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LA Decostified is switching from Blogger to WordPress! We apologize for the inconvenience but we hope it will help us make the site easier to navigate and more exciting. You can still find us at www.ladecostified.com

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Feel free to email us if you have any issues with the change. Thanks for reading!

Happy Beverage Day

Tomorrow is National Beverage Day - betcha' didn't know that, huh? Who makes up these special occasions?  Sometimes we wonder if these special "days" are just made up by companies as an excuse to promote a product. We're okay with that though. 

In celebration of this glorious day, Arby's is offering Free Iced FruiTeas all day on May 6th (tomorrow)! You can choose from four flavors - Passion Fruit, Mandarin Peach, Diet Peach, or Diet Blackberry. There is a tiny catch in order to get the free beverage...

They want you to say, "I'm parched. FruiTea Me!" when you go up to the register. We're not kidding.

Get Some KFC, Oprah's Treat...

Oprah has teamed up with KFC to offer a FREE grilled chicken meal coupon! The coupon entitles you to 2 pieces of KFC grilled chicken, 2 side orders, and a biscuit at any participating location. 

You must download the coupon before 7:59pm (PDT) on May 6th. Once you download it, you have until May 19th to actually redeem it. According to the Oprah site, you should be able to download the coupon 4 times (per computer)!!  That is a lot of chicken. More information and download instructions can be found here.

Might not be a bad idea to get in touch with your vegetarian friends and ask to use their computer too...

Thanks K.C.!

Need a Boost?

We're giving you two opportunities to get free coffee this week! 

              

May 5th or May 6th: Free Cup of Seattle's Best Coffee at Borders

Visit link, print coupon, visit store, order coffee, get caffeinated!

May 7th: Free Iced Coffee From 4pm - 7pm at The Coffee Bean

Perfect for a mid-day boost. And what's more, Coffee Bean will be donating $0.25 for each cup of iced coffee given away. Donations will go to Big Sunday, a non-profit that mobilizes volunteers to help make their communities stronger, happier, and healthier!

Thank you to the many readers who contacted us about both of these coffee giveaways. Keep 'em coming!

More Resumes than You'll Ever Know What To Do With...

Looks like the office supply chain store wars are getting even more heated - and we all get to reap the benefits!! We just found out that Staples has launched a campaign too, a Career Stimulus Program. As part of the program, Staples is offering customers 20 free resume copies AND 40 free business cards! They have also launched a special section of their website for the program, that offers job hunting & resume writing tips! The offer lasts until June 13th. 

Be careful if you're an office supply impulse shopper like me and tend to buy unnecessary pens, highlighters and post-its. Wait until you get a real job and then take their supplies!

Free Resume Printing & Faxing in May

Office Depot is helping you "take care of business" (and get a job) by offering customers 25 FREE resume copies and FREE resume faxing until May 30th. Perhaps they're trying to out do Fed-Ex Kinkos, who offered 25 free resume copies to customers a couple months ago, but only for one day. We're okay with this little competition.

Visit your nearest Office Depot between now and May 30th to take advantage of the offer...or more than one location to really take advantage.  

She wasn't even hiring. 

Thanks Resume Donkey!

Did you miss out?

We had a great time attending Unique Los Angeles this weekend! If you missed out on the action, check out photos of some of our favorite pieces and booths here.

PBR would be better as a plant.

Winners n' Twitters n' Facebook, Oh My!

Congratulations to Drew C.  from Burbank, winner of our latest giveaway. Drew will be receiving a copy of the DVD Milk. Thanks to everyone who entered!

We have acquired a few really great prizes to give out in the coming weeks, so keep reading for your chance to win! Also, make sure to follow us on twitter or join our facebook group for updates on new posts, contests, and last-minute freebies/events that don't make the blog!!

Drop and Give Me 20!

Monday May 4th Morning Crunch is going to be holding a free session of their fitness Boot Camp! All you have to do is RSVP by tonight at 7pm. Check out their website for more details and to find your nearest boot camp!

Free Comics and Pomegranate Juice

We have a few late additions to our Weekend Fun guide...

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday (tomorrow)! Take a stroll down to your local comic book shop where they'll be handing out free comic books all day. Each store will have different choices, deals, and rules so make sure you find out what they are and don't just walk in, grab a comic and leave. It's frowned upon. You can find a participating store on the website.

