The Sweetest Spots in Orange County

 

Valentine's Day.  A day to indulge!

A day of love... and by love I mostly mean chocolate.

I love that Valentine's Day is far enough away from our New Year's resolutions that we can eat dessert again.  Or perhaps it's a reward for sticking to that exercise plan.

I'll be honest, I didn't make any resolutions that prohibited dessert.

I'm rambling.

In anticipation of this lovely holiday I asked my facebook friends (who always answer my article questions) to tell me about their favorite sweet shops.

I added in a few of my own and we now have a fantastic list of shops,

all of which I must visit soon, in the name of blogging, of course.

Visit me HERE for the post!

What are your favorite sweets?

Bru Grill & Market

We finally made it into Bru in Lake Forest!

Peanut had his first taste of lamb shank and a bite of these donut pops (sitting on fresh cotton candy).

For the full post come over to Eating the Orange!

Our playtime checklist for 2012

It seems that sometimes I come across approximately one million things to do with the Peanut

and other days I completely draw a blank.

Orange County is packed with things to do.  Every day.  All kinds of things!

This year I've come up with 10 things that we would like to do as a family.

You noticed that I said I've come up with things we would like to do.

It's my job as a wife and mother to tell B the things that he really wants to do with us

 but just didn't know it yet.

Find my list HERE, maybe we can plan a trip together!

85°C Bakery Cafe, Irvine

Have you been to 85°C yet?  You know, that bakery with the long line out the door...

the one with trays and trays and trays of goodies to choose from.

From squid ink rolls to marbled taro bread to lemon pastries, this is the place to go for baked goods and great coffee.

If you haven't been there then put it on your checklist and check out my post about it HERE

It's time to slow down

The presents have been opened, the cookies devoured, friends and family visited and the past month has flown by in a blur of non-stop celebrations.

After spending weeks in anticipation, always looking forward to what is happening next, it can be hard for the kids (and parents) to switch gears and slow down.

Now is the time for a bit of quiet, for a bit of reflection, some semblance of sanity returned and a whole lot of Orange County beauty.

These five places will give you the calm and quiet you need:

see the rest of my article HERE

Kula Revolving Sushi Bar

It's January and everyone still has ink stains on their fingers from the long list of New Years Resolutions.

Do people use pens still or is it just me? Are pens becoming obsolete?

Anyway, January is the month where everyone eats healthy and works out.

My solution the January mindset is sushi.  Actually my solution is not to have the mindset, but if you do, well then head out and get some sushi!

Don't just go anywhere, try Kula where all the plates are a mere $2.

Did you hear that?  $2 for quality sushi.

See my post on Kula at Eating The Orange.

Eating the Orange, A New Blog

Back in November, while preparing for the holidays, opening an etsy shop and knowing that I'm going back to work (more on that later), time seemed to be flying by. 

I figured the only logical thing to do was to start a new blog!

Yay!

OK that isn't logical at all.

The thing is, I've been thinking about doing this for a while.  

In fact, Suzanne Broughton and I first talked about me doing a food blog a couple years ago.

Suzanne is a blogging/media powerhouse.  I first met her in 2009 after she invited me to BlogCrush that she so happened to Co-Found and has grown to the largest regional blogging organization in North America.  She is a columnist, a producer and host for OC Family TV, and she writes for several blogs including her own.  

I know.

When she called and asked me if I would start a blog for OC Metro I said yes without a second thought.

OC Metro is a business lifestyle magazine (you may have seen them already) and online site.

They previously had only business bloggers on their main site and have now opened up to 3 lifestyle blogs, one of which is my new blog, Eating the Orange.

Eating the Orange is all about food in Orange County 

and I'll be covering a restaurant or other food related topic every Thursday.

So come on by and visit me there!  I'll be posting links here on Spontaneous Clapping.

Find Eating the Orange HERE!

PS.  If you come across a place that you love or someplace that you think would be worth trying... let me know!

The Holidays Are for Giving

It's that time of year, full of hustle and bustle and lots of excitement. 

There are parties to go to, wish lists to make, holiday baking, lots of shopping, fantasies about toys and playtime and special trips to see Santa and of course, gifts, gifts, and more gifts. 

Sometimes it's hard to remember that the holidays are also about giving.  

What better way to remind and teach our children then to get them involved 

in giving to these five child-centered Orange County charities:

read the rest of my article HERE

Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, Costa Mesa

When the holidays come around we all find ourselves thinking about food.

We think about stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving,

what to make on Christmas morning

and sweets to bake with friends and family.

What if we were wondering where to find our next meal instead?

