The Adventures of Kirra and Rincon are darling surf books for kids and living in So Cal, I am sure there are a ton of surf-loving families who would love these books!  Make sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a set of these cute surf books for kids!

The original book, Li’l Kids, Big Waves is a story about a girl named Kirra who leaves Australia to visit her cousin Rincon in California and the surfing adventures that follow.

My daughters love the bright pictures and melodic prose and I love the positive messages throughout like eating healthy snacks, picking up trash on the beach and appreciating friends and nature (not to mention the inspiring “girl power” when Kirra is the first to catch a perfect barrel wave!)

The newly released second book, Warm Winter Waves, is about Kirra and Rincon and their journey to Hawaii to explore different surf spots.

Warning: It will make you want to book a trip to Hawaii with your family. Like now.

Once again, this delightful book is filled with positive messages including respect for the ocean, friendship and the importance of helping a friend in need.

You can purchase the books at www.kirraandrincon.com.  The first edition is also available in both hard cover and soft cover, and also on iBook, Kindle, Kobo and Nook. These books would make a great gift for any child ages 3+.

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway! One lucky reader will win a copy of both books autographed by the author along with a special Kirra and Rincon tee-shirt.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Disclosure: I was provided a copy of these books as a gift from my friend Shelley who is one of the talented authors.]

When HomeBidsOnline owner John Rowan and his family recently relocated from Portland to So Cal, they realized they needed to make some changes to their new home to make it their own.  Filled with enthusiasm, they began looking for a contractor for their home improvements and searched for ways to find Orange County contractors easily.

Watching his work-from-home wife become extremely frustrated by the stress of meeting with multiple contractors (and often their lack of punctuality) he decided there had to be a better way to find Orange County contractors to bid on their job without the hassle of meeting with each one personally.

With 30 years experience in the construction business, John thought to himself, “What if I could take the measurements and lay out the specs for the job one time, and then take the whole process online where different contractors could submit bids on the job?”

Which is exactly what he did when he created www.HomeBidsOnline.com!

Here’s how it works:

– Tell HomeBidsOnline about the home project you need done (all size jobs welcome)

– At a time that is convenient to you, a professional HomeBidsOnline representative will come to your home, take detailed laser measurements, high res photos, video, and job-specific notes on anything you would want to tell a contractor bidding on the job.

– They build your HomeBidsOnline profile with details about your project.

– You send it to any builder or they find one for you.

– You sit back and watch the bids from licensed, bonded and insured contractors roll in all through their site so you don’t have to use your personal email to track the communication.

When contractors compete – the homeowner gets the best deal and you get all of this for FREE! 

HomeBidsOnline has been a big success with busy Moms like John’s wife who just don’t want to deal with a bunch of different people traipsing through their home taking the same set of measurements as the last guy.  The business is also popular with older people, who can often be afraid of being taken advantage of.

Furthermore, John knows the industry and will be the first one to tell you if a bid comes in too high.  Or he’ll be sure you notice that a contractor’s timeline doesn’t match up with yours.

On the flip side, contractors are seeing the benefit in taking the process online as it saves a lot of their time and money driving all around for a job they might get.

The way the economy has been over the past few years many families are deciding to stay put in a home they might not have imagined staying in long term. And I don’t know about you, but the longer I stay in one place the more I get big ideas of how I could tweak this, or maybe move that wall, or create a built in there…

It’s nice to know when the time is right we’ll have John Rowan and HomeBidsOnline in our corner.

Here’s a video with more info about how Home Bids Online works:

(HomeBidsOnline is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor- we love sharing new ways to help make our Mommas lives easier!)

Last year I made an attempt to try to get my hair healthier by not washing it as much. Seeing that I needed to keep my hair dry in the shower, I went on the search for a super cute good quality shower cap which I found at Dry Divas. I am so in love with it I had to share with you.

The not hair washing obsession started when I watched this video by my hair stylist, Tera Rae Stephens. My jaw dropped when I heard her talk about how often you should wash your hair. Just watch…

Made from high quality, soft laminated fabric, each one is embellished with a coordinating ribbon and a little bling.  I wear mine almost every day and love it.

I also got a “Little Divas” cap for my six-year-old daughter and it works SO GREAT great in the shower ~ not to mention she looks cute as a button in it. 

She can actually can immerse her head completely under the water in her Little Divas shower cap and her hair stays totally dry.

This is going to be my go-to gift for friends and my daughter’s friends because it is such a useful, unique gift.

Shop for them at www.DryDivas.com and you can use use Dry Divas coupon code STYLE for free shipping!

