Megabus - $1 each way from Reno to San Fran

So, I was listening to a travel article on my Pulse news app on my phone and ran across Budget your Vacation: 4 Tips to Save Money and found out that as along and you book 30-45 days in advance; you can book a trip to......

San Francisco from Reno for $1 each way
(along with a $0.50 reservation charge).

Mind you, that this $1 trip is really only during the normal Monday through Friday workweek; however, the weekends range from $16-18 each way. If you come back on the early 8:30am bus on Sunday, then you will most likely only spend about $2.

BUT STILL!! Imagine the international flights that you can go on for way less than leaving from RNO airport. For instance, I looked up taking a trip to Puerto Rico from Reno and the cost ran about $550. From SFO airport, the same trip was only $350. And you wouldn't have to pay for parking, tolls, and gas on top of airfare, etc.

 

Once on the site, you will choose your state and then city from which you are leaving. Then, you will see the options of where you can travel to with Megabus. In the Reno area, I could also leave from Sparks and there are two options of trips:

1. Sacramento - 2hrs 40mins
2. San Francisco - 4hrs 10mins

The buses go straight to their destination without making pit stops so there is a restroom on the bus along with:

• FREE wifi
• Reclining seats
• Double Decker (2 stories of seats to choose from)
• Handicap accessible (moderately impaired -- probably because of the stairs to the bus)
• Seatbelts
• and of course, Professional Drivers

Hope this helps with cheap travels for summer!

Leftover chili bake

Ok, so I had a ton of rice left over from make a stir fry, veggie korma and another meal. I didn't flavor the rice so I could use it multiple meals and i didn't want to throw it out. So after grabbing things from my pantry......I turned the remaining rice into a chili bake.

Ingredients (but feel free to add more. I just used some of what i had to save on groceries):
- plain rice (2 maybe to 3 cooked cups)
- kidney beans (16oz can rinsed ans strained)
- corn (16oz can)
- tomato sauce (16oz can)
- sprinkled in some chili powder, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt & pepper, cumin, minced onion, cilantro and chives (Any and all spices i thought would be good in a chili and what I had on hand. I was out of bay leaves and some others.)

I sauteed the beans and corn in butter while adding the spices one at a time. Then, I added the tomato sauce and little simmer just for a couple of minutes before adding rice to the mix. I sprayed the casserole dish with nonstick spray and then spread it out.

I shredded about 1-1.5 cups of pepper jack cheese and sprinkled it on top. Then bake at 400° for 25-30mins uncovered OR if the mixture is hot enough from the fry pan, just broil the dish on high until the cheese browns.

Enjoy

FREE STARBUCKS

Did you know that for every empty bag of Starbucks coffee, you can exchange it for a tall brewed coffee at any Starbucks store? Neat!
I'm on a student budget. So its nice to have this as an option when somebody says, "hey, let's meet for coffee and catch up." LOL
**BTW, the offer for the exchange is good up until 30 days after the Best Buy date stamped on the bag.

Stuffed bell peppers (vegan) minus the sour cream :-)

Filled with:

Rice

Beans

Tomatoes

Salsa

Cilantro

Corn

(and honestly, anything else you desire)

Bake in the oven @ 350 degrees for about 20-30 and Enjoy :-)

Once done, top off the peppers with crushed tortilla chips or any other garnish before serving.

Also, this is a great recipe for camping as everything already made. Just wrap the pepper in tin foil placing the pepper in the middle of the foil and pulling the foil upwards so you can make a handle with the excess that would on top of the pepper. Place the pepper into the hot/warm campfire for about 20 minutes turning occassionally. It's an even easier clean up by throwing away the foil once done eating.

Valentine Nails

Having some nail fun with my new Bundle Monster kit from Christmas. I have to remember to let my stamped picture dry first before my top coast next to time though....

Straightening iron curls

Christmas nails and Candy Cane toes

So I got inspired by a Pinterest post (check out my Nail Addiction board) and a post on Chloe's Nails blog. I know I didn't do as well as a job as Chloe on my toes however I still had fun and love this design for something fun.

I recommend cutting your strips of tape skinnier than what you think. If you really think about it, your toes are a smaller canvas than what you use tape for normally or even your fingernails (except your big toe of course). The China Glaze little bottle is Ruby pumps. I got it at Sally's Beauty Supply for $1.99. I forgot to mention that when you are applying your top coat, make your strokes in the direction of your stripes. Luckily this only affected a smaller toe by smudging the polish when I tried brushing the top coat on just like normal nails.

Also I used two light coats of the Sephora OPI Good Tidings We Bling on the tips on my nails.

Merry Christmas!!🎄🎅

~Valerie Ram Rattan~