Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

I can almost taste it –  the start of school! Three weeks from yesterday for us and I am ready! I LOVE the rhythm of the school week, just sort of makes everything feel more “in sync” for me.  But it also makes me feel a little stressed. Life is so busy these days. Activities, play dates, appointments. I thought some of you might be feeling the same way, so I wanted to share some amazingly CUTE, personalized Erin Condren calendars to help you get organized as we head into Fall.  And I have a $50 gift card to Erin Condren to give away to one lucky reader too!! Make sure to read the last paragraph below on how to enter.

Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t live without my iPhone and it’s calendar, but to me, I just FEEL more organized when I can look at things I have hand-written on a calendar.  It’s weird, because when I write it down {old-school in my very own handwriting} it’s almost like my brain remembers it better!

Right now I am typing this and looking at my Erin Condren Jumbo Calendar that hangs on my wall. My favorite. Big, cute graphics, and says our family name at the top.   My favorite wall calendar ever!   Order now you and you will get the rest of 2010 and all of 2011.   This is a necessity in my home office. Look how cute…

Erin has created a calendar/planner for just about everyone!

Her Daily Life Planners are the perfect planner to throw in your purse or diaper bag. Featuring one week that spans two pages, you can easily flip through to see your week-at-glance and keep your to-dos, appointments and goals easily managed.  And you can put the cute mugs of your kiddos on the cover!!  Love it.  Again, order now and get the rest of 2010 and all of 2011.

So I already have the life planner & jumbo, but it looks like this one is going to be a necessity as well!   Her Weekly Schedule Pad desk calendar allows you to organize week-by-week, then you can tear off the sheet and hang for the entire family to see. Love this idea too!  Going to pick one up for my desk.

So, now is the time to GET ORGANIZED!!!  Daily, weekly, monthly or one of each!  One thing is for sure, with an Erin Condren calendar, she will make your planning HAPPY with her fun, bright, personalized designs.

Click here to start your shopping!

Hooray!  It’s a Tiny Giveaway!!

One lucky reader will win a $50 gift card to use on www.erincondren.com.  Contest runs through August 31, 2010 at 5pm PST.  I will post the winner on my Facebook page on 9/1.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry & leave your email address too so I can contact you if you win.  Entry options are:

1. Click here, browse the calendars and tell me: Which would be your choice? – 1 ENTRY

2. {Like} Erin Condren on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @ErinCondren on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

5. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter - 1 ENTRY

6. Subscribe to Tiny Oranges Email Updates – 1 ENTRY

{Disclosure: Tiny Oranges is an Erin Condren affiliate…but my love affair with her products started long before!}

I love that we live so close to a beautiful theatre like South Coast Repertory where we can expose our kids to the art of live theatre in such a lovely location.   Isn’t there just something so special about the ritual of dressing up and going to a show?  I am taking Emma to this performance of Cinderella next weekend, it will be her first play, and I am so excited to see her face when the curtains are drawn!

I am also VERY excited to be able to GIVEAWAY a family pack of four tickets to see Cinderella at any of the performances on opening weekend, Aug. 7 and 8, 2010!  Make sure to read the last paragraph on how you can enter to win tickets AND for a special offer for exclusive pre-sale tickets to A Christmas Carol!

Here are some details about Cinderella…

South Coast Repertory’s Summer Players (acting students in 3rd through 12th grade) will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on the weekends of August 7-8 and 14-15, 2010.  A handsome prince finds—and then loses—his own true love.  He’ll find her again (in spite of those mean stepsisters with feet too big for the glass slipper) in this song-filled version of the fairy tale about a servant girl who’s transformed into a princess.

For the first time, the Players will present their summer show on SCR’s Julianne Argyros Stage. SCR Theatre Conservatory Director Hisa Takakuwa will direct, with Erin McNally as musical director.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella—the songwriting team’s only musical written for television—was seen by over 100 million people in 1957, subsequently remade for TV twice and adapted for the stage.  Takakuwa has retained the fairy tale aspect—with a 1950’s America setting.

Dates:  Saturday, August 7 and 14 and Sunday, August 8 and 15 at 1 and 4pm

Tickets: $12 (may be purchased through the SCR Box Office at (714) 708-5555 or online at www.scr.org)

I saw a performance in the Julianne Argyros Stage last year and it is a beautiful, intimate theatre with not a bad seat in the house.  Great to take your kids because of how every seat has prime viewing…but no kids under 4, everyone must sit in their own seat quietly, and no babes in arms!

