(Meme) Top Ten Tuesdays

Posted on by Cindy

If your new to my blog and are wondering what Top Ten Tuesday is, well its a weekly original Tuesday meme that is hosted by the lovely bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish.
Todays topic is:

Top Ten Series I Haven’t Finished (because either you didn’t like them, you just have procrastinated, etc…)

This weeks topic really made me think. This won’t be the typical list or the way to do this meme but I am adjusting it to my needs.
 

  1. V.C Andrews. I was a huge fan of the books and I admit I still buy them in hopes I will get back into them. I am so far behind in the books that I lost count. I think I read up until the Wildflowers Series.
  2. James Patterson. This is another author I stopped reading and not sure why. I usually read everything by him in the stand alone books and his other books.
  3. Middle School series by James Patterson. I read the first one and loved it and I thought this would get me back into his books but sadly I haven’t picked up anything and I would love to read this series. Thankfully I am only one book behind.
  4. Alex Cross series by James Patterson. I read up until Cross Country so I am not that far behind in the series. Two books behind I think.
  5. Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson. I only got to the 7th book so I am behind by four books.
  6. Kathy Reichs is another author I haven’t finished. I think I only got about half way through her books. I loved these books but along the way I got side tracked.
  7. Kiss/Scarlet Wakefield Series by Lauren Henderson. I read the first two books and loved them and actually got the next two but just never got to read them yet.
  8. Melody Carlson’s series: Diary of a Teenage Girl and On The Runway.
  9. Holly Blacks Spiderwick Chronicles. Not sure why I didn’t finish this since I have them all.
  10. The Kitty Norville Series by Carrie Vaughn. I was going through these books like there was no tomorrow and then just stopped.

What books haven’t you finished in a series? Any of the ones I put?

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.

Lovely Letters Swap

Posted on by Cindy

One of the things I love about the blogs I follow is that even though we share the same interests someone will always post something I knew nothing about and this can be in regards to books, make up, products, meme’s or swaps. You know what I mean.

Well tonight when I came online I saw that Maria from A Passion for Books & Real Life a blogger that I meant online and follow, posted about  Lovely Letters Swap. I had to check it out.

The hosts for this is http://modernbuttercup.blogspot.ca/ and http://www.kittyandbuck.com/ .  Please note the following was copy and pasted from Modern Buttercup’s blog.

We’d love for you to take part in the exchange! If you’re interested, this is how it will work:

-You need to commit to sending 4 letters over an 8 week period. We will assign partners and you will share letters back and forth for the duration of the project. Only sign up if you can commit to sending the 4 letters, nobody wants to miss out on receiving some lovely letters!

-Each fortnight we will post a new project which will tell you the theme of that fortnight’s exchange. At the end of the letter exchange, you have the option to take part in a package exchange too, just in time for Christmas! This part is optional, but so much fun! The exchange is open internationally, we will try to pair you with someone in your area to keep postage costs to an absolute minimum for you.

How do I sign up?! Well… it’s simple! Just fill in (and submit) THIS FORM . (Filling in the form is the only way we can accept your application) The form also has a section that allows you to enter a few words about yourself to ensure you are paired with someone who shares similar interests to you. The deadline for signing up is Thursday 27th September. We will allocate your partners via email over the next few days and launch the Lovely Letters on Tuesday 1st October with your first task.

At the end of Lovely Letters (probably at the same time as the final task), you can take part in an optional package exchange too. The package exchange is a chance for you to put together a special gift for someone (who will be allocated separate to your letter exchange partner) and receive one in return. The value of your package should be $20-$30 including packaging. Please express your interest in participating in the package exchange on the sign up form.

Spread the word to everyone you know! It would be awesome to have a lot of participants to spread the lovely letters, and make lots of new friends! 🙂

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.

