Ramblings of a Suburban Mom - Page 14 of 146 -

April Love With Food Review

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jennifer

April Love With Food

Of all the boxes I am expecting this week (and yeah it’s a lot), Love With Food is one of the ones I was most excited to get. This month Love With Food partnered with Andrew Zimmern for a “Weird, Wild & Wonderful Foods” themed box. In celebration of his new book “Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild & Wonderful Foods” Mr. Bizarre foods himself selected this box!

The Box

I was happy to see that the box was nice and full. Maybe packing this boxes isn’t so hard after all? I mean this was didn’t close perfectly and all was fine. I might just be able to handle this task after all. Maybe.

First Look

I peeked at some spoilers so I kind of knew what to expect, but not totally. Once I removed the card, I was happy to see that I was not familiar with most of the items. I mean how wild and weird would everything be if I already tried it?

The Information Card

I love Love With Food‘s information cards. They always contain just the right amount of information. Not too much, not too little!

Here’s what was inside:

~Air Popped Sorghum Grain from Mini Pops: These look like popcorn, but are crunchier and tinier. They are made from all natural ingredients and are very tasty (*)! I’m considering getting the sampler pack with all the flavors in it because I want to try them all!

Air Popped Sorghum Grain from Mini Pops

~Original and Sea Salt Cocomel from JJ’s Sweets: These are coconut milk caramels and I have never heard of such a thing! I love caramels, so I am very excited to try them, but want to wait for B to get home so he can try them too. Well wait, maybe he should just have the original and I’ll just eat the sea salt one now….

Original and Sea Salt Cocomel from JJ’s Sweets

~Original Fennel Pollen from Pollen Ranch: Okay, so I know some people are all over this stuff, but I think it smells. Still, I am 100% sure that B will use this to cook with (you can use it as a seasoning) and heck, I will probably even love it.

Original Fennel Pollen from Pollen Ranch

~Lemony Lover Olives from Oloves: I’m not overly into olives, but I am pretty sure B likes them (why don’t I know what he likes) and I think my mom does as well, so I plan to pass these along. If I was into olives however, I would be excited to try these because they sound super fun and come in neat flavors. And they only have 50 calories a serving.

Lemony Lover Olives from Oloves

~Salty Pepper Nuggets from Somersault Snacks: I have tried the Sea Salt flavor of these and enjoyed them, so I am anxious to try the salt and pepper ones! They are crunchy little crackers made with sunflower seeds and toasted grains (and some other seasonings) and I don’t know why I haven’t bought more since I did like the other ones so much.

Salty Pepper Nuggets from Somersault Snacks

~Creamy Buffalo Ranch Dip from Buff Lo Dip: Oh man, could this look / sound any more delicious? Buffalo Ranch dip? Yes please! I am thankful that this container isn’t bigger because I am certain this will be GONE in one sitting no matter how big it is. And

Creamy Buffalo Ranch Dip from Buff Lo Dip

~Smoky Chili & Lime Chickpea Snacks from The Good Bean: These are roasted chickpeas and actually sound like something I could get into. I don’t really like regular chickpeas (something about the texture gets me), but roasted I think I can handle! These come in a few different flavors too, so I might just stock up!

Smoky Chili & Lime Chickpea Snacks from The Good Bean

I was kinda hoping for like chocolate covered alligator in the box or something, but I realized that it might not ship well? But besides my wish for weird meats not being fullfilled, I am thrilled with this box! I love snacks and treats that I have never tried and that bring me out of my comfort zone!

Did you get Love With Food this month? What’d you think? If you are interested in signing up (they donate a meal to a child in need for every box they send out), click here. Subscribtions are $12/month, but you can use the code “AZVIP042013″ to save $5 on your first box!

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

(*) Nasty was a total typo!

Posted in Monthly Subscription Boxes | Tagged Addicted, Love With Food | 14 Comments

April MyIrelandBox Review

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jennifer

April MyIrelandBox

MyIrelandBox Craft box is a new subscription box straight from Ireland to your doorstep! The box includes 1 large or 2-4 Irish made/designed home goods, accessories, jewellery, stationary or beauty products.

The Box

I got a shipping notification from MyIrelandBox last Tuesday (4/9) and the box showed up yesterday (4/15). How in the world can they get a box to me in 6 days from across the Atlantic while it takes PopSugar 10 days to get me a box from CA? Basically you can be assured that just because it ships from overseas, it does not mean it takes forever to get to you! Quite the opposite.

