Stork Stack November 2013 Review

We're on the second box of Emily's last 3 Stork Stack boxes - it goes up to age 3 and she turns 3 in December. Stork Stack is a subscription for kids ages 0 -3. For $27.99, you get 4 age-appropriate items for your child and one item for mom or dad. It's nice that they add in an item for parents, but I have my own subscriptions, so I'd kind of rather they make it 5 things for kids. November's theme was "Lunch Box Stack". As usual, Emily was excited to see a box for her.

Opening the box

First peek

Stork Stack has done away with paper information cards, but send out a PDF version with the tracking email. I don't really mind the change, although I'm not really sure how to display it here since I can't really copy and paste the image or find an image url. But I'm showing what we get anyway, so I guess I don't really need to post it.

The first thing Emily pulled out was the Surf Sweets gummy snacks ($0.73 for both based on Amazon's price). We got 2 small bags (.5 oz vs the 2.75 oz bags that I find for sale online) - Fruity Bears which have 6 flavors (cherry, grapefruit, grape, lemon, orange, and strawberry) and Fruity Hearts which have 2 flavors (watermelon and cherry). She only recently started liking fruit snacks and these are coated in sugar, so I thought she'd acutally like these, but apparently not. Oh well. More for me! I think they're pretty good! I did prefer the Fruity Bears to the Fruity Hearts though. More flavors.

I think she thought they looked good at first.

Surf Sweets (ok, this picture might have been taken after they were eaten)

Next up was a Spuds Open Plate in orange ($9.99 on Amazon. Their site doesn't seem to work at all at the time I'm writing this.). Orange is probably the ugliest color we could have gotten, but it's a plate. It works. I'm a tad concerned she may grow out of this pretty quickly since it's so small. It's top rack dishwasher safe (I usually just hand wash those things), but not microwave safe. For whatever reason, I almost expected it to have a scent, given that it's made from reclaimed potatoes. Obviously, it didn't smell. This product was fine and it's nice that it's recycled material, but really, it's just not exciting at all. I would've much rather gotten a Skip Hop plate, which, while it doesn't necessarily solve the size issue, Emily does still like the animals on their plates and cups (and backpacks and roller bags - she has the puppy roller bag for plane trips and it's adorable to see her pull it through the airport!).

It's a plate.

Spuds Open Plate

The next item, one that Emily was definitely excited to see, was Dinosaur Diner by Annie Kubler ($9.89 on Amazon). I love seeing books in her boxes. She loves reading and I love to encourage that. This was a cute book about a dinosaur that eats too much junk food and has no energy, but learns to eat well and exercise to feel better. I  had to explain it to her a bit since the story was cute, but a bit over her head. She liked that it had a puppet in it, although it was a bit hard to use. Your thumb and forefinger don't fit in well enough to open the mouth well, so you have you use your forefinger and middle finger, which is just awkward. But it is cute, so this one's a win.

Ooh, a book!

Dinosaur Diner by Annie Kubler

The last item was a Stephen Joseph Classic Lunchbox ($15.99). We got the owl pattern. It's cute, but it's a lunchbox. Emily doesn't use lunchboxes yet. She does go to preschool 3x a week, but they give her lunch at school as part of the tuition. This really isn't useful for us yet. I'm kind of disappointed to see this at all in a box that serves ages 0-3. Who in that age group really needs a lunch box? There are tons of cute things from Stephen Joseph that I can see on their site - in particular the art totes, the reusable snack bags, and the bottle buddies all look so cute! I don't know. I mean, it's already open because Emily wanted to play with it, but otherwise, it would've gone straight to the trade pile. We just don't need it.

Stephen Joseph Classic Lunchbox

She wanted to put the Surf Sweets into it.

Holding her bag

And finally, the parent gift this week was a sample packet of EBOOST ($1.40). This is a mix for drinks that contains a slew of vitamins and stuff to give you natural energy according to their website. I may try this at some point, but since we're hoping for number 2, I'm just not going to risk drinking anything I'm not sure of right now and I couldn't find if it was safe to drink while trying to conceive. I've cut a lot of stuff out of my diet. I haven't really heard anything about these, so I'm not sure how well they work or how good they taste. Orange probably wouldn't be my first choice in flavors, but oh well.

