San Diego Food Blogger's Bake Sale Update

my table set up

I could spend a lot of money in this store.

Saturday was the San Diego Food Blogger's Bake Sale in Pacific Beach at the Great News patio out front. The sale started at 10 am, the sun was out, the skies were blue and what a perfect day. Close to 40 of us local bloggers (whom I have never met) huddled together to find a place to display our baked goods.  Li'l Ms. Sueshine and I shared a table, she had the most adorable lemon cakes in a jar and pie pops. The crowds were a steady flow the entire time, including a large group of Saturday schoolers. I noticed as I took breaks to window shop and grab some lunch that when I returned, goodies were gone, samples were wiped out. Wow. Step away and they flock to grab some sweets. The sale went very well and I had a lot of fun sharing my treats and blog info with others. San Diego came in 4th place for the Share Our Strength bake sale fundraiser in the USA with sales reaching $3034!!! Amazing!! I can't wait to participate again next year.

Cupcakes packaged and ready to sell

The goodies I baked from scratch were: gluten free carrot cake cupcakes, peanut butter and chocolate bars, gluten free crumb cake cupcakes and cookie dough brownies. My biggest seller were the peanut butter and chocolate bars.

I offered free samples of my gluten free cupcakes, to show people how good they really are and not to be afraid because they are gluten free. I must say crumb cake rocked the house of those sales.

I took some time to go peek around at the other goodies and choose some to bring home for my family so they can try them for me. I did have a few cotton candy meringues that night, since those are naturally gluten free. =)

Goodies were:

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Pie Pops from Li'l Ms. Sueshine

Giant S'mores Rice Krispy Treats from Cairns Manor

Chewy Cookies 'N Cream Cookies from Kirbie's Cravings

Assorted Cotton Candy Meringues from Full Circle Foodie

Pink Macarons (not sure of the flavor) from Jenny Wenny Cakes

Raspberry Almond Champagne Cupcake from Flavor Integrations

Macarons: Rose with Rose Water Buttercream & Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Buttercream from Live...Bake...Love

Maple Bacon Cookies from At The Patisserie

I cut everything up so they could taste some of everything. The loved it all. I did sneak some of the cupcake's champagne buttercream frosting and that was really good. My oldest liked the cookies and cream cookies and the maple bacon cookies especially.

that's me back there with my arms folded, it was cold in the shade.

Thanks Live... Bake... Love for the photo source.

See more of our photos from the bake sale on our Flickr group.

San Diego Food Bloggers Bake Sale, April 28th

So when I heard of the San Diego Food Bloggers Bake Sale coming up, I jumped at the chance to join in. I love donating to great causes and of course baking and sharing my goodies. Marie of Meandering Eats has helped put together this event that will help raise money for Share Our Strength.

Share Our Strength is  a national nonprofit organization, that is striving to end childhood hunger in America. Their goal is to end childhood hunger in America and with bake sales like this one, they hope to raise enough money by 2015.

This year's event will be at Great News (1788 Garnet Avenue, SD, 92109 in Pacific Beach) on Saturday, April 28, from 10a-2p. Great News is a cookware retail shop and a cooking school. Oh my, I know if I step foot in there, I could be in big trouble. More kitchen goodies? Yes, please! I do need a new food processor! *wink

This is San Diego's second year fundraising for Share Our Strength and we have a goal to raise $2500. We would appreciate any and all donations, which can be made directly to Share Our Strength via the DONATE NOW link, which is great in case you're not able to make it down to see us.

This year's San Diego Food Bloggers Bake Sale will have baked goods from a large group of local food bloggers and bakers, including sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan treats, something for everyone.

Please be sure to check out Great News on Facebook and Twitter.
Come see our San Diego Food Bloggers Bake Sale Facebook Event Page.

I know I will be providing some gluten free goodies as well as some other treats. I will be baking up delicious gluten free carrot cake cupcakes and  gluten free crumb cake cupcakes (free samples too), blueberry streusel muffins, cookie dough brownies and chocolate peanut butter bars.
I can't wait to meet the other local bloggers out here and possibly buy some goodies for my family to enjoy as well. I also hope you locals can get over here to donate for a great cause, come by and say HI =)

I'll be at the lime green table, please take a card =)

Jelly Belly: National Jelly Bean Day

Honor your sweet tooth and celebrate National Jelly Bean Day on April 22nd with Jelly Belly's fabulous smelling line of authentic Jelly Belly Products.

