Review: Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Book Description

Nevada Frida Baylor and Connor Ander Rogan cordially invite you to join their wedding celebration. Summoning, weather manipulation, and other magical activities strictly forbidden.

Catalina Baylor is looking forward to wearing her maid of honor dress and watching her older sister walk down the aisle.  Then the wedding planner gets escorted off the premises, the bride’s priceless tiara disappears, and Rogan's extensive family overruns his mother’s home.  Someone is cheating, someone is lying, and someone is plotting murder.

To make this wedding happen, Catalina will have to do the thing she fears most: use her magic.  But she’s a Baylor and there’s nothing she wouldn't do for her sister's happiness.  Nevada will have her fairy tale wedding, even if Catalina has to tear the mansion apart brick by brick to get it done.

My Review

I've never read this author before but a blogger buddy sent this book to me and I thought, why the heck not. I read series out of order all the time and this is a quick read, it should be fine. 

First of all let me tell you that I did feel a little lost because I haven't read this series so I really didn't know who these characters were but I still read it. 

Nevada is getting married and her sister, Catalina has to step in to make sure things go as planned and see if she can fix things that might make this a bad day. The groom's mother wants Catalina to locate a tiara she wants Nevada to wear at her wedding. But in order to find the missing tiara, Catalina will have to use her magic which she doesn't use because she's scared to. 

There's quite a few interesting characters in this novella and I thought the story moved quite well for such a quick read. Now I'm gonna have to start this series and find out more about these characters. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

We had snow in Las Vegas this week...twice!

The snow actually stuck to the roofs and cars and some on the ground.

We hardly ever get snow in Vegas. Last time was 8 years ago. I thought it was funny to see snow on the pine cones so I took a picture of it.

Falcor was not amused and tried to hide under the bushes.

He didn't like walking in the snow and kept sniffing it.

And here's a picture of my new makeup brush holder I bought for my birthday this month. I absolutely love it. 

Review: The Wayward bride by Anna Bradley

Book Description

In only six weeks, Isla Ramsey is due to marry Henry Northrup, the sixth Earl of Sydney. But she remains haunted by memories of the dashing Hugh Courtney, the Marquess Pierce. The handsome aristocrat had hinted at forever and then tossed her aside, leaving Isla with few viable options. Now, as she awaits her new fiancé’s arrival from London, she rides her horse past Hugh’s estate at Hazelwood every day, pining for a man who was never truly hers. 

Hugh Courtney may have left Isla’s life, but he can’t erase her from his thoughts. When he rescues her from a sudden snowstorm, they are forced to take shelter together at his private estate. In such close quarters there is no escaping each other. Yet no man wants a reckless wife—or a woman promised to another. As fate draws Isla further into his world, Hugh vows to keep her out of his bedchamber. However, some vows are meant to be broken . . .

My Review

Isla set out on her own for a ride even though the sky looked like it would open up and drench her at any moment. She had hoped to spot her betrothed in his carriage coming for her but there wasn't any sign of him. She had snuck out even though she had told her sister in law that she wouldn't because it didn't seem safe to ride in bad weather.

Henry is her betrothed but it's Hugh that tends to keep her mind occupied at times, especially when she rides by his estate. So while she's out on her ride, the horse gets spooked and runs off further into the woods, getting them lost. Hugh and her brother go out looking for her and Hugh finds her and brings her back to his estate. 

While Isla is recuperating at Hugh's estate, Henry is having some problems of his own which is why he never showed up for her when she expected him to. But He's found himself admiring and attracted to someone else, which is a problem for him. 

I really liked the double story lines that were going on in this book. It was really two different romances going on at the same time which was fun to read. Hugh and Isla were fun to watch and it was fun to see them find each other again after they thought they were going to have to spend their lives apart with other people. Henry's story was a surprise but I liked the addition of it and how his story played out. 

I don't usually read historical romance much these days but I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and it sounded pretty good so I figured I'd give it a go. It was a good read and I had a good time with it. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

"It's not fair that you get to wear a shirt and I don't, so I'm borrowing yours."

"Resting bitch face, I has it."

"This is my cookie, you move along now."

All of these pictures were of my rats, Flower and Marbles.

Apartment Life #69

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

A couple of months ago the police parked their cars at the end of the street, and they stood in the middle of the street stopping every single car that tried to drive down our street. They made that car across the street pull over to the side of the road and she was there a while answering questions and showing her paperwork. 

