Giveaway: The CW's The Vampire Diaries & The Originals

Do you like watching The Vampire Diaries and/or The Originals on the CW?  If so, you will want to read this post and enter my giveaway at the end!  You might find yourself hosting a watch-party at home with your friends if you win! :)

First – we have four blogger exclusive interviews with the creator of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, Julie Plec. These super fan videos feature Julie confessing her favorite moments & top 5 episodes from the recent seasons of both The Vampire Diaries The Complete Sixth Season and The Originals The Complete Second Season.

Secondly – we’ve included a fun “Viewing Party Eats: Recipes to Satisfy Friends & Enemies” downloadable PDF that’s sure to impress your guests. With index card recipes and party-ready place cards included, we’ve made it easy to prep some snacks to satisfy during your marathon watch-party.

About The Vampire Diaries The Complete Sixth Season

The Vampire Diaries continues its sixth season with more delicious drama to sink your teeth into. In season five, after a passionate summer with Damon, Elena headed to Whitmore College with Caroline, not knowing Bonnie sacrificed her life for Jeremy’s. Meanwhile, Stefan and Caroline’s friendship deepened as they stood up to the Travelers, a nomadic witch tribe driven to strip Mystic Falls of magic and cast out its supernatural residents. In the shocking season finale, Damon, fearing he would lose his loved ones on the crumbling Other Side, made a huge sacrifice to bring them all back — with catastrophic and heartbreaking results. Season six follows the characters’ journey back to each other as they explore the duality of good versus evil inside themselves. Matt Davis reprises his role as Alaric Saltzman, recently returned from The Other Side. Plus, the season will make you misty-eyed as the departure of a major character will turn lives upside down and leave us asking what happened to Mystic Falls.

Own The Vampire Diaries The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD September 1, 2015 .
Contains All 22 Episodes From The Sixth Season Plus Two Featurettes, An Audio Commentary, The 2014 Comic-Con Panel, Deleted Scenes, And A Gag Reel

The Vampire Diaries on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevampirediaries 
The Vampire Diaries on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwtvd

About The Originals The Complete Second Season

As Original vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson returned to the vibrant, supernaturally charged city of New Orleans in season one, he was stunned to learn — along with his siblings Elijah and Rebekah — that Hayley, a werewolf, was pregnant with his child, and his vampire protégé, Marcel, whom the Original siblings had thought long dead, was ruling the French Quarter. Soon, a bloody war escalated between vampires and witches — the stakes raised by powerful teenage witch Davina and by Klaus’s bond with Cami, a student with a painful past — and a ruthless pack of wolves seized the opportunity to stage a violent coup. Now, in season two, a new status quo must be adjusted to, as the newly empowered werewolves control the city. Klaus struggles with weaknesses as Elijah desperately tries to save Hayley — now a hybrid — from a vicious spiral of self-destruction. Meanwhile, with the re-emergence of several Mikaelsons, “family is power” takes on new meaning.

Own The Originals The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD September 1, 2015
Contains All 22 Episodes From The Second Season Plus Never-Before-Seen Featurettes And Much More!

The Originals on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cworiginals 
Ask The Originals on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cworiginals










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On September 1st come back to take a new "Could You Be a Supernatural Being?" Quiz - the above app will be automatically updated with a new quiz experience, so be sure to take both!




Thank you to Warner Bros., who will provide either The Vampire Diaries Season 6, or The Originals Season 2 (prize will be chosen at random)to one of my readers!  This is a great giveaway, and I hope you will enter to win, and then share it with your friends as well! Thanks for your support of my blog, and good luck! (enter to win via the Rafflecopter Widget below by completing the mandatory entries and any of the optional ones you'd like to complete as well).

Daphne Oz's Coconut Pecan Poundcake Recipe

Hey y'all!! It's been a little hectic with the last week of school for my kiddos, office parties,  get-togethers with friends, and then both kiddos have been sick since the weekend.  Trying to get all the last minute things
done now!

Today I made the most amazing pound cake.  The plan was to bake this delicious cake for a get-together we had planned for Friday with my family, and bake another for a luncheon on Saturday with my in-laws. Then a third one for my Dad when he comes down from Charlotte.   But today, the pediatrician suggested we stay home, as the bug the kids have is quite nasty.  She said to stay away from elderly folks, and babies.  Both of which we would have seen this weekend.  So we have cancelled our plans, and will be staying home to rest and recuperate.  I decided to go ahead and bake one of these to send to Randy's office for them to enjoy.  Oh. my. gosh....it is oh-so good!!

