Another wonderful 'Buttons and Bottles' Etsy shop Giveaway......

When I first did a review of 'Buttons and Bottles' Etsy shop's adorable gift cards,

and the needle felted pumpkin, 

it was a huge success.

I so adored the items I got to review as well as keep!!

And the winner absolutely loved her prize :)

So, Buttons and Bottles has decided to offer another great prize package

to one of my followers just in time for Christmas

You won't believe everything that is included!!!

Prize package includes:

10 holiday gift tags – heavy card stock, embossed glittered. 
Snowman flower pot
Dress with a soap and tea – flower tag
Plumeria Shea butter soap – 
Poise pin
Teddy bear – mini 
Santa pin on wood
Two Shea butter bars
Two cup cake soap bags
One ginger bread man soap
Two Christmas tree soap

This giveaway will run until December 8th, so that the winner has a chance

to get the items in time to use them for the holidays this year :)

Mandatory Entry: Visit Buttons and Bottles and tell me your favorite item AND what you would do with it!!!

Extra Entries: You may do as many or as few of these as you like. Please leave a separate comment for each entry that you complete. Don't forget your email address so that I can contact you if you win :)

- Heart 'Buttons and Bottles' Etsy Shop (2 entries)

- Make a purchase from "Buttons and Bottles' (15 entries) Must prove if you win!

- Follow my blog via GFC 

-Follow my blog via email (2 entries)

-Follow me on twitter, leave me your twitter handle(2 entries)

- Tweet about this giveaway (can be done once per day)

-Follow me on facebook, leave me your bf name (4 entries)

- Mention and link to this giveaway on facebook (3 entries)

-Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link (10 entries)

-Enter another giveaway (3 entries) You may take 3 entries for each giveaway you enter!!!

Best of luck to all of you!!

Note:  I was in no way compensated financially or otherwise to post this giveaway. I always give my complete and honest opinion. I appreciate the opportunity of working with Buttons and Bottles again. 

The winner will be chosen on 12/8 at midnight, 

contacted by email and have 48 hours to reply 

before a new winner will be chosen!!!

'A Path Less Traveled" by Cathy Bryant (Book Giveaways & Blogger's Bonus!!)

 A Path Less Traveled

By Cathy Bryant

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Trish James is tired of being rescued. When a spooked horse claims her husband's life, she’s determined to blaze a path for herself and her traumatized son without outside help. But will that mean leaving the place etched on her heart?

Andy Tyler has had to struggle for everything, and starting a new law practice in Miller's Creek, Texas is no different. Though prepared for business challenges, he's not prepared for falling in love--especially with yet another woman who will probably abandon him for her career.

Will Andy and Trish be able to see past their limited human understanding to take . . .

 A Path Less Traveled?

To read the first chapter:   
http://wordvessel.blogspot.com/2010/10/enjoy-first-chapter-of-path-less.html

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

"This book was totally and completely enjoyable to read. I received the book on Friday and finished reading it on Sunday. I could hardly put it down. The storyline is very well written and grabbed my attention in the first chapter and never let me go....One of my favorite lines in the book is this: 'God doesn't waste any hurt you endure, Trish. What he allows into your life--even something as painful as Doc's death--He'll use for the days ahead...' I believe this is so true and have seen it played out in my life. I love it when I can read a really good fiction book and learn more about my relationship with Christ. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story to read. I can't wait until Book 3 in the series comes out next year."
~Cathy at Tales of the TCKK Family

"...Cathy Bryant weaves an amazing story. She has a maturity in her writing skill that astounds me for only having two published novels. A Path Less Traveled is a must read. Cathy realistically captures the struggle of the heart." ~ Linnette at Linnette's Writing Corner 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cathy Bryant is a former public school teacher who handed in her chalk for a private music studio and writing career. Her passion is to write heart-stirring stories that show God’s life-changing grace. Cathy is the owner of the popular blog, WordVessel, and has written devotions for The Upper Room magazine, two devotional books, and online devotional sites. She’s the wife of a music minister, the mother of two grown sons and a beautiful daughter-in-love, and the Nana of Harrisen. A Texas gal since birth, she lives in a century-old Texas farmhouse with her husband and a phobia-ridden cat.

