#SpiceVoxBox

Ok, so I FINALLY got my second Vox Box from Influenster! For those of you who don't know, Influenster is the company that gives people products for free so that they can be tested and then reviewed. This was my second time receiving a box from them and I loved it! This one was called the "Spice Vox Box."  These are the products I received:

1) Bag of Veggie Stix from Good Health

2) Shampoo and Conditioner from SoapBox

3) Color and Top Coat from Sinful Shine

4) 2 tea packets from Yogi Tea

5) insoles from Foot Pedals

6) whip it up mousse from Not Your Mothers

7) hydrating day cream from Botanics

 

Book Review: "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

     I went into the library to search for a new book. A few friends had recommended Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, so I figured I would give it a try! I had to venture into the 'Young Adult' room of the library, which is fine because I adore YA books! 

     This book was a very fast read, mainly due to the fact that the story, and vocabulary was extremely simple. The plot is a basic one: weird new girl, who is a constant object of bullying, sits next to quiet boy on the school bus. The two youngsters form an almost silent friendship, which turns into an almost nonverbal relationship. You get a little insight into Eleanor's troubled home life- she and her 4 siblings had a nice home and life until her parents got divorced, her mom remarried a horrendous man, and the family lives in near poverty. You also get an insight into Park's home life- very loving parents, mom is an Avon lady and has a home salon, only child, well taken-care of.

     This is a love story in it's purest form- first love. Rainbow Rowell does a great job of accurately writing the gamut of feelings and thoughts that accompany all of the "firsts" in a relationship- holding hands, an arm draped around a shoulder for the first time, first kiss, first make-out session, first fight, first time meeting the parents, etc. But, while all of these little moments are occurring, the reader is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will 'Eleanor & Park' stay together? Will they ever find out who has been writing dirty things on Eleanor's school books? Will Park confront Tina for bullying Eleanor? Will Eleanor's mom come to her senses and dump her husband?

REVIEW: 

     I give Eleanor & Park 2 stars. Ouch- I know! I simply did not enjoy this book! While I AM a fan of YA books, this book was just a tad too young for me. The plot was so basic that I found myself bored and my mind wandered while I was reading. The conflict in the story was measly and I felt that the main characters overreacted by fleeing to another state so Eleanor could live with her Uncle. The brief introduction of Eleanor's father was unnecessary and felt extremely forced. And, finally, the ending was anticlimactic and felt like a let-down. I was disappointed, as this book came recommended by some close friends. Ah well, not every book can be a winner!

NEXT BOOK:

     For the next selection, I'm reading Desperation by Stephen King! I am a huge King fan, and I feel in the mood for a good horror novel! I actually went to the library with my little sister, presented her with the Stephen King section, pointed out which books I had already read and let her select from the remaining books! I think she picked a good one, and I'm anxious to sink my teeth into this long novel!

Book Review: "The Girl You Left Behind" by JoJo Moyes

     My JoJo Moyes book adventures continue! After throughly enjoying Me Before You and One Plus One by Moyes, I KNEW I had to immerse myself in one more of her novels! I took a visit to my local library to see which other Moyes book they had available, and The Girl You Left Behind was sitting on the shelf, calling my name!

     Well, it did take me significantly longer to read this book (two and a half weeks!) than the previous Moyes works, but I have been on my honeymoon cruise for the last week and our schedule was packed with different games, activities, exotic ports (St Martin, St Thomas and the Bahamas!), excursions and loads of swimming and eating! So, I didn't have a ton of time for reading, but I squeezed in some time here and there whilst waiting for an activity or game to begin! 

     Without giving away too much, I want to outline the basic plot of the book. Liv Halston is a widow of a talented, young architect. Her late husband, David, purchased a lovely portrait from a frantic and frazzled woman whilst the couple was vacationing in Paris, and he bestowed the painting to his wife as a late marriage gift. David and Liv hung the painting in their bedroom and it remained there even after David passed away. Present day Liv is a bit down on her luck. Bills are piling up and her debt is reaching a staggering height. She works as an independent editor, but the jobs are few and far between. She has been unable (and, I suspect, unwilling, to venture into the dating world.) Also meet Paul, the divorced father of a young boy, ex cop, and he works at a company that is hired by individuals to find artwork believed to have been stolen or obtained under illegal methods during WW1, WW2, etc. Paul has not had a relationship since the divorce. A chance encounter brings Paul and Liv together and they ignite a passion inside each other that neither can ignore.

