REVIEW Stained by Ella James

STAINED BY ELLA JAMES

Seventeen-year-old Julia is finally living the good life. She's traded a hard cot in a Memphis orphanage for her very own room in a perfect little house, on a perfect little street, with a perfect set of parents who picked her to be their daughter.

But Julia is hiding a secret - and one fall night, she returns home from a friend's house to find that her secret has found her. Her 'forever home' is ashes. Her parents are dead. And, in the sky above the flames, a winged creature hunts her.

The Nephilim King, Samyaza, has taken everything from Cayne. After struggling in the darkness for years to piece together his shattered life, Cayne is finally ready to confront his past and avenge the loss of everything he loved. He tracks Samyaza to a Memphis warehouse, where he winds up flat on his back, in the healing hands of a beautiful, dark-haired girl he doesn't need to know.

Unbeknownst to either of them, they are already bound. Cayne's past holds the answers to Julia's future. But what will pose the greatest threat to her? The bounty placed on her head by the leaders of two Celestial realms, or giving her heart to a man who is bound, by birth, to break it?

HERE'S WHAT I THOUGHT

Lets talk about the cover first, since I'm a total visual person. I was really drawn to this cover. The girl in the front, who I assumed would be Julia, has a very angelic glow along with the creepy pyramid in the back. I wanted to know more about the girl and the pyramid right away! So much in fact I almost overlooked the star-like mark on the girls shoulder! Definitely loved this cover!

Once I started reading, I'm not going to lie. The first thing that had me super excited was the fact that this all took place around Memphis. I just kept thinking, I've been there! I live three hours away. I know Beale street! I know the Peabody Hotel! That was so very awesome for me.

Julia won me over almost immediately with her broken past and pink chucks. When she is forced to run away, I could feel how scared and alone she was. Then comes Cayne and her world changes. Julia is instantly drawn to help him, which I think is just a part of who she is. She seems to always try and find the best in people and try to push out an bad feelings she may have. She's too trusting, maybe? A curse and a blessing!

Cayne is stoic and doesn't show any feelings, which drives Julia crazy. She wants to know more about him and he just keeps pushing her away, or so, he pushes her away with his words but when things get tough physically when Samyaza threatens to harm Julia, he shows a different side of him with his actions. This was my favorite part of Julia and Cayne's chemistry. The push and pull of their affection with each other is overwhelming -in a good way. There were times I wanted to yell at both of them and reach through my Kindle and shove them together so they would finally kiss! I loved this about them though, because it made it seem as though you never knew what the future was going to be like for these two.

Ella James writes a great introduction to this new adventure and life for Julia and Cayne. Both seek revenge and they seem to be stronger together. I can't wait to find out more answers about Julia and Cayne's fate!

I GAVE STAINED BY ELLA JAMES

FOUR CUPCAKES

YOU CAN CHECK OUT STAINED FOR YOURSELF ON AMAZON AND GOODREADS!

Zenni Optical Review

In the Summer of 2006 I worked on a Horse Ranch as a camp counselor. Boy, do I miss that Summer. Anyway, during this time and for almost eight years prior I was a devoted contact lens wearer. However, I never wore my contacts correctly and often slept in them and when I took them out or put them in I never washed my hands. This and the crazy dust on the ranch resulted in the worst eye infection ever. I had ulcerated corneas in both eyes so bad that my eye doctor told me if I would have waited a few more weeks I would have begun to loose my eyesight. He also told me I would never be allowed to wear contacts again and if I did my eyes would be easily irritated. Upon hearing this, my eighteen-year-old self was not please.

GLASSES? ME? I didn't even wear glasses when I first found out I needed a prescription. I went straight to contacts. I was not a glasses kind of girl. Didn't dorks wear glasses? No, I was not a nerd! I was cool! This resulted in me being a very pouty and spoiled girl and picked out a pair of glasses that I was going to be "stuck with" my whole life. It took a few days and once I slipped those glasses on I became a different person. Now I was cool. I loved them so much and I wanted about ten different pairs in different colors. I took back everything I ever thought about someone who wore glasses. Then I realized that if I ever wanted a knew pair of glasses  I was going to have to shell out anywhere from $200-$500 every time. That was a mood killer.

Since 2006, I've owned one other pair of glasses. They're just too expensive and my lenses are a weird prescription, too. Until last Summer I overheard a classmate of mine in college telling someone else about how she got her glasses for $20. My radar went off and I knew I had to know how she did it! She told me about Zenni Optical. I went straight to my computer after class and looked them up to see if they were legit and they were. I could have squealed. But I was happy with my current glasses and just kept putting off ordering new ones.

Two weeks ago I buckled down and went through their glasses selection. I knew from experience what shape I liked and that I needed a full-rim and not a wire frame or half frame, although they have all of these options on there website. Upon first glance I noticed their easily navigatable sidebar and search options. I selected woman's glasses and full-rim and got almost 800 results. I went through and clicked on the ones I liked to see a enlarged view and if I thought I may like those, it was a snap to favorite them to view later. After I selected my favorite ones I finally decided on my new glasses. A pair of bright green ones for $29.95.

 

Gorgeous, right? How I could resist something so unique and funky? It screamed not me at all but I had to have them. And you know what else? For that great price of $29.95, which is almost $270 less than what I paid for my current ones, you get free anti-scratch coating and for only $9 you can get polycarbonate coated lenses(I opted out of this) and only $4.95 you can choose to get anti-glare lenses. I couldn't click on the anti-glare lenses fast enough. That was one thing I wanted so bad with my current glasses and it would have cost almost $100 extra. Yes, you read that right. As a starving college student you can see why I didn't choose them.

