4...3...2...1...Covington!

Well guys, it's almost here!  Not only is my birthday coming up next weekend, but we are days away from heading back to Covington, GA!  If you remember, last year we went to Covington to visit the set of The Vampire Diaries, and now we are heading back for loads more fun!

This year, we are planning on taking a 4 day trip to this quaint little town for a number of activities:

1.  The Vampire Stalkers Tour - If you are a major Vampire Diaries fan like my mom and I, check out this website.  They have ticket prices, pictures, FAQ's, merchandise and more!  Take it from someone who went last year and liked it so much that she's going back again, it's worth it!  And as the show continues, Jessica (the founder of Mystic Falls Tours) adds new stops where the show is filmed.  Virtually every week the tour is different!

 

2.  The Country Living Fair - ...Where the pages of Country Living magazine come to life!  We have never been to this fair before, but we have read nothing but good things about it.  It's being held at Stone Mountain Park outside of Atlanta, GA on October 26-28.  You can check out their ticket prices, vendor list and even see a map of Stone Mountain to get a good idea of where each booth will be.  Personally, I'm going to be on the lookout for the kitchen station!

 

3.  Eyecon 2012 -  We missed this convention last year because it took place the last weekend of October, and we went the first weekend in October.  However, this year we made sure to plan around Eyecon!  It takes place in Atlanta, GA on October 26-28.  You can see a list of the guests that will be attending, speaking and available for pictures and autographs.  You can also see a tentative schedule and even follow a link to book a room at the hotel where the convention is being held.  I'm not quite sure what our plans are for this day, because I'm being surprised for my birthday!  I'll give you more details and lots of pictures when we get back!  I'm hoping there might be some Salvatore action!

We have such an exciting list of things to do, and we might even through in a trip to H&M for some shopping!  Check back in about a week for some great pictures and I'm sure some very interesting stories!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Our Vampire Diaries Premiere Party

Vampires, Werewolves, Hybrids and Witches,

We FINALLY got to calm our twitches!

154 days came and went,

Now I can tell you all about our event!

There were homemade invites and decorations galore,

Themed yummy foods and  party favors you'd adore!

After everyone arrived sporting their all-black attire, we laid out the food on our wonderfully decorated kitchen table and looked at our spooky, fang-tastic creation!  This was such a fun night!  We got together great friends to enjoy a night of tasty food, interesting conversation and very interesting TV!

I sent out invites about a week before the party.  They were so easy to make!  If you are familiar with scrapbooking, I used my Cricut to cut out different parts of the invite and glued them down to a piece of 4x6  scrap paper that I bought in a bundle at Joanns Fabrics.  But you can just as easily find paper and little decorations to put the invites at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or your local craft store.

My mom made bought plates for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree and used a sharpie to write which side of "Team Salvatore" we were each on.  (Of course, I was the only "Team Stefan."  Not everyone prefers deep, compassionate , unfailing love over a funny personality.)  One of my other favorite parts of our decorations were the candle holders that I created.  I put a couple of red candles from Hobby Lobby in 2 empty red wine bottles.  I would recommend burning them for about 2 nights before the night of your party to get your desired amount of dripping down the candle and the sides of the bottles.

Each person made their own dish to bring to the party, and they were all themed so we got really creative!  Here is the menu that I printed up just using Microsoft Word and some pictures from Google!

MENU

Appetizer

Graveyard Dip

Beware! This dip is a lethal layer of terror tortillas, goulish guacamole, bloody beef, and rotten refried beans! This devilish dish will satisfy your cravings, but you may still want another BITE!

Bread

Gilbert’s Cheesy Garlic Bread

Luckily in Mystic Falls, garlic being a vampire repellant is just a myth!  Enjoy this explosion of flavors in your mouth, and breath mints will be available on your way out!

Salad

Sultry Salvatore Salad

This salad is sure to tempt your tastebuds and leave them longing for another bite!

Feast on sumptuous greens accompanied by slivered almonds, feta cheese and delicious red, ripe strawberries. You will want to top it off with a delightful splash of savory salad dressing. Go ahead "Sink your teeth into it!"

Entree

Vampire Blood Tomato Basil Soup

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live forever? Join in for a taste of this salty and fulfilling tomato soup. It’s made with the help of only the freshest humans and topped with garlic croutons and a hint of basil. Satisfy your cravings!

Dessert

Sinful Chocolate Delight

Heighten your senses with the very first bite of this chocolate decadence. With layers of sinfully creamy goodness surrounded by toffee and pecan sandy crunchiness, this dessert will leave you wanting more…much like each episode of “The Vampire Diaries.”

 To wrap up the night, my mom gave each of us a mini scrapbook made out of cardboard.  She added a few little decoration pieces but left room for us to add pictures from the night.  I think it was the perfect little gift, because it was easy to make and it's easy for your guests to add their own pictures in the album.  It's also something you can pull out each year to look back at how much fun you had!

We had a great time and I hope this helps give you some ideas for your favorite TV show premiere party!  

 Have a bloody good night!

"The Vampire Diaries" Season 4

SO guess what guys!!?  The season 4 premiere of The Vampire Diaries is TONIGHT!  My mom and I have been waiting for Thursday October 11 since May!  