Everyone that came out of their apartments and got in their car was also stopped before they could get off our street. I took these pictures out of my bedroom window because the police at the end of the street were also trying to talk to people that came outside. So Ken went out to walk the dog and he talked to them. They said they have had so many calls to this street and the apartment complexes in the past year that they decided to have a heavier presence here for a while. They're found a few stolen cars on this street too so there's that. They were checking to make sure people had up to date car insurance, drivers licenses and car papers. They also drove by and it looked like they were running all of the license plates. 

I didn't see anyone get arrested and no one seemed to have a problem talking to them. Maybe most of the people around here are sick of the gun shots late at night being fired into the air, the drug dealers and domestic disputes or the idiots speeding down our street.

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Review: DegustaBox Monthly Subscription Box- February

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before.

What was in this months box?

Manitou Trading Company- Truffle, Parmesan and Black Garlic seasoning. 

Manitou Trading Company- Piri Piri Sauce. 

Just Add- Guacamole mix-3

Raindrops Candy Taco- Gummi Candy. 

PB- Powdered Peanut Butter-4

Sourdough Craft Pretzel Rings. 

Bean Smash-Bean Dip-2

Popcorners- Spicy Queso Chips-2

Emmy's Organics- Coconut Vanilla Bean Cookies. 

I didn't care for the truffle seasoning. It has garlic and parmesan in it and I don't like either of those things but Ken liked it so it's still a win. I didn't care for the guacamole mix either. I like my own guacamole that I make. This wasn't bad, it just wasn't to my liking. 

The coconut cookies and sourdough pretzels were my favorite things in this box. The bean dips were good and that surprised me. The gummi candy I shared with my grandson and we both liked it. I haven't tried the Piri Piri sauce yet. The queso chips were spicy but good. I'm not sure what I'll use that peanut butter powder for yet.

So for the most part this was a really good box.

I just want to point out this candy taco. I thought this was kinda cute.

When I took the wrapper off, it looked like a taco filled with candy.

When I opened it, the 'shell' was cardboard and the gummi candy inside was all different kinds.

Here's the different shapes of gummies that were in this. I ate a couple and they were good gummies and then saved the rest of them for my grandson who I knew was coming over the next day. How cute was this?

So it looks like this will be the last DegustaBox that I'll be getting. I received an email from them saying that they were pausing shipments and this will be the last box. If they start up again I'll probably get this box again since I really liked it. 

Have you tried any of these products?

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Full size bottles of Dove shampoo, conditioner and hairspray from Crowdtap.

I love this brand of shampoo and conditioner so I'm happy to review it on the Crowdtap site.

And I won an Oreo Creamer in an instant win game.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Walmart Beauty Box- *February 2019*

The Walmart Beauty box is a subscription box that comes out 4 times a year. You sign up for it and it comes automatically every 3 months. These boxes are just $5 each and shipping is free.

I was pretty happy to see some interesting things in this box when I opened it. 

What as in this box:

Fructis hair mask

Makeup bag

Garnier night mask

Black charcoal bubble mask

Olay Daily Facials

Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer

Collagen Kiss Lip mask

I've tried the black charcoal bubble mask before and while it leaves my skin soft, those sheet masks are strange. I love the Fructis hair masks. It's like a deep conditioner for your hair. The Garnier night mask is a face cream that does smell good and it works great as a moisturizer. I'm sure that Collagen Kiss lip mask is another pair of jelly lips that my husband will laugh at me for wearing. lol 

I've never tried the Olay Daily Facials but I love Olay products so I'm looking forward to that. The Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer is something I've tried before and liked. And I can always use another makeup bag. It's cute so I'm sure I'll find something to put inside it.

I was really happy with all the samples. I've tried the Fructis, sheet mask and Garnier before but everything else is either a new scent or a brand that I haven't used before. I think for $5 this is a really good deal.

Do you have a subscription to this box? Are you thinking of signing up for one now?

Review: Unforsaken by Cassie Laelyn

Book Description

Hidden deep in the Snowy Mountains, lives a brotherhood of immortal Guardians, banished from the Heavens. 

After centuries of exile, Head Guardian Raven can taste Hell. One wrong move could destroy his soul. When Fate assigns him a female mortal to protect, his forbidden desire becomes a distraction he can't afford. Giving in to temptation risks plummeting into the fiery pits of Hell, dragging her along with him. 

Tayla Eason is on the run, escaping a horrific attack on her life. When she lands in the arms of the sexy, alluring man who saved her, the shadows of her past swiftly close in. But when Fate throws a twist, Tayla's forced to choose between saving Raven's soul or fleeing before the creatures strike again. 

In an ultimate test of love, the two must battle against the almighty Fate. But will it be enough to save them both?

