November 2016 - Page 2 of 3 - Over The Top Mommy

Month: November 2016

Extra Festive Hours at The Shops at Mission Viejo

November 16, 2016 / Lifestyle, The Shops at Mission Viejo

The busiest shopping season of the year is just around the corner and The Shops at Mission Viejo is one of the places you’ll find me frequenting. This indoor mall has 150 stores and restaurants, including Nordstrom, H&M, Macy’s, Apple, Microsoft, Sephora, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and The Cheesecake Factory. This year, they’ll offer extra festive hours so that you can get more shopping time in and cross everything off your “list”!

The Shops at Mission Viejo will offer the following special Festive Hours:
11/24 – 11/25/2016: 6pm – 1am (Thanksgiving)
11/25/2016: 6am – 10pm (Black Friday)
11/26/2016: 9am – 10pm (Holiday Shopping)
11/27/2016: 10am – 8pm (Holiday Shopping)
12/10/2016: 10am – 9pm (Holiday Shopping)
12/11/2016: 11am – 9pm (Holiday Shopping)
12/12 – 12/15/2016: 9am – 9pm (Holiday Hours)
12/16/2016: 9am – 10pm (Holiday Shopping)
12/17 – 12/23/2016: 8am – 10pm (Holiday Hours)
12/24/2016: 8am – 6pm (Christmas Eve)
12/25/2016: Closed (Christmas Day)
12/26/2016: 8am – 10pm (Holiday Shopping)
12/31/2016: 10am – 6pm (New Year’s Eve)
01/01/2017: 11am – 6pm (New Year’s DayWhile you’re there, don’t forget to stop by to see Santa! He’s waiting for you in the Lower Level near Nordstrom! Catch a visit with him before he leaves back to The North Pole on December 24! Connect with The Shops at Mission Viejo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This is not a sponsored post. Images are property of Simon Malls. All opinions are 100% my own.

Thanksgiving Cornucopia Salad Recipe

November 15, 2016 / Food, Recipes

This is a sponsored post written by me for Evite. All opinions are 100% my own. #PasstheGiving

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I teamed up with Evite® and 7 other influencers to compile a special #Passthegiving Holiday Planning guide to help inspire fun, new twists on old traditions. Check out our Table of Traditions here to refresh your holiday celebrations. You can also download the holiday planning guide which has lots of creative ideas you can use for your own celebration! How amazing did our “Friendsgiving” table turn out? (Keep reading to find out which contribution in the photo was MINE!)I’m always excited for the arrival of Fall because it means the holidays are on their way. Once Halloween is over, we can fast forward to Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite times of the year to gather with family and friends, enjoy great food, and enjoy each other’s company.When I think back about the Thanksgivings of my childhood, I remember my grandmother preparing the entire meal and our families all coming together to spend a day together. I don’t know how she pulled it all off all at once and served it hot! (My grandmother had this thing about her food being hot.) I’ve attempted to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal a couple of times and found it rather challenging.My most favorite way to gather together and celebrate is by asking each family member or friend in attendance, to bring something table to share. Traditionally, our mothers taught us never to show up empty handed to someone else’s home, but that meant you should bring a plant, some flowers, or even a bottle of wine. I request each guest to prepare a dish to share that’s special to them. I like to use an Evite to keep track of who is coming and what they’re bringing. Have you seen their adorable collection of Thanksgiving invitations? It’s such a quick, easy way to send out invites with no postage required. For the past few years, it’s been a real success and I love the variety of recipes that end up on our table.

My grandmother used to make a salad to include as part of our Thanksgiving meal. Although her salad was a childhood favorite of mine, it was basically iceberg lettuce with carrots, tomatoes, and croutons and was topped with Thousand Island dressing. I don’t know many people who would choose to eat that nowadays. Does Thousand Island dressing even exist anymore?I do love to include a salad in our own Thanksgiving meal but my “go-to” salad is the “Cornucopia Salad“. It’s kind of a like a new twist on an old tradition. My salad combines baby lettuce, green apples, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, feta cheese crumbles, and candied almonds and the combination of the flavors is so delicious. I toss it in a light olive oil-based dressing.Cornucopia Salad is something I prepare several times a year because it just pairs really well with pretty much everything. It’s nice to have something that’s so simple to throw together. yet always seems to be a favorite among all of your guests. I’ve even prepared it for the days after Thanksgiving and thrown leftover turkey into it.

