Free Jazz Concerts this Summer

Now that I work in the Ronald Reagan Building at Federal Triangle, I don't need to venture far on Fridays for the weekly free summer jazz series. My tips- get there early and bring a blanket to sit on!

The National Gallery of Art offers free jazz performances at Jazz in the Garden at its outdoor café every Friday evening throughout the summer. Visitors can enjoy cocktails and a light dinner while listening to great music amid 17 monumental works of 20th-century sculpture and flowering trees, shrubs, groundcovers, and perennials. Arrive early for optimal seating. In inclement weather, concerts are held inside the Pavilion Café.

Dates: Every Friday, May 27 to September 9, 2011

Time: 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Location: The Pavilion Café at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, 7th and Constitution NW, Washington, DC. The nearest Metro stations are Archives/Navy Memorial, Smithsonian and Judiciary Square.

Admission: Free

Food: You may bring your own picnic or purchase food from the Pavilion Cafe.

For the complete schedule, click here.

Annual Memorial Day Concert DC

This Sunday, May 29th is the annual Memorial Day Concert at the Capitol Steps in Washington!
It starts at 8 and lasts for 1 1/2 hours so get there early to snag a good spot on the West Lawn. If you're a lazy bone or don't live in Washington, you can watch it live in PBS.

The Performers

The 2011 National Memorial Day Concert features award-winning stars and well-known personalities.

Gary Sinise
Joe Mantegna
General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)
Kris Allen
Dianne Wiest
B.B. King
Hayley Westenra
Forest Whitaker
Jason Ritter
Pia Toscano
A.J. Cook
Daniel Rodriguez
Yolanda Adams
Maestro Jack Everly
The National Symphony Orchestra
Military District of Washington
U.S. Army Herald Trumpets
The U.S. Army Chorus
The Soldiers’ Chorus of The United States Army Field Band
U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters
U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants
Behind the Scenes: Our award-winning production team

How to get 22% off at Home Depot

I haven't written in a while because Shawn and I bought a fixer-upper in Bethesda last month and we've been slaving away trying to get it ready for us to move in! Getting it ready means spending mucho dinero at Home Depot!

So here is how we save 18-22%:
Online:
1. Go to plasticjungle.com where you can buy gift cards other people don't want at discounted prices. The going rate for home depot gift cards is 7% off. We use our cash back AmEx blue rewards card to buy these gift cards, giving us another 1% cash back.
2. Register at ebates.com and then search for 'home depot'. By clicking on the home depot link through ebates, you will get 3% cash back on your purchase (even if you use gift cards and not credit cards).
3. Wait for 10% off sales. For example this month, Home Depot is offering $130 off any purchase of $1,200-$1,700 for bathroom supplies (vanities, tiles, lights, etc). So I spent exactly $1200 so I would get more than 10% off (I can always get a 10% off coupon in the store so I would only do this online if I can get more than 10% off). I only bought products that offer free shipping.
Thus my total saved was 21.8%.

In the store:
Repeat step 1 above, giving you 8% off. Then go to your local post office and ask for a moving kit. In the moving kit you'll find a 10% off total lowes purchase. Home Depot accepts competitor coupons. Combine the 10% off with your plastic jungle gift card for a total of 18% off all in store purchases.

Plastic jungle doesn't usually have lowes coupons or else I'd suggest you use your 10% off coupon where it was meant to be spent.

I'm very lucky because my new house is 10 minutes from a Home Depot and the post office is in the same parking lot!! How perfect?! : )

Trash to treasure

This weekend is trash to treasure celebration in chevy chase! Come collect piles of treasures ppl are throwing out right in front of their homes. We have collected a wine cooler, garden tools, and a leaf blower.

Free eyebrow waxing

Ultas offer free eyebrow waxing on your birthday, and possibly during your birthday week! They also have free returns if you have half of the product left.

Internet

So last summer we got into a fight with comcast and shawn cancelled our services, both internet and cable. It's honestly been great with us getting free over the air television.  As for internet, the building next to ours offers their residents wifi for $20 a month. shawn devised a system for us to pick up their signal via our cantena and then he has a router redirect the signal to all of our computers. This worked fine and the $20 a month was less than the $30 with comcast.  we thought we were brilliant until our upgrade today.

We paid $10 each for the andeoid tether service which let's us use our android verizon internet on our computers. So for a one time $20 total cost we can get free internet now! Of course we are paying for the unlimited internet on our phones but why pay twice for internet when you can pay just once!

V-Day part 2

February 11, 6-10 p.m

Looking for the wildest way to celebrate Valentine's Day without breaking the bank? Attend the National Zoo's friskiest and fun-filled event!

This memorable evening, open to both singles and sweethearts, is a lighthearted exploration into the sexual behavior of animals, especially our frolicsome felines: lions and cheetahs!

These honest and humorous talks will be hosted by some of the Zoo’s most charismatic animal experts, who have first-hand experience with the Zoo's recent reproductive success in the form of seven lion cubs and two cheetah cubs.

Craig Saffoe, acting curator of great cats and Andean bears, will talk about his experiences making matches among our lion pride, and then overseeing the breedings and births that led to seven lion cubs. Lacey Braun, lead cheetah keeper at SCBI Front Royal will talk about her adventures in breeding cheetahs and cheetah cub births.

Woo at the Zoo features:

• A complimentary red-stemmed champagne flute featuring the Woo at the Zoo logo
• Complimentary hors d'oeuvres
• A cash bar
• The opportunity to decorate your own Valentines cookies for "Cookie Grams"
• Woo at the Zoo presentation featuring an honest and humorous look at the more remarkable animal facts on reproduction, choosing mates, and raising families.
• Free parking at the Zoo

All the fun takes place in the Zoo's Visitor Center.

Tickets

FONZ members: $15 | Nonmembers: $25

Tickets for the 8:30 lecture are sold out. Tickets are still available for the 6:30 lecture.

	Buy tickets at the Zoo and save money Buy your tickets at any National Zoo gift shop between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and pay no service fees.
	Buy tickets online Buy Woo at the Zoo tickets online. It's the green option! A $2 fee per transaction applies.

Subway

Once in a great while Shawn and I end up not having left overs and we're forced to purchase lunch. Whenever this happens, four times so far in my new job at USAID, I am secretly excited because it means I get to eat at Subway! I always get the 6-inch veggie delight. I know the foot longer is more value for your money, but the Subway in the Ronald Reagan Building sadly does not participate in national Subway celebrations such as the $5 foot-long campaign.

Anyway, yesterday after I purchased my Subway sandwich and I noticed that the receipt says that taking a 1-minute online survey results in an email with a coupon code for a free subway cookie!

I just filled out the survey and tomorrow will claim my free cookie. Subway cookies, always soft, are really fantastic. They cook them right there, and if your cookie was sitting out for a while they will even microwave your cookie upon request.

While we're on this topic, if you have never heard Mitch Hedberg's joke about Subway you have to listen to it here now.