Jelly Belly can make this National Jelly Bean Day, Spring and Summer time enjoyable with some fun and interactive products from the Jelly Belly line, such as:

Jelly Belly Ear Buds -Jelly Belly shaped ear buds

Jelly Belly Scented Rubber iphone Case -Give you iphone a sweet smelling protective second skin. Colors and smells available in Strawberry Cheesecake, Licorice, Berry and Cherry

Jelly Belly Electric Ice Shaver -Create your own Jelly Belly snow cones. The Jelly Belly Ice shaver quickly and easily shaves ice into mounds of soft, fluffy snow – it’s a delicious way to enjoy your
favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors in a new and refreshing way.

Jelly Belly Manual Shaver -Create your own Jelly Belly snow cones the old fashion way. Crank the hand and watch mounds of soft, fluffy snow pile up for your favorite icey or snow cone.

Jelly Belly Giant Bubble Wand -Jelly Belly makes Springtime complete, with their Giant Bubbly Wand! Kids of all ages will have a blast making huge bubbles in some of the most delicious scents - Grape Jelly, Very Cherry and Top Banana.

*Jelly Belly Pop Up Bubbles -A magical new way to play with Jelly Belly Scented Bubbles! Simply squeeze the bottle and the pop-up bubble wand appears fully loaded with bubble liquid. Blow tons of bubbles, and then release the squeeze to magically re-dip the wand back into the solution.  This exclusive non-spill design will help moms and dads keep everyone’s outfits clean and in-tact all day long.

*Jelly Belly Scented Nail Polish -Now y your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor is right at your finger tips. Includes 5 scented polishes – Very Cherry, Bubble Gum, Orange Sherbet, Kiwi and Berry Blue.

*Jelly Belly 4 Shower Gel Set -Come out of the shower smelling like your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean – each fragrance is faithfully translated into a moisturizing body wash that will leave you clean, moisturized and smelling sweet – Includes 4 jelly jean shaped bottles with Island Punch, Coconut, Berry Blue and Orange Sherbet shower gels

Jelly Belly Set of 5 Shimmering Body Mists -A set of 5 Shimmering Mists allows you sparkle and smell delicious! Includes Crushed Pineapple, Kiwi, Island Punch, Berry Blue and Orange Sherbet

Jelly Belly Set of 6 Lip Balms -You’re favorite flavors on the tip of your tongue! Moisturize your kissers with this set of 6 scented lip balms which includes flavors, Very Cherry, Orange Sherbet, Crushed Pineapple, Kiwi, Berry Blue and Island Punch

These and other authentic Jelly Belly products including everything from stationary to air fresheners available at retailers nationwide as well as on amazon.com and are available in a multitude of your favorite flavors and scents.

We were sent a box of Jelly Belly goodies to enjoy:

-Jelly Belly Scented Nail Polish
-Jelly Belly Pop Up Bubbles
-Jelly Belly 4 Shower Gel Set
-Pencils
-Pencil pouch
-Note book
-Jelly beans

My little ones loved the pop up bubbles, what a nifty idea. You lightly squeeze the bottle (watch out, solution may spill over) and the wand pops up ready to start blowing bubbles. The shower gel smells really good too, they like using that. The tiny packets of jelly bellies are a perfect little treat, gosh I LOVE the popcorn ones, I always make them give me those when they find one. =)

a color for each finger

 

*Disclosure* I wrote this review for "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" about Jelly Belly. The product(s) in this review were provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting my review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation. Product info & stock images provided by PR or Co.

Cholula Hot Sauce

Let me tell ya, it's been madness around here, which is why I am late getting this posted for you all. Ack, so sorry.

Cholula hot sauce is a blend of piquin and arbol peppers, ground into a delicate pepper paste then combined with seasonings and natural ingredients. The result is a flavorful hot sauce with a balanced heat for which it is referred to as "The Flavorful Fire". Cholula is great on just about anything from eggs, burritos, tacos, pizza, wings, soups, burgers, nachos and more.

Cholula recently encouraged fans to submit pictures of their favorite game day recipes to their Twitter page, with the hashtag #choulamadness, for a chance to be featured as their “Recipe of the Week” on their Facebook page to win great Cholula prizes.