The Santa Monica Classic (benefitting Heal the Bay) will take place on the Santa Monica Pier this Sunday morning. POM Wonderful is running a sampling, at which I (Danit) will be working! If you're up early on Sunday, make your way to the pier for some delicious POM juice, amongst other festivities. Additionally, you'll receive a coupon for a free bottle of POM if you get your picture taken with me (the "POMbassador") at the event and post it to your facebook/twitter/blog! For more info. on the event, visit the POM Blog. Hope to see you out there on Sunday!

Weekend Fun 5/1-5/3

Friday:

Giveaway Deadline: The MILK giveaway ends tonight at 11:59 pm so if you've been putting it off now's the time to email in your suggestions! 

Cost: FREE

Hands On 3rd Grand Opening: This is a new workshop where you can learn everything your grandmother never taught you! Whether you're looking to crochet yourself a new garment or you're planning on becoming a championship framer Hands On 3rd has classes to get you off on the right foot to achieve your dreams and say "screw you, grandma, I'll make my own damn scarf!". They're having an open bar grand opening party from 6pm-9pm. 

Cost: FREE

First Fridays at the Museum of Natural History: Have you ever wanted to party with Charles Darwin? Well now you can!.. kind of. For those of you interested in learning from the past, the LA country Museum of Natural History is celebrating the life and times of Charles Darwin with 3 bars, 2 bands, 2 DJ's, and a discussion with Paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald C. Johansen. The festivities start at 5:30pm. Make your high school science teacher proud!

Cost: Adult $9, Student (w/ ID) $6.50, Members FREE

Saturday:

Free Yoga & Pilates Classes: In honor of "Pilates Day", The Pilates Body (1460 Granview Ave. Glendale) is offering three FREE one-hour classes! The event runs from 12pm to 4pm, but make sure to visit their website for a more detailed schedule of classes. The studio will also be serving snacks/refreshments and holding a raffle for free prizes. If you plan to attend, make sure to RSVP soon as we're sure this event will be popular!
Cost: FREE

Free Frozen Yogurt at Red Mango: Visit your local Red Mango between 12pm-4pm to try their new flavor, Tangomonium, w/ one topping!

Cost: FREE

All Weekend:

Unique Los Angeles: This two day shopping extravaganza hosts over 275 local designers, artists, and merchants selling their wares at great prices. Whether you like to stimulate your local economy or you just want some really cool artwork for your mom (hint: Mother's day is next weekend), Unique LA is the place for you! And if supporting local artists didn't make you feel good about yourself, half of your admission goes to support local charities. The event runs Saturday from 11am-7pm and Sunday 11am-5pm.

Cost: $5

Spring Stroll on West 3rd: Celebrate the coming of springtime with a leisurely stroll down 3rd st. between Fairfax and La Cienega complete with in-store events, special sales, and refreshments to enjoy along the way! Well you'll find all of this at the Spring Stroll on West 3rd event going on this weekend. 

Cost: FREE (unless you decide to buy things, of course)

Big Sunday: The name may be a little deceiving but this weekend is Big 

Sunday, the largest regional service event in America. With a staggering 545 different service projects ranging from maintaining  hiking trails to getting your nails done for charity, there really is something for everyone! So if you've ever wanted to get into volunteering this weekend seems like a pretty good time to do it!

Cost: Free

LaidOffCamp Los Angeles

We can't believe we just now found out about this event, as it's happening tomorrow afternoon. But decided to post about it because it sounds like an amazing opportunity for the unemployed crowd!

"Enterprising individuals in professional transition will have a unique opportunity to gain perspective, discover new passions, and reinvent their careers at LaidOffCamp LA. The format features an open, participatory discussion forum designed to educate, empower, and connect community members. Panels, workshops, and discussions will include topics such as: building your personal brand, transitioning to a new industry, legal & accounting demands of launching a new business, finding affordable health insurance, alternative working spaces, alternative income sources, and how to become a freelancer."

Friday, May 1st

Location: BlankSpaces (5405 Wilshire Blvd.)

Hours: 1pm-6pm

More info & RSVP here

We are dropping all our plans for tomorrow and attending, so please join us for some of the sessions if you're free! Make sure to RSVP (tickets are free to the unemployed and pay-as-you-wish for the employed).

A few reminders...

