Friday, 16 November 2012

Martina Cole Book Reviews....

 
 
The Ladykiller Martina Cole
 
 
 
I absolutely love a good thriller, a book that I can't put down, a real page turner and The Ladykiller did not disappoint. This book is not for the fainthearted, it follows George a cruel and devious man, a serial killer who kills and then rapes random women. The best thing about this book is that the story is told from the perspective of everyone involved, George, Elaine his wife, the detectives investigating the cases,the victims and their families. It goes into George's history and childhood and gives us a real feel for what his life has been like.
A riveting read, once finished I immediately set about reading the other Martina Cole book in my possession....
 
 
 
The Business..Martina Cole
 
After reading The Ladykiller I was expecting a fast paced thriller, unfortunately this book is a slow burner right until the end. Right the way through I was waiting for the storyline to pick up. In reality I felt this book was without a main plot, there was no real reason to continue reading to find out the fate of the characters.
 
It follows the lives of three generations of a gangster family. Imelda the daughter of a crime boss becomes pregnant outside of marriage and all hell breaks loose, it results in the murder of her father and the father of her unborn child. The book then tells the tale of her life, her mothers life and the lives of her children. As with the Ladykiller the story is told through the voices off all the main protagonists. Themes such as drug abuse, prostitution, abuse, violence and neglect weave through this book.
 
This book was a disappointment for me, but if you enjoy reading about the lives of gangsters and their families this may be the book for you! 
 
 
If you would like more information about Martina Cole and her books her website is here
 


Thursday, 15 November 2012

What to do when you have no Internet...

Hello Everyone!

I've not disappeared....I've been without Internet connection for almost a week! Living in the middle of nowhere and having no Internet can make for some real boring days! I felt as if my right arm had been cut off and I didn't know what to do with myself!

So here are a few things I did while I was without Internet....

Painted my Nails....




Read Two Whole Books... Reviews on the way...



Messed around with putting rollers in my hair (this was not a success!!)...



Took Polly on lots of Long Walks...



Read a magazine...something I rarely do when I have the world of the Internet at my fingertips, but something I actually enjoyed!


Life without Internet connection can be boring, and I did feel disconnected from the world, but on the other hand it was nice to spend sometime with Mr.Blah Blah Blah without Facebook,Twitter, E-Mail etc ....

Would I willingly go without Internet...NO....but maybe for a couple of hours a few times a week...!

Thanks for reading,
Cor
x



Thursday, 8 November 2012

Puppy Love....



You may have wondered why there is a dog on my header...It's beacause of my beloved dog Polly.....

About a year and a half ago she came around my workplace, a hungry little stray..and a presitstent little thing... she stayed!!!..Of course everyone was feeding her so why wouldn't she!!!!

Late one Friday night I was leaving my work and found her bedding down in a ditch along the road as I drove home....My heart broke, so she came home with me. After prolonged attempts to find her owners I decided to keep her.. I'd fallen in love with her at that stage, and to be perfectly honest I wasn't too keen on handing her back to where she'd come from. She was skinny, starved, shy and nervous of humans...I suspect she had been abused.



Now Polly lives a charmed life...She sleeps at the bottom of my bed, eats as good as I do...loves meat, all things dairy and even Walkers Ready Salted Crisps! She hates the cold and is often seen lying up against the radiators in the house! She hates the rain but loves sunbathing in the little sunshine we get during the summer! She loves walks and understands when I say 'Do you want to go for a walk'..she goes beserk when I say those words! She goes EVERYWHERE with me...and sits in the front seat of my car happy as larry!!!






If we ever have to go away and she can't come, she stays at Mr.BlahBlahBlah's mothers house... she's got underfloor heating...Polly loves staying there!!!!

 
 
 
Life is always lots of fun now that I've got Polly to keep me entertained with her mischef every day!!!!




Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Quote of the Day!

 Hello Again!!!

It's Wednesday which means it's Quote day!! I'm definitely guilty of this one...doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...although I don't think I'm Insane...let me know in the comments if you disagree!!! :-)

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Fab Facial oil!



Hello Everyone!!!

Today I thought I would tell you all about a fab oil I've been using (on and off) for a few months now.

It's the Busby Liquid Gold Pure Tissue Oil, its main claim is that is improves the appearance of scars, stretch marks, wrinkles and ageing skin within 28 days.

I've actually been using this as a facial oil, simply because I have a scar on my face from when I had the chicken pox (yuck I know!) about five years ago. I've also got a lot of pigmentation on my cheeks and well I'm pushing on a bit so anything with anti ageing properties is right down my street.

