I received Press access from the Board to the Coronado Island Film Festival staff and venues to facilitate writing this sponsored post. 

The Coronado Island Film Festival: 85 Movies. 6 Spectacular Parties. 5 Live Performances. 4 Panels of Industry Pros.

I've lived in San Diego for a long time and one of my favorite places to go when I want to be a tourist in my own city is Coronado. The island is beautiful and filled with history. I didn't realize how much of a connection to old Hollywood and the film industry the island has. 

Dozens of movies have been filmed on the grounds of the world famous Hotel Del Coronado, Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum lived in a home on Star Park Circle, and there is an IMDb page filled with movies and TV shows filmed on location around the island. 

It makes sense that Coronado would be prime location for a film fest. And now it's here! The first annual Coronado Island Film Festival starts this week on Friday, January 15th and runs through Monday the 18th.

The festival is packed with appearances by industry leaders:

• Leonard Maltin - film critic and author
• Lisa Bruce - Producer of The Theory of Everything
• Emmanuel Lubeski - Cinematographer for recent Golden Globe winning film The Revenant
• Chris Lemmon - Writer and son of actor Jack Lemmon who will be receiving the inaugural Hollywood Legacy Award during the festival
• Jonas Rivera - Producer for the recent Golden Globe winning film Inside Out

To honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Coronado Film Festival is hosting a free tribute event on Monday the 18th from 3:00 - 4:30pm. The reception happens following a special Noon screening of Laurens Grant's documentary Freedom Riders. Grant won a Peabody award and three primetime Emmy's for her 2010 Civil Rights film. 





Grant's other documentaries, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and Jessie Owens are also screening at the Festival. Freedom Riders will screen at Noon at the Village Theatre and the reception, with Grant as the special guest, is at the Glorietta Bay Inn. Light hors d'oeuvres and wine will be served. 

To plan your weekend of Festival activities, read the full Coronado Island Film Festival program online. 

Other film festival reads:

For a listing of other free events during the Festival, read this post by Danielle Simmons of Simm Works Family. 

Suzzette Valle, Coronado resident and author of 101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up, has a full Festival rundown on her site. You can buy a signed copy of her book at the Hospitality Tent. 

Kate Hammernik of Highlights Along the Way shares details on the animation panel and opening night screening of the new Disney movie The Finest Hours.

Rob, AKA Downtown Rob has a list of the parties and special events. 

To stay up-to-date with the Festival news and schedule, Like the CIFF Facebook page, follow the CIFF on Twitter and through the #CIFF and #CoronadoFilmFest hashtags. 

Veterans Day 2015 Deals, Discounts and Free Offers

Sometimes I feel guilty calling myself a military wife because our experience hasn't really been typical. It's different being the spouse of a Reservist rather than Active Duty. There are so many things I've never had to worry about: deployments, packing up a home every few years, enrolling in new schools, finding new doctors and dentists, finding a new job with every move and surviving on military pay.

Military life can be challenging. There are often sacrifices made by the spouses and children as well as the enlisted. It's a lifestyle that most people can't really understand unless they know someone living it. 

Most service members feel they're just like everyone else; they're only doing their jobs. But their jobs are unlike the average persons' for so many reasons. The military has high rates of depression, PTSD, divorce and we're starting to see the longterm impact repeated deployments can have on their physical health.

There are so many organizations that support active duty, retired, spouses and children. As we approach the holidays, charitable giving becomes top of mind for many people. Please consider putting your resources, be it time or money, toward groups, non-profits and businesses that support our military. 

"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind." ~ Dan Lipinski 

Free or Discounted Food Offers:
Denny's - Free Build Your Own Grand Slam 5am - Noon

Applebee's - Choose one meal from seven available entrees on a select menu

California Pizza Kitchen - Choose either an entree, pizza or salad from select menu

ClaimJumper - Free entree from select menu on Monday, November 9th only

Olive Garden - Free entree from select menu

On the Border - Free Choose 2 or Choose 3 Create Your Own Combo (up to $10.79)

Red Lobster - Free appetizer or dessert from select menu

IHOP - Free Red, White and Blue pancakes

Menchie's - Free 6 ounce frozen yogurt (seen on the Menchies Facebook page)

White Castle - Free Breakfast Slider and coffee

Little Caesars - Free Hot N Ready lunch combo

UNO Chicago Grill - Free B1G1 entree of personal pizza (through November 12th)

Wienerschnitzel - Free Chili Dog and Pepsi

Hooters - Free entree

Other offers:

Great Clips - Free haircut

Knott's Berry Farm - Military Tribute Days; one free admission and up to 6 discounted tickets from 11/1 - 12/20/2015

National Parks Service - Free entrance to parks

Sports Clips - Free haircut

Meineke - Free basic oil change

Offers.com is a great site to check year-round for military specific deals and offers.

Vettix - This company often has free tickets to concerts, sporting events, zoos, museums and a lot more. You have to be in the military to register and some of the high profile items (Disneyland tickets) are done via a lottery. We've scored some great tickets to Anaheim Ducks hockey games.  


When I put together this list of free and discounted offers for Veterans Day, I try to choose restaurants and businesses that have locations nationwide. For each business, I've linked to the most direct source of information I could find (usually the press release). If you see any errors here please let me know.

