Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

Lowry frames in Woodland Tortoise One thing that you might overlook when transitioning your wardrobe every season is your eyewear! I can't go anywhere without my glasses. I'm one of those people who can't see the big E on the eye chart if I'm more than a foot away. If there is a good thing about being myopic these days is that there are more options for buying stylish glasses than even just five years ago. Glasses are now super easy to purchase. With just the click of a finger you can find a list of prescription eye wear sites and have them delivered right to your mailbox. I don't know about you, but when it comes to my glasses spending 15 minutes in some mall shop, making a decision just to get it over with, shelling out 400 plus dollars, and then regretting my selection when said glasses arrive two weeks later, is just not fun. I like to be able to see what my glasses will look like with my whole wardrobe, different hairstyles, or different makeup. That...

Coco and her Dry Pets Plus! Any family with pets knows that it's a struggle to keep your furry family clean and dry - especially when the weather is dreary. Snow or rain, can make for some messy situations. After every outdoor adventure or potty break, paws big or small need a good cleaning. My family has always used an old bath towel to take care of the muddy situation that are Coco's and Toby's (two rough collies) paws in the mucky spring and summer and snowy winter months.

I'm a bit of a geek. When it comes to Doctor Who and Sherlock I fangirl a little a lot. I'm always looking for fun and creative ways to outwardly show my love for my favorite shows and books. I've found that t-shirts are some of the most fun and inexpensive ways to let my inner fangirl shine. Squee! It matches my Sherlock book purse to a T! Pun intended! ;-) Through Facebook friends, I discovered the joys of the exclusive fan artist created t-shirt from TeeFury . I'm always a little reluctant to purchase clothing online because even with tees, it's difficult to judge what sizes and colors will work best for me, but I decided to take the plunge and peel off the 12 bucks + shipping for this "I Believe in Sherlock Holmes" shirt. It's impossible to get Sherlock merchandise in stores, so online is pretty much the only way to go even if you're picky about sizing. After waiting 12 days to print and ship, my shirt finally arrived today and I knew be...

Isn't it a cute cherry red? Confession: My family and I drink a lot of pop -- like 2 liters per day a lot. It's pretty safe to say that we love the fizzy stuff. You'll always find a bottle of Mountain Dew or Coca-Cola chilling in the ice box if you stop by. It's not the greatest thing to drink if you're watching calories or trying to eat healthy, but it's the one thing we can't seem to resist. Since we're such big fans of carbonated beverages, when the SodaStream Fountain Jet maker popped up on my Kindle's lock screen as a $20 Lightning Deal (seriously people, if you have a Kindle check to make sure you receive the ads, past deals included a Keurig Brewer with K-Cups for $20!) I couldn't resist. I figured for 20 smackers I wouldn't be losing much if the fam didn't love the machine. I'm glad that I only paid the 20 and not the full price of $79. Overall, I'm not impressed with SodaStream.

When it comes to manicures I'm not a high maintenance girl. Sure, I like my nails to look great but anything that makes getting the job done simpler and faster with great results I'm all over it. Thanks to Influenster and Broadway Nails I was able to try an imPRESS Press On Manicure kit in the "Get Into It" style and I have to say I was impressed...no pun intended! The kit was easy to use, the nails quick to apply, and best of all there was no downtime waiting for glue or polish to dry or trimming. This was a first time for me using any kind of fake nails so if application was that easy for me, you can bet it will probably be a cake walk for you as well! With 24 nails in the kit I received it was easy to find the correct sizes of nails to cover each of my own nails. They also include an alcohol pad to clean your own nails prior to applying the press on nails. If your nails are good and clean and you follow the easy-peasy instructions on the back of the box, the ma...

Waiting by the sink for dish duty. At my house we have one dishwasher, your's truly, and I get a workout when it comes to keeping up with the dishes in our household of five humans, not to mention cleaning our furry friend's food bowls! Anything that makes the nasty task of dishwashing easier is a great product in my opinion. As the main dishwasher my hands have a tendency to crack and split which is as painful as it sounds. Palmolive's new Soft Touch ultra concentrated dish liquid not only gets the dishes clean but it smells awesome (like springtime!) and nourishes skin. Palmolive is "Tough on Grease, Soft on Hands." Two bottles were sent to me to try out -- one Aloe and one Vitamin E. The bottle of Vitamin E busted during shipment so unfortunately this review is just of the Aloe. Prior to even knowing about this opportunity from Influenster, I had already purchased 2 bottles of the Aloe formula for myself from my local grocery store. I'll ad...