Ingredients for salad

6 cups lettuce of your choice, washed. Tip: Used bagged lettuce to save time.
1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained (I use 2 cans.)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raw almonds, sliced
1/2 cup Feta cheese crumbles (blue cheese also works with this recipe)
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
3 tablespoons sugar
the juice from 1 lemon

Ingredients for dressing

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Candied Almond Preparation
Preparing the almonds is something that can be done ahead of time, like the day before. It is a little bit time consuming but well worth it because the candied almonds add such an amazing flavor to your salad. You’ll find it very “necessary” to sample a bunch of the candied almonds after they’ve cooled down.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and almonds and put over medium heat.
Continue to stir the mixture every couple of minutes until the sugar starts to melt.
Once this happens, continue stirring evenly to sugar coat all of the almonds evenly and then transfer from the pan to some foil, allowing the almonds to cool down and solidify a little bit.

Dressing Preparation
The dressing can also be made ahead of time, but no more than the night before.

Whisk together salt, pepper, sugar, and olive oil in a small bowl.
Finely chop up parsley and add to the mixture.
Set dressing aside and shake well before tossing onto Cornucopia Salad.

Salad Preparation

Add lettuce to salad bowl.
Cut and core apple and either cut into large apple slices or dice it up. Next, add to salad bowl. If you don’t plan on serving right away, squeeze lemon juice onto apple to prevent browning.
Drain mandarin oranges and add to salad.
Add dried cranberries, feta cheese crumbles, and candied almonds to the bowl and mix everything together.
Set salad aside until you’re ready to toss with dressing and serve.

Do you have any special dishes that you like to prepare each year for Thanksgiving? This salad is one of the recipes I prepare that my friends and family are constantly asking for more of. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Simple Cheer Team Gifts (Or For ANY Team Sport) + FREE Printable Tags

November 13, 2016 / Celebrations, Lifestyle, Printables

This is not a sponsored post.

It’s the beginning of the competitive cheer season and I’ve been trying to come up with something simple but cute to give to each of the girls on my daughter’s team. (including her coaches). Although Pinterest has some great ideas and is usually where I head straight to for ideas, I wanted to do something a little different.

I’m a big supporter of small business and I try to “Shop Small” whenever possible. One of my many favorite shops to buy from is called Chalk Boxx! I originally found her on Instagram because she’s a teacher too. Her shop is a non-subsciption company that delivers specialty boxes, totes, and other fun goodies to teachers. Well, I hit her up as a “cheer mom” for this particular order.How adorable are these custom #CHEERLIFE keychains I had her make for my girls? I’m in love with them! You can pretty much customize these with anything you’d like them to say.I wanted to attach some kind of encouraging, positive tag to the gifts as well, so I whipped up this little printable that says “The KEY to an amazing cheer season is TEAMWORK!” I also made a generic version so you can print it out here for free. I recommend printing them out on white cardstock. If you have time, you can even laminate them. I punched a hole in each one and stuck it on the actual keychain.I grabbed theater-size boxes of Skittles and tied each keychain onto a box, using sparkly white tulle! Simple. Cute. Unique. Exactly what I wanted!

Chalk Boxx logo is property of Chalk Boxx.

Kaiser Permanente Orange County’s 4th Annual Get Fit Festival

November 12, 2016 / Health, Lifestyle, SoCal Fun

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kaiser Permanente Orange County. All opinions are 100% my own.

