I am now a stay at home mom with a soon to be 9 year old son who is in Grade 3. I love to read and I always try to squeeze in as much reading as possible.
Its hard to believe that this is the last day of November. Where has the time gone?
I just wanted to write up a short little post and let you know that I will be planning a whole month of Christmas themed posts for the month of December.
If any of my readers would like to take part with a short guest post I would love to hear from you. It can be anything holiday related, such as a favorite holiday recipe, a favorite holiday movie, book etc you get the idea. You can leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
I have a bunch of great holiday posts planned and I hope you will enjoy them.
I have to send out a huge thank you to Marcia from Mailbox Monday and from A Girl and her Books for coming up with Mail Box Monday. This past year Marcia put Mailbox Monday on a blog tour and for the month of November Marcia is the host so be sure to go and check out her blogs.
Just a reminder that the host for Mailbox Monday in December is Jenny Q from Let Them Read Books who just happens to be a new to me blogger so I am excited to check out this new blogger.
Another blogger who hosts In My Mailbox is Kristi from The Story Siren.
This was a super quiet week in books. I only received one book for review and that was this one:
I am officially on a book buying ban from now and up to June 2012. The reason is because I have been given the offical green light and I will be going to NYC/BEA in June. So in order to make this trip possible I have to make some much need sacrifices such as not buying anymore books and forgoing some Birthday/Christmas presents until then.
Title: The Iron Knight (book 4 The Iron Fey Series)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Pub Date: October 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 368
Source: I received an advance reader's copy from Meryl Moss Media for my participation into the promotion of this.
About the book: My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn’ darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…
To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.
Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl—smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.
With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end—a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.
To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.
I have to send out a huge thank you to Meryl Moss Media for contacting me and asking me if I wanted to be a part of the promotion for The Iron Knight.
I was thrilled to have been asked because I actually had the previous books in The Iron Fey series sitting on my shelves waiting to be read but I wanted to wait until all the books came out so that I could devour them one right after the other.
Once again Julie takes us into the vivid world she has created for the Iron Fey series filled with such great description. I think this would make an excellent tv series or perhaps a movie.
I loved the series and I loved how this book included sitting on the edge of your seat excitement that left you with the feeling of not turning the page fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. That is one thing I loved about the book along with the fact that it touched on friendship, adventure and a little romance.
If you read the previous books in the series you would know they are told in Meghan's point of view but The Iron Knight is told in Ash's point of view and I loved this because in the previous books we never really got to find out more about Ash so this was perfect knowing what he really like. I would have to say that Ash is my new favorite character.
This book picks up where the Iron Queen left off.
One of the things I always was left wondering was what really went on between Puck and Ash to cause so much rivalry between them and finally getting the answers it all made sense. So it was nice to see them both on this journey together because you got the insight to what turned this once friendship into a rivalry.
Will this journey that Puck and Ash are on restore that once friendship they had or is it just going to continue as a rivalry?
Will Ash make it back to Meghan?
Before reading this book I wasn't big on mythology and lore but I found myself to be really enjoying it and whenever a creature would be mentioned i found myself to be googling it and reading up on it so no only was this book good but it was also educational.
About The Author:
Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, when she was nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish and the odd eel.
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.
To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks is at an all- time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyperactive Papillon.
Recently I was asked if I wanted to be a part of the promotion for:
I didn't have to think twice about being a part of this because I had Julie's previous books that I bought sitting on my bookcase waiting to be read and what perfect time to read them then this.
So check back later today for my review of The Iron Knight.
I am honored to have guest Q&A with Julie Kagawa. So thank you Julie for being able to answer these questions and for stopping by my blog today.
1. What is your favorite part of being an author?
I don’t know if I have a favorite part; I just love it all so much. This was what I always wanted to do, and now that I’m here, it’s a dream come true for me. =)
2. If you could pick one of the characters from The Iron Fey series to have dinner with, who would it be and why?
I’m going to have to go with Ash, because I know he’d at least be polite. Unlike a certain faery prankster, who might put something in my food or turn the waiter into a hedgehog. Meghan would also be a good choice, we could catch a movie afterwards. Grim…not so much; he’d order the most expensive thing on the menu and then turn up his nose at it.
