One really cool group that meets regularly is the San Diego Men and Women Cooking & Dining Meetup. As the name suggests, this meet up is great for both men and women. They last about a couple of hours and each meeting offers you the chance to hear and exchange awesome cooking suggestions. It does not matter if you are a beginner cook or are an experienced five star chef, attending such a meeting can be of great use! Just as every other meet up, everyone possesses a great attitude and is willing to help.

Another neat group is One Love Yoga, a donation only yoga group with the intent of bringing the benefits of yoga to everybody. As you may already know, yoga can be very beneficial to your physical, mental, and spiritual well being. The organizers of One Love Yoga  have caught on to this notion and are willing to spread its wonders to people from all walks of life. A donation is suggested but not mandatory. Check the link for more information!

Check Out MeetUp.com! is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

Volunteers helped pull together the parish’s 19th annual Thanksgiving event, preparing 75 turkeys, nearly 1,000 pounds of produce and around 250 pies and cakes, said organizer Austin O’Malley.

Preparation began at about 4 a.m. for the big feast, which served about 560 people last year in the North County area, in addition, about 400 plates of food were carried out. “It’s beautiful,” said Oceanside resident Mickey Lee, 45, who currently lives on disability. “On a scale of one to 10, I’d say the food is about 15.” The event featured sit-down service, hand-decorated placemats, and a small army of about 1,000 volunteers to cook food, serve food, and clean up. “A lot of people are hurting right now,” said NaydaBates, 32, as she vied for a tiny space in the hot kitchen to keep scooping mashed potatoes. “I think it’s important to give back.” In Escondido, Interfaith Community Services also hosted a Thanksgiving feast for the less fortunate. The center houses homeless veterans and provides emergency food supplies to the needy, including its annual two-day Thanksgiving feast, which it has held in Escondido for the past eight years on the day before Thanksgiving and on the holiday itself. Given the current economic conditions, an event like this is especially crucial, said Jerry Morgan, Interfaith’s director of basic needs.

Morgan said the nonprofit served about 33,000 people this year, nearly a 90 percent jump from two years ago. John Hoard, 51, said he had just run out of unemployment insurance, and couldn’t find a job since he was laid off in 2007. “This really helps me out a lot, trying to get by withfood,” Hoard said. “I’m hungry.” On Thursday about 60 volunteers at Interfaith coordinated to serve about 500 pounds of turkey and 200 pounds of ham to the 150 people who attended, not counting some 350 people who showed up the day before.The charity also gave out 600 donated turkeys in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Veteran volunteer Grace Amato said she had worked the Thanksgiving shift for about a third of her life. The Chaparral Elementary fourth-grader was in charge of cutting pumpkin pie and drawing holiday foods on placemats. “We’re helping people who don’t have homes and don’t have good food like we do,” Grace, 9, said with a grin.

Volunteers give back on Thanksgiving in Southern California is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

We started seeing Black Friday deals a little earlier than usual this year, dating back several weeks and continuing right up until the actual Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving. Searching for the early deals proved to pay off in some cases and in others, we found that the price increases left consumers with no deal at all. While most of the major department stores have the privilege of offering services and products at a substantial discount, some of your smaller retail stores make it only seem like some sort of holiday discount by jacking up the prices and offering sale prices that in the long run, save consumers little, if any money.

One thing is certain about Black Friday, if you venture out to the actual department stores, you are sure to run into high traffic. One good way to avoid hours of waiting in lines and the hustle and bustle that comes along from the rush to get the last product on sale, is to do some of your holiday shopping online. Online shopping can land you the same great deals found in the actual department stores, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home.

Shopping couldn’t be much easier for traveliers visiting Encinitas, Carlsbad, or San Diego California.  For some onf the best online discounts check your local retailer in Southern California:  1800 FLOWERS, Best Buy, Toys “R” Us, Kohl’s, and Wal-Mart being just a few examples.

Holiday shopping made much easier in California is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

Lt. Cpl. Bob Beres “The Troopers are out there monitoring not just the traffic, but the conditions of the road. As the temperature drops we’re going to check the over passes and bridges and we’ll stay in constant contact with the department of transportation. If we do need some salt or sand on the bridges we’ll make sure to expedite that.”

In these conditions, Lt. Cpl. Bob Beres says distracted driving should be avoided at all costs. Karen Johnson is traveling from Denver, Colorado to Encinitas, California and she can think of one distraction worth avoiding. She says, “I am guilty of driving and talking on the phone.”

