Cindy

An Obsession with… eos Lip Balms

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Cindy

Have you ever wondered how you got hooked on a book, movie, a make up product anything else you obsess about?

That was the exact same thing I have been wondering, when and how did my obsession with eos lipbalms grow into what it is today?

I am completely obsessed with the eos lipbalms and I am always on the hunt for new ones to add to my collection.

I currently own 10 and I am pretty sure its the entire eos collection that I own.

The eos lipbalms are really hard to store so I came up with this neat idea. I found this cute flower shaped bowl at Winners one day and put all my eos lipbalms in this and it sits on my night table.

I think its very spring like and I really like how it gives my night table a pop of color. Since having it out and visible I have been using them much more on a daily bases.

Today I thought I would share with you my collection of eos lipbalms.

Top row (L-R) Strawberry Sorbet, Pomegranate Raspberry, Watermelon (I believe) Summer Fruit

Middle Row (L-R) Sweet Vanilla, Lemon Drop, Medicated Tangerine,Honeysuckle Honey Dew

Bottome Row (L-R) Passion Fruit, Sweet Mint

The only one that I am not really a big fan of is the Medicated Tangerine because its got that medicine taste but I have to say even though I didn’t like the taste I found that it cleared up my dry chap lips.

My favorites are Strawberry Sorbet, Watermelon and Summer Fruit. I found that when applying this its taste just like the name implies which I love.

When applying I find it goes on really nice and it doesn’t leave your lips feeling sticky lip some lip balms do.

What do you think of eos? Do you have a favorite?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Review/ Cars Character Encyclopedia & Cars 2 The Essential Guide

Posted on July 15, 2013April 14, 2014 by Cindy

If you ask Michael what his favorite thing about summer apart from not going to school it would be going to cheapie Tuesdays at the movies and seeing all the new movies that are out and this year it seems to be a lot of great kids movies coming out such as Monster University, Planes, etc

Although I have to say nothing beats movies from previous summers which brings me to this post. I was contacted by the awesome Chris from DK books to let me know about the summer promotion that is happening on their website

Go Behind the Scenes with DK

Whether you love Disney princesses, superheroes or Jedis and droids, DK’s Visual Guides, Essential Guides and Character Encyclopedias are the perfect way to bring the excitement of your favourite movies home. Full-page profiles of characters, behind-the-scenes information and page after page of fantastic amazing photographs and images from the films make each of these books a must-have for any film fan!

Chris had asked me if there was anything I would like to review from the selection and I showed it to Michael and he was instantly thrilled because some of his favorite movies had books. So he was very good about picking out only two and they are:

I have to admit I was surprised he didn’t pick any of the Lego books and I asked him about it and he said I love Lego just not Harry Potter or Star Wars ones. Which is fine by me.

We got the box really quickly and Michael was thrilled to get something to open in the mail.

We love DK books because they are the perfect size for kids and they are so well made. Very sturdy and duable in my mind. Plus they have the best pictures and descriptions in them.

I would like to welcome Michael to his first official guest posts/review. He is going to be reviewing both these books for you today.

Book: Hardcover

Includes Mattel EXCLUSIVE die-cast model and a poster-sized collector’s list! Mattel has sold more than 250 million die-cast cars from Cars, Cars 2, and Cars Toons. Now you can find them all in one place: DK’s Disney•Pixar Cars Character Encyclopedia!
Featuring more than 250 different die-cast Cars models, this all-inclusive encyclopedia includes a character profile for each model with model descriptions, year created, unique characteristics, and much, much more!

For the avid collector or the young die-hard Cars fan, Disney•Pixar Cars Character Encyclopedia will be a must-have for both!

I am huge fan of the Cars movies as my mom can probably tell you (Yes I can vouch for that!) and I was thrilled when I saw these books on the DK site that I was able to get and review.

The first book I am going to talk about is the Cars Character Encyclopedia. This book came with an exclusive diecast model car which is now sitting on my night table and an exclusive Lightening McQueen poster which I have hanging on my wall.

