Countdown to Christmas

Wow where did the time go? I can’t believe that tomorrow is December 1st. The last few months have flown by.

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that starting tomorrow I will be doing a Christmas countdown. I have a whole bunch of fun things set to post through out the month. There will also we some scattered give aways through out the month as well.

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.

Hanging with My Sister Haul

Its not very often that I get to go out shopping with my sister but when it does happen we always have so much fun.  Thankfully when she called me to see if I wanted to meet up and do some Christmas shopping it worked out. Although I have to admit that I am pretty much done mine.

We decided to meet at the mall just before opening to avoid the rush and the crowds. Parking can always be crazy at the mall this time of year and its always packed.

The first place we went to was Bath & Body Works. Our favorite.

I decided to pick up some winter/holiday soaps. The scents I got were: Snow Frosted Apple, Iced Gingerbread, Candy Cane Bliss, Fresh Sparkling Snow and Winter Spice and Vanilla. I just have to say that B&BW has the best scented soaps.
One of the reasons we wanted to go to B&BW was because they had the 4oz candles on sale buy one get one free and I also had a coupon that if you spent $10 you got a free 4oz candle so I picked up the following candles: Merry Cookie, Frosted Gingerbread, Peppermint Mocha, Winter Candy Apple and Twisted Peppermint. They all smell so delicious that I can ‘t wait to burn these.
 
I was also on the hunt for a nice Christmas shirt for Michael to wear on Christmas day and I found this one at Sears and I really like and I think it will look good on Christmas day.
 
After Sears we decide to go in and look around Forever 21. They day we were there, there was a sale and I spotted some things I just couldn’t pass up on.
The first thing that caught my eye was those cute owl pjs. Love them. It came with a tshirt and short. In that same section I spotted these owl pj pants. They are sort of a flannel. Then as we are getting ready to pay we spotted some really nice scarves and I am a sucker for a pretty scarf so I picked up a champagne colored one and this Tiffany blue one (sadly the picture makes them look another color). They are both sparkly and very long. I can’t wait to add them to my wardrobe.
I was looking at these items by the cash and I needed some stuff to put in a stocking stuffer so I grabbed them.
 
Not sure what shade these eye shadows are but they are really nice and I am really impressed with the pigmentation on them.
 
I have a weakness for Strawberry flavored Gloss.

One of my pet peeves is when items are marked with a shade so I have no idea what the following shades are but its in the Light Pink/Multi Color Collection

Turquoise Glitter, Purple Glitter and Rose Glitter
Pale Pink Glitter, Gold Glitter, Silver Glitter and Multi Color Glitter
 
After that we went into H&M and I can honestly say I have only been in a few times and nothing has ever caught up eye until today.
I thought this white top would be nice and it goes so well with the scarf I bought at Forever 21. It was quite sheer as you can see
So I picked up this tank top to do under it. I have worn it a few times and I really like.

Then the last place we went into was Sephora. I wanted to pick up my birthday gift from them. If you are a Beauty Insider you always get a birthday gift in your birth month.

So while I was in line I picked up two things. One was this foundation brush. I have a really good one that I use all the time but when I wash it I wanted a second one to have as a back up and that one was really cheap and junkie so I ditched it and figured I would pick this one up to try. The brush seems really nice. The other item I grabbed was the Jose Maran Bearnaked nail wipes. I thought this would be perfect to toss in my make up bag when I travel.
I was super excited for the Birthday gift because its something I have been wanting to try for the longest time but just couldn’t commit to the price tag.  Its from a company called Fresh and its Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo. Mini Sugar Rose its a tinted lip treatment and the other is a lip treatment and its nice that both are SPF 15.
 
I think that its really nice that Sephora does that for its clients and that they change it every year.
 
 Then just before we called it a day, I was surprised with these wonderful goodies as a early bday present.
The first two essie’s were packaged together and they are in the shades A Cut Above & Eternal Optimist and the other essie is nothing else metals.
It was funny because these are words she is always telling me.
I have been raving about these color burst lipsticks by Revlon to her and this just happens to be one of her favorite shades so she thought I should try it to .
Its in shade Pink Truffle #001

Thanks hun I love the little goodies and spending the morning shopping and hanging with you. We will have to try to do it a little more often,

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.