Bath & Body Works Fall Edition Haul

Posted on by Cindy
This past rainy weekend, I decided to go and check out Bath & Body Works to see what yummy Fall scents they came out with and perhaps grab a few items to spruce up the house with some Fall scents. I did a big haul in the summer and realized that all I had were summer scents and wanted something to ease into fall with.
One of the things I wanted to check out were the hand soaps and I spotted some that looked good and smelled divine. I only grabbed these three because they were 3 for $15 which is really good considering they sell for $5.50 each.

I didn’t want to grab to many because I wasn’t sure how they would smell on my hands but after using the Warm Apple Cider foaming hand soap, I am hooked and planning on going back to buy some more because the smell is delicious and its long lasting. I love apple cider.

The other two moisturizing soaps were Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and Creamy Pumpkin. I am sure these will be just delicious as well.


Near the soap display was the promotion of 2 (14.5oz) candles for $22 and this was a deal because the candles sell for $22.50 each here in Canada.
I knew right away that this was one candle I was going to buy because I love the smell of fresh picked apples and apples in general. When I lit the candle I have to say it smelled so good and left me craving an apple. It was a nice clean burn with a nice scent nothing over bearing. I plan on eventually doing a review on this.
This next candle was a little harder to pick because they had so many awesome fall scents that I didn’t know which to buy but I eventually settled on Pumpkin Carmel Latte. I loved the scent before burning it, during burning it and after.
If I had the money I would have bought the whole fall collection in candles so I settled on gettng this, 2 for $5 smaller ones (1.3oz I believe) instead. Its the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and Pumpkin Cupcakes but there was a few other scents that I am thinking of going back to grab before its too late for the sale.
This was a total impulse buy. I saw a lady walking around with this and thought it was too darn cute and my love for owls how could I pass this up. Its an owl candle holder and it holds the above small ones. I haven’t used it yet because I had wanted to take this pic first.
Another impulse buy was the above at 3 for $10. Its the Honey Autumn Apple spritzer and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin spritzer along with the body lotion to go with it. I am trying to find out if they have the apple lotion in store.

I love shopping at Bath & Body Works  and will probably go back again this week to grab a few other things.

I am going to do a review eventually on all of the above products.

What fall scents do you 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.

Hard to believe its been a month since I last saw you

Posted on by Cindy

For some reason it always feels like its been months since I last saw Tina from Bookshipper when it reality its only been a month. Thankfully we were able to get together today (Saturday) for breakfast at our regular little breakfast spot in Tina’s neck of the woods.

I was a little late in getting to the restaurant because Michael had hockey camp from 7 to 8:20am and then getting into Tina’s city I hit every single red light on my path. This was a first time thats happened. Thankfully I made it in good time and Tina was still waiting for me 🙂

We quickly ordered breakfast (wish I had taken pics) and I was pretty hungry and ate rather quickly and after breakfast we got to talk. I am really happy that we are getting back onto our monthly breakfast dates again.

I just realized that coming up shortly is our four year anniversary. Its hard to believe I have only known Tina for four years cause it feels like I have known her longer. Tina is an awesome blogger and an amazing friend.

Its always nice to sit and talk with Tina because we talk about everything and its no holds barred. No matter what Tina says she can never ever offend me. LOL This time was no exception we talked about our mailboxes, book requests, life, Tina’s job, traveling and of course BEA.

I am really hoping it will all work out in the end and that we can attend BEA again but if its not meant to be then so be it right? We had this discussion on how things happen for a reason and that things have been mapped out before we were born. I have to admit that I am a firm believer of that.

When it was time to leave I was a little bit sad because the time flew by so quickly and it just felt like we sat down to eat. It always feels like time flies when we get together.

So until our next meet up…….see you soon Tina.

Before we left we did an exchange and you can go to Tina’s blog to see what I passed onto her. Tina graciously passed on her copies of Publisher’s Weekly to me and I love this magazine ever since picking up copies at BEA 2010. I have decided to read these magazines very slowly. Thanks Tina for passing these on to 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.

The Soap Box Fall Edition

Posted on by Cindy

I recently heard about the company Fortune Cookie Soap and I was curious so I checked them out. I liked what I saw so I went ahead and ordered a box.