What if we were rearranging our day to make it to the soup kitchen between 1 and 4 pm?

A few weeks ago I spent a few hours helping at Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa.

I'd love to tell you all about the people I met, the fantastic food,

the hilarious chef and of course... raise a little awareness and a little money.

Click HERE for my post.

Celebrating the holidays in OC

Though we may not be sledding down hills or building snowmen in our yards, 

there is no shortage of holiday cheer in Orange County. 

Time that might otherwise be spent shoveling paths to our front doors or

 defrosting our fingers and toes can be spent doing much more exciting things! 

   These six events are bound to bring the winter magic to the surf and sand:

Come see the rest of my article HERE!

Mini-History Lessons in OC

Peanut tastes his first turkey leg... but he'll get his own on Thursday!

There are some awesome places in OC

 where kids can learn about history in fun and exciting ways,

check them out!

As Thanksgiving draws near and the kids are learning about history in the form of pilgrims and Indians, put the menu planning on hold and spend some time learning about Orange County history. We're not talking about sitting and reading history books. We'd rather don Victorian clothes, pan for gold, eat the butter we just churned ourselves, and go on a pirate adventure!

These five historical destinations will teach your family history lessons in the most interesting ways:

Come see my article HERE!

Rainy Day Fun in Orange County

Sometimes there is nothing better than a rainy day at home. 

A day full of snuggles, movies, fresh baked cookies, and the sound of laughter can soothe the soul. 

Sometimes the only thing soothing about a rainy day is the thought of getting the kids out of the house. 

When the day becomes more clingy then cuddly, 

the movie has been on repeat all week 

and the only sound is of your little ones bouncing off the walls from all that sugar... 

well then, these are the places to escape to. 

Click here for the full article!

Halloween Fun in OC

Orange County has tons of ways to celebrate Halloween between now and the 31st!

Check out this article for my favorite Kid-Friendly Haunts.

No-Sew Owl/Bird Wings

These wings are super easy and require nothing more then felt and hemming tape.

OK and scissors, a piece of paper, a pencil and an iron.

At the end I've listed several costume ideas, there are just so many possibilities.

This project is super, super easy (although a bit time consuming) so don't let all the text throw you, 

I've given extremely detailed directions.

Here is the short version for you naturally crafty people:

The base of your wings is a half circle of felt (cut in half for each wing),
the length of your child's "wingspan".

Cut feathers in whichever size and color you like and apply them using hemming tape (or stitch witchery).  OR HOT GLUE

Attach to a shirt, hoodie or onesie with the hemming tape 

OR to a ribbon at the neck (to tie like a cape) 

and ribbon or elastic for the wrists (using the tape or hot glue) 

Done!

Start by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing your feather.

Mine were about 2 1/2" wide and 3 3/4" long and I used nearly 80 of them.

The longer and wider the feather, the less you need to use to cover your wings.

I used the paper as a template to cut the first felt feather.

After that I used the felt feather as a template as felt on felt doesn't slide like paper on felt.

Use a different color than what you are cutting to make it easier.

A note about the felt:

I preferred to use the kind of felt you buy at the fabric store by the yard as opposed to crafters felt.

Crafter's felt is fine but is less durable.

Depending on how active your child is you might want something that isn't as easy to pull apart as crafter's felt (the stuff that comes cut into little squares in the art & craft section)

Either are pretty darn cheap.

Measure your child from wrist to wrist while they have their arms straight out in a T.

This was the hardest part of the whole project.  

Try getting an 11 month old to stay still for measuring!

Cut that measurement in half, say 12 inches and that is your wing width.

I used a piece of butcher paper but you could open up a paper bag or other large paper for this.
If using newspaper go for the glossy color ads that won't get your felt dirty with print.

I used a measuring tape, tacked down in the corner of the paper

and marked every several inches from one side to the other.

Then simply connect the dots and cut out your wing.

At this point you are ready to go.

This is totally unnecessary but I decided that I wanted the wings to be shorter then they are long

so he isn't sitting on them when I try to take pictures.

I took my template and cut another inch off and then adjusted it so I could cut the inch off the bottom with a nice smooth transition.

Note:  I really should have adjusted it 2 inches as my feathers are hanging off the end but really... 

noone is going to notice so I will try to control my OCD :)

AT THIS POINT YOU COULD JUST HOT GLUE IT
-Note that hot glue will make the wings a bit stiff but it would be faster.

Cut your hemming tape or stitch witchery (I used the 5/8 inch, regular weight) 

into the right length to fit across the top of your feathers.

Some hemming tape comes with a paper backing and some does not.

