Frugal Family Planner for March 9-15

If you need a dress for prom and don’t know where the money is going to come from, now is the time to get busy with "The Princess Project.”

The project provides beautiful dresses and accessories for Bay Area girls who would otherwise miss out on prom because of high expenses. Girls determine their own financial need but must show a valid Bay Area high school ID and get in line for a wristband at 7 a.m. in San Francisco. The wristbands are given on a first-come, first-served basis and provide your appointment time to pick out one dress and one accessory.

Girls are allowed to bring one parent or friend to their appointment March 12, 13 or 20. The address is 901 Market Street. Visit www.princessproject.org for more information and don't forget your school ID or latest report card with photo ID.

Free African Vegan Cooking Lesson & Tasting Opportunity

An Ethiopian Vegan Cooking Demonstration and Tasting is happening at the (1720 Novato Blvd.) at 11 a.m. Saturday. This event is free but space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 897-1141 to reserve your spot and follow-up if there’s a waiting list because often people reserve a space and don’t show up. If you do reserve a space and change your mind, please call to inform the library so your space can be given to another person.

New Exhibit Reception at Marin MOCA

This Saturday from 4-7 p.m., stop by the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art at Hamilton for the opening of the new exhibit, “Deep Structure” put together by guest curator Kathryn Weller Renfrow and featuring the work of John Ruszel, Owen Schuh and Kate Stirr. We took a sneak peak and my girls especially enjoyed Stirr's video installation of sea creature close-ups and her "Kayak/Trout" while I appreciated Schuh's pencil and tea drawings and Ruszel's hanging "spine" among other things. Like any art reception worth its gesso, wine, cheese and snacks are served.

Sushi-lovers Take Note and Take-Out?

One of the most effective ways to watch your dollars is to prepare your food at home. Even so, sometimes you've got to have a break from cooking. My family loves sushi, something we would find difficult if not impossible to make at home. You can easily spend $20/person in a restaurant and still leave mildly hungry. I was skeptical at first but have tried and discovered that supermarket sushi is really pretty good. My friend Sue says she can buy enough sushi for her family at Sushi Savior inside for them to stuff themselves silly for less than $30 total. Sushi Savior is arguably the cream of your supermarket sushi choices in Novato and offers a stellar seaweed salad as good as any I've ever had, but I've enjoyed the  spicy tuna rolls many times, too.

Teenaged Spies Needed by the American Lung Association

Learn espionage skills, earn money, receive gift cards, garner valuable work experience and get a letter of recommendation. All by volunteering as an undercover tobacco enforcement agent. The American Lung Association in California is looking for teenagers ages 14-16 years to volunteer as undercover tobacco enforcement agents to help monitor tobacco sales to minors. Volunteers have helped investigate thousands of stores safely and successfully. To learn more call 1-877-782-5343
 or print an application at www.stakeact.com.