Let Club W Help You Find the Right Wine! #sponsored

Let Club W Help You Find the Right Wine! #sponsored

May 13, 2013 by · 4 Comments

This post on how to find the right wine is sponsored by Club W but all opinions expressed are my own.

I cannot tell you how many times I have come home from the store with a bottle of wine that I just don’t care for.  I have tried a lot of different ways to help find the right wine.  I have chosen wines based on the picture on the front of the bottle, the price, the region it was grown and (of course) the type of wine it is.  None of these are fool proof ways to find the right wine and I am often left with a bottle of wine that I really don’t feel like drinking.  If you have trouble finding the right wine like I do, you may be interested in learning more about Club W.

Find the Right Wine

Club W is an online community of wine lovers who are committed to taking the hassle, guesswork and snobbishness out of enjoying a great bottle of wine at a reasonable price. Reading wine reviews can get confusing with all of those fancy terms about top notes and bouquets… Club W wants to open up the line of communication between their curators and your own personal tastes.  I am not a wine geek…I don’t care if a bottle of wine costs $5 or $500…if it doesn’t taste good I have no desire to drink it!  Having somebody wade through all the technical jargon and help me find the right wine for my own pallet is very helpful.

 

find the right wine

Club W Helps You Find the Right Wine!

The process of helping you find the right wine starts with the Club W pallet profile test.  This is a very simple 6 question survey about things like how you like your coffee and how much salt you use on your food.  This helps them understand your pallet and get a feel for how adventurous you are when it comes to your taste buds.  Their curators source many small production wines from around the world to offer every month. From these offerings, your pallet profile test will help pair your taste buds with the right wine.

The Club W experience makes finding the right wine much less risky.  By connecting the consumers directly to the winemaker and skipping the middlemen you can save up to 30% on the price of your wine. If you don’t like something that you are sent you can send it back for a replacement or refund.  Club W offers its wines  to consumers starting at $39 month for three bottles plus a flat rate of $6 for shipping.  Each month you can choose whether to go with what has been recommended by the curators for your pallet or just choose your own wine from that month’s selection.

 

Club W provide a unique high tech aspect to your wine selection in the form of a QR code on every bottle of wine you receive from them.  Scanning the QR code on the bottle from a smartphone, tablet or computer takes you directly to the Club W curators’ video tasting notes for that bottle. So, if you are having a dinner party and someone asks you about the wine, just scan the QR code and share the video with your guests.  This is a win-win situation for everyone because when you refer a friend to Club W and they sign up, you receive 2 free bottles and your friend gets one free bottle. That is a great deal just for having a friend sign up for the program!

club w wine club helps you find the right wine

I really loved the Club W experience and got a great selection of wines to try out.  These are not the mass market wines that usually predominate in my local grocery store.  Not only did they have a great selection of wines from vineyards I had never heard of but they also had a number of varieties I was not familiar with either.  I usually see your more common Merlots, Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios but was surprised to see things like a Temprannillo and a Chenin Blanc-Viognier blend.  I don’t think I have ever seen these before and each wine page on the Club W site has great information about it so you know the right foods to serve it with and the general flavor it will offer.

 Receive a free bottle of wine on your first order with code 411sub (case sensitive)

If you are a wine lover but are tired of trying to find the perfect flavor for your pallet I think the Club W experience would really help you find the right wine  and save you money at the same time!  If you would like to learn more about the Club W experience you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer:  In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.”: I received product samples  in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

 

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Never Forget Trash Day Again with The Chore Buddy! #ChoreBuddy #sponsored

Never Forget Trash Day Again with The Chore Buddy! #ChoreBuddy #sponsored

May 7, 2013 by · 5 Comments

This post has been brought to you by The Chore Buddy but all opinions expressed are my own.

Picture this:  It is 6:00 AM and I am sitting in my recliner with a much needed cup of coffee just trying to keep my eyes open.  It is dark, quiet, and the children (thankfully) have another hour before they have to get up for school.  The husband left quite some time ago and now it is just me, my iPad and my caffeine.  Then, the shrill sound of the phone breaks the quiet morning peacefulness.  Now the bird is squawking, the kids are waking up and I am cranky.  WHY is the phone ringing at that God awful time of the morning?  Because my husband is calling from work to tell me he forgot to take the trash out before he left.

the chore buddy

If you have a husband who forgets to take the trash out like mine does occasionally, there is hope!  The Chore Buddy is a simple little reminder system that will help your family remember that it is trash day so the garbage makes it out to the curb on time.   Because that giant, stinky truck waits for no woman, no matter how loudly she yells!  Forgetting trash day causes your garbage bin to start overflowing which can result in odors, health (hygiene) hazards, pest problems, and storage issues. Not to mention the fact that we are losing services that we have already paid for!