3. When you first started this series, with The Iron King, did you know then that there would be multiple books? And did you know you’d want to write them with a changing point of view?
When I first began The Iron King, I knew I wanted to write at least a trilogy, but I left an open ending on the first book in case the publisher didn’t want to buy the whole series. Fortunately, they did, though I did intend the series just to be a trilogy. I didn’t think I would write a fourth book from Ash’s POV, but it made the most sense to continue the series with him.
4. Being that the Iron Knight is written from Ash’s point of view, was it easier or harder to switch over and tell his story?
It was a little harder, initially. I knew Meghan; after three books I knew her voice and her personality and her quirks. It was difficult with Ash, because he was such a guarded character, and he never was really chatty. And because he’s lived such a long time, and is an Unseelie fey, he’s done some things in his life that might change how some people view him. It was actually kind of scary putting his story out there; what will people think now that they know the real Ash? But I wrote his story as honestly as I could, and I hope they will come to love the Winter Prince as much as I do.
I want to thank Julie Kagawa for taking the time out of her busy schedule to do this and to Erin from Meryl Moss Media for asking me if I wanted to be a part of this and for all that she has done to make this possible.
Title: The Guys' Guy's Guide to Love
Author: Robert Manni
Pub Date: October 2011
Publisher: Live Oak Press
Pages: 346
Source: I received a signed copy of this book from the author and his reps for a honest and sincere review.
About the book:
A sexy romp through the fast-moving, high-stakes world of Madison Avenue.
When Max Hallyday, a rising New York adman, joins a glitzy midtown agency, he knows the game is winner-takes-all. But after Max’s best friend, Roger, a serial womanizer, seduces his billionaire client and puts his career in jeopardy, Max strikes back, penning “The Guys’ Guy’s Guide to Love,” a column exposing the many Rogers prowling the city. Championed by magazine publisher and former flame, Cassidy Goodson, Max becomes famous . . . or is it notorious?
With the women of New York clamoring for more, sparks begin to fly with Cassidy. Can Max survive his instant celebrity and cutthroat rivals to discover where his heart really belongs? The Guys’ Guy’s Guide to Love is a fast-paced tale of flawed men and smart women competing for love, sex, power, and money in the city where they play for keeps.
I have to send out a huge thank you to the reps who contacted me about this book. I honestly never heard of this title before getting the email asking if I would be inclined to read and review it for Cindy's Love of Books and after reading what the book was about I have to say I was very curious and accepted the request.
This is one of the best things about blogging, being able to discover a new book and/or a new author that you might normally not get the chance to know about otherwise. So I am really happy that I got the chance to do both.
I really enjoyed reading the book. I thought it had great characters and a fantastic setting, NYC. I love reading books with a setting I can relate to. Although having read it I am longing for NYC again and June 2012 can't come soon enough for me.
As I was reading this, I quickly realized that this story could happen anywhere in the world and it probably does to some extent. It was very believable and not far fetched.
I enjoyed the characters Max and Cassidy and I was rooting for them the whole way through because you could see that Cassidy still cared about Max and only wanted the best for him. Which I think is true to so many women who feel that about guys. I know that is they way I feel.
As for Roger and Veronica I honestly couldn't stand them. Roger was nothing but a womanizer who only cared about himself and getting what he wanted no matter who he stepped on to get it and Veronica I couldn't stand from the get go. She rubbed me the wrong way. Not sure if it was the way she broke up with Max or the fact that she was cheating on him.
I knew Max and Veronica weren't a good match and I wanted to jump into the book and shake Max to wake him up because no matter what he did Veronica would never be happy and it would always be something else. There's no pleasing some people and she is that kind of person.
