A Couch With A View: 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Enjoy laughs this holiday with Pitch Perfect gift guide post

One of the best comedies on the scene for the holidays this year is Pitch Perfect... I've seen a lot of really funny movies throughout the years, but this one ranks in my top five of funny.

Rated PG-13, it may not be for everyone, although younger teens might find it humorous, it does contain sexual material, poor language and drug references. Pitch Perfect follows the Barden Bellas, an a capella singing group, with their perfect hair, and perfect bodies. The all-girl group failed at finals the year before and has begun to regroup... with the help from Beca, the indie, aspiring DJ. My favorite character? Fat Amy. Hysterical, says whatever she has to say, snarky, and sassy.

Pitch Perfect is seriously funny, and is the perfect gift for everyone from 16 to 90... Especially fans of shows like Glee or any of the singing competition shows. You can pick this up wherever dvds are sold, or order it from my favorite site, amazon.com.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Send holiday wishes with Treat! Gift Guide Post

I love finding great new places that have awesome greeting cards for all reasons, this year, I'm happy I found Treat! Treat has some of the greatest cards that I've seen!!

This year, I'm unfortunately running a little bit late on my Christmas greeting cards ordering. I just can't seem to get my butt in gear and get my cards ordered. I really love the wreath frame card, except my kids would never sit so nicely together as the models in the picture!!

I got a bit ahead of myself and started browsing their funny birthday card category... I was cracking up reading some of these!! I know that they'll be perfect cards for some of my best friends birthdays!!

Would you like 10 Treat cards to send this holiday season?? Please leave a comment here with your favorite Treat design to be entered to win! Please keep in mind, cards must be ordered by 12/18 to guarantee holiday delivery.

For an extra entry, give Treat a Like on Facebook.

This giveaway will accept entries until 11:59 pm on Friday, December 14th. Giveaway open to U.S. entries only. Winner must reply to winning email by noon, Monday, December 16th. If no response, prize will be forfeited.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Get sexy this holiday season! Gift Guide Post

I'm going to kick off the holiday wish list this year with lots of goodies from one of my favorite online stores- EdenFantasys!!

I love EF because they're the one place that I shop for JUST ME! Finding "me" time is way too important when you're spending so much time shopping for the kiddos this holiday season. The selection at EF is the perfect way to treat yourself (or your loved one) to a bit of grown up time.

The easiest way that you can make your holiday selections is to shop their Gift Center. They've broken it down into awesome easy to use categories in order to make your shopping time more efficient. You can shop by categories like "for him" or "for her," but they even have categories like "holiday themed," "bath and body" or "build your own gift set." These options make it easy to shop, but no matter what I always get lost in the site and sucked into all the great goodies that are available. I'm eyeballing the Velvet Santa costume, its almost too dang cute to pass up!!

A couple things that I hope my SexySanta brings me? My favorite Booty Parlor lotion, the Four Way Flutter Set and the Luna Beads Noir.

Another great way to save is to browse their holiday blow out sale section, where you can save anywhere between 20% to 70% on awesome items while supplies last! Even if you procrastinate, you don't have to worry about your order arriving late! EF has shipping promos going on from December 17th through 21st, all orders will get FREE shipping, FREE 2nd day shipping on $90+ orders, and FREE next day on orders $120+. And another FREE? Don't forget to add your FREE GIFT to your cart when you checkout!! I can't tell you how much I love the wipes!!

USE CODE X4T TO SAVE 15% ON YOUR ORDER!!

Creative Holiday Office Party Ideas!! guest post

I'll be bringing you some guest posts from the lovely Sierra. This is the first! Hope you enjoy!

Sometimes when work is a little slow and the atmosphere is getting dull at the office during the holidays, it’s time to get some games and activities going to make things a bit more exciting. Not only will approved activities make the time go by more quickly, but it will also provide you with the opportunity to catch up with co-workers and find out what they have planned for the holidays. You may find yourself connecting with someone that you’ve never chatted with before and finding common interests. Making a new friend at the office will be great because you’ll be able to visit with them later when you’re having a slower day at work.

Costume Party
Even though Halloween is over, who says you can’t have a costume party during Christmas too? In fact, utilize supplies that you already have in your office and have a fun create-your-own costume party. Stock up on supplies for the costume party ahead of time from www.stockpkg.com and use raw materials to create your costume, such as garbage bags, aluminum foil and plastic bottles. If you are allowed to come dressed as a superhero or another great character, instead of coming as Santa or Mrs. Clause, be creative and arrive as a super-villain. Your costume doesn’t have to be expensive — use your imagination and have fun showing up in a creative costume that everyone will have fun checking out.