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive 4 tickets to go to this performance on the weekend of August 7th or 8th at the time of your choosing. To enter, do the following, and please leave a separate comment for each & leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

1. Simply leave a comment – 1 ENTRY

2. {Like} South Coast Repertory on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @SouthCoastRep on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook - 1 ENTRY

4. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

5. Subscribe to Tiny Oranges email updates – top right column – 1 ENTRY

GOOD LUCK!
Contest runs through 12pm PST August 4th, 2010.  I will email the winner Wednesday afternoon & post to my Facebook page.

Special Offer for A Christmas Carol Tickets!

Most of this month, SCR has been holding an exclusive pre-sale on tickets to A Christmas Carol for their subscribers and friends, allowing them to get the best seats in the house before tickets go on sale to the general public. For the final two days of the sale, they are offering this special to readers of  Tiny Oranges. So, between now and July 31 (tomorrow at midnight!) you can click HERE and enter code 4727 to purchase tickets. SCR will also waive online ticket fees.

SCR’s A Christmas Carol is an Orange County tradition. This winter will mark its 31st anniversary, with Hal Landon, Jr. once again in the role of everyone’s favorite somersaulting Scrooge. If you need more information, you can also call the box office at 714-708-5555.

Happy weekend everyone! Have a great one and see you on Monday!

{Disclosure: I am receiving complimentary media tickets to see
Cinderella next weekend & I couldn’t be more excited! Thank you SCR!}

PBS’s Sid the Science Kid, along with the First Five California Hands On Health Express, will be making a special appearance at Discovery Science Center this Sunday, August 1, 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m and I have a giveaway to offer! One lucky winner will win 4 tickets to take your family to this special event.  It’s a quick, one day giveaway, so read below on how to enter and comment away!

What is the Health Express?

The Hands on Health Express mobile outreach campaign is a ground breaking, grassroots effort aimed at addressing key health issues facing children ages 0 to 5 and their families. The van and exhibit travels across the state, reaching families at fairs, parades and expos with easy and fun tips to stay healthy. Activities include games, music, and entertainment.

A Little About Sid the Science Kid…

“What’s hair for? How do birds fly?” Thanks to Sid the Science Kid, we’ll learn the answers to those and many other burning questions. Like most preschoolers, 5-year-old Sid loves to observe and investigate objects and events that are part of daily life. In doing so, he learns that science is all around us. Sid uses humor to show young children that they can “do” their own science and make new discoveries every day.

Sid the Science Kid, co-produced by The Jim Henson Company, is created by a revolutionary process known as “digital puppetry.” Performers puppeteer and voice digital characters in real time using three-dimensional computer-generated images. This ground-breaking technology results in a unique and captivating style of animation.

Helping Kids Prepare for School…

Sid the Science Kid helps prepare children for school by exposing them to science in a comfortable and enjoyable way. Children will discover basic, yet important, concepts such as change and growth. This type of early exposure to science can inspire a lifetime of learning and exploration.

Sid the Science Kid’s theoretical content is based on national science learning standards, cognitive learning theory, and on the preschool science curriculum, Preschool Pathways to Science.

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

One lucky winner will win 4 tickets to Discovery Science Center this Sunday, August 1st, 2010 (tickets good on this date only.)  To enter do the following & please leave a separate entry for each option.  Contest runs through 12pm PST tomorrow, I will email the winner tomorrow afternoon and post to my Facebook page.  Please make sure to leave an email address in your entry!

1. Simply comment below – 1 ENTRY

2. {Like} Discovery Cube on Facebook - 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @DiscoveryCube on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook - 1 ENTRY

5. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter - 1 ENTRY

GOOD LUCK!  Hurry and get your entries in!!!

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you had a great weekend!  I am kicking off this week with a fun giveaway! One lucky winner will receive two tickets to see Julianne Hough (of “Dancing with the Stars”) live at the Pacific Amphitheatre and two tickets for the same day offering free admission to the OC Fair!

The concert is on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:15pm.

They have a ton of great shows in the OC Fair Summer Concert Series at the Pacific Amp in the next few weeks. BIG names! Click HERE to see the schedule.