When Max gets screwed over by Roger he decides he wants to get even on some level and he accepts Cassy's offer to write a column in her magazine and I have to say that Robert did a fantastic job with it and I think he hit the nail on the head with is columns until eventually the roles get reversed.
So if you are looking for a light fun read let me suggest this to you.
About the author: Robert Manni is President of advertising agency Agent16 in midtown Manhattan. For the past two decades he has watched, played and succeeded in Madison Avenue's relentlessly changing game. A true devotee of New York City, Robert is inspired by and remains in awe of its people, energy, attitude, and romantic backdrop. He is a world traveler, Reiki Master and teacher, certified advanced clinical Master Hypnotist, graduate of the Jose Silva Method/Life System, NYC Marathoner, and a bona fide 'Guy's Guy' who somehow survived twenty years of single life in the big city.
THE GUYS' GUY'S GUIDE TO LOVE is Robert's debut novel. He is currently working on his second book.
Today I am honored to have Robert Manni stop by to do a guest post for Cindy's Love of Books.
This is Robert's debut novel The Guys' Guy's Guide to Love and I was honored to have been asked to review this book and have Robert stop by to do a guest post for us.
The topic I picked for Robert to write on was "Dating Tips Based on the Principles of running an ad campaigne"
WANT MORE DATES WITH THE RIGHT GUYS? TRY ADVERTISING .
In my novel, THE GUYS’ GUY’S GUIDE TO LOVE, our main character, Max Hallyday, writes a column for a women’s magazine doling out regular guy-style sagely advice to the ladies about how men think and how to get them eating out of your hand. He takes a tough love approach, but he is honest and well-intended, and as a result…well, you’ll have to pick up a copy of the book to find out what happens.
ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF, WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY ADVERTISING?
Probably, but that’s good. Max is an ad guy who frequently points out the similarities between connecting with the opposite sex and running an effective advertising campaign. He constantly waxes on about being mindful of his clients’ needs and proactively addressing them… to the point that his client says, “So it sounds like advertising is kind of like dating and taking the time to understand a woman.” Well, that’s how advertising works and it can work for you if you run an honest campaign that focuses on how your partner is going to benefit by being with you. How many times have you obsessed over what you want instead of the qualities that your potential mate is seeking? Admittedly, ladies are a lot better at this than guys (we can be pretty selfish), but it’s easy to fall into the “why am I still single?” or “why haven’t I attracted The One yet?” syndrome which only serves to keep you wanting rather than receiving. Yes, you watched Oprah and read The Secret, but have you really considered what only you can offer your potential partner?
HOW DOES YOUR AD CAMPAIGN WORK?
As soon as you are ready to hit the billboards the airwaves or the internet, you need to hone your message to be positive, fun, and consistent. Those are three attributes that guys really are drawn to (and tend to make for good campaigns), and if you feel good about yourself, the fellas will feel it. And regardless, you should feel good about yourself. Yes, you ladies live in a hyper-competitive world where you are forced into striving to have hair like Jennifer Anniston or a booty like Kim Kardasian (preferred by dudes over the Jen hair, by the way).
So check into your happy place and send out those positive vibes. Sure, life is way more complicated than that, but we’re talking advertising here and everyone needs to know his or her brand and feel great about it.
A guy’s guy knows who he is and that’s why people like him. Their brand is authentic and it’s about being comfortable in their own skin. You are authentic, too. You are special and guys want to be reassured that you know who you are. Then you will be giving them what they need… a special woman called you.
Robert Manni has graciously allowed me to post one of the main characters, Max Hallyday’s, insightful column excerpt from the book as a sneak peak into the book.
MAX HALLYDAY COLUMN FOR THE GUYS’ GUY’S GUIDE TO LOVE 11/19/11
MASKED MEN
Your letters say that you want the truth about men. I’m warning you—it ain’t pretty. But okay, here goes. Modern man is weak and increasingly susceptible to temptation. Look at the newspaper and you’ll see how men continue to succumb to their addictions of sex, greed, violence and hypocrisy. It’s time for women to rule this world in a better way—one man and one relationship at a time. And I’m here to help.