Well after inputting my prescription in, which you do need to know your pupilary distance but is easy to find if you don't know it, I hit submit and was told my glasses should be on their way in 2-4 weeks. Ouch. I was so sad because I wanted them now. But in one week I checked my mailbox and low and behold, they arrived! I pulled them out of their padded package and they came in a lovely hard shell case with a micorofiber cleaning cloth and put them on. I felt eighteen again! Rejuvenated! 

I loved them but I also loved the price and super fast processing and shipping time. And these glasses aren't made of cheap lightweight plastic. They're just as good of quality as my Calvin Klein frames. And if you don't have anti-glare lenses I can not stress to you the difference in your view. I didn't think it would make that big of a difference but it does. It feels like natural eyesight again. I have already updated my favorite list with them because they also carry sunglasses and swimming goggles at the same low prices. I already can't wait for my sunglasses to come in.

NOTE: This review and opinions are mine and based solely on my experience as a customer. I was not compensated for this review.

 

My New Toys

Isn't it beautiful? It's the brand new color, raspberry, KitchenAid mixer. I've been drooling over a KitchenAid for years and Hubby knows it. But since we've been married, I've had to settle with my $15 rinky-dink hand mixer. For what it's worth, it's done the job well. I've been able to whip up multiple batches of cookies, muffins, cupcakes, frostings, mashed taters, etc. But this, my friends. This is the do-it-all of kitchen appliances. I've been snooping around and I also can not wait to purchase to pasta and ice cream maker. Yummy! How awesome would that be? I'm sure you're all dying to know the very first thing I made with this bad boy. Well, it was mashed potatoes. Simple, but it was awesome!

I'm especially excited to make my own breads. This is the next thing on my list. I have a few recipes from out of the book it came with, but do any of you make your own bread? And if so, mind to share the recipe? I already have about eighteen packets of yeast ready to go. I came prepared! I still have about a week and half half to start trying things because Hubby left to go to the field all week and then this weekend is Memphis in May. And I'm not eating up all the yummy fresh bread and cookies by myself. I need my partner in crime.

Another new thing I just bought is this Hard Candy Last Stain. I didn't read any reviews about it before I bought this on a whim, but it claims "Mascara that won’t quit until you do. Flatter your flutter for 4 days straight! Hard Candy four day lash stain defies the elements. Paint Lash Ink on and don’t reapply for up to 4 days. Shower, go in the pool, cry, rub your eyes, or get rained on – your lashes will stay flawless no matter the circumstances! Perfect for a weekend away or partying all night long." Well this sounds perfect for me. I've tried many waterproof mascara's and every time it either gets way too clumpy or it makes my eyes severely itchy. I have extreme allergies and well, I rub my eyes even when I shouldn't. I also don't always take my makeup off every night (tsk tsk I know). So today is day one of this four day trial and I love it so far. Not too clumpy like a mascara but just enough tint that you can tell my eyelashes are still there, eliminating that creepy, I-just-rolled-out-of-bed look I sometimes get. Ew!

Busy Beads & Moore Review

I've recently been inspired to start wearing jewelry and I've been on the lookout for those perfect pieces. I've already been drooling over tons of cute mod pieces on Etsy and I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on them. I already have a charm bracelet that's not too well endowed with two lonely charms on them. Then I started to look at different stones and their meanings. A lot of people say that certain stones have certain aspects that can be "absorbed" or their qualities will merge into yours. I thought about this a while and it makes sense to me. I know a few people who swear by Amber necklaces for their little ones when it comes to teething and I've seen it in action. It really does work! So why can't other stones be the same way?

After I decided on a rough collection of stones I started to browse Etsy and see what I could find. I found a lot that I feel in love with but then the big decisions came. What's my wrist size? Will I like it when it's on? Do I want elastic? Do I want a clasp? Will it look like the picture? So many questions! Then I remember...we have a bead store about five minutes from my work. I could run in on my lunch break and see what they have and maybe I could attempt to make my own bracelet!

So that's what I did. I get a hour and a half for my lunch break and zipped over to Busy Beads & Moore. I went in knowing only the names of the stones I was supposed to look for. I came out with a beautiful, one-of-a-kind bracelet that I made! Everyone there was really helpful. As soon as I walked in the ladies who were busy crafting at the table in the center of the store can and asked me if I needed any help. I must of had that hopeless look on my face because I shouted, "Yes! I've never done this before!" And before I knew it I was being whisked away, picking out the beads I wanted, and sat at a table to create my bracelet. "But I don't know what I'm doing!" They reassured me and sure enough. I did it.

This is the beautiful bracelet I made! During my research of stones, I learned to not only choose stones that you admire because of their qualities, but picking stones that call to you can also be helpful. They two stones I choose for their qualities were Rose Quartz(the light pink/white ones) and Aventurine(the green ones). Rose quartz, also known as the “stone of love”,  believed to promote positive energy and confidence, while easing fears and promoting health. Green aventurine is associated with the the birth cycle of life. It is said to have a stabilizing and calming effect that promotes emotional tranquility.I chose the hot pink stones, that I have no clue what they are, and the orange spaces because I love, love, love some hot pink and bright orange. 


My overall experience at Busy Beads & Moore was fantastic. I loved my bracelet I made and especially loved the customer service. They are military friendly & I received a discount. Yay! I also have enough beads to make one or two more bracelets or even a set of earrings! I would recommend stopping by if you're in the area or checking out their facebook or website to show support.