Texas Roads (her debut novel and a 2009 ACFW Genesis finalist) released in March 2010. The second Miller’s Creek novel, A Path Less Traveled, was launched in November 2010. The Way of Grace will be available in 2011.

Visit her website at http://www.catbryant.com./

~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, so now about the giveaways and blogger bonus'
AKA the good stuff, lol ;)

and DON'T QUIT READING  EVEN IF
YOU DON'T HAVE A BLOG...

Note/Disclosure: I mostly took these words directly from Cathy's website verbatim and changed the "I's" to "She's" and things like that, etc. and added a few extra things of my own to get the point across!!
For the actual directions on  how to participate you can just go here.

In celebration of the book's launch, Cathy will be giving away a print copy and an e-copy of A Path Less Traveled for every 20 comments (by different people) on her post at WordVessel. (Please include a way for her to contact you in case your name is drawn as the winner.)

Please send your friends her way since the number of winners increases with the number of comments. (She'd love to give away a gazillion copies! Okay...maybe that's exaggerating a wee bit, since that would cost more than a gazillion dollars, which even if she has, she probably doesn't want to spend on us.) ;0)
I kind of think it's suppose to be the other way around...lol ;)

Blogger's Bonus: In addition, for every 20 bloggers who take this information from her site and post it to their blog including the cover and book trailer (then pastes the link in the comments section), She will be drawing (using random.org as usual) names for $25 gift cards. (20 bloggers = 1 gift card winner, 40 bloggers = 2 gift card winners, etc.)

NOTE: If you don't have a blog, but would like to participate in the Blogger's Bonus you can post the information in the Notes tab of your Facebook profile and leave the link in the comments section.
Isn't that so generous of her not to leave the non-bloggers out :) I just love that! And I'm pretty sure all you non-bloggers will too ;)

These drawings are for US/Canada only, and will last until November 30, 2010. Cathy will  announce the winners at WordVessel on Friday, December 3, 2010. And, as always she is looking forward to all or our  wonderful comments! =)


Enjoy!!
And please help out by spreading the word :)
Who knows, you might even get lucky and win in the process!!

Teen Week is here!!!

 I wanted to post some of the great companies and authors who chose to sponsor "Teen Week" :)

There are more than what are listed here!!

Companies:

Carolina Pad -- Dreamsicle Collection

Crazy Dog shirts

Nacho Mama Tees shirts

Freeman Crafts Etsy Shop

Authors:

Jennifer Donnelly

Linda Gerber

Sandra Byrd

and....

Kim Culbertson will be kicking off the week :)

Enjoy!

With 'Baby Week' winding down...I couldn't resist this post...

Ok, so we all know what comes after the baby....RIGHT??

 LOTS and LOTS of exercising to tone up our muscles back to pre-baby, right??

And those exercises look something like this.....Right??

With the end goal being a little something like this...Right??

EXACTLY!!!

But...aren't you forgetting something???

If you are under the age of 18 and/or are easily offended

....this post ends here!!!

Love you guys!!! Make sure to check out "Teen Week" starting tomorrow :)

~Steph

-------

If however you are over the age of 18 and can stomach anything.....this will lead you to another blog!!!

Click here (Adults Only!!!)

~Steph

'The Vigilante's Bride' by Yvonne Harris review....

 The Vigilante's Bride

by Yvonne Harris

This book is set in Montana Territory, 1884.

I would call this a Historical, Romantic Suspense novel :)

Back Cover Blurb:

Is her kidnapper the only man who can keep her safe?

Robbing a stagecoach on Christmas Eve and abducting a woman passenger is the last thing Luke Sullivan expected to do. He just wanted to reclaim the money stolen from his pa, but instead ends up rescuing a feisty copper-headed woman who was on her way to marry Sullivan's dangerous enemy.

Emily McCarthy doesn't take kindly to her so-called rescue. Still, she's hoping Providence will turn her situation for good, especially when it seems Luke Sullivan may just be the man of her dreams. But Luke has crossed a vicious man, a powerful rancher not used to losing, and Emily is the prize he's unwilling to sacrifice.

