Granddaughter's Birthday

In the early part of April, I was lucky enough to win a free sheet of digis from Whoopsi Daisy Designs when I comment on the blog of my online friend Nataliya of Love Crafts Forever, thank you Nataliya. In turn, I created a birthday card for my sweet granddaughter who just celebrated a birthday! I love metallic paper but it is so difficult to photograph and for whatever reason (I KNOW it is not my fault), you cannot see the sparkle on her wings.

The rest of today's comment is only for those who visited my blog yesterday. Did you scrub your belly button?

May Release Galore!

Kati's favorite books »

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Any books not listed above that you're looking forward to?

Seriously

The card is rather simple and self-explanatory but I do have important information to share with you that is crucial to your health. You might be aware of the fact that our skin is a cesspool of germs and that is why we are told to wash our hands after doing a host of activities. However, are you aware that the biggest, most neglected part of our body that is ground zero for all forms of microbe is our navel?  If you don't believe me, check out Belly Button Biodiversity Project and you will learn that our belly button is a "wildlife refuge for germs". People, listen up, you need to start scrubbing your navel!

Congrats William and Catherine!

The new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Five Friday Favorites

So this past week has been AMAZEBALLS! Book releases, a certain movie trailer I have been desperately googling and couldn't seem to find, a certain book I have been waiting for what seems like FOREVER and of course, the royal wedding as the icing to this 5 tier cake. (Hmm...wonder what kind of cake Prince William and Catherine Middleton will have and how many layers.)

11 Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean- Words cannot even begin to describe how I feel about this book. It seems like I've been waiting FOREVER for this book. So many questions have been answered. The most pressing question: will Simon Pearson, the Duke of Leighton finally get the stick out of his arse? The uptight Duke of Disdain has finally met his match in fiery Italian beauty Julianna Fiori, half sister of the Marquess of Ralston. And you'll never see the mother of all scandals coming. So let me leave you with a little teaser:

"Here, nothing trumped the holy trinity of tradition, reputation and title."

Movie trailer for Immortals- I don't have to really explain myself regarding this. 6 words: Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill half naked. Now for your viewing pleasure:

Glee's 90 minute episode- Gleek Out! A dancing flash mob at the mall, Rachel Berry almost getting a nose job, Quinn Fabray's Extreme Makeover, the Glee kids learning to love their imperfections (Trouty Mouth t-shirt anyone?), Santana and Karofsky making a deal and oh, Kurt comes back to McKinley High. Oh, and for next weeks promo at the end of the episode, KRISTIN CHENOWETH as April Rhodes comes back! Eep!

Prince William and Catherine Middleton- Um, yes. I'm not sure why I'm loving them but the excuse to wear a tiara and break out the champagne at 1 AM while watching their wedding is enough reason for them to make my Friday Faves. Plus, she shares my namesake. And I get to post this side-by-side photo of the real Kate and Wills and TV's Kate and Wills:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Movie Trailer- This 2nd part of Deathly Hallows is going to be EPIC! Just watch:

So, what are YOUR five friday favorites? (I know all of you are drooling on your keyboards while watching Henry Cavill in the Immortals trailer.)

May Day

Sunday, the first day of May, is May Day, the holiday that started back in ancient Babylon during sex and fertility rites. Young chicks would grab a ribbon and danced around a carved representation of a penis. Horrors!! Thank goodness I am part of the "now" generation and we have learned that we do not have to dance to become pregnant, all we need to do is drink the water -- which is why after five children, I switched to beer! Obviously, May Queen Penny from Stamping Dragon Designs is still under the impression dancing around the May Pole is what is necessary.

I used May Queen Penny for my inspiration card for the new challenge at Stamping with the Dragons that starts today. Since it is May and May brings flowers, we are to use flowers. However, I miss read the directions and thought it said "showers" so I took one. But I think May Queen Penny is going to slide under the wire since she is carrying lilies. You have two weeks to join the fun, first place winner receives their choice of four digis from Stamping Dragon Designs and the second place winner will be our Guest Design Team member. Please take the time and visit my fellow team members and see what they have created.

WORD to Brooklyn

Last night was soooooo much fun! I also had myself quite an adventure because me going into NYC usually means something crazy is going to happen. So let's start at the begining shall we...

I must have been on the slowest moving train EVER. Now, normally it takes about 45-50 minutes if I leave from my hometown but this train took me over an hour. I didn't mind too much because I had my iPod and was rocking out to TSwift. Then I met my friend Lisa at the Borders that is right outside Penn Station and after some coffee we headed to Brooklyn.

