Breaking news!

Good wine for a bargain price! Need I say more?

You know those online sample sales emails you subscribe to? Now they have one for wine! If you can’t tell, I’m very excited about this. I love wine and love a good deal so the prospect of getting good wine at a good price just made my day.

Added Bonus: If you use the promocode “dailycandy” when you sign up, you will get a $10 credit. AND if you refer your friends, you will get $20 for each one that makes a purchase!

Check it out….
http://www.wineryinsider.com

Stupidity is expensive.

Or better yet, carelessness is expensive. I left my water bottle in the freezer all day and when it finally thawed out, it sprung a leak. Forcing me to go to the store on Friday before I hit the gym. This carlessness cost me $10.47 .  I better get LOTS of free water with this thing!

After work, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to head to the grand re-opening of one of my favorite neighborhood boutiques, Weekendz Only. They had free wine and appetizers catered by this delicious restaurant across the street (Sweetsalt Café). Free wine and good food? I’m in! The problem with this logic is that store has too many cute items and not making a purchase is extremely difficult. Me, with my lack of willpower, bought a hat. It was only $12.29 and I further justify it by saying price also included a glass of wine and hors devours.

My friend invited me over her house for food, wine and a movie night. This sounded like a good deal, but I can’t just show up empty-handed. So I headed to Trader Joes and picked up a bottle of wine and desserts for $10.47.

Friday’s total: $33.46

Weekly remainder: $62.91

Wow, this shows that the little things can really add up. I managed to spend about 30% of my weekly allowance in 1 day and I thought I was being good! I guess the key is just balance; some days are splurges, you just have to make sure that’s not a daily habit.

Weekendz Only

10139 Riverside Dr
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
(818) 752-3695

Weekend round-up

Lots of fun stuff this weekend!

Saturday 3/20

Spring Wine Fest @ The Original Farmers Market ; 1-4P

This Saturday, Monsieur Marcel, EB’s and 326 host a rooftop wine tasting. It’s $30, but that includes tastings of over 40 wines, wine based cocktails and sake. They will also have gourmet food pairings from Ulysses Voyage and Marcel’s. A good deal for all you wine-lovers!

http://www.farmersmarketbars.com/

Sunday 3/20- LA Marathon Day!

City Block Parties-7am-2pm

This year, they will have FREE city block parties along the marathon route for spectators. These will include live music, a sponsor village featuring food and beverage sampling, sponsor exhibits and sale of official Honda LA Marathon apparel, radio remotes with top Clear Channel stations and more. Here are the locations:

Mile	Location	Intersection	Radio Station
Mile 11	Hollywood	Hollywood Blvd/Orange Dr	Madame Tussaud’s
Mile 13	West Hollywood	Sunset Blvd/Sweetzer	Cabo Cantina
Mile14	West Hollywood	Santa Monica Blvd/Ramage	Pavilions
Mile 16	Beverly Hills	Burton Way/Rexford Dr	Median across from Rexford Park

 

Mile 11 looks the best to me, since there is a Metro station nearby (Hollywood/Highland). That way, you won’t have to deal with road closures or parking.

http://www.lamarathon.com/event/spectator-guide

Food deal @ Lago Santa Monica

Say the word “marathon” during brunch, lunch or dinner, and you’ll get 15 percent off your food bill. Runners can bring in their numbers for double portions of dishes like braised veal shank ($29), roasted bone marrow ($12) or any house-made pasta entrée. 231 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica; 310-451-3525

 lagosantamonica.com

Booze deal @ Hotel Erwin; Noon-3P

Bring your bib or finisher’s medal to the Hotel Erwin’s rooftop bar, and they’ll give you a bucket of six beers, or bottomless Bloody Marys for two, for the price of $26.20. Maybe I will get lucky and tumble upon a bib at the Black Party??

 High at Hotel Erwin, 1697 Pacific Ave, 310-452-1111

http://www.jdvhotels.com/dining/high

Sunday Family Supper @ Cecconi’s; 5-11P

Grab 3 friends and head to Cecconi’s for a family supper for only $50. That covers 2 large pizzas and 2 large bowls of pasta. Add wine for $25 extra and additional people for $12.50 each. YUM!

