The Hunger Games ★★★★★★

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY (BY SUZANNE COLLINS) YET, GET YOUR BUTT TO A LIBRARY AND TAKE IT OUT. I'm not a major bookworm, but I do enjoy a good book once in a while. I don't have the patience for slow or boring books and I'm a tough critic, so when I suggest a book, READ IT. I just finished the first Hunger Games book and ran like a ninja to my laptop to rave about it. This book is for both genders and any age - it's absolutely amazing!!! This is the 2nd best book I've ever read and I'm about to start the second book in the series (my absolute favorite book is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, but I would only recommend it to teenage girls). This book includes action, drama, romance, suspense, and absolute awesomeness! Click here to read a synopsis and reviews.
Don't make any excuses, just drop everything you're doing and SPRINT to a library or bookstore and pick it up immediately.

Sunny Scents!

Summer is on its way! However you choose to spend your sunny days, there's a fragrance to make it more memorable.

On a date

Flirt! Luv-a-licious Perfume Spray, $35 from Kohl's

Love, Chloe Eau de Parfum, $85 from Saks Fifth Avenue

Ralph Lauren Summer Romance Eau de Parfum, $78 from department stores

At the beach

Harajuku Lovers G of the Sea Eau de Tiolette, $45 from Sephora stores

Marc Jacobs Splash Curacao, $68 from Macy's

Paris Hilton Passport in South Beach, $45 from Macy's

Out with Friends

Flora by Gucci Eau Fraiche Eau de Toilette, $65 from Macy's

Burberry Summer for Women Eau de Toilette, $65 from Macy's

Coach Signature Summer Limited Edition Eau de Toilette, $65 from department stores

Knicks Knocked Out

Just the fact that the Knicks can be described by Beastie Boys songs is a shame.

Take a look:

“The New Style”

“Slow and Low”

“Lighten Up”

“Something’s Got To Give”

“Stand Together”

“Sabotage”

“Get It Together”

“Heart Attack Man”

“Transitions”

“I Can’t Think Straight”

“Putting Shame In Your Game”

“I Don’t Know”

“Instant Death”

“3 The Hard Way”

“It Takes Time To Build”

“That’s It That’s All”

Here, have a laugh:

Russell!

Russell Westbrook of the OKC Thunder being silly on the bench after dropping 31 points in game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

ThreePeat? Yeah right, Lakers.

So, Kobe and his little Lakers team are going to win the playoffs this year, right? WRONG. The Lakers are only in the first round and are tied in a series 2-2 with the 7th seed, the NO Hornets. They just lost tonight as Chris Paul dazzled them with a triple double. Final score was 93-88.

Guess what? Kobe only had 17 points.

And he was the game's leading scorer for the Lakers. I mean that's just sad. Oh well, sucks for them. GO HEAT!

Beyonce's new single - hot or not?

So, Beyonce came out with a new single, "Run the World (Girls)," which will be featured on her fourth studio album.

Hot?

I think the lyrics are awesome, being a girl. Haha. She says, "I'm repping for the girls who're taking over the world." And the vocals are incredible, of course. I mean, it's Beyonce. And the beat is catchy.

Not!!

HOWEVER, the beat combined with the repetitive chorus is extremely annoying. Unbearably annoying. It practically causes anxiety. I did not like this song - complete let down. I hope the rest of the album does not inflict further injuries to my ear drum.

Check it out:

The music video for the single will be coming out soon. The director, Francis Lawrence, says it will probably be the biggest music video Beyonce has ever done. I hope that means they'll mute it. Haha - no hating, I love Beyonce. But this song is painful.

Miami Heat Update

LeBron's 31 points against the Philadelphia 76ers today were not enough to advance them to the next round with a 4-0 blowout against Philly. Miami was 95 seconds away from winning the series, holding an 82-76 lead. With 46.6 seconds left, Jrue holiday made a three to bring the Heat's lead down to 1. Lou Williams followed with another 3 to put the 76ers at an advantage at 84-82. Philly went on to win Game 4 86-82 after a pair of free throws.

One of my favorite highlights of the game:

The series will be brought back down to South Beach, Miami for Game 5 coming up this Wednesday.