I didn’t realize it until I opened up the book that this actually covers both Cars movies as well at the Mater toons that are on tv.

In the book it shows each character that was in the movies. Each character has a stat about the car and it tells us about the model name, series, how many versions of the car there is and the vehicles.

Some characters have additional information about them in little blocks/circles and they can contain info about the car, who the voices are, real facts etc.

There are a ton of pictures for the cars and it was nice to see that the cars had different versions of them that were in the movie.

I really liked the book and thought it was excellent. If you have a cars fan I highly recommend you buying this book for them. They will love it.

Book: Hardcover

Fasten your seatbelts! Lightning McQueen is revving up for another thrilling adventure, and this time he’s racing around the world! In Cars 2, our favorite racing car is back in action with his trusty friend Mater in tow and is ready to take on the world’s fastest and finest in this high octane new installment of the Cars saga. Packed with facts, character profiles, and amazing stills from the movie, the Essential Guide is the definitive reference to the world of Cars 2.

The next book I am talking about is this one the Cars 2 The Essential Guide. This book only covers the Car 2 movie.

The book is super easy to read and there is a ton of pictures.

The book shows the characters from the first movie from Radiator Springs and then they show all the characters from the World Grand Prix which is the second movie.

One of the sections of the book that I really liked was the part that had the info about all the race cars and it included info about where they were from, country they were from, type of car, their top speed, what they have gotten in their racing careers and their strength.

Another thing I really liked was the Did You Know bubbles that talked about stuff that wasn’t in the movie.

This is a great book to read probably before seeing the movie because you can find out more about each and every character and if you have already seen the movie that is okay because you can still learn something that you might not have known about the characters.

This is another book I would recommend if you are or know someone who is a cars fan.

*I just want to thank Michael for doing this review for me. I know he was a little unsure how to do this but I think he had fun doing it. Hopefully he will do some more reviews in the future.*

I just want to thank Chris from DK for sending us these two fantastic books to read and review. It was so much fun discovering more about the characters from the movies we love.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

MEME/ Sunday’s In Bed With…..Vacation Books Part 2 (#58)

Posted on July 14, 2013April 14, 2014 by Cindy

The awesome blogger behind this mem is Kate from Midnight Book Girl . If you haven’t checked out her blog yet you really should hop over there and check it out.

Sundays In Bed With….is a meme I’ve started to share the book we’re spending the morning in bed with, or the one we’d like to stay curled up in bed with all Sunday if only our busy lives would allow! For fun, take a picture of the book in your bed, or simply write up a post or comment below sharing your Sundays in Bed With book. Quoted from Kate’s blog.

Good Morning Everyone, I hope you had a good week and that you are able to spend some time reading today. I am still currently on vacation and I would think we are having a good time (this post was written up before we left), actually I am sure we are having a blast.

Since I might have limited access to the internet I thought that I would share with you the books we brought on vacation with us. Last week I shared what I was bringing and this week its Michael’s turn. He had a hard time deciding what to bring as he would love to bring everything with him but sadly he can’t.

Here is the books that he is hoping to read during our two week vacation:

He has it split between traveling there and traveling back home in two weeks.

We decided we are going to read these two together when we get to our destination:

We are both fans of Survivor and curious to see how he writes.

What about you? What are you reading today?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Smashing Saturdays #3

Posted on July 13, 2013April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Isn’t it funny when you try and plan out things to do before vacation something happens or comes up?

That is exactly what happened before I left for vacation, I was hoping that I could have had something to share with you today in regards to my Smashing Journal but I ended up having more to do before leaving then I thought I did.

I am bringing my journal with me on vacation because that was the purpose of buying the travel one because I know it will be filled with great memories and souvenirs of our trip.

So today I thought I would share with you some of the things that I will be working on that I will eventually share with you.