First Look

I had NO idea what to expect from MyIrelandBox this month. When I first heard of MyIrelandBox, I thought it was crafts you were supposed to do yourself. I quickly learned that this was NOT the case and that it was handmade items from Ireland. But still, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect.

The Information Card

I was very excited to see that MyIrelandBox had an information card. I love reading about the artists behind the crafts and I find it even more interesting on an international box like this! Here’s what was inside:

~Olyart- Joanna and Alex “I Love Ireland” bag: Isn’t this bag so cute? I love it and cannot wait to use it. The way the bag was folded I couldn’t see the Ireland at the bottom and I was expecting it to say “I Love Sheep”, which makes no sense at all, yet I would have loved it just the same.

Olyart – Joanna and Alex “I Love Ireland” bag

~Diedre McKenna Art: This is a beautiful print and would look amazing in a nautical themed beach house. It’s exactly what I envision for my parents up-north house. However, that’s not exactly what up-north is about, so I am going to need to figure out a new use for it. Maybe they’ll let me decorate a bathroom up there???

Diedre McKenna Art Print

~Clare Jordan Ceramics Dove Pin: This pin is so beautiful I cannot believe it was hand-crafted. This really is wearable art. And you can’t see it in my picture, but she is wearing the most beautiful ceramic gold ring. It’s really amazing what people can create!

Clare Jordan Ceramics Dove Pin

~Sinead Lough Pottery: This might be one of my favorite items of ALL the items in all of the subscription boxes I have ever received. It’s not only beautiful, but it’s something I can keep forever. I am going to use it as a Christmas ornament and in 20 years I will be able to look at it and remember all these subscription boxes I used to review!

Sinead Lough Pottery

~Placed – Rene Mullin Linen Bag: This bag is made from 100% irish linen and is absolutely adorable. And it’s totally washable which is very important to someone as clumsy as me!

Placed – Rene Mullin Linen Bag

I didn’t calculate a value for MyIrelandBox because I couldn’t find some of the items on the artists websites, but I totally feel like it’s worth the $46/month cost. I was very impressed by the quality of the items in the box and even happier that they were not cheesy trinkets or anything. Subscribers in the US get the exact same items as UK and EU do!

What do you think of MyIrelandBox? If you are interested in subscribing or just want to learn more, click here.

Disclosure: This box was received for review purposes. No compensation was received and, as always, all opinions are my own!

Posted in Monthly Subscription Boxes | Tagged Addicted, MyIrelandBox | 5 Comments

Tuesdays Troubles

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jennifer

It’s time for another edition of Tuesday Troubles. I’ve said it before, but this should be named “things i’m annoyed / confused / want to complain about”, however I couldn’t figure out how to make any of those into a snappy title, so Tuesday Troubles it is. And yes, I do realize that these aren’t true “troubles”. I know these for sure could be defined as first world problems!

~Can someone explain why my news alerts from CNN, Fox News, USAToday, etc. all come at different times? I’m not just talking about yesterday, I am talking about all the time. I’m not 100% sure what order they come in, but I think CNN *usually* wins. I’ll get a text alert that Adam Scott (who I think is delicious by the way) won the Masters from CNN and then 10 minutes later Fox tells me the same thing. Then a few minutes after that USAToday does. WTF? I’d think they’d all come at the same time no?

~Ugh. So I STILL haven’t planned one thing for WB’s party this weekend. Help me! I need food ideas (nothing fancy) and some ideas on places to buy some cute decorations. I mean, is Party City my only option at this point? There must be some cool secret place to get cute stuff that I don’t know about. I saw some SUPER cute rainbow stuff at Target, but yeah that won’t match his adorable hat and bib and I am super OCD like that.

~So I started C25K(*) (Couch-to5K) on Sunday and I already hate it. But everyone who runs swears that it’s so fun and amazing and that I too will love it. Really? Is this seriously true? I don’t know. I mean I used to run (not like far) and I never liked it then either. I guess I’ll see because I do plan to stick with it. Oh and what is it that when you mention to someone who runs that you started running (I shouldn’t even call it that because it’s more like run/walking), they immediately want to take you running? It’s like insta-friends and I kinda do like that part of it! The running part blows though.

~I mentioned it in my newsletter (you should subscribe), but B and I (although B might not know this until he reads this) are getting tattoos on Friday. I want to get something with the kids names or birthdays or something, but I am not 100% sure what? Does anyone have any ideas? If I had 3 kids, I would do something like this, but I don’t want it to look creepy with just two dates you know? And I don’t want to include like mine and B’s anniversary or anything because, umm, getting a tattoo like that is one sure way to get divorced. What about this one? Better? Clearly, I need help!!!

