Friday, September 28, 2012

Review: My Wonderful World of Shoes by Nina Chakrabarti



My Wonderful World of Shoes is perfect for shoe lovers, fashion lovers and people that just love to sit down and color! Basically it's good for all ages! I've been a fan of Nina Chakrabarti's books ever since the first one My Wonderful World of Fashion came out! They are very multi-use, you can look at them as an art book or a coffee table book or you can literally sit down and color in them!

Beyond all that I really like Nina's style of illustration, sense of humor and even just the way the books are designed, I'm a sucker for cardboard and sparkly metallics and of course pink! 

So obviously I'm a huge fan of her work I think they make great gifts for girls of any age and just make you smile! Since I have all her books my only issue with My Wonderful World of Shoes would be that I wish it had more of the interaction and variety of prompts that her previous books have. I get that this is solely (ha!) focused on shoes but I would have loved to have seem a page filled with a shoe pattern or someone wearing the shoes, some variety in the layout. But overall this book is definitely still a win!

Here's a page I colored (yes I still like to color!):


A little about Nina and her studio:

Nina's My Wonderful World of Fashion Website- you can design your own shoe in her app! So fun!

My Wonderful World of Shoes was released on September 19th
Genre: Art/Fashion
4/5 Stars
Review Copy

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Exciting News! HOW INHOWSE Design Awards!



I have some exciting news I want to share today! I have won the HOW Magazine INHOWSE Design Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Consumer Products/Services for The Decent Man's Grooming Tools! The Decent Man's Grooming Tools is a line of men's grooming products (stain wipes, non-sewing kit, deodorant removing sponge) that I created the packaging for! If you are interested in reading a little bit about the line which includes 9 products check out our website here, if you are an indecent looking fella or know one, there are a few days left to enter our contest for some really awesome prizes too if you are interested!


I'm so excited, this has been a dream of mine ever since I can remember and I am so happy and proud! The issue of HOW magazine my work will be featured in will be out January 2013!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Hardcover vs Paperback 167


A moving and haunting novel for readers of The Book Thief.

Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?

This powerful tale of heartbreak and hope is sure to haunt readers long after they finish the last page.
 
I definitely gravitate towards the paperback, that image is a lot more memorable for me. The hardcover while still simple has just enough going on to make it a little less memorable. 
 

Monday, September 24, 2012

Meet the Aria Bracelet!


Meet the Aria bracelet! Aria is a petite skull bracelet with an adjustable closure! Your choice of either silver or gold!

Silver  I  Gold




Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Hardcover vs Paperback 166


Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket. 

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat. 

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist. 

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke–about–town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous–though utterly romantic–results. But will she ever see him again? 

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.

Really they both work, they get the same point across. I feel like the cover was redone to match the sequel with the same model (see it here). I think they cropped her in a weird place on the new cover though, it seems like it's right underneath her eyes. This new cover is a little more subtle with its colors which I like.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Pitch Perfect Remix Blog Tour + Giveaway Sponsored by Pitch Perfect


In the era of Glee and with the resurgence of boy bands, Pitch Perfect hits all the right notes. What originally drew me to this movie's concept was my love of the TV show Glee, but what kept me was basically seeing stuff like this:


Hilarious right? You know how a lot of movie trailers give away the best parts? Well Pitch Perfect (in theaters 9/28 everywhere 10/5) definitely saved a lot for the movie. 


 I love the casting in this movie, you have a whole gaggle of hilarious women (including the scene stealing Rebel Wilson and the girl with the bangs-you will know her when you see her-I think she stole the whole movie!) and few great guys as well (HIMYM fans watch for the Ted Mosby lookalike!) Basically this movie was beyond hilarious and the singing was pitch perfect (hehe.)

In support of the movie I've curated a Pitch Perfect inspired playlist!