4 the Luv of SaNiTy's Blurbs:

Emily, originally a teacher who is down on her luck when it comes to a new teaching position, hastily accepts a mail-order-bride offer in the newspaper. On the way to her soon-to-be husband's ranch, her stagecoach is held up and robbed. At first she thinks it is only money to be taken, but then she finds herself being among the items being taken.

Luke Sullivan has decided to rob Axel's stagecoach to get back the money that Axel  owed to his Luke's father long ago because he cheated his father out of it. But when he sees Emily and realizes that she doesn't even know the kind of horrible man that Bart Axel is and what he is capable of, he at last minute decides to take Emily as well as the money.

Now, to say that Emily doesn't want to be rescued, or so Luke calls it, is an understatement. But after a few days at Luke and Molly's ranch, along with a chance meeting with the Mr. Bart Axel, whom she is suppose to marry, she realizes that perhaps she really might be right where she needs to be at the time.

Emily stands her ground over and over. She takes over running the ranch and school for Molly when it is needed, and she even teaches Molly new ways to save money. For example by telling her that they need to start making their own clothing, and especially that their current starch recipe is way too strong and actually ruining the clothes faster than they should be going through them.

Bart definitely isn't the type of man to just sit back and give up without a fight!

This action packed and dangerous story will keep you on the edge of your seat.

You will be turning page after page to see what happens next, and also to get a feel for all the

excitement and romance that this book holds as well.

GREAT READ!!

And even though it's been out for awhile now....

there may still be a few of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading it.

In that case, GO BUY YOUR COPY RIGHT AWAY!!!

You don't know what you are missing.

-----

Ok. First things first. It's confession time.

I read this book back in August, 2010 when it first came out.

And then with moving into our new place, and all the packing and unpacking...

this book got lost in the piles that didn't get unpacked right away.

So, my apologies to the author and my readers for the late review!!

Second, I just love reading about the old days, especially when they were still having squabbles

over land and property. So, this only made the book that much better in my mind :)

And what's even better than that?? The whole mail-order-bride thing!!

It just gets me all riled up every time I even think about it. I mean just the whole idea of even marrying someone that you don't know, like being set up by your parents when you are young, but having to marry a man who has paid for you because you are desperate to survive?? 

How horrible.

-----

Yvonne Harris

And now about the author:

(straight from her website)

Yvonne Harris earned a BS in Education from the University of Hartford and has taught throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic. Unofficially retired from teaching, she teaches writing at Burlington County College in southern New Jersey, where she resides. She is a winner and three-time finalist for the Golden Heart, once for The Vigilante's Bride, which is her debut novel.

Note: I was in no way compensated for this review. I won my review copy in a giveaway.

I always give my honest opinion and review.

'FRAMED' by Gordon Korman book review....

Framed

by Gordon Korman

The 'man with the plan' is back!! But this time he doesn't have all his friends right beside him to help come up with that plan. He has been framed. Will he be able to prove it? Or will he end up in Juvenile Detention?

Griffin Bing has been framed with the theft of a Superbowl Ring from within a locked case.

I mean, it's pretty straight laced and done...after all, his retainer is found inside the case.

But Griffin and his friends:  Melissa, Logan, Ben, Peter, and Savannah (whom you might recognize from the other two books in this series: Swiddle and Zoobreak!!) know that Griffin didn't do it. The problem is, will they be able to prove it in time?? And in order to prove it, they would have to figure out the real thief.

From the beginning, Griffin's new principal has his eye on Griffin, because he is known as a regular troublemaker around town with the police and others. Somehow or another, trouble always seems to find it's way to Griffin!! But this time the trouble we speak of is serious business.

Griffin and his parents must attend a hearing before the judge, and he is placed under house arrest (with an ankle bracelet and all) and ordered to attend an alternative school called JFK for short. Griffin jokes that JFK stands for 'Jail for Kids.' If Griffin doesn't find his way out of this framed mess, he will be placed into juvenile detention. That would certainly be worse than an alternative school.