Cholula is available in four flavor varieties:
- Original
- Chipotle
- Chili Garlic
- Chili Lime

We were sent a 4-pack of Cholula Hot Sauce to use in a recipe to share. BUT let me tell you, I have come up with a recipe for Cholula Chicken Burgers that I want to try out, but I made a recipe from their website for a cholula chorizo pizza. I was craving pizza so I made that, we already had burgers before I got my pack. I'll still do the burgers, maybe next weekend and share them on my Facebook, so watch for those.

So Cholula is the choice of hot sauce in our home, Mr. LOVES it. He's always happy when I get to do reviews for them. He loves the original flavor, I love the garlic one and the lime one on fish tacos.

The recipe for the Pyzanos Pizzeria Cholula Pizza I made can be found here. Mr. loves cholula and chorizo so I knew he'd like this pizza and he did. I went ahead and made a gluten free crust and minused the chorizo for mine, it too was really good and spicy.

Be sure to follow along with Cholula on their Flickr, Twitter and Facebook.


*Disclosure* I wrote this review for "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" about Cholula. The product(s) in this review were provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting my review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation. Product info & stock images provided by PR or Co.

$50 Spa Treatments During Spa Week April 16th-22nd

Ladies! Spa Week is coming April 16th-22nd and booking has begun. I am privileged to get to share with you how you (or maybe your special someone is reading this, hint hint) can book your own $50 Spa Week treatments on www.spaweek.com at a spa near you. Spa Week NYC is a Bi-Annual Event that allows you to enjoy luxurious full-service spa treatments at the finest spas across North America for just $50 each. Bookings are going on  now, get yours by visiting their site to locate a spa near you.

Last week I had the great privilege to have a 50 Min Chocolate Cake Ultimate Pedicure at my local Bellagio Salon and Day Spa courtesy of Spa Week. I arrived a little early, took some photos outside and was greeted by Michele the Spa owner. She offered me something to drink and shortly after Angela came to greet me and take me back. Now, this spa has two locations in the same courtyard. This one was for the hair and nail treatments, while the other location across the way was were they do the massages and such, they have a serene, calm environment away from the noisy hair dryers and chit chat. I was given a quick tour of both locations, it's so lovely there.

So my Chocolate Cake Ultimate Pedicure treatment consisted of a foot soak, nail shaping, cuticle care, callus smoothing, lower leg exfoliation, mud mask, foot and lower leg massage, paraffin mask and polish. Angela was my nail technician and made up her own recipes for the chocolate cake exfoliator and a coconut lotion. No there wasn't any actual chocolate cake in it, but all the ingredients used are edible. I was offered a slice of chocolate cake to have while being pampered though. =)

exfoliation, paraffin wax dip, painted toes

Now get this, this was my very first ever pedicure, or even stepping foot into a Spa. I am not a girlie girl and though well I can do my nails myself just fine (ok there was a brief time I had my nails done, before I was married). WELL...let me tell you, this was so nice to be pampered. I loved the bubbly foot soak and having someone massage my legs (I've been working out a lot lately, it was needed). Oh, and no my Husband does not rub my feet, I HATE having people touch my feet, I am extremely ticklish. This was different though and I did not mind at all. In fact I even loved having someone else paint my nails. Oh and the massaging chair wasn't bad either. =)

I had such an enjoyable time, thank you to Spa Week, Michele and Angela for taking care of me. I encourage any locals to check them out and book your next appointment with Bellagio Salon and Day Spa.

my new footsies

I had my toes painted in the OPI California Raspberry color. It's a mixture of pinks and looks pretty and bright in the sun. I am happy to say that even after a week, they still look great and shiny, even after a day at the beach.


Bellagio Salon and Day Spa is offering these treatments for $50 Spa Week:

$50 50 Min Chocolate Cake Ultimate Pedicure
$50 50 Min Yonka Spring Renewal Facial with Microdermabrasion
$50 50 Min Bellagio Signature Massage

Aside from these treatments, they offer hair, nails, facials, microdermabrasion, massages, waxing, body wraps, make up (plus permanent make up, eyelash extensions and semi permanent mascara), teeth whitening, airbrush tanning, and spa packages.

Bellagio Salon and Day Spa
8555 Station Village Lane, San Diego, CA 92108
phone: 619.297.7601
web: http://www.mysalonbellagio.com
Follow along on Facebook and Yelp

Spa Week is also on Facebook and Twitter.

such a beautiful and relaxing courtyard out front

*Disclosure* I wrote this review for "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" about Spa Week. The product(s) in this review were provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting my review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.