We don't need it.

Line up your feathers on the ironing board (you can do 2 rows with the tops towards the middle)

cover with a piece of parchment paper and iron on medium.

It takes just about 5 or 10 seconds and 

when you peel the parchment off your tape should be stuck to your feather.

If not then just press again.

Now you are ready for my favorite part which is laying out your design.

Start on one side and lay out your feathers to your liking.
If they go off the end of your felt don't worry about it, we are going to trim later.

I adjusted the right side to my liking and then actually ironed on the left side to mirror the right.
When the left was done I ironed the right.
This ensured that I always had a guide... because I'm a little crazy,
You could also just put them on as you go.

Again with my right wing as a guide I started on my left wing.
Always start from the bottom.

Lay out one row, cover the felt you are attaching with a damp, clean cotton washcloth
and press with a hot iron (set to wool) for 15-20 seconds.
Just press with that iron, don't slide or you might move your pieces.

If you are using a really thin cloth try just 10 seconds.

You want that sizzle when the iron hits the cloth as the steam is going to melt the tape
 and fuse the fabric together.
You will need to occasionally re-wet your cloth.

Give it a little time to cool (30 seconds or so) and then make sure it bonded.
If it isn't then press again.

Repeat until all the rows are completed.

If you like you can flip over your wings so the inside is showing and trim the top and inner feathers.
This isn't necessary :)
Be sure not to trim the feather on the bottom/curved part!

Note: If for some reason things get really out of whack you can always re-press/steam and then remove the feather while the glue is still hot.  You'll need more hemming tape to re-stick it.

What to do with these awesome and adorable wings?!

Attach them to a hoodie, add a few felt feathers to the front and maybe a cute face to the top
and you have a costume!
The same goes for a shirt or onesie.
Attach only at the top so the bottom has give for movement.

Attach to ribbon to wear cape-style as shown HERE
which was actually my inspiration for the whole project.

Wouldn't this be cute attached to a leotard,  feathers in the front or around the neck of the leopard,
with a tutu or fluffy tulle skirt?
Add a mask of felt and tulle or feathers to tie it all together.
Then take no less then 100 pictures and send me at least a dozen.

I'm going to add it to an owl costume by cutting small slits in the top of the wings
for the buttons that will be on the costume body.
I'll sew or hot glue elastic for his wrists.
I wanted the wings to be removable because I'm not sure how well he'll like them for the duration
of both his birthday party on the 30th and Halloween itself.

I have no idea how long this took me as I did it piece by piece during nap time and after bedtime and whenever I could over the course of several days.

I hope you enjoy your wings!!

Here are some pictures of the finished product- they are taken from his birthday party and it was hot so we took off some of the pieces but he was ADORABLE!

Pumpkin Patches in OC

Halloween is just a few weeks away and there are pumpkin patches to be visited!

Check out my article for a few favorite pumpkin patches in the area.

I can't wait to take Peanut for a gazillion pictures to pick out a pumpkin!

Trip to the Aquarium

B absolutely loves the Aquarium of the Pacific so I got us passes for father's day.

This is just the first of what I'm sure will be many, many trips.

Although there are a lot of different types of exhibits, we stuck to the large tanks this visit.

Peanut likes the colors and the movements.

At first glance I only noticed the fish in the middle.

A closer look and I found these guys.  

The one on the right looks a bit grumpy.

As we were watching the fish in one of the big tanks, this diver came down to feed the fish.

With lettuce!

I was amazed at how they swarmed around him.

B and I laughed because all the kids on field trips came running up and swarmed the tank.

There was so much activity, Peanut was really quiet, just taking it all in.

He kept reaching out and absentmindedly running his fingers thru the hair of anyone near by.

They're lucky, he usually grabs and shakes.

Anyway, amidst all the chaos, the diver looked up and waved directly at the Peanut.

Then he took out his mouthpiece and gave Peanut a big smile.

It was adorable.

We were looking in this window when a bunch of kids came running up behind us...

It's the Nemo and Dory tank!  It's the Nemo and Dory tank!

My favorite part of this picture is Peanut's fat little foot in the corner.

I always love the clown fish, they are so vibrant.

These boys are actually quiet.

They're just leaning in and watching the fish.

Incredible.

Peanut was pretty quiet too, but that's standard for him in busy places.

I always, very briefly, wish we had a fish tank.

I'd want tropical fish like these.  

That fish looks like it's on fire.

Then again, I don't want to clean them, or take care of the fish.

So I think we'll just keep visiting the aquarium instead.

Do you have an aquarium near you?

When was the last time you went?