon
1 ts Organic Nutmeg
1 cup Organic Sugar
1/2 cup Organic Brown Sugar
3 Free Range Eggs
1 cup Organic Apple Sauce
1 cup Grated Organic Carrot
1 cup Grated Organic Zucchini
1 1/2 cups Chopped Organic Walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together, whole wheat flour, white flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a Kitchen Aid mixer or mixing bowl and mix. Next add the sugar, eggs and apple sauce and mix together. Last add the carrots, zucchini and walnuts and mix.

Next put into greased (we used coconut oil spray from Traders) and put into bread pan, or into cupcake pan. Let bake for about 50 min. or until it is cooked throughout the center of the bread.

Jan 27
2015

Ruby’s Diner Ruby Burger $2.35 on 1/28

by Nicole Connerley

Visit Ruby’s Diner tomorrow, January 28th to celebrate their 32nd Anniversary! Need a milkshake? What about a delicious Ruby burger? French Fries? Ruby’s has you covered tomorrow! To help celebrate #RubyTurns32 there is a deal-icious offer! Rally your friends and family over to a Ruby’s Diner location. You can steal the Classic #RubyBurger for its original price of only $2.35! French Fries will also be lowered to only $1! You will not want to miss this and don’t forget to tag #RubysDiner with all those snaps of your awesome burgers! Ruby’s wants to see all of your photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Healthier Option

My mom and I visited the Ruby’s at the end of the pier in Oceanside today to try out the Ruby burger. We opted for no buns on ours and iced tea instead of milkshakes. My mom was living on the edge and ordered french fries with hers, but she need the extra fat the day after chemo! Visit Ruby’s today and order the Ruby burger for the special price of only $2.35, it was delicious!

Jan 21
2015

Oceanside’s Best Fish House – Hello Betty

by Nicole Connerley

Located just steps away from the Oceanside Pier, Hello Betty is perfect for locals or for those visiting the area. Hello Betty is one of my favorite restaurants, since it opened we have had my birthday there, my mother’s birthday and my best friend also had her birthday celebration there! It is one of those places you take anyone who is visiting from out-of-town, and how could you not with the view?

With daily drink specials from 4-6 it is the perfect place to stop on your way home from work, you will not find a better view on the coast. During the summer the best place cool off with a drink is the roof top deck, which hosts drinks and light appetizers. For my birthday I invited around a dozen friends to join me on the roof top deck for drinks and tacos. Because Hello Betty had just opened a few months prior no one had visited before and everyone was blown away! My friends couldn’t believe the incredible view and the exquisite tacos put it right over the top for a great birthday. The hardest decision will be which taco to choose, with Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, Carne Asada, Veggie or a huge list of different types of fish tacos you will want to try them all.

Hello Betty’s menu is not limited to just fish, the Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwich (garlic mayo, chopped lettuce, tomato, avocado, pickled jalapeño, jack cheese all on a brioche bun) is the best in all of North San Diego County! Last week I tried the Herb marinated Chicken Breast which is mesquite grilled and is accompanied by roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The dish was so heavenly from beginning to end, I may have found a new favorite on the menu. My mother in law was visiting from Florida and she LOVED the Steamed Mussels with chorizo, tomato, chilis, garlic and dos equis amber she said they were the best mussels she had ever had.

The decor in Hello Betty is spot on, with the surf theme touches throughout the restaurant. The picture below is the hallway leading to the restrooms made out of surfboards. You may even watch surfing movies while at the restaurant as it is usually playing on the many TV’s located in the bar area. If there is a big game on they will of course put a game on for you if you would prefer. A huge BONUS for dining with children is the little mini arcade located on the first level of the restaurant. It is perfect as you can see your children playing video games (think old school ones) from your table. The kids are close enough to see but not so close you have to listen to the sound of video games. All of the games are only a quarter or two, not like some sports bars that charge upwards of $1 for one turn on a video game, this is a highlight if you are dining with children.

When you visit Hello Betty be sure to sign up for their loyalty card, I just saw this last time I was there and couldn’t believe I didn’t know about it sooner. Reservations are not required it is walk in’s only, even if there is a small wait you will not be bothered by it as you sit outside on the patio with a drink while waiting for a table. Did I mention the view? For more information or for the full menu click here. Let us know after you visit and tell us what you think, but really what is better than a fish taco and a margarita…nothing, visit Hello Betty today and thank me tomorrow!

This is not a paid post, products and services were exchanged for a review.