Quick Love with Food Post

Love with Food will have a black Friday Special for three days. You can get 20% off all sub plans plus the 6 and 12 month plans come with 2 years of the Rachel Ray magazine. You have to click here to get the special offer.

I'll be back later today with another post.

Love With Food Box Review

Love with Food is another type of subscription service. The box comes monthly and the prices range from $10 - $19.95 per month depending on what type of box you get and the length of time you sign up for. If you would like to try love with food you can click here. Quick disclaimer, I did receive this box for free to review and blog about the service. My first impression of the box was that it was STUFFED with goodies. As soon as I opened the box stuff was literally falling out. Before opening the box I have never had any of these products.

I'm not a huge coconut fan. I like the flavor but the texture just doesn't agree with me so I was hesitant to try these chips. They were not my favorite because they still had that coconut texture but they were not as bad as I was fearing. Since they are toasted it gives it a little easier texture for me to handle. The flavor was really yummy though.

I have no idea how to use this product and I was too terrified to try it. I’m going to do a little more google searching and try to find a way to use these. I did notice that the “pearls” look as though they all busted in transit.

This bar was awesome. My breakfast never lasts until I am able to take a lunch at work. This bar curbs the hunger and gets me thru until I can get to lunch and I was able to eat just a small salad for lunch and still feel full until dinner later that evening. I would recommend this item to friends and family.

Here’s another item that I just couldn’t bring myself to try. I have a huge issue with texture and pureed foods just wouldn’t sit well with me. However I will be saving it for my son who just turned five months. We just now started introducing him to cereal and he’s tried one veggie. When he gets to combination items (in a few more months) I will let him give this a try.

These were ok. They didn’t have a lot of flavor but they weren’t terrible. If they were in my bag and I needed a little snack to get me thru dance class or a sporting event that I’m at for my children I would certainly eat these no problem.

Hard candy is always a must for me in the winter time because of colds and coughing. I hate cough drops and will only use them when nothing else will work. I prefer to keep hard candies around to keep that scratchy throat in check. This is a good addition to my stash. They were yummy.

Here's the one item I shared with my family. My husband and daughter both enjoyed the gum. The flavor didn't last as long as I would have hoped but when you first started chewing it was good.

Overall I thought this box was worth the $10. I'm pretty sure that's the box that I got to review. I would have to see the larger box to see if it was worth the $19.95. This box is a great way to try new types of food that you typically wouldn't pick up at the store yourself. LWF is running a deal right now. If you sign up bfore December first you get a free 2 year sub to Rachel Ray Magazine.

If you try Love With Food let me know what you think.

Reviews to come

I'm having a little trouble with blogger today and pictures so I wanted to let everyone know that I have a few reviews to come.

First I have the November Birchbox review. There was a yummy chocolate treat in the box this month.

Next, Love with Food contacted me and asked if I would like to review a box....I of course said yes and got a cute little red box stuffed full of gourmet goodies to try. I even had my daughter try some of the things. They gave me a code for my readers FESTIVE2013 it is valid until 12/1/13 for $5 off your subscription of 6 or 12 months. Currently the price for each month is $10. They are also offering a bonus 2 year subscription to Rachel Ray's magazine if you sign up for a 6 or 12 month sub before 12/1. I think this would be a excellent Christmas present to the foodie in your family or friends circle. Try love with food here.

I also received my first ipsy bag. I was excited to finally get off the wait list and I wasn't disappointed. Lots of new beauty products for me to try in this bag.

Hopefully blogger with start acting right before the end of the day and I will be able to get my post up.

October Birchbox Review

For those of you that do not know what birchbox is I will explain. It is a monthly subcription box that is mailed to you. It's filled with wonderful beauty samples. If you are anything like me this is a great introduction to new things. I'm not willing to go shell out very much for a product I know nothing about. This is a great way to try new things to find out if you think buying the full size is worth it or not. You can get a subcription for $10/month and if you sign up for an extended period (6 or 12 months subs) I believe you are offered a discount. If you'd like to try it please click here

The first product in my box was Avene Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser. Per the informational card that accomapnies the samples it is a pH-balanced wash that whisks away impurities with calming French spring water. I did like the "fresh" feel of my face after I used this product. I also liked the size of the sample. You only need a quarter sized amount so this sample should last for at least 7 uses. The full size product from Birchbox.com is $20 (the same price on amazon.com).

The next product is the DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer Moisturizing Serum. I haven't used this product because thankfully I don't have wrinkles yet. I may give this to my mother to see if she would like to try the product. Full size is $85 at birchbox.com (again, same price on amazon.com).

