My Travel Solutions!

I know I'm a bit behind on this post so I'll make it quick!

I LOVE my Thirty-one bags! Not only were they a life saver this past couple weeks while we were in L.A. but they were incredible for our family camping trip! 

I can't say enough about my Large Utility Totes! I think I need like 10 to cover all the things I use them for! On our trip to L.A. it was SO HELPFUL to carry all our snacks in the car and to haul groceries to the hotel room AND I flatted one and stuck it in the trunk and used it to put our dirty laundry in at the hotel & to take it to the laundry facilities when the time came. Camping we used them to hold pans, paper goods, cooking supplies, spices, etc. SO MANY uses let me tell ya!

Then the Market Thermal Tote I used as a cooler in the car on our many road trips and the Picnic Thermal when I just needed a lunch for a day trip to the beach. While camping we used the Market Thermal to hold food and Picnic Thermal for our lunch on the beach & fruits. 

 These pictures are a bit of a mess so forgive me:)

The above photo is my Organizing Utility Tote with my All-in-one Organizer and my Large Zipper Pouch inside! This is my diaper bag (messy at the moment). This is another one I can't live without! Although, they are coming out with a new one in Sept that is this one only BIGGER and with a zipper closure! Um, ya, I have to have it! (It's appropriately called the Super Organizing Tote)(:

The All-in-one Organizer is the lime green/grey dot one (Minty Chip). It has a notepad in it with all my lists and to do lists on it as well as a couple pockets to put my business cards, calendar, coupons, pen, etc. in. It's super great! My Large Zipper Pouch I keep diapers, mat, wipes, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, business cards,etc. in! It's my grab and go changing bag. It has a nice vinyl lining so you could put snacks or wet clothes in it with no problem.They also have a small one that is perfect for your grab and go personal care products!

 Above: In this one you can see the Expand-a-tote Day Extender with the yellow flower clip (The black and white one in the back) I used it to put me & my girls clothes in as well as my shower things (which are in the blue Little Carry-All Caddy in the front)! The Little Carry-All Caddy was very handy to go to and from the bathroom! We also have Cosmetic Bags!

 Above: This is my Cinch Sac in Happy Dots! I use this to hold toys & entertainment things for my girls when we are on trips! It works like a dream!

 These show my other Organizing Utility Tote in Lotsa Dots that I used on our trips as a diaper caddy. It was awesome!

 And can't forget the URU Thermal Tote! Which I used to hold bottles and sippy's in the car and at night. Alot of people use them for lunch bags though. It's AWESOME!

 And a couple pictures of our camp site. Note my little girl showing off for the camera:)

L.A. Trip Update!

So I wanted to follow up on my "Fun & Frugal Things to do in L.A. Area" post!I wasn't able to do all the things on my list but I got to explore quite a few places!

We stayed at the Extended Stay America at: 1742 S Clementine St, Anaheim, CA 92802

It was very nice and close to everything! Plus we got a super great deal on a room with a Kitchenette so we could save even more money on food!

We were able to go to:

1. Newport Beach & Oceanside Beach
Newport Beach was very nice and has lots of things around it. It was also the closest to our hotel and pretty much a straight shot on hwy! Here are some pictures from that beach:

And at Oceanside Beach they have a excellent Fish & Chips place, free parking, and a very nice beach. We went here at dusk/night so I don't have pictures of the BEACH but I do of the harbor there:

2. Visited a Park
We visited many parks in the area, but one of our favorites was Irvine Park (1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869). I brought my girls by myself this day so I didn't take any pictures:( But I do have a map of the park and such I will scan onto here later for you to see! Now one thing they don't mention when searching is that it cost $4 to get in/park! Which would have been nice to know so I would have packed a lunch and made more of a day of it. But it was still very nice! They have a trail  you can ride, pony rides, the Zoo, a lake, several playground areas that have a pad under the playground instead of wood chips!, pavilions to eat at, horse back riding lessons, you can rent bikes & boats, and they do have somewhere you can buy food at the trail station. So there was PLENTY to do, but no one was at the main gate when I went in and I had never been there so I had to kind of guess where everything was....then at the train station I found the map which opened up a whole new world!

A little info on the train ride:

• www.irvineparkrailroad.com

• It's a 1/3 scale train that takes both children & adults on a 12 min ride through the park.

• It cost $4 per ticket or

• Book of 15 tickets for $50

• 12 months and younger ride FREE

• Open daily at 10AM ---7 Days a week

We didn't get to ride, but the girls were happy just to watch the train go by:)

We also wanted to check out Santiago Oaks Regional Park but it also cost $4 to get in and I know that you could prob. buy a state park pass and just go to a bunch in that area, but my girls were melting so we went home.It's on Serrano Ave in Orange, CA.

There was also a little playground at the hotel next door and others off Chapman as well as some play areas at the malls around the area (like the one on The City Dr S. and the one on Main Place Dr./N Main St was HUGE, but we didn't have much time to explore it!) I know there was also a Discovery Science Center down the street from there also...so little time! Darn nap time!

3. Crystal Cathedral 
Now, I'm not Catholic but we went by this cool Crystal Cathedral on Chapman Ave several times and it was just cool! (These aren't my pics. Thanks Google!) 



4. Downtown Disney
We didn't go to Disneyland, but we were able to go to Downtown Disney and check out some of the shops there. This was plenty for my little ones and it was nice to go into air conditioning on a hot day:) Alli loved Build-A-Bear & the Disney Store. Her Aunt got her a Pascal Stuffed Animal & a Princess Book that has vinyl stickers you can dress up the princesses. She loves them both! The Lego store is cool for older kids and the Carmel Corn was yummy! You can usually find coupons and discounts for some of the shops like Build-A-Bear and the Disney store online and at the hotels around there. And discounts for other local places. You can also take a shuttle bus right to Downtown Disney from most of the hotels (for a cost), but there's parking right by it for Free for 2 or 3 hrs and then you can get additional hrs for buying things. Anyway, it was easy to find.

5. There were many Targets, Walmarts, Vons, Smart & Finals, Albertsons, Trader Joes, Malls etc.
One of our fav. areas was on N Tustin St. & E Meats Ave.
There was a Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and a huge mall that had Old Navy, Sears, Ross, etc. in it (INDOORS!) and they also had Olive Garden and other restaurants close by.
Pretty much between Katella Ave, Main St, Tustin, and Chapman there was everything you really needed.
There was also a Walmart & other stores a couple exits down from where we were.  So we always had something to do.
Between Google and our GPS we pretty much found anything with ease.
You can also find coupons and fliers for different places at your Hotel! Enjoy the adventure! 

If you have a smartphone and use the Shopkicks app this area was a gold mine for walk in kicks and scans! I LOVE Shopkicks! Anytime I'm in an area with lots of shopping (there's not a whole lot in my little town) I whip it out and score kicks that I can redeem for gift cards like Target, Best Buy, Restaurants.com, Chili's, etc. Here's my referral link if you want to check it out!
http://get.shopkick.com/mink8265

Featured on....

Hey! Sorry I'm a bit behind on sharing this with you all but I've been a bit busy! 

Check out my sis in-laws Thirty-one review HERE! I have another review/giveaway coming up soon also! I'll be sure and post that before it ends!:P

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