Silver Bay

Silver Bay is an older book by Jojo Moyes that has been reissued. I picked it from my library up on the strength of having enjoyed her other books.

 It tells the story of Silver Bay , a small Australian resort town famed for its marine life, it's inhabitants and what happens there when a resort development is proposed. 

Narrated by four main characters - who range in age from eleven to seventy six (!) -  there are several different threads to the story of Silver Bay.  The characters themselves are well drawn and believable and there's a mystery (or two) that gets explained/unravelled as the book progresses. 

Having said that it did  take me a while to get into the story, in fact I found the first 100 or so pages to be really rather dull but as it progressed it became more engaging and interesting.  Overall it was a fairly enjoyable, entertaining read but not one my favourites.

Walmart Beauty Box Winter 2014

I'd almost forgotten about the Walmart beauty box until I received the shipping notice! It works as a subscription and charges and ships automatically every three months. For just $5.00 a quarter you get a box of beauty products... I reckon that for little more than the price of a cup of coffe you can't go far wrong.

As with last months box this one contained a selection of full sized and generously sized samples of products, along with some standard sized samples and coupons.

First up was a full sized Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick. Mine was in the shade Maple Kiss which is a dark brownish/ nude. TBH it's a little dark for my winter palette, but I will use it in the summer when I wear bronzier colors. Having said that it feels nice and isn't drying, I like that you can wear it as either a sheer wash of color or can build it up. Oh, it also tastes great - kinda like maple in fact!

The other full sized product was a seven pack of Olay Fresh Effect Wipes. Wipes always come in handy for my trips and I really like these smaller packs as they are not only less bulky to carry, they also don't have chance to dry out once opened.

There were two very generously sized samples of L'Oreal OleoTherapy Shampoo and Conditioner.

I've not tried them as yet but not only are they paraben and sulphate free they claim to repair and moisturise hair without weighing it down. These are a great travel size as is the large sample of Jergens BB Body Cream. 

There's a sachet of Nivea Cocoa Butter Body Lotion - which let's face it will probably cover about an inch of thigh or a kneecap or something, but hey it's a freebie and there's a $1.00 coupon for Nivea Body Lotion which are my drugstore lotion of choice. 

There's also a swatch of Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder with a $1.00 coupon. I bought one of these recently and really like it, but it's not a product I use every day so I probably won't use this coupon...

So what do you think? Not bad for $5.00 right? Why not take a look at beautybox.walmart.com  and sign up for a Walmart Beauty Box Subscription.

The Children Act.

There are so many good books around at the moment - Ian McEwan is one of my favourite authors and The Children Act, his latest, is definitely one of them. 

This short book (just over 200 pages) tells the story of Fiona Maye, a High Court judge in England. At a time of personal crisis and questioning she is called upon to intervene in the life or death case of  seventeen year old Adam Henry, who is refusing critical medical treatment as it opposes the religious beliefs of himself and his parents. There is a mutual admiration and fascination between the two characters which in turn provokes unorthodox behavior on both parts...

As usual Mr McEwan has researched his subject brilliantly and there is not only an extremely well executed court scene, he also describes the day to day life of a Judge in Chambers in fascinating detail.

It is certainly a book that makes you think, there are lots of ideas slipped in here and there for you to ponder alongside the main plot and there's a very clever twist at the end.

The writing is very elegant, I don't think there is a wasted word or phrase. The characters are well drawn and there emotions are perfectly captured. I found it to be compelling and intense.

Recommended.

Samples Galore!

Recently there seem to have been samples galore up for grabs. As you may have noticed beauty samples are some of my favourite things, so I sneakily planned some of my Christmas shopping to take advantage of a couple of GWP's... 

Following on from their 'Season Sets' Sephora (www.sephora.com) offered a make up bag with 12 samples. Whilst they are all foils (except for a mini tube of YU-BE) there are another 3 that come as standard so that's 15 altogether! There was a nice mix of brands in this gift and a good mix of skincare, body care, make up and perfume - there was even something for the guys - and this time the bag itself wasn't terrible.

Blue Mercury (www.bluemercury.com) had this lovely GWP on cyber Monday. Isn't that a great selection of products? It's practically half a Barneys Love Yourself bag! Featuring skin, hair and body care it also has a mini Laura Mercier highlighting powder. 

I'm especially excited to try the M-61 and Skinceuticals samples, both of which are new brands to me and there's a Revive sample  which makes me very happy...

PENZEYS SPICES

One of the easiest and quickest ways to make your food interesting and flavoursome is to introduce some herbs and/or spices into the mix.

 I cook everyday and whilst TBH the only dried herbs  I ever use are good quality thyme and oregano I do use a lot of different spices. I buy almost all my seasonings from Penzeys Spices. 

At one time they had a small store here in Grand Central Market which I would frequently pop into. When it closed I switched to buying from them online as I love the quality and selection that they offer. Their prices are also great! Although I don't often buy pre-mixed spice blends I must say that theirs are pretty darn good. They also sell bulk sachets that work out very reasonably cost wise - cooking daily I tend to get through them quick enough to make the larger sizes worthwhile purchases.

Thirty dollars gets you free shipping and there's almost always a coupon code on line or in their catalogue for a free jar and they always seem to pop a small jar of something else in as a little extra treat - a great way to discover something new. 

If you are unsure what to get (they have such a great range it's a little easy to get overwhelmed...) they have some great gift boxes and starter kits available or you can choose your own selections to make custom gifts for people.

If you want to spice up your own dinners or need a gift for the cook in your family why not take a look at www.penzeys.com 

Shopaholic to the Stars.

Ditzy Becky Brandon is back in the latest installment in the Shopaholic series. Following her husband to L.A. Becky embarks on a hapless plan to befriend the stars and become a celebrity stylist.

This book is the seventh in the series and the rather up in the air, abrupt ending leaves the reader in no doubt that there will be a number eight. Even though it's over 400 pages it's a super quick read as it contains a lot of dialogue.

The characters are all quite absurd caricatures and most of the situations are really unrealistic but if you take it as a light hearted, easy to read amusing romp you'll find it to be an fairly enjoyable 'beach read' sort of book.

I am a kind of fan of this series but this one did leave me thinking that I was reading more of the same and I'm not sure that I'll read the next one...

US.

Honestly, I feel as if Christmas has come early! There are just so many new books out at the moment that I have been looking forward to and have enjoyed reading. I'm on a bit of a roll with my reading list which is why I have been posting tree times a week rather than the usual two.

So, on to David Nicholls' Us. 

This book was everywhere when I was in England at the end of September and I nearly bought it back with me but I already had some hefty books so decided to wait until I could get it stateside. 

It tells the story of Douglas Petersen whose wife, Connie tells him she wants to leave him after 25 years of marriage. They are about to embark on a previously planned month long 'grand tour' of Europe with their 17 year old son, Albie. The trip goes ahead and  Douglas tells the story of their relationship and their family in a series of bittersweet flashbacks interspersed with a modern day travelogue.

I really enjoyed this book. It didn't take long to read and there were some laugh out loud passages in it in spite of it being a poignant tale.

My only criticism is that maybe it could have been a little shorter with the plot a little tighter at the end. However, excepting this it's an enchanting book that's well written and captures the spirit of the cities visited.

Recommended.