This was the birchbox find item. Chapsticks Hydrations Lock. This is an item that they "find" and believe it's awesome enough to share with all their subers. This is always in addition to the normal samples (never in place of). I LOVE this sample. I used chapstick A LOT. I'm outside in the wind and all sorts of conditions due to sports and this is one of my go to items to help soothe those dry lips. They also included a coupon for $1 off my next tube. Birchbox did not give a price but I found it on amazon for $1.49. If store prices are comparable I can get my next stick for just $.49....I love the sound of that deal.

I was happy to see this product in my box. I have naturally curly hair and I'm always looking for new things to help keep my hair in check. It tends to have a mind of it's own. Curly Hair Solutions is a good product and the price isn't that bad. At birchbox.com the price is $10 for the full size (more expensive on amazon.com).

Last product in my box was this lip product. It's from theBalm Cosmetics and it's called Stainiac. My color was called Beauty Queen. I did not like the feel of this product when I put it on my lips and the apperance on my lips was more like a "kool-aid" look rather than a lip tint. For myself this was not a good product but it might work differently for others. Full size on birchbox.com is $17 (amazon.com $12.50).

Overall I was not disappointed in the samples that I recieved in my October box. It introduced me to new hair, lip and facial products. These things are products that I never would have tried on my own. I also like that birchbox provides a sample that is large enough to really "test" the product.

I'm a little behind with my birchbox reviews so you'll be seeing another one in the next week or so on my November box that I recieved. Lets just say the "extra" was really tastey in Novembers box.

Bluum Box Review: For 4 month old boy

This months theme was grab and go. While I've read many reviews that claim there is no real theme to the box. The products in the box are said to never really match the theme, I thought this one did. At least, I thought, most of the products matched the theme. Let me first start by saying I was very pleased with this months box. My son will love everything in the box that was meant for him. This box, unlike last months box, was geared more toward the baby vs. the mom and I really like that. I subscribed to the box for my son afterall.

First up, Brain Rules For Baby. I've seen a lot of online reviews about this book, all good. I haven't had time to sit down and read it yet but I look forward to having a little time to see what this book is all about. Bluum values the book at $15 I found it online for $12 (even cheaper if you have a kindle).

Second, we got some organic calming cream. It's recommend for those that have sensitive skin and eczema. I'm eager to try this on my 4 year old daughter who has bad break outs of eczema on the backs of her legs. The doctors want me to use a steriod cream but I really want to avoid that if at all possible. So far we have found that aquaphor healing onitment works really well but it can get pretty expensive depending on where you buy it. This cost $13 per bluum but I found a full size traveling kit (with two additional products) for only $11 online. I hope this works because I will buy more.

Next we got a couple Ella's kitchen full size samples to try. I haven't started foods with my little guy yet (maybe in another month or so) so I can't give a good review on these products yet. I do like that they are organic as I plan to make my own food to avoid all those chemicals in processed baby food. These would be perfect when we are traveling and I can't really take my homemade items along. I have read that most of Ella's products are pretty flavorful. Bluum values these each at $1.89. I believe they are in stores near me at $1.99 and online I couldn't find them any cheaper than $2.28.

We love this product. Mommy love it because it's soft and he can't hurt himself with it. Most rattles are hard and 4 month olds can't control their hand/arm movements all the way yet so he's constantly "hitting himself". It is also really easy for him to hold and the rattle is a good rattle. you know how some tend to be really annoying and loud and others are so soft you can't really hear them....this one has a noise level that is perfect! Bluum values this at $5.00 and I couldn't find it for less the $7.00.

Here's another item we love. This elephant is really soft and the legs/arms/nose give the little one several things to grab onto. Bluum values this at $10.00 and I couldn't find this exact item anywhere online....I found something made by the same company similar size and it was valued at $15.00.

This item was for me. It's Numi Organic Tea-Garden mix. I'm not a huge hot tea drinker (I prefer mine in the summer and cold) but these odd flavors have me wondering what they taste like. They sound as though they would be good to soothe a cold. That's if you don't have time for soup.I will try them and give my thoughts on them later. Bluum values this at $8.00 and I found it online for $6.19

So total bluum value $54.78 compared to my online research value $55.75. So as you can see I actually valued this box higher than bluum did. I'm very impressed this month and glad that we will be getting a box next month. I really believe that I'm getting what I paid plus some with each of these boxes!

If you'd like to try bluum or gift it to someone click here.

September Birchbox Review

I was going to review Julep Maven next but it still hasn't arrived. I'm getting a little frustrated with that (hope it arrives soon). In the meantime one of my other boxes arrived that I decided to try. It's called Birchbox and it's $10 a month for a box of health/beauty samples.