~WB is going to be taking his first plane ride soon and when we flew with L when he was a baby, we dragged along his car seat and installed it on the plane. Umm, yeah, I don’t want to do that again. It’s awkward and heavy and I want to avoid that. We have a Sit ‘n’ Stroll, but I don’t want such a big stroller so we’d have to bring another one as well and I’d like to avoid that too. Does anyone know if there are any other options?? Something safe and that the airline will allow (he’ll have his own seat)? Anyone?????

That’s it from here for now! What’s troubling you today?

(*) I’m actually doing “Ease into 5K” because that was the first C25K app that I found and I can’t do anything without an app. And because I wasn’t paying attention, I started with Week 2, Day 1 instead of Week 1, Day 1. No wonder I thought it was so hard. Oops.

Posted in Tuesday's Troubles | Tagged Annoyed, Help | 26 Comments

April Lip Factory, Inc. Review

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jennifer

April Lip Factory, Inc.

I received a few boxes today, but I am going to start with Lip Factory, Inc. Lip Factory, Inc. is an affordable monthly beauty subscription. Their beauty kits may include a full face of makeup products however, their focus is primarily on lips. Kits will include lip products such as lip glosses, lip sticks, lip liners and lip therapy products.

The Box

Lip Factory, Inc. ships vis USPS and took 3 days, including the weekend to get from FL to MI. Why doesn’t everyone ship via USPS?

The Box in the Box

Lip Factory uses a larger outer box and puts the smaller box (which contains the actual goodies) inside.

First Look

I was excited to see that the box was packed full! I was a little curious about the wrapped item though. For whatever reason, I thought it was edible. Just an FYI: It was not .

The Information Card

The April Lip Factory, Inc. theme is “Awaken Spring” and included inspiration from William Moultrie, who is a make-up artist in the Bahamas (I had to Google that).

Here’s what was inside:

~LASplash Cosmetics Nail Polish (Aqua Fusion) ($3.99): Somehow I have turned into the biggest nail polish junkie on the planet so I was thrilled to see that the wrapped up item was nail polish! I love that they wrapped it up and put in a plastic bag. Because if it somehow did break, nothing else would be ruined!

LA Splash Nail Polish

~Sweet Pea & Fay Cosmetics J’Adore Les Levres (Mermaid Kiss) ($7.99): You know what’s wrong with this? Nothing. There’s never anything wrong with a pink lip gloss! I’ve never heard of this brand before, but from the looks of their website, they have some fun and edgy stuff!

Sweetpea & Fay J’Adore Les Levres

~OFRA Cosmetics Lip Gloss (Bordeaux) ($12.95): This is never a color I’d pick for myself, but why not give it a try? Its very shiny and I don’t know if it’s billed as being scented, but I think it smells delicious! Maybe I’m just hungry?

OFRA Lip Gloss

~Two Cosmetics Duo Eyeshadow (Dancing Machine) ($6.99): My picture is horrible, but these are actually very wearable shadows and I am super excited about trying them! Dancing Machine is a “rosy mauve in shimmer & matte” and isn’t like a sickly pink that would make me look awful.

Two Cosmetics Duo Eyeshadow

~Revision Tinted Moisturizer (Sample): BB cream, tinted moisturized, I love it all! I’m not 100% sure what shade I got, but I think it’s going to be perfect for me!

Revision Intellishade Tinted Moisturizer

~LiSi Line & Define Eyeliner Pencil (Tsunami) ($4.90): In case you were wondering (I know I was curious), Tsunami is a purple color and I’m scared! Someone out there must know, how does one wear (and wear it well) purple liner? Show me the way!

LiSi Line & Define Eye Liner Pencil

~29 Cosmetics Mascara (Devine Brown) ($29): I saved the item I am most excited about for last! I was just at Sephora over the weekend and I SO wanted to grab a new mascara, but I was somehow able to restrain myself. So I was totally excited to see a 29 Cosmetics mascara in the box. I’ve liked everything I have tried from this line and I am hoping this is no exception.

29 Cosmetics Mascara

All totaled, the April Lip Factory, Inc. Beauty Kit had a value of $65.82! And that doesn’t even include the tinted moisturizer sample I am so excited about! Totally amazing considering that it’s only $22/month ($26/month if you are in Canada).