Book Spotlight| Mocktails & More

Title: Mocktails & More
Author: Julie Elsdon-Height
Pub Date: November 27, 2012

To Purchase the book: CLICK ON THIS 

About the book:
Mocktails & More is the ultimate survival handbook for the hectic Holiday Season!

Julie Elsdon-Height, also know as Sober Julie on social media, is a humorous woman who shoots straight from the hip, sharing about her life of sobriety and looking to experience all of the joys life has to offer.

With Mocktails & More, Julie shares her favorite 20 Mocktail recipes each displayed with professional photography and tidbits of inspiration delivered in her humorous style.

And if this wasn’t enough, Julie has once again decided to step out of the box and invited Molson Coors Canada to come on board providing tips for making Responsible Choices over the Holidays. Molson Coors Canada’s brewmasters have reviewed Julie’s recipes and modified a select few to present Cocktail alternatives.

Mocktails & More is wonderfully thought-out, well written and will inspire you as you entertain over the Holidays.

I was thrilled to log onto my favorite Canadian facebook group tonight to discover one of the members in the group has written a cookbook. How awesome is that? Congrats Julie.
Finally there is a cocktail recipe book that doesn’t involve alchol. I love it. I always struggle trying to find good cocktail drinks that don’t involve alchol that everyone can enjoy. Knowing that Julie has personally created these 24 drinks makes me all the more excited to purchase this and perhaps a do a cocktail countdown in December. Just like the advent countdown calendars?

How does that sound?

So if you are looking for a great gift to give someone who enjoys cocktails (the non alcholic kind) then I highly recommend this book to offer as a gift.

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.

December’s Empties

Welcome to my December Empties post. I am hoping that in the New Year that I will have a button for this monthly feature.

This is my second empties post and so far I am really liking this idea. It forces me to use up products instead of opening new ones and leaving the half filled ones sitting around or worse yet not being used.

I love seeing other beauty bloggers empties posts/vlogs because I have discovered some new items that I had wanted to try but never did because I wasn’t sure about them.

When I was getting ready to do this post I honestly thought I used up lot more products then I did. I guess that little basket sitting near my desk fooled me.

As you can see I grouped the pictures into groups to make this post easier to write.

This month we used alot of hand soap and that was due to the fact we were a little sick (colds) and we had company in as well so that tends to happen. The foam soap that was used was all from Bath and Body Works and they were Holly Berry Wreath, Snow Frosted Apple, Iced Ginger Bread and Winter Spice and Vanilla. I loved all the scents of the soaps but my absolute favorite was the Iced Gingerbread and Winter Spice. I would definitely repurchase all the soaps again.

Another soap we used up was the Lever 2000. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed how fast the bar soap now goes. For the longest time they seemed to last forever and now within three weeks its gone. I think from now on I will be using shower gel since it tends to last longer in the shower.

With having a cold I tend to take alot of hot baths to keep warm and I actually used up all my Lush hauls. I wish I would have marked them all down but I didn’t. Sorry but they were all fantastic and items I will be repurchasing. I am hoping to get to Lush again soon to stock up on a few more.
 
Another item I would repurchase if they still carry its Yves Rocher Apple Delight bath and shower gel. I loved it. It had a great lather and smelled so good. I love the smell of apples. I am hoping that this is still available.
 
On a recent visit to Sephora I was given a sample of Cake Sugar Cookie Shower gel and I loved it and this is another item I would purchase in a full size. It smells just like Sugar Cookies. 
 
In the baggie beside the Cake sample was a sample of bath salts and I don’t know what it was but it was something I got from my Sampler Village October box and it was the bath salts from Skinny Dip Soaps. I really liked the smell.
 
Another item that was used from one of my sample bags in November was the dirt sweet & spicy sugar scrub. The smell was nice but I really didn’t like it. When I first used it I thought there was glass in it (I am blind as a bat in the shower) but it was a chuck of sugar. Although I really thought it would have melted but it didn’t. This is something I wouldn’t buy if I saw it.
This is just an assorted of items. I had run out of nail polish remover so I had to use up my wipes and I really like them and this is something I do repurchase when I go to Walmart. On the topic of wipes I bought some ELF nail polish remover pads and I have to say I am not a big fan of them. I thought they were rather small and I had to use several per hand. This is something I won’t repurchase.
 