The main ingredients are Grape Seed Oil, Rose Hip Oil, Vitamin E and Avocado Oil. I find this really helps when I have breakouts, it soothes the skin and I always find my breakouts don't last as long as they usually would when I'm using this. It is lightweight and sinks into my skin almost immediately. It is lightly fragranced, but it doesn't have that strong botanical smell I was expecting given the ingredients, this I'm happy about as I'm not a fan of botanical smells! I've got oily skin, but after showering it feels very tight, just two sprays of this little beauty and I'm feeling a whole lot better.

I have repurchased and will continue to repurchase. As for the scar & stretch mark claims..I'm not sure I've seen any visible difference with my little scar- but I'll keep an eye on it and report back if it suddenly disappears! Wrinkles....I'm not sure I need this for wrinkles yet...hopefully this stuff is keeping them well away!!!

Their website is here I purchased my 15ml bottle from my local pharmacy for only €3.99 which makes it great value also!

Anyone tried this?






Monday, 5 November 2012

Best Friends.....


This is a bit of a mushy lovey dovey post but here goes..... I’m very lucky to have such good reliable, dependable friends that I love in my life & I wanted to honour them here by mentioning them each individually. I’m gonna give them nicknames- they’ll all know who they are, and I’ll send them a link to this post- this will be the first most of them will have heard about my blog-my surprise to them!!!

All the people mentioned here are my nearest and dearest friends, so they are in no particular order, I love them all equally but in different ways and for different reasons!
Mr.Blahblahblah: What can I say, we’ve been best friends for 10 years, he is my companion in life, the person I turn to when I’m happy, sad, excited or lonely. He is the person that knows me better than anyone, sometimes I think he knows me better then myself! He makes me laugh every single day, gives the best cuddles, has a wicked sense of humour and we share the same outlook on life!

Miss Accountant: We’re friends since college-I used to ‘borrow’ her notes, we lived together and have loads of memories of the fun we had. We talk every single day, (for hours!!!), she is a super listener, great craic and keeps me on the straight and narrow!
I know she will always be there for me in times of crisis and times of happiness. We’ve been through lots of life's ups and downs together- discussed life, dissected life, analysed life and always end a conversation with about 10 goodbyes! She is my reliable, trustworthy, fun friend & I love her very much

Mr. Teacher: Another college friend- that's 8 years of knowing one another now!!!This is my cool, easygoing, jammy dodger friend. Everything always works out for him!!!(lucky fecker!!)
A great listener, also been through lots of ups and downs with me- but instead of dissecting life his usual response to any problem is ‘don’t worry it will all work out in the end’ and it usually does! Reliable, honest, trustworthy & funny !! (also single ladies....!!!- he’s a catch....e-mail me if interested!!!)

Mrs.Long Distance Friend: I used to live in New Zealand- this is my NZ friend. We havn’t seen one another in two and a half years, but we still e-mail lots. I’m crap at keeping in touch with friends who’ve moved etc, but Mrs.Long Distance is such an important person in my life I’ve made a real effort to stay in contact & its paid off.
I can tell her anything, and I always get an honest (sometimes brutally honest) reply, she keeps me grounded and real. She is funny, witty and a real hard worker- she reminds me that with hard work and commitment you can achieve your dreams- like she has!

Miss.Blogger: As I describe her to the people already mentioned ‘my Internet friend’ – she introduced me to the world of blogging and for that I thank her very much. We don’t know one another very long, but in the time we have known one another, I’ve grown to love her just as much as my other friends!!!!..
She is funny, quirky (in a good way!!!) &  beautiful person inside and out. I know in 10 years time she will still be on my ‘nearest & dearest’ list of friends!

So there we go, our friends are the family we create for ourselves and I truly see all the people mentioned as part of my family!

So who are your best friends?...do u have nicknames for them like I do??...what makes a friend special for u?

Until next time!

Cor

x

Saturday, 3 November 2012

Blogger inspired Wishlist

Hellllooooooo There!

As a self confessed Beauty Blog and You Tube addict, I've come across some great recommendations from some of my favourite Bloggers/Youtubers.

Most of these things you will have already heard loads and loads about, but this is my wishlist and I'd love them all please!! (ahem...**cough** hint hint Mr. Blah Blah Blah!)

First up is Soap & Glory's Peaches and Clean Cleanser, I've heard Miss Budget Beauty rave about this sooo often I've just gotta have it!!!!

Next up is a tad on the expensive side (but hey we can all dream!!!) Fleur de Force raved about this in her October Favourites Video & it looks amazing on her!!!....so i want it too!!! It's the YSL Glossy Stain in shade No.10 (see Mr.Blah Blah Blah I couldn't make it any easier for you!!!)


Another lip product that is on the list simply because since their release I've heard soo many great things about them out there in the blogging world!!!...You guessed it... its the Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in the shade Crave.