If forgetting trash day happens a lot in your home, you are not alone!  According to a national survey, forgetting trash day is a very common problem with 51% of families stating that they forgot trash day at least once in the past three months.  Why do we keep forgetting something as simple as putting out the trash?  To put it simply, we are just too busy to remember!

the chore buddy for trash day

The Chore Buddy

So, how does The Chore Buddy work?  The Chore Buddy reminds your family that its trash day by using a high intensity flashing Light Emitting Diode (LED), not an alarm. The Chore Buddy LED will brightly flash for up to one hour or until someone turns it off with a simple touch. The Chore Buddy automatically resets itself to once again alert your family the next week. When the light flashes to remind you that it is time to take out the trash, you don’t have to rush to turn it off because it is a totally silent reminder.  You can let it flash for a few minutes if you are busy and THEN take out the trash.  You can put it wherever you think you will notice it the most.  The Chore Buddy has a built in wall hanger and comes with a magnetic and adhesive hook so you can place the Chore Buddy on the refrigerator, in the garage, on a wall, etc.

If you think your family needs a little bit of help remembering to take out the trash, you can find more information about The Chore Buddy by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

the chore buddy

Disclaimer: I participated in this program on behalf of Mommy Mindset Media for Chore Buddy. I received product samples as well as additional compensation for my participation.

Filed Under: Life in the Burbs, reviews · Tagged:
The Guilty Innocent Book Review

The Guilty Innocent Book Review

March 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The Guilty Innocent is Book 2 in the ‘Knights of the Darkness Chronicles’. While I have not read the first book in the series yet, the author give a great intro that gets the reader caught up to what has happened so far. In The Guilty Innocent, Natasha’s best friend has been murdered and Darian, one of her very sexy and powerful vampire friends, has been framed for the murder.  It is up to Natasha, Xavier (Darian’s boyfriend), and a few of their associates to figure out why and by whom.  Unfortunately, they only have 7 days before Darian goes to trial and as a very old and powerful vampire, he will not sit quietly back and be framed for something he did not do.  In an effort to prevent a bloodbath, Natasha and the group must delve into why the Russian mafia is involved and figure out how to save Darian from a legal system that is jumping at the chance to convict such a powerful vampire.  With Natasha’s clairvoyance and a few very powerful friends, she jumps in ready to save a man that she has come to care very much about.

The Guilty Innocent

The Guilty Innocent

This is a very good length story and the author has put a lot of thought into the creation of a complex plot and well written characters.  I thought Natasha was a nice balance between innocence and kick butt fighter.  She holds her own against Eloise, one of the women helping clear Darian’s name, but seems very shy when it comes to the needs of her male vampire friends.  Vampire feedings tend to be sexual in nature and the guys’ openness about this very basic need tends to embarrass her a bit.  She is both feisty and reserved which makes for an interesting combination.  Xavier and the other characters are equally well written.  There is humor, angst, anger and tenderness between them all that gives the book a well rounded feel.

The story line of this book is fast paced and full of action.  The group’s trip to Russia to clear Darian’s name is filled with adventure and it is easy to get caught up in the story.  You really want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next.  Gun yielding waiters, kidnapping, and general mayhem abound.  There is also plenty of sexual tension and when Darian is finally cleared of the murder, he, Xavier and Natasha decide to make a go of the threesome they seem to be so drawn to.  Depending on your comfort level when it comes to sex, you may or may not enjoy that aspect of the book. However, the story is almost all plot, character development and mystery with only a tad bit of sex thrown in to keep things interesting.  I think the author did a good job making sure that the book was about the story and not the sex.  Although, the scenes between them are definitely steamy!

There were a few things I might have changed about the book…I really wish that Darian had played a bigger part in it instead of being stuck in jail for the entire book.  For someone who played such a major part of the plot, we really didn’t get to know him at all.  Also, this book is written totally from Natasha’s perspective so I felt at times that I didn’t get to know Xavier all that well either.  He seemed to have more of a story to tell than I got to hear.  In general, though, I enjoyed the book and and it was definitely a page turner.

If you want to read other reviews, follow The Guilty Innocent book tour. 

You can even enter to win a $100 Amazon Gift Code!

The Guilty Innocent

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The Tale of Lucia Grandi Guest Review

The Tale of Lucia Grandi Guest Review

February 11, 2013 by · 1 Comment

The Tale of Lucia Grandi

Title:    The Tale of Lucia Grandi, The Early Years

Author:   Susan Speranza

ISBN:    978-0944657010

Publisher:   Brook House Press (October 20, 2012)

Format/Length:      1136 KB (428 pages)

 

From the Publisher:

When an old woman is asked to recount the story of her life, she tells an intense and poignant tale about growing up in and surviving a warring suburban family during the 1950s and 60s.

​ Written as a memoir, each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and the family. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman, she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.

Told in breathtakingly beautiful prose, this is a powerful and timeless story of a dying woman’s courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it.

 

About the Author:

I was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island where I had an interesting and creative childhood. Once in college, I studied Psychology and Philosophy, but since “thinking” didn’t translate into earning money or job security, I worked at a variety of different and unrelated jobs both in New York City and on Long Island.

