Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

As I am sure you can tell from my blog, I have a special love for Orange County and all things OC.  So when I found this new website, www.myHealthyOC.com, which marries my local love with my passion for health and fitness, it was one juicy match made in heaven!

Mamas, I cannot R-A-V-E enough about this site.

And please note that you do not have to be a fitness fanatic or an over-the-top health nut to enjoy it.  Anyone with even a little bit of interest in wellness, fitness and healthy living will get something out of this site. There is truly a little somethin’ for everyone.

By bringing together OC folks who have a health-minded focus and sharing interesting content and local companies in the health arena, www.myHealthy OC.com is about bringing a bigger awareness to health and and the abundance of resources available right here in our own backyard to help you live your healthiest life.

Feeling inspired? You will.

Let me talk about their content first. I am busy busy busy. I know you are too. Usually when I go on a website, I don’t have a ton of time to browse around.

But the first time I clicked onto www.myHealthyOC.com, I was sucked into reading their articles one after the other because the topics were just downright HELPFUL.

Posts like, What’s a serving size anyway?… I thought I knew, do you?

Get Inspired: Eat to live, not live to eat…great advice by Dr. Lyndsay Elliott a local Newport Beach body image specialist whom I happen to adore.  She wrote this article for me last year on how to promote positive body image in our children. One of my 2011 favorites.

Green recycling…what do you do with your old cell phones and electronics? Where do I take them? What is even considered recyclable? This article gives the facts.

Top five health apps…who knew?! The Snack App?! LOVE IT!

I immediately signed up for their e-mail list (right column top home page) so I don’t miss a post.

Now a little about supporting fellow OC companies.

www.myHealthy OC.com features great local companies in the areas of nutrition, fitness and wellness.

Make sure to visit the www.myHealthyOC.com shop where you can find SPECIAL deals offered to www.myHealthyOC.com readers! Yes, you can find www.myHealthyOC.com discounts and promos to help save you some $$$!

Plus, it just makes for an easier buying experience.  A virtual local marketplace, if you will!

Supporting local businesses is not only good for Orange County and the environment, it is also good for the soul. I know I get a little warm fuzzy every time I shop local.

So, check it out, bookmark it, sign up for the email list, like www.myHealthy OC.com on Facebook, tweet with the nice peeps at @myHealthyOC on Twitter and get inspired for a healthy and happy 2012!

[Disclosure: wwww.myHealthy OC.com is  a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]

This year one of my goals is to slowly go through each room in our house and do some updating. We moved in almost seven years ago and haven’t done much decorating since we moved in, so I guess you can say I am getting the seven year itch for some fresh decor!

This updating bug started last year with my living room makeover, which inspired me to slowly take on the other rooms.

First room on the 2012 list is our  guest / girls’  bathroom. 

Jessica of Jessica Bennett Interiors, a local design firm specializing in young adults and families who did my fabulous new living room, is helping me with our project. Because it is such a small space, I am doing one of her DIY design packages, where she provided the (oh-so-cute) concept and ideas, and we are doing the legwork.

Now that my husband installed the crown moulding and the new medicine cabinet has been ordered, the next task is to pick a new paint color.

In my DIY Jessica-provided package, she gave me four paint color swatches.  And God bless her for this, because picking out a paint color to me is torturous. I have total paint picking phobia. It was so nice to be relieved from the misery of swatch comparison. 

On her blog, I remembered seeing a blog post called “How to Date Your Paint Color Before You Marry It” which is such a great idea I had to share it with you.

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I took my first paint class from Timree last month and had such a memorable time, I am going to one of these Valentine’s Paint Classes and wanted to share the info with you!

For a small price of $50 (which includes all materials, paint, personalized instruction + priceless fun with your girlfriends!) you get to go to Timree’s Art Studio in Newport Beach for two hours and learn how to paint one of those darling paintings above.

I was skeptical before my first class because I didn’t even think I would be able to do it.

I have truly never painted anything EVER!

But her easy, step-by-step instructions resulted in everyone completing a painting that looked very close to the above examples, but with their own flavor and style!

When my daughter saw my Christmas Cupcakes painting (photo left) her eyes got so wide and she said, “MOMMY! Are you an artist now??” I had to giggle. So now I am the Mommy Artist in Residence.

I can’t wait to surprise her with her own Valentine painting.

It is so relaxing and therapeutic and creative and best of all, something different.

So try out your hand at something new this year, forward this to some girlfriends and sign up for a Paint Party to remember! But do it quick, her classes fill up fast!

www.timree.com

Have a fabulous weekend mamas!

XOXO

[Disclosure: Timree is a Tiny Oranges OC Biz Guide Sponsor. Check out her darling ads under Birthday Party Venues, Classes & Great Gifts!]

Recently I heard an awesome presentation at a moms’ group I am involved in on how to raise a child that is a giver. Since we are approaching Thanksgiving I was inspired to share one of the simple ideas that my family has adopted.

It is called “The Giving Box” and what I loved most about the idea is that it encourages regular giving throughout the year and not just at the holidays. This is how it works!

The goal is to include your children in the project so that they feel like they are a part of it. The first step is to make your Giving Box.

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The 31 Bits Fall Line debuts today and I am excited to share you can save 15% using discount code “TINYORANGES” today through 09/07/11.

Ladies, I love this company and their story. Once you read about them, you will be inspired too!  So, now is the perfect time to stock up on holiday gifts for the special women in your life, save a little money and know that you will be helping women in Africa at the same time.  Talk about a win-win-win situation!

For those of you unfamiliar with 31 Bits, let me share with you a little about the company and their mission.

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