Princess Ever After

A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

Who hasn't had a dream about being a princess? I'm sure that many have, but it doesn't come true for most. Sure, there are those few that marry into a royal family, but what if you found out you were a princess by birth and no one had ever told you? What if you had recently quit your job and were pursuing your dream and suddenly someone comes to you and tells you that you are a princess, an heir to a throne? That is what happened to Regina Beswick in Princess Ever After.

Rachel Hauck does a great job telling the story of Regina "Reggie" Beswick. She creates characters that you can't help but find yourself attached to. You find yourself cheering her on as she finds a love for not only her grandmother's home country but also a love for her life. Reggie relies on her faith and prays for signs to help her make the right decision about her future. You feel the emotions that Reggie is feeling, as she comes to terms with her true ancestry and determines where her future lies.

Princess Ever After is the first book by Rachel Hauck that I have read and I am ready to read another. I really would like to read another installment about Reggie, but am not sure that there will be another one, so I might have to check out the first book in the Royal Wedding Series or one of her many other books.

About the book: part of The Royal Wedding Series

Regina Beswick was born to be a princess.

But she's content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother's hand-painted book of fairytales.

Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation's future---and his own.

Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever. Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she's destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. Together---with a little divine intervention---Regina and Tanner discover the truth of her heritage and the healing power of true love.

Purchase a copy here.

Meet the author: Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author of critically acclaimed novels such as RITA nominated The Wedding Dress and RITA nominated Love Starts with Elle, part of the Lowcountry series, the Nashvegas series and the Songbird Novels penned with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Their novel Softly and Tenderly, was one of Booklists 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full time in 2004. Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker. Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Learn more about Rachel Hauck on her website.


No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

Disney Junior Live! Pirate & Princess Adventure, coming to Youngstown, #giveaway

No compensation was received for this post. My family and I have the opportunity to enjoy the show. Feld Entertainment provided the tickets and the information for this post. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.
I will probably never forget the day that we went to Target (we are there almost daily it seems) to pick up a few things that we needed and were looking in the toy section for my daughter, who had a few dollars to spend. As we walked up and down the aisles, we came across the row with the Disney plush toys. She looked and almost immediately saw a large stuffed Jake that she just had to have. I questioned it, not only because I had never seen her watch the show or talk about Jake before but also as I do most requests for stuffed toys, because they quickly fall out of favor and she is always wanting a new one.

I told her it wasn't on sale and I didn't realize she was a fan, so I said that we had to wait to get it. That way, she could think about it and make sure that was how she wanted to spend her money. I explained, that if it went on sale and she still wanted it, then maybe we could come back and get it. She immediately started to melt down. I don't think that I had ever seen her throw a fit quite like this. So, I calmly (as best I could stay calm), picked her up and carried her out of the store, leaving behind the cart of items that I had come to pick up. I don't know that anyone I know was there as I walked out carrying my very upset and loud daughter, as I was not about to make eye contact with anyone.

We talked about it later and she understood that was not the way to act and that sometimes, we have to wait and get things right away when we think that we want them. I explained again that I had never seen her even watch the show or talk about Jake. She told me that they watched it at daycare and she was a fan. So, as things have a way of working out, we set up Jake to record and she now watches it regularly. We did eventually, a few months later, buy that large stuffed Jake, when he was on sale...but only after we reviewed the experience of the first time she asked for Jake and what was wrong with her approach. She regularly watches his show with him and frequently he is the stuffed toy of choice at bedtime. So, in the end, it worked out that she has stuck with him and not lost interest.

She also is a fan of Sofia the First and anxiously awaits the release of each new episode, so when I learned that Disney Junior Live! Pirate & Princess Adventure was coming to Youngstown, I knew that she would be very excited to go and see two of her favorite Disney Junior characters live.