ZoomSafer.com is one solution for drivers like Karen. It offers a downloadable cell phone application to help her focus solely on the road, by stopping all calls, texts, and emails. It activates automatically if she drives more than 15 mile per hour. You can also activate in manually. Incoming callers receive a message saying the driver can’t talk because they are focusing on the road.

Karen has two young daughters, and says this is ideal for her entire family. She said, “I think young adults and teenagers are more apt to try and talk on the phone while they drive or text on the phone. So I think that’s perfect.”

Lt. CPL Beres agrees saying, “Just for one second, when you look at a text message it can cause you to cross that center line or switch lanes when you’re not paying attention.”

He and the other troopers did all they could to keep roads safe this Thanksgiving. He encouraged us to do our part while heading to our Turkey Day celebrations

Holiday travel in Southern California is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

Harvest apples

• Prep Time: 10 min.
• Decoration Time: 15 min.
• Difficulty: Easy
• Yield: Makes 12 small apples.

• 12 small apples, washed and patted dry
• 1 bag soft caramels
• 2 tablespoons water
• 36 pieces SNICKERS® Brand Miniatures, roughly chopped
• 12 craft sticks
• Cookie Sheet
• Reynolds® Parchment Paper

• 1. Press the craft sticks into the tops of the apples.
• 2. Melt the caramels with water in a 4-cup, heat-safe glass measuring cup for 1 – 2 minutes in the microwave. Stir occasionally until smooth.
• 3. Dip the apples into the caramel, rolling each apple to cover. Immediately roll in the chopped SNICKERS® Brand Miniatures. Set on a cookie sheet lined with Reynolds® Parchment Paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

• Calories per serving 275
• Total Fat 7 g
• Saturated Fat 2 g
• Trans Fat 0 g
• Cholesterol 4 mg
• Sodium 119 mg
• Carbohydrates 55 g
• Dietary Fiber 4 g
• Sugars 45 g
• Protein 3 g
• Vitamin A 0%DV
• Vitamin C 0%DV
• Calcium 0%DV
• Iron 0%DV

Caramel chocolate pumpkin pie

• Prep Time: 20 min.
• Bake Time: 55-60 min.
• Decoration Time: 10 min.
• Difficulty: Easy
• Yield: Makes 12 servings

• 1 ½ cups MILKY WAY® Brand Chocolate Covered Caramels
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk (reserve one tablespoon for making the chocolate drizzle)
• 1 box (15 oz.) refrigerated pie crust
• 1 can (15 oz.) solid pumpkin
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup whipped topping
• 1 9-inch pie plate
• Disposable piping bag, or 2 resealable plastic bags
• Star-shaped pastry tip

• 1. Reserve 8 caramels and 1 tablespoon evaporated milk on the side for sauce. Roughly chop the rest of the candy.
• 2. Line pie pan with the prepared pie dough. Sprinkle dough with chopped candy.
• 3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, eggs and remaining evaporated milk until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
• 4. Bake in a preheated 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for 40-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
• 5. To decorate the pie top, melt the reserved candy with reserved evaporated milk in microwave for about 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Transfer the mixture into a resealable plastic bag and snip the corner. Set aside.
• 6. Fill a piping bag fitted with star tip with whipped topping, and pipe 16 rosettes around the outside edge of the pumpkin custard. Drizzle with caramel sauce over the rosettes.
• Tip: For easy and no-mess chopping, freeze the MILKY WAY® Brand Milk Chocolate Covered Caramels first.

• Calories per serving 239
• Total Fat 11 g
• Saturated Fat 6 g
• Trans Fat 0 g
• Cholesterol 52 mg
• Sodium 238 mg
• Carbohydrates 31 g
• Dietary Fiber 2 g
• Sugars 20 g
• Protein 5 g
• Vitamin A 1%DV
• Vitamin C 0%DV
• Calcium 0%DV
• Iron 0%DV

Thanksgiving in Encinitas CA is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is the largest wine and culinary event in Southern California and is nationally recognized by wine and food enthusiasts, media, chefs and winemakers alike. 