     As a chemistry starts to build between Liv and Paul, a client comes forward seeking a painting called "The Girl You Left Behind" that was painted by his distant relative, Edouard Lefèvre. The painting was said to have been stolen during WW1 by a German Kommandant, and now, a century later, the relatives demand it's return to it's rightful owner. It is also worth mentioning that the painting is worth a significant amount of money! Unfortunately, Paul finally locates the painting, which happens to reside in Liv's bedroom. Paul explains the dilemma to Liv, insisting that she do the right thing and return the art, but Liv emphatically rebukes him, stating how much she cares about the piece and how it's the most important thing to her. It isn't until Paul storms out that Liv begins to research the painting, and the past of it's subject, Edouard's wife Sophie. Liv also discovers the value of the painting. A media circus court case begins and more and more evidence is brought to light about "The Girl You Left Behind", Sophie, Edouard, and the Kommandant.

     The book not only follows Liv and her story, but it details Sophie's narrative. In fact, the opening few chapters are all centered on Sophie and her family and her life. It isn't until the reader becomes invested in the story that Moyes brings us to present day and introduces Liv and Paul.

     I really enjoyed The Girl You Left Behind!! The past juxtaposed with the present was extremely interesting! I was rooting for Liv and Sophie throughout the entire book! Two strong women, faced with trials, tribulations, heartache, and longing. It's a great story and another marvelous feather in JoJo Moyes' cap! As Moyes wrote in this book: "Sometimes life is a series of obstacles, a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes it is simply a matter of blind faith." 

REVIEW:

     I give The Girl You Left Behind a solid 4 stars! The book was interesting and a good read, the story and concepts were well written, and the characters (as par for Moyes) were extremely well developed! I recommend this book if you enjoyed her other works!! 

NEXT BOOK:

      For the next selection, I'm going to read and review Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell! I have been recommended this book by several friends, so I'm excited to pick it up!

The wedding- Harry Potter inspired!!!

                       OCTOBER 15, 2014

                   Nieves/Hemphill Wedding

               Grand Plaza Hotel, St. Pete, Fl.

     My husband and I had a Harry Potter inspired wedding! Being a HUGE Potter fan, I knew that I wanted to include the boy wizard in my wedding. I went through so many different ideas: from full-blown Potter (which included having each bridesmaid represent a different Hogwarts house, and each table at the reception be a different Hogwarts class) to a wedding modeled after Bill and Fleur's wedding from Deathly Hallows (outside, enclosed in a huge tent, with purple accents) until I finally decided that I just wanted to have a casual, relaxed wedding with Potter touches and accents. Little hints and nods to the Harry Potter series, some that people may not even pick up! Here are some of the things that I did, I hope you enjoy!!

     Being a non- traditional bride, and not very keen on flowers, I made a brooch bouquet. I watched countless YouTube videos, bought my brooches from ebay, and constructed it. It took a surprisingly long time and about 35 brooches in total! I also used craft pearls, white ribbon for the handle, and a base holder to hide the wires. I am immensely proud of it- although it was laborious!

   Next up: shoes!! I bought very inexpensive white ballet flats for myself and my bridesmaids from Amazon. The ceremony was on a beach, so no shoes were required, thus shoes would only be worn during the reception. Again, shoes are not something that I cherish or invest much thought in, so I was perfectly fine not spending $100's on them for one day! One of my bridesmaids made cute bows, white for me, and then Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff-inspired bows for the other shoes! She also added "Always" and a lightening bolt onto the sides of the shoes! I absolutely loved them! 

 For a touch of Potter on me, I found this amazing bracelet online! It has the mark of the Deathly Hallows on it, two owls, and a "Golden" snitch (made with silver wings, and a pearl.)

      Our adorable ring bearer, Lilly, held a giant Golden Snitch that, when opened, revealed our wedding rings. The Snitch was made by the Groom's mother and it was perfect! We made sure to tie the rings tightly inside in case Lilly dropped it- we didn't want our rings to get lost in the sand!!

     For my flower girls, I again wanted something non-traditional. I had two sisters as flower girls, ages 5 and 3. I know that tossing flower petals is not something natural for a little girl to do, and that they wouldn't have the patience to rehearse it a few times. I also wanted the girls to have fun and not stress out about anything. Thus, my alternative... Bubble Guns!!! My "Bubble Girls" were a huge hit! They loved being able to shoot bubbles at everyone, and they kept the guns, so it made for an easy party favor! We had to go through a few different types of bubble guns before we found ones that were easy to operate, held enough bubbles, and didn't leak everywhere! (If I had more time, I would have loved to experiment in painting the guns our wedding colors without messing up the internal mechanics)

       When it came time to decide on what my bridesmaids would hold- I was at a complete loss. I researched every flower bouquet alternatives- fans, lanterns (this was my choice for a long time during planning, I even purchased lanterns!), Harry Potter wands (but it didn't seem grand enough for a wedding), brooch bouquets (but after the length and expense of MY brooch bouquet, I vetoed this idea!), button bouquets, and even balloons! But nothing seemed quite right. I was walking aimlessly through a craft store one day and I came across these lovely wooden letters. Inspiration struck! I picked up L, O, V, E letters in a fairly large size, my Fiance spray painted them grey (one of our wedding colors), I added coral (our other wedding color) and grey fabric flowers as accents, and bought craft pearls that I lined the letters with. My Fiance drilled holes in the bottom of the letters and we glued in dowel rods (also painted grey!) The result were beautiful, unique pieces of art that I now hang in my home around a display of wedding photos. The letters also looked beautiful next to the bridesmaids dresses! 

