Tag: holidays

Pie Party for Trinity Coat Drive – THANK YOU!

Recently, I held my annual pumpkin pie party supporting the Trinity Center and it was another success! This is my third year combining the coat drive with a pie give away which brings full circle gratitude and appreciation for my clients, referrals, neighbors and friends.  This year we had 34 pie orders, in addition, I had many people who just dropped off items for Trinity.  As you can see, I had an SUV full of coats, gloves, hats, etc. and $300 in checks!

This was by far my most successful and giving pie party to date!  You can see pictures of the pies and donations above, as well as some fun shots from the party itself below.  This year Indy, aka Daryl Choy donated his time for chair massages and for our drawing and JVM donated a couple of Hydro Flasks, the winners were picked at the end of the night with a few stragglers, picking the winning prize winners!

This is my favorite charity event of the year, as it combines food, drink, friends, and mingling! I can’t thank everyone who joined, donated, ordered pie, etc. enough. It really shows that this community is in the giving spirit this holiday season, and it means a lot to me to know that Trinity can be supported and celebrated by the people around me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I can’t wait until next year!

Event Round-Up: Sept. 15

It’s that time again, folks! School is back in full swing, and we’re on a holiday drought until Halloween. But that doesn’t mean the well of fun activities in the Bay Area has completely dried up. That’s one of the best parts about living here – there is always something to do!

Here are five fun events around the Bay Area for the next month or so to tide you over:

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Exploratorium After Dark (San Francisco – every Thursday)

The Exploratorium is a super interesting, cool museum no matter the time of day. But make it adults-only, serve drinks, cut the lights, and give us a mind-bending cache of exhibits to wander through from 6-10 pm every Thursday? Sold! Don’t miss it!

National Public Lands Day (All Parks – Sept. 22)

It’s one of the best days of the year for outdoor enthusiasts. All National Park Service sites that normally charge an admission fee will have free entrance for the day. If the one excuse for not exploring this beautiful place we live has been a desire to not pay the fees, well, now’s your chance.

Autumn Beer Tasting with Anchor Brewing (San Francisco – Sept. 26)

Anchor Brewing is one of the better local breweries to come out of the Bay Area, and now you have the chance to taste autumn beers right as the season turns. It’s only 20 bucks, 90 minutes of your time, and you get generous helpings of newly released beers from the head honcho brewer at Anchor!

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Movies Under the Stars: The Jungle Book (Civic Park – Sept. 28)

There’s nothing better than laying out under the stars and catching an outdoor movie with the family. On Sept. 28th, the Movies Under the Stars series in Walnut Creek comes to a close with The Jungle Book, playing at 7 p.m. on that night. There is a little music for about an hour beforehand too, if you want to come out early!

Grease Sing-A-Long at Sundown Cinema (San Francisco – Sept. 28)

Well, sorry Walnut Creek. San Francisco took your outdoor movie idea for this date and went all-in. You can go to the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in San Francisco and watch Grease on the big screen outside for free! Food trucks and vendors will be there early, and the best part about this is you get to sing along to the catchy tunes of this movie classic!

Nordstrom Cafe is a nice spot to snag a quick meal

Getting hungry while doing your holiday shopping? Not to worry! Nordstrom is right in the middle of Broadway Plaza, and has a great cafe that always hits the spot.

Nordstrom Cafe has quality food. I usually get their salads, but they have great entrees and always plenty of good choices for food to take on the run.

And it’s not your standard, run-of-the-mill, in-store cafe, either. They have items like tomato basil soup, shrimp and arugula salad, freshly-prepared pizzas, and delectable sandwich options. Don’t miss Chef Todd Nelson’s daily picks, either.

You really can find fine dining anywhere in Walnut Creek these days! Nordstrom Cafe will give you an easy, quick option for your holiday shopping, especially during rush hour.

I’d highly recommend the  Mixed Berry Chicken Salad or the Chicken Apple & Goat Cheese Salad, but I’ve also tried their soups and salmon entree. It is reasonably priced for the food they serve, too. Can’t beat that!

