SoCalSavvyMom | SoCal Savvy Mom

Jan 9
2014

Renaissance Sports Club & Hotel Fun events for Kids

Renaissance Sports Club & Hotel is located in Aliso Viejo and is beautiful! As soon as you pull into the driveway there is a gorgeous water fountain that is two stories high! From there you drive down to the entrance where you are greeted by the valet parking attendants. Then you are welcomed into the colorful and fun reception area.

snaav_hotelphotos When we visited it was Christmas time and everything was beautifully decorated with silver and white decorations. We were invited to Breakfast with Santa, and the kids loved it! The food was delicious, pancakes, eggs, bacon, hot and cold cereal, yummy pastries and Starbucks coffee for the parents! It was perfect there wasn’t a long line to see Santa, the kids just walked right up and were able to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. There were also fun activity booklets given to the children and crayons on the tables for the children to play with.

558bfd0a6a6d11e38b9412736fcebd95_5 c1923db86a7511e39b100e842b47932b_5 8d57a74a6a7011e3a78d0ab9c0a565fd_5

Renaissance also has a wonderful Kids World for children ages six weeks to 12 years old. If you are a Club Sports member you receive three-hours of free childcare in Kids World, if you are staying at the hotel there is a small fee. Kids World isn’t just a place to drop your kid off while you work-out it is a fun place for kids to explore, learn and play! We are excited for the upcoming events being held at Renaissance Sports Club & Hotel and I know you will be too!

snaav_phototour31

Jan 2
2014

Cohn Restaurant Group Special only $20.14 for 3-course meal!

by Nicole Connerley

We love the Cohn Restaurant group… The Melting Pot, 333 Pacific, The Prado, Vintana, Indigo Grill, Gaslamp Strip Club, 100 Wines Kitchen and many more! Reasons we love them…things like a New Years/Anniversary special like this! A three-course meal at any of the above restaurants for only $20.14 per person.

At the Melting Pot this includes cheese fondue for the first-course, a salad for the second-course and the most delicious chocolate fondue for dessert. All of the most delicious parts of the meal and only $20.14, generally it is double the price!

This great special is available for only a week starting on Thursday, January 2nd to Thursday, January 9th. The price does not include tax or gratuity.

To check out all the specials for the Cohn Restaurant Group Anniversary special click here.

Dec 19
2013

What do you do for a living?

by Nicole Connerley

All of us stay at home mom’s have been asked this time and time again.

So, what do you do for a living?

I’m a stay at home mom.

How many kids do you have?

Just my son.

O, really? What do you do with yourself?

Generally when you have just met someone the polite thing to do is say well I also (fill in the blank, for me it is blogging) but what you really want to do is to tell them to go to you know what! I know that sounds harsh, but I have chosen to stay at home. It is not that I can not work or even don’t want to work it is that my son needs me more. I understand a lot of families cannot afford for a parent to stay at home full-time, but mine can and no, I do not miss working. I do not miss getting up at 5 a.m. to leave at 6 a.m. just to miss the traffic. I do not miss being stressed out at night thinking “did I send that e-mail, or when was the deadline?” I also hate the question don’t you miss the adult interaction? I do not really understand this question. I am an adult, my husband is an adult, our friends are all adults and I interact with them daily. But I will answer it anyway… No, I don’t miss the bitch of a boss I used to have, the bitchy co-workers, and of course the office politics. I do not miss being nice to someone I despise because they have stolen my ideas time and time again!

My favorite line from working moms is… If I could stay at home, my house would be so clean, the laundry would be done, I’d go to the gym everyday, make dinner every night and everything would be perfect. Guess what that is pretty much my life, my house is clean, my laundry is always done and my life is NOT perfect. There is no perfect life, stay-at-home mom or working moms because there is no perfect world! At the end of the day we are all the same, we are all moms! We all want what is best for our children, for me that is being a stay-at-home mom, and for others it isn’t. Just because I am a stay at home mom my life is not any less important than a working mom, regardless of how much money she makes.

Next time someone says they are a stay at home mom, please don’t respond with… what do you do all day? Because that stay at home mom regardless of how sweet she may be is not thinking nice thoughts about you.

DSCN1035

Dec 18
2013

Winner of Whole Foods Giveaway!

by Nicole Connerley

Thank you to all of you who entered our Whole Foods Giveaway! They loved hearing all the reasons everyone loves shopping at Whole Foods Encinitas and hope you continue to keep shopping there! We will be posting some fun upcoming events at the Encinitas store so stay tuned for those!

The winner is Jennifer! Jennifer the contact person at Whole Foods will be e-mailing you within the next couple days, to give you the $50 gift certificate. Congratulations Jennifer, and thanks again to everyone who entered our giveaway. Whole Foods gift certificate guidelines – It may either be printed or if you have a smart phone it can be loaded to your phone. Once it is downloaded on paper treat it like cash there is no replacement if it is lost or stolen.

Happy Holidays!

Whole Foods

Dec 14
2013

Cheese, desserts, more cheese and wine… Heaven.. close it is Whole Foods!

by Nicole Connerley

Incase you missed it let me fill you in on what was going on at Whole Foods Encinitas on Thursday at their Dressing Rehearsal. We arrived right at 6 because we didn’t want to miss out on any of the yummy tastings they had to offer. Our first stop was at Jackie’s Jams for a jample and it was pretty much the best jam I’ve ever had. Jackie’s Jams are made locally in San Diego and my favorite thing is they never use high fructose, corn syrup, coloring or flavoring.

If you are going to a holiday party and would like to bring a little something sweet Whole Foods has you covered! Tons of options and all decorated for the holiday season, with prices starting at only $2.99 you will be sure to find something amazing!

I am not going to lie my favorite stop on our sampling tour was in the wine department (shocking I know!) but the main reason is Steve! We were sampling 3 different Cabernet Sauvignon from 3 different price-points. The first was in the $10-$15 range and was nice and sweet, the next was in the $20-$25 range and was a smoother, and then the winner of course was the $30-$40 wine. Steve is so knowledgeable about every single wine in the store because he personally has hand-picked every bottle! I was able to tell him what type of wine I was looking for and he found me the most amazing bottle normally $40 on sale for $25, I grabbed that bottle of wine quick!

Whole Foods has literally everything you will need this holiday season whether you are hosting a party or going to a party and need to bring something. The pre-paid food items are not only delicious but made fresh everyday! Do yourself a favor and ‘Like’ Whole Foods Encinitas on Facebook, they post one-day sale items on the Facebook page that you will not want to miss! Happy Holidays!

Dec 11
2013

Hilarious Holiday fun @ Target!

by Nicole Connerley

I stopped by Target yesterday and couldn’t believe how many hilariously funny holiday items they have for sale! My favorite has to be the mustache wine stopper… who can resist doing this? Well, obviously not me! For only $9.99 you receive a adorable wine stopper and cork screw opener. I am having a holiday party this weekend and can’t wait to give these away as door prizes!

It is also a perfect item for a white elephant gift exchange. I found a few other pretty cute and hilarious items as well. There were a few different options for the little flasks, with funny things on them, but this has to be my favorite! I snagged a few because they are perfect for a stocking stuffer. Target has a full line of Hilarious Holiday items this season be sure to check them out!

There is also a full line of ugly sweaters unfortunately all of them were sold out at the Target in Encinitas, I was hoping to wear one to my party this weekend. Check your local Target for the #HilariousHoliday line!