On the topic of wipes when I was at Sephora I saw these by the cash (Express Cleaning Wipes) and this is the perfect thing to throw in a make up bag. I really liked them and they did what they claimed to do of removing make up even long wearing. I will be repurchasing them when I go on vacation.
 
This month I managed to use up alot of the samples I got and they were jergens daily moisture, (nothing special in my opinion, it was okay), I received the L’Occitane hand cream in a Sephora order and I was excited to try this because so many people love this brand (I was happy to try it out but I don’t think I would purchase this). I managed to use up another lotion I got in my sample box and its Sweet Pea Scented Goat’s Milk lotion. I thought the packaging was a little awkward because the lotion was a little more liquid compared to other lotions so when you snapped the lid closed some lotion would come out. It was a nice smell but I think I would have enjoyed it more had my hands not been so dry.
 
Another sample I got to use was the Tums Freshers. I normally don’t take antacids because of the chalky taste but I really liked this one and I plan to purchase this when I get the chance. I thought the cool mint was a good taste and like I said I didn’t find it to be chalky.
 
When I was cleaning up I found another Olay Wet Cleansing cloth so I used that up to get rid of it. It was okay and it will be good for traveling but I prefer using what I currently have now.
 
One of the reasons I am loving this post is also to keep track of how fast we go through items. This Colgate Total 85 ml actually lasts us a month with two adults. I find it funny because my brother in law goes through one tube + a month and he is alone. How is that even possible?
 
On to the make up. I don’t know if you can really consider finishing up the eye shadows since the technically arrived damaged. They were from Starlooks and these three were damaged but there was a small chunk in each one that was usable I so used them up. They were in the shades pearl Reflection, Wicked Wink and Almond me27. I really liked the look of all three and I was so happy they sent me replacements.
 
Sadly, I am ditching the ELF waterproof eyeliner because I think I am allergic to it. I found my eyes got itchy using it.
 
My holy grail for pain relief is Aleve and I am so happy they came to Canada because I have knee problems and this is the only thing that I have found to really work well on my knee. Love it
 
I ended up picking up this Secret by mistake thinking it was my normal one but it wasn’t. I didn’t really like the fearlessly fresh scented powder. But now I am back to my normal scent. Also is it just me or does it seem like the amount of deodorant in the tube is getting less?
Finally we are onto the shampoos and conditioners. I used up my holy grail John Freida Frizz Ease (I love this and its so perfect on my hair and I find it fights the frizz. I always repurchase this) smooth start hydrating in the middle of the month so instead of taking out my new bottles I decided to use up same samples and they were Lys Parisien hydrating balm and Moisturizing shampoo. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase this. In the shower I found it was very drying to my hair but afterwards when it was dry it was soft. Its made with Argan oil.
 
Lastly was Bamboo luminous shine shampoo and conditioner. I only had the foil sample which gave me two washes so its hard to base an opinion on it. I don’t think I would purchase this without trying it again.
 
So this is what I used up in December, what about you?
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…..#24

The awesome blogger behind this is Kate from Midnight Book Girl   not only is she an awesome blogger but she is was one of my roommates for BEA. YAY!!

Midnight Book Girl

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.

 

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted but for some reason this didn’t go up on Sunday when I had it scheduled to post. Does anyone noticing this happening occassionaly with Blogger? I have noticed it happens every so often.

But anyways I wasn’t able to stay in bed and read because Michael had a hockey game in the morning. Sadly we lost again 5-1.

I wish I could stay in bed to read this but it will have to wait until we get home from hockey. I am on a book tour for this on Tuesday. So be sure to come back and check my review of this.

I hope you managed to get some reading down 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.

Q & A With The Cast of The Phantoms

Just a reminder that tonight on CBC at 8pm (8:30pm NFLD) the movie The Phantoms premiers. I hope you will watch it.

Today I am so very honored to have a few of the cast stop by to do a Q & A with me. I want to thank Renee from  PR for arranging all this. Renee I truly appreciate all that you have done. I also want to quickly thank the cast for taking time out of their busy schedules to do this for me.

