Michael Bublé - To Be Loved - New Music for your Ears & Soul

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

I have to admit I haven't paid much attention to Michael Bublé as a singer.  I do have to say I have enjoyed each time he has co-hosted with Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly (& now Michael).  He makes me giggle and comes across as a warm all around good guy.  I enjoy listening to his songs here and there but never sought him out on my own.  

Getting this album to review has changed that some.  I enjoyed listening to To Be Loved, and it just relaxed me, and I even hummed along to some of the songs.  This album, To Be Loved, is a mix of original songs and remixes of old favorites from the likes of Frank Sinatra & Elvis Presley, just to name two.

"I want to take you on a wonderful journey about love—all different kinds of love," Michael says. "The album swings big time: it rocks, it’s soulful, it’s happy, sometimes a little sad. It’s romantic, it’s yummy, and it’s heartfelt." - I shared this from my details, but I think this statement from Michael about this new album is so true.  It has such a nice mix that it has something for everyone on it.  I bet everyone could find at least one song that they'll love on To Be Loved.

One of Michael's original songs on this album is Close Your Eyes - about my wife and about the power of all the women in my life—my sisters, my mom, my grandma and all women in general. Let’s face it, where would we be without them? - he states again in my details about the album!

Young at Heart was one of my personal favorites. I picture Disneyland and exploring it no matter what your age.  It has a soulful melody to it, that is just great and takes you right into daydreaming.  Another personal favorite off of this album was You've Got a Friend in Me, upbeat and just overall fun!  

A great album and one I seriously think you need to check out.  Trust me, like I said, everyone will find a song or two (at least) they enjoy.  

You can buy this album at Amazon or even iTunes.

To Be Loved Track Listing:

1. "You Make Me Feel So Young"
2. "It's a Beautiful Day"
3. "To Love Somebody"
4. "Who's Lovin You"
5. "Something Stupid" (featuring Reese Witherspoon)
6. "Come Dance with Me"
7. "Close Your Eyes"
8. "After All" (featuring Bryan Adams)
9. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (with Naturally 7)
10. "To Be Loved"
11. "You've Got a Friend in Me"
12. "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (featuring The Puppini Sisters)
13. "I Got It Easy"
14. "Young at Heart"

Wordless Wednesday - A Relaxing Evening in our Yard

Tasty Tuesday - Fluffy Lemon Buttercream Frosting

I decided a fun way to celebrate Tuesdays on my blog would be with a Tasty Tuesday feature.  Each Sunday or Monday I'll post on my blog facebook page - here- asking for recipes from you all (weather it is drinks, desserts or regular old fashion meals).  It can be your personal recipe or something you found somewhere else, but you must state where you found it.  Tuesday mornings I'll pick the winner using random.org and that winner will be posted on my Tasty Tuesday post.  At the end of the month one of my Tasty Tuesday winners will win a small something from me, again I'll use random.org to choose the winner of the month.

Ready for the first one of the segment?

This weeks winner is my dear sister Carmita with a recipe from GroupRecipes and posted by paperdollpeople.

Fluffy Lemon Buttercream Frosting

• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup of  butter(1 stick) softened
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 T lemon zest (the rind of a lemon)
• 2 T lemon juice

mix the butter, lemon zest and vanilla together, making sure all the lumps are gone.
add the milk, and quickly cream it into the butter mixture.
by the 1/2 cup, mix in the sugar.
once the sugar is all in the bowl, cream on "high" for two minutes. (I use this time to clean up)
mix in lemon juice.
spread heartily on cupcakes, and enjoy!

Cottonelle Care Routine

I received free Cottonelle products to review & give out to my friends from Crowdtap to give back my honest opinion & to tell others about it.  However, all thoughts are truly my own, and I was in no way swayed because I received it for free.

It was a little weird to me to do a sample & share from Crowdtap about toilet paper, but really how easy could it be?  Everyone needs and uses toilet paper, so everyone would love to learn about and receive a free sample.

