Bookreview: Beyond Molasses Creek

This review is for the Kindle edition of  Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz. 

The story in this book is a mix between a love story and a critique of society, both intermixed with strong Christian overtones. The three main characters in the book are 

Ally, a woman who returns to her hometown in South Carolina after leaving it many years ago. The occasion for her return is a sad one, her father's death. The situation is further saddened by the remembrance of why she left in the first place - society was not ready for an interracial love story. This brings us to the second main character

Vesey - a black man, who Ally grew up with and fell in love with. Vesey is a God-fearing man that was sent away when his relationship with Ally became clear. 

The final main character in the book is Sunila, Alley's daughter, who got kidnapped and is living as a slave in Nepal.

The book is split up into many sections, each section dealing with one of the main characters at a particular place and time. This makes the book at times hard to read since the story jumps between chapters.

Overall, the book is well written, the characters are developed in depth by the author and the reader certainly can sympathize with the problems that all three characters face. I found myself rooting for all three of them to overcome their problems and find happiness. The book overall is engaging, sending a Christian message without sounding like a sermon and can be enjoyed by anyone from young adults to adults.

Disclaimer: This book was made available to me free of charge through booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own and have not been influenced by booksneeze.com or any other third party.

Free Movie Ticket for Act of Valor - Facebook account required

If you like LifeLock on Facebook here, you will get an entry form that requires standard personal information (name, address, email and phone number). In exchange you will get a free movie ticket to see "Act of Valor " at any movie theater.
They do have limited supplies of tickets, so hurry to the LifeLock facebook page and sign up!

Rules for redeeming ticket here (pdf file)

Synopsis from movies.yahoo.com:
When a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all.

Read more about the movie at Wikipedia  here or go to the official homepage of the movie here

movie poster Act of Valor

National Pancake Day - Free short stack at your local IHOP

Durham, NC - - IHOP location: 1821 N Pointe Dr, Durham, NC

Tomorrow is National Pancake Day and in honor of that special day your local IHOP will give away a free short stack to each visitor. In return they ask for a donation on behalf of  Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other designated local charities.

More about National Pancake Day from their website here:
Since beginning its National Pancake Day celebration in 2006, IHOP has raised nearly $8 million to support charities in the communities in which it operates. On February 28, 2012, guests from around the country are invited to celebrate National Pancake Day at IHOP and enjoy a free short stack of Buttermilk pancakes. 

From their website at http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/pancake-day-details.html

Starbucks new blend - BLONDE - now you see it, now you don't!

Some of you may have seen the new BLONDE blend by Starbucks being rolled out in January, sampling events, sample giveaways, via being advertised in the BLONDE blend etc. I usually do not subscribe to blonde jokes, but the problems Starbucks faced with this blend are now reaching the level of a commercial disaster / joke. I personally tried the BLONDE blend early in January and really like it because it has a smooth flavor and it is a coffee I can drink without adding cream to it.

image obtained from here

Well, after using up my free refills for January, I ventured into a regular Starbucks again this week and wanted to treat myself to a freshly brewed cup of BLONDE. No success - turns out Starbucks has not been selling us properly brewed BLONDE in January. Not sure whether the C-level executives at Starbucks thought the coffee was too weak or too strong, but it turns out the spoon used by your barista to measure the BLONDE ground coffee for brewing in house is IMPROPERLY SIZED. Good heavens, I had no idea I could like a coffee that was not measured properly, after all, we all use properly sized spoons at home when brewing our coffee since we know that being short an ounce of ground coffee in a 8 cup brewer makes all the difference in the world (sarcasm oozing out of this last sentence).
I had several samples of the BLONDE blend throughout January, took a couple of sample bags home and used them at home, never realizing that I was drinking subpar Starbucks brew and my tastebuds for coffee are obviously severely compromised - the shame!
Anyway, if that was not strange enough, Starbucks will not be able to provide the correctly sized spoon for proper brewing of the BLONDE blend to their Starbucks stores until April! So if you want to finally taste the proper BLONDE blend brewed in house at Starbucks, either you need an invitation to their C-level executive events (hoping that they at least have access to the properly sized spoon) or you need to wait until April to get BLONDE freshly brewed at your Starbucks.
Meanwhile the question comes to mind, what to do with my remaining sample bag of BLONDE at home? Will Starbucks offer specially sized spoons for the home brewer so we can be sure to enjoy the properly brewed BLONDE blend at home or is this drama one more gimmick by Starbucks to convince us that any coffee needs to be purchased brewed in house at Starbucks to get the proper flavor?

