Search Results for: blog spring is in the air

Spring Fling Without the Cha-Ching!

April showers bring May flowers… in your hotel room. It’s not often that you hear of hotels giving guests something for nothing, but this spring, the Hyatt Century City in Los Angeles is gifting visitors with the sweet smell of seasonal blossoms—for free. The popular L.A. lodging recently installed a flower cart beside its front desk. Upon check-in, guests are given a small vase and told they can design their own floral arrangement to bring up to their room, at no extra charge.  Blossoms range from tulips, daisies, and irises to chrysanthemums, sunflowers and carnations.  According to Hyatt staff, the … Continue reading →

Cheap Ways to Freshen Your Home for Spring

While the calendar is promising spring, here it still seems like winter. I can’t wait until I am able to open the windows and let the fresh air circulate through the house for hours. It is one free way to instantly freshen up our home. While the new catalogues that come in the mail are promising all sorts of ideas for freshening up a home and getting it ready for spring, I think I am going to stick with the free and the cheap. This way I can still have a nice fresh house, but can also save my money … Continue reading →

The Desperate Mom’s Guide to Spring Break

Are the kids inside and bored and the weather just isn’t co-operating during spring break? I know what you mean. Although I’ve been trying to push the birdies out of the nest to play outside, it is just too cold here. Add to that the fact that our spring break is really short this year (only three days off), and you have the potential makings of disappointed kids. Sure, we could just throw money at the problem, but then again, that wouldn’t be very frugal. Despite these challenges, I am happy to report that the feedback I got from my … Continue reading →

Surviving Your Kid’s Spring Break

Not your little guy’s break from school, your older one. You know, the one who begged you to let him head down to Cabo with a bunch of friends for spring break, and now you are sitting at home praying that the next call you get isn’t from a Mexican prison. Keeping children safe is the utmost priority for most parents, but you can’t expect your college-age kid to want to spend every school break at home so you can monitor his every move. Sure, viewing Facebook photos of your son at the bottom of a beer bong and your … Continue reading →

Downtown Disney to Expand into Disney Springs

A few years after it announced and then scrapped plans to reformat Pleasure Island, the official Disney Parks blog has revealed that Downtown Disney is getting an upgrade.  A years-long project will transform Downtown Disney into Disney Springs, an even larger shopping and entertainment district. Downtown Disney is so popular with Florida residents and Disney World guests alike that it was time to expand.  Don’t worry about suddenly needing a ticket to get into the area: just like before, Disney Springs will be open to the public (though individual entertainment venues still might require tickets for entrance). Tom Staggs, the … Continue reading →

Budgeting for Spring Break

Right now, millions of Americans are looking to trade in the snow and cold for sun, sand and surf.  Unfortunately, tropical escapes don’t usually come cheap.  If you are seriously considering jetting off on a beach vacation this spring, consider the following money-saving tips: Travel with others:  Group deals are ideal for families or friends looking to save cash on travel while enjoying each others’ company.  Typically, group rates are offered to parties of six or more people; however, a number of travel companies offer deeper discounts to larger groups.  For example, if you can gather a slew of extended … Continue reading →

Scrap Your Magical Spring Break Adventure

If your family’s spring break escape includes a sprinkling of pixie dust, a pair of glass slippers and a castle fit for a princess, then you will likely be documenting every magical moment. No trip to a Disney theme park can take place without snapping at least a few hundred photos and collecting a mountain of memorabilia.  When you return from your fantasy vacation you’ll want create a scrapbook detailing all of the fun had with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the crew. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a ton of money crafting a Disney-themed memory … Continue reading →

The First Signs of Spring

Yesterday, I saw my first sure sign of spring:  Wal-Mart, Target and Walgreens replaced their Valentine’s Day merchandise with all things Easter. I don’t know about you, but I sure could use a bit of spring-like weather.  Today’s high is 16 degrees.  That’s not the wind chill; that’s the actual air temperature. And no, I don’t live in Antarctica. Even if Mother Nature is not cooperating in your neck of the woods, you can spring into the first season of the year by gathering the family for a fun day of spring-themed crafting.  You don’t need a ton of money … Continue reading →

Spring Into Spring

Spring can spring any time now, as far as I am concerned. Like millions of other Americans enduring the most recent Arctic blast, I’m over winter. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do to control the weather.  However, rather than wallow in despair, I’m channeling my inner sun goddess and working on spring-themed scrapbooks. If you are looking for ways to keep warm this winter, spring ahead a bit and take advantage of sales on spring scrapbooking kits.  The seasonal collections typically hit the shelves in mid-January and feature colorful paper, plus a slew of coordinating embellishments, such as stickers, … Continue reading →

Cities with the Best Air Quality

Honeywell AirGenius has announced the best cities as far as air quality goes and I am not shocked to find Memphis was nowhere close. Well, I shouldn’t saw nowhere close because we did rank in the top 100 – 82nd. Hey, we are ranked above Los Angeles, St. Louis, Dallas-Forth Worth, and Philadelphia. I read a statistic recently that said we take over 21,500 breaths a day, but we often don’t think about exactly what we are taking in with each of those breaths. The AirGenius Awards were based on airborne pollen levels, particulates air population, and smoking regulations. If … Continue reading →