Saturday, November 4 was the perfect sunny, Southern California day for the 4th Annual Get Fit Festival held at Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center. Although the event was held at the Irvine location, people from all over Southern California made the trip for this fun and pro-wellness-filled day!Kaiser Permanente strives to promote wellness and preventative care to its members and its employees. I have seen 100% buy-in to this program from the doctors, nurses, and staff who have been there to assist me on my visits to Kaiser Permanente Orange County. They even sport the “Thrive” apparel to work!Here’s an overview video of the Get Fit Festival:

Some of the events they offered to participants included:

Thrive 5K Fun Run/Walk—Proceeds benefited Special Olympics Southern California
a 30-Mile Bike Tour of Orange County
a 6-Person Relay (36 miles)

Other activities not requiring running or biking at the event included:

The Thrive Zone – Challenging carnival games to test anyone’s luck
The Fitness Zone – Zumba, yoga, and line dancing sessions
The Kid’s Zone – activities for kids ages 4-12, to bounce & blast their way through
Food trucks – some of OC’s finest food trucks
Live music – the great sounds of Catfish Junction played live on the main stage
Fitness and Health Expo – a select group of fitness and health professionals were on hand as health vendors at the Festival.

Kaiser Permanente hosts a variety of “Get Fit” events throughout the year. For more information about upcoming events, go here.Open enrollment for Kaiser Permanente kicked off November 1. If you’re looking for a new provider, explore plans with Kaiser Permanente Orange County and you’ll have the ability to select from many services for you and your family including primary and urgent care, emergency facilities, labor and delivery, pharmacy, and lab all housed under one roof. Find out more today at: kp.org/orangecounty.Connect with Kaiser Permanente Orange County on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.

Always seek medical advice from a medical professional. Video is property of Kaiser Permanente.

Santa Has Arrived at The Shops at Mission Viejo + Kidgits Holiday Extravaganza 12/17

November 11, 2016 / Uncategorized

Santa has arrived at The Shops at Mission Viejo and he’s waiting for you to come visit until December 24! Grab your wish list and head on down for a visit and special keepsake photos at the Santa Photo Experience! You’ll find Santa in his workshop, located downstairs in Why not make a reservation to see Santa? For more information and to make your reservation to see Santa, go here.

This year, The Shops at Mission Viejo is, once again, offering the Caring Santa program. This very special program is exclusive for families of children with special needs. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, November 20 from 9-10:30 a.m. To reserve your spot, go here. If you’re interested in having your pet photographed with Santa, you can register here for Santa Pet Photos, which will be held on Sunday, November 13 from 6-7 p.m., after mall hours. There is no fee to register but please make a reservation. Don’t miss out on this year’s festive Kidgits Holiday Extravaganza! The event will be held on Saturday, December 17 in the Center Court from 8:30-10:30 a.m. For more information about Kidgits Club, go here.

Connect with The Shops at Mission Viejo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This is not a sponsored post. Images and logo are property of Simon Malls.

Teacher Wellness Is Essential For A Successful School Year

November 9, 2016 / Health, Lifestyle

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kaiser Permanente Orange County. All opinions are 100% my own. Always seek medical advice from a medical professional.

My school year is well underway and so far (knock on wood), I’ve been lucky enough to escape any illnesses this year. I did start to get a sore throat at the beginning of the year, but that always seems to happen when you go from summer break to teaching and talking so loudly for 6+ hours a day.

I absolutely adore my 31 first graders this year! They are the cutest bunch of kids and are so sweet and eager to learn every single day. They also like to give me tons of hugs and even share their snacks with me

.It’s a sweet gesture when one of them hands me a snack and I’d never want to crush their spirit so I kindly thank them…and dispose of it properly when they walk away.

It’s extra important to be on top of your health when you’re a teacher because if you’re sick and have to be out of the classroom, it affects everything. (We all know what can happen when there’s a sub.) I’m very fortunate to be a “seasoned” teacher because a brand new teacher is likely to get sick more often, suffering from up to 2 colds per month. I remember those days!

With cold and flu season upon us, I set up an appointment with Kaiser Permanente Orange County Physician Dr. Eric Troyan to chat and get his his best advice for keeping healthy in the classroom. He had some great tips and advice for me, which could be valuable information for anyone who has prolonged contact with children on a daily basis and works in a school or daycare like me.

