In which I buy shoes

I talked about my obsession with Baublebar a couple weeks ago, but to be honest, my love for shiny jewelry isn't alone. It extends quite a bit to most accessories, like purses and shoes. My daughter doesn't quite understand the fascination, though now that she wears adult sizes, she's beginning to see a little of it. But when I had to go to DSW this past weekend to use some gift cards before they expired, I still got the, "But you don't need shoes!"

I ended up getting *cough* three pairs, one from clearance, one to replace brown casual boots, and one I just couldn't resist.

The clearance pair were just a pair of plum loafers, uber comfortable and very versatile.

Then, I got a pair of Not Rated oxfords, butter soft and so comfortable:



But my purely unnecessary purchase were these wedge platforms:



I have no idea where I'll wear them, but I couldn't resist. I wanted them desperately to hurt my feet so I could have a reason not to buy them, but no such luck. They're as comfy as the oxfords and to much fun.

Giveaway Winner

Another Monday - where has January gone?!? - and another winner to announce! Last week, I was giving away a copy of Cara McKenna's latest from Ellora's Cave. So without further ado, the winner is...

...StacieD!

I have your email, Stacie, so expect a message from me very soon!

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to my SSS! This will be the last week I'm highlighting one of my Zodiac books, Capricorn: Forgotten Faces. In this final segment, Caleb has just figured out how to retrieve his lost memories, reliving them and realizing what all of them really mean.

All helped flood me with the reminder of how desperately I had loved this man. Because these were the threads that had bound us together. Moments that had created the life we wove. His face became indelibly etched on my brain. I saw Leandro when I slept, when he was outside and I was in, when I was away on assignment and desperate to return to my simple existence. Everywhere I turned, he was there.

To check out all the other six sentence contributions, head over to the official website.

Giveaway - Convenient Strangers by Cara McKenna

I seem to have found a theme. Another of my favorite SSSers, Cara McKenna (Meg Maguire's hotter alter ego) has a new release at Ellora's Cave, and boy did I glom onto that as soon as it came out. Now I'm sharing a copy with one of my readers.

After three weeks of post-breakup wallowing, Adam’s in dire need of a cold drink and a cure for his romantic hangover. At his favorite bar, he spots that cure in the form of a six-foot-something muscular man, custom built to Adam’s fantasy-rebound specifications. But his hopes for a therapeutic one-night stand are dashed the second he approaches the decidedly surly English stranger.

Stephen’s nursing romantic wounds of his own—fresh ones. He cut his closet-case lover loose just hours earlier, and now, heartbroken and homeless, he wants to be left alone to drown his sorrows in peace. But that’s no excuse for snapping at the friendly, handsome guy who only wanted to flirt. Plus, if anyone needs to be reminded how good a bad idea can feel, it’s Stephen.

Both men could use a reckless rebound to cleanse their palates. The sexy, dirty solace of drowning in a stranger’s hands, mouth and body. But when something deeper sparks, strings-free one-nighters never look so simple in the morning light.

You can read an excerpt at Ellora's Cave.

All you have to do to enter is comment to this post. That's it. Next Monday at 9am PST, I'll choose a comment at random to win.

You don't need an account to leave a comment, but if you don't have one, please consider leaving an email address you can be contacted at. That guarantees I can get a hold of you in case you win.

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to my SSS! For December and January, I'm highlighting one of my Zodiac books, Capricorn: Forgotten Faces. This comes very soon after last week's six, with Caleb and Leandro in bed about to have sex. Caleb has seen the love in Leandro's face and been stunned into silence.

...All of a sudden, I yearned to take those emotions blazing in his eyes and wrap them around my lifeless heart. He could resuscitate it. I knew he could. The prospect both thrilled and terrified me.

Though my silence extended longer than I would have normally allowed it, Leandro didn’t push me to speak. He waited for me to catch up to where he’d been for centuries, and I knew, deep inside, he’d wait even longer if that was what it took.

To check out all the other six sentence contributions, head over to the official website.

Falling in love with BaubleBar

So...I'm a little jewelry obsessed. It started young, mostly because jewelry never had sizes. I stopped wearing a lot when my daughter was born, because she was a puller and a biter. My mother-in-law's gold locket still bears my daughter's tooth marks, lol.

But now that they're older, I've slowly integrated pieces back into my life, and it's come to a raging addiction this past year. In November, I discovered a site called BaubleBar. I'd seen a picture of a bracelet someone was wearing, fell in love with it, and promptly looked up where she got it from. The jewelry ranges in prices from $20 up into hundreds, but there's enough in that lower end---and much of it still so unique---that it's still more than worth it.

Basically, you sign up but you're never obligated to buy anything. Signing up just gets you into their reward program, where, for every $50 you spend, you earn a credit. With those credits, you can purchase pieces in their Vault. I bought my very first vault item this week, these smokescreen drops:
But I was bad, and convinced myself that even though I'd already purchased my one piece this month that I allow myself, I couldn't make an order with only a vault item in it. So I ended up getting these matisse cuffs as well:
I couldn't resist. Yes, I'm weak. :)

One of their other treats? Every Friday, they have a "buried bauble" where they select something under the $50 price point and sell it for $10. They did that for the first three weeks of December straight, as a prelude to Christmas. I got some fantastic pieces then.

So if you're curious about it, go and take a look. I've had superior experiences with them, and recommend it highly. You can even put me down as having referred you, if you want.

Giveaway Winner

January is half gone already? When did that happen?!? Yikes, so much to do...including announcing who won last week's giveaway.

And the winner of The Given & the Taken is...Sarah S.!

I've got your email, Sarah, so expect a message from me soon!