White Elephant Gift Exchange
If you’d really like an entertaining event to take place in your office, plan a white elephant gift exchange. If you’re a manager or have the opportunity to talk to your boss, let them know that you’ll need to tell everyone to bring a gender neutral gift to the party. It’s also important to set a budget so that all of the gifts are around the same price. This will be a great event that not only will create a lot of laughter, but it will also be entertaining to see how everyone responds to the gift “stealing.” At the end of the game it will also be fun to see what everyone ultimately decides to keep — that is if they are given the chance to keep what they actually like.

Movie Party
You never can go wrong with a movie party. They’re cheap and always a lot of fun. Gather everyone that’s at the office in a large conference room and pick out a holiday classic that everyone will enjoy. Don’t forget to purchase a bunch of extra snacks for everyone to munch on and press play. If you have time after the movie, you could also have a mini-trivia game about the actors in the film.

Sierra loves to write and she’s made her hobby a reality by becoming a freelance writer. When she used to work in an office she loved participating and attending fun office parties.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

New printable coupons!!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Be a glam gal at XSRE!!

Even at 30, I'm into all things trendy and girly... I've found a new go-to place to grab that gear!! XSRE!! They have everything from apparel to accessories to shoes to makeup and much more, its like a glam girl's mecca!!

Gorgeous, romantic accessories!!

For readers in the Syracuse (go 'cuse!) area, you know you want to hit up the Destiny USA mall, and run into XSRE this Saturday (12/1/2012) at 2:00!! When you get there, you know you wanna glam it up and get in on their casting call! They'll be picking the new face of their store! The winner will be getting a 6 month modeling contract, be featured on the website, will go to NYC for promo shots and get a monthly $100 XSRE gift card!! (I'm trying my best to attend, so if you see me there, please say hello!!)

For readers in other areas, check other locations, like Annapolis or Buckland amongst them...

Still not sure what XSRE is or if its for you?? Shame shame... Its probably one of the supercoolest stores out there! And perfect for holiday shopping for the trendy gals in your life. Take a peek--

Be sure to "like" XSRE on facebook too!! Check out #XSREGirl on Twitter!!

This post was compensated by The Blogger Connection. Compensation does not affect opinions. I write with integrity!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

New printable grocery coupons!!

Breakfast

Meals at Home

Snacks & Desserts

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Kick start the holidays with The Nutcracker! (NYC Giveaway)

One great way to get into the holiday spirit is to watch shows or movies that are season specific, like The Nutcracker! I've always loved The Nutcracker myself, ever since we took a field trip in elementary school to see a live performance of it. This year, for one day only, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker will be in select theaters, and in some, 3D!!

Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker features an amazing ballet troupe, the legendary Russian Mariinsky Ballet Theater.

If you're unfamiliar with the storyline of The Nutcracker-

The Russian Imperial Mariinsky Theatre was the original home to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker in 1892, when it made its worldwide debut. Movie theater audiences will experience the marvelous talents of two of the Mariinsky Theatre’s rising stars – Alina Somova as Clara (Masha in the original Russian ballet) and Vladimir Shklyarov as the Nutcracker. Conducted by Valery Gergiev, this timeless production of The Nutcracker opens with a Christmas Eve party and a young girl, Clara, being given a nutcracker doll by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. Later in the evening when Clara sleeps, she finds herself in the midst of the Nutcracker’s battle against the Mouse King and his army of mice. Coming to Clara’s aid, the Nutcracker is transformed into a Prince and journeys with her to an enchanted island where spectacular celebrations are held in their honor.

I have a pair of tickets to giveaway to this awesome film!! These are ONLY valid for the 2:00 pm show on Monday, December 3rd, at the AMC Empire theater. (AMC Empire is located at 234 West 42nd St. NY) Feel free to check here if this amazing show will be near you on December 3rd!

All you have to do to be entered to win is leave a comment here with who you'd like to bring with you to this amazing movie experience!!

One extra entry! Tweet this!!
Get in the holiday spirit with a 3D showing of The Nutcracker!! NYC ticket #giveaway!! Enter here http://bit.ly/XDTn8i to #win!