Thanks to Klout and THINaddictives I was given the opportunity to try three of THINaddictives newest cookie flavors, Cranberry, Pistachio, and Cinnamon Raisin. Normally I'm not one for "healthy" food (just look at my Tweets from last night, I was baking a batch of brownies at almost midnight) but these THINaddictive snacks are TO DIE FOR! At only 100 calories a pack I didn't have to feel guilty about eating a pack and then going back for another pack -- yeah, they were pretty awesome so I had to go back for seconds. The THINaddictives website mentions that they are "cookies" but don't let that fool you, the texture is more like a biscotti than say, a sugar cookie. I think these would be great with a cup of hot tea or coffee. I love crunchy cookies and anything with almonds so if you or your kids are looking for a sweet but guilt-free snack THINaddictives might be something to add to your next grocery list. The ingredient list is pretty minimal which is...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card authors are: Jan & Mike Berenstain and the book: The Berenstain Bears and A Job Well Done Zonderkidz (April 9, 2010) ***Special thanks to Krista Ocier of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear books in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents work together to write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them t...

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss Copyright 2010 Summerside Press 341 pages ISBN: 978-1-60936-000-9 Fiction/General/Romance From the publisher : The Second World War has stolen Rosalie’s fiancé from her. But rather than wallow, Rosalie throws herself into her work at the Boeing plant in Victory Heights, shooting rivets into the B-17 bombers that will destroy the enemy. A local reporter dubs her “Seattle's Own Rosie the Riveter,” and her story lends inspiration to women across the country. While Rosalie’s strong arms can bear the weight of this new responsibility, her heart cannot handle the intense feelings that begin to surface for Kenny, the handsome reporter. Fear of a second heartbreak is a powerful opponent—but will it claim victory over love? My Review: Summerside Press publishes some great faith-based romances and Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss are two terrific authors I've been introduced to through Summeride's Love ...

Captured by Desire by Kira Morgan Copyright 2010 Forever Romance/Hachette Book Group 384 pages ISBN: 9780446548182 Historical Romance From the publisher : In 16th century Scotland, young Miss Florie Gilder runs away from her drunken foster father to find her real father and her noble heritage. Along the way, she is accused of theft, becomes a fugitive hiding in a forest, and is accidentally wounded by a handsome local huntsman. The huntsman--a Robin-Hood figure who poaches wild game from the landowner's estate to feed the starving poor--carries the beautiful maiden to a church where she is guaranteed 40 days of sanctuary from the law. During that time, he learns her true story, falls in love with her, and helps her in her quest, at the risk of his own life. My Review: I'm a huge fan of Highlander romance and going in I thought that this was going to be one of those types of reads with a sweet Scottish lass and a big strong Highland hero. As far as the heroine, Florie, yeah s...

Instead of the usual Waiting on Wednesday post I decided to continue with yesterdays Wedding post by sharing wedding themed books all week long! So today I'll share one of my favorites from Christian fiction author, Kaye Dacus entitled Stand In Groom , book 1 in the Brides of Bonneterre series. One of the first steps besides setting the date is planning a wedding! A lot of folks like to plan their big days themselves and some hire wedding planners. Below are two of my favorite fictional wedding planners, Anne Hawthorne from the book Stand in Groom and Mary Fiore (played by Jennifer Lopez) from the film, The Wedding Planner ! ************************************************* Here's the blurb from the publisher and a link to order it from Amazon (I get no commission if you do, I just provide the link to make it easy for you). Stand in Groom by Kaye Dacus Copyright 2009 Barbour Books 288 pages ISBN: 9781602602885 Christian fiction/Romance Get ready to attend the quirkiest wed...

I thought it would be cool since it's Friday to review 3 movies that I saw this week, two for the first time and one for about the 10th time. Whether you're looking for a movie to check out in the theatre or one to snuggle up to Ben and Jerry's with at home here are 3 suggestions! At the Movies: Knight and Day From the first time I saw the previews I thought this movie looked like an interesting action/ comedy and I was right. While there weren't really any funny moments other than the ones that most of you have probably seen on the tv trailers for this film I still like it because of Cameron Diaz's character, June Havens. While she isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier (but who would be with a million bullets flying at them?) she is one cool gal! She restores classic cars and is lugging car parts in her carry-on when she "accidentally" bumps into secret agent, Roy Miller! Oh and did I mention she has some serious driving skills and a sick vintage...

A little over a week ago I was contacted by CSN stores asking if I would like to review one of their thousands of products. Naturally, since I'm a bookworm and I had a little bit of space left in my room I chose to review a bookcase! As you can see from the picture below I had a ton of books stacked on my cheap Wal-Mart bookcase and it was just begging for a break from holding so much weight. When I saw the cool "L" shaped bookcase on the CSN stores site I knew I had to have it. Yesterday when the Fed-Ex man delivered my new bookcase I was worried that I might have a hard time assembling it. I'm all thumbs and don't know the business end of a screwdriver from the other but luckily it was oh so easy to assemble, with no tools required and it looks terrific holding my books, dontcha think? Before: My poor bookcase couldn't even hold most of my newer books :-( After: My brand new bookcase from CSN stores !!!! I love it! The reason I have those books stacked ...