1. Brokenhearted-Karmin Whenever I hear this song I just can't sit still, love it! 2. Call Me Maybe-Carly Rae Jepsen I know, I know you are probably sick of this one but I am not! 3. Starships-Nicki Minaj Who doesn't need a little Nicki Minaj in their life. 4. Hang It Up-The Ting Tings This is a great one for when you are stuck in traffic. 5.Young Folks-Peter Bjorn and John Who doesn't wish they had thought of this song. 6. Don't You Want Me (Glee Cast Version) I love the energy in this song it makes me want to jump up and down for the entire song 7. Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken-Camera Obscura Love the story behind this song and of course it's fun to sing along to! 8. Shake It Out-Florence + The Machine Florence can do no wrong in my mind. 9. Sweet Disposition-The Temper Trap This one just gives me chills! 10. I Follow Rivers-Lykke Li I play this one at work so often I make people groan 11. Young Blood-The Naked and Famous I just love the opening notes of this song.  12. My Love-The Bird and the Bee So sweet. 13. Don't You (Forget About Me)-Simple Minds Even before I saw the movie I knew this one had to be on my list and well hell, after seeing the movie it would just be wrong without it. One of my favorites.


What did you think of my playlist? What would you add?

Speaking of music, the Pitch Perfect soundtrack is amazing. Duh, since it's a movie about music it damn well better be amazing! I'm excited to see one of my favorite performances is on the soundtrack:

 

I'd definitely recommend this movie. You know it's good when you can't stop laughing and walk away with more than a handful of quotes. "By the way...do you want to see a dead body?" I'm definitely going to snap this one right up for my DVD collection when it's out!

Don’t forget to visit YourLifeafter25.com tomorrow 9/14 for the next stop on the PITCH PERFECT REMIX BLOG tour!

Get Pitch Slapped. Pitch Perfect is in theaters 9/28 and everywhere 10/5.

Facebook  I  Twitter  I  Official Website  I  Official Soundtrack

__________________________________________________

 Interested in seeing the movie? 

I've got a giveaway to set up one lucky winner!  

One (1) winner will receive: 
- Pitch Perfect Official Soundtrack (CD)
- $25 Fandango Bucks
- Pitch Perfect T-Shirt
- Aca-Awesome Magnetic Poetry
- Plus Sunglasses, Ear Buds and more!
 
Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

Entries left in the comments of this post will not be counted.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S.

The giveaway will end September 20th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

*This post was sponsored by Pitch Perfect

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Review: Jamberry Nails

I am a huge fan of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips (I'm actually wearing some as I type this) so when given the opportunity I wanted to try out the Jamberry Nails nail shields.

The Jamberry Nails nail shields are made from vinyl so to apply and remove you need to use a hairdryer to heat them up to make them a little bit flexible. So they take a little bit more work and time to apply them.


From far away they look pretty great right? I got tons and TONS of compliments on them. But from my perspective the below pictures are what I was seeing and having to deal with. Maybe not so much worth the time...


Being a perfectionist this is pretty hard for me to deal with. Not a very smooth application.


So I had some mixed feelings about these. I loved the pattern and there are 250+ more where these came from. They definitely have the most variety in this type of general nail application I've seen. It was really hard to pick which ones to try. And you get enough nail shields for at least 2 applications so you are definitely getting a lot for your money. So they have that going for them.

I applied my pinkies first and those two are the only ones I could keep on my nails for more than a few days. They laid the flattest, not perfect but good enough. The rest were super wavy on the sides and some tips, getting caught on things and dust was getting stuck underneath them since they were not at all flat to my nails (besides the pinkies), basically I had to get them off my nails after a few days, I couldn't stand the application. I've seen pictures of people wearing them and they looks great on their nails though, so maybe it's my nail shape that isn't working in this situation. I saw a lot of pictures of flat short nails (which I don't have) so maybe they work better on those types of nails? I watched the application video several times and read the directions several times so I really don't think it was user error. The first two I put on stayed the best!