Cecconi’s

8764 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood

310-432-2000

http://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/

World Water Week (March 21^st-27^th)

Unicef Tap Project

Not a deal, considering you are paying for something you normally get for free. But it’s for a good cause! This week, dine out at some of your favorite restaurants and donate $1 for tap water.  The proceeds will go to UNICEF to help provide water and sanitation to kids around the world.

Get the list of restaurants:

http://www.tapproject.org/

Day 1 Total: $3.63

Left for the week: $96.37

I’m very happy to say I only spent $3.63 today and wasn’t bored out of my mind!

Normally, I always try to bring my lunch from home. But when the ladies at work call a “Ladies Lunch”, I must go. And when they say “Portos”, there’s REALLY no saying no to that. Luckily, Porto’s is VERY budget-friendly. The only problem with Portos is that basically everything is good, so it’s hard not to sample everything. I really wanted one of their delicious pastries, so I basically created a sampler platter instead of opting for the full lunch. I went with a potato ball (deep-fried mash potato filled with meat- $.85), chicken empenada (chicken and veggies wrapped in a flakey crust- $.95) and a strawberry & cheese pastry ($1.50). All adding up to the delicious grand total of $3.63!

Potato Ball and Chicken Empenada from Portos

Strawberry & Cheese Pastry

www.portosbakery.com

3614 West Magnolia Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91505-2913
(818) 846-9100

After work, I headed to the Geffen Playhouse to check out the 1-man play “Through the Night”, written by and starring Daniel Beaty. My best friend scored us some free tickets, so why not? I must begin by saying that I am self-diagnosed with ADD, so the idea of sitting still and quiet for 90-minutes is a bit frightening. Nevertheless, I did not feel bored or antsy at all during this play (yes, that is how I judge theatre). “Through the Night” is a solo piece driven by a number of very different characters, all unified by the theme of the contemporary struggles of the African American man. At times, many of the topics and characters were a bit stereotypical, but it was done in a fresh manner. It was well written, with a mixture of prose, poetry and song. This combination, along with switching through characters rapidly at times, might be a bit jarring, but I thought it kept everything interesting. It was also well performed– each character had their own unique voice. All-in-all, an enjoyable evening, especially for FREE

http://www.geffenplayhouse.com/throughthenight

Written and Performed by Daniel Beaty
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
March 16 – April 4

BlackboardEats Deal today– Might have to splurge

Let me start by saying I LOVE BlackboardEats. It’s basically a newsletter that gives restaurant deals twice a week. You just sign up for the deal and it gives you a code to bring to the restaurant.

Here’s today’s deal:

Free trio of Chinois classics:
trio includes one martini of your choice, one signature Chinois chicken salad (or vegetarian option) and one crème brûlée dessert per person with the purchase of one entrée per person; available during lunch or dinner; max party: 6; dine-in only. (expires April 17)

This is pretty amazing! However, Chinois is by no means cheap. The entrees start at around $30. But hey, a 3-course meal with a martini for only $30 (+tax & tip of course) is a good deal and might cause me to treat myself if I can afford it before April 17th!

Chinois on Main
2709 Main St. (between Hill St. and Ashland Ave.), Santa Monica, CA 90405; 310-392-9025    www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3654

The Obligitory “It’s my first post!” Post

Yay for the first blog post! OK, I’m done…now on to the good stuff…

Background info: I feel that I’ve led a pretty fun life thus far. I have some of the greatest family and friends who have led me on some fun and random adventures. However, I feel a bit bogged down by financial limitations. I would love to travel the world, but have no money saved to do so. Before I can even think about saving, I need to address some credit card debt. So, in order to be able to get even MORE out of life, I must start with…gasp… a budget.

Here’s the deal: $100 a week. Sounds like a lot to some, but that includes everything that is not bills or gas. Every morsel of food, hair appointment, toiletry, birthday gift, etc… I also would like to maintain my current lifestyle to the best of my ability, so that will require some creativity on my part.

Minors details: I am lucky enough to get paid weekly– every Thursday. So that’s when I will start my week. Hopefully, I don’t go nuts over the weekend, or else I will be eating oatmeal for the rest of the week. (oatmeal is healthier and more filling than ramen). So tomorrow, the adventure begins…