This is where the adventure starts... we get on the subway... going to wrong way... TWICE! Now mind you, we have gone to WORD before and didn't get lost. Also, for the first time in my life I saw a rat in the subway. I almost died.

Finally! We made it to WORD. I just want to give a shout out to the ladies who work there! You gals are aweosme and so nice! I love going to WORD because I know that I'll be treated like a friend there. There was also champagne and scones there for us to munch on. Then the real fun started!

Maya Rodale, Sarah MacLean and Kieran Kramer sat down and answered questions. All three of them write books set in the Regency and they talked about the restrictions and rules of the time period. Also, they talked about how no one ever mentions that during the Regency the woman didn't shave... or bath that much but Sarah said that she made sure her heroine bathed before ant illict activity.

Here are some other tidbits:

Did you know that Kieran used to work for the CIA? She even went to The Farm (I thought of the movie The Recruit when she said that) She also told us that what Scottish men really wear under their kilts... Not a thing! Trip to Scotland anyone? She also talked about her characters and how they are a little kooky and how maybe we may see her writing something else in the future but she's busy right now with the historicals.

Sarah told us how her title 9 Rules was meant to get her manuscript attention and the title just stuck. Her next series, the Fallen Angles is not a paranormal (though she does admit that JR Ward books are like crack and I agree) and I can't wait to read them! She is also writing another YA book.

Maya talked about how she writes to her title. And she has a great title for her next book... but I can't remember what it is, but it was really good. I really need to take better notes but I was in like serious fan girl mode. She talked about her Writing Girls series and how she likes that her heroines break the norm and have jobs. She talked about her writing process and how she loves to use spreadsheets to plot her books. PS...she was wearing a fabulous jacket!

After the interview sessions the ladies signed some books and seriously they were sooooo nice! Sarah was talking about Rob Lowe and that hot cover of his so we talked about that and since Maya hadn't seen it and I just happened to have a picture of it on my phone I showed her. Kieran and I were tweeting back and forth yesterday and I was so excited to meet her. Then she asked me how my ears were! How cute is that? She knew that I was sick and had some really bad ear infections. I love her! Well, I love them all really!

If you ever get a chance to go to a book signing or something like that where your favorite author is going to be there GO! It was seriously so much fun! I tried to not act like such a fan girl but I think I failed. I forgot to take good notes because I was so caught up in the moment and hanging onto every word. But again, even though I was probably grinning like a fool they were so nice and I felt like I was talking to friends instead of strangers. You Ladies rock!

But that was my night! One I won't forget for a very long time!

(I'm having issues loading the pics I took but I'm putting them on Twitter and will try to load them here later)

You're not over the hill yet.

Sunday was my oldest daughter's birthday. I have loads of wonderful stamps and digital images but nothing was coming together. Just in the nick of time, I hit pay dirt when one of my favorite online friends, Marlene of Disguised as a Grownup, gifted her followers with a belly laughing-out-loud freebie. Thank you Marlene, you saved the day. And by the way, yesterday Marlene had a terrific birthday sentiment available that you should definitely check out.

Spring Cleaning

I don't know about you ladies but here in Jersey it's getting hot! I guess spring is here so that means Spring Cleaning. Well, not for my house. I hate cleaning. But I'm talking about cleaning here at For the Love of Romance.

Since my baby here is only a couple of weeks old I'm still working on learning the ropes and getting the kinks out. I've been coming up with ideas while I was sidelined by a double ear infection (yes, I know I've been MIA) but now that I'm better I'm ready to get back to work! So in the up coming months I'm going to do some revamping here and Kati has offered her assistance (PS have you seen Romancing Rakes new design? It's pretty!)

So what can you expect? Well, for one thing I'm going to be putting up my reviews from The Season for Romance. In case you didn't know, I got my start as a reviewer over at The Season and of course I still review for Bev because she, along with all the other girls, is fabulous. So once I get a review system for here I'll post my reviews. In the meantime, while I was sick I read some great books: Bastian by Elizabeth Amber and The Perlious Prophecy of Guard and Goddess by Leanna Renee Hieber.

Click on the cover for my review for The Perlious Prophecy of Guard and Goddess over at The Season.

What else am I working on? Well I'm making a list of my favorite heros aka my fictional boyfriends. I'm also coming up with a list of my favorite books and books I would recommend to friends.

Anyway, tonight I'm headed over to WORD in Brooklyn for a book release party. Well, it's for three books actually. Oh, what books? Kieran Kramer's Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage, Sarah MacLean's 11 Scandals to Start toWin a Duke's Heart and Maya Rodale's A Tale of Two Lovers. I can't tell you how excited I am!! I went to WORD for the release of When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James and had a complete fan girl moment when she signed my book (she even took a picture with me!). Needless to say WORD is one of my favorite places now and I can't wait to tell you all about the party!!