This is another beauty box subscription that is shipped out quarterly (Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer). You can expect to receive 8 to 10 exclusive Fortune Cookie Soap products. Plus you also get a $10 off coupon to use online or in their store. The price for the box is $20 (USA) and here in Canada I paid $28 (actually $28.41 with the exchange rate). So this is probably the highest priced box but knowing that the products are all natural and hand made is worth it it my opinion.

This is based out of the US but they do ship to Canada.

Also something that might be interesting is that you the subscriber get to try all the great seasonal products before it hits the market. How awesome is that? I love knowing that a selected few get to try this before everyone else does.
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I was lucky enough to get in for the fall box and that is what I am talking about today. Please note that I was in no way compensated for this post. The Soap Box was purchased with my own money.

I received The Soap Box in a plain brown box. Which doesn’t bother me because its whats inside that counts. I had no idea what I was getting this time and there wasn’t much revealed on the site which I loved and I don’t think I encountered any blog posts or vlogs on the box.
For some reason when I go to post the following pics they are all sideways sorry about that. When I opened the box this is what I saw at first. This is the fall product card. Very nice and fall like.
This is the list of the products I got in this box. A total of 8 products so we are off to a good start.
 
This is the $10 off coupon and I will more then likely be using it very soon because there was a few things I loved in this box.
 
The box was wrapped much nicer then this but I was making a vlog so I had already opened it and was taking pictures for the blog post.
 
Here is all the goodies I got sent. I just have to tell you that it all smelled delicious and just like summer. I was dying to see what they sent and to discover what those amazing smells were.
 
This is the Pumpkin Coconut Crunch Itty Bitty Gritty lip scrub. It sells for $8.99. Its got a mixutre of pumpkin pie and coconut. I have to say at first it felt stiff but after a few times I like the scent and how it made my lips feel. It was like they were being scrubbed clean and it left my lips soft. I think this is a full size product because I compared it to my other lipbalms.
This is the Snickerdoodle Whipped Cream. I loved this and the smell was delicious. Its Allspice, sugar cookie, butter and cinnamon. I have been limiting the number of times I have been using this because I am trying to savour it before being able to buy it online.
Next up is Ripe For The Picking OCD Hand Sanitzer. Loved the smell and the only thing that I didn’t really like was the container it was in. Its suppose to be a hand santizer but its hard to get out of the bottle because its not a squeezable bottle. It sells for $2.89. I am thinking they sent a full size product of this although I’m not sure.
This soap was delicious and a perfect way to wrap up summer memories. Its the Roast My Marshmallow Fortune Cookie Soap. It sells for $3.29. As soon as I smelled this it brought back memories from my high school days. I think this will be something I will be buying as well as the other soaps they carry which is quite a few.
I wasn’t sure what this was at first but when I realized it was A Roll In The Leaves Bath Fizzy. When I smelled it I automatically thought of fall.  I am excited to try this out. I’m not sure if this is a full size sample. The full size is 4oz for $4.50
I love baths and having new soaps and bubbles to try is always fun and this one is going to be used soon. Its Something Nutty milk bath. The full size is 12.5oz for $12.99.
Something that I have never heard of or tried is Cram Your Face in My Sweet pumpkin Pie Mask. I wasn’t sure how I would use this but once I found it on the site I quickly realized I couldn’t wait to try it. I love the smell of pumpkin but the only thing was it left me craving a Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks. 🙂 The full size is a set of these pouches (4) for $6.99.
Another item I am super excited to try is this Eco Suns in Fig & Berries. Its full size is 4 oz for $6.99 and it will do 10 loads of laundry in a conventional washer or 20 loads in an HE front loading washer. The 16 oz. bag will do 32 loads of laundry in a conventional washer or 64 loads in a HE front loading washer. That one is $13.99 + $7. I am also looking for an alternative in laudry soap so this one will be used very soon.
 
So that is my Fall Soap box, what did you think? Did you see any products that caught your eye that you are dying to try out?