Rules: Entries will end at 11:59 pm est on Sunday, November 25th. Winner must respond to email by 8:00 pm est on Monday, November 26th or else prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be drawn. Please only enter if you can attend the show. Transportation is NOT included, this giveaway is for specific tickets ONLY.

I received tickets for my family to attend the show, but this did not affect my writing. I blog with integrity!!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Bear with me!!

Thanks for being a loyal reader of A Couch With A View, this semester has been kicking my butt!! Bear with me while I play catch-up over the next couple of days, and begin putting together an awesome holiday gift guide for you!!

National Toy Store Day is November 10th!!

We all know how important that it is to shop local. At least once per day, I hear a commercial on the radio reminding me to shop local and to support our community. I try my best, and sometimes the convenience of shopping big box stores and online gets to me, but I do try to shop local.

One great way of shopping local is to participate in this years Neighborhood Toy Store Day on Saturday, November 10th. This year is the third annual, and why not use it to get a jump start on holiday shopping? Shopping at your neighborhood toy store has a lot of benefits, you're able to find fun items that some big box stores don't generally carry. At the same time supporting a small business that needs appreciative, repeat customers.

Stores participating in Neighborhood Toy Store day will have special events going on as well, such as crafts, performances, discounts and more. With the chill of fall approaching, its a great way to get out of the house and do something different, since beach days are gone for the season.

You can learn more about Neighborhood Toy Store day and how to support it many ways...
Visit their website
Check out their Facebook
Follow them on Twitter (and use hashtags! #toystoreday #shoplocal #localtoystore)

Are you planning on supporting Neighborhood Toy Store Day? Are you planning to shop local this holiday season?

Please feel free to read my disclosure policy.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New Printable Grocery Coupons!

Breakfast

In the Home

Meals at Home

Snacks & Desserts

Personal Care

Monday, October 8, 2012

Stop & Shop and Produce for Kids team up!!

I've been shopping at Stop & Shop for as long as I can remember, and I love how much they interact in our own community. Just last school year, they sent their store manager to a cook-off with my daughters school principal, and to talk to the kids about healthy eating.

Stop & Shop and Produce for Kids has teamed up for the second annual Healthy Schools, Healthy Minds campaign! This campaign is an amazing way for schools to get fresh fruit and produce, simply by adding it to your shopping lists! DonarsChoose.org will be working with this campaign as well to support these projects.

You can also enter the new Pinterest contest that has launched, all that you have to do is pin to show how you'll make a party healthy and the winning boards will be notified November 7th! Two first place winners will receive cook sets valued at $250, three second place winners will receive gift baskets full of Sprout and LazyTown merchandise, and four third place winners will receive $50 gift cards to their local grocery store!

We have found awesome Produce for Kids Ideal Meal displays at our store, where my kids keep snagging new recipe cards for us to try. There are 12 different recipe cards available, they're quick and easy, and what I love is that they are healthy-chef created and dietician approved! You can also check out the recipes on the Produce for Kids website.

We're looking forward to trying out the recipe for Florentine Egg Muffins (we're BIG muffin lovers here!)

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

· 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

· 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

· ½ cup tomatoes, diced

· 2 cups spinach, loosely packed

· 1 cup red bell peppers, seeded, diced

· 6 large eggs

· 1½ cups grated potatoes, cooked

· ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender and water evaporates. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Lightly beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Mix in cooked vegetables, potatoes and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Line large muffin tin with 8 greased foil cups. Portion ½ cup mixture into each cup.
5. Bake in oven for 10-20 minutes, or until eggs puff and are firm.

Nutrition Information:

Florentine Egg Muffins Calories 294; Fat 12.36g; Protein 15.83g; Carbohydrate 29.88g; Fiber 4.24g; Cholesterol 297mg; Sodium 212mg; Calcium 149mg; Vitamin A 2362 IU; Vitamin C 59.32mg; Iron 2.75mg

Sending love this fall with Tiny Prints!

When it was just my daughter, I was so on top of sending out cards with pictures for EVERY SINGLE HOLIDAY... Can you believe that? I sent out cards for every holiday, from Christmas (of course) to Valentine's Day to the Fourth of July and all the other ones too. I was able to keep up on it for about a year and a half, and then life got the best of me. When Lil' Buddy came along, I tried again, and I did okay, got about 8 months worth of holidays covered and then began slacking again. The time has come for me to start being consistent again with my card sending!!