So, is there anything you want to see on For the Love of Romance? Any suggestions for me?

Introducing. . .

Meet Mr. Joc Key and his trusty mount, CBizKit. They are in training to win the Triple Tiara. So far, they have captured the Kentucky Bowler and the Freakness, next up is the Delmonico Stakes. Winning the Tiara, is the highest title for merry-go round horses.

As you might have guessed, CBizKit is one of Bonibleaux Designs new releases joining the Dude Time Doodles family today along with Benny Hanna, Cletus, Gladys Salt and Cactus Kirk. To see the other new releases, follow along on the blog hop and visit the other Dudettes to see more fun creations. The hop is a loop so you can start wherever you wish and just continue until you have seen them all. From here, the next stop is Ike, this month's guest designer. But before you go, join me in wishing CBizKit good luck. In case you get lost along the way, here is the list and don't forget we have a Mystery Hostess so leave some love along the way and you might win a prize.

Anne

Cleota

Hetty

Boni

Lynn

Tammy (you are here)

Ike

Ginny

Ruth

Dude Time Doodles

13 Things I'm Loving Today

Today is a HUGE release day. So many books, not enough time in the day to read them all. I did however, take a peek the ones that had been pre-ordered and arrived a little after midnight last night. Yes,  I was up until 1. I read the first sentence of each and almost cried. I wanted to read them all at the same time.

So here is what I'm loving today:

1. Sarah MacLean's 11 Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart- The cover is flippin' pink! And it's my favorite color. Oh yeah, and I finally get some answers regarding the stuck up Duke of Leighton, Simon Pearson. And because I love her book trailer.

2. Kris Kennedy's Defiant- Confession: I have not read a book by Kris Kennedy. I just heart the cover. Like a lot. I want to lick it, stroke it and grate cheese on the man's abs. Oh yes, and this:

"At first, it appeared they both wanted the same cock." 

That there is the first sentence of the book. Now tell me that you're not the least bit curious. What's that? Yeah, I thought so. Go forth and buy this book with it's lickable cover.

3. Kieran Kramer's Cloudy with A Chance of Marriage- Because this book isn't about meatballs and food raining down from the sky. It's a love story (which neither character knows yet). And she owns a bookshop! And his name is Stephen. I've always wanted to fall in love with a Stephen. (shh...don't tell Mr. Kati)

4. Henry Cavill's O face. That is all.

5. . Because I just wanted to put a shirtless, tied up Richard Armitage.

6. Mary Jo Putney's book trailer for Nowhere Near Respectable- It features real, live people MOVING! And if this were a movie, I'd be the first in line to see it.

7. Tom Welling's birthday- Yeah it's today. And he's still gorgeous. Just another excuse for me to post a picture of another good looking man.

8. Vampires- I've been on a Lara Adrian kick with her Midnight Breed series. I really like her take on the vampire mythos. They're born, not made. And speaking of, Laurie London's Bonded by Blood is going to be my next vampire book. I'm halfway through book 8 of the Midnight Breed series and then I've got 2 months to wait until the 9th one comes out.

9. My mailman- He has been bringing me some awesome books and swag. Rain OR Shine. (I can't post a pic because that would be borderline creepy, me asking him to take a pic to post on my blog. I'm sure he'd really be okay with that.)

10. Taylor Swift and Permanent Marker- This would have been my middle school anthem if Taylor was singing then. (Only 4 years too late)

11, 12, & 13. Thor, Captain America: First Avenger and Green Lantern movie trailers- Look at the movie posters. LOOK AT THEM! Need I say more? Hemsworth, Reynolds and Evans (w/a side of Armitage). *sigh*

So, what are you loving today? Did you buy any or all of the new books released today? Are you going to see any of these superhero movies? Read any good book series that I should check out? (no Jamie, I've already got BDB on the list) 

Happy Birthday Tom Welling

Happy Book Release Day

RICHARD HENRY HUGH PUREJOY DANCE PARTY!!!The following books are released today:

Kati's favorite books »

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Eleven Scandals has been on my pre-order list since I finished 9 Rules and 10 Ways. So has Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage. The Chase, The Perfect Wife, The Brat and What She Wants, all by Lynsay Sands are re-prints (new cover).

Please note: The Kindle editions of some of these books may not be released until a week later. Some release on the same day as the paperbacks.

P.S. Kris Kennedy, Elizabeth Amber and Lori Foster have really lickable covers. I'm just sayin'.

Are there any books I've missed? Did you buy any of these books?