Here are some of the great illness prevention tips we talked about:
Hand Washing and Sanitation
Washing your hands as much as possible is actually the #1 scientifically proven way to stay healthy. In the case of teachers, if a teacher comes in contact with a child and then touches their own face, it’s an instant transfer of germs. Always wash your hands before you touch your face. In my own classroom,I don’t have access to a sink so I keep a big container of alcohol-based hand sanitizer nearby. It’s not a substitute for hand washing ,but does get me by until recess, lunch, or after school, when I can access a real sink.When you do wash your hands, it’s recommended that you use soap and warm water and lather for at least 20 seconds. (I recommend signing the ABCs to know that you’ve lathered for long enough.)

Keep Your Immune System Optimized
Your immune system is everything when it comes to illness and preventing and avoiding illness. The stronger your immune system is, the less often you’ll get sick and quicker you’ll recover. Sleep, Nutrition, and Hydration can all affect your immune system.

Get Ample Sleep – You should try to maintain a regular sleep schedule of at least 10 hours a night. If you get less than 8-10 hours of sleep, your immune system is more likely to take a hit. Studies show a correlation between sleep deprived people and illness.
Nutrition – Your body depends on proper nutrition to stabilize your immune system. Eating the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables is very important. Vitamins in the foods you’re eating are ones that your body uses most efficiently. However, we can’t always eat a balanced diet and get every vitamin we need so supplementing your diet with things like Vitamin C and Vitamin B Complex is a great idea, too.
Hydration – It’s always important to stay hydrated but doing so can also help you avoid getting sick. Everyone should be drinking about 64 oz. of water on a daily basis but increasing it to about 12 glasses per day (or 96 oz.) is ideal when you’re starting to feel under the weather. Hydration is important overall and helps with many things, not just avoiding illness.

Get a Flu Vaccine
It’s important to actively take care of yourself so you can avoid illnesses, especially when cold and flu season rolls around. One of the things that Dr. Troyan highly recommended was to get a flu shot. He really stressed the importance of this one for people like me who are around children. He also explained that the flu vaccine this year will be more effective than the one last year and told me that it’s considered a “killed version” vaccine as opposed to a live one, which you would hear about people actually getting sick after receiving it. The best time to get a flu vaccine is before Halloween but if you don’t do it by then, you’ll definitely want to get yours before Thanksgiving! Flu season tends to peak after the New Year in California, so why not go into it well prepared to fight it off?Teacher wellness is essential when it comes to a successful school year. Do you or someone close to you work with children? What kinds of things do you do to help fight off illness during the school year?

Open enrollment kicked off November first. If you’re looking for a new provider, explore
plans with Kaiser Permanente Orange County and you’ll have the ability to select from many services for you and your family including primary and urgent care, emergency facilities, labor and delivery, pharmacy, and lab all housed under one roof. Find out more today at: kp.org/orangecounty.

Connect with Kaiser Permanente Orange County on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Magic of the Holidays at the Disneyland Resort Starts on November 10

November 6, 2016 / Disney, SoCal Fun

It’s the season for celebrations and the Holidays at the Disneyland Resort are about to begin on Nov. 10! It’s the perfect opportunity for family and friends to make magical memories together at The Happiest Place on Earth! This year, guests will have even more to celebrate as they discover the new Festival of Holidays, with music, dance, food and heartwarming holiday festivities inspired by cultural traditions from around the world.Also new for the season is the holiday-themed “World of Color—Season of Light,” a nighttime water spectacular that will inspire guests with cherished holiday music and treasured Disney animation. This fourth all-new production of “World of Color” creates a sparkling winter fantasy with magical storytelling, brilliant lights, lasers and high-definition projectors, along with fountains that shoot as high as 200 feet to create the giant screens of water.
Princess Elena of Avalor will make her debut at the Disneyland Resort during Festival of Holidays, performing in a colorful cavalcade.Holidays at the Disneyland Resort is a time many guests celebrate as an annual tradition,
visiting the parks for Disney-themed treats, snowfall on Main Street U.S.A., the glistening décor and holiday entertainment. This year, Park guests will find Santa Claus in a fun, new location at Disney California Adventure Park, at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, Whenever Santa heads over to Disneyland Park, guests will be able to find him there in Critter Country in a special location.At Disneyland Park will enjoy the one-of-a-kind transformations that create “it’s a small world” Holiday, Jingle Cruise and Haunted Mansion Holiday. Now celebrating its 20th holiday season, “it’s a small world” Holiday has added some “Hidden 20s” for guests to discover on their voyage.Holiday Highlights at Disney California Adventure Park