EBOOST (is it all caps? Eboost? EBoost? eBoost? eboosT?) sample

November 2013 Stork Stack

So, I guess I can kind of see how this box is relevant to November - school is back in session and it's almost Thanksgiving, so there's a focus on food and food related products. These all at least somewhat fit that theme. It's also worth $38, so over the price of the box. In the end though, the only item in this box Emily (or I, honestly) was excited about was the book. That's what I want to see in these boxes! This is for Emily. I want her to be excited to open it, not look in and be like "hmm, well, there's a book I really like and a bunch of other stuff I don't care about". I get the introduction to new brands, and I'm glad I learned about Stephen Joseph here. I just wish they had sent something else from that brand. Something more age appropriate. Plus, that Spuds plate is just...eh. It's an ugly color and it's small. I guess I'm just a bit bummed that of her last 3 months in this sub, 2 so far have been a bit underwhelming. Well, hopefully their December box will be fun for the holidays and filled with gift-worthy items!

If you'd like to sign up, please use my referral code: C641FAA7 at the Stork Stack website. We'll both earn $10 Stork bills, which can be applied to the next month's box! If you already get Stork Stack, what did you get? I'd love to hear what different age groups got!

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I included a referral code, but no referral link.)

Friday iPhone Dump

This one isn't late!! Woohoo! I'm again linking up with Jen over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Friday iPhone Dump!

The big thing we did last weekend was go up to the Woodlands for a Children's Festival! We didn't tell Emily what she'd see there, but there was a big surprise! One of Emily's favorite shows is the Imagination Movers. Coincidentally, it's the only one she watches that I also love. It's just so cute and the guys are funny - it makes me laugh! A month or so ago, they came to Houston and I found out about it literally the night before they came. It was a free show, so I didn't need to worry about tickets, but Emily had JUST started school 2 weeks earlier and missed her entire second week of school because she was sick, so I really didn't want her to miss anymore and the show was a Wednesday, one of her school days (she goes MWF). Usually, I can swap days during the week, but the only day left would've been Thursday and I had a doctor's appointment very early that day I couldn't change, so there was just nothing I could do apart from have her skip school. In the end, although it broke my heart to have her miss the concert, we skipped it because I thought it was important for her to go to school. She didn't know about it, so she was fine, but I felt like I was depriving her of an awesome experience! SO! When we found out they were coming BACK to our area for another show, I decided we absolutely had to go. This is her waiting for she doesn't know what.

What is going on?

As soon as the show started, people were up dancing in the aisles, so I let Emily go for it! They started with their theme song, so she recognized it for sure. Throughout the show, the Movers also came down off the stage and high fived and hugged kids. It was awesome!

Dancing!

For one of the last songs, they brought out trash can air cannons or something that puffed out big smoke rings (I think it was dry ice) and then finished with their show's closing song, which Emily loves - she loves to jump up, get down, and turn around when they sing it!

Watching the Movers!

After the show, they had mentioned a meet and greet, but we found out from security that it was something you had to win tickets for from Radio Disney ahead of time, which was a bummer, but Emily had fun, so it was ok. So, then Emily decided she really wanted to play on the hill up above the arena, so we went up and let her run and roll around for a while.

Running down the hill!

After a while, I noticed a blue jumpsuit down by the stage, grabbed Emily, and we got down there quickly to see that Mover Scott had come out to say hi! He was late for the meet and greet so that he could say hi to some of the people still hanging around, which was super nice of him. Emily told him she liked his show and he called her an angel and then told her she should learn an instrument! When we went and got a Movers shirt for Emily, we and the other family buying a shirt at the time were surprised with an invitation to go to the meet and greet! Emily put on her shirt (and has wanted to wear it as often as I'll let her this week!) and got ready to meet her Movers! Honestly, I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing at the time. Not so far that she was unhappy of course, she just seemed a little dazed during the meet and greet. She definitely knew it was them and recognized the music at the concert, but while meeting them, she clammed right up. Seems she's gotten a touch of my shyness. Directly afterwards and all week long, it was nonstop, "Did you meet the movers!!" (she still says "you" sometimes when she means "I") and "Scott's hair was tall!". I think Scott's her favorite. (Ok, he's mine too. He was just soo sweet to Emily! Plus he used to have long hair, and well, I'm a sucker for guys with long hair. Just look at my hubby.) I'm so glad we got to go. I think it was a fun experience for her and both Chris and I were just so impressed by how down to earth and genuine they all were in person. We will absolutely take her again if they come back!

Mover Scott remembered her from a bit earlier and said "I know you!" and picked her right up!

Mover Dave patting her on the head. Mover Smitty wasn't there, sadly, but Farmer Kyle was (he's their tour drummer).