Festival Highlights:

• WineRave 2009: A wine tasting event like no other the WineRave 2009 kicks off the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival by hosting 25 of the edgiest wine and spirits on the market today. Dance the night away at one of San Diego’s top nightclubs, sip on exceptional vino, and chow down on some of the most “make- your-mouth-drool” food you can find. Tickets are $45 in advance and $60 at the door. Held Wednesday, November 18. 

• Cooking Demonstrations: Held at the Macy’s School of Cooking, and the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center on November 19 & 20, nationally recognized celebrity chefs and local culinary stars strut their stuff in these interactive and engaging classes.  Each chef prepares a series of mouth-watering dishes with instruction and recipes provided so that attendees can make the dishes at home. All cooking classes are tasting events and are paired with one of the wineries featured at this year’s Festival. Ticket prices range from $45 to $85. 

• Wine Tasting Classes: Held at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center on November 19 & 20, tasting classes feature discussions led by award-winning winemakers, sommeliers and master sommeliers from around the world. All classes are tasting events and guests will sample between five and seven wines per class. Class topics range from a Master Sommelier Blind Tasting, AVA and single varietal tastings, among several others. Ticket prices range from $45 to $85. 

• Grand Tasting Event & “Chef of the Fest” Competition: The Grand Finale to the sizzling five-day festival is the star-studded Grand Tasting Event held November 21 on the Embarcadero Park North behind Seaport Village. Seventy San Diego Star chefs show off their culinary artistry, 30 gourmet food companies wow you with their scrumptious fare, and 160 international winemakers and spirit producers pour some of the most renowned wines and spirits on the market today. Ticket price is $125 per person in advance for general admission. Also featured at this year’s Grand Tasting: 

o Cookbook Author Signing: Celebrity chefs will be on hand in the Border’s Bookstore book tent to autograph copies of their best selling cookbooks. 

o Live Entertainment: Live musical performances will take place on both ends of the Festival. 

o Chef of the Fest: The “Chef of the Fest” competition is an action-packed culinary showdown involving all chefs during the Grand Tasting event on November 21. Chefs compete in one of five categories and are judged by a panel of local and national celebrity chefs, authors and members of the food and wine media. Through a tiered judging process, one chef is selected as the best representation of innovative, fresh, and flavorful cuisine and crowned “Chef of the Fest” walking away with up to $50,000 in cash & prizes and some serious bragging rights.

The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

Everyone has someone in their family who wakes up early on Black Friday to go shopping.  I personally have not gone with my mom because I like to sleep in after stuffing myself on Thanksgiving.

Every year my mom wakes up at 4am to get her Holiday shopping done.  It has always been the busiest day for retail stores and restaurants.  It really is a great day to find the best bargains of the year,  its just not meant for me.  Shoppers like my mom are willing to wake up and head to their favorite department stores to catch the best deals of the year.  Items on sale are usually limited and go fast so there will be lines out the door by 5am before  Macy’s, Nordstrom, Walmart, and Target open their doors.

Some stores like Sears and Best Buy offer online sales before or on Black Friday, which is ideal for the bargain buyers like myself who would rather sleep in the day after Thanksgiving. 

Good luck to all the holiday shoppers out there…

Local Guide:

Macy’sWest Carlbad

 - www.macys.com
2557 El Camino Real, Carlsbad – (760) 268-1985

NordstromUniversity Towne Centre

 - shop.nordstrom.com
4321 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego – (858) 457-4575

Walmart

Target Store – Encinitas

Black Friday & Holiday shopping… is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes

Everyone knows that the greatest and most exciting thing about the holidays is getting and receiving gifts. The best ones are the ones where you never could have guessed what the gift was and sure enough, it was the very thing you dreamed about. That movie touched all of our hearts because we know that everyone wants a home that is perfect for them and a place where you can raise a family. A place to not just live… but call home!

Encinitas homes is beyond imagination! They are not just incredible homes but the place they surround is exciting and fun. Encinitas real estate can be found very inexpensively right now and some of the biggest deals you could ever hope for is on the market. It is a good time also to find properties in Carlsbad and La Jolla and if you look on my site under the MLS listings you can find some homes to look at… but wait… why not have me help you in your search?

Also I know what streets will have Xmas lights in Encinitas and Carlsbad so why not view some of the best holiday decorations in Encinitas by calling me. You will make this holiday the best one you ever had and have memories for a lifetime.

Surprise your family with a new home in Encinitas for Xmas is a post from: Real Encinitas Real Estate and Carlsbad Homes