All-new Festival of Holidays – celebrate the holiday festivities of diverse cultures with music, dance and craft-making, plus food at the Festive Foods Marketplace. The daily lineup of entertainment includes nearly 50 performances of nine unique shows, with 2 special Disney characters, street parties, cavalcades, musical ensembles and dance performances. The celebrations include Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas/Navidad and Three Kings Day. Guests can look for performances of traditional Indian dance that builds to a Bollywood party, a Klezmer band with a new global sound, the Mariachi Divas and an a cappella vocal group that puts an R&B spin on holiday songs.
Princess Elena, the first Disney Princess inspired by diverse Latin American cultures -Princess Elena will make her Disneyland Resort debut as part of the Festival of Holidays. She will perform a song in “Princess Elena’s Musical Grand Arrival,” and she will appear at a character greeting location. Guests will recognize this brave and adventurous teenager from the Disney Channel series “Elena of Avalor.”
The popular Disney ¡Viva Navidad! also returns as part of the fun at Festival of
Holidays, with a wonderful finale to celebrate Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes). The special festivities for Three Kings Day will run Jan. 5-8, 2017, including music and storytelling in Paradise Garden. Treats for this holiday will include traditional Rosca de Reyes bread.
“World of Color – Season of Light” brings the warmth and heartfelt spirit of the
holidays to this stunning, nighttime water spectacular, with its 1,200 powerful fountains shooting water as high as 200 feet to help tell the story. The show’s musical soundtrack features some well-known musical artists performing popular holiday tunes, including “Let it Snow” by Dean Martin and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Michael Buble and Idina Menzel. With classic holiday music, humor and memorable moments from Disney animated films, this becomes an ideal way for guests to conclude their holiday visit.
Jolly old St. Nick arrives at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for Santa’s Holiday Visit. His joyful elves have transformed the trail into a magical playground of holiday fun and games, including opportunities for guests to join the ranks of Santa’s elves.
The residents of Cars Land decorate for the holidays, beginning with a whimsical
“snowcar” that greets guests on the road to Radiator Springs. Each address along Route 66–from Flo’s V-8 Café to Luigi’s Casa della Tires–features holiday décor that reflects the personality of the “Cars” character who lives there.
“a bug’s land” transforms for the holidays, too, as Flik and his bug friends deck their land with oversized lights and ornaments.
A dazzling, 50-foot Christmas tree adorns Carthay Circle, drawing guests into the
holiday magic along Buena Vista Street. The tree and surrounding buildings, inspired by Los Angeles as it appeared when Walt Disney arrived in the 1920s, create scenes of another era with vintage-style decor.

Holiday Highlights at Disneyland Park

Disney characters celebrate the season in “A Christmas Fantasy” parade, a daily
procession with floats, music, marching “tin soldiers” and holiday cheer. Santa, who makes a jolly appearance in the parade, also will be found welcoming guests at his special location in Critter Country while he visits Disneyland.
The classic Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle brightens the park nightly with magical snowfall moments along Main Street, U.S.A., concluding with “Believe … in Holiday Magic” fireworks and its stirring snowfall finale.
Twinkling lights, festive holiday garland and nearly 1,800 ornaments decorate the
soaring Christmas tree in Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A., an ideal place for guests to begin their holiday traditions. The Christmas tree becomes an enchanting place for guests to take their holiday photos, up close or with all 60 feet of the shimmering tree.
On Friday, Nov. 18, guests and cast members in Disneyland will celebrate the birthday of Mickey Mouse, applauding him as he appears in a special birthday cavalcade preceding “A Christmas Fantasy” parade.

