May 10 2013
Gilroy gardens gate sign

Frugal Friday: Gilroy Gardens Season Pass Value Pack at Costco

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Gilroy gardens gate signIf you live anywhere near Gilroy Gardens and have kids under 12 you should consider picking up discount season passes at Costco right now. They sell two season passes for $44 which is half price! You just can’t beat $22 each for a season pass, what a deal. That’s less than a kid’s season pass at the gate ($34) and less than the online discount price ($29).

A friend told me that Costco will pull these right before Memorial Day. If you want to be sure to get this deal you need to do it now. According to their website, prices online go up on June 1st as well.

The park is currently open only on the weekends right now. The schedule changes to everyday beginning June 6th. I like to take the kids first thing in the morning on a weekday. It’s very quiet and easy to get on the rides. Lines are minimal and we can see a lot in a short amount of time.

One thing to note: these are regular season passes, which they call “value memberships” that provide unlimited admission all summer.  I’ve heard you can upgrade them to Premium Memberships at the gate to take advantage of the free parking and 20% discount of food inside the park. My plan is to upgrade one pass to Premium so I can get free parking and the food discount. They don’t allow outside food, but I usually bring in some water and a snack like Goldfish without any trouble. The food there is actually good, and there are healthy choices like salads available.

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May 9 2013

Garden Time 2013

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I finally made it to the hardware store two weeks ago to pick out some vegetables! OSH had 4-inch veggies for $1.49 so it was the perfect time to get them.  I’m just keeping things simple this year: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, strawberries and some herbs.

Next year I hope to invest in some raised beds, but for now I have a ton of containers so that’s what I’m using. It’s not ideal, but I think that I’ll still get enough fruit to make it worth the trouble.

spring veggies

Ready to be planted.

six-pack strawberries

I love fresh strawberries!

I also bought a Meyer lemon tree. It’s going into a large pot for now, but it will eventually find a permanent home in the yard.

My little tree is happy in it's new big pot.

My little tree is happy in it’s new big pot.

And you see that old greenhouse in the background? Paul and I took it apart and moved it to the backyard. Next year I can start and grow some vegetable in there. Best of all, now the path is clear for putting up a nice fence along that side of the property. I’m really looking forward to having the front area fenced so I can close a gate and let the dogs and kids out to play in the front without having to worry about them!

So that’s what’s happening in my garden. Do you have plants in the ground (or containers) this year?

 

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Apr 25 2013
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Herbed Chicken Salad

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This is a great twist on a basic chicken salad. The herbs give the chicken more flavor and it goes well with a light Italian or vinegar and oil dressing. This salad works well as a lunch or complete dinner meal.

Yield: 6 Servings 

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, boneless-skinless

1 TBSP finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 TBSP olive oil

2 packages salad mix – hearts of romaine or Italian salad blend

1 pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced

thinly sliced red onion, to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a small prep bowl mix chopped herbs, salt and pepper.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  3. Apply herb seasoning evenly to chicken breasts. Cook for 5 minutes on each side.
  4. Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until done (internal temp reaches 165°).
  5. While chicken cooking in oven assemble salads in individual large plates or bowls.
  6. Removed cooked chicken from the oven, chop and top salads.
  7. Serve with Italian dressing or simple side of oil and red wine vinegar.
Herbed Chicken Salad

Searing in the pan gives the chicken great color and flavor.

Herbed Chicken for salad

Finishing in the oven ensures thick chicken breasts such as these are thoroughly cooked.

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Apr 23 2013
One green wall with ladybug decals and ladybug bedding.

Little Girl’s Ladybug Themed Bedroom

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After Sean’s Angry Birds room was finished it was time to turn our attention back to the room the kids had been sharing, which would become Audrey’s room. She had picked out a ladybug themed bedding set at Target six months earlier, when my mom brought up the full size bed frame and mattress set. We had most of what we needed to do the room, just had to get Sean moved out first.

Audrey’s room had a horrible mural all along the bottom half of the walls. It was a white picket fence with flowers. It made the room look small and outdated and worst of all, the dark green they used for the plants required primer before we could paint it white.

Here is what we did for the ladybug themed room:

  • Painted three walls white and one wall a pale yellow-green. She had wanted pink, but I thought the like green would be better with all the pink “stuff” she has in her room, plus it’s a color that will be good for her as she gets older.
  • Assembled the bed and moved dressers and other toys/furniture over from Sean’s room.
  • Added the ladybug themed sheet set and comforter from Target.
  • Applied wall decals in the matching ladybug theme to the green wall only.
  • Repainted the frame on a set of mounted butterflies in the green of her wall.
  • Hung up other floral/bug art and set up toy kitchen and Barbie house.

She was thrilled with her new room! After sharing a room with her brother for so long she was excited to have a “girl room” of her own. I see that Target still has the matching window valances online so I may get her those. She also has her eye on a matching ladybug lamp we’ve seen at our store. The lamp is not listed online and it’s $40 in the store, so I’ve been watching for it to go on clearance and maybe we can snatch it up at a better price.

Here are some photos of the finished room:

 

One green wall with ladybug decals and ladybug bedding.

One green wall with ladybug decals and ladybug bedding.

Circo Ladybug collection from Target decals. Easy to apply and repostional in case you mess up! Wait for freshly painted walls to dry for 3 weeks before applying.

Circo Ladybug collection from Target decals. Easy to apply and re-position in case you mess up! Wait for freshly painted walls to dry for 3 weeks before applying.

We left the other three walls white.

We left the other three walls white.

Real mounted butterflies add to the theme. I repainted the frame to match the accent wall color.

Real mounted butterflies add to the theme. I repainted the frame to match the accent wall color.

 

Audrey loves her new Ladybug room!

Audrey loves her new Ladybug room!

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