This contest will run through 5pm PST on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010.  I will tweet the winner and post on my facebook page on Friday AM.   Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  Entry options are:

1. Simply leave a comment! – 1 ENTRY

2. Follow @PacAmp on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Pacific Amphitheatre on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

5. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

6. Subscribe to Tiny Oranges New Post! updates (top right column) – 1 ENTRY

GOOD LUCK!

As of a month ago I had never even heard of “sugaring” hair removal – have you?!?

One of my best girlfriends recently “got sugared” by Cheryl Callahan at Skin So Sweet in Huntington Beach and raved about the results.   My friend had told Cheryl about me, and she was SWEET enough to invite me in for a sugar service to see what it is all about!

Ironically, when I got the email from her I happened to be getting my hair done by Tera at Ty Alexander Salon.  Since Tera is in the beauty industry, I asked her if she had ever heard of “sugaring.”   Tera flipped because she goes to Cheryl for sugaring!  Small world.  She told me “DO IT! You will LOVE it!”  Equal sugar enthusiasm now by two women – I was intrigued!

If you too are intrigued after this post,  make sure to read below on how YOU can win a sugaring too! And, no better sugaring hair removal place in Orange County than Skin So Sweet!

So, me and my “haven’t been waxed in longer than I can remember furry eyebrows” paid Cheryl a visit.  It was long overdue.  Guess I have had things like surviving the first year of my second child’s life holding me back from regular brow maintenance!

But, first things first.  What exactly IS sugaring you might be thinking?

It turns out it is a method of hair removal that dates back to 1900 BC – back to the the Cleopatra days when smooth skin in ancient Egypt was a sign of youth and beauty. You can read more details about it here.  I thought this fact was very interesting.

It is a method to remove unwanted hair, similar to waxing.  You can sugar your brows, face, underarms, legs, bikini… basically anywhere you want to remove hair.   The difference is that the sugar mix is completely natural & organic and made of sugar (of course!), lemon juice and water.  The mixture is heated to make a paste that sticks to the hair without attaching to the skin. It is applied in the direction of the hair growth and then lifted off to remove the hair entirely.  It leaves your skin super smooth and the regrowth is supposed to be softer each time. And, since the paste can be applied at room temp or lukewarm, it prevents burning.

It is also very hygenic,  because, well, the sugar “glob” {for lack of a better word! } used on you is {obviously} only used once,  then tossed.

It actually seemed really tricky to be able to master this technique and Cheryl told me it requires a lot of training.  It was apparent she was a sugaring guru! She shared with me that sugaring does take a little longer than waxing, but I had a feeling that she invests that extra time as well, because she also seemed to be a perfectionist.

She spent soooooo much time on my brows and while we were chatting she told me she really has a PASSION for her work.  I love it when women find a way to do what they love for a living.  She is also a mommy of two young girls so it was fun to chat about our kids too.

My brows looked so amazingly good when she was done! The perfect arch and shape.  And, I was completely thrilled with the process because the sugar didn’t leave me with those red, irritated stripes on my brow bone like I used to get with waxing.   It was way gentler on my skin.

Since we were leaving for Rancho Las Palmas a few days later, and a bikini was in my near future, I also got a bikini sugar.  My friend told me that sugaring did not hurt her at all, but I have to say although the pain was a little less than waxing it was still uncomfortable at times.  Just keeping it real!  I guess anytime you are pulling a hair out from the root there is going to be some pain involved!  But it was not bad at all and Tera told me that it gets less and less painful each time you do it.   I will have to see when I go back for my second sugar because now I am hooked.

You can click this link to visit the Skin So Sweet website and watch a video on sugaring and what the process entails.  It is actually quite interesting!

Cheryl Callahan
Skin Care Specialist
4911 Warner Avenue, #103, Huntington Beach
714.846.4703
www.skinsosweet.com

Hooray!  It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

Cheryl at Skin So Sweet in Huntington Beach is giving away a FREE eyebrow shaping & bikini sugaring to one lucky winner (a $75 value!)   Here are the entry options, please leave a separate comment for each one!

1. Simply leave a comment below – 1 ENTRY

2. Follow @SkinSoSweet on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

5. Subscribe to Tiny Oranges emails – top right column – and get the New Post updates to your inbox! – 1 ENTRY

Contest runs through Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 5pm PST.  Good luck and HAPPY WEEKEND!

{Disclosure: I received this eyebrow shaping and bikini sugaring free of charge but
I love it so much I will be paying for my next one!}