So now that my skin will be fab, my lips beautifully coloured...of course I'll need something amazing for my eyes...and that means just one pallet and one pallet only...Urban Decays Naked Pallet!!!!!...no explanation needed as to where I heard about this little star...EVERYWHERE!!!

 
Inspired by Louise Sprinkofglitter, I just have to have MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle.



Next up is an all time favourite of lots of bloggers but something i wasn't sure about until Hannah from http://lovelifeandmakeup.blogspot.ie/ actually used this on me last time we met up for a natter...its Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder!

 
Another face product, and something I've been dying to try since A Thrifty Mrs blogged about a few months ago. Unfortunately living in the middle of nowhere can be a pain in the bum as my local Boots doesn't stock Natural Collection...so I haven't yet tried the Natural Collection Blushers....any shade will do..but I wouldn't mind trying out Pink Cloud!!!
 
 
Foundations can be difficult to purchase as a gift, BUT...I really want to try Estee Lauders Double Wear foundation ever since Anna Saccone mentioned that she was going to wear it during the birth of her baby girl Emilia...if this foundation can stay on while someone's in labour it MUST be good stuff!!!
 
 

Just one last thing....This list could seriously go on forever, but i must contain myself and not be too greedy....It's a candle Miss Budget Beauty mentioned in her Fall Tag...Its the Yankee Candle in Red Apple Wreath. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cinnamon/ apple type scents especially at this time of year!....


Okey Dokey!!!..Phew... If you've gotten to the end of this looong post well done!!!!..even I'm getting tired of reading what I type!!!

Anyone got any other Wishlist suggestions???...any crucial thing I'm forgetting?

Hope everyones having a great weekend!
Cor
x




 


Friday, 2 November 2012

Blog Design....






Okey Dokie, in my 25 things you don’t know about me post I mentioned that my friend Hannah designed my blog header...

The truth is she did everything for me to set up this blog, that included setting up my blog name, designing the whole blog, layout, photo editing,buttons, coding & all the stuff I don’t understand basically the whole kit and caboodle is all down to Hannah.

I know for certain that without her hard work on this blog I wouldn’t be here blathering on right now!

So here is a big THANK YOU and a hip hip horray for Hannah, and if you want anything done with your blog please head on over to her blog , see more of her creations, her fees are extremely reasonable and she is an absolute pleasure to work with....! http://lovelifeandmakeup.blogspot.ie/
 
 

Thursday, 1 November 2012

Epilator Love...YES LOVE

These are my top tips for  epilating your legs!

I use the Braun Silk Epil Xelle  which I purchased in Boots about 5 years ago...it cost over €100 then, but can be purchased for around the €50 mark now!
  
1)    Before you ever touch your legs with an epilator get them waxed- epilating stubbly shaved legs with thick hairs is incredibly painful- then begin to epilate once the hairs start growing back

2)    Never epilate when it's that horrible time of the month- you are more sensitive then and it will be more painful

3)    EXFOLIATE EXFOLIATE EXFOLIATE, the days coming up to epilation day, a few days after and regularly between epilations if you are prone to ingrown hairs like me!

4)    Only Epilate when you have time to devote to your legs...lots of time.. I always set aside an hour- starting and then having to run off to do something is not a good idea

5)    When you decide to start-START- no dilly dallying...talk to yourself while you do it...grit your teeth and just keep repeating ‘it will be worth it’ ‘keep going’ or my personal mantra ‘keep ploughing on’

6)    Keep your skin taut while epilating- it helps reduce pain factor

7)    Take some painkillers 20 minutes before if you really want to minimise pain

8)    Complete one leg at a time- don’t stop midway for a break- as you keep going the pain minimises- your skin gets used of it- stopping for a coffee mid leg is not a good idea, i can almost guarantee you won’t go back to it!!

9)    Once one leg is done- go straight onto the next leg, again no dilly dallying...just keep going

10) I find epilating after a shower easier also as your skin is nice and soft and the hairs seem to pop out that bit easier.Do not shower after epilating- or for the rest of that day

11) Keep it up!- I epilate once i week- i found when epilating every single day or every second day my hair growth went crazy.....I had hairs appearing constantly- when epilating only once a week, or once every second week my hair growth is more regulated & i am ‘getting’ more hairs at a time.

 
Epilating is not the worst thing in the world, it has helped me regain my leg confidence (after years of not ever exposing my legs!) and now I love shopping for dresses, shorts and skirts.


Another tip is fake tan, before I ever expose my newly hair free legs I always fake tan them and then for an extra polished finish I use Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs in Medium Glow.


Anyone tried epiliating before? How did you find it?


Cor

x