Sometimes it’s just more fun to kick it without the boys.  These Southern California attractions are great places to get away to with all the girls for some shopping, giggling and fun-having.  You can meet up with the guys for dinner.

1. Downtown Disney and Disney California Adventure – Downtown and DCA cater to a more grown-up feel, complete with alcohol and adult-only restaurants.  While your guy might insist on spending a good part of the day in FastPass for Magic Mountain in Disneyland, you and the girls can enjoy your Disney day with some name-brand shopping and wine tasting.
2. San Diego Wild Animal Park – It’s a slower type of experience, but pretending to be on Safari with your best girlfriends will make going home to your own warm bed that much more satisfying.
3. Balboa Park in San Diego – Museums, shopping, cafes, gourmet restaurants… Balboa Park is a great place to spend an afternoon with the girls getting cultured.  Plus, its in the heart of San Diego so you can get in some beach laying and shopping in the morning!
4. Universal Studios City Walk – No need to spend the day waiting with your guys to ride the Simpson’s ride!  Instead, save the entrance fee and enjoy the hip atmosphere and great shopping of City Walk with the girls.  From dining to clubs to Coach, City Walk has all a girl could want.
5. Hollywood Boulevard and Groman’s Chinese Theater – Face it, the guys just don’t understand why you want to find Shirley Temple’s star or why you swoon when your feet fit in Marilyn Monroe’s footprints.  It’s a girl thing.  Take in a chick flick while you’re there and enjoy the old-Hollywood feel of the Mann theater.

Here’s to the Girls!

Thanks to nanotron for the picture of Universal City Walk!

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

If you haven’t already, chances are you’ll soon be receiving one of those tax rebate checks from the government, intended to “stimulate our economy.” I think that’s just fancy talk for “buy lots of stuff” and I plan to do just that. Not sure how to spend yours? If you’re coming to L.A., there are many ways, depending on who you talk to…

If you’re my husband, the first stop would be Amoeba Records in Hollywood. I’m not sure what happens, but immediately after walking through the doors of this cavernous record store he gets a glazed look in his eyes and then disappears for hours, lost in the aisles of vintage vinyl and import cds. I’m betting if he had a supply of water and granola bars in his pocket he could stay in there for weeks at a time.

His next stop would be Guitar Center on Sunset. Even though it’s a chain, apparently the only true Guitar Center experience can be found in its flagship store in Hollywood. I have to agree, since from what I’ve seen the metal rockers there really do have the biggest hair.

My tween daughters would have a totally different plan for their windfall. (This of course, would be a fantasy sequence, where children actually had a say in how their parents’ tax rebate checks were spent.) They’d grab their Hello Kitty purses and head straight to Sugoi Life in Northridge, a mecca for anyone who loves manga and anything Japanese. They’d buy a few Pokémon figures, indulge in some Pocky Sticks (thin wafer sticks dipped in chocolate) and buy at least one plushy from their favorite movie, Totoro.

Then they’d talk me into driving across town to Menchies, where they would get the large, not the small, size of frozen yogurt. It’s a serve yourself place, where you dispense any one of their eight flavors of yogurt (they change daily) and then pile on your toppings, everything from caramel sauce to fresh fruit to Cap’n Crunch. They charge by weight, and with the remainder of the stimulus check burning a hole in their pockets my girls would heap on the gummi bears like there was no tomorrow. I’m thinking each of their cups would weigh fourteen pounds.

As for me, I hate to admit it but I would go straight to Target and spend at least half of that check. But for once, I wouldn’t spend it on detergent, or toothpaste, or Swiffer cloths or anything even remotely practical. No, I’d spend it all on myself – purses, clothes, big rings and that cute Mizrahi jacket I was eyeing the last time I was there buying detergent.

With what is leftover I would make a no-holds-barred trip to a good sushi restaurant, either Yabu or Matsuda. Usually I restrain myself from ordering too much since the bill at either of these pricey joints can easily run up into the hundreds. But with that rebate check sitting pretty in my new Target bag, I wouldn’t have to choose between the spicy tuna with jalapeño or the Kobe beef tataki – I could order it all.

How will you spend your rebate check?

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

Happy Earth Day! Are you drinking your organic coffee out of your recyclable cup while driving your Prius to work today? Yeah, me neither. And I’m not going to lie and say I spent the weekend hugging my ficus or working on my compost pile, either. In fact, I don’t even have a compost pile, unless you count that heap of decomposing chicken bones and orange rinds out in my yard that are leftover from my last barbecue. Read More »

From guest blogger, Marsha Takeda-Morrison, of Sweatpantsmom.

If you happen to stop by my house on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 8 and 9:30 and you’re not delivering a pizza, chances are you’ll be left standing at the door. Okay, maybe my husband will answer, but he’ll be under strict orders to get rid of whoever is there as soon as possible. This is because me and my two daughters cannot be disturbed while we’re engaged in that most noble of American pastimes: Heckling the performers on American Idol.

I admit to being completely disinterested at first in the blatherings of Ryan, Randy, Paula and Simon. I managed to avoid any Idol talk at parties and playgroups, proud to be the .0001% of the viewing public that wasn’t part of Idol hysteria. That is until my daughters watched it at their friends’ house, convinced me to tune in one fateful Tuesday night, and got me absolutely, hopelessly hooked.

You know the part where Randy shouts out, “Welcome to Hollywood, dawg”? Well they actually do come to Hollywood, believe it or not. The shows leading up to the finals are taped at CBS Television City, home of legendary shows like the Ed Sullivan Show, All in the Family and Hollywood Squares. More recently the studio has been the location for Dancing With the Stars and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. That’s a lot of TV dinners.

If you’re one of the gazillion viewers that would like to attend a taping of AI, you might want to check out OnCameraAudiences.com, a source for tickets to various show tapings. Once you’ve scored your ticket and flown, driven or hitchhiked your way to Hollywood, stop by Swingers Diner which is just down the street from CBS Television City. They have an awesome turkey meatloaf and a cool retro vibe. (Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t the setting for the Vince Vaughn movie “Swingers.” That would be the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop, located a few miles to the north.)

The finals of American Idol are filmed at the Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars. I attended an industry awards show at the Kodak a few years back, and have to confess that one of the most thrilling things was going to the ladies restroom. I couldn’t help but think, “Angelina Jolie might have sat in this very spot!” But even if you don’t make it into the theater, the surrounding Hollywood and Highland Center is worthy of a day trip. It’s a massive complex with shops, restaurants and clubs, and great for people watching. We like to take the kids to the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley, which is bowling at its most high-tech and luxurious. (More useless trivia: Brandon Routh from “Superman Returns” was a bartender here.) The complex also has one of those dying relics: an actual brick and mortar record store. You’ll find the Virgin Records Megastore on the ground floor if you ever decide to take a break from downloading your favorite AI tunes and buy one of those round, shiny things. What were they called? Oh yeah, CDs.

Who do you think will be the next American Idol? (Sorry, I won’t be answering comments on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 8 and 9:30.)