Fact: men lie—constantly. They do it to subdue the truth inside their poisoned consciousnesses. They hide. That’s why you must confront and unmask your man. Think of their heroes—Zorro, Batman, The Lone Ranger, Spiderman. They all wore masks, and for good reason. To hide their identity. Okay, it’s a metaphor, but it’s true. For you to build a successful relationship, you need to unmask your man and make him reveal himself, even if he doesn’t want to show you what’s inside. Don’t let your man get away with secrecy, because regardless of how much time you spend with him, you’ll remain alone if you let him hide what’s inside his heart. Why do men hide? Isn’t it obvious? Because they’re insecure and afraid they’re not good enough for you. They do it because they can—because you let them.
But if you succeed in discovering his truth, you’ll help your man become the person he wants to be—and the partner you deserve. Men need your help more than ever. Now, the good news. You can win. For the same reason a porcupine has quills and a turtle burrows into his shell for protection, women have been equipped with superior intuitive powers. While men waged wars wielding their brute strength and force, women were developing their sixth sense. And the more you trust your gift—the one that tells you “I just know”—the more you’ll be rewarded.
Here’s a way to supercharge that gift. Men aren’t that complicated, not the way you and your friends think or hope they are. They’re creatures of habit who spend most of their lonely lives thinking about sex, eating, sleeping, drinking, thinking about sex, watching sports, listening to music, playing sports and video games, thinking about sex, and repeating the cycle. That’s about all. Don’t believe me? Just ask.
An endless stream of available gratuitous sexual imagery, rump-shaking hip-hop videos, and the nihilistic drone of heavy metal music choke the minds and lower the vibrations of modern males. And the declining standards propagated by reality television have taken their toll. Men are caught in a web of misinformation that force-feeds their lowest common denominators. They’ve lost touch with our values and respect for themselves…and for you.
How can you make it work? Simple—ask questions. And then ask more questions, and in a gentle yet determined way, keep asking, until you’ve pushed aside their fragile egos and revealed the man inside. And remember, you have to listen to what he says, not judge him. Really listen or else he won’t open up. Then it’s up to you to decide if he is worthy of your love. Sound easy? It is. Whatever answers you receive, even if they’re non-answers, the man is revealing himself. Find out how he feels about everything important in his life. If you stay on him, he’ll be grateful because—more good news—they really want to open up to you.
When you call at eleven, and above the background noises he tells you that he’s out with a few colleagues, that little voice inside you may have its doubts. Start asking him questions. Which bar? What’s the occasion? Who’s there? And don’t forget to follow up the next day, to make sure he was telling the truth. I’m not suggesting that you jack up the poor guy the minute he walks through the door, but over time, you can ferret out the seemingly innocuous information that will tell you what makes men tick.
Listen to your man—really listen! Then, heed your gift of intuition. When you do, you’ll know if he was out for an innocent night of beers and male bonding or trolling the bars in search of a little “something something” while you were curled up in your jammies watching Glee.
You deserve better. You deserve the best—so start asking questions. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn—the good and the bad. And you’ll discover the man inside of your man. And if you’re not satisfied with what you find in his heart, let him go. Your heart is too wonderful a gift to open up for anything less than an honest man.
I am super excited because I got my Loose Button/Luxe Box today. I was very curious to see what I got even though I have been checking YouTube to see what others. It was great to see what I could possibly get.
So I have include my vlog as well as pictures that I hope you will enjoy but first I have to tell you a little bit about Loose Button's in case you are wondering what it is exactly. Unfortunetly its only available to Canada but the US has the same thing called Birch Box. Its a monthly subscription service were you can pay monthly, quarterly or yearly and you will receive 4 to 5 deluxe sized samples in the mail.
I have a montly subscription and I pay $12 + tax. Its easy to cancel and you can cancel without any problems.