     Until you start planning a wedding, you never realize just how many flower-related accessories and decorations there are! My next issue that needed addressing were the boutonnieres for the Groom and the Groomsmen. I wanted each aspect of our wedding to depict the personalities of both John and I, and for each little thing to mean something, and the boutonnieres are no exception! In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry has to use a flying broomstick and catch a key that will open a special door. There were hundreds of keys flying around, but Harry had to find a very specific key- a large silver one with blue wings. That was my inspiration! I purchased two different 'lots' of antique keys from e-bay, in all shapes and sizes. The cost was very inexpensive. I then found different wings to glue to the keys. A little ribbon and a safety pin, and a Potter boutonniere was born! John, the Groom is the only person who wore a silver key with blue wings. Everyone else had either golden keys, or different color wings.

     Now onto the reception! An inexpensive birdcage, purchased at a flea market, painted grey, and housing two different pigmy puffs (purchased at Universal Studios), made for a great card holder!

                                    

     Instead of a traditional cake, we went with cupcakes! We had two different flavors of cupcakes, and the wrappers were created out of pages of Harry Potter books! I would like to take credit for making them, but my baker ordered them from etsy!

Our venue had a small bar that sat in the corner. We had an open bar for our guests, but we wanted to spruce up the bar area. It was the perfect spot for some Potter themeing! While it was a completely open bar, we had three specialty drinks that our guests could order by name for a little fun. First was "Felix Felicis"("Lucky Potion) which was Amaretto Sour. Then there was "Amortencia" ("Love Potion") which was a Hurricane. And lastly there was "Veritaserum" ("Truth Serum") which was a Margarita. My Fiance purchased card stock paper and printed out the labels for the drinks. The picture frame was bought at Hobby Lobby. We also bought a few inexpensive bottles, and added some sticker labels. We researched our favorite Harry Potter "potions" and labeled the bottles accordingly- as well as adding water and food coloring and some bottles even contained glitter! The result was a nod to the boy wizard that made me smile every time I looked at it!

     The last item that we agonized over was the party favors. It took a lot of researching, and vetoing of different ideas before we came up with something simple! We wrote an abbreviated excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone about the key that Harry had to catch (see the description for the boutonnieres) and printed it on card stock paper. We then complied a list of 95 of our favorite book and movie quotes, so each favor had a different quote, glued on little coral and glittery hearts, and attached small antique keys with either coral or grey ribbon. These were very inexpensive to create, and our guests enjoyed them! 

     We also took a few Potter-themed photos (we asked all of our bridal party to bring their wands!)

Book Review- "One Plus One" by JoJo Moyes

     

     After reading Me Before You  by JoJo Moyes, and LOVING IT!, I decided to give some of her other works a go. I usually get burned when I do this- so I proceeded with caution!

     In the first chapter, you are introduced to a bevy of characters and it gets a bit muddy with names and details. Some bloke named Ed, along with his friend Ronan, own/developed their own company and Ed is approached by a few gentlemen (the "Suits") who discuss a serious allegation that a women claims to make against Ed. 

      As in Me Before You, this first chapter is something the reader needs to remember, as it will become important a bit later. But the second chapter moves onto a completely different set of characters, Jess (Jessica) and her family (a little girl named Constanza-aka Tanzie, a high school-aged boy named Nicky, and a huge dog that go by the name of Norman.)

     At the start of each chapter, Moyes lists a characters name. The reader quickly grasps the fact that the chapter will be following the actions or thoughts of that particular character. I have found that this can get extremely confusing when I've read other books with this same method, but Moyes only switches from Ed to Jess with a few chapters by Tanzie and Nicky intermittently dispersed in. 

     The basic plot is as follows: Ed (a divorcee) had a short, hot & heavy, "relationship" (really just a few nights of good sex) with a women. When she becomes immensely clingy, he attempts to get rid of her. She mentioned that she wanted to travel but lacked the proper funds.  He gave her some information about his company that would allow her to make some money if she invested in a few stocks, evening giving her a check to allow her to purchase said stocks. The woman and her brother made a fortune off of the information, and the Feds went after Ed for "insider trading." 

