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Accessory Inspiration from Around the World: Ensemble Box

August 30, 2016 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

When it comes to fashion, I am pretty much the worst at accessorizing. I just don’t have an eye for how to pull things together on my own and if I want to achieve a certain “look” I have to just copy it from my source of inspiration to not get it horribly wrong. I actually really love looking at accessories, and wish I had the confidence to know what to buy that would work with my wardrobe. But I get so confused so easily, and more often than not, I just don’t buy anything and then find myself wearing outfits that fall short of looking polished.

So when Ensemble Box reached out about their company and what it offers, I was very excited. This is a monthly subscription service that will send you a few fun accessories each month, and every box is inspired by a particular country.

The August box I was sent, for example, contained items inspired by Spain. Three accessories were included, as well as a bonus treat (in this case, some tea that is traditional to Spain).

The pashmina silk wrap is absolutely gorgeous and felt like the “big” item in the box. The colors are perfect for the fall, too.

I also really love the hollow out round drop earrings. This is something I would never have the guts to buy from a store but now that I own them I love them! They are so flashy and fun, and yet, if I wear my hair down then they can blend in a bit and not be overly loud.

I also think the aviator metal sunglasses are quite fun. I’m not sure that they are the best style for my face frame, but I’ll keep playing around with them.

The Ensemble Box seems to be very thoughtfully curated box at a reasonable price point of $37.95 monthly. This is a new subscription service and there are few things I’d love to see them include as they continue to grow. First, I’d like to see retail price points for the items included. When I purchase a subscription box I like to feel as though I am getting a lot of bang for my buck, so show me what I might have spent if I’d picked up each item at full retail cost! Second, I’d like to see more information on the website about the country of the month and some ideas for how to weave the accessories into your wardrobe. Show me some folks wearing the scarf or the earrings to give me ideas (because I promise I’ll struggle to come up with it on my own!). And finally I’d love to see the option of subscribing for a longer period of time (month-to-month is the only option for now) and a little price break for committing to more boxes.

Are you an accessory maven or are you like me and riding the struggle bus in this department? Would Ensemble Box be something that could help you get out of a fashion rut?

Mail Order Lobster From Maine for the New England Experience: Meet LobstahBox

August 27, 2016 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I’ve always dreamed of having an awesome date night at home with lobster. It sounds so divine! But I have no clue how to even pick a good lobster, let alone cook one! That’s where my friend Annemarie Menelli’s company, LobstahBox, comes in to save the day and make this dream totally possible by shipping you the New England experience, complete with mail order lobster from Maine. Enjoy her guest post and be sure to check out this awesome woman-owned business!

For me it isn’t a fun family gathering unless we’re surrounded by great food. My fondest memories growing up were big backyard feasts with my big — and very loud — New England family. The food often was New England classics and most memorable was fresh Maine lobster. These are some of the best memories of my life, the kind I’ll never forget. And that’s the reason I co-founded LobstahBox with my business partner, Jessica.

We started LobstahBox to give people the opportunity to create their own memories with their friends and family around an outstanding and authentic New England meal they’ll never forget.

LobstahBox brings to your kitchen table great times in a way that only authentic Maine lobster can! From the fun and laughter of cooking it to the cracking and picking of the meat with your entire family wearing lobster bibs, you’ll have a picture to treasure and share for years to come.

We know that for some the joy of eating lobster can be cut short by a fear of cooking it. That’s why we make it so incredibly easy for you with our step-by-step instructions that come with every order. If you can bring water to a boil, you can cook lobster. Our goal is to make the LobstahBox experience as fun and easy for you to enjoy with the ones you love.

Every classic LobstahBox comes with lobster crackers and lobster picks, lobster bibs & placemats showing you how to eat lobster, wet naps for cleaning your hands when the feast is over and cooking sheets that easily show you how to cook the lobster.

It’s the perfect gift to get your kids, young and old, around your kitchen table and make memories that will last a lifetime. Or, enjoy it for a romantic date night in with your partner. We’re confident you’ll find LobstahBox is the gift that won’t disappoint!

You can feel good knowing that the Maine lobster you’re eating is actually coming from Maine! Our commitment to sustainability is the center of everything we do. Our 100% Maine lobster is wild-caught and harvested, one trap at a time, off the coast of Maine.

Sweet, delicious lobster starts at the ecosystem where the lobster lives. In Maine, we ensure this ecosystem is protected by only harvesting by trap, ensuring this ecosystem is pristine and not overfished. It’s good for the environment, it’s good for the lobster industry and it’s good for you!

LobstahBox is excited to share our email campaign going on now, in anticipation of our launch on August 30th. If you sign-up now, you will have a chance to win free lobsters and also ways to earn additional product by spreading the good news for us. Please check out our website at www.lobstahbox.com and join us! Anyone can bring it to a boil. It’s lobstah time.