This is only my second Loose Button's box and I have to say that they did listen to me when I complained that they got my name wrong so that was nice and I have to say I am pleased with what I got and excited to try some of the samples out.
So I hope you will check out my vlog and please feel free to comment. I love hearing from you.
What was included in my box (for those who didn't watch the vlog.)
-from Teaopia a card for 20% off purchases made in store and on line
-a card from Olay saying I have been selected to do feedback for them. I am so excited
-November Edition card
Products I received:
-Lise Watier Plumpissimo le Gloss in the shade of Nude (sample size is 1.5ml) full size is 6.2ml for $20
-Paco Rabanne Black Xs for her (sample size is unknown) full size is 50ml $65/80ml $78
-Paco Rabanne Black Xs for him (sample size is unknown) full size is 50ml $56/ 80ml $68
-Lise Watier Couleur folle mineral loose powder eyeshadow in the shade of Folie Soleil (sample size is 1g) full size is 2g for $18
-Benefit Cosmetics B. Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (sample size is 8.9ml) full size is 177.4ml for $29
Bonus Item:
-Teaopia Cactus Fig tea kit (sample size is unknown) full size 50g for $7
Item in the box that wasn't mentioned on the card was:
-Olay Regenerist wrinkle revolution complex (sample size is7ml)
I have to admit that I am kinda of liking the box now that I have seen ways to reuse the box and I will probably put some of those ideas to use very soon. I like that its black and simple. I actually have a few reuse ideas and will eventually make a post about them when I get a few more boxes.
Upon sliding the box open I am greeted with the November Edition card. There is a brief introduction and the list of items included in this months box with product descriptions along with full size prices.
Yea they got my sticker right. This is black but for some reason it doesn't look like this in the picture. I think having this little touch makes the box feel more personalized so I love this idea.
This is what I saw when I opened the tissue paper.I love the design on the side of the box.
This is what my box looked like once I took everything out.
I am excited to try out these products and hoping to make my weekend posts product review posts. Looking forward to the December box and hoping it will come in before Xmas as it will be a nice little box to open up during the hustle and busle of the holiday season.
I have to send out a huge thank you to Marcia from Mailbox Monday and from A Girl and her Books for coming up with Mail Box Monday. This past year Marcia put Mailbox Monday on a blog tour and for the month of November Marcia is the host so be sure to go and check out her blogs.
Another blogger who hosts In My Mailbox is Kristi from The Story Siren.
This past week has flown by with alot of fun and excitement. I got to meet Melissa de la Cruz and she was so much fun and hang out with Lucy from Moonlight Gleam.
Sorry there won't be any photos this week but there is a vlog which I hope you will watch.
Bought Books:
-Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz (book 1 in the Blue Blood Series)
-Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz (book 5 in the Blue Blood Series)
-First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci (this insn't pictured in the vlog)
-Cinderella Cleaners/Swan Fake by Maya Gold (book 6 in the Cinderella Cleaners series)
-Animal Ark (this isn't include because I already passed the book onto a girl at my son's bus stop
Books for Review:
-Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan RD June 2012
-Belles by Jen Calonita RD April 2012
-Revived by Cat Patrick RD May 2012
-I hunt Killers by Barry Lyga RD April 2012
-A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger RD June 2012
-Living Violet by Jaime Reed RD January 2012 plus some swag.
This is what I found in my mailbox. I hope you all had a good week. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.
I was wondering what I was going to post about today when the most amazing thing happened and it was being at the right place at the right time. How often can you say that happens?
I have to admit that I was a little bummed about today (Sunday) because some Montreal Book Bloggers were invited to brunch with Scholastic Canada and Cecil Castellucci to meet with the author and talk about books etc.
Scholastic Canada reps were in town for Salon de Livre and Cecil was in town because she is her Opera is being done here. Yes Cecil wrote an opera.
I was unable to attend because of previous commitments. That being a hockey game my son had. It was a great game and the kids were still on a high from Saturday's game tie 3-3 and I am happy to say that Michael got the third goal that tied the game.