Jamberry Nails states that these should last for 2 weeks so I wanted to test that claim out. I left the two pinkies alone for two weeks. Technically they did stay on my nails for that entire time but sometimes when I would run my hands through my hair or wash my hair they would start to peel up from the nail bed but I just pressed them back down and they stayed.

So my verdict on this is it's a mixed bag. They definitely have a lot of great things going for them but also for me personally didn't meet my standards for how I wanted them to look when applied. Have you tried Jamberry Nails? What did you think of them?

Received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Hardcover vs Paperback 165


If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge.
If your brother's accused of a crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him.

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

This is an unflinching novel from the bestselling author of
Before I Die. It's about loyalty and the choices that come with it. Above all, it's a book about love. 

I'm definitely feeling the paperback more so. I feel the struggle, whereas the hardcover could be mistaken for a lot of love stories. I really like the coloring of the paperback as well.

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Sunday, September 09, 2012

The Last Two Months In Books!

 Purchased:
Such a Rush Jennifer Echols
The Wah Nails Book of Nail Art Sharmadean Reid
My Wonderful World of Fashion Postcards Nina Chakrabarti
Hide and Seek (A Lying Game Novel) Sara Shepard
What I Wore Today Gemma Correll
My Even More Wonderful World of Fashion Nina Chakrabarti

Accepted Review Copies:
My Wonderful World of Shoes Nina Chakrabarti

Unsolicited Review Copies:
 The Book of the Night Pearl North
A Poem as Big as New York City Various
Crusher Niall Leonard
The Boxcar Children Beginning Patricia MacLachlan
Phoebe & the Ghost of Chagall Jill Koenigsdorf
Skinny Donna Cooner
Rockoholic C.J. Skuse
Josie Griffin Is Not A Vampire Heather Swain
Dearly, Beloved Lia Habel
Killer Heels Rebecca Chance
Wake Amanda Hocking
Spookygirl Paranormal Investigator Jill Baguchinsky
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Updated) Jeff Kinney
I Could Pee On This Francesco Marciuliano
The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee Tom Angleberger
The Slayer Chronicles Second Chance Heather Brewer
Amber House Various
Darkwater Catherine Fisher
Five O'Clock Follies Theasa Tuohy
Pip and he Wood Witch Curse Chris Mould
The Year Comes Round Sid Farrar

The Charley Bracelet Lights Collection (Pop Culture Junkie the Store)

Let's take a peek at the 11 bracelets in the Lights Collection (will be in the shop tomorrow)! Each of the bracelets in this collection will be $10 + shipping/handling. All bracelets are also available with a silver chain and custom sizing.
Add a POP of color to your outfit!

*Bracelet color may be slightly different in person 











Charley Bracelet Collections:

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Hardcover vs Paperback 164





When Alexandra’s mother is slain by an unnatural beast, shadows fall on the once-lush kingdom. Too soon the widowed king is entranced by a cunning stranger — and in one chilling moment Alexandra’s beloved brothers disappear, and she is banished to a barren land. Rich in visual detail, sparked by a formidable evil, and sweetened with familial and romantic love, here is the tale of a girl who discovers powerful healing gifts — and the courage to use them to save her ailing kingdom.

Don't really dig either of these. They definitely scream middle grade historical fantasy. Not sure if they are middle grade or YA.

Thanks to Gail who suggested this H vs P!

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Monday, September 03, 2012

The Charley Bracelet Classics Collection is now in the shop!



The Charley Bracelet Classics collection is now in the shop! Great for transitioning into Fall!

Sunday, September 02, 2012

The Charley Bracelet Classics Collection (Pop Culture Junkie the Store)

Let's take a peek at the 9 bracelets in the Classics Collection (will be in the shop tomorrow)! Each of the bracelets in this collection will be $10 + shipping/handling. All bracelets are also available with a silver chain and custom sizing.

This collection is great for transitioning into Fall!

*Bracelet color may be slightly different in person









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