Family Finds: 50% Off a Family Membership to The Grammy Museum

$45 for a Family Membership to The Grammy Museum

The GRAMMY Museum is an exciting and interactive celebration of the power of music occupying a vibrant new space in downtown Los Angeles. Four floors of cutting edge exhibits, interactive experiences and films provide a one-of-a-kind visitor experience — engaging, educational, celebratory and inspirational.  Your voucher gets you one full year of visits for two adults and four children aged 6-18 (kids five and under are free) and numerous valuable membership perks.  Your free guest passes alone are worth more than what you will be paying for this fantastic deal!  Don’t miss out on a great deal for a year’s worth of musical education and entertainment for the whole family!

Other great deals in your area expiring soon:

$25 for a 30-Minute Spa Treatment at Naya Fresh Body Spa AVEDA ($50 Value) 

$30 for Fresh Flower Delivery from BloomNation Flowers ($60 Value) 

$20 for $40 Worth of Food at Babouch Moroccan Restaurant 

$25 for $50 Worth of PJs from BedHead Pajamas 

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Superbowl Treat: Decadent Gluten-Free Brownies

It’s time for the Superbowl, woo, hoo. Ok, I don’t care about football. All that it means to me is that I have an excuse to eat Ruffles with french onion dip and drink beer all day.

But when you have a food allergy, Superbowl parties can be painful, literally. Pizza, burgers, and cookies are generally off the table, so if you need to do some accommodating for a gluten-free and/or dairy free guest, here is a recipe for gluten-free brownies. They are delicious, easy, and great to make if it’s your first attempt at gluten-free baking. There’s not a whole lot of flour, mostly chocolate, sugar, and butter. The recipe below includes vegan butter, but you can use regular butter if dairy isn’t a problem. Sort of obvious, but the better the chocolate, the better the brownie. Ghirardelli cocoa is gluten-free and reasonably priced.

Decadent Chocolate Brownieskid mixing brownie batter
1 stick of Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1 cup sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 cold large eggs
½ cup gluten-free flour*
½ teaspoon xantham gum

Preheat oven to 325. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine flour and xantham gum. In a large bowl combine vegan butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Place in microwave for 1 minute or until butter is melted. (This is the lazy version. You can also do this in a pan on the stovetop). Add vanilla. Stir in eggs one a time, mixing well after each egg. Add the flour and xantham gum. Vigorously stir for about 30 seconds.

brownie batter in the oven

 

Pour brownie mix into prepared pan. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out slightly moist. Cool on rack. Enjoy!

*Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix from the Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy
6 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
Store leftover flour in an airtight container

Family Finds: Half-Off BedHead Pajamas

We love buying local, and BedHead Pajamas is one of our favorite mom-owned companies. It’s LA-based, and all pajamas are locally cut and sewn. Each unique pajama is designed by BedHead’s owner and designer, Renee Claire. They offer maternity PJs, kids’ and tween styles, a Mommy and Me collection, and men and women’s pajamas, so there’s something for the entire family. Not only are they ultra-fashionable, they’re super comfy, too! The Hot Pink Wild at Heart collection starts at $58 and is available in Mommy and Me styles. We also love the Humpty Dumpty collection, available for boys and girls. Sale items start at just $24 — and, with our voucher, you’ll only spend $25 for $50 worth of PJs. Get your BedHead Pajamas at half-off, and enjoy sweet dreams tonight.
Other great deals in your area expiring soon: 

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MomsLA

Today I wanted to tell you about a new website called MomsLA. It was founded by Me, Elise of Elise’s Ramblings, and Sarah Auerswald of Mar Vista Mom and it launched this week. We wanted to create a site where people can go and find out what the Mom Bloggers in Los Angeles are saying about their city, their lives, and the issues that are important to them.

We have some fantastic bloggers on board and we can’t wait to hear what they have to say. We’ve already had some interesting posts up on MomsLA including my story today about my visit to the Medical Marijuana clinic.

Check out MomsLA and let us know what you think.

Family Finds: In the Mood for Some Belly Dancing?