Today it was 3-1 and we won again. Thankfully we don't have another game until this upcoming weekend but we do have two after school practices.
Back to my being at the right place at the right time. Today by pure coincidence I got to meet Justin Trudeau.
If you live in Canada or know anything about Canadian politics you know who Justin Trudeau is but if you don't know who he is I will tell you who he is.
Justin Pierre James Trudeau, MP (Member of Parliment) (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician. He has represented the Montreal electoral division of Papineau in the Canadian House of Commons since 2008 as a member of the Liberal Party and currently serves as the party's critic for youth, post-secondary education, and amateur sport.
If you want to know more you can google Justin Trudeau.
I was impressed with Justin before meeting him and after meeting him I am doubly impressed. He was so super sweet and friendly to each and everyone. He posed for numberous photos and always had a smile on his face and a few moments to talk to everyone. Plus he is just as cute in person as he is in pictures and on tv.
So yea I was bummed about not being able to attend the brunch this morning but really glad I got the chance to meet Justin Trudeau. Its not every day you run into Justin Trudeau even though we live in Montreal.
This week is/was Salon du Livre in Montreal and this was the one year I was super excited to go.
To describe Salon du Livre I would have to say its set up like BEA for those who have gone but its not like BEA because you don't get any freebies, you can buy french books and some English books. (Thankfully Scholastic Canada was there with some English books)
Over the course of the five days the different publishing companies set up and showcase their books and bring in a whole bunch of authors for signings.
Some of the more well known authors are: Kathy Reichs, Catherine McKenzie, Geronimo Stilton and Melissa de la Cruz.
Yes the Melissa de la Cruz, the author of the Blue Blood series, The Ashleys series, The Au Pair series and so many other books.
I was pretty excited to hear that Melissa was coming to town and I was making plans to go and thankfully I didn't have to go alone because Lucy from Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf said she wanted to come too so as the day was getting closer we decided to make the morning of it and planned to meet at the metro and go together to the signing and then we grabbed brunch afterwards and perhaps a little book shopping too.
I have to say it was a good thing that Lucy came because I forgot my camera at home. Yes, Ms I always carry a camera actually forgot her camera. I had downloaded some hockey pictures last night and meant to put it in my purse right after but then I got distracted and left it on my computer desk.
So thanks so much Lucy for the pictures and for sending them to me. So all the pictures enclosed in this post are from Lucy. Thank you Lucy :)
I met Lucy a bit later then expected at the metro and we walked over to the event and spotted the Scholastic booth on the way in and decided to stop on our way back as we really wanted to get to the signing right away. We found the booth and we were the first in line. We were greeted with I believe are all of Melissa's Blue Blood books in french and we were admiring the french covers and how pretty they were:
I have to say that I really like the cover for Bloody Valentine.
As we were admiring the covers, Melissa comes into the booth and we recognized her right away. Melissa was super sweet and so very generous with her time with us. I had asked her before the event on twitter if she was signing just her french books and she let me know she would sign anything that was hers and jokingly said also anything that wasn't hers. She is too funny.
Needless to say Lucy and I brought all our books that were of course written by Melissa to the signing to get signed.
I just bought Blue Bloods (because when I had picked it up to read I had borrowed it from the library) and Misguided Angel before the event and the rest of the books are what I had bought previously.
They are all signed. I am so happy.
Melissa even signed the bookmark for me. I just realized that i didn't take the back of it. (I will add it later one) I love that it shows all her french book titles. Since I am waiting to get the other books I am missing in the Blue Blood series in the mail, Melissa graciously signed some bookplates for me so that I can add them into the missing books.
Not sure if we got these little goodies because we were first in line or what but Melissa's french rep gave these cute little package to both Lucy and I and we were so happy and excited because we got a little goodie.
I didn't open mine right away because I wanted to get a picture of it all wrapped up nice and neatly so I waited until I got home and this is what was inside. A Sumptuous bold volume lifting mascara and a high gloss lip balm. Thanks so much to her french rep for giving us these cute little goodies and to Melissa as well.
