Sweeties' Book Review Party with Krispy Kreme, Torani Coffee Flavors, and Books! #bookreviewparty

This weekend Sweeties Reviews held a Book Review Party (#bookreviewparty) with sponsorship support from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee, Torani Coffee Flavors, and, of course, lots of authors' books!

The great folks at Krispy Kreme even sent travel coffee mugs for everyone to enjoy their coffee in and take home!

Although this was not my first time having a Krispy Kreme doughnut, it had been a long time since I had one!  And they were just as yummy, light and deliciously sweet as I remembered!

Krispy Kreme also sent some fun hats for everyone to wear, and they even donated some of the fresh ground dark roast coffee for us to try and some to take home!

As soon as I arrived I was amazed at the amount of books that Sweetie's Review received! Our event looked like we were holding it inside a book store!

There was a wide range of topics to choose from:  some self-help books, fiction, vampire, and children's books.  Click HERE for a list of the authors and titles that were offered.

I chose three books:

• The first by Jodi Cardin, titled "The Magnolia Man".  Jodi must have heard that it was a coffee and book review party, because she cleverly sent a single serving of coffee with her book!  
• The second, "Swimming with Maya: A Mother's Story" by Eleanor Vincent, that details the author's loss of her daughter. 
• The last, by Barbara McNally, "Unbridled: A Memoir" that is the story of the author's travel adventures and self-discovery after the break-up of her marriage.

The books I selected couldn't be more different from one another and I'm looking forward to reading them over the summer!  I'll post my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

I then settled down to my coffee, trying the Torani vanilla flavor syrup in my Krispy Kreme dark roast coffee.  It was so good, and I used it in lieu of the typical small teaspoon of sugar I usually add.  The vanilla flavor was aromatic and gave just the right amount of sweetness to my coffee.  Just how I like it! And yes. I had a SECOND Krispy Kreme doughnut!

Also available was some of the wonderful Brix Chocolate.  Uhhh, YES!  I admit I had a little of Brix's milk chocolate with a half a glass of wine!

About half way through the party we gathered some of the Connecticut Bloggers that were there and took an event picture. Unfortunately, some had already left - and others hadn't yet arrived!  I'm so bummed that we haven't had a picture taken yet that shows all of us together!

L-R: April, Bonnie, Wendy D., Wendy L., Nicole, Julie
Missing: Therese, Hilary, Natasha

And, just for good measure, Mr. Fluffy got in on the Krispy Kreme Action

How about you? What's on YOUR summer reading list? 

I'd love to hear about it in the comments below

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If you have an event you would like promoted or a product you would like reviewed by our group, 

please contact us at info@connecticutbloggers.com or http://sweetiesreviews.com/contact/  

Or contact me at homeplaceblogger@live.com

Thank you Sweeties Review for a wonderful event & to the companies who furnished products!  

We had a great time at the #bookreviewparty !

Disclaimer: The products featured in this post were provided by Sweeties Review through the following companies: Brix Chocolates, Torani Flavored Syrups, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee, and the authors and publishers listed HERE  

Think Spring at a Sweetie's Review Party #thinkspring

You can tell spring is on the way because weekends are getting busy again!

Everyone is ready to shake the winter doldrums off and jump into some warm weather!  With that comes weekend events, and fun parties to give you a reason to get out of the house!

Last weekend I was invited to a Sweetie's Review Party titled "Think Spring!" (#thinkspring) and Wendy (aka Sweetie) had lots of wonderful items for us to review!  

You'll remember our last Sweetie's Review Party was "Margaritas and Manicures!" (#margaritasandmanicures). 

Well, the Think Spring party was just as AWESOME and featured lots of great products!  And because they were holding the party on St. Patrick's Day, Mr. & Mrs O'Sweetie (LOL) cooked up a heap of corned beef and cabbage, with the traditional boiled potatoes and carrots. 

After having a helping of corned beef I couldn't wait to sample some of the great products that were provided for the party, either through the companies themselves, or through peer to peer contributions.