With her Movers! They all sang a harmony together after this shot!

So, the rest of the week was life as usual. School MWF, Gymboree Tuesday, and Library and Chick Fila Thursday. I did need to pick up a few things at Walmart too, so we also had a little lunch date together there.

She had just noticed I was taking her picture.

At her Gymboree music class

In the Play and Learn class, "putting cement into the cracked road".

And jumping, one of her favorite things to do.

I don't remember which morning this was, but I love when I get to sneak a peek at her sleeping peacefully.

Playing with some cars (she loves cars just like her mama did!).

And finally, I've been scouring eBay for the past year in an attempt to find a backup for Emily's main stuffed animal. The one she's inseparable from, her Thumper. Now that sounds like it should be easy! Just go to a Disney store! We even have a gigantic box full of Thumpers (they're Chris's - Thumper was his favorite growing up too and he got one on every Disney trip. Still does!). But this one is different. It's tiny and lays down rather than sits. As far as I can tell, it was only for sale for about a year (when Emily was under a year old, which is when I bought the first one). I even have the same exact style in Miss Bunny, but that one isn't the same to Emily. Last week, I found THE bunny. I promptly bought it (Tags still attached, clean, and cheap too! I probably would've paid way more than I did for it!) and I have it hiding away just in case we ever need it. Hopefully, the newness of it wouldn't put her off immediately like Miss Bunny does, but I'm hoping it would do just fine. I took a picture of them laying next to each other (Emily was in the kitchen at the time so didn't see) and I just think it's so funny to see how mangled old bunny is.

Old bunny with it's bobbly neck that she grips very tightly, flat face from smooshing it up to her nose, and ragged fur and tail next to backup bunny all fluffy and nice.

Graze November 2013 Review

Graze is a snack service that is either monthly or biweekly, depending on how often you want it, and for $6 a box you get 4 one-serving healthy snacks.You don't get to pick your snacks with this box like you do with Naturebox, but you can rate everything on their list (over 90 snack choices) as Trash (you'll never get it), Try (happy to try), Like (send occasionally), and Love (send regularly), so you do get at least some customization to your tastes. I recently got my second box.

Opening the box

I had peeked on the site ahead of time and looked on my page of "snacks you've had recently", so I knew what was coming. Based on my original guess ratings, this box contained 2 likes and 2 tries. I got:
1. Scrumptious Blueberry Swirl - A combo of dried blackcurrants, raspberry infused cranberries, and blueberry yogurt raisins. I found it a little odd there were no actual blueberries in it, but maybe they dry too small? Anyway, I liked the yogurt raisins, but the rest of the dried fruit was a little too sour and a little too hard for me. This started a "try" and ended a "try".

2. The Cheese Board - A combo of cheese cashews, baked herb bites, and salsa corn sticks. This was my least favorite in the box. I didn't even finish it. The cashews were too sweet and the baked herb bites had the flavor of the asian snacks I don't like (maybe they're rice crackers?). I just wasn't a fan of this. It started a "try" and ended a "trash".

3. Honeycomb Crunch - Milk chocolate covered honeycomb, raisins and almonds. The raisins and almonds were plain raisins and almonds. I actually ate all those first. In these kinds of mixes, where there's a clear yummy part, I just can't help but save the yummy part for last. I don't think I even tried all 3 parts of this mix together to see what it might taste like. The chocolate covered honeycomb was good. This started a "like" and ended a "like".

4. Honeycomb Flapjack - Rolled oat bar with honeycomb and milk chocolate. These were really good! They actually reminded me a lot of a drier baklava, which I love! Definitely my favorite of the box! These started out a "like" and ended up a "love".

In the end, I was pretty happy with this box. Again there was one really good snack (although I'd still say that apples and caramel were even better than the flapjacks here). I do like this subscription, but again, with the holidays coming up, something had to go and my food subs were the easiest choice. I do have the option from Graze to start my sub back up before the end of the year without losing my place which is nice, but I'm not sure I'll be ready to resubscribe by then. I'll have to think about it for next year and I guess if I want it again, I'll just have to find another invite code.

If you'd like to sign up, I do have 4 invite codes I think I can still give out, but I want to make sure whoever gets them will use it (because there's only 4), so if you'd like one, please just leave me a reply here and I'll email it to you! My code will not only get you in, but it'll also get you your 1st and 5th box free!


(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own.)

