Need plans for this weekend and don't want to spend a whole lot of dough? Here's just a short list of fun and cheap things to do in The Altamont Pass Area:
Friday
Saturday
All Weekend
Thanks to Hip2Save for most of this fab info. Head on over here for much more, including lots of discounts for shopping.
I had noticed Tap 25 last week on Yelp and it had really good reviews. It's a newer place, in the charming Blacksmith Square (corner of Livermore Ave and Railroad). They have 25 rotating taps of American craft beers (hence the name) and I hear the food is good, too.
This weekend, for $6, you can get a voucher for two Craft-Beer Flight Paddles (regularly $12) from Living Social. I'm not quite sure what a paddle is, but I'm anxious to find out.
Get yours here.
(This is my link - which will give me a promotion. Remember you can do this, too. If you want to go the site directly, go to www.livingsocial.com and select Walnut Creek/Contra Costa)
Also remember that you can't use your voucher until the day after you purchase it. (Too bad, I definitely could have used a beer tonight. It's been a long week.)
Here's Tap 25's website, as well: http://www.taptwentyfive.com/
And of course, always enjoy your adult beverages safely and responsibly.
Your weekend movie plans are set. Right now you can get discounted movie tickets to two new movies: Man on a Ledge and One for the Money.
Man on a Ledge looked really exciting when I saw the trailer for it a few weeks ago, and currently, Living Social is selling a voucher for 2 movie tickets to see it for $12. Tickets are purchased through Fandango.com and the voucher covers up to $13 per ticket ($26 total). Get the deal here.
Don't forget that Living Social will refund your purchase if three of your friends buy it from your referral link!
And Groupon is offering a deal to see One for the Money for the same price ($6 tickets, but you can buy these individually). This one goes through a site called Hollywood Movie Money that I'm not familiar with, but is probably similar to Fandango. I've heard this movie is based a really funny book series, so it might be a fun one to check out, too. You can get that deal here.
I think this is a great price for a night out, even though you can get movie tickets for not much more than this. But if you were going to see these movies anyway, why not save a couple of bucks.
For the next two days, you can get a Groupon for a photo shoot and 8 portrait sheets from The Picture People for $16. It's a $144 value, so that's a great deal! The nearest location that you can redeem this Groupon is at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, but it's also valid at the Concord and San Mateo locations.
The only downside, to me, is that you can only select one image for all of the printed portrait sheets, which include one 10" x 13", one 8"x 10", four 5"x7"s, ten 4"x6"s and 16 wallets. But this is perfect if you've been looking for a cheap way to get the first portrait of your little one to send out to the whole family, or if you just need that one great shot for the new family portrait.
I've never used The Picture People, but I've seen pictures from others who have, and they're always adorable. I'm tempted to get this deal, but I know I'd want all of the images on a disc as well, and that can be pretty pricey ($150 for the high resolution images on a disc). But they also have a View & Share CD for $35, which include all of the images in a lower resolution, so that you can share the images online with friends and family.
Get the Groupon here.
This February 14th will be our third Valentines Day in Mountain House. I honestly can't remember the first, and I only remember last year because of a really bad dining experience. I won't mention the restaurant here, but it was a place in downtown Tracy, and I'm sure if you're really keen, you can find my Yelp review of the place.
So, because of that, I wanted this year to be nice. Nothing too over the top, but still a great time. We've decided to try out a new "gourmet Mexican" restaurant in Livermore, El Sacromonte. It's gotten good reviews on Yelp. So, even though I'm a food wimp and a little scared of trying something so different (check out their menu - this is no taqueria), I'm going to have an open mind.
What are your favorite places nearby for a nice dinner out? Please post your responses in the comments below. Thanks!
Living Social is selling $20 vouchers for The Body Shop for $10. The only problem is you'll have to travel a little further from home if you want to use this deal. The closest Shop is in Modesto at the Vintage Faire Mall. (Unfortunately, they're not valid online.) But it might make a nice Valentines Day gift for someone you know.
Get the deal here.
Here's something fun you can get for free: a Kindle edition cookbook: Quick & Easy Family Dinners. Don't worry if you don't have a kindle, you just need the kindle reader app, which you can download on to your computer, your ipad or smart phone. I'm not sure how promising the recipes are, but since it's free, it's probably worth a glance.
Let us know if you try out any of the recipes.
I'm a fan! Today on Living Social, you can get a $20 voucher for $10 to Fanatics.com to spend on sports memorabilia. They have stuff from all types of sports, including college. Someone in the neighborhood may be getting a USC flag to fly this football season.
Get the deal here.
Note, this link gives me a promotion if enough people also purchase it. You can do the same after you purchase yours.
If you're a dog lover like me, you might like this deal from a great deal site that I just learned about called LocalGruv. Today you can purchase a $30 voucher for $15 for Dog Grooming Services at The Sudsy Dog on 2nd Street in Livermore. You have a few days to purchase this deal, and a portion of the money will go to the East Bay SPCA. What can be better?
Go here: http://localgruv.com/
I had to share this pic from the site. It's too much.
Thanks to Jeff from the Mountain House Forum for letting me know about this one.
Don't tell my significant other, but I love firefighters. Not just because they're brave and handsome... well, yeah, basically because they're brave and handsome. (I know that there are female firefighters, who are equally brave and beautiful - you go girls!) And we need them in our community to protect us from all sorts of bad things. So, if you can, please attend the Mountain House Fire and Tracy Fire Crab Feed on February 17th, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM at the Portuguese Hall in Tracy. Tickets are $40, with all the proceeds going back to the community. And they'll also have Tri Tip if, like me, you have an aversion to all things from the ocean.
You can get tickets by calling Fire Station 91 at (209) 831-4710, or Oscar Sharp on his cell at (209) 321-1977, or Jeff Brown on his cell at (209) 914-0377. I hear they're going fast!
Thanks to the post by Oscar on the Mountain House Forum for this info. There's also a Facebook event page here.
On a serious note, I really appreciate firefighters for all that they do. It's a rare person who will risk his or her life to save another, and they do it without hesitation, just because it's their job and the right thing to do. My grandfather was a member of his volunteer fire company for over 50 years. He was very proud of that, as we still are. Please support our local firefighters in any way that you can.
When I heard about House of Air in San Francisco, I really wanted to go, but it seemed so far to travel to just jump on some trampolines. But guess what! There's a trampoline park in Dublin, called Rockin' Jump.
http://www.rockinjump.com/
Check out the calendar for different events. For the grown ups, it looks like Rockin' Saturdays is the best deal. From 9:00 PM to Midnight, you can jump for $15, and they'll give you a free slice of pizza and a water bottle. Sounds like a good time to me!
Also for the grown ups, their adult dodge ball league starts February 13th.
Of course, just about every day, they have times for all ages to jump. But they also have a special time dedicated to tots and parents on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:00 AM.
Definitely go to their website for more info. You'll have to sign waivers, and possibly make reservations.
