Walnut Festival coming this weekend!

This Thursday through Sunday, The Walnut Festival will be put on for the 80th time. The Festival is a rite of passage for young Walnut Creek residents, and probably anyone who has lived here for a few years has experienced it at some point.

I looked up a little history on the Festival that I’d like to share:

  • First Festival was in 1911 and was called The Grape Festival
  • In 1936, the name officially changed to The Walnut Festival
  • In 1976, it was officially relocated to Heather Farm Park for good

Among other things, The Walnut Festival offers fun carnival rides, tons of food options and a bunch of cool entertainment. The Walnut Festival Association runs the show and will give discounted tickets ($6 instead of $7) to anyone who brings a can of food for donation to the gates.

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Courtesy: thewalnutfestival.org

The Walnut Festival will run from 5-10 p.m. on Thursday, 5-11 p.m. on Friday, 11-11 on Saturday, and 11-8 on Sunday. Don’t miss out!

How to Buy Happiness, According to Science

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Ski day with some of my WC Lifestyle team members!

I stumbled across an interesting blog recently that collects scientific research to prove that money can, in fact, buy happiness if it’s spent correctly.

For example, if you are spending your income on gifts for others, experiences for yourself, and time with your family, you’re scientifically more likely to be happy.

As someone who dedicates many hours of her life to work, I can relate with the difficulties in finding the free time and money to make all of those things happen.

That’s not to say I don’t achieve happiness, but with the right mindset, I could probably increase my level of happiness – and so can you.

In the blog, the author writes:

Consider this: The two days your spend waiting for your Amazon Prime package to arrive doesn’t build the same kind of anticipation as planning and dreaming about that vacation to Belize does. You take the time off work, brush up on your Spanish, read travel blogs and more, all the while thinking about how epic this trip is going to be. And once it’s over, you’ll tell the story of zip-lining through the rainforest to anyone who will listen for the rest of your life.

My winnings from the charity poker tournament for Walnut Creek Bulldawgs!
My winnings from the charity poker tournament for Walnut Creek Bulldawgs!

I’ve made it a point to spend my time and money skiing in Tahoe; this year, I bought a pass to Squaw Valley. Not only does that allow me to escape the office for a day and do one of my favorite activities, but it oftentimes brings me in close proximity to my youngest son, who attends school in Reno.

And if you’ve followed my blogs or received my newsletters, you know I enjoy combining charity with my real estate work; from this past winter’s coat drive to my passion helping past and present military use their VA benefits to buy a home, to playing in charity poker tournaments to fostering Weimaraner’s until they find their fur-ever home!

So, if you try, buying happiness is possible. I choose to experience happiness through experiences, giving to charity and spending time with my family and friends and that does take money, but in the end it is a decision to choose to be happy.