Griffins friends get together without him (because he's on house arrest) and try to come up with a list of possible subjects who might be the real thief. They try and figure out a way to 'set them up' and catch them red-handed or at least catch them with the stolen property.

Will they find the real thief in time??

Pick up your copy of 'Framed' today to find out!!

-----

My ten year old and I took turns reading this book out loud! My five year old even listened to the chapters each night. I think it was a little too much for him to understand, but he laughed a few times. I mean after all he was just in it for the Book-It minutes which we all know equals a free pizza at the end of the month, lol.

But seriously, my ten year old and I both loved this story. It was at times funny and exciting, definitely mysterious throughout. It was fun watching my son really put his thinking and logic skills to work to try and pinpoint this person, or decide that this person couldn't have possibly stolen the ring.

Yes, this book definitely kept the both of us guessing right up until the end.

I must say that my son was more than just a little worried about Griffin ending up in juvie for something he didn't do. I think this book taught my son a lesson.

He not only learned how important it is for friends to always stick together,

but he also learned that it isn't funny to play a joke on someone,

ESPECIALLY if it could get that person into serious trouble.

No matter how funny it might seem at the time.

Gordon Korman

About the author:

(from his websites' biography)

Gordon Korman was born October 23, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. He wrote his first book, This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall when he was 12 years old for a coach who suddenly found himself teaching 7th grade English … he later took that episode and created a book out of it, as well, in the Sixth Grade Nickname Game, where Mr. Huge was based on that 7th grade teacher.

His first book found a home with Scholastic, who also published his next 20 or so books, including six more Bruno and Boots titles, and several award winning young adult titles, among them my personal favorite, Son of Interflux. Scholastic still publishes many of Gordon's titles, though Hyperion Press is also now printing some of Gordon's stories.

Gordon eventually made one of his homes in New York City, where he studied film and film writing. While in New York, he also met his future wife, and they eventually married -- they now have three children. He now lives on Long Island, outside of New York City, has approximately 55 books to his credit, and is currently contracted for several more, including the six volume On the Run adventure series, and new young adult and childrens' titles.

-----

I recommend this book to any parent looking for a good book for their middle ages children.

 Perhaps ages 8 or 9 to about 14 or 15??

Gordon has published so many books, well you read it...about 55 of them!! Wow!

Yeah, that's what I said!!  Take a moment and check some of them out.

He even wrote two of the ten '39 Clues' books :)

'Uncertain Heart' by Andrea Boeshaar book review...

Uncertain Heart

by Andrea Boeshaar

First let me say that this review was due on Nov 3rd.

Second, let me say that I received it yesterday, Nov 6th.

Oops...no worries!! Good thing I love to read and am fairly fast at it :)

The Back Cover's Blurb:

The year is 1866, and Sarah McCabe has wanderlust. In an effort to become independent of her family back in Missouri, she accepts a governess position in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, giving her a firsthand taste of the life she has always desired—a life of luxury, culture, and social privilege.

Richard Navis is a man determined to finish his indentureship to Captain Brian Sinclair and take over his family’s farm. But when he falls in love with Sarah, his homesteading goals blur. She doesn’t seem interested in settling down. What’s more, Richard fears she’s fallen victim to the captain’s charm and persuasion.

When Sarah’s reputation is questioned, Richard devises a bold plan in hopes of protecting her. But is he too late? Has Sarah already made her choice?

Blurbs from me, myself and I:

I love the fact that this story is set in 1866. I love historical fiction. Even though I had never read the first book in this series, "Unwilling Warrior" I didn't feel at all lost. This is certainly acceptable to read as a stand alone title and not feel as if you are lost or missing something.

Ok, so about the book. Sarah McCabe is a girl who jumps quickly into your heart, she is just of womanhood age, she feeling those feelings, the feelings of crushing on someone, feelings of lust, the excitement of being noticed and/or appreciated by members of the opposite sex. She is very easy to relate with as you read this very fast-paced book. I literally couldn't put it down, and that wasn't because of my tight deadline. This book definitely had me turning pages all night long, so that I could see who she would choose. 