Katie came up with some topics that we could use in case we got into a slup and they are:

July 6th: Washi Tape (Ways to incorporate it in a page layout)
July 13th: Day in the Life (Smash just one day- only photos, objects, etc. from a single day)
July 20th: Collage (Collage two pages with photos, quotes, buttons, etc.)
July 27th: Color Coded (Just pick one color and do a page using only that color in stickers, photos, etc.)
August 3rd: Journal It (Incorporate journal in your design. Whether it’s on a piece of paper or directly on the page, just write!)

I wrote myself a note with these topics and put it in the journal so that if I have a bit of down time I can actually work on them while I am away.

Be sure to click on the button below to take you to Katie’s blog to see what she is up to with her Smash Journal.

Is anyone taking part in this?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

What’s in My Make Up Bag (part 2)

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Cindy

You are probably sitting there thinking that I did this post yesterday and you would be correct I did do this kind of a post yesterday but if you know me I tend to over pack and I think that is due to the fact that I have no idea what we are going to do when we reach our destination.

I know that my brother in law has planned some things for us to do but I have no idea what they are as he hasn’t sent me an email yet so its a total surprise so I want to be prepared. Expect the unexpected is what my motto is.

So yes I am bringing another make up bag with a few more items and I will show you that as well as the other items I am bringing with me.

This make up bag will be in my suitcase and its actually a make shift one because I am using the Strand pencil case I bought this year. Inside that is a razor, tooth brush, tweezers, more hair pins, a scrunchie, two make up brushes, a Marcel BB cream to powder, and I thought it was time to use my Naked basic palette and Lorac Femme Fatale palette other wise they would probably just sit there unused. Also bringing three lip products one is a sheer linen lipstick by L’oreal (I believe) a Kate Moss lipstick (not sure of the shade but its got a bit of color) and lastly my Fresh lip balm just in case.

I am also bringing hand wipes (as a mother you are always walking around wiping hands, mouths etc so I love traveling with these little pouches, a small pack of quite tips, small pack of Quo make up pads and finally some make up remover wipes. I know I probably could have bought this over there but I need to use up what I have before buying new.

Some of the jewelry I am bringing is this cute little braclet/hair tie in silver and gold (not pictured cause I am currently wearing it) and two owl necklaces that I got from Old Navy. What I love about these are they have a long chain. They are just too darn cute and I was lucky enough to get a deal on them and it was buy one full price get the second for a $1.

This is the liquids I am bringing with me.

Dove deodorant (this isn’t my normal one but I have to say I really like this), a small sample size of the apple shower gel (love the smell of this), suncreen as I said there is a heat wave going on and I don’t want sunburn people around me, toothpaste that I am excited to try and voltaren in case my knee acts up on vacation and I need some relief

The other part of my make up is La Roche Posay for skin intolerance cleanser and moisturizer (not much left in these and I want to make sure I have it on hand in case something goes wrong and I have a reaction), the Marcel BB cleanser and BB cream (love these and bonus no reaction to them), a hand lotion, Olay concealer just in case of a break out and I need to cover up, a bath and body works perfume (love the smell and it can work in case the bathroom smells) the naked balm, mascara sample that I want to use up, a essence concealer which will go in my purse in case I need a quick touch up and finally a Pore concealer just because I want to finish this up.

I tried to cut back on my hair care stuff and I am actually down to a shampoo and conditioner (love the clear stuff and in the next few weeks I will have a review on it because a friend gave me the full size of each on to try and review, when I was in the US I discovered a line of hair care products from L’oreal that are for curls and I need that the liquid is a detangler, the other is a cream that I use when I put my hair up and the last one is by L’oreal too from that same line for the curls.

I really like the L’oreal stuff and wish it would appear on our shelves soon.

So this is what I am packing in my suitcase. I know its alot right?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Product Review/ Internation Delight’s Iced Coffee

Posted on July 9, 2013April 14, 2014 by Cindy

I was thrilled when I checked in my BzzAgent account to see that I had a new product to try. Its not very often that I get selected for something and I think the last one I did was a few years ago for coffee. Hmm is there a theme to my BzzAgent profile?