Have you gotten this box?

I am excited to get the winter box and see what kinds of smells and scents they will include. I think the above scents are all the new fall ones being introduced in the line. The scents are in the various products they have.

I have looked around and I will probably place a small little order in the next few weeks. I spotted some thing that would make great holiday gifts.

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.

Topbox September Edition

Posted on by Cindy

If your new to my blog you might be wondering what Topbox is, well its a Canadian monthly beauty subscription service tube. Yea that’s right its shipped in a tube. Isn’t it pretty. It comes wrapped up in brown paper. These make perfect storage containers and look so pretty sitting on a shelf or dresser etc.

Its $10 a month and you can expect to receive at least 4 deluxe sized samples and you occasionally get a full size product as well. I have gotten more in the past but the least you will ever get is four products.

Before beginning my review I should let you know that I was in no way compensated for my review. This is a monthly subscription service that I pay for monthly.

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This month I received my Topbox a little later the usually. Not sure what happened but its okay. The first thing I noticed right away was how light the tube was. Topbox was been pretty consistent with there boxes and I realize you can’t always have a great box and I think I can probably count on one hand how many times its been a lousy month. So that is a pretty good record.

Since starting topbox they have always been consistent like I said. They have remained with the same packaging with the exception of the tube you have the choice of what you want to receive, this pretty one or a plain recycled one and I love the printed ones and I think the only recyclable one I have (that was a special tube) is used to store change.

So lets get into this months tube shall we.

I am loving the Benefit line and always thrilled when I can get a product to try. This month I am lucky enough to try the Benefit They’re Real Mascara. I have been using this pretty much every day and I really like it. I know I shouldn’t have opened it up since I have others to use before this one but I wanted to try something different.

The full size is 8.5 g for $29 (sadly as much as I like this, I don’t see me buying it when it runs out, I just can’t justify spending that on a tube of mascara.) The sample we got was 3.0g for $10

 This is something that is new to me, I have never heard of this perfume before. Balenciaga Paris: L’essence by Balenciaga Paris.  I wasn’t sure on the scent at first so I had to check it out. The card said that this is a sequel and a new beginning. A leathery violet fragrance, a new contemporary elegance. I found this to be a little strong at first but then as it wore on I loved it. I could see me wearing this day or evening. The only down part of this is the bottle I wish that it would have been a spray bottle instead

 The sample is 4ml for $9.00 and the full size 50ml for $110.00

I have been hearing amazing things about this and was almost tempted to go and buy it but thankfully Topbox almost read my mind and sent this Philosophy Purity made simple one step facial cleanser.

We got a sample size of 30ml bottle for $4.50 and the full sizes are 90ml for $13 or 240ml for $26 . I think that is a pretty good price and I could see me going out to buy this when I finished it.

This is something I have gotten in the past from a previous box (sadly I don’t remember which one) and its the M. Asam Perfect Teint. I haven’t tried this out yet (or the previous sample) but hopefully soon I will try this out and since I have two (on hand) I am thinking that perhaps I need to.

Also include in the Topbox is the product card which I love getting because not all the time is the computer on and alot of subscription services is doing away with it and I really hope that Topbox doesn’t.

On the flip side of the card was this:

 
I am hoping to grab this soon although I might pass this one to a friend since I don’t get downtown all that often and to make the trip to get this is a little crazy since I would be relying on public transportation.

So this month I have to say that this months box has a value of $27.70. That is a pretty good value considering I paid $10 for it and there is some stuff that I am excited to try and use.

Did you get Topbox? What did you think this month?

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.

Glymm Bag September Edition

Posted on by Cindy

In case you are new to my blog I thought I would tell you want Glymm is. Glymm is a monthly beauty subscription box that is currently only available to Canadians. Their office is here in Montreal, Quebec.