After the books were signed Melissa graciously posed for some pictures with us and her is mine:
Be sure to check out Lucy's blog for her recap of the event over the next few days.
It was a blast and so nice to finally meet Melissa. Thank You Melissa for coming to Montreal. I hope the Montreal crowd welcomed you with open arms.
Thanks to Lucy for a wonderful morning of great conversations, laughs and book talk along with so much more.
Today I received my very first Glymm Box. I am super excited to be a part of the Glymm Box community.
Before I get into my vlog and pictures I thought I would talk a little bit about Glymm Box.
What is a Glymm Box?
Every month, your Glymm Box will contain 3-5 luxury samples that span over several beauty categories including cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, tools, spa and body, nails and lifestyle. Month-to-month, the products you receive will be different, and curated according to your beauty profile. Variety is the spice of life!
Glymm Box is only available here in Canada and its a monthly subscription service. Its $10 + taxes. You can pay monthly or yearly. For every dollar you spend you get Glymm points which then can be redeemed for full size products. You aren't commited to anything and can cancel at anytime.
If you are interested and would like to join or want more info then please leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
Here is the vlog I hope you enjoy it.
I have enclosed some pictures and I will share what I got as well in case you don't want to watch the vlog.
I was really impressed with the shipping. I got an email on Thursday (Nov 10th) telling me my Glymm box was on the way and that I would receive it on Monday. I am so happy I got it today.
It arrived looking looking like this all safe and sound.
My mailman left it between the doors because it doesn't fit into my mailbox.
I have to say that I even like the packaging it. The box is still sturdy and in good shape that I can reuse it to send stuff out. Who wouldn't like getting a pink box in the mail?
So once I opened the outer packaging I saw this lovely pink box and I absolutely love this box not only for the color but the style of box it is. The top comes off and it can be reused for so many things and it will look so pretty sitting on a shelf, bureau or bookcase.
I am so happy they didn't change the box and I really hope they stick with this one. (Loose Buttons/Luxe Box changed the style of theirs and I am not a big fan.)
I also think that using a ribbon font on the box is really pretty as well. Makes the box look special and glamourous.
So once the lid comes of the box you will see this. Its wrapped up in a hand tied bow/ribbon. The ribbon has glymm on it and its white and pink. Very pretty and can be used over again for other things.
With each Glymm box you get a card that tells you a little bit about what products that were sent. This is called the Fall Effect.
On the reverse side of the card it will show you what products were sent, a description about the product and the retail value of the full size product.
The other cards that came with the Glymm box was three give me to a friend business card so that you can share it with friends and if they sign up under your name you will get some Glymm points, also included is a Try and Buy card so that if you happen to love the samples you got Glymm has a store online that you can buy the products from, on the other side was a ad for invite your friends and get points and one other thing that was included was a $10 off brownsshoes.com when you buy online.
When you remove the cards you will be greeted by a nice white folded tissue paper which goes really nice with the box.
Inside the box was:
-Lise Watier Flash Lift Radiance Vial. I got a 1ml vial so its 1/7 of a full size sample. The full size product would be 7 vials for $27
-Rahua Luxury Shampoo & Conditioner. This is an excllusive item and the full size is 275ml each for $32 and $34. I got a 10 and 8 ml sample size.
-orlane Paris Light Smoothing Cream. I got a 3.5ml size and the full size is 50ml for $80.
-RGB Designer nail Lacquer and from reading the card they said its a full size product and its 125ml for $18 so this nail lacquer paid for the box.
I was missing a product and I emailed them to let them know and customer service was fantastic and replied right away and they will make it up to me in the next month's box.
In all the Glymm boxes I have seen they include a cute little jar filled with Jelly Belly beans and I got brown and red. I can't quite place the red ones but the brown ones are root beer my favorite.
This is what was in my Glymm box for the month of November. I am really pleased and anxious to try all the products. I know the Jelly Bellys were really good and its by far my favorite jelly beans out there.