The Celtics are playing the Knicks live now at MSG - it is the middle of the 2nd quarter and Rondo & Co. have a 10 point lead at 37-27. Trusting that the Celtics continue to execute Doc's game plans, the Knicks will be blown out in a 4-0 series loss and the highly anticipated match-up between Miami and Boston will be one to watch. DON'T MISS OUT!

Happy Easter!!!

This year, instead of my usual strawberry cheesecake, I decided to take my Easter desserts to a whole new level :) Enjoy! And feel free to steal any of these ideas for next year...

The "nest" in the center is made of chocolate covered pretzel sticks and the "eggs" are Sour Patch jelly beans.  

Baaaaah. That marshmallow lamb may be cute, but she was a pain in the butt to create! The body is a large marshmallow, surrounded by smaller ones stuck on with marshmallow fluff. The pupils are tiny chocolate chips, the legs and nose are Raisinets, and the ears and mouth are Sour Patch jelly beans. The lamb is on a tea biscuit, stuck on with marshmallow fluff.  Have you lost count of the calories yet?

Of course, what's an Easter gathering without witty place cards? Click here for the downloadable template I made!

Again with the marshmallows... Simply put on a stick, dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, and wrapped in cellophane. Oh, and I stuck them into an orange to serve as a centerpiece. Creative, huh?

Here are some mini "nests", placed in cupcake liners.

Check out those adorable mini "eggs" made of Rice Krispy treats! I rolled the eggs in some festive Easter sprinkles (as if they weren't cute enough already).

I do. I layered tape in the shape of a T-shirt on the egg before dying it blue. Then I removed the tape and used Sharpie to write "I ♥ God" in bubble letters.

Just so that you can take a look at the shape of the shirt...

First, I wrote Jesus all over the egg in Sharpie. I died the whole thing blue and then died the top half in yellow to give it a fade-ish effect.

Cool, huh? All I did was dye the egg yellow, tape it all around (purposely leaving cracks and folds in the tape for the dye to seep through), and then dye it purple. After removing the tape, I realized it came out much cooler than I expected, with this sort of tie-dye effect.

Who doesn't love a little urban flavor? I simply drew a skyline all around the egg in sharpie, colored *above* it with white wax crayon, and then dye the entire thing grey. Or gray. Whichever you prefer...

This beauty is the work of a true artist... Natasha. 

I saved the best for last! :P I just used Sharpie and my imagination.

Superman with the SLAM!

Despite superman's efforts, the Magic is down 2-1 in the first round series against the Hawks... They better make a come back! Haha, love u Dwight!

Free stuff, anyone?

Another site I wanted to share is seriouslyfreestuff.com, whose title is self-explanatory. This site provides links for SERIOUSLY FREE STUFF! Because of this site alone, I get free samples in the mail everyday (and even sometimes more than one each day)! I get free samples of beauty creams, shampoo, perfume, household cleaning detergents, and anything else you could possibly sample, as well as free posters, magazines, books, and all kinds of amazing coupons. It may sound like I'm advertising them, but I can't help it! There's literally nothing bad about this site... If you're anything like me, you'll feel so proud of yourself when you get products without spending a single penny - it's a win-win situation!

Bookworms: Check out goodreads.com!

Just wanted to share this site with you bookworms out there! I discovered goodreads.com  earlier this year and have been addicted ever since. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you've read and books you want to read. This site is amazing because it lets you write reviews and rate books, as well as search for books that have been rated by others. Every time I'm looking for a new book to read, I can find a great one in seconds. The site has features like book lists and friend lists, so you can check out what your friends are reading and which books they like.

I absolutely loooveee this site and encourage any book-lover to sign up (it's completely free). You can add me as a friend - I'm a tough critic, so if I rate a book well, you'll know its worth reading. I'm into young adult, realistic fiction, and sci-fy that's not too far fetched. Enjoy! :)

Detox, we're still waiting!

MTV - Dr. Dre Announces April 20 Detox Release Date
Ok, so unless you've been living under a rock (or you're really old), you know that worldwide anticipation for the release of Dr. Dre's final album, Detox, is HUGE. Check out this article by MTV - Dre claims his album will be out in less than a month!