Archive | October, 2011

Book Review: Must Love Shoes by Julie Gaver – Review by Phoebe

24 Oct

As usual, I’ll start this review with a confession. I’m a sucker for shoes. Heels, pumps, flats, sandals, flip flops, wedges, sneakers, boots and anything else that sounds even remotely like something that belongs on my feet. So when I had the opportunity to review a book entitled, “Must Love Shoes,” I was like, duh!

When I read other reviews of this book, I knew it was something I just had to read for myself. So, I got on the horn and contacted the author. I heard back from Julie almost immediately. Even through e-mail, her personality jumped from the computer screen and I instantaneously felt “normal.”  I mean, let’s face it: When you’re communicating with a professional speaker whose client list includes Merrill Lynch, US Department of Commerce and Women in Defense, it can be a little intimidating! But Julie has a way with words that left me feeling as if we had known each other for years … which had me on the edge of my seat awaiting the delivery of her book!

I received the book within a couple of days – autographed of course. Oh, but Julie … the whole purpose of our blog is that you can’t “bribe” us to write a good review! So, as friendly and efficient as Julie was thus far, it did her no good if I didn’t enjoy the book! For the record, this kindness of Julie’s is not to say that she WAS bribing us. Just to be clear on that point.

The book is 132 pages including title pages and spacers, so I knew it would be a quick read. Luckily, I had some time right at that moment (I broke my ankle a few weeks back and was confined to the sofa for quite some time, but that’s a-WHOLE-nother blog post). The moment of truth! I began reading the book and instantly realized it was a blog … in book form. Perfect! I love reading blogs!

Each chapter is a small personal story from Julie. The chapters are literally like 3-4 pages long which makes the reading fly by. I got 45 minutes into the book and realized I was halfway done with it! Every time I got to the end of a chapter, I was like, “Well, the next chapter is only a few pages long so I might as well just do one more.” At 1 hour, I forced my fiance to begin making dinner so I could keep reading. I also had that broken ankle as an excuse to pawn responsibility off onto a more capable person.

Julie Gaver gets wonderfully personal and has absolutely no problem making fun of herself, which I find humbling and humorous. Especially after breaking my ankle after tripping on NOTHING during a flag football game. Even though my teammates never found it, I SWEAR there was a hole in the ground.

Each chapter of “Must Love Shoes” tells a different story with a different message. After finishing the book in one hour and fifteen minutes, here’s a short list of 10 things I walked away with after reading this book:

  1. State troopers will NOT weigh you.
  2. The reason I don’t have eyes in the back of my head is because humans weren’t meant to see their own asses.
  3. If someone sporting a whistle gives you the stink eye, just leave the premises before you’re thrown out.
  4. I’m not the only one whose undergarments have left me speechless.
  5. Hopping into the wrong car in the parking lot is, indeed COMPLETELY normal.
  6. Sometimes you just get lucky.
  7. “Bajeebas” is a word.
  8. There is no better time to find your voice than right now.
  9. Even though my kids are teens and driving me absolutely bonkers, they’ll be gone from the house one day.
  10. Call your Aunt Carol as often as you can.

Perhaps this list doesn’t make sense to you. Which is why you should read this book. Want to know more about the book before you spend your hard earned $14.95? Check out the website at http://mustloveshoesthebook.com. The best part about this site? If you want more of Julie’s clever and witty little tid bits, there’s MUCH more on her blog! Enough that it will take you MUCH longer than one hour to read them! You can also find Julie on Facebook and Twitter.

While I did receive this product free from the author, I would highly recommend you get a copy of this book for your friends, sisters, moms, aunts and anyone else who can appreciate the humor, humility and honor of being a woman. And I’m not just saying that because I like Julie. It really is a darn good book. Obviously, I give “Must Love Shoes” a rating of 5 Cups of Joe.