Disneyland guests definitely will want to experience the popular seasonal transformations of the following park attractions:
“it’s a small world” becomes “it’s a small world” Holiday for the 20th time, celebrating children around the world and the distinctive holiday traditions of their nations. (The Holiday theme debuted in 1997.)Haunted Mansion becomes Haunted Mansion Holiday, with Jack Skellington
and his friends from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” causing a
collision between Christmas and Halloween. Jungle Cruise is transformed into Jingle Cruise, as the jungle skippers gather
jettisoned holiday gifts and decorations to brighten the rugged landscapes
surrounding their riverboats.Merriment in Downtown Disney
The Downtown Disney shopping, dining and entertainment district and the Hotels of the
Disneyland Resort join in the holiday festivities with twinkling lights and ornaments, holiday
displays, special entertainment and holiday dining with themed menus. One highlight is the
gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Designed to resemble the exterior of the hotel itself, the gingerbread house stands 7 feet six inches tall and 12 feet wide. Holiday snacks, cider and hot chocolate are sold from a window in the gingerbread house. There’s so much to see and do during Holidays at the Disneyland Resort and it’s a perfect time to create new family memories together! For more information, please visit http://www.disneyland.com.

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

5 Reasons You NEED to See DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls

November 3, 2016 / Entertainment, Movies

I don’t even know where to begin with DreamWorks Animations’s Trolls! I watched the trailer a few dozen times when it was released, and have been giddy about ever since! When I received a very special opportunity to attend an advanced screening and a press junket with some of the cast of Trolls, I walked around asking my friends to pinch me! I think my family was equally excited to see it early! Can you tell we’re big movie fans in our home?

Have you watched the trailer yet?

The Story of Trolls
In my opinion, Trolls is like the happiest story about happiness there ever was! It’s from the creators of Shrek and is a clever, adorable, hilarious family film about the search for happiness and just how far some will go to get it. Here’s a synopsis:
This hilarious film transports audiences to a colorful, wondrous world populated by the overly optimistic Trolls, who have a constant dance in their step and a song on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomachs.
After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy (Kendrick), the happiest Troll ever born, and the overly-cautious curmudgeonly Branch (Timberlake) set off on a journey to rescue her friends. Together, this mismatched duo embarks on a rescue mission full of adventure and mishaps – trying to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.Once I screened Trolls, I found that I’d completely fallen in love with it! By the time I walked out of the theater, I felt so happy, colorful, invincible, empowered, and positive. Part of my empowerment may have come from the adorable Trolls wigs they gave us! 1. It features an all-star cast.
I will fully admit it’s a little difficult to speak calmly about the cast when it features JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and ANNA KENDRICK! Can it get any better than that? Trolls also stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Quvenzhané Wallis along with John Cleese and Gwen Stefani! And did I already mention that I got to meet Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick?

2) It’s SO beautifully done.
From start to finish, there’s just no detail left behind in Trolls. The colors and animation will wow you, the story will warm your heart, and the music might just have you up and dancing in the theater, although that will only last for a few seconds once your 11 year old daughter orders you to sit down and stop embarrassing her! (I may be speaking from experience here.) I think I was as enamored by the art and scrapbooking effects in the film as I was by the actual animation. (This will make more sense once you’ve seen Trolls.)3) The music
The music in Trolls is amazing! With the soundtrack produced by Justin Timberlake you already know how good it is! The soundtrack features five original songs including songs by Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Anna Kendrick and Gwen Stefani, in addition to a number of classic hits from the ‘60s through the ‘80s. There are songs that any theater goer can sing to and it’s fun to watch the youngest generation singing songs from way back when. We were so inspired by the music, specifically Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, that we made our very own family musical.ly to it, right outside the theater! Take a look!

The Trolls soundtrack is a must-have! I received a copy of it on CD at the press junket, but I also purchased the entire thing on iTunes! 4) Princess Poppy
She might be small but she’s mighty! Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is the most happy-go-lucky, positive Troll around. I love how big her heart is and how infectious her attitude is around the other Trolls, especially Branch (Justin Timberlake). She is everything we should want for our own daughters to be. She is the perfect princess without the stereotypical perfect princess look and shape. Most of all, I love that she believes everyone deserves to be happy! (because they do!)