I have to start with Tandoor Chef Indian Food.  I've never been to an actual Indian restaurant, although I loved watching the Next Food Network Star when Aarti Sequira won.  (Bobby Flay himself said if she ever opened an Indian Restaurant, he wanted to be her backer!) Well, anyways, I love Indian spices so it's no surprise that I loved these offerings by Tandoor Chef!

Tandoor Chef Indian Food

I sampled the Jumbo Samosa with Chutney and the Lamb Samosa.  I absolutely loved the Lamb Samosa and will definitely seek them out in my local supermarkets and keep them on hand to snack on or to serve as an appetizer at a future party of my own!

Then I moved on to the Dei Fratelli Salsa with chips.  This salsa is wonderful!  I'm bummed that my local grocery store doesn't carry them but I'm going to haunt them til' they do!  (Hear that BIG Y??).  

Dei Fratelli Salsa
L-R mild salsa, black bean and corn salsa, medium salsa

The good news?  You can purchase their products online! (Click HERE to shop) I tried both the black bean & corn salsa and the medium salsa.  Both were great but I was little more partial to the black bean and corn because I do like my salsa on the chunky side!

Next I tried some Rudolph's Southern Recipe Cajun Cheesy Popcorn.  Soooo good!  I'm a popcorn lover, and like to try all sorts of different flavors, and this one didn't disappoint!  

Rudolph's Southern Recipe Cajun Cheesy Popcorn

It had a true spicy cajun flavor, yet stayed true to a popcorn taste and wasn't overpowering! 

By now my sweet tooth was hankering so it was time to move on to the Cookie Pies!  What?  You haven't heard of a cookie pie?  Well, it was a first for me too! Barbara's Cookie Pies were a hit!

And they certainly lived up to their billing "looks like a pie - taste like a cookie!"  And really, who doesn't love a big ole' cookie!

We were then treated to a demonstration and talk about Soda Stream a nifty little product that allows you to turn regular tap water into sparkling soda! And it also allows you to make your own flavored sodas.  This was a product I was familiar with as a colleague at work has it AND LOVES IT!  

Soda Stream

It was great to see it in action and get to taste some of the product. It is really an amazing little gadget, and hardly takes up any counter space!  A plus for those of us with small kitchens!  

While the rest of the review team played Buffalo Games I was treated to a much needed camera lesson by Sweetie's daughter-in-law (THANK YOU!) But apparently I missed out on a LOT OF FUN because the woops and hollers coming from the gamers were incredible!  In any case, Buffalo Games are "Laugh out loud party games that are fun to play and easy to learn!"

Next I moved on to what I know you've all been waiting for! ...the Brix Chocolate!  I first heard about the Brix brand at the Mohegun Sun Wine Fest this year.

Brix Chocolate

I still can't believe how well chocolate pairs with wine!  The Brix people explain that the tannins in the chocolate beans bring out the tannins in the wine, and naturally complement one another.  My personal favorite was the Brix Milk Chocolate paired with BareFoot Red Moscato California wine.  Nice and mild and a sweet way to cap off the day!

We also had some great items to bring home!  Fellow CT Blogger Rachel Ferrucci donated some Cravebox gifts. 

Cravebox

Mine was packed with all sorts of goodies and I especially can't wait to try the Zatarain products! And aren't the Craveboxes neat? They look like a super-sized Tiffany box!  

Another product provided was Lunchbox Buddies, a cute little note card that you can tuck into your loved ones lunch box!  Everybody loves a little lunchbox note! 

Photo source: Lunchbox Buddies

Your little ones will love finding these little notes tucked in their lunch everyday!  Everyone likes a little giggle and some good wishes!

The great folks at DeMets Candy Company (a local CT company!) also provided us with some great snacks. I brought home some chocolate covered pretzels (love sweet & salty) and some turtles. Yes. I. love. turtles. 

DeMets Candy Company

What a great time we had and all the items were wonderful! Thanks to all those who donated or provided products!

And I also had a great time meeting up with some fun Connecticut bloggers!