My Review

Tayla is a chosen, a rare mortal created by fate to fulfill an extraordinary destiny, in the end tipping the scales back in fate's favor. She has no idea that she's a chosen or that she's on the path that fate wants her on but the fallen keep coming after her and she's a bit jumpy because of it.

Fallen were angels who chose to fall and live in hell and all they did was find souls like the chosen and lure them to the dark side. Souls that were lured to the dark side tore apart fate's plans. 

Raven is the guardian that fate had chosen to keep Tayla alive so she could fulfill her destiny. But because he's been around her so much, he slowly begun to have feelings for her even though he knows he can never act on them. 

Raven has been good about keeping his distance even when he has to save her from the fallen that are after her. But when she almost dies again, he makes the decision to bring her to their home and that one decision changes everything for them. She sees him for the first time that she can remember and finds herself very much attracted to him. Which makes it really hard for him to keep a safe distance from her and not get involved with her. 

When Tayla's destiny is finally laid out for us, I had no idea that's what it would be but it made sense. I really liked getting to know Raven and the others who lived with him. Getting some back story into some of their lives and how the fallen are created was interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about fate yet, she seems very devious and under handed in the way she handles things and in the deals she makes. Some of their suffering seems very callous on her part and I didn't care for that. But it made for an interesting story and I'm sure that when each of these characters get their own books, well have a better understand as to why fate acts the way she does. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received this book for free via NetGalley but all opinions are my own. 

Recipe: Roasted Chicken Breast and Vegies

I've been trying to eat a little more low carb since that seems to be bringing my A1C down. I'm diabetic and this time last year my A1C was 11.1 and right now I have it down to 7.1 but my doctor would like to have it down a little bit more. So 4-5 nights a week I've been eating more vegetables, salad and cutting the rice, potatoes and pasta out of my dinners. 

Ken liked what I was making for myself so he's been eating what I've been making too. 1-2 nights a week I still eat a little pasta, some rice or a small potato but it seems like what I've been doing is working along with the medicine I'm on. 

For this all I did was sprinkle a little olive oil on some bell pepper, onion, carrots, a chicken breast and broccoli and sprinkle some salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and mesquite seasoning on everything and bake in a 400F oven for 30 minutes. That chicken breast was pretty big so Ken and I halved it between us with the vegetables.

It's pretty easy to eat low carb, especially if you like vegetables.

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #68

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

This week has been a mixture of weirdness, so I'm going to let you know a few things. 

First, the police and ambulance showed up for my apartment complex after a domestic dispute. This time it was a teenage son who got into a fist fight with his father. The son is on house arrest and was wearing an ankle monitor. The father's face was really bloody and he was taken away in the ambulance and the teenager was taken away in handcuffs. 

Then I spotted this a few days ago. It's a mattress and box springs set up in between these two electrical boxes and 2 homeless people have been staying there. No one around here seems to mind since they aren't making a mess or messing with anyone around here. They're been there for about 2 weeks. 

Yesterday I saw from my bedroom window that the city workers that come and clean the sidewalk and rocks over by where I walk Falcor were there and they brought along their own porta potty. I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go. It's not a great picture but they would have been gone by the time I would have got out there to get a better picture.

A few days ago Ken and I saw one of my neighbors who doesn't work, deals drugs and has never had a car around here suddenly show up with a newer looking car. But he and his girlfriend parked it around the corner, opened all the doors and went through it really well. 

They spent about an hour just looking all over inside this car. So we were thinking it was probably stolen and I figured if the cops showed up, it might be interesting to have some footage of them going through the car. 

They called a couple of other people over and they went through the car too. 

Then they spent some time on their phones and left the car parked over there which is across the street and around the corner from where they live. Not weird at all. They drove it around for about a day and then we saw the police at their door at 11pm and they were both arrested and this car as well as another one which I'm assuming was also stolen were towed away. I still wonder how the police knew which apartment to go to. Maybe they had someone watching them or something. Who knows. But I think it's funny that we had a suspicion that the car was stolen and didn't even know about the other car. 

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Favorite Video of the Week!

I saw Tucker the Golden Retriever on Facebook and thought I would share his food review videos. The "dog speak" captions are hilarious.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

I won 2 books in a blog contest.
I got 1 book for a blog review.
Purina One Smart Blend Dry Dog Food coupon.
Sample of Native Deodorant.

I read Shadow Warrior and whew! that was a good book. I haven't read the other two yet. Ken and our daughter went to the store yesterday with several free coupons I had including this dog food one and got all the free stuff. The Native deodorant is so cute. It's so small and it smells like lavender.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Daily Goodie Box- February

The Daily Goodie Box has been around since about July of 2016. I signed up for an account right after I heard about them. They are 100% free, you don't even have to pay for shipping. And for a free box it's a nice sampler box of products.