Phone Case of the Month November 2013 Review

I recently learned about Phone Case of the Month, a subscription for iPhone users (4, 4s, 5, and 5s). I've been using the same case for almost a year now (a Tardis case), so I decided it was time to mix things up! For $10 a month (which is a pretty great deal for a phone case! Most places you have to spend at least $25!), you get a new limited edition case (only 200 of each print are made) - they are hard cases "made of Poly Carbonate and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) with a silicone coating for a soft to the touch feel".

Welcome note and case in a case!

I'm not sure if they all come with the little carry bag, but it's cute. Reminds me a lot of Stunner of the Month's bag. I wonder if they're operated by the same people...Anyway, upon opening my bag, I found:

It's a Nerd Life case

It's an interesting case. Emily thinks it's cute! If the robots didn't look so clownish, I think I'd like it a bit better, but it's still fun! I like the colors and how the case feels. I do still kind of wish it wrapped around the front of the iPhone - that just feels like it protects the front glass much better to me - but I'll still try this out. I'd bet if they upgraded to the type that wraps around the front, it would have to increase prices slightly. I suppose we'll see if they ever offer any different options. Anyway, I also found a little Phone Case of the Month button in the bag. Another cute little bonus.

October 2013 Phone Case of the Month

I think I may stick around another month or 2 just to get a feel for their variety (it's cheap enough that I don't think it's necessarily affecting the holiday budget!). I do like some of the cases shown in the front page of the site, like most of the light blue ones I see there), so hopefully I'll like next month's a bit better. I do find it a bit odd that a) not everyone who gets this sub got the same case this month and b) both of the cases I've seen as possibilities this month were on the front page of the site. Everyone not getting the same case makes sense if they have a huge membership base (anything over 200), but sending cases that are displayed on their advertising page makes it look like the opposite - that this sub is just very new and they're still at low membership numbers while still working through the initial batch of cases they made for the sub (those pictured on the front page). Otherwise, I'd question the 200 case limited edition bit. Based on the quick customer service though, my guess is that this is probably new and/or not hugely popular yet. That's not to say they won't be, though!

If you'd like to sign up for this fun subscription, go sign up! If you use my link, you'll get $5 off your first month! Please just let me know if you have any trouble with that.

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)

Square Hue November 2013 Review

So, last month, I was a bit unsure of what this month's Square Hue would bring after they changed the preview picture on their website. Oddly, my post no longer shows the updated picture, so they must've removed it from their page at some point. Anyway, the updated picture removed the only color that initially interested me for the month, so I was a bit bummed. The box arrived and I think it actually mostly followed the first picture, so it wasn't such a let down, but I'm still unsure about how I feel about the colors.

Opening the box

After removing the info card (which shows the colors also), I got my first real look at the colors for November. I still don't really think they're very fall colors - more like end of summer, honestly. They're coastal colors. Anyway, we got 3 cremes this month, no special finishes or sparkles here. We got Portsmouth, a darkish gray-blue, which surprisingly, I don't have anything like, Chatham, a medium milk chocolately brown, that I also don't have anything even close to, and Nantucket, a dark teal (a little smokey), which sadly is pretty close to Julep's Lena (without the slight shimmer) and Libby, although it may be like half a shade greener. Funny enough, the teal color was what I was initially looking forward to in the picture. I just expected it to be much brighter. These are very subdued colors.

After removing the packing squiggles and info card

Better look at the colors

Square Hue Portsmouth, Chatham (the stick is cracked, there's nothing wrong with the polish), and Nantucket

Julep Libby, Square Hue Nantucket, and Julep Lena comparison

I like Square Hue's formula with 2 coats and I'm glad Portsmouth and Chatham are new to me, but I'm let down by Nantucket, both because it's a dupe and because it's not as bright as I'd hoped based on the hint picture. I mean, looking at the 3 of them, I guess I can see how they'd be fall colors, but the blues are kind of similar and I really just would have preferred to lose the 2 blues and add in 2 better fall colors, like a shimmery red or purple or something. Anyway, although I like Square Hue, I'm taking a few months off of them as well due to the holiday budget, so we'll see if I want to add it back in early next year. My biggest issue is the unknown. I know most sub boxes are just that - you don't know what you'll get, but with polish, I just have so much that I prefer a sub like Julep that lets you choose so you know you're not getting dupes.