Yes, Sarah is faced with a choice. There are two men who trying to capture her heart, so to speak. The different ways they go about it, are what brings the excitement, the danger, the forbidden lusts, etc into the book. First, there is Captain Brian, Sarah's employer. She is the governess for his four children. She quickly takes a liking for these children and doesn't want anything to jeopardize her job. The Captain is a very wealthy, very charming man and can easily persuade others to do what he wants them to do.

But then there is Richard, who is also the Captains employee. He is the first person that Sarah meets after stepping off the bus to take on her new position as governess for the Captain. Richard is indentured to the Captain, but his real wish is to do what is required of him in order or him to end the indentureship and then take over his family farm.

As the story quickly unfolds, you will see that both men have their eyes on Sarah, and she notices this as well. She will need to choose between the two. It won't be an easy choice. It isn't as simple as just choosing the easier, wealthy life with the Captain, simply because of the money. Just when you think the rest of the story will be about her own personal struggle to make a decision between the two men...

 The story takes a few unexpected turns, which only adds to your already growing excitement and wonder. When things take a turn for the worse, and Sarah finds herself in a sort of situation that could easily ruin her reputation. If that were to happen, she would lose her job, lose her relationship with the four children she has came to so deeply care about.

You absolutely have to get yourself a copy of this book and find out what happens!! You won't believe the ending. And not only that,  you will most certainly find that you don't want the story to end.

Throughout this story, I laughed at times, and I even caught myself grabbing a tissue and wiping away a few tears here and there. This to me definitely signals an excellent book. 

Andrea Boeshaar

A little about the author:

Andrea  has published both fiction and non-fiction books. She is a public speaker and also
a certified Christian life coach. On her website she says,
"I am a firm believer that good decisions lead to happy endings. In a world filled with wounded hearts and broken lives, it's comforting to know there is hope -- and it's only a decision away."

I love that!! It's so true.


Now, if you don't already have your copy, hurry and go get one.
And while you're at it, but two. One for you and one for a friend.
Wouldn't it just make the perfect gift??

'Miss Lily's Washing' Etsy shop review and giveaway....

Miss Lily's Washing

Etsy Shop

Here is Miss Lily's Bio:

"I am a WAHM of four beautiful kids and a cloth diapering mama. My youngest, Lilyana (aka Miss Lily) is who this detergent is named after. I started making laundry detergent after being disappointed with the other "green" detergents out there, and after reading about the cancer-causing agents found in popular detergents. My goal is to provide you with clean and fresh-smelling laundry without the chemicals found in the other detergents. My washing powder really works!"

Now I say if this detergent gets the cloth diapers clean and smelling good, you know it's GREAT!!

Miss Lily sent me a half bag of the detergent to try out for review, and I absolutely loved it!!

Not only did my clothes come out clean and smelling fabulous, but it felt good knowing that the

detergent was made of natural products.

My best friends boy, has Eczema REALLY bad, (and that is an understatement) she has a horrible time finding a detergent for him, but I want her to try this one out.Since it is natural and enzyme free, I'm feeling upbeat about this one :) In fact, I'm thinking of getting her some for Christmas!! (Marsh, just pretend you didn't read that part, lol....oh never mind, you know as well as I do, that I was NEVER good at keeping my gifts a secret, lol....Love you!!)

Now let me show you some of her great scents:

(Meaning she has lots more to choose from!!)

Black Raspberry and Vanilla

Monkey Farts
(Yes, you read that right, lol)

Buttercream Cupcake

Bamboo and White Grapefruit

Passion Flower and Acai Berry

Miss Lily has so generously offered one of my readers

 a full bag of 'Water Lily and Jasmine'

scented natural laundry detergent.

This is what her Etsy shop has to say about it:

Full bag of Miss Lily's laundry detergent, Water Lily & Jasmine scent. A crisp, energetic, refreshing aroma. The complex combination of succulent water lilies and jasmine with unique notes of tangerine and orange.

Miss Lily's Washing Powder is a natural, soap-free, enzyme-free detergent. It's not only effective on stink, but it works great on stains, too! Perfect for all of your laundry, including cloth diapers!