If you know me you know how much I love the Ice Caps from Tim Horton’s especially in the summer. Every summer I could especially spend close to a hundred dollars in these drinks. I have tried several alternatives to it and nothing quite compares to them until this…

Its the International Delights Iced Coffees. Here in Canada they have come out with three flavors: Vanilla, Carmel Macchiato and Mocha. They are packaged in a 2 litre container and can be found in the dairy section of your local grocery store. The average sale price is between $4 to $6. As you can see its much cheaper then having an Ice Cap every day.

My BzzAgent kit arrived when I was in NYC in May so I was thrilled to see it when I got home. I quickly had to open it because I thought it would be just coupons but was pleasantly surprised to see two travel mugs with the straws and about 9 coupons (sorry I thought I had the exact number mark down but I have been using them up).

I quickly rushed out to buy the Ice Coffees and after making several trips to local grocery stores and several transactions later (you can only use one coupon at a time per transaction) I was able to secure all three flavors.

I am a huge fan of vanilla so that was the one I tried first and I liked it but I thought it was sweet enough for me so I ended up adding some more sugar. Which I thought made it perfect and instead of using ice cups I ended up using crushed ice. I actually prefer the crushed ice to ice cubes.

Next up was the Carmel Macchiato. I liked this and would probably but it again but it wasn’t a overall favorite for me. I liked the taste and it wasn’t too sweet or too strong. I didn’t need to add any more sugar to it.

Finally the last one Mocha was probably my favorite one of the bunch. It was perfect and just the right amount of coffee, sugar and milk/cream. This is the one I have bought several times since my first tasting of it.

Knowing how great these were I had to share it with some friends so one weekend we had a few over and before hand I made some ice cubes from the ice coffees because you want to enjoy the full drink and not have it watered down right?

I didn’t tell anyone before hand about the drinks until it was time for dessert and when I brought the cartons out everyone was excited to try them out and they were having a hard time deciding what they wanted and when I said you can try all three of them if you want because I have plenty.

We actually decided that we would all have the same ones and talk about them while we drank them. It was nice that everyone enjoyed them and felt the same way about the drinks although everyone had different favorites.

It was nice to see that everyone liked a different one for different reasons. Before they went home I gave them each a coupon so they could go buy their favorite one.

Would I buy these again over the summer? Of course its a perfect alternative to having to go and buy an Ice Cap each day. I really liked them and they had fanastic taste and flavors to them. I would highly recommend them if you like having ice coffees in the summer. They are quick and easy and simple. Grab a glass with ice and just pour and sit back and enjoy.

Thanks BzzAgent for allowing me to be a part of this project.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Product Review/ Downy Unstopables

Posted on July 8, 2013April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Product: Down Unstopables (Spring)

Size: 555g (19.5oz)

Source: I was sent this item for my honest and sincere review

I love being able to try new products so when I was contacted to review this I quickly jumped at the chance to do so.

I have never bought the Downy Unstopables before so being able to try them before hand is amazing. I would definitely buy this scent again as well as the others that are available in the set and they are Fresh (smells like clean breeze), Lush (Lavender) and Shimmer (light floral).

This Downy Unstopables came in the scent Spring and its got the scent of April fresh. Its a nice fresh spring scent that I really like.

I was super excited to have gotten this on the day I had to do laundry and my first load was towels. I added this in the washer with my laundry soap and I have to say I loved the smell it left on my towels. I noticed it every time I would open the closet to get a towel out. This left my towels smelling just like spring.

I am sure this will be great to use on my son’s hockey close when hockey starts up again in the fall.

When I went to http://www.downy.com to check out some more info about the product I discovered that you can create your own custom scent just by pairing up Downy Fusions with a Downy Unstopables. To check it out visit http://www.downy.com/en-US/products/downy-fortune-smeller.jspx . That is thirty customs scents you can create or just pick your favorite scents.

I am pretty sure the next time Downy Fusions and the Unstopables are on sale I will try it out.

Have you tried this out? What did you think of it? Something you would use again?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.