Tyler Johnston plays the BHS Phantoms basketball player Corey Boucher. Corey was one of the survivors.

Did you get to spend any time with the real person your character was based on before filming?

I did, a little later into production. We were able to chat a bit on the last few days which was nice. Must’ve all been very surreal to him. His parents on the other hand I saw all the time! Great people.

I am from Bathurst (and BHS was my high school) what is the one thing someone should see when visiting Bathurst?

I love being by the water. For me, I enjoyed walking the bridge into town and taking in the beauty of the coast. So I suppose I dont have one thing in particular, I would say get outside and explore a little!

Tyler when I read this I laughed because I don’t know how many times I walked the bridge into town. Its a beautiful site. What surprised you about playing this role?

It kind of surprised me how close to home it began to hit. Some of my greatest friendships were formed by playing recreational sports. Growing up playing hockey and lacrosse, I know how much my teammates mean to me and to lose them would be devastating. The strength the community showed by coming together was inspirational.

How hard was it to play this role?

The production flew us out two weeks early for basketball camp, in the gym where The Phantoms still play today, which started a very natural process. Us boys bonded, while getting to play the game! Sudz and I were on the same page from the start. He’s the man. The emotional scenes sometimes can be quite exhausting but other then the occasional long emotional day, it could not have been any more enjoyable.

What was your experience being in the community and the community reaction to having you there?

We were welcomed with open arms. Whether it was our invite to a party the first weekend or Thanksgiving dinner at Coach Alan’s place, we felt at ease. The recent accident of course was a very sensitive subject but we wanted to honour the Boys in Red to the best of our ability and I think the community felt that. I know if ever I find myself out east I now have friends in Bathurst! 🙂

Tyler you will always have friends from Bathurst. I am not surprised at how welcoming the community is. Thanks so much for taking the time out to do this for me.

Kyle Mac plays the BHS Phantoms basketball team player Luke Thibodeau.

Was there anything that surprised you during the filming this movie?

Honestly every experience in the filming of The Phantoms was a very happy surprise. From working with one of Canada’s top directing talents; Sudz Sutherland, to the unique experience of filming in the real locations as the team we were portraying is so very rare. Feeling the support of the town of Bathurst participating so closely in the film. The amazing surprise of getting to hang out and get to know the real boys whom our characters were based on was completely surreal. Even beyond that, being trained and coached by the “Phantoms” real coaches through the entire experience was unreal, we truly built a bond with them, and all left affectionately calling them “coach”. And probably the most surprising experience would be the completely real bond us actors built through the filming. We became a real team, and all friends for life.

Kyle, you truly have made friends for life. I am so proud of my little communtiy. What was the one thing that you took away from acting in this movie and being in the community of Bathurst?

With the fear of sounding repetitive, the most honest answer is; best friends, with four young men so very different from one another, but with a real bond and respect for one another. Emmanuelle & Jacob live in Toronto as I do, and we all hang out every week, and each one of us keep close contact with Wes & Tyler whom live in Vancouver but have visited us in Toronto multiple times, since filming. A true respect and close bond between actors on a film that you know will carry on beyond the production and through your life is a rare and wonderful thing.

Thanks Kyle for taking the time out to do this for me.

Wally McKinnon plays The Phantoms coach, Marc Babineau.

What was your experience in spending time with Coach Alan of the BHS Phantoms?

Spending time with Alan the Coach of The Phantoms was an incredible experience. He was so open, and willing to talk about anything. The team, his heart attack, his recovery, whatever I wanted to know. Although I have played basketball, I had never Coached, and he was such a book of knowledge about the game. I had so many questions. And he answered them all. It helped me so much in playing the role of the Coach.

When I heard about his heart attack, I literally felt like how much more can this team suffer. They have been through so much. Being a graduate from BHS I was so happy and honored at how this community held it together and was there for each other, did this surpise you?

Growing up in Bathurst and knowing the community, NO, it didn’t not surprise me that the town came together to support this team. During the shooting of the film, you could almost feel how proud Bathurst felt about the team. And it made me proud to be from Bathurst. I know that the cast and crew felt so welcomed by the community. Again, makes a home town boy proud.