In order to keep me sane through all the craziness of life, I spent my spare time writing. Anything and everything. The culmination of this was a fantasy – The City of Light – which has recently been reissued as an ebook.

I took up the hobby of dog showing and breeding and produced many Pekingese Champions. You can see them over at our Castlerigg Pekingese website.

Somewhere in the middle of my life so far, after a great personal upheaval, I went back to school, became a High School Librarian. I managed to fulfill my childhood dream of living in the country when I finally escaped suburbia and moved to Vermont where I now happily live with my beautiful Pekes.

But I’ve never stopped writing.

My biography (as with my life, I hope) is to be continued…

Follow Susan Speranza

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

 

Guest Review

THE TALE OF LUCIA GRANDI is the sort of book that haunts the reader for days. Lucia’s childhood tales, told with both matter-of-fact sadness and humor, are not always for the faint of heart. But the description, the integrity of the characters and intriguing plot make for a gripping epic that is worth a few tears.

Told in a memoir style, this book follows Lucia during her earliest days.  Her family is extremely dysfunctional, and it is clear that this is a generational issue, with Lucia the unhappy beneficiary.

There are saving graces to the sadness: the flashes of humor, the sympathetic characters and the unapologetic story spinning all work together to create a well-balanced book.

I was so drawn into Lucia’s world that I thought about her and her family for a long time after reading the book, which is, after all, about the highest praise a reader can give.

Click Here to Enter the Giveaway!

TheTaleofLuciaGrandiBanner1

 

 

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Problogger: Blog Your Way to a Six Figure Income (book review)

Problogger: Blog Your Way to a Six Figure Income (book review)

January 29, 2013 by · 2 Comments

I have been blogging for several years now but I am always trying to learn, grow, and become better at it.  When I started blogging, I knew that it had the potential to earn me money, I just really wasn’t sure how to go about being successful at it.  Thankfully, I had friends and mentors to show me the ropes but when I got the chance to review ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income I was quite excited! I am nowhere NEAR a six figure income, despite my hard work so I was curious to see what the real professionals recommend!  Continue reading for my review of the Problogger book.  This is one I definitely recommend you buy for yourself!

Problogger

problogger image

Title:  ProBlogger

Subtitle: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (3rd edition)

Author:   Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett

Publisher:  Wiley; 3 edition (March 20, 2012)

ISBN:  978-1118199558

Format/Length: 336 pages (paperback)

My Review: 5

 

From the Publisher:

There’s a reason why the first two editions of this book have sold thousands of copies worldwide. Written by two of the world’s most successful bloggers, it’s one of the clearest books out there on how to earn an income from your blog. This new edition gets you up to date on the very latest changes that affect the blogging-for-business landscape. Featuring new material on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; plus new ways and tools to grow your audience and expand your business beyond your blog, this professional blogger’s bible is better than ever.

  • Helps novices choose a blog topic, analyze the market, set up a blog, promote it, and earn revenue
  • Gives aspiring bloggers proven techniques and the tools they need to succeed in building a business from their blogs
  • Reveals 20 key ingredients for a successful blog post
  • Offers solid, step-by-step instruction on how bloggers actually make money, why niches matter, how to use essential blogging tools and take advantage of social media and content aggregators, how to optimize your advertising, and much more
  • Includes techniques for attracting and growing an audience and how to mine new business opportunities beyond your blog

Written by two fulltime professional bloggers, this exciting, updated edition of ProBlogger tells you exactly how to launch and maintain a blog that makes money.

 

My Review:

What I really loved about this book is how detailed and down to earth it is written.  It also assumes that you know absolutely nothing about blogging which I think is a good thing.  Even though I have been blogging for a few years, there may be some vital pieces of information that I should have learned a long time ago and didn’t.  Problogger starts at the beginning so you don’t miss information that might be really important for your long term success.  The authors stress that blogging is NOT going to get you rich overnight.  They want their readers to enter into blogging realistically with their eyes wide open about what is involved .

The discussion of blog monitization is very detailed and talks about different types of advertising as well as ways to make money that don’t directly involve your blog.  I thought this was an important aspect to point out because once you become a blogger and show you are proficient in a particular area, other people are more willing to pay you to write for THEM.  So, your blog might not be making the money directly but by HAVING a successful blog, you have created a new source of income.

The authors also talk a lot about traffic to your blog and what an important role this plays in how much money you make.  They offer some good advice on how to draw people into your site, interact with them, and create a loyal following.  These are all important aspects of being a successful blogger.  And with that success comes increased earnings.

Whether you are a novice to blogging or have been at it for a while, Problogger is an incredible resource to help you start earning money.  It starts at the very beginning so you can set up your blog, learn to write, begin monitizing, draw traffic,  and then take your online career beyond your blog.  It is not only well written in an easy to follow format, the writing is engaging and the index and table of contents make finding particular content very easy.  I highly recommend this Problogger book if you are trying to earn money as a blogger!

 

Disclaimer:  In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.”: I received product samples  in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. Some of the links in this post may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

 

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