Aldi special until this coming Tuesday: Atlanta Cheesecake Company Italian Mascarpone Torta

copyright Durhamonthecheap - packaging for the Mascarpone cake

I decided to splurge for the Saturday breakfast and bought a weekly special from Aldi, an Italian Mascarpone cake. The weekly specials for this week (from last Wednesday until this coming Tuesday) are listed here. The Mascarpone cake was somewhat pricey for the usual weekly specials at Aldi; for 8 pre-cut slices the cake cost $7.99 (for comparison, cheesecakes by the company are listed for online ordering at around $30 here). But again, weekend breakfasts are special and they are a nice, slow beginning to two days off work, so I decided to go and buy a special cake to go with some home-made offerings. It looked really good in the image and the description for Mascarpone cakes online sounded like a lighter version of the usual cheesecake.
Today, we had the cake and I am very impressed. The cake is a cheesecake-type flavor, with hints of lemon, covered by a light crumb crust that tastes like sweet butter. The Mascarpone cake is lighter than a traditional cheesecake and each of the slices is very filling. If you have kids, you may want to split a piece; the slices are really good size.
The pictures below show the actual cake that only needs defrosting for two hours at room-temperature (or overnight in the fridge) and then is easily packaged to put nicely on a serving plate. I included a picture of the packaging to show the company name. Aldi stores them in the freezer under weekly specials and because the price is somewhat high for the usual Aldi line of products, my store still had plenty left.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the cake right out of the package

copyright Durhamonthecheap - you can see the various layers of the cake, especially the soft Mascarpone center

I can highly recommend the cake for a special occasion or for a nice coffee break with the family. Since it is a weekly special, Aldi may not offer it again for some time. So if you have the freezer space, go and buy one now. I was very impressed and will be sad to see the last piece disappear!

GIVEAWAY - TORANI syrup (max. value $8.00) - winner has been notified!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - coupon giveaway!

My first official giveaway. Everyone that knows me should know by now that I love free stuff, avoid spending money and still manage to treat myself to gourmet items. Now I am sharing one of the coupons that I receive throughout the year with my readers.

I have one coupon for a free TORANI syrup to give away to one of my US readers

- sorry, only entries within the USA - not sure whether stores outside the USA would accept the coupon and I hate to disappoint anyone!

TORANI syrups come in many different flavors and are a great addition to coffee, warm or cold milk or as an added treat to icrecream or other desserts. If you feel adventurous, you can also cook or bake with them. Add some TORANI coconut syrup to enhance the flavor of the simple yellow cake or add some TORANI raspberry syrup to liven up the chocolate brownie.

I noticed that my local Starbucks does not carry any Almond or Coconut syrup anymore, thankfully I stacked up on both flavors when a store had a sale on TORANI. I love to add the syrups to coffee and warm milk.

Entry guidelines:
Deadline is one week from now 3/3/12 11:59PM. - winner will be determined by random number (using this nifty little tool here) on Sunday 3/4/12

Up to three entries max per person.

One entry: You must follow the blog (this way I can contact you) and post a comment that you do so! 
Additional entry: if you are a member of klout.com, provide me with one K+ on any topic and post a comment on the blog (one additional entry max)
Additional entry: tweet about the giveaway using #durhamonthecheap and leave a comment on the blog (one additional entry max)



Disclaimer: I received a gift pack containing coupons for free TORANI syrup from shespeaks.com in exchange for an honest review and blog posting. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Woolite Complete - works great on all kinds of clothes and fabrics

I had received a free bottle of Woolite Complete through smiley360 and today tried the detergent on a white comforter for the guest room. This comforter does not get used that much, but since it is always out and exposed to the AC or furnace running, it does collect dust. So I tried Woolite Complete to see whether the white would be nice and clean. I have added a picture below. The result is great, the comforter is nice and white (I added a green mini-stapler for contrast since I did not want to upload an all white image). I washed the comforter on warm/cold combination and then tumbled dry on warm.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - white comforter after Woolite Complete

I am impressed with the outcome.The white is bright and the detailed pattern of the comforter was not damaged in the wash. I will definitely consider Woolite Complete for other fabrics now, not just delicate fabrics.

You can download a $2 off coupon for Woolite here. You will need a Facebook account and share the video to receive your coupon.

Disclaimer: I received a free bottle of laundry detergent Woolite Complete from Smiley360 in collaboration with Woolite. Receiving any samples or other compensation in no way affects the opinions expressed on this blog. Opinions expressed on this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party, regardless of whether I received compensation in any form or not!