The recipe came from Daphne Oz on The Chew, which is my favorite daytime show ever! They have great recipes, tips, and more - and the hosts have such amazing chemistry together. Do y'all watch it?  Anyhoo - back to this fab recipe:  I tweaked it a tiny bit by adding some vanilla extract to both the cake and the glaze,  but will probably try it with almond extract next time I make it! It's moist in the middle, crusty on the outside, and deliciously glazed on both top and bottom - seriously delicious, y'all! 

Coconut Pecan Pound Cake

Batter: 

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
1 cup flaked coconut, unsweetened
1 cup pecan pieces (or chopped)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:

1/2 c water
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Prehat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour bundt or other pan. 
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and butter and beat with an electrical mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.   In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in three parts to batter, mix gently until just moistened.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Pour batter into cake pan, bake for 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Five minutes before cake is finished baking, make the glaze.  Combine water, butter and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, stir well and cook for 5 additional minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.  Slowly pour half of the syrup over the cake,  invert cake onto serving plate.  Pour remaining syrup over the top and sides.  Can dust top with confectioner's sugar or serve as is - let it sit for at least 10 minutes, serve warm!!

I hope to have another Christmas treat recipe up tomorrow, or Friday at the latest - sorry for the sporadic blogging, but sick kids and too many holiday plans have kept me hopping!



sweet, gooey goodness on the bottom, a crusty top and side, and moist cake in the middle.  Coconut was in almost every bite, with the occasional chunk of pecan.  Absolute perfection!!  


 

TLC's Extreme Couponers doesn't tell the whole story....

Hello Wednesday - so glad it is hump day!! We are in the midst of a fabulous Spring Break.  The kids and I have been able to use my sister's pool each day, as we are petsitting her adorbs Yorkie & teacup Yorkie while her family is at the beach.  I even got a bit of a tan! : ) 

So much is being said throughout the blogworld about TLC's Extreme Couponing show that comes back on tonight.  I've done a bit of research on the show since it premiered back in December, and I have a big problem with one aspect of the show. 

You'll notice that it's all about ~ I had $760 worth of products but paid only $5!! Woohoo!!  What they DON'T tell us is that these extreme couponers BUY their coupons.  And to buy 200 of this and 500 of that adds up.  So they aren't just spending $5.  And that to me is dishonest, because now there is a huge following of women who want to spend $5 a week on hundreds of dollars worth of groceries - but it is simply not possible!!  Even on a week when I buy 8 Atlanta Sunday papers, the most I spend is $13 for my papers and coupons.  Most weeks I only buy 5 - and that costs me $7.  I can't imagine spending more than that for coupons!! Eight of any item is plenty for our family of four. Most weeks I buy 2 double papers and get one delivered, so I have 5 of each coupon.

Right now I spend on average about $100 a week for our family of four - including groceries, drug store items & paper goods for us, items for our stockpile, as well as a few free or uber-cheap items for family & friends, plus items to donate to a local church's food pantry.  For example, this week I had 3 boxes of pasta for my sister, 3 boxes of pasta for my mom, cereal & fruit snacks for my college-aged niece, plus 3 grocery bags of assorted food and toiletries for the food pantry.  Our freezers are both stocked with meat, veggies, bread and cheese.  The pantry is full, the stockpile shelves are full.  There is something so satisfying about knowing your family is prepared for an emergency, or any disaster, disruption, etc. I like being prepared, but I could never go overboard with hundreds of the same item - that is just so over the top and crazy!! Who has the space for that? Not your average coupon-using-family-next-door types!! I believe if you are getting hundreds of the same items it is hoarding, not stockpiling!  What's even worse, some of these extreme couponers supposedly re-sell the items they get for free - now that is just wrong! I've personally seen ads on craigslist for huge lots of food items and I guess it is extreme couponers selling them.  I think that is awful, what do you think?

So while I will watch the show tonight, I will be aware that the show slanted it's portrayal of these extreme couponers - NONE of them are getting the deals for that cheap! They are simply neglecting to inform viewers of the cost of the coupons to get those items for so little money - and that isn't right.   Why not make a show about REAL couponers who save 70% off their bills with the coupons from their Sunday papers? And maybe a few internet coupons too?  I do this often, and know of many other coupon bloggers who do as well. That would help new couponers to see more realistically how you can save money and maximize your budget - not have them dreaming of getting a cartful of items for free!

Phew, glad I got that off my chest.  Now off my soapbox to make supper for my family! Y'all have a fabulous night, and let me know what you think of the show tonight. 

If you are in the metro Atlanta area, I've paired up with a local health store to offer my Semi-Extreme Couponing class in Dacula this July.  And as always, I offer classes at your home or office - just email me to find out more!