I agree, I was never more proud to be a home town girl and graduate of BHS. I am so extremely proud of Bathurst. I understand you are also a graduate of BHS. How did it feel to be back there?

Being back in Bathurst working on this film was surreal. We lived across the street from BHS. I showed all the cast and crew the house. We had a good laugh saying how tough it was to play hookie from school when you live just across the street. And then the day we shot in the hospital, and they took me up to set, it turned out we were shooting on the 3rd floor east. It stopped me in my tracks because that was the floor my mother worked and supervised on for most of her nursing career. I have to say it was very emotional for me. And then to be home and see so many people and close friends that I hadn’t seen in so long was just so exciting.

I always wondered how kids who literally lived across the street from the school could play hookie and not get caught. I was from down shore so I really never had to worry about that. Thanks so much Wally for taking the time out to share you thoughts with us. I am truly honored and touch that you were able to take time out to do this for me.

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.

Q & A with the Director of The Phantoms

Just a reminder to watch the movie,  The Phantoms, tomorrow night (Sunday November 18th) on CBC tv at 8pm (8:30pm NFLD)

Coaching consultants Glenn State and Alan Doucet and in the middle is Sudz Sutherland the director. I actually know Alan but not sure if he would remember me because its been many years.

Today I am honored to be able to have this Q&A with the director of the movie The Phantoms on the blog today.

Why did you want to direct The Phantoms movie?

I wanted to direct the Phantoms movie because I was blown away by the grit and determination of the boys that achieved what some thought was impossible. This is a story of overcoming incredible odds, but more than that, it’s a story of the resilience of the human spirit. I like working in the area of raw emotions in the dramas that I direct, especially watching men deal with emotions. This gave me the chance to work with young actors, pushing them to the furthest limits of their ability. Of the 5 young actors who played the leads, only one of them could play basketball. They were hired for their acting abililty. The producers had set aside some resources to run a basketball camp for the actors and the Bathurst area students who would be playing their opponents. The actors took the camp seriously, and the truth is that I bought them all epsom salts at the end of the first week. They all used them! They gave of themselves truly 100 per cent, as did the crew and the rest of the cast. This was not just another movie, it was a tribute and we were shooting it in the community where all of it took place.

How important was it that this movie be filmed in the community?

It was incredibly important that The Phantoms be filmed in Bathurst. There was a lot of controversy about the film and the producers Tim Hogan and Rick LeGuerrier were extremely sensitive about the delicacy of the situation. They understood that there were raw feelings and everyone was sensitive to that. No one wants to know the pain of losing a child and we didn’t want to exploit that. The film isn’t so much about the tragedy, as it is about the community coming together to heal. Andrew Wreggit, the writer of the fabulous script, focused on that and it shows in the finished film. The Phantoms crew and cast lived in Bathurst during the shooting of the movie and we shot scenes in the actual gyms and classrooms where the story took place. That added a level of authenticity and we honestly had a sense of mission every day when we went to work. This wasn’t just an ordinary movie that we were doing. This was special.

What was the community’s reaction to having you and the production team there?

Complex. There were people for it and there were people against it. Understandably so. There were seven mothers affected personally by the tragedy and they were split down the middle, some were for it, some against. I cannot imagine how tough life is for these women. One of the moms was on set, and we were shooting a scene in the gym. I went over and talked to her, introducing myself. I asked her if it was hard for her being in the gym again. She said of course it’s hard. It’s hard every day. She also said that she has other kids though. And they played basketball, so she had to go back to the gym for them. She said that when you have kids, you can’t just stay in bed and be depressed, you have to go on, you have to live for them. And she said that she knows without a doubt that her son would have wanted her to be there, for him.

Director’s note: This was truly one of the best personal experiences that I have ever had in my life, film-related or not. I learned about our human community during this production and I will treasure it. This is a movie that the whole family can enjoy. There is something for everyone, and yes, the basketball is good quality! Two words of advice: Bring Kleenex.

Thanks so very much Sudz for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to sit and do this for me. I have no idea how I am going to handle watching the movie because I am practially in tears doing all these posts. I know it will be an amazing movie and the Boys in Red are looking down on us smiling.

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.