Do you subscribe to the Lip Factory, Inc.? What’d you think of the April box? And if you don’t subscribe and want to or just want to learn more, click here.

Disclosure: This box was received for review purposes. No compensation was received and, as always, all opinions are my own!

Posted in Monthly Subscription Boxes | Tagged Addicted, Lip Factory | 6 Comments

Pray for Boston

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jennifer

So sad ;(. Sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone in Boston today.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Would you ever dye your own hair?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jennifer

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I dye my own hair all the time, but I realized yesterday when I posted a picture of the box (and the after picture of my hair) that not everyone does. I was kind of surprised, because I thought it was fairly standard? But clearly it’s not!

I do it for a few reasons. First of all, I cannot STAND sitting in that chair at the salon for 2 hours. And then of course, there’s the fact that it costs a fortune. Dude, I don’t need to be paying $150+ for something that I could pay $7.99 for at home you know? However, if I happen to be at the salon (for a haircut or am there with L and B – we all go to the same place) and my hair is looking a hot mess, my girl will insist on dying it.

I don’t always use the same brand (I mean if I have a coupon, I will buy whatever), but I do really like Garnier line. The instructions are really easy to follow and it’s not a huge mess.

If you have never dyed your hair before, but want to give it a try, here are my tips:
~Do it on a night where you don’t have to go anywhere the next day (i.e. work), but also on a night that your salon is open the next day (JUST IN CASE). I’d recommend a Friday night.
~Follow the instructions. I once left dye on for longer than the instructions said because I wanted my hair to be “really dark brown”. Umm, yeah, it turned black. OOPS.
~Don’t go from blonde to brown or brown to blonde or whatever the FIRST time you ever dye your own hair. It’s just not a good idea.
~Have someone help you if you are super worried. I used to have B help, but now that I have done it a bunch of times, I don’t need him anymore.

Allright, so tell me, do you dye your own hair? What are your reasons? Do you hate being trapped in that chair as much as I do? And if you do, share your secrets and tips! What brand do you use? And if you don’t, why not?

Posted in Poll | Tagged DIY, Poll | 32 Comments

Monday Morning Ramblings

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jennifer

~We had a great weekend which included seeing Scooby Doo Live (thanks to MichiGal and her contests)! The boys (B included) and I loved it. L was so into it and WB was screaming he was so excited. If you’ve never been to a kids show, you must go to least one. Everyone arrives late, it’s loud and there is lots of people coming and going during the show! It’s fun. During our trip to the bathroom / concession stand, we had to hit up the trinkets and ended up with a $20 stuffed Scooby (which likely has a retail value of $2) and a $10 Mystery Machine flashlight (how could we not?).

The Show

~This weekend also included an impromptu trip to the Genius Bar because someone spilled water on her MacBook. As a side note, this never would have happened if I were drinking soda. I would NEVER spill my precious Diet Pepsi! But thankfully we live close to the Apple Store and I made a quick appointment and we all headed over there. L loves the Apple Store so he HAD to come. Happily they were able to fix my computer (for free) and I was in and out in like 10 minutes. I can’t help but wonder what people who don’t have Apple stuff or don’t live near an Apple Store do? Those guys have saved me more times than I can count. They have replaced iPhones, fixed my laptop, everything. For free!

~I’m expecting lots of boxes his week, including Birchbox, Birchbox Home, Love With Food, the Julep Sea Salt Mystery Box, Kiwi Crate and Lip Factory. That’s what I know about anyway. I have some boxes that are new to me coming this month as well, including Bestowed, Julibox, Tyler Florence Fancy Box, MyIrelandBox and Bugsy’s Box to name a few! What boxes are you expecting this week?

~I must be super old, because I didn’t even know the MTV Movie Awards were last night! Seriously I used to mark that stuff on my calendar! And not only did I not know about them, when I looked at pictures, I didn’t even know who half the people were. Snooki looked great though!

photo credit: invision

~How was your weekend? What’d you do? And what are you looking forward to this week? As you know, this is a huge week over here since B is turning 30 and WB is turning 1!! Eeek!!!

Posted in Monday Morning Ramblings | Tagged Ramblings, Random | 11 Comments

April Crafter’s Crate Review

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Jennifer

April Crafter’s Crate

Crafter’s Crate is a monthly subscription box that delivers hand-picked crafts and activities made for girls. It’s $19.99/month and is billed for girls ages 5-12. Although I don’t have girls, L does have some little girl cousins, so I figured I would give it a try.

The Box

Crafter’s Crate is shipped via USPS and comes in a brown box with their cute little elephant on it.