How often do YOU wash your hair? Are you inspired to not wash it as much after seeing Tera?

www.DryDivas.com

Since it is a beautiful holiday Monday, I wanted to give you a list of ideas of things to do with your kids today in OC.

1. Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Pretend City Children’s Museum – 10am – 3pm. In the morning, kids can create a wreath of hands to celebrate the similarities and differences of various cultures. In the afternoon, children will write or draw pictures of their dreams on clouds, adding to the decor of Dr. King’s Dream Birthday Cake.

2. Visit Strand Vista Beach in Dana Point

3. Go to Ruby’s Shake Shack for lunch and enjoy the gorgeous ocean views while sipping on a yummy shake then walk around the historic Crystal Cove Beach Cottages below. 7703 E. Coast Highway, Newport Coast

[Photo credit: Ruby’s]

4. Take the ferry and bike or walk around Balboa Island.

5. Go to Frogg’s Bounce House. Bring your tablet and enjoy free Wifi on the couches while your kids jump, jump, jump.

6. Rent a surrey and bike around Irvine Regional Park.

7. Visit the Santa Ana Zoo.

8. Take the kids ice skating at the Irvine Spectrum.

9. Visit the Newport Beach Environmental Nature Center and take a nature walk.

10. Pack your sand toys and visit this lovely Lido Playground.

11. Take your kids to make a homemade creation at Color Me Mine in Metro Pointe. They open early at 9am on Monday, and if you go between 9am – 10am, the paint fee is only $3 for both kids and adults.

12. Go to Boomers! Irvine, open for special hours today from 10am – 9pm.

13.  Visit ZOOMARS Petting Zoo, then walk around historic San Juan Capistrano.

14. Bring your kid’s bikes, scooters, or roller skates and let them ride around on the huge oceanfront blacktop off 14th Street on the Newport Beach peninsula.There is also a darling, beachfront playground at this location as well.

15. Visit the Discovery Science Center and check out the Indiana Jones exhibit.

16. Turn your day into an underwater adventure by exploring the Aquarium of the Pacific.

17. Take a hike! Check out this awesome blog on 5 family friendly hikes in Orange County on Fun Orange County Parks.

18. Pack a picnic lunch and visit Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach ~ our absolute favorite playground in OC.

19. Go to The Reptile Zoo and meet prehistoric pets in Fountain Valley. You just gotta see ’em to believe ’em!

20. Make your “day off” a “day on” by celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of meaningful service. Click here for a list of volunteer opportunities on OneOC.

Have a wonderful day everyone! For a very comprehensive list of things to do in OC, visit www.PlanADayOut.com.

This easy BBQ pulled pork crock pot recipe to put on hawaiian rolls with tangy coleslaw is a family-friendly weeknight dinner and would also make a great Superbowl party meal.

A friend gave me this recipe several years ago and I’ve since tweaked it a bit and passed it around to more friends. Double (or triple) it for your next party, always a crowd pleaser!

If you have leftovers, re-purpose the pulled pork for some southwest style tacos or grab a pizza crust at the store + your fave cheese for a bbq style pizza.  (When you pull it out of the oven, drizzle with a little of your favorite ranch and sprinkle with green onion + cilantro-yum!)  The opportunities are endless!

There’s a recipe for a delish/quick homemade BBQ sauce but if you’re in a hurry just grab a bottle of your favorite.

Oh, and another thing- this creamy slaw packs some tang…have some fun & try with a bag of broccoli slaw if you feel so inclined!?!

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For the Pork

1 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup worchestershire sauce

1/8 cup brown sugar

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 tsp dried crushed pepper

4lb pork butt (shoulder) roast (this can be separate smaller roasts)

Season the pork butt with a little salt and pepper.  Grab a large saute pan and brown the pork on all sides.

Put all ingredients in crock pot & mix.  Place pork in sauce.  Cover & turn on low for at least 8 hours.  Turn roast over halfway through.  When 8 hours is up, remove meat & let it cool.  Remove meat from bone & shred.

Discard most of the cooking liquid, adding a little back to the meat once it’s shredded.

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1/2 cup mayo

1 tbsp sour cream

1 tbsp grated onion

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

1/2 tbsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery salt

1 bag cole slaw
Mix dressing & toss with cole slaw.

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Sandwich

1 package Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls

I like to put the pulled pork on the roll, drizzle with a bit of warm BBQ sauce and top with the creamy cole slaw.  And now my mouth is watering…

(If serving for a party, let the guests assemble their own for an interactive, low maintenance main course, and that way the sandos won’t get soggy.)

Enjoy!

XO

Your Sus Chef