      Introduce Jess and her family. Jess is a part-time house cleaner and a part-time bar maid. Money is tight, to be generous. The father of the children (Marty) left two years prior to live with his mother, and he has no job so is unable to pay child support. Nicky, the high-school aged boy, is Marty's son from a previous marriage, but his mother was a drug addict and couldn't take care of him, so Jess welcomed him into her family. Nicky is partial to the "Goth" look and, because of this, he is constantly attacked and hurt by a group of boys (the Fisher family.) He even winds up in the hospital at the start of the tale. Little Tanzie is a math genius!! Her math teacher at school referred her to a private school (St Anne's) that would be able to help her develop her skill and talent as well as provide her with a top notch education. St Anne's offered Tanzie a 90% scholarship to their school, but that still wasn't enough for Jess to be able to afford it. 

     Ed winds up in the bar that Jess works at (she also happens to clean his Beachfront home), and he drinks to the point of intoxication. So drunk that he has to be driven home by another bar patron (while Jess accompanied them.) On their way back, Jess discovers that $500 pounds has fallen out of Ed's wallet. She pockets the money and uses it to reserve Tanzie's spot at St Anne's.

     Faced with the prospect of still not being able to afford the tuition, books, and uniforms for St Anne's, Jess is distraught. She then receives a phone call from Tanzie's math teacher notifying her of a math competition (The Olympiad) that was taking place in Scotland that awarded the winner $5,000 pounds- enough to cover the first 2 years of St Anne's! Unfortunately, they didn't have the money to make it there via train or bus. Fortunately, Marty (the Ex-husband) had left a beat-up Rolls Royce in the garage (along with it's expired tags, and rat-eaten seats.) Jess, determined to give her little girl a chance in life, boards the family (including the dog!) in the car to drive them to Scotland! Unfortunately, Jess hasn't driven a car in years and is not very good at it, AND they get pulled over by the police within a few miles. Fortunately, Ed drives by, recognizes Jess (from both the bar and his house cleanings) and gives the family a lift back to their house. Jess, Tanzie and Nicky explain what they were doing, and Ed offers to drive them across the country to Scotland! 

     Not believing that Ed will actually show up the next day to drive them, embarrassed that they have to depend on a complete stranger, and nervous that he knows she took his money, Jess is a ball of emotions! She is shocked when Ed shows up and Ed, in turn, is shocked when he realizes that Tanzie gets sick if you drive over 40 mph, and their 8 hour trip was going to turn into a 5-day trip. Meanwhile, Ed is caught up in the lawsuit, his ex-wife pestering him for money, and his sister's insistence that he come to visit their dying father.

     The trip is chalk-full of discoveries, disasters, nerves, smiles, and dog farts! As each day passes, Jess and Ed relax more around each other and their fondness for each other blossoms. They reach the Olympiad, more disasters, and then it's time for the return trip. They make a detour to see Marty, who has a new wife and lives in a beautiful home with the woman's two children! The relationship between Ed and Jess finally reach a boiling point and they both decide to let themselves fall! Once they are back to their home, a series of unfortunate events take place and you, the reader, find yourself racing to finish and uncover the ending! 

SPOILER:

     During the course of the story, I (like Jess) had COMPLETELY forgotten about Ed's stolen money. It seemed like two completely different people and a completely different time! When the deceit was uncovered, I covered my mouth in shock! I was fully rooting for the positive and sweet-hearted Jess, who deserved to be loved, to be happy, and to have someone take care of her. And I cared about Ed, who was accused of a crime he didn't intend to commit, who needed to experience the bright side of life, and who DESPERATELY needed someone like Jess! After Ed left, I didn't know where the story would go. Then, when Tanzie is attacked by the Fishers, and Norman, in an attempt to help her, was hit by a car, I cried. I don't know what it is about the death of an animal that causes such a visceral response from me! If a person dies suddenly in a book, I feel sad, but if an animals dies unexpectedly, tears fall! 

     The story does have a happy ending! All of the characters get what they want and most deserve. I finished the book with a smile!

     I highly recommend this book! It was a good read! The plot is easy to follow, language isn't bogged down, characters are relatable & likable, and you get to experience a rainbow of emotions!

RATING:

     I give One Plus One by JoJo Moyes 4.5 stars. 

    I struggled with this rating! I really enjoyed this book, but I LOVED Me Before You (which I give 5 stars to!), and this book seemed to fall just below that one. It took me a moment before I realized the reason for that. In Me Before You I learned something. I received insight into the lifestyle and the psyche of a quadriplegic. I didn't 'learn' anything from One Plus One, but it was a great read. Thus, 4.5 stars! 

NEXT BOOK:

     I decided to continue the JoJo Moyes reading spree and try The Girl You Left Behind. Let's hope it's a good one!