One of my best friends and her mom are also HUGE fans of the show!  So to celebrate the premiere of our favorite show, we are throwing a "Vampire Party!"  I created homemade invites, put together a menu of "vampire inspired" foods and we are putting up all kinds of decorations!  I will put up pictures and how to's very soon so stay tuned!!

VAMPIRE DIARIES WEEKEND!

Mom and I FINALLY got to go on our Vampire Diaries tour last Friday, and it was AWESOME!  For those of you who are fans of the show, I couldn't recommend anything more exciting than going on a personal tour of the filming locations throughout Covington, GA.

Jessica Lowery is the woman who took us around the town, and I consider her very qualified considering she was born and raised there.  She also goes to see filming anytime she gets a chance, and is one of the main volunteers with the ISFoundation (Ian Somerhalder Foundation).

Jessica, her husband Travis and her daughter Brannan are the original Vampire Stalkers.  They took us to the main square that serves as Mystic Falls, VA in the show.  This is one of the main locations for outdoor shooting in Covington.  Right across the street from the square is the location where they shoot exterior scenes of Mystic Grill (the popular eating spot for the characters on the show).  In real life, however, the Mystic Grill serves as an accountants' office!

We also got to see all of the characters houses except Damon and Stefan (because they don't shoot their exterior scenes in Covington.  A few other places we saw were the Mystic Falls graveyard, the gym where they hold all of the school dances, the rooftop where Damon and Stefan take Vicki in the first season and so many others!

Here are a few pics that we took while we were there!

Matt & Vicki Donovan's house

House of the dead witches (also the house from Gone with the Wind)

The Lockwood Mansion - beautiful!

Masquerade Ball Episode Prop

The Lockwood Mansion backyard (home to many scenes from Vampire Diaries)

The bench in the Lockwood's backyard where Elena and Stefan break up at the Masquerade Ball.

Caroline's House

Elena's House

 I really hope you enjoyed these pictures!  It was a blast taking them and being in Covington, GA to experience how and where this great show is filmed.  It's truly something any film and tv fan would love!

Have a good night everyone!

OCTOBER...THE GREATEST MONTH OF THE YEAR!

I'm so glad that it's October!  It's my favorite month out of the whole year (December is a close second, though).  There are a number of reason why this is my favorite month (this year in particular):

1.  The weather finally cools off!  Starting on Saturday, we will have the first continuous period of cooler weather we have had so far this fall.  It's only going to be in the 70's, but down here in Alabama, that's cool for this time of year!

2.  I'm going on a tour of one of my favorite shows on tv right now...The Vampire Diaries!  Call me a wierdo all you want, but my mom and I are obsessed with that show, and it's something we've wanted to do for a while now - to actually go to where they film the show!  As you know, we live in Alabama, and the show is filmed in Covington, GA.  That is a small town just outside of Atlanta.  There is even a chance we might get to see the cast filming part of the show!  I can't wait to do an entry about that trip!  We leave next Thursday and the tour is on Friday!!!

3.  My birthday is this month!  And who doesn't love turning one year older?  I'm just kidding...I actually LOVE my birthday!  It may sound cheesy, but it gives me a reason to get my little sister home from college for a weekend and bring together the whole family to celebrate together!  I'll be turning 25 this year...whoo hoo!

4.  Because there are only so many weekends during football season that are away games or games just not worth attending, I have a limited time frame when I can ask my sister to come home and celebrate for my birthday.  This year she is coming home next weekend, which brings me to my next fun activity!  We're going to be going to the Alabama Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, AL!  We have made it a tradition to go every year, and it's usually the weekend my sister comes home for my birthday.  It's such a fun place!

Our main goal is to find the perfect pumpkin to take home and carve to put outside the front door.  However, there are so many other activities to do there too:

• Covered wagon hayride to the pumpkin patch
• Learn a lot about Native American history
• Shop for fall decorations and crafts
• Petting Zoo
• Play in the inflatable park
• Helicopter rides
• Take a tractor train ride
• Hay pyramid
• Hay maze
• EATING- bbq, pies, roasted corn, funnel cakes, candied apples and more!

5.  Especially for this year...ME AND HUBBY ARE GOING TO WALT DISNEY WORLD!

This is going to be one of the best trips I've taken to Disney World because it's the first time I've gotten to go with my hubby!  We both LOVE Disney: Micky, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, all the princesses, the rides, the atmosphere, and the feeling of being a little kid over and over again every time you go.  It really is a magical place.  I haven't been in 6 years, but Adam has me beat there - he hasn't gone since he was 10 - he's now 26!  I told him to prepare himself because a lot has changed since then! And the exciting part is that we are getting to go in October when they have all of their fall/Halloween stuff out!

There are decorations everywhere you turn (even some with secret Mickeys hidden inside)!  And of course there is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that features Mickey's Boo To You Parade!  This will be both mine and Adam's first time to go to this so we are really looking forward to it!  We've heard it's AWESOME!!

6.  On top of all this, there's still Halloween coming!!!  See - the best month EVER right??  My aunt and uncle will be coming to Alabama from Texas to be with us for Halloween!  Since Adam and I are in our first house (surrounded by kids I might add), we are doing Halloween at our house this year!  We are so excited about giving out candy and seeing all the cute little kids dressed up in their costumes!  Even Adam is getting into the spirit and narrowing down his options.  He always wants to be the best dressed!

So I will definitely be keeping you all updated on this amazing month of fun, family and, of course, food!  

HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYBODY!