Month: November 2014

5th Annual Broke & Bookish

Posted on by Cindy

SecretSanta5brokeandbookish

 

Phew once again I managed to get in under the radar on The Broke and Bookish Secret Santa. Its hard to believe that this is going to be the 5th one. This is I believe my third year in doing this. I know I missed the first year because I only stumbled upon it after the fact and then for some odd reason I missed it the third year. Oh well thankfully I actually remembered it early this morning and went hunting for it.

This is one of my favorite Secret Santa’s to do because you are paired up with other people who are bloggers and have a love for books. I have always been extremely lucky with my partners and was lucky enough to get to meet one if you CLICK ON THIS it will take you to my post about the whole thing.

Sadly the signups closed at 11:59pm November 13th or else I would have told you to go and sign up.

I am looking forward to seeing who I get to shop for and to discover who my partner is. Check back when all will be revealed in December.

BirchBox comes to Canada but Not Quebec

Posted on by Cindy

ca-monthly-box

For years now I have been drooling over BirchBox and was really disappointed to discover that they only shipped in the USA.  But C’est la vie right. Its not their fault they don’t ship to Canada, right?

Well imagine my surprise last week when I saw on instagram announcing they were coming to Canada. Not going to lie but I was thrilled and I must admit I did a happy dance and perhaps screamed and yelled a bit.

So for the past week I kept dreaming about BirchBox (I signed up to get email notifications and to their facebook page) and all the great goodies I would get to try and discover. I even went as far as to start working on a blog post and designing a button for my posts to even thinking about perhaps vlogging it. BirchBox was going to be the exception to the rule when it came to a new subscription box.

Well that happy little dream came crashing down over my head when I found out from a facebook friend that yes indeed BirchBox was coming to Canada but not to Quebec! What? What do you mean BirchBox is excluding Quebec? How freaking crazy is that?

So I instantly took to their facebook page to see if there was a valid reason and guess what? There is no valid reason just a very generic reply of

We so sorry for any inconvenience! The good news is we are actively looking into bringing Birchbox to Quebec in the near future, and we appreciate your patience in the meantime.

People have commented that it has to do with the language law and I am sorry i don’t buy that since other USA subscription boxes are delivered here (Ipsy, Beauty Box 5, Julep, Fortune Cookie Soap etc) with no problems.

Sadly BirchBox is probably losing out on a market here because we were all excited to hear that they were coming to Canada. I clearly think that this should have been mentioned before that they were excluding Quebec and not until afterwards when enough hype was built up about it. Perhaps that was their plan?

I have to admit that this left a bad taste in my mouth and I honestly think that BirchBox is going to have to do a hell of a lot to get us Quebec’ers on board when and if they ever launch here in Quebec. So for now guess what BirchBox? My money will be going towards GlossyBox USA which seems to have no problem shipping to Quebec.

To my Quebec friends, readers and followers would you subscribe to BirchBox?

Glossy Box Is Coming to Canada

Posted on by Cindy

glossy-box

I am honestly going to admit that Glossy Box was one of my all time favorite beauty box subscription services that I use to get. Personally for me I loved getting that pink box each month. The box itself is very sturdy and I have reused all my boxes for something. Please note that I am not being paid to say this, this is my honest and sincere opinion.

I was never disappointed (okay I was when the Canadian section closed up shop) because it was brands I knew and loved. Plus we would get brands that I never tried or heard of before. Which is good and that’s the purpose of these boxes to expose you to new things.

Its been well over a year without Glossy Box here in Canada so image my surprise when they announced that they were coming to Canada and they are SHIPPING TO QUEBEC. I ain’t gonna lie I did break out my happy dance and a few (over the time) cheers. I am super excited for my first box to come and yes I did sign up for this subscription service.

If you are interested in signing up for Glossy Box I would appreciate it if you could use my referral link please. CLICK ON THIS TO TAKE YOU TO THE PAGE. 

About Glossy Box:

There are four different types of GLOSSYBOX subscriptions: a monthly package ($21/month), a 3-month package ($60), a 6-month package ($115), and a 12 month package ($220). All regular subscriptions are recurring, unless cancelled within the term deadline.

*Canadian addresses will incur a $5 shipping fee. ($26 USA)

Every month, they curate a selection of high-end, niche, and trendy beauty products in deluxe travel sizes to be included in your GLOSSYBOX.

Every month, they deliver five hand-picked beauty products straight to your doorstep. I believe 5 items is the min amount you will receive. I checked out past boxes and you do get quite a bit of items.

I should be getting my first box hopefully this month and as soon as I get it I will do a vlog and a blog post.

Is anyone else excited that Glossy Box is coming to Canada?

Review/Drama

Review/Drama

Posted on by Cindy
Review/DramaDrama by Raina Telgemeier
Published by Scholastic Inc. on September 1st, 2012
Pages: 240
Goodreads
Genres: Adolescence, Comics & Graphic Novels, Friendship, General, Social Issues, Young Adult

Raina Telgemeier, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Eisner Award winner, SMILE, brings us her next full-color graphic novel . . . DRAMA! Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier! Following the success of SMILE, Raina Telgemeier brings us another graphic novel featuring a diverse set of characters that humorously explores friendship, crushes, and all-around drama!

As I was doing a major clean trying to get the house ready for Christmas and having house guest I stumbled upon a bag of books that I read and never reviewed. Not quite sure why and the only thing I could think of was it was during one of my reviewing slumps.

I got this book for review back  in 2012 so I quickly reread it and I have to say it was a cute book. I normally don’t read graphic novels and I don’t know why because they are actually fun quick reads and I think it would actually break up my reading. Plus they make for a quick review when needed right?

I have read Raina’s other graphic novels and really enjoyed them. I think if you have a child who is reluctant to read books that perhaps introducing them to a graphic novel would be a great start. Michael loves reading graphic novels and is now starting to collect and read comic books.

I love books where the title actually matches the book and this is a perfect example of that. As does the cover. I also love how bright and colorful the graphics are in this book. it definitely will appeal to the middle grade readers.

Callie eats, sleeps and breathes drama. Her whole life revolves around it and I love seeing that kind of passion in young people. Don”t you?

Callie is just like all of us book lovers who geek out over books and authors etc. You can totally relate to her and how she is.

I loved Callie because for someone so young she was brave and didn’t give a crap on what others thought of her and I wish more kids could be like that. She liked what she liked and didn’t care what others thought. Which it should be if you love something that perhaps your friend doesn’t that is okay that won’t change your friendship. I find too many kids are losing that passion and just following and doing what their friends are doing and its taking away from who they are. I stress this all the time with Michael and its okay to like what you like.

I don’t want to talk to much about the book because I will end up giving the book away. I will say that i know this is a very sensitive subject with some parents (if you don’t know what I mean look at the amazon reviews) and all I want to say is that we love who we love no matter what and i think we are now so much more advance then we were 20-30 years ago. Reading this book won’t make your child gay and I think as parents we need to teach our children that just because someone is gay that there is nothing wrong with them. They are just like us and they deserve to have someone love them too.

 

 

Fall Edition of Sample Source

Posted on by Cindy

samplesource

 

I just recently got the fall edition of the Sample Source box and I thought I would share with you what I got in it this time around.

Sample Source is available to Canadians and I believe Americans as well (although I am not 100% sure). Its 100% free all you have to do is join the site and fill out a little survey about you. You will get notified when the box is available and if your lucky enough to get in at the very beginning you will have a choice of samples to pick from. You will have to log back into your account to do this. The boxes take roughly 4-6 weeks.

I always get a little surprised with my box because I tend to forget what samples are coming. So its like Christmas morning when it arrives.

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This time around I was a little late in getting online so I didn’t get alot. Not quite sure how many samples were being offered this time around.

  • 20g  Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry. I had to pass this on because I have an allergy to blueberries but I was told this was really good. I think if there was other flavors available I would try it because who doesn’t like chocolate with fruit?
  • 25g Special K Cookies & Creme Pastry Crisp (this is a full size) Inside was two thin crisps. I love trying these kinds of things out because this way if you don’t like it your not worried about wasting it. When I got this I had thrown it in my bag because I was on my way to work but I did eat it there and it sort of tasted like an oreo. (Looking at the packaging you can actually see an oero there LOL) I would probably buy the box of this because its a great snack to have on hand. This came with a $0.50 coupon as well.
  • 43g Hersey’s Whole Almond creamy milk chocolate bar. This is of course full size and honestly there isn’t a piece of chocolate that I don’t like. I do have to say that I love hersey’s chocolate bars so these are always purchased.
  • 2 pieces of Ice Breakers Duo in Raspberry. We love Ice Breakers but raspberry isn’t a favorite of ours. I know because I bought it by mistake once. I ended up throwing this in my purse for a just in case we need it.
  • 1 tab of the Finish Power & Free. This is a brand we use in our dishwasher so its always nice to have these has back ups for when you run out of dishwashing detergent.
  • 7ml sample of Jergens Ultra Care Moisturizer. This is always nice to have especially as the cold weather is coming.
  • 30ml sample of John Freida Frizz Ease Secret Weapon touch up creme. I know with the cold weather coming I always have problems with my hair so this will help.
  • 14g Dove go sleeveless beauty fresh anti perspirant.  It smells really nice and its the perfect thing to have on hand for when you travel.
  • 1 biore nose strip. This is something I never buy just because so when ever I get a sample of these its always nice.
  • 1 Breathe Right nose strip. This is also something I never buy but I think this year I am going to try it out to see if it helps with my stuffy nose that I always get.

So this is what I got in my Sample Source box this fall. I was lucky enough to also get my mother’s box as she didn’t want all of the items in it so ya for me.

Do you subscribe to  Sample Source? What do you think of it?

Review/ One Night Promised

Review/ One Night Promised

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ One Night PromisedOne Night Series: One Night

by Jodi Ellen Malpas
Format: Paperback
Published by Grand Central Publishing on 2014-08
Pages: 402
Goodreads

Livy notices him the moment he walks into the coffee shop. He's heart-stoppingly stunning, with a blue-eyed gaze so piercing she's almost too distracted to take his order. When he walks out the door, she thinks she'll never see him again. Then she finds the note he left on his napkin . . . signed M.

All he wants is one night to worship her. No feelings, no commitment, nothing but pleasure. Every defense mechanism Livy has adopted during her solitary life is at risk of being obliterated by this confounding man. He's obnoxious but well-mannered. He's a gentleman but aloof. He's passionate but emotionless. Yet the fascination is so powerful, Livy can't deny him... or herself.

M awakens something in Livy, something deep and addictive that she never knew existed -- and that she fears only he can satisfy. But she senses that behind the fast cars, fancy suits, and posh apartment, he's aching inside. To have him, body and soul, she'll have to brave his dark secrets. Delving into his world and breaking down his defenses become her obsession - an obsession that could shatter her heart beyond repair..

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I feel as though I have been on a reading slump lately and thanks to One Night Promised I think I am now out of that reading slump. Thanks HBG for sending me this book. I absolutely loved it and pretty much devoured it in two nights.

One Night Promised is the first book in Jodi’s newest trilogy. The second book is called One Night: Denied that is out now and I am going to have to go and buy this one very soon and finally the third book is called One Night: Unveiled and its coming out February 2015. Thankfully its not too long of a way right?

As you can tell from my blog I don’t read and review alot of erotic romance books. Its just not something that really interests me. So at first I wasn’t going to read this book but when I read the back of the book I have to admit I was a little bit sucked it from the description. I figured what did I have to loose right? The book was sent to me unsolicated so I really didn’t have any commintment to read it. Let me tell you once I started it I was hooked.

I pretty much devoured this book in the course of two days.

One of the great things is that Jodi has another series of books out called The Man that has gotten rave reviews and I read some of the reviews are so so for this new one. Well since I never read this series or heard of this author before I went into this with no expectations and I walked away discovering a new author that is going to make me want to go out and buy this series and her future books.

The main character is Olivia or Livy. She is a 24 year old girl living with her grandmother. She has one best friend who is Gregory. She doesn’t do alot and I was curious to know why. There is more to this story then meets the eye. Livy has just started working in a bistro and is trying to master the cappachino machine when the most gorgeous man walks in and orders a coffee. Olivia is drawn to him and messes up his order. He leaves behind a note saying it was the worst coffee ever. I think had it been me I would probably be a little bit pissed, wouldn’t you?

This mystery man is M aka Miller. He is one cute guy with a ton of secrets that will rock your socks off. All we know is that he is a successful business owner and has a private club. There is more to him then meets the eyes let me tell you that.

Livy and Miller bump into each other quite alot in the beginning of the book and you can tell they are completely drawn to each other but every time Livy seems Miller he is always with the same woman. Who is this woman? Is Miller attached and does he basically want his cake and eat it too?

I know as a reader I was pretty curious to know about this Miller guy.

Eventually Livy gives in and gives him what he wants but how will she handle her jealousy? Should she be jealous?

You can tell that there is this connection between the two and its building up but how will Olivia react when she finds out exactly who Miller is and what he does?

I can’t wait for the next book because this ended in a cliff hanger and I have to say that I loved how it was built up. I mean through out the course of the book you knew something was up but just couldn’t place your finger on it and I have to say that I actually thought one thing and was surprised that it wasn’t that.

Check back to see my review on the next book.