I've shopped Tiny Prints for years and I'll be doing so again VERY soon! They have super cute cards now for the fall holidays, including Halloween and Thanksgiving. For Halloween, I love dressing them up in their costumes beforehand, snapping a couple good pics and then sending out photo cards to my loved ones. This year I'm loving the Sugar Skull and Halloween Fiesta cards!! I have friends that throw Halloween parties every year, and I've suggested Tiny Prints for their Halloween Party Invitations as well.

I also have been peeking their Thanksgiving Photo Cards and Thanksgiving Party Invitations. I know so many people who come back home for Thanksgiving and I've been debating on throwing a get together while they're home. I'm sure I'll be using the Fall Leaves (Autumn Wine & Dine) if I throw a party!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Indulging in a GOOD way with Unreal

I love being the first of my friends to know and try new things, is that horrible? I love being the one to open their eyes and share things with them that they might not have known about without me! I was able to share Unreal candy with them recently and I loved telling them all about the new stuff out there.

Unreal candy exists because a 13 year old kid asked WHY? candy has to be so unhealthy. (And I love that kids these days are still asking WHY instead of just accepting the status quo.) He found out that candy is loaded with hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors and artificial colors, which simply makes the candy cheaper to produce, but makes it worse for you.

This awesome kid teamed up with his awesome dad and brother in order to show that candy could be made better and that it would taste better. UNREAL was born.

After tasting it, I'm so excited that this candy has hit the shelves. It seriously kicks butt!! Unreal is doing the same combinations as some of the most popular candy out there, except without the crap. Unreal doesn't have the corn syrup, GMO's, without the partially hydrogenated oils, without the artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, and with about 40% less sugar on average-- and guess what? IT STILL TASTES INDULGENT!! My fave? Unreal 5, it reminds me of a Milky Way and a 3 Muskateers all rolled into one, but BETTER.

I had some friends over and we did a snack and movie night. It was nice to unwind with some gal-pals, and I patiently waited to see their responses about Unreal. Not once did anyone say yuck, it was exactly the opposite! Everyone raved about how amazing this candy was, and I was the one who got to tell them about how much better it was then the other junk on the shelves.

My favorite part of the Unreal party? That the thoughts I put into my friends heads stuck with them... Two days later, one of the girls called me and said she was on the Unreal website, and couldn't believe what she was reading. She graciously thanked me for introducing her to Unreal, and that meant so much to me!

Peppa Pig in time for Christmas!

Its October, meaning there's only like two and a half months til Christmas! I'm planning already, and I know that there's so much out there to choose from... I was recently sent Peppa Pig items to tell you about, and I'm so happy because Peppa Pig has been one of the kids favorites for quite some time now! If you're unfamiliar, Peppa Pig is a cartoon on NickJr. about Peppa and her family, and situations that kids can relate to!

Personally, I love the little accent that the piggies have!! They're too cute, and Lil' Buddy tells me that his favorite is the little brother George, go figure! They have that in common! Peppa is one of the characters that Bud always visits when playing at NickJr.'s website.

From the NickJr. description of Peppa Pig--

Each Peppa Pig episode which features everyday activities and themes that preschoolers can relate to, such as going to the playground, swimming, riding bikes, visiting grandparents and having play dates. Peppa Pig episodes support preschoolers' social and emotional development, such as building self-esteem, cooperating, empathizing with others, and identifying and expressing feelings.

Fisher-Price has great playsets out now for the little Peppa Pig lovers in your family! They even have the WHOLE family available! I'm also looking forward to reading "Peppa Pig and the Lost Christmas List" with the kids this holiday season! For shopping convenience, you can also pick up a huge selection of Peppa Pig on Amazon.

Thanks to Childs Play Communications for facilitating this review! Products were provided free of charge, but my opinions are my own! I blog with integrity!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

New Printable Grocery Coupons!

Breakfast

Glade & More

Meals at Home

Snacks

Personal Care

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Think Pink & Shop EdenFantasys!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Printable Grocery Coupons!

Food

Babies & Kids

$2.00 off any ONE package of GOODNITES Underwear
$1.00 off LISTERINE Kids Rinse or REACH Kids

Household

Personal Care

$0.75 off Degree Women motionSENSE product

Apparel

$1.00 off L'eggs Sheer Energy or Silken Mist

Entertainment

Automotive

$2.00 off two Eagle One Wheel Cleaners

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

New printable coupons!

Breakfast

Baking

Meals at Home

On-the-Go Snacks

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