I received a big 18 pack of Cottonelle toilet paper for myself with a Cottonelle wipe.  I also received two 4 packs of toilet paper with two other wipes to give out to friends.  I knew right away who the one pack would be going to, was my friend Debbie - she gets everything I get.  She's my constant side to my reviews. The other was my friend Shane, but we actually hasn't received his products yet because our schedules have been off wonky and we haven't been able to do meet up yet, but they are sitting here waiting for him.

I like the looks of the Cottonelle Clean Care toilet paper, but I have to say that the toilet paper feels a bit rough to me & not very gentle you know where.  It seems to clean decently, but its isn't my favorite toilet paper, sadly.  I do like how it feels in your hand though and how thick it is.

The wipes though are wonderful, leaves you super clean when you need it with a simple wipe.  It doesn't leave a wet feeling either like I was fearing, it dries just as quickly as it wipes it seems.  Which is super handy!  I like it though and look forward to using it more in the future.

My overall take is dis the toilet paper and stick with what you are already love & buy some Cottonelle Wipes to add into your regular toilet paper care.

Marc Jacobs DOT perfume with special guest Redbook & L'Oreal

I received the Marc Jacobs DOT perfume party free from Crowdtap to test and review and share.  However, all thoughts and pictures are my own.  I also received the Redbook & L'Oreal things from HouseParty free to host a party with.  As always, all thoughts and pictures are my own.

I was super excited to get accepted to host a party from Crowdtap for the Marc Jacobs DOT Marc Jacobs perfume party from Crowdtap, and it happened to fall perfectly during our annual Chicks Weekend.  Imagine my excitement when I also got accepted for the Redbook & L'Oreal party from House Party for the same time.  I was bringing goodies to Chicks Weekend!!

I hosted the party April 27th after dinner.  We played a couple games with the prizes I had from the House Party kit, which I wish I had been able to gather up a couple more games, but it is what it is.  The girls seemed to enjoy the two games I did have & the special drink I had made up to go with the party.

I heard comments that the DOT perfume smelled good, wasn't super overpowering and didn't give them a headache like other perfumes can.  Major plus points there.  Everyone loved the polka dot theme as well.  I wish though that I was able to find a few more items to throw in that were polka dot, but didn't have huge luck on that.

Debbie helped me, heck she did it, cupcakes to go into the super cute lady bug polka dot cupcake liners that I had found.  Was my super great polka dot find!








I think though everyone had a grand time and loved learning more about the Marc Jacobs DOT perfume along with the Redbook magazine & the L'Oreal products.  Everyone seemed to walk away happy even though I only had two games & they had to fight over the other goodies!

Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold

I received this book free to review as being a part of the Blogger Connection bookclub.  All thoughts are, however, my own & I am no way swayed by receiving this book for free.

We were first asked if Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold sounded good to us to read as our book of the month for April.  I went to look it up at Amazon, and it sounded fantastic to me, so I said so.  Shortly after we received it in the mail.  It took me a tiny bit to get to it because I was finishing up the book I was reading first.

The book is by Hallie Rubenhold who is a historian and broadcaster and an authority on eighteenth-century British social history.  So as you reading the book that is set in the 18th century, you feel like you are actually there and seeing things as they were then.  Which to me is an amazing thing and shows she knows what she is talking about during that time period.

The book itself is about Henrietta Lightfoot, who believes she is living with her Uncle and Aunt and cousin after her parents died while she was young.  She was the quiet ignored niece who seemed to live in the shadows more than the light.  Henrietta just wanted to be the best friend to Lady Catherine and prayed and wished it would come true, when it did, it didn't turn out quite like she thought it would.

Read as Henrietta's life gets turned upside down, and she is forced to fend for herself as a courtesan, a gambler, and a spirited intellect of the city.  You are left wondering what Henrietta will have to endure next, what other hardships will she have to face at only seventeen?

Loved this book and am looking forward to the next in the series.  I felt like I was actually in the 18th century as I read this and could envision everything Hallie was writing about.  You all must read look into this book, I swear you are going to love it like I did.

Find it on Amazon - here
Find out more about Hallie at her website - here

Wordless Wednesday - Mountain of Love