(L-R) Home Place, A Year With Mom and Dad, My Own Blog Review, SECT Kids, Sweeties Reviews
Missing from photo: Savoring the Thyme

If you have an event you would like promoted or a product you would like reviewed by our group, 

please contact us at info@connecticutbloggers.com or http://sweetiesreviews.com/contact/  

Or contact me at homeplaceblogger@live.com

Thank you Sweeties Review for a wonderful event & to the companies who furnished products!  

We love to #thinkspring!

Disclaimer: The products featured in this post were provided by Sweeties Review through the following companies: Brix Chocolates, DeMets Chocolates, Tandoor Chef, Southern Recipe, Barbara's Cookie Pies, Dei Fratelli, Cravebox via Rachel Ferrucci, Soda Stream, Lunchbox Buddies, and Buffalo Games.  

Margaritas & Manicures with SensatioNails, L'Oreal Paris, & Master of Mixes

This weekend the Sweeties Reviews Team asked the CT Blogging Community and friends to participate in a Margaritas and Manicures (#margaritasmanicures) Product Review and Party Event.

Products that were featured were SensatioNail, a gel nail polish kit,

Master of Mixes Margarita Mix (traditional and strawberry),

and L'Oreal of Paris Nail Polish Products

And, to top it off, the great folks at Jalapeno Heaven in Branford, CT sent over some delicious chips, salsa, guacamole, potato poppers, popper bites, and mini-chimichangas to go along with the Margaritas!

What a great time everyone had!

Let's start with the SensatioNail Starter Kit. The starter kit comes with the Pro 3060 LED lamp, gel cleaner, gel primer, color gel polish, and gel base and top coat.  Everything you need to get started!

There's a multi-step process that must take place when using SensatioNail, just like when gel nail polish is applied in a salon. The drying, or "curing" process between steps is critical in order to obtain maximum results.  The good news, the curing is quick, and only requires 30-60 seconds under the LED lamp, depending on which step you're on.

You MUST use the LED lamp to cure between each step.

The SensatioNail polish itself drys immediately upon application - it's truly AMAZING.  Best of all - they have such a wide array of colors.  I used color #71594 taupe tulips (shown below to the right).  It truly is INVINCIBLE nail polish and should go two weeks without chipping when applied correctly.

 (L)gel top coat--and polish(R)  

It's a relatively easy process to do by yourself.  Here, Hilary from My Own Blog Review applies a coat of polish. You can read Hilary's review, which includes directions (!!!) by clicking: HERE

We were lucky to have a designated (non-drinking!) bartender in Nicole from OberBargains preparing the frozen margaritas for the review crew. 

This was my first time trying Master of Mixes Margarita Mix and I was pleasantly surprised! 

I'm traditionally a purist and prefer my margaritas made from scratch with fresh lime juice, triple sec, and tequila.  The taste from Master of Mixes is almost the same as from scratch, with an ever so slightly sweeter flavor. Nice -- and natural tasting!  I will definitely use this mix for parties or when serving more than just a few people, as it is so much easier than squeezing all those limes (!!!) ... and the flavor is great!

Here's Wendy from Connecticut Bloggers and Sweeties Reviews, enjoying a much deserved mammoth margarita at our event!

Those who didn't use the gel nail polish used the L'Oreal of Paris Nail Polish and every participant completed a survey at the conclusion of the review and received a complimentary L'Oreal polish and professional emery board!

I loved the L'Oreal color I selected, #300, Walk on the Beach (seen above)!  What can I say?  I'm a beigey - beachy type of gal! It's a great neutral shade that I can wear every day, yet pretty enough that it will work for those special occasions!

All in all it was an informational and fun event!  

Here's a link to the Sweeties Review Wrap Up on Margaritas and Manicures: Click HERE

If you have an event you would like promoted or a product you would like reviewed by our group, 

please contact us at info@connecticutbloggers.com or http://sweetiesreviews.com/contact/  

Or contact me at homeplaceblogger@live.com

Have you tried any new nail products?  

How about margarita or drink mixes?

Did you like them? Why / Why Not?

Disclaimer: The products featured at this event were complimentary and provided by SensatioNail, L'Oreal, Master of Mixes, Jalapeno Heaven, and Sweeties Review.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.