What did I receive?

Sprig - CBD-Infused Soda- This is the 2nd CBD infused soda that I've tried and I have to say, I'm not a fan. They just don't have a good flavor to me.

Zest Tea - High Octane Tea- I'm a tea drinker so I'm always up to trying a new tea and this was pretty good. I didn't feel any extra energy from it though. Had a nice subtle flavor though.

Undercover Chocolate Co - Crispy Quinoa Snacks- I wasn't sure I would like this but it was good! The chocolate was really good and the quinoa gave it a nice crunch.

Dimension Nails - Premium Nail Lacquer- The color of this nail polish was a yellow, almost the color of dijon mustard. Not really a color I would wear but my daughter liked it so I gave to her. I think someone younger can wear colors like this one.

AWSB - Organic Wild Bar Soaps- This was called Horsemint which I'm guessing is a plant. But it had tea tree in it which I didn't like the scent. My daughter loved the scent so I gave it to her and she said it works really well.

Flickable - Lollipop Lip Gloss- How cute is this! I love this. What a cute idea and the color is so nice. I like how it goes on wet and dries down a bit like a matte lipstick. The color lasts a while too.

CURAD - Germ Shield Antimicrobial Wound Gel- This went right into my first aid kit. Next time one of us gets a cut or scrape, this will be good to have around. And it's from a brand that I already like.

Bambo Nature- I was sent a sample of baby oil, lotion, cream and body wash. All of these items are baby items and had no scent which is good for sensitive baby skin. I tried the lotion, body wash and cream and they all left my skin feeling soft.

All they ask you to do is try the products and leave reviews for the products you got in order to be eligible for more Free Goodie Boxes. As you guys already know, I'm a fan of all these types of boxes. I love all the different subscription boxes and it's really nice to be able to try new to me products for free. This is a great box to try for.

 Oh and one more thing, if you visit their FB Page, they give away Goodie Boxes to people who interact with their posts. So if you've tried before and weren't able to get a Goodie Box, there's even more ways to get one now. 

I'm a fan of subscription boxes and love trying new products for free so this was a huge hit with me. New products+free box = Fabulous!

Daily Goodie Box. It's more than just Free Samples!

Have you signed up? Have you received one of these boxes?

Disclosure: This box was given to me for free in exchange for a blog review but all opinions are my own.

Favorite Picture of the Week

Last month Ken and I saw some plastic material hung up on the transformer near our apartment complex. We figured if that transformer blew, we would lose power. So I took a picture of it and sent it to the electric company via Twitter. Here's my Tweet to them and below is their reply.

They responded within 30 minutes to me on Twitter and the guy same out and removed the plastic within an hour of my Tweet to them. The guy that came out to remove the plastic said that if it had rained, that plastic might have grounded out the transformer and caused power to go out around here so good call on reporting it. 

I've told a lot of people that Twitter is a great way to get a hold of companies when you have a problem and don't want to hang on the phone for 45 minutes waiting for someone to answer at customer service. I'm just glad our power didn't go out. 

Here's a better picture of the plastic on the transformer.

Review: Ipsy Glam Bag

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5 sample size makeup or beauty products. You can customize what they send you by filling out the personal surveys. I've been more into makeup products lately and decided to try another subscription box. I love the bright pink package they send it is. There's no mistaking who that's from when you see it in your mailbox. These bags are $10 each.

When I opened the envelope the first thing I saw was the cute makeup bag and we women know we can always use another cute makeup bag. I also received a Firma Beauty blush brush. 

When I opened the makeup bag, inside was...

Ella Eden eyeshadow

Tarte foundation (In my perfect shade)

Pure Brazilian leave in condition

Jersey Shore Cosmetics star mint lip balm

I'm so pleased. I actually love everything I got. The eyeshadow is such a pretty color. The leave in conditioner smells good and leaves my hair soft. The foundation is awesome and because of the survey you fill out about your shades and likes, they sent the right shade for me. And of course I can always use another lip balm. I have one in every room. lol 

So far, I'm loving Ipsy. I'm glad I signed up. Do you get Ipsy? Have you in the past?

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Let's make a cake. Before mixing, make sure butter is room temperature. Just lick it."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Hmmm, still too cold. Have a snack and wait for butter to reach right temperature. Then mix and bake."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"It's okay if you nibble the frosting a little while you make it. Mom will still love it."