NYC Birthday Celebration

 We celebrated City Girl #1's birthday in NYC on one of the coldest days of the year.

We were warned via the family group text to be prepared so I was bundled up for the trip.

On the train!  We got into Penn Station a little early and got some coffee. We also walked over to Old Navy to look for mittens for me because I was having a hard time getting my glove over my wrist brace (we didn't find any but it was ok-we figured it out).

We met up with the girls at the theatre.  

We were excited to see Maybe Happy Ending.

We'd heard lots of good things but I didn't have any idea what the show was about. It was fun to see Darren Criss in one of the lead roles!

The set design is incredible and show was so unique and different. I loved it!

We had some time before our dinner reservation so we stopped in at Junglebird for a drink. Mine was called a Hot Blooded and it had apple brandy, spiced run, peach liqueur, black tea & turmeric butter.  It definitely warmed me up.

We had a really good dinner at Cucina Alba. We ordered a lot of different things and shared it all.  

Of course we had to get some dessert to celebrate the birthday girl!  We ubered back to Penn Station, did a little shopping while we waited for our train and were home by 11pm.   It was a great night!! 

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{Travel} California Birthday Trip - Part 3 Solvang Wineries & Snacks

I'm back with our second day in California and our first evening in lovely Solvang. After checking in at our hotel and having some time to rest, unpack and freshen up, we decided to head back out and do more exploring.

We got to see the lovely replica of The Little Mermaid Statue that also stands in Copenhagen.  The bronze sculpture is half the size of the original one in Denmark

We ran into "Sven" and I think he was the most impressive scarecrow that we saw in Solvang.

Here's his story.  We were ready to check out some of the wine tasting rooms that Solvang is also famous for.  There are more than 25 tasting rooms and wine bars in Solvang so we looked for a few that had good reviews.

The first one we stopped at was McClain Cellars Winery.

He's definitely enjoying his glass!

It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine and people watch. We met a nice couple (and their dog) from LA.  They told us they had been to Solvang probably 20 times!

Back out for a stroll and to look for some food.

You can't get far without hitting a tasting room or winery.

This one had a horror theme and the wine options were just white wine or red wine (not typical) so we said hi to Michael Myers and moved on.

Photo op at the Solvang Inn Cottage.

Copenhagen Sausage Garden was a must-try on many people's lists so we checked it out.  You place your order at the cashier and they call your number to pick up your food.   The seating is rustic outdoor picnic tables.

We tried a vegan Italian sausage and a soft pretzel.  There was a toppings and condiment bar to customize your food and the Phillies were playing the Dodgers on the tv.  As Phillies fans, we were definitely outnumbered.

We then we walked over to Alma Rosa Winery

We sat out in the courtyard by the cozy fire pits.  Cheers!

We were getting a little hungry so Mr. Click walked over to Cailloux Cheese Shop and they put together this awesome charcuterie plate for us to enjoy with our wine.

It had been another long day but a really good one!

Good night from Solvang.

to be continued...

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{Travel} California Birthday Trip-LA & Manhattan Beach

We planned a (sort of) last minute trip to California for my birthday.

All ready to go in my travel 'uniform'.

I was so happy to see Mama Mia available on this flight. It's such a comfort movie for me.  The flight was pretty easy and uneventful and we landed at LAX in the afternoon.  After picking up our rental car--that was quite the experience--the bus you about 15 minutes away from the airport to the rental car facility. The line was so long but luckily we had booked through Costco and we had our own counter with no line!

Our first stop was Erewhon. I've wanted to go to this fancy "Whole Foods on steroids" since I had heard about it.  We were overwhelmed with the selections and picked a few items from the hot bar to share for lunch.

We also got one of their freshly pressed juices. So good!

We sat outside to enjoy our lunch in the warm California sun near Venice Beach.

City Girl #1 had recommended visiting Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a shopping and dining mile long strip near Venice Beach.

We were happy just to window shop and walk around after our flight and travel day.

We headed to our hotel in Manhattan Beach.  We stayed at The Belamar which is a Hilton boutique property in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  

Our room was bright and cute. We had a tiny balcony that looked out onto their courtyard.    We had a little time to unpack and relax before meeting up with our niece and her boyfriend.  They moved to the LA area a few years ago and this was our first time visiting them.

We had reservations at Nick's Manhattan Beach and ubered over there from the hotel.

We explored the shopping area while we waited.    We had a wonderful dinner and it was so great to catch up with our niece and her boyfriend.

After dinner we walked down to the Manhattan Beach Pier. It's a very steep incline going down toward the water (and a steep walk back up!).  We got to see the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean all in one day!  They drove us back to our hotel. It had been a long day but we were ready to take on the rest of our California adventure.

to be continued...

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Birthday Freebies and Coupons

I thought it would be fun to get as many birthday freebies and perks as I could this year.  I don't always take advantage of them and this year I made the choice to try and use them.

Starbucks

One of my favorite freebies every year is a free drink from Starbucks.   I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  You have to have the Starbucks app and make one purchase during the year.

Panera

You get one free bakery item from Panera in your birthday month in their app

Wendy's 

In the Wendy's app, you get one free small Frosty with any purchase.

Kirkland's

Email subscribers get a 20% off coupon during their birthday month.   They were running a big sale so I didn't need the coupon.

Kohl's

Kohl's sends you $5 Kohl's Cash for your birthday.  I couldn't find any clothes that I liked that day so I ended up getting a nice set of kitsch hair ties.

Sephora

I try to always get my free Sephora gift but they don't always have all of them available. I got the lip set.

Ulta

Ulta also does a birthday freebie.  I didn't get the email so I had to call customer service to get the code for the birthday freebie. (note to self, re-subscribe to emails before birthday month next year).

Wawa

I got one free coffee or tea in the Wawa app.

Michael's

I went into Michael's to use my birthday coupon but the planner I was buying was already on sale.

Anthropologie

I make sure to always use my annual birthday coupon at Anthropologie.

I got another pair of these pants that I'm obsessed with.

Target

Being a Target Circle free member entitles you to 5% off your entire order during your birthday month. I had forgotten about this one but the cashier asked if I wanted to use it.  

Old Navy

We used this one at the outlets. Mr Click needed some new t shirts so it came in handy.

Bath & Body

Bath & Body sent me a birthday message and it said that my gift was loaded onto my app for a free product (up to $9.95 with purchase).  I got some new hand soaps.

QVC

QVC sent me a birthday coupon and I used it to get some more of these Advanced Firming Facial Pads and serum.

I also used a coupon from Readers.com to get some new reading glasses!

Some other coupons/gifts I received but didn't use were:

Fandango $4 off a movie

Aerie $5 birthday reward

LOFT $10 reward

DSW $5 off shoe purchase

Do you sign up for birthday rewards, which one is your favorite?

*Edited to add some of your suggestions*

Madewell

Hallmark

Yankee Candle 

Boscovs

Vera Bradley

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