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to my SSS! For the next two months, I'm highlighting one of my Zodiac books, Capricorn: Forgotten Faces. Caleb has had a peek into Leandro's memories and learned he's telling the truth about their acquaintance. The heightened emotions has driven them to bed, where Caleb gets his first good look at the tattoo he doesn't remember giving Leandro.

...The sweeping curves were utterly smooth, each symbol balanced, each integration perfect. His erect nipple was at its center, but the marks heightened his appeal rather than suppressed it. I wondered how he’d felt as I’d given it to him, if it had hurt when my blood had burned its way into his skin. I could imagine him stoic in the face of pain, eyes steady on mine as I did the task, love shining in their depths.

Without thinking, I bent my head and dragged my tongue along the uppermost symbol. Leandro shuddered and arched away from the bed.

To check out all the other six sentence contributions, head over to the official website.

Giveaway - The Given & the Taken by L.A. Witt

One of the Six Sentence Sunday authors I always try to hit every week is L.A. Witt. Excellent stories, strong heroes, the works. So how excited am I that there was a new release last week?!?

After pleading his case to his wolf clan’s Elders, Levi is granted the right to bond with Ian, his male human lover, on one condition: they must spend one year apart. Then Levi must use only their spiritual connection to find Ian, or the deal is off.

Tracking down his lover is easy, but Levi isn’t prepared for the changed man he finds.

The agony of separation was too much for Ian. In a moment of weakness, he reached out—to a vampire. Now he’s a vampire himself, and Levi’s devastation—and rejection—is like a stake to his heart. But it’s nothing compared to the fury of the clan that wants Ian brought to justice for desecrating their most sacred ritual.

Afraid for Ian’s safety, Levi puts the pain aside and races to get to Ian first, but he faces unexpected competition: Darius, Ian’s maker. When they come together, all hell breaks loose, Ian is on the run…and the only way Levi and Darius can save the man they love is work together.

If they don’t kill each other first.

You can read an excerpt at Samhain.

All you have to do to enter is comment to this post. That's it. Next Monday at 9am PST, I'll choose a comment at random to win.

You don't need an account to leave a comment, but if you don't have one, please consider leaving an email address you can be contacted at. That guarantees I can get a hold of you in case you win.

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to my SSS! For the next two months, I'm highlighting one of my Zodiac books, Capricorn: Forgotten Faces. To try and discover what is going on, Caleb has just done a spell that has allowed him a peek into Leandro's memories. This is his reaction.

My eyes flew open to see Leandro slowly setting down the guitar, but my racing heart had spots dancing in my vision, blood red and white hot to match the heat seeping from my pores. Sweat glued my shirt to my back and my hair to my temples, and the light scruff of my beard itched from the dampness.

But I was frozen in place, trying to decipher the rampaging confusion coursing through my thoughts and flesh. Emotions that ran so deep, I ached even when left with only their memory. Possibilities that went against everything I believed, presented in my voice, with my face. Truth that shouldn’t have been, because its existence threatened the very world I’d created for myself.

To check out all the other six sentence contributions, head over to the official website.

Lose It

In my busy life, anything that makes it easier is appreciated. It's always been that way. When I've gone on diet plans in the past and succeeded, it did so because of broad rules. "Eat as much as you want from these basic foods," kind of mentality. Even Weight Watchers had that plan, because I had to face facts, I hated counted calories or portions.

Now that I'm older, that kind of general thinking wasn't really working well. Last spring, my husband reached his breaking point about his weight and opted to try a calorie counting app called Lose It. He showed so much success in that first month, and I had to count everything for him anyway so he could log it, I decided to give it a go.

I fully believe that accountability, that knowing of how big my portion is and tracking my calories, is in large part responsible for the success I've had this time.

Even over the holidays, when we pretty much stopped tracking because we weren't so much losing as just holding ground, the mentality that Lose It instilled prevailed. We were always aware of portion sizes, and times when we could be better about calories, we certainly took them. Now, I'm ultra-aware of just how oversized everything really is, as well as how many different fatty things go into processed and restaurant food to make them taste good.

For some people, they won't care. And I don't blame them. The argument can be made that it's better to enjoy life than cheat yourself. But you know, I don't feel like I'm being denied anything. I can eat what I want as long as I record it and am prepared to face the consequences. For me, the consequences of my weight being unhealthy aren't worth it. There are so many diseases in this world that I can't do much about to prevent. Some of them are genetic. Some of them will happen for no apparent reason. But those related to my weight? Those I can control. And I will. I'm not willing to cut my life shorter because I'm indulging in one particular area. What about wanting to see my kids grow up? Seeing and enjoying grandkids if they have kids of their own? Getting to spend retirement with my husband and enjoy each other's company the way we want? Those are just as important. If not more so.

Giveaway Winner

I am only just beginning to wrap up the holiday festivities here around my family, so I can finally get back into the swing of the blog again. To start out with my first duty of the week, I need to announce the winner of my last giveaway.

The winner of Lesserblood Lies is...Sadie Hart!

I've got your email, Sadie, so expect a message from me soon!

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to my SSS! For the next two months, I'm highlighting one of my Zodiac books, Capricorn: Forgotten Faces. Leandro has claimed to have known Caleb before, knowledge Caleb is trying to come to grips with.

And as difficult as it was to believe I’d ever be so foolhardy to do what he claimed, too many coincidences stacked in his favor.

I bent my head. I pressed my lips to the top of his spine. My eyes closed in silent supplication, and I prayed fervently that I could take this man and keep him for my own, without any of the retribution that seemed inevitable.

I knew it couldn’t be.

But even an immortal can hope.

To check out all the other six sentence contributions, head over to the official website.