I opened the box only to be a little disappointed. I understand that $10 isn't all that expensive but I expected the "samples" to be a little larger than what they are. The sizes that they sent I could probably get from beauty counters for free. I would have to travel around and find them though. Unless of course I could get online and request a sample from the companies that make the product directly. That could also be time consuming so I'm going to give them a chance here.

This lip balm is nice it's called Original Nipple Balm for Lips by Dr. Lipp. It's interesting that it used to be for nursing mothers. You can also use it on cuticles and elbows. The full size product cost $14.50. My information card does't say how large the full size is but I did a search online and found that it's slightly over 1/2 an oz. Not sure if it's worth that, I will have to use the product a little longer and find a cheaper comparable product to determine if it's worth it.

I'm excited to try this product the Keratherapy deep conditioning masque. The package is maybe enough to get 2 uses out. I'm not sure if that's a big enough sample to determine if it really "works" or not but I will let you all know. I have very curly and very frizzy hair and I'm in search of a product that tames all of that down. The full size is 8oz and it's $23.

I was so excited to see this in my box in this color. This is the Ruffian nail lacquer in Delirium. I need to sit down and give myself a pretty manicure with this pretty polish. The full size (not sure what the full size is)cost is $10. Not unheard of for a good nail polish.

This is the Serge Normant meta luxe hair spray. The full size is 7.5oz and it costs $25. Currently I spend $2-3 on an 11oz can of hair spray. I'm a cheapy person but it doesn't work well in my hair. I'm wondering, and excited to try, if a more expensive quality brand will help with my out of control hair. I did try this product and so far so good. It has tamed my locks and it's still soft to touch not "crunchy" like those other hairsprays. I still don't know about spending $25 on a can....maybe I'll have to use it for a little while and thanks to the decent size sample I should be able to use it for at least a week or two.

I still need to try this product it's called S.M.A.R.T Skin Perfecting Polisher by Grand Central Beauty. A 1 oz (full size) container costs $38. Directions read that you only need a dime size amount. You massage that amount into clean dry skin for 30 seconds. Rinse is optional. It is supposed to exfoliate, tone, smooth and moisturize your skin all in one.

This first insert has a cute little saying on the front and then it has a nice little message on the back. I might keep them and turn them into small cards or something.

This insert has information about each of the products included in the box (on the back not pictured). The front of the card, at least this month, is a little letter from the Birchbox team. This month they "turned" 3. I do hope you found something from my review that helps you either decide to get the birchbox or to maybe buy one of the products. If you want to try birchbox click here.I really do hope to be back soon with that review on the Julep box.

Bluum Box Review: Three Month Boy Theme Smiley Baby

Bluum Box is a monthly subscription box for mom and baby delivered to your home. You can purchase monthly at $24.95 or get packages (3 month, 6 month and 12 month) to reduce the cost of the box. If you would like to check them out here's a link to sign up. I signed up for a year and got a pretty good deal. It's going to be like getting a present every month for the first year of my son's life. As you can see from the picture above, this months theme (for my 3 month old) is smiley baby.

This was the first item in my box that I tried. Side note, there were a lot of mommy items in this box. I hope to see more baby items in my next box. This Luna bar tasted pretty good, I've never had Luna bars before, it reminds me of the nutragrain breakfast bars.

I threw this bar in my bag that I take to work every day for a quick snack in case I don't get a chance to get a "real" lunch in. I haven't had to use it yet so I can't really rate taste.

I'm not sure why these were in my box. Three months post partum and I've lost all the baby weight so my pre-pregnancy clothes fit just fine. These would have been better for that stage between your regular clothes and maternity clothes. It is a wonderful idea just not useful to me.

I need to check this website out and see what they offer. I will have to review this in more depth if I decide to purchase something.

I love books like this. This was probably one of my favorite items from the box. I like the durability of the think pages in these types of books. Little hands can't tear up the pages when he starts grabbing things. It's a bonus because it comes with a cd.

Anoter mommy item. I've started using this oil on the few stretch marks that I got during pregnancy. I will have to give it some time to work, if it's going to. I will do another review in a few months to let everyone know how it works.

I would consider this a mommy item as well. I used this to just test on a bottle and it seemed to work like any other dish liquid. I do like the smell though.

Finally another baby item. Even though it's plain I really like this item. It's really soft and I see myself adding an iron on or something to dress it up a little for my boy.

I'm happy with the first box but I hope to see more baby items in the next box. I do believe it was worth what I paid for the box. I look fwd. to reviewing more boxes later. My next review will be on Julep.