Free Carvel Icebergs from 3pm to 7pm today!

Dine Out for Life tonight and 25% of your bill will be donated to Project Angel Food.

ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY, deadline is Friday at 11:59pm.

... seriously guys, our readership is higher than ever and the number of submissions is lower than ever! We put this giveaway up because we really want to get your feedback on what you like and what you don't like about LA Decostified. So even if you don't really care about Sean Penn, or Milk, please email us your suggestions!

Getting the Most of Your Gas Mileage...

Although it is exciting that gas prices are well under $3, we still value getting good gas mileage and making the most out of each fill up! We've done some research and compiled a short list of simple gas saving tips - small changes that could make a big difference. Additionally, we've included a list of very useful websites that could help you in your quest to make your gas tank last!

LA Decostified's Top 5 Gas Saving Tips:

1. Slow Down:  Gas mileage decreases rapidly once you exceed 60mph. In fact, every 5mph you drive over 60 costs you roughly an additional $0.24 a gallon for gas. Ideally, when not on the highway, you should try to keep to a steady 40 mph to get the best gas mileage.

2. Stick to the Main Road: Avoid rough roads whenever possible. Dirt and gravel can rob you of up to 30% of your gas mileage (and it could make you kind of nauseous too... which is never fun)!

3. Air Conditioner vs. Open Windows: At lower speeds, you're better off opening the windows to cool down. At higher speeds, open windows (and a sunroof) will just cause wind resistance and make it harder on your car- using up more gas. So unless it's 90

 degrees out... the general rule is windows down at low speeds and A/C on at high speeds! We found one Consumer Reports article that said this didn't make a measurable difference, but there were so many sites that said it did so we decided to leave this in.

4. Avoid Idling: This one is huge. It's important to turn your engine off if you anticipate being idle for a minute or longer.  By turning your engine off every time you're idling, you'll be making a small change that'll make a big difference in your fuel economy!

5. Drive Smoothly: Hard acceleration and braking is a major gas killer, and it's also really bad for your brakes & engine (take it from the girl whose parents own a "Brake World"). This one is harder than it sounds, as stop-n-go LA traffic makes it nearly impossible. But try to make those stops as smooth as possible and you'll be saving about 3 mpg (depending on your car). 

For a more extensive lists of tips and stats, check out this  article.

Handy Websites:

Gas Buddy - We've raved about this one in the past...our favorite gas price comparison website. Simply type in your zip code and a lovely list of your local stations and updated prices will come up. 

Cost To Drive - Cost To Drive lets you input your trip and type of car and gives you an accurate estimate of how much your trip is costing you! Especially useful if you're trying to decide between public transport or driving, and even more useful when planning road trips!

E-Ride Share - This site is great if you are looking for carpool buddies! They help you find anything from people who work in your area, to people who want to carpool to the grocery store. Carpooling will save you money, make your trip more interesting, and let you drive down that coveted HOV lane on the 405!

Go Loco - The Facebook of carpooling sites! Go Loco helps you connect with friends and friends of friends to share trips. You get to create a profile about your likes and dislikes while on the road and search for carpool buddies that have the same preferences!

MeetWays - Looking to do lunch with your friend that lives across town? MeetWays will help you find the perfect halfway point between two locations, and even let you search specific businesses in that area! 

Metro - We say it all the time, but too many people are hesitant about using public transportation in LA! The Metro site is extremely handy in helping you plan your trip and lists really accurate train times.

Free Frozen Yogurt at Red Mango

Red Mango is unleashing its newest flavor, "tangomonium", this weekend! Stop by your local shop between 12pm and 4pm on Saturday to test out the new flavor for free. As always, call to make sure your store is participating!

If You're Into Carb Comas....

We have another freebie to add to this week's plethora of free things....

Some Domino's locations will be giving away FREE Pasta Bread Bowls for carryout tomorrow, 4/29, from 11am to 2pm. Make sure to call your local Dominos (or heck, your nearest five locations) because very few are actually participating in the offer. We called about seven locations until we found a winner (11674 Ventura Blvd. Studio City)! 

Thanks to Danni for the heads up!

Two Reason to Eat Out This Week...

If you plan to eat out this week, we have two fabulous options for you...one is for our charitable readers with jobs, and the other is for our unemployed readers who are broke. And if you're just really ambitious and hungry - do both!