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Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Review – by Ramona

7 Oct

 

One of my very favorite past times is having coffee with my girlfriends. We love nothing more than stealing a few hours from our weekend to gossip discuss politics and other areas of interest. Our favorite hot spot? Starbucks, of course! As a person that tends to fear change, I don’t often veer away from my favorite White Chocolate Mocha. Not to say that I have never sampled other menu items, but who wants to pay $4 for a cup of coffee that they may not want to finish? During our last Coffee Canoodle, I must have been feeling a bit saucy, because something different caught my eye. They were featuring the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Signature express, steamed milk, pumpkin flavored syrup and a healthy dollop of whipped cream and pumpkin spices (nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon) Hmmm….I love pumpkin, but in my coffee? Hesitant, I asked my friendly Starbucks employee if she would recommend this (secretly waiting for the look of disapproval) and she quickly endorsed it as one of her favorites. Giving this the benefit of the doub,t I went ahead and ordered it. Moments later I carried the steaming cup to my seat, cautiously optimistic. It smelled wonderful..The first sip was like pumpkin pie in a cup. Delicious! A rich pumpkin flavor mixed with the familiar Starbucks brew and just the right amount of spice. Breathing a sigh of relief, I sat back to enjoy an afternoon of girl talk. I will admit, by the end of the cup, it got a little too “pumpkiny” for my taste, leaving me wishing I had ordered a Tall instead of a Grande, but overall, I can say that I would order this again!

I would give this 4 out of 5 cups of joe!

Smooth Away Review by Phoebe

3 Oct

Okay, I have a confession. I’m a sucker for anything wielding an “As Seen on TV” sticker and priced $9.99 or under. I mean, honestly … it’s under $10 and if it doesn’t work, then there’s not much of a loss. So when I saw the Smooth Away on sale at my local Walgreen’s store, I picked it up in a hurry. I didn’t even wait until I got home. As soon as I got into my car, I buckled up, put it in gear and started opening the package as I drove out of the parking lot. As I drove down the road, I pulled up my jeans and began rubbing (add that to the list of things I never thought I’d hear myself say).

I must admit was pleasantly surprised. It actually rubbed the hair right off my leg. I was like, “Whaaaat?” How does that work? For the sake of safety, I decided to wait until I got home to begin reading the package insert. When I arrived home and started looking through the package, I saw that it came with two different sized hand-held applicators, one large size that fits in your palm and another smaller size that slips on your finger. It also came with 8 interchangeable “pads,” four for each size. It also came with a plastic storage thingy…similar to a plastic wallet for storing your kit.

I read the instructions which were pretty self-explanatory. You just rub wherever unwanted hair appears. When I was able to remove my jeans and put on shorts, I kept rubbing away. The Smooth Away claims to exfoliate your skin as it removes the hair. I suppose that’s somewhat true. It made my skin white and ashy. I would definitely recommend using some lotion after using the Smooth Away if not rinsing off completely or using it before you shower. When I tried using the large pad on my legs, it worked to a point. It removed the lighter hair and did leave my legs feeling smooth (but ashy). However, it did not remove all the hair. I was left with prickly stubble all over that the Smooth Away just couldn’t seem to remove. I rubbed harder. Still wouldn’t work. Okay, so it works … just not perfectly.

I didn’t give up. I have another confession. I have a happy trail. Ya know … those stubborn little hairs that form a trail between your belly button and … well … ya know. I gave it a shot. Same result. It removed some of them, but not all of them. What about my armpits? It worked on my armpits similar to how it worked on my legs. It worked a little, but did not give nearly the same effect as shaving. Before I knew it, I was rubbing that pink little applicator all over my body as if it had a license. I must admit, I did NOT try it on my face. While I have a few facial hairs that I pluck on a regular basis, I didn’t use it on my face for fear that it would make the hair that doesn’t need plucked grow back thicker. Afterall, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

All in all, I would recommend the Smooth Away as a helpful tool to keep in your purse or your beach bag for those “Oops, I missed a spot” moments. I would not use it to actually replace shaving. I have often used it on my armpits when I forgot to shave them or decide at the last minute to throw on a tank top. It works well enough for that purpose. However, remember to keep the lotion handy! It really really leaves your skin ashy. My final ranking on the Smooth Away is just 3 Cups of Joe. I would recommend it as a back up, but its definitely something I would not buy my friends as a gift. I can live without it and it really doesn’t do what it says … completely.

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