First Look

Second First Look

How pretty is this packaging? Seriously? And a handwritten note to my cousin? Too cute! It pained me to untie that pretty pink bow because I knew I’d never be able to make it as pretty again!

The Information Card

Crafter’s Crate includes “Grown Up Instructions” which includes an overview of all the projects and discussion points and ideas to use the projects. Each individual project includes an instruction card as well! The April Crafter’s Crate theme is “April Flowers bring May Flowers” and here’s what was inside:

~Magic Bubbles: I’m totally doing these with L because I know he’d love them. Of all the craft projects we have done, I don’t believe we have ever made bubbles! I am super excited about them and am even more excited to actually get outside!

Magic Bubbles

~Hair Flower: This is adorable and while my boys would want no part of it, I wouldn’t mind wearing it myself (you know how I love headbands). But I will let my cousin make / wear this instead. And I love the message about using this as a opportunity to boost your little girl’s body image by telling her that taking care of herself, loving herself and being a good person all help to make a girl beautiful. So true!

Hair Flower

~May Day Basket: I have to admit, I don’t know much about May Day (much less May Day baskets), but after a little reading, I learned that you put flowers or treats in a basket and leave them on a neighbors doorstep, ring the bell and run away! Pretty sure I love this idea and it’s something we are going to start here. I love showing L that it’s just as fun to give gifts as it is to receive them and I gotta tell you, I think he’s getting it! And he will totally love the surprise element of this as well!

May Day Basket

~Pin Wheel: What is it about kids and pinwheels? We’ve never made our own pinwheel so I think L and I may do this one as well. He won’t care that it’s pink at all! This activity teaches girls (and L) about how things work and gives a little lesson on how you can explain why the pinwheel moves!

Windy Pinwheel

~Cup-o-Grass: The cup-o-grass gives you a chance to teach how grass grows. Just like you grow when you eat and drink, so is the grass! The clear cup lets you actually SEE the roots forming which I think will be awesome for L!

Cup-O-Grass

While Crafter’s Crate is billed for girls (ages 5-12), I do think L will be able to enjoy a lot of these crafts as well! I do love the lessons they aim to teach with their projects and think it’s something most girls will enjoy!

Do you subscribe to Crafter’s Crate? What’d you think of this month’s box? If you are interesting in subscribing or just want to learn more, click here. And if you use the code “RAMBLE” you’ll save $10 off your first month!

Disclosure: This box was provided for review purposes. No compensation was received and, as always, all opinions are my own!

Posted in Monthly Subscription Boxes | Tagged Addicted, Crafter's Crate | 6 Comments

Sunday Social – All About Twitter

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Jennifer

I am, once again, linking up with Ashley and Neely for today’s Sunday Social.

1. When did you join twitter?
After a little GTS’ing, I learned that I joined Twitter on 9/3/2008. So 4.5 years ago. And in that time I have tweeted 2,722 times. I find this shocking because I rarely tweet. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t love it.

2. Who is your favorite non-celeb to follow?
Gosh, I am going to go with Jenelle from Teen Mom. She’s @PBandJenelley_1 in case you want to follow her and she’s probably my most favorite tweeter ever. You want to know every last detail about what’s going on in her life? No worries, she’ll tell you. I am putting her in the non-celeb category because she’s really not a celebrity. I mean, she’s famous and all, but you know….

3. Who is your favorite celeb to follow?
I’m going with Lindsay Lohan. It’s like reading someone else’s twitter because you’d have no idea what was going on in her life from twitter. Like I am real sure she spent the entire night (last week) playing Draw Something. Unless she was playing while sitting under the table in Brazil, this didn’t happen!

4. Have you ever had a celeb respond to a tweet?
Umm, no. I don’t think so anyway? Like I said, I don’t tweet much, so I don’t really think there is much chance of anyone ever tweeting me back. And this really isn’t the question, but can I just say how much I hate retweets? Hey Justin Bieber, I love you, can I get a retweet? NO. You cannot.

5. What is your favorite store/brand to follow?
Target. I mean I just love Target, so why wouldn’t I love them on Twitter? Their TargetTruths always crack me up and are totally true.

6. Give us three tweeps we should be following.
I really don’t think I am qualified to answer this since I am not totally into twitter (instagram is my true love), but I am certain you will be bored if you follow me (@theramblingjen). I mean you can, but I think you will be bored! I do look forward to reading everyone else’s suggestions though!

Posted in Sunday Social | Tagged Link-Up | 8 Comments