Wednesday, April 29th

Wacky Wednesdays at Cafe 50's: This fun neighborhood diner offers FREE dinner (with drink purchase) to anyone who comes in wearing pajamas on the last Wednesday of each month! The offer runs from 6pm - 10pm and requires that you wear old-school two piece button down pajamas to receive the special. If you know where to find such pajamas (for cheap), feel free to comment and let us all know. Thanks Jaydi!

(10 points if you can identify the gender of this mannequin!)

Thursday, April 30th

Dining Out for Life Los Angeles: Eat out and help support a great charity all at once! This Thursday, join Dining Out for Life and 25% of your bill will be donated to Project Angel Food -

an organization that cooks and delivers 11,000 free, nutritious meals to homebound people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses every week. A few dozen restaurants are participating in the event, so be sure to visit the website to see a full list of restaurant & locations. Personally, we recommend Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood!

OMG another giveaway!!

We want your feedback and we are willing to bribe you for it...

We love working on LA Decostified and pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into researching the best of LA on a  budget.  However, we want to hear what you guys like, don't like, and would like to see on the site in the future. Do you want more videos? More events? More coupons? A different color font? Do you just want us to shut up? Well, let us know! 

Send us your suggestions anytime this week to be entered in our newest giveaway and win a copy of the movie Milk! Anyone living in LA county who emails up before 11:59pm on Friday will be entered into a random drawing for the movie, winner will be announced on Monday. 

You really have no reason not to enter this one, so do it, now!

(Cupcake Not Included.)

This Week in Food Deals!

This upcoming week has more freebies and ridiculous food deals than usual so to help you plan ahead we're putting together this quick list of where to go to get your deals this week!

Sunday

Where: Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time

What: Free Original soft pretzel

When: Check your local store for times

Monday 

Where: KFC

What: Free Piece of KFC's new Grilled Chicken

When: All Day

Tuesday 

Where: El Pollo Loco

What: Free 2 Piece leg and thigh with 2 tortillas and salsa

When: until 8 pm

Wednesday 

Where: Baskin Robbins

What: 31 cent scoops

When: 5 pm to 10 pm

Thursday 

Where: Carvel

What: Free "Iceberg"

When: 3 pm to 7 pm

That's what we've got for now! As always check your local store to make sure they're participating in the deal. There are few things more disappointing than being charged for something you thought was free.

Weekend Fun 4/24-4/26

This weekend is a busy one...lots of fun events & free things!

Friday: 

NFT Book Release Party: Not For Tourists are releasing their 2009 Los Angeles Guide and you're invited to the party! Termed the "ultimate guide for the savvy city dweller", NFT books will help you discover there's much more to Los Angeles than the Hollywood Sign and the Santa Monica Pier. Print out an invitation and bring it with you to receive a FREE copy of the new guide (worth over $20) and a free beer!! The party starts at 6pm at Footsie's, and books & beer will be available while supplies last. 

Cost: FREE

The Warehouse Sale: The country's largest warehouse sale is coming to Pasadena this Friday for one day only. The Warehouse Sale offers tremendous discounts on designer clothing, and draws quite a crowd in every city (see pictures on their website)! If you're looking for a new pair of jeans, it might not be a bad idea to head to the Pasadena Convention Center between 2pm and 8pm...but RSVP first or you'll have to pay a cover charge! Thanks to Tiffany for sending this over to us.

Cost: Depends on how much you buy...

Saturday: 

Grilled Cheese Invitational: We've been counting down the days to this event for weeks now, and it's finally here. The Grilled Cheese Invitational is making its way to LA this Saturday and it is bound to be a glorious event, filled with cheese-themed poetry, comedy, and of course the grilling competition. Kraft Singles will be on-site giving out FREE grilled cheese sandwiches, but if you get there early enough you can sign up to be a judge in the competition... which means you get to try ALL the delicious cheesy concoctions! The event runs from 12pm - 6pm and admission is only $5. We highly recommend taking the metro (to chinatown station) so as not to deal with parking. More details about location/times/cheesy activities can be found here.

Cost: $5

Ikea Sampling: Ikea has been bringing a little taste of Sweden to it's stores for years but this time the taste is FREE! From 1pm to 3pm Ikea in Burbank will be handing out free samples of delicious swedish delicacies! Well maybe they're delicacies, we don't really know the difference. Either way head to their kitchen department on Saturday for some eats!