Show Description:

Grab your tiaras and doubloons and join us for Disney Junior Live On Tour! Pirate & Princess Adventure. Mickey and Minnie are taking their seats too at this never-before-seen live show featuring your favorite characters from Disney Junior's hit series, Sofia the First and Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Get swept up in the excitement as Sofia and her family prepare for a royal celebration that helps us all learn the true meaning of being a princess with a special appearance from Cinderella. Then it's off to Never Land where Jake and his swashbuckling friends Izzy and Cubby, with a little help from Peter Pan, battle Captain Hook to unlock treasure hidden inside a mysterious volcano. It's danger and dueling on the high seas as Jake discovers what it takes to be a true hero. Filled with new music, amazing effects, thrilling action and endless surprises, your whole family will sing, shout, and soar into the action when Disney Junior Live On Tour! Pirate & Princess Adventure sails into your hometown.


Special bonus! Starting ten minutes before every performance join loveable Doc McStuffins for a special pre-show! You can help Doc take care of one of her beloved toys with her own special brand of love and magic. Free to all ticket holders.

Disney Junior Live! Pirate & Princess Adventure
Covelli Centre
October 26, 2013
1 pm and 4 pm

Exclusive Savings:
Disount offer: Save $5 on all performances!
Promo Code: MOM5
Disclaimers No double discounts. Not valid on VIP or VIP floor seats. Valid on both performances. Get your tickets at ticketmaster.com, the Covelli Centre Box Office or by phone at 800.745.3000.


Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through October 4th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. My family and I have the opportunity to enjoy the show. Feld Entertainment provided the tickets and the information for this post. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

DIY Tinkerbell Slippers

On Thanksgiving, my daughter spent part of the afternoon relaxing and watching Secret of the Wings. After watching the movie, she decided that she needed to have shoes like Tinkerbell's to wear with her Tinkerbell dress. I was out running to CVS when the movie ended and my husband drew her a shoe on green paper that she cut out. When I came home, she told me all about the shoes.

After looking at her cut out, I had a plan in my head on how we could make a simple pair of slippers, so I asked her if she wanted to make a pair of Tinkerbell slippers that she could wear. Of course, she wanted to run right out and get the fabric and cotton balls to make them. I told her that we would have to wait and go on Friday to get the materials. After I finished my Black Friday shopping, I came home and we had lunch and headed back out to get materials for Tinkerbell slippers.

At Walmart, we were able to find a soft green brushed flannel material and matching thread and some white pompoms, although not as big as we had hoped. We also grabbed some puffy paint to create a non-slip bottom for the slippers.

When we came home, I pulled out my sewing machine and got started. Using the paper cut out and her foot as a guide, I cut a square of fabric along the fold.

I sketched in a pencil line to reflect the general shape that I needed to acheive for the slipper. I started by sewing the back. I then sewed the top seam. I flipped them inside out and had her put them on. I could tell that I was too tall in the toe, so we took them off and I sewed it a little lower. To get a more 'boxy' toe, I snipped the end of the slipper and flattened them so that I could sew a toe seam. Once we were happy with the first slipper, I used it as my guide to create the other one. Then, we added the puffy paint in designs of my daughters choice to the bottom of the slipper and allowed it to dry overnight. Then, I grabbed a needle and sewed on the pompom.

At first, she had reservations about them, but once they were done, she loved them. They were a simple and quick project that we could work on together. Of course, in the process of modeling the slippers with her Tinkerbell dress, we learned that the dress was getting too small. So, now we need a Tinkerbell dress to go with our slippers. (sounds a bit like a Laura Numeroff 'If You Give a Mouse A...' book!)

DIY projects work for me!

Tangled Deals

The Disney movie Tangled is scheduled for release next Tuesday. As with many Disney movies lately, there seem to be a number of offers available.

You can go to Disney Movie Rewards to get a coupon for $5 off the Tangled 4-disc BluRay Combo Pack. If you are a new member, you can also use the bonus code that prints with the coupon to get 25 Bonus Points.

Right now when you get your haircut at Cost Cutters and purchase Disney's Tangled on BluRay Combo Pack or DVD, you'll receive a $5 rebate by mail offer. Offer expires May 31. Check their website for a Cost Cutters location near you. We don't have one, so I won't be participating in this one.

Success Rice is offering a $5 rebate when you purchase Tangled on DVD or BluRay and 2 packages of Success Rice. This offer expires June 30th. There was a Success Rice coupon in the April issue of All You.