$20 for $40 Worth of Food at Babouch Moroccan Restaurant

What could be more romantic … and exotic … than enjoying Moroccan cuisine and a belly-dancing show on Valentine’s Day? That beats a boring old steak dinner any day! Babouch Moroccan Restaurant will give you a meal to remember. Feed each other authentic Moroccan finger foods like kabobs and hummus with pita bread while you enjoy live entertainment including traditional belly-dancing and tarot card reading– all for half-off! This is definitely something memorable and out of the ordinary. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, a special date night, or a family outing to remember.
Other great deals in your area expiring soon: 

 

Family Finds: Half Off BloomNation Fresh Flower Delivery

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Order your flowers now at half-off, and be assured that your sweetie will receive a bouquet February 14, keeping you out of the doghouse. BloomNation.com offers 59 bouquets at $60 or less, which means you can score one for $30. Even if you don’t use this voucher for Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t expire for a full year … so you can use it for birthdays, graduations, and holidays. When you need to say something special, say it with flowers from BloomNation.com.
Other great deals in your area expiring soon: 

 

I'm an LA Marathon Superstar!!!

Yay! A week ago I set up a  page on Crowdrise to raise money for Help a Mother Out while I run the LA Marathon. Now I’m an LA Marathon Superstar!

What does that mean? I get a t-shirt! And the picture of my older son and I (above) is on the LA Marathon website. (It’s in the rotating picture on the top.) But what I’m hoping it means is that more people will look at my Crowdrise fundraising page and want to donate.  If you want to look at my Crowdrise page and donate, well, please click here. 

Heidi Klum and Seriously Funny Kids

I really wanted to hate Heidi Klum. She’s a former Victoria Secret Model who shoots out kids like a gumball machine and still has a fantastic body.

But I couldn’t. She’s a delightful, smart mother of 4 who happens to have good genes. I was one of several bloggers who did a phone interview with Heidi to promote her new show “Seriously Funny Kids” that airs tonight on Lifetime. And I found her seriously funny, and charming, and into her kids.

Her show is about the funny things kids say. But sometimes it wasn’t easy getting the kids to say something funny on the show. It could be 15 minutes of talking on a particular subject and nothing happened. And then the kids would go off on a tangent and it would be hilarious, she said.

She tries to make things fun with her own kids, too, while making sure that they are polite and well mannered. “I think we have fun as a family,” she said. She loves having the house where her kids’ friends can come over and run around and have a good time. “Our house is not a museum.”

I’m not usually into reality shows with kids, but I am a big fan of Project Runway, also on Lifetime. I asked Heidi if working with the designers on Project Runway prepared her for working with the children on Seriously Funny Kids since some of the designers would cry, throw tantrums, and be manipulative.

She said no, kids are innocent and the designers know exactly what they are doing. She said she would often be surprised by what the designers said on the runway and what actually happened in the workroom.

“They’re quite calculated and the kids are not calculated,” she said.

>Her own kids are very important to her, but she also makes time for her husband. Her husband is another reason to want to hate her. She’s married to super-hot singer Seal. And it appears he’s delightful and they are very much in love.

“I look at my husband…to me he’s the hottest man,” she said. She still gets butterflies when she sees him walk into a room. Her advice for a happy marriage? “You have marry the man who in your eyes is the most hot and sexy.”

And you have to make time for that person. She said they make sure and have date nights so they can connect without focusing on the kids.

She had a point. After the interview with her I got to thinking about alone-time with my own super-hot husband. When was the last time we had a conversation that lasted more than 2 minutes? I couldn’t remember.

I called the babysitter after I got off the phone and that night I had a lovely dinner with my husband. Thanks, Heidi Klum. I definitely don’t hate you.

Family Finds: $25 Massage or Facial at Naya Fresh Body Spa AVEDA

$25 for a 30-Minute Spa Treatment at Naya Fresh Body Spa AVEDA ($50 Value)

We love a great Valentine’s gift that won’t break the bank. For just $25, you can treat your loved one to a 30-minute massage, facial, foot scrub, or hand reflexology session at Naya Fresh Body Spa AVEDA in Chatsworth. This relaxing oasis uses AVEDA products that will cleanse, detoxify and revitalize your skin. Plus, you can purchase up to 4 vouchers for one person — that’s just $100 for FOUR treatments! That’s less than the price of ONE treatment in some of the pricier spas around town. Pamper yourself or your loved one at Naya Fresh Body Spa.
Other great deals in your area expiring soon: 
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