5) Trolls is EXACTLY what our world needs right now!
My most favorite reason for recommending Trolls to everyone is because it is exactly the kind of thing our world needs right now! I don’t like to get political, so I won’t go there, but it’s no secret that every time you turn on the TV right now, nothing good comes of it! Whether it’s relating to the election or it’s hearing about and/or seeing all of the violence happening in the world, none of it is pleasant. 2016 has been a tough time for a lot of people (including me) and even if it’s just for a couple of hours, Trolls is the kind of film that will take you directly to your “happy place”! Who couldn’t use a little bit of that right now, right?

I don’t believe in posting spoilers or any sort of details that will ruin it for someone who has yet to see a film, so don’t worry, nothing I’ve written will spoil any of it for you! I can honestly say that Trolls is appropriate for all ages and will definitely keep anyone from young child to senior citizen engaged and interested! DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls is in theaters November 4th! Please come back and tell me how much you loved it, ok?

Connect with Trolls on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This is not a sponsored post. I was invited to an advanced screening and media event for Trolls in order to facilitate this post. Some images and trailer are property of DreamWorks Animation. Music Credit: Justin Timberlake. All opinions are 100% my own.

Tickets Now on Sale for Irvine Park Railroad’s Christmas Train + Ticket Giveaway

November 2, 2016 / Family Fun, Irvine Park Railroad, Orange County, SoCal Fun

I am so excited for the real holiday season to begin! Yes, I know Halloween is a holiday but my most favorite time of year starts the day after Halloween because then we get to countdown how many days until Christmas!One of our favorite annual traditions this time of year is to visit Irvine Park Railroad for their Christmas Train! Have you been before? It’s open 7 days a week from December 1-December 23rd and it’s a family event that’s not to be missed! It’s also so popular that it sells out very quickly! (Tickets for the Christmas Train may only be purchased in advance, online and are $12.00 per person. Children 24 months and younger are free. Click here to check the calendar and grab your tickets now!Irvine Park Railroad’s Christmas train will take you on an enchanting night ride through the historic Irvine Regional Park to meet Santa Claus. The train departs from the brightly-lit train station and drops passengers off at the North Pole. Children can share their wish list with Santa (print out a free wish list to fill out and bring to Santa here.) and have their photo taken with him too. In addition to an option to purchase a Santa photo taken by Irvine Park Railroad, you may also take pictures with your own personal camera.After visiting with Santa, you’ll hop back aboard the train and enjoy the colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the magical “Tunnel of Lights”, on the ride back to Santa’s Village.Santa’s Village is a fun area that includes a variety of festive activities, some require tickets, while others are free.Santa’s Village Activities include:

Ice Fishing
Cookie Decorating
Carnival Games
Moon Bounce (1 ticket per person for 10 minutes of jumping time.)
Picture Stands (free)
Story Time with Mrs. Claus (free)
Coloring Corner (free)
Frosty’s Maze (free)
Great Food (prices may vary)

Santa’s Village is located at the train station and is free to enter. Please note that if you were unable to purchase tickets to ride the Christmas Train, you are still able to come out and enjoy these fun holiday activities.

Please note: Regular train tickets, tokens, complimentary tickets, discount tickets, and/or coupons are not valid for the Christmas Train. All customers must ride the train to visit Santa Claus.

I’m also hosting a giveaway for one of my lucky winners to win a great package including 4 Christmas Train Tickets, 6 Activity Tickets, and 1 Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park Double Surrey Bike Rental. To enter, go to the Rafflecopter below and follow the instructions. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Connect with Irvine Park Railroad on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Irvine Park Railroad is located inside of Irvine Regional Park, which has a fee to enter. Prices are as follows:
Weekdays $3.00 per vehicle
Weekends $5.00 per vehicle
Holidays $7.00 per vehicle
Parking FREE after 5:00 pm

This is not a sponsored post. I will be attending a special media preview night at Irvine Park Railroad in exchange for sharing about their annual Christmas Train in this post. All opinions are 100% my own.