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One Warm Coat drive – thank you!

My team and I recently coordinated a local coat drive to donate clothing to One Warm Coat, an organization that gives clothing to the homeless and others in need during winter.

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I’m proud to say that we had so many contributions, we had to use two cars just to haul all the bags of coats to One Warm Coat! I really enjoyed meeting everyone when I stopped by to pick up the coats and for those who dropped them off on my doorstep or left them on their porch for me to grab, I am shouting out a big THANK YOU ALL so much!

Your contributions will go a long way in keeping people warm this winter who otherwise might not have been. Keep an eye out for another One Warm Coat drive next year!

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It was dark, so the photo didn’t turn out great but this is one of the volunteers on the pile of bags in the truck – all full of coats!

Happy Holidays, Coat Drive and Market Update

Hi everyone! If you didn’t receive a hard copy of my most recent newsletter at your door, here is the PDF to tide you over. There is still time to donate to the coat drive, as I’ll be dropping off any more donations I get at the Trinity Center as they come in. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed!

(Don’t forget to scroll at the bottom of the PDF to see page 2!)

[pdf-embedder url=”http://walnutcreeklifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Coat-Drive-newsletter-2.pdf”]

Things to do Around Walnut Creek for Christmas!

ice skating WCLIt’s that time of year again when the tree lots spring up, lights blink on every corner and familiar movies play on every TV: it’s Christmas time!  If you are like me, it caught up to me quickly, as I barely got my tree up, with Christmas Cards still needing to be created – maybe they will be New Year cards (now if I can only my Costco certificate for the print shop I bought 2 months ago).  Thus with only a few days left until Christmas, there is still  a lot of things to do….

Even though Walnut Creek is nestled in the cozy Bay Area where snow is a day trip away, the town gets into a wintery spirit for the holidays. With students coming home for winter break and relatives flying into town for Christmas and New Year’s, families are reuniting all over the Bay Area.  After catch up is played, meals are devoured and egg nog is drunk, here are a few fun, local holiday events around Walnut Creek for the whole family to enjoy:

Walnut Creek on Ice

For just $15, you can enjoy some quality ice skating time right in downtown Walnut Creek. The ice rink, which has been a fixture in Civic Park for many winters now, throws fun events and never gets overly crowded. For more information about Walnut Creek on Ice, visit their website.

Santa visits at Broadway Plaza

A winter classic is taking the kids (of all ages!) to visit Santa Claus, ask for a gift and take a photo. This year, you can head right down to Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek to see him. Make sure to hurry on this one, though; he can only hang around through Christmas Eve, before taking off on his sleigh to deliver his gifts!

091220-N-XXXXX-001 FUJISAWA CITY, Japan (Dec. 20, 2009) Petty Officer 1st. Class James Durrance acts as Santa during a visit to distribute toys to children of the Misono Orphanage. The community service project was supported by the First Class Petty Officer Association of the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63). (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

Holiday Train in Blackhawk

Take a little drive to Blackhawk and get a nice meal with the family, before rewarding your kids for their patience with a fun train ride at Blackhawk Plaza! All you need is to make a purchase at the plaza, and you’ll receive a ticket for the train too. Nothing says holidays like a wintery train ride for the little ones.

Volunteer in the East Bay

There are endless volunteer opportunities around the East Bay, especially around the holidays. From helping distribute food, clothing and toys to less fortunate families, to caroling at local senior centers, there are tons of ways to help give back with your family this Christmas. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Catch a Christmas movie

Everybody has their favorite Christmas movie, but many people don’t realize that they can watch some of the classics from the Century Theaters in Walnut Creek! For example, this Wednesday night the theater will be showing Miracle on 34th Street, and then It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve. What better way to spend some warm, relaxing family time than getting a Christmas classic on the big screen?

Do you have any other fun ideas for this week and weekend around Walnut Creek? Happy holidays!