Mom Time | SoCal Savvy Mom

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 9
2013

Giveaway $50 to Whole Foods – Special Dressing Rehearsal in Encinitas 12/12/13

by Nicole Connerley

Join us at Whole Foods Encinitas this Thursday 12/12/13 from 6-8 pm. for a special event to get ready for the holidays! The event will host beer & wine parings and sampling, yes sampling! Whole Foods will also show off some of the amazing premier party dips with more samples! My favorite I already know is going to be the holiday cheese board and how to create a perfect one for your holiday party. There will also be coffee and seasonal treats as well, I almost died and went to heaven looking at the holiday treats in-store today!

Whole Foods asked me to share one of my favorite holiday recipes with all my items from my shopping trip today. I decided to make my goat cheese endive spears, always a HUGE hit at my parties. The recipe is very simple and so delicious everyone will think you spend hours preparing it.

4 oz. goat cheese
1 tbsp. honey
1/2 ts. black pepper
1/4 ts. thyme (fresh or dried)
2 heads endive
1/4 cup walnuts
On a baking sheet sprinkle walnuts and roast for 10 min at 350 in the oven. Once goat cheese is softened mix with honey, pepper, and thyme. Let the cheese sit in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. Once cheese has chilled spoon onto the endive spears and add a toasted walnut on top.

Incase you are wondering what exactly is an endive spear and what it looks like…
Love that you can buy nuts in BULK!

All of the ingredients needed to make the goat cheese endive spears.

The finished product!

Why I love Whole Foods…let me count the ways… there is an organic option for nearly every single item you can imagine, love the huge selection of items that you can’t find at most stores. My favorite thing about Whole Foods would have to be the staff, the staff that goes over and above any other store I go to. Everyone is so friendly, not to mention ready and willing to help you with anything. I always lose count of how many times I was asked “may I help you find something?” simply amazing!

Whole Foods has you covered if you are going to a holiday party and want to pick up a nice bottle of wine…There is a top ten list of wines all for under $25! Don’t forget to pick up some tonic and sparkling water to mix your drinks with as well!

I thought you mentioned a $50 Whole Foods Gift Certificate? Yes, yes I’m getting to that! To enter for the Whole Foods $50 gift certificate simply leave a comment on this post why Whole Foods is your favorite store!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Whole Foods Encinitas, all thoughts expressed are my own.

Nov 14
2013

Spa Giveaway to sanctuate!™

by Nicole Connerley

spa

Last week the moms of SoCal Savvy Mom were invited for a mom’s night out at sanctuate!™ Spa located in San Diego. Upon entering sanctuate!™ you feel relaxed, the walls are a cool blue color and all the furniture is very modern with a spa twist to it. We were offered a glass of wine and an array of light appetizers to choose from while we listened to all the different types of massages available.

Hi-tech ‘smart’ massage is what sanctuate!™ is all about. You have a smart phone right? We all do, why not try a smart massage! Redefining massage to make sustaining your wellness fast and affordable for all. No matter how you feel, sanctuate!™ has the massage you need, when you need it.

The award winning massage bed uses infrared technology to scan your body, delivering the perfect shiatsu full body Hi-tech ‘smart’ massage every time. Best of all, the more you sanctuate!, the better you feel and the more you save!

SoCal Savvy Mom is giving away two 45-minute massages at Spa sanctuate!™ to two lucky readers! To enter simply leave a comment on the blog or on SoCal Savvy Mom’s Facebook page, if you share on your Facebook page you will have one extra entry for the giveaway. Don’t feel you have to share with all your friends, if for instance you don’t like you friends and don’t feel they too would like a massage by all means keep to yourself hehehe! Good Luck!

Next week there will be a Tiny Prints $50 giveaway (with free shipping) coming soon! *Super cute Christmas cards*

Nov 1
2013

Carlsbad Street Faire Sunday 11/3/13

by Nicole Connerley

This Sunday November 3rd the Carlsbad Street Faire will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Grand and Jefferson streets. The Carlsbad street faire is the largest one day street faire in the nation and one we never miss! Over 100,000 people attend this one-day street faire, for all of the fabulous vendors.