 
You will receive 4-5 deluxe sample sized beauty products from the best brands. They have now switched to putting your products in a make up bag which is suppose to reduce waste and be more eco friendly. Its $12 a month and its a recurring charge. I think if you subscribe to the year its cheaper but I prefer paying monthly just in case I ever want to cancel it. You also collect loyalty points that can be redeemed for products on the site.
 
Please note that all my Glymm boxes are purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with them and my posts are my honest and sincere opinion. I was in no way compensate for my thoughts.
 
I got my Glymm back on Tuesday (18th) and I had no knowledge of when it was coming because I never received any email confirmation. I have to admit that I did see some sneak peaks before getting my bag this month and I was a little disappointed.
 
I tried to do a vlog but my camera kept shutting off on me so it will be pictures this time around again. In all honestly I think this is better because in the vlogs you could see my disappointment and I don’t want to be a downer in them.

As you can see this months Glymm bag is white and its like the black one I got last month. I am not to thrilled with the white bag and I thought they would have gone with a more fall like bag. The retail value of the bag is supposedly $12.00 Canadian. You could say that this technically pays for the box (since I have been a subscriber before the price change I only pay $10/month) but in all honesty I don’t go out to purchase a new make up bag monthly and I am pretty loyal to the ones I have now so to get a new one each and every month is a bit of a waste for me.

This is the contents of the bag. Sorry its a little blurry.

Waterproof Makeup Remover from LA Fresh. This is something I will  try out and I love that is biodegradable, alcohol and cruelty free. This is perfect to toss in your make up bag if your going away for a weekend and don’t want to pack alot.

Full Size: 24 wipes for $9.99
Sample : 2 wipes for $0.83

EVOLVh Ultra Shine  Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner. One of the things I noticed right away was that its sulfate free, paraban free, sodium chloride free, keratin safe, color safe, its not tested on animals and its vegan.

I have never heard of this before so it might be fun to try a new shampoo and conditioner. Plus I love it that they are listening to us and including both a shampoo and conditioner. Nothing worse then getting a sample to try when you only get one. I love having both to get a feel of the product. Plus I think I could get at least two weeks worth of washing my hair with them.

Full Size: Shampoo 8.5oz for $24.00 and Conditioner 8.5oz for $25.00 (seriously whats up with the price difference?)
Sample : Shampoo 2 oz for $5.68 and Conditioner 2oz for $5.88

This is an exclusive item in this month’s bag. Its the Super Moisturizing Face Cream for Girls. This is a  high-quality super moisturizing face cream for girls and its made from 100% natural active ingredients: apple, prickly pear, strawberry, kiwi, kigelia africana and macadamia oil. I am curious to try this out. On the website they said I could get 7 uses from it although I’m not quite sure.

Full Size: 30ml for $19.99
Sample: 3ml for $2.00

Another new to me product is Dulce En Fuego Whipped Body Crème. I have never heard of them before but I have to say I am excited to try this out more. I loved the smell of it and it smells like fall baking.

This is what the site says:

Musky bitter chocolate sweetened with vanilla and touches of citrus then positively inflamed with black pepper and nutmeg will always leave you wanting more.

Doesn’t that sound good? I will probably use this on my hands and any rough dry spots. They said you can get up to three uses from this and its recommended you use up within two months.

Full Size: 177ml for $15.75
Sample: I would think roughly 10ml $0.89. Its not marked on the jar but its not alot.

Total Value of the box: $ 27.28 (roughly) You could say that the box did pay for itself.

 

I am still on the fence with Glymm but sadly I am thinking the time is getting limited with our relationship and I think I will have to cut the strings soon.

Some of the reasons I am thinking of ending it:

  • I have had a few awesome packages but sadly they were few and fair between.
  • I felt as though they never really lived up to the deluxe sized samples and more so when they switched from the box to the make up bags.
  • The monthly make up bags, I liked it at first but really how many make up bags do you need?
  • Since switching to the bag we no longer get full sized products.
  • Not enough make up.
  • No monthly product card, they email you to let you know when its up online

Do you get the Glymm bag? If so what do you think?

 
 
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.