I love trying new products and I think for a mere $10 a month I am getting to try items that I might not normally get the chance to try.
Glymm is getting two thumbs up from me this month. I can't wait to see what goodies December brings.
Its hard to believe its that time of the week again when you get to take a sneak peek into my mailbox.
I have to apologize for falling behind in my blog posting and not updating more. I actually have stuff done its just a matter of formating it and posting it. Hoping to get to it over the weekend and the next few days. So I hope no one will mind getting bombarded with too many updates over the next few days.
Before I get to the vlog, pictures (for those that don't like to watch vlogs) and write up I have to send out a huge thank you to: Marcia from Mailbox Monday and from A Girl and her Books for coming up with Mail Box Monday. This past year Marcia put Mailbox Monday on a blog tour and for the month of November Marcia is the host so be sure to go and check out her blogs.
Another blogger who hosts In My Mailbox is Kristi from The Story Siren .
Books I got for Review:
-The Cats in the Doll Shop by yona Zeldis McDough illustrated by Heather Maione
-The Guys' Guy's Guide to Love by Robert Manni
-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
-Fever by Lauren DeStefano (book 2 in the Chemical Garden Series)
Recently the awesome Tynga from http://www.tyngasreviews.com/ came up with this meme Daring you to Read ... So this week I have decided to take part.
I am daring you to read all the books in the Werewolf Series by Terry Spears. Terry was my introduction into the paranormal genre. Once I read her book I couldn't wait for future books to come out. I can easily devour her books in a few hours.
I always worry when I read books in a series and wonder if they will be as good as the first one well all I can say is that each one is fantastic. I loved them all and I don't think I can pick an absolute favorite I love them all equally.
Can you believe that we are 45 nights away from Christmas Eve? Where does the time go?
I know there are some people who are literally all ready for the holiday season and gifts are bought and ready to wrap. That is not the case here. I have just started to buy holiday gifts and working on my wish list. Although honestly the only thing that is on my wishlist is going to BEA in 2012.
The first year I started blogging I took part in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap and I had so much fun giving and receiving my bookish items. For some reason last yeat I didn't take part and I am not sure why.
So once again its that time of the year to sign up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap the only thing is you have until November 11th to sign up.
Its hard to believe its that time of the week again when you get to take a peek into what I got this past week. Its been another WOW week here.
Before I get to the vlog, pictures (for those that don't like to watch vlogs) and write up I have to send out a huge thank you to: Marcia from Mailbox Monday and from A Girl and her Books for coming up with Mail Box Monday. This past year Marcia put Mailbox Monday on a blog tour and for the month of November Marcia is the host so be sure to go and check out her blogs.
Another blogger who hosts In My Mailbox is Kristi from The Story Siren .
Sorry for some reason the vlog isn't working so I will go with just this post and what pictures there is. Sorry about that everyone.
Books for review:
- The Other Life by Ellen Meister. Thanks Penguin USA for sending this.Its coming out in paperback December 6th, 2011.
Books Won:
-Demons: Encounters with the Devil & His Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed by John Skipp. I won this from Lucy at Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf. Thank you Lucy.
Books Bought:
The following books I bought from the Scholastic Book Club.
-Grim Hill series by Linda DeMeulemeester
The Secret of Grim Hill BK 1
The Secret Deepens BK 2
The Forgotten Secret BK 3
Forest of Secrets BK 5
-The Tomorrow Girls series by Eva Gray
Behind the Gates bk 1
Run For Cover bk 2
With the Enemy bk 3
-11 birthdays by Wendy Mass
-12 Finally by Wendy Mass
-13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
-43 Old Cemetery Road by Kate Klise and illustrated by M. Sarah Klise series:
Dying to meet You bk 1
Over my dead body bk 2
-The 39 Clues series:
Vespers Rising bk 11 by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordan Korman and Jude Watson
Cahills vs Vespers: The Medusa Plot bk 1 by Gordon Korman
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