With over 900 vendors selling everything from clothing & accessories, plants, household products, art, antiques and home decor. The delicious international food court will host more than 50 booths with everything from Thai to Hawaiian cuisine.

If you are bringing the kids don’t miss the children’s area! There is everything to entertain youngsters with games, a super slide, a bounce house, a rock climbing wall, face painting and arts and crafts.

Not bringing the kids? Then head over to the beer and wine garden and check out the large screen TV’s and enjoy live music.

Enjoy!

Oct 29
2013

Fitness Magazine Event – Fit Blog LA

by Nicole Connerley

Last week SoCal Savvy Mom was apart of the Fitness Magazine event Fit Blog LA. There were incredible speakers like Tony Horton creator of P90X, he talked about his fitness routines. If one day he does upper body the next day will be lower body, he loves changing it up and for his down day he loves doing yoga. The number one thing he said people don’t do is get enough sleep, it is the time your body needs to heal.

The next speaker was Alyse Levine R.D. to talk about the issues we all have with food. She spoke about ditching food rules and just eating what you love. Now that doesn’t mean eat a cheeseburger and french fries everyday but every once in a while its okay! Eat it and enjoy it and don’t tell yourself “I can’t eat this again for months” because that is one of those rules we tell ourselves. When we eat junk food it is almost like a little secret we don’t want to admit to ourselves. Eat what you love and be aware of what you are eating and why you are eating. Am I really hungry? Or do those cookies just look really good?

After the first two speakers we were invited to go downstairs to visit with all the sponsors of the event. First we went to the Saucony booth to check out the awesome new Guide7 that is so new it isn’t even in stores yet! Saucony is an amazing company because of all of the science that goes into their shoes, yes science. The new Guide7 really is every runners dream shoe for so many reasons, and we love this shoe!

Did you know Roxy makes workout clothes? Well now you do! Check out my new Roxy pants and top, not only are they incredibly comfortable but great for working out! I took a hike in Torrey Pines with my new Roxy clothes and Saucony shoes and felt incredible the entire time. Some of my other favorite items were the Oakley sunglasses, CamelBak water bottle, Dermalogica samples, Murad lightening serum and many many more! Thank you to Fitness Magazine for including SoCal Savvy Mom in the Fit Blog LA event!

Oct 28
2013

Family Fall Fest Sunday 11/3/13

by Nicole Connerley

Join SoCal Savvy Mom at Club MOMme Family Fall Fest on Sunday, November 3rd for a full day of everything family! If you are expecting, a new parent, or parent to young children in Southern California you can’t miss this event! Need a break? You will not want to miss the Pamper Area with mini-treatments like massages by Mama Mio, Tikkun Spa and Berlin Wellness. Want a fresh hair style, don’t worry the Brambila Salon will help you out with a braid or new style.

Club MOMme’s Family Fall Fest is amazing with celebrities giving their input on all of the panels. Best of Baby Products, Best of Toddler Products, Expectant Parent Panel, Lactation Support, Daddy Panel and many more to choose from. I am looking forward to the Entrepreneurship for Moms panel hosted by Tia Mowey and Tamera Mowry-Housley and Jenni Pulso from Bravo’s Flipping out and Interior therapy.

We love to hear about new products but love testing them out even more, and there is an entire area just for that…Product Testing. At Family Fall Fest you will see the latest, coolest and newest products by Honda, Britax, BOB, Clek, Pottery Barn Kids, Orbit Baby,Ergo Baby, Joovy and many more. Not to mention the FIRST ever Britax Affinity Stroller & new Britax car seats, and the NEW Joovy highchairs and strollers. We all want our children to have the best and now we can test the products out first to see how they really hold up.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit the Club MOMme website here. Great news! All tickets include gift bags with items Like Little Prom DVD, Little Giraffe Lotion & Body Wash, Bumble Collections Diaper Bag, a JOOVY Bicycoo or Tricycoo, or a LILLEBABY Complete Baby Carrier. We look forward to seeing you there!