**Always check with each location to ensure they are participating and to get any conditions of the offer (specific hours, need to be in uniform, need to show ID, dine-in only, beverage not included, gratuity not included, etc). For more offers (especially for restaurants not in California), visit these sites: Military.com, MilitaryBenefits.info, The Military Wallet and the Veterans Day offers page at Freebies.About.com. Referral link used for Vettix.

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Montevideo in Uruguay on Flickr

30 Books to Add To Your TBR Pile in 2015 | My Reading Goal for the Year

*This post contains affiliate links

Last week I went to book club for the first time in months and realized how much I miss talking about books. It's not uncommon for most of us to have a notebook or the Notes app open on our phones all evening long, writing down titles other members recommend. I love finding new authors and my club members rarely disappoint.

I drove home thinking, "there's so many good books out there just waiting for me to find them!" Please tell me you feel the same so I don't feel like a complete fool.

Between book club, book podcasts, magazines, Facebook pages, Goodreads, Oyster, and my mom; my TBR list is so long it's bordering on ridiculous. But, since I don't think I'll be giving up reading anytime soon, I remain optimistic that I'll make my way through it eventually.

In 2013 I set a goal to read 40 books to take some of the sting out of turning 40. When I started this post it dawned on me I never published the update as to if I reached the goal or not (I did, barely). I'm cutting myself some slack and limiting this year's goal to 30. Before, I didn't allow any padding for books over 400 pages. Plus, because of the new Outlander series on Starz (which I LOVE!), I think I may be jumping back into those books.

Since putting it out in public will keep me accountable, here, in no particular order, are 30 books I'm hoping to get through this year.

1. The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh
2. Mermaids in Paradise, Lydia Millet
3. Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman
4. The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton
5. We Are Not Ourselves, Matthew Thomas
6. Station 11, Emily St. John Mandel
7. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
8. Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit
9. The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey
10. The Life We Bury, Allen Eskins
11. A Land More Kind Than Home, Wiley Cash
12. This Is Where I Leave You, Jonathan Tropper
13. Friendswood, Rene Steinke
14. I'll Have What She's Having, My Adventures in Celebrity Dieting, Rebecca Harrington
15. Look At Me, Jennifer Eagan
16. Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
17. Landline, Rainbow Rowell
18. The Martian, Andy Weir
19. Yes, Please, Amy Poehler
20. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes
21. I Regret Nothing, Jen Lancaster
22. Zero to One, Notes on Startups, Peter Theil
23. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, Jeff Hobbs
24. The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters
25. Long Man, Amy Greene
26. Best to Laugh, Lorna Landvik,
27. Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
28.  The Hypnotists Love Story, Liane Moriarty
29. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
30. The Woman Upstairs, Claire Messud


Bonus book: I confess, while I was putting this post together, I read both The 5th Wave and the second book in the trilogy, The Infinite Sea. They were both really quick reads. If you enjoy YA dystopian/sci fi you'll enjoy these. But, be forewarned: the third in the series will not be out until spring of 2016. 

Should I decide to up my goal to 40, which of your recent 

reads should I add to the list? Follow my progress on Goodreads! 

Veterans Day 2014 Free Offers and Discounts {Starbucks, Applebee's, Knott's Berry Farm and more}

Next week we celebrate Veterans Day. If you see a soldier, please thank them for their service. If you see a soldiers' family, please thank them, too. If you're looking for a way to give back beyond this one day per year, consider searching for volunteer opportunities on sites like VolunteerMatch, The Wounded Warrior Project, your local USO, or Feeding America (which often host a military food pantry).

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." ~ Arthur Ashe


Free Veterans Day meal or discount available from these restaurants and businesses:

Meals
Applebee's (specific menu items)
California Pizza Kitchen (specific menu items)
Build your own Grand Slam from 5am - Noon at Denny's 
Olive Garden (specific menu items, link goes to their Facebook page) 
Create your own combo at On the Border (link goes to their Facebook page)
Free doughnut and coffee from Krispy Kreme (link goes to their Facebook page)
Free select appetizer from Red Lobster (through 11/13/14)  
Red Robin is offering a Tavern burger and fries 
Famous Dave's is offering a One Meat Salute from 11am - 4:30
Free meal with beverage purchase from Hooters
Free appetizer from Ruby Tuesday
Starbucks is offering a "free tall (12 fl. oz.) brewed coffee to veterans, active duty service members AND military spouses"
Claimjumper is offering their free meal on Monday, 11/10
Free entree or pizza from Uno's Chicago Grill 
Military Appreciation Monday at Golden Corral is Monday, 11/17

Discounts
Military Tribute Days at Knott's Berry Farm from 11/2 - 11/21/14 
Free haircut at Great Clips
Free admission to all US National Parks 
Extra 20% off at JC Penney
"Receive 15 percent off eligible store items and 20 percent off Walgreens, Nice! and W brand products at any Walgreens or Duane Reade drugstore nationwide"


**Always check with each location to ensure they are participating and to get any conditions of the offer (specific hours, need to be in uniform, need to show ID, dine-in only, beverage not included, etc). For more offers (especially for restaurants not in California ), visit Kiplinger's Veterans Day 2014, Military.com, MilitaryBenefits.info, The Military Wallet and the Veterans Day offers page at Freebies.About.com.

Photo credit: Kathy Zinn on Flickr using Creative Commons (text and overlay by me)