Cost: FREE

Swap Meet: Free Karaoke is back again! If you missed the video we did about Beta Level's monthly Swap Meet check it out!

Cost: FREE

Sunday:

Freak Dance: We love the Upright Citizens Brigade for always having great comedy shows for about $5. But we especially love them this weekend for having a free show on Sunday evening! Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo is UCB's in your face musical theater extravaganza! It's got "More sex than Flashdance. More drama than Footloose. More danger than The Lambada. More fighting than You Got Served. More pretentiousness than Save the Last Dance..." Interested? Click here to get more details.

Cost: FREE

All Weekend:

LA Times Festival of Books: This 2 day event at UCLA features more than just books. The annual festival includes 6 outdoor stages featuring musical performances, interviews with authors like Kristin Chenoweth and Bob Barker, live cooking shows, and poetry readings. There will also be panel discussions indoors for $.75 a ticket and an entire section devoted to comics, graphic novels, and manga. There really is too much to write here so check out the official website for a full schedule. The festival runs from 10am-6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday and it's sure to be a blast!

Cost: FREE (or $.75 for the panels)

Burbank Art Festival: This Saturday and Sunday Burbank will be shutting down San Fernando Blvd. to make way for over 100 award winning artisans to sell they're wares. You'll be able to find everything from photography to ceramics at this semi annual event and this time they're devoting an entire block to the art of Burbank's students with art projects, performances, and demonstrations of all forms of art. Check out Just Burbank's page for more detailed information.

Cost: FREE

Recession Thursdays at South

Looking for a way to unwind after work today? Or do you not work and just want to go out without spending too much money? Either way... you should head to South in Santa Monica for Recession Thursdays!

Specials include: 

$3 drafts

$5 well drinks

$2 mystery shots (whatever the bartender feels like giving you!)

$1 grilled cheese sandwiches 

$2 pulled meat sandwiches

The specials run from 5pm to midnight every single Thursday (even if the Lakers are on)! 

Happy Volunteer Week!

We've been looking forward to doing a volunteering-themed post for a while now and what better time than during National Volunteer Week (April 19th - 25th)! We know a lot of people are interested in getting involved as volunteers but don't know how - this post is for you!

Paul and I have been volunteering through LA Works regularly for a few months now and are big advocates of the organization! Their mission is simple: to bring people together to strengthen communities and develop leaders through meaningful volunteer action. 

We like volunteering through LA Works for many reasons. First, they make it easy and convenient to find a project that works for you, wether you prefer working with kids, the elderly, animals, or just love gardening. They also understand that people have jobs (well, some of us don't, but still!) and lives, so there are a plethora of programs running every week from the mornings to the evenings. Lastly, the website is very easy to navigate...I'm especially a fan of the calendar feature.

We encourage everyone to at least visit the site and try out a project that seems interesting. Prior to LA Works, Paul had never volunteered and was kind of worried that he would feel awkward volunteering with kids in shelters, or adults with disabilities. However, working on one project made a huge difference on his outlook and he now loves volunteering! So if you're hesitant, just sign up with a friend and give it a shot...it will be fun and you will be making a huge difference in people's lives! 

If you have any further questions about volunteering, or would like us to recommend some projects that we've enjoyed working on, email us!

Disney Celebrates Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, all Disney Store locations are holding a nationwide recycling program, Recycling is Magic, to help educate children (and adults) on the importance of recycling. Tomorrow, store guests are encouraged to bring in 3 plastic bottles to recycle. In return, Disney will be giving out a free reusable Earth Day bottle to all participants! 

As another part of their conservation campaign, Disney Stores will begin carrying shirts and tote bags made with recycled plastic water bottles. We are definitely intrigued...  For more information on Disney Earth Day products, visit their special online boutique!

Free Cone Day!

April 21 is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's! Tomorrow from 12pm to 8pm go into any Ben & Jerry's for a free scoop of ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet. If you've never been to a free cone day before keep in mind that the line can get pretty long so give yourself some time. Check out the Ben & Jerry's website to find your local shop.

National Record Store Day

Today Saturday the 18th is National Record Store Day! Record stores around the country will be offering special deals, in-store concerts, giveaways, and (most importantly) free stuff! Check out the Record Store Day website to see the participating record stores in your area and drop by to see what you can get!