This light scent will remain in your laundry.

One bag will do up to 96 HE loads. Compatible with both HE and top loading machines.

How awesome is that?? Natural, great scent, AND if does up to 96 loads :)

Mandatory Entry: Please visit Miss Lily's Washing Etsy shop and tell me which
fragrance you would love to try.
Extra Entries: You may do as many of these as you wish, but ONLY AFTER the mandatory entry is done...or none of the extras will count.Feel free to put all your entries in one comment.

Email address is a must!! I need to be able to easily contact you if you win!!

For this giveaway, please leave each entry
 as a separate comment.----
+2 Heart Miss Lilys shop.
 Tell me who you would want to try this detergent.
+2 Follow me on twitter and leave me your twitter name.
Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link. This may be done every day.
+2 Follow me on facebook and leave me your fb name.
Mention this giveaway on fb and tag me so I can verify it. This may be done every day.
 Follow me on GFC.
+2 Subscribe to my blog by email.
+2 Enter another one of my giveaways. You may take +2 for each giveaway you enter
+10 Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.

-------

Note: I was not compensated in any way to post this review and/or giveaway. In this case, I was given a free half bag of detergent for review purposes. I always give my honest opinion.

Winners will be chosen 12/8 and will be notified via
 email and have 48 hours to respond
or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck!!

~Steph

I've made commenting easier...

Lately I have received quite a few emails and comments letting me know that it was fairly hard to leave comments, especially when trying to enter a giveaway.

I in no way want to make it a pain in your you know what to comment.

I love comments!!

We = My blog and I

And let's face it, we have enough pains in the you know what that I definitely don't need to add to them :)

I appreciate the feedback. All comments and questions are welcome, be it email or comments directly.

I would however politely ask that if it is negative feedback that could possibly help my blog, please email it to me directly at soklad@hotmail.com as opposed to airing it for everyone to see.

And just one more request...I do realize that EVERYONE has differing opinions,

and for that I am THANKFUL.

But if I should happen to post something that you aren't in agreement with

or are opposed to..

PLEASE, kindly keep that to yourself.

Not to be rude, but each person is entitled to their opinions,

and thankfully not everyone likes the same things...can you imagine how boring life would be

if we all were forced to like the SAME EXACT THING???

With that said.

I LOVE COMMENTS!!

I LOVE MY FOLLOWERS!!

I LOVE GIVING AWAY THINGS TO MY FOLLOWERS!!

and

I LOVE MY LIFE IN GENERAL :)

Enjoy the rest of your day, and I certainly hope that commenting on my blog is easier now!!!

PLEASE BUY Sandi Rog's "The Master's Wall"....why??

Here is the book's back cover blurb:

He fights for his freedom. She fights for her life. Together, they fight for each other.

After watching Roman soldiers drag his parents away to their death, David, a young Hebrew, is sold and enslaved to serve at a villa outside of Rome. As David trains to become a skilled fighter, he works hard to please his master and hopes to earn his freedom. However, an opportunity to escape tempts him with its whispering call. Freedom beckons, but invisible chains hold him captive to the master’s granddaughter, an innocent girl with a fiery spirit. David vows to protect Alethea from his master, the murderous patriarch, and contrives a daring plan—sacrifice his own life to save hers.

The Master's Wall officially went on sale Nov 1st. Amazon was sold out almost immediately!!

DeWard Publishing Company is offering this book at the special price of $9.99 for the first two weeks!!

To order from DeWard click here.

Since many of would have eventially gotten around to buying this great book anyways...

Let's say we buy it now.

If ever the sales could help with a good cause, this one would.

The same day that Sandi's book released, she found out she had a brain tumor.

The biopsy shows it is a very aggressive form of cancer.

Please pray for Sandi, her husband, and their four children

as they fight this disease. Pray that Sandi gets well.

And..buy the book NOW as opposed to later!!

I'm pretty sure that every dime will help right now!

Many authors are setting up funds for Sandi already.

I will try to keep you posted,

and I hope that anyone who knows anything, will let me know as well.

((Hugs)) and prayers to Sandi and her family!!

~Steph