Volleyball

Recently I've been playing volleyball after signing up for a class at a local community college. Sports are a great way of keeping in shape and having a bit of fun! I definitely suck at playing hence a "class" is needed. But even if I was good, class is a great way of having consistent fun. There are students in my class of all levels: beginner to advanced. Some played in high school. I started dabbling with volleyball when I first went to volleyball camp in 9th grade. I never tried out b/c it conflicted with tennis at that time. I had fun learning and it stayed with me til after college where I played with my friends at a local park weekly. Because of the volleyball camp, I remembered the fundamentals of bump, set, & spike! I'm so glad that I got back into it again and I hope that the more I play, the better I get. It's great to expand some sort of skill instead of doing the same old routine of treadmill & eliptical.  This makes me very happy! :)

OC restaurant week

OC restaurant week is here again. Sept 26 to Oct. 2nd. Sadly I will be out of the country to enjoy this food affair~ I love restaurant week in any city because it allows you to try different restaurant at a fraction of their usual cost! Pre-fixed menus with many deliciousness to adventure into! Go out, dine, and be merry! Let me know if you try any and would recommend. Thanks!

Baking

 

One of the cheapest activity that someone can do is baking!

I baked my first every FULL size pie this month: Blueberry Crumb Pie!  TA-DA!!!  I had fresh blueberries from Cost Co, so I decided to make this OH SO DELICIOUS PIE! :)  Yes, I am very proud.

My favorite recipe site is: http://www.allrecipes.com/.  I go to this website for I'd say more than 50% of my cooking needs.  Allrecipes Cookbook

This is a picture of the slice of pie I enjoyed along with my friends for many days.  I was on a baking frenzy for a month, but after gaining 10lbs, I realized that I needed to stop!  Otherwise, I think I'd be baking every week.  Oh well... Anyway, enjoy the picture, recipe, and I hope you get a chance to bake something yummy too!



Sailing!

This past weekend, my friend & I went sailing for the first time ever!  It's something that escaped my mind in trying out b/c I was too zoned into surfing, skydiving, and water rafting.  Sailing seemed too much of a luxury, saved only for the rich and famous!  We were very lucky because we received a free 3 hour Intro Lesson to Sailing. Otherwise, it would have cost over $170! 

We met up with our very experienced Instructor Ralph from the Marina Sailing Newport Beach Club.  He was kind, patient, and knowledgeable.  He taught us very informative & random details of the 30 ft boat that we were on and about sailing in general.  We learned how to set sail, tack, and steer the boat.  For 2 hours we were out in the waters saying things like: "Prepare to tack." "Ready to tack." "Steer right, left, straight."  It felt really amazing to be out in the waters as I was first on the wheel.  I've never driven a sail boat before so it was an experience to remember.  It felt very natural like driving a car! 

Being out in the waters made me appreciate living in OC all the more.  I love the beach, I love the weather, and I just love being outdoors.  Ahhhhh....~   Wind in the air, smell of the ocean...and sound of the sea otters.   Yes, sea otters.  Hahaha. :D

After our lesson and relaxing time together ~ it was bitter sweet to say goodbye.  My friend loved it too and was eager to go sailing again.  As it can get expensive by joining Sailing Clubs, a good alternative is taking a class at a local community college like OCC.  If I had the time, I totally would take the class... maybe next Summer I will be wearing navy & white sailing thru the Newport Harbor sipping on a margarita~~~  a girl can dream~

OC Foodie Fest 2010

Usually I write about events after I've already attended it, but this time I thought for the sake of this blog that I would write about an event that is coming up this Saturday and one that I am planning on attending. It's called "OC FOODIE FEST." Here is the website with all the details:
http://www.ocfoodiefest.com/

Basically 50 food trucks all at one spot for foodies to just feast on! Crazy enough...it's one of my dream events to attend. I am SUPER excited to see all the different food trucks and try as many as I can without gaining 10 lbs! Please be on the look out for reviews and photos in the coming weeks! YAY.

Cupcake Camp OC 2010

First ever Cupcake Camp in the OC was held this past Sunday (August 1^st) at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine, CA.My dear friend Hannah Lee & Team threw together this event in less than 3 months to help bring awareness and raise funds against Human Trafficking.

It was her first event as big as this for an awesome cause which turned out SUPER successful! Over $9,000 was raised, 90 bakers (one of which was me & my roommates) and 1,000 people in attendance!WOW.The organizers did a fantastic job for their first ever fund-raising event!Of course there were a few hiccups as they did not anticipate SO many people...but I really dislike those people who only want to focus on that. Go away! Let’s celebrate their hearts and their successes! YAY!

So my girlfriends &I volunteered ourselves in different ways.That afternoon, my roommates and I baked over 24 “popcorn” cupcakes and we entered the amateur competition for “Childhood Inspired” cupcakes.It was exciting to see so many people take pictures of our cupcakes.*BIG SMILE*No, we didn’t win, but it was still fun to participate in that way.I took my SLR and volunteered to take pictures for the event and even helped with the registration for a bit as they had such a long line~ out the door to the downstairs front valet! WOW.Can you believe it?

At the end of the day, I was just AMAZED.I was amazed at all the bakeries that donated their time and their cupcakes. Over 5,000 cupcakes donated! I was amazed at the decorations and the hotel space donated.I was amazed at all the volunteers’ hard work and services.This show how when one person sets out to do something good, that something really great can be accomplished.

LOOMIES popcorn cupcakes

Nad's flower cupcakes

Winner of Childhood inspired! Peanut butter & Jelly

Winner of Most Unique Flavor: Chicken & Waffles

Donated cupcakes

DJ who volunteered his services. & Donated Signs for the Event.

Over 1000 people attended

Cupcake eating contest!

Summer Beach Time

@ Laguna Beach ~ shopping & eating on a Sunday afternoon

@ Venice Beach - Muscle Contest on 4th of July ~ free event for the public.

@ Newport beach laying out --- the sky was overcast so didn't really stay too long.

So lately, I just haven't been posting to this blog and I need to. Personally, I have been fasting from shopping. Did too much damage during my birthday month. Realizing that as long as I stay away from the stores, I am good to go! :)

So...what have I been doing to keep frugally busy? It's summer time so that means "BEACH" time! I've been going almost everyweek this Summer. Either just to stroll, lay out, eating nearby or sit by the bonfire. Good times for sure. See above pictures as I've been going all over So Cal to enjoy all the beaches it has to offer! If you want some cheap summer fun, beach is the way to go~ So get your friends together to have some California fun at your nearby beach! Or what's the point of living in Cali right???