That being said, next month's hint does look intriguing. There are quite a few colors mixed in that picture, including purple! It's hard to predict what it'll include! Maybe white, purple, and yellow? Maybe something multichromatic or holographic? Maybe something sparkly? Plus, there's a big promo page saying "Your color world is about to get rocked! The journey begins 12:13." That makes it sound like they're making a big change! I almost caved and got it anyway, but I have to stay strong! If you want to sign up, go to the Square Hue website!

The Passport Collection for December

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own.)

Naturebox October/November 2013 Review

I'm a bit mixed up on which month this box is for. I labeled my last post September, but I could've sworn this one was November and it came at the beginning of the month, so I think maybe Septeber was actually October and this is November's box. Anyway...

So, if you recall from my last month with Naturebox, I had been contemplating ordering some add-on snacks this month in addition to my regular 5. The first 2 are $3 each, the 3rd and 4th are $2 each, and the 5th is $1. I ended up going for it, haha! However, I also put my subscription on hold for the holiday season to tighten up my budget a bit for Christmas, so at least I'm set for a while!

Big box for 10 snacks!

Packing list/ info sheet

From the top:
1. Dried Pears - I love the dried granny smith apples, so I wanted to try out the pears and they don't disappoint either! I love them! They're really chewy and I just find it satisfying to sit and gnaw at them at my desk for some reason, haha. My only complaint with these is that the core is more or less included in the slices. There aren't seeds, but the hard parts around the seed is there, so I end up chucking small parts of about half of the pieces. It's only like a bite's worth, so it's not a huge waste, but I kind of wonder why they don't just core them like the granny smith apples. (3 servings listed)

2. Fancy Dried Figs - I just really like dried fruit. I find these yummy on their own and sliced up in yogurt or on salads. Or ooh, I bet they'd be great with some soft cheese, like brie! Yum! (3 servings listed)

3. Masa Crisps - I can't find these on the site anymore, oddly, but they're corn chips with flax seeds. I find them pretty tasty. Comparable to most corn chips, but the flax seeds add a bit more nutrition. Salty and yummy on their own, but the package recommends pairing them with hummus, which sounds great! (4.5 servings listed)

4. Garden Tomato Crunchies - Almonds coated in a tomato powder (with some other flavors mixed in). These are tasty! Crunchy and a small amount is satisfying. (4 servings listed, but I know they'll last longer)

5. Pistachio Power Clusters - I also can't find these on the site anymore, but they're "nut squares with almonds, cashews, and pistachios". I actually taste the cashews more than the pistachios, which bummed me out a bit because I like pistachios better. They're not bad though. Sweet and salty. (3 servings listed)

6. Toasted Cheddar Sticks - Cheddar flavored sesame sticks. I like sesame sticks and the cheddar flavor seems fairly true as opposed to, like, a Cheetohs flavor. They're pretty good, and my last sesame stick snack lasted me a long time, so I expect this to last a while too. (4 servings listed, but again, I think it'll last much longer)

7. Peanut Butter Nom Noms - I had heard great things about these and they were out of stock for the first box I got to choose my snacks for, so I snapped these up when I saw they were available this time. Sadly, I'm not in love with them. I don't really taste much of the peanut butter. They're just kind of dense oat cookies with a strong fruit flavor (there are raisins as well as fruit juice in the ingredients). Meh. Each serving is 1 piece and there are 4 cookies in a bag. (4 servings)

8. Whole Wheat Raspberry Figgy Bars - I had tried the blueberry figgy bars last time and enjoyed them, so I figured I'd try the raspberry ones this month. They're similarly satisfying, but I think I prefer the blueberry flavor slightly over the raspberry. Each bar is individually wrapped, which is nice to keep the bars from getting stale. (5 servings)

9. Mango Almond Bites - These are mango and crispy rice squares. One of the reviews from, I think, one of the other flavors of these rice bites had compared them to rice crispy treats and this flavor had the most good reviews so far, so I went with this one. They're good, but I wouldn't say they're terribly close to rice crispy treats. They actually taste more like Honey Smacks (do they even still sell that?) to me. That kind of puffed rice and they're fairly dry, so definitely no comparable moisture to rice crispy treat marshmallow. Good enough, but not quite what I was expecting. (4 servings)

10. Italian Bistro Pretzels - Pizza flavored pretzels. Oh man, these are good. Very strong flavor, but yummy!! These are probably tied for my favorite with the pears. So good. (5 servings)

Again, a pretty great box of snacks. And one that will last me a while! If you'd like to sign up, please use my link to get 50% off your first box! If you already get Naturebox, what did you choose this month? What are some of your favorite snacks? Any must tries?


(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)