Save Your Appetite For National Frozen Yogurt Day

January 30, 2015 by 27 Comments

nat fro yo day 2015

Depending on which big fro-yo chain you consult, National Frozen Yogurt Day is either February 2 or February 6, so you can celebrate it twice!

On Monday February 2, Yogurtland locations will offer free frozen yogurt, toppings and a limited edition Hershey’s® collectible spoon from 4 pm – 7pm. Our closest location is near BevMo at the corner of Westlake Village Blvd. and Thousand Oaks Blvd:

111 S Westlake Blvd
Westlake Village, CA 91362

kids at yogurtland

Menchies will celebrate on February 6 from 4pm – 8pm with 6 oz. of free yogurt per customer. I actually went to the old Menchies location the other day and discovered it is a Sprinkles cupcake shop now. Never fear – there are two close by!

4776 Commons Way
Suite D
Calabasas, CA 91302

168 W. Hillcrest Dr. #1 (at The Oaks mall)
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

There are other local shops where you can celebrate this fun non-holiday that might not be doing promotions but still serve up a tasty bowl of fro-yo:

Sweet XO
In the Ralph’s shopping center at Kanan and Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Agoura Hills

Yozen Frogurt
Townsgate Road at Village Glen in Westlake Village

Pinkberry
3835 E Thousand Oaks Blvd G in the North Ranch Shopping Center
Westlake Village, CA 91362

Am I missing any good ones? Leave a comment and let me know!

Filed Under: Around Town, Food, Restaurants Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Spongebob Movie – Game Giveaway

January 26, 2015 by 22 Comments

spongebob game

In my house, we have one iPad. I was really excited when we got it because I thought it would make a lot of things easier for me. Well, after a few years of iPad ownership, not much has changed. I still prefer to do most of my work on my laptop. But my kids…well, it pretty much changed everything for them. They can spend way too much time surfing games, playing games, and messing around with Photo Booth. So, in one way it did make my life easier. I can use it to occupy them in a pinch.

Since they are the iPad game experts around here, I had them play Sponge on the Run to check it out so I could share something about the game for you. My younger son just loves it. He is a huge Spongebob fan anyway. My older son approached the game with a more critical eye. “It’s just like Temple Run,” he said on first launching the app, but he quickly got into it and reached levels of accomplishment that I will never see. What? I played the game too. But I suck at it. Still, it’s fun! Spongebob has grown on me over the years, so I enjoy flicking his little weird body around the screen collecting coins.

You can suck at it too while your kids rock it – Paramount has given me 5 free game codes to give away. I won’t make it hard for you. If you have a Spongebob fan who is also a game-player, just leave a comment on this post and make sure your correct email address is entered. I’ll give a code for a free download to the first 5 commenters (one per family please).

Bikini Bottom fans can venture off the beaten path with the all-new SpongeBob SquarePants game, SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run, based on the upcoming The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, in theaters February 6.  In the app, SpongeBob and Plankton are racing to find the lost Krabby Patty formula in 3 seaworthy locations including Bikini Bottom, Apocalyptic Bikini Bottom and a real-world beach.  When he is not running, SpongeBob is flying past obstacles with Plankton’s jetpack, floating in a bubble through a coral forest, racing through Bikini Bottom in the Patty Wagon, or has Plankton jumping through his surreal imagination.  When the running gets tough, SpongeBob gets heroic as he transforms into Super SpongeBob.  The new upgrade allows SpongeBob to knock through any obstacle in his way without risk.

I received a download code to facilitate this feature and giveaway.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Things Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hike of the Week: Palo Comado/Chesebro Canyon/Shepards’ Flat Loop

January 21, 2015 by 3 Comments

IMG_7532

I am renaming this loop because I can’t exactly figure out what its true name is. Maybe it doesn’t have a name. This is how we approached it. (Again, I just follow Deb, but I am fondly recalling the hike via my memory and the photos I took of this gorgeous spot.) Here is where David of Nobody Hikes in LA, my hiking spirit animal, describes the approach from the opposite direction.

On a gorgeous Friday morning, we parked near the trailhead at Doubletree and Sunnycrest in Oak Park (take a right on Sunnycrest if you’re going north on Kanan). That trail leads you to Palo Comado Canyon fire road, and you can only go left or right.

We turned right and headed quickly left up the very steep fire road which takes you to Chesebro Canyon trail, through a wooded area and a non-smelly spot called Sulphur Springs. The terrain along this trail changes from rolling meadow, to oak covered creekside, to rocky desert. It’s breathtaking.

IMG_7535I was expecting to see characters from The Princess Bride pop out.

IMG_7541

IMG_7546

IMG_7548It’s really not that steep. We figured that this sign is for bikers so they don’t bite it on that little drop-off ahead.

IMG_7556During the zombie apocalypse you can find me hiding up here.

IMG_7560

You have to watch your back though because this area is very popular with mountain bikers and trail runners. We saw a few women out that day but mostly it was good looking men. So, if you’re a single woman, this is may be a good spot to fake an injury and pick up an active guy. Or vice versa, of course. I’d hate to be thought of as sexist…

IMG_7561

Anyway, this trek takes you up to another crossroads at Shepards’ Flat. We took the Sheep Corral Trail to the west and turned south on Dead Cow Trail, which is a smaller trail that hugs a high ridge and meets up with Palo Comado Canyon fire road, which we took all the way back down to where we started.

IMG_7566  IMG_7574

IMG_7581Dead Cow Trail

IMG_7582

IMG_7586That hill in the background was the first climb we tackled at the beginning of this hike.

IMG_7590

The loop, Deb calculated, was just about 7.5 miles long. The steep ascent at the very beginning made my legs work pretty hard, so I was sore for a few days. It took us about 4 hours, and we weren’t going very fast. Just enjoying the morning, and a well-deserved lunch after that.

Filed Under: Fun, Photographs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,