Socks By Mail? A Closer Look at Foot Cardigan Sock Subscription Service

October 6, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Complimentary socks provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

If I can get something delivered to me and avoid having to make a trip to the store, (ESPECIALLY if that store is actually the mall) then I’m game to give it a try.

If getting that something delivered regularly can help me solve a problem, even better!

Friends, meet my problem:

This is the contents of our “lonely sock” bag. We try to go through it at least twice a month to make matches. Ok, in truth we go through it at 7:50 am on school mornings when we are supposed to already be in the car but can’t get out the door because our kids are sock-less. Can anyone out there feel my pain? Why can’t socks seem to stick together? They are loners at heart, I suppose.

Enter a fun subscription service called Foot Cardigan. There are subscriptions available for men and women, but we chose to review the options for the kids, or as Foot Cardigan refers to them, Whippersnappers.

By signing up for a Foot Cardigan Whippersnappers subscription, you can get 2 random pairs of socks delivered to your door each month. You are seeing two example subscriptions above, one in size medium (for ages 6-9) and one in size small (for ages 3-6). The socks are random in their assortment, but rest assured that you don’t get 4 random individual socks! You get 2 pairs. 🙂

But of course that doesn’t mean that your little ones won’t want to wear them in a random fashion! 🙂 The socks were instant hits with my girls, and I was pleased with the fun patterns that were sent our way. A monthly subscription is $11 (plus $2 shipping) or if you spring for the year subscription, you get one month free.

For me, $13 is a bit steep for 2 pairs of socks, cute though they may be. To be fair, this is in line with the prices I have seen at places like Gymboree that also offer super cute socks. And you don’t have to brave the mall to get them.

I think Foot Cardigan is a super cute gift idea for the young fashion hound or fashionista on your shopping list. I have noticed that kids in my oldest daughter’s class seem to care quite a bit about how original their socks are, so if your kid feels similarly, then this is a great way to get some great styles that classmates probably won’t have.

For more detailed information about Foot Cardigan subscriptions, click here.

Cooking with Littles: Raddish Cooking Club Subscrition Box Review

June 22, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Complimentary box provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I never really learned to cook while I was growing up. Cooking wasn’t really a strength for either of my parents (Corned beef hash? From a can? Sorry, guys…). It’s a skill I had to fumble through during the early years of my marriage (apologies, Tim) and it’s not something I want my daughters to fear in any way.

But cooking a skill that has to be taught; it isn’t intuitive. Being comfortable in the kitchen takes some practice.

So I was very intrigued to see a cooking themed subscription box for kids called Raddish (Get it? Rad dish?). Darah and I did an unboxing video so that you can see exactly what’s inside a typical box. Take a moment to check it out!

Understandably, my girls were eager to make the carrot cake first. We got out our ingredients, which were very beautifully listed for us in our laminated recipe card, and mommy, quite honestly, got overwhelmed.

Because I have the arms of a T-Rex, I couldn’t even capture half of the stuff I had to haul out and put on the table. I was annoyed; this was going to be too much work.

But you guys, here’s the thing: I went into this with the totally wrong attitude. I went into this project wanting to work at the speed I would work all by myself. I didn’t want to lay out all the ingredients. I didn’t want the girls to make a mess. I wanted to get in and out of the kitchen FAST. That’s my cooking style! And actually, it’s a GREAT one that I won’t apologize for having.

BUT

If I’m going to teach my girls how to cook, then I simply must slow my roll and get comfortable being a little uncomfortable. Cooking, just like many other skills we teach our kids (reading, writing, even using the potty!) take a great deal of effort on our part, but once we impart those skills, then we have given our children precious gifts that will last a lifetime.

Also? There are fringe benefits to having that special time together in the kitchen.

When Darah realized that she would be licking the beaters clean, she exclaimed, “Oh cool! We are clean eating!”

Yes, child. That’s a kind of clean eating that I can get behind!

So, yes. Cooking with your kids is messy and takes a long time. Getting a Raddish box doesn’t change that. But it does make some of the steps a bit quicker for you (recipe lists, recipe ideas, supplementary activities, etc.) and it certainly is fun in the end. I would order it again! 🙂

Rad Savings

Raddish subscription boxes are $24/month (you can get a 6 month subscription for $22/box or a 12 month subscripion for $20/box). If you’d like to get a 3, 6 or 12 month membership, your first box will be 25% off by using the code DELICIOUSSTUFF.

Homegrown Collective Subscription Box Review (Giveaway!)

March 31, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 93 Comments

So this whole subscription box concept has really taken off, huh? I actually met a woman in my city a few days ago who is starting one up, and in the past month, I’ve probably read 15 different reviews for 15 different companies that offer this monthly gift service. Some of them are amazing. Many of them are just overpriced and not at all useful. But today I’ve got a real winner for you, at least I think so!

Check out Homegrown Collective. The concept behind this monthly box is to, “receive seasonally appropriate, professionally curated products that deliver the satisfaction of living a more self-sufficient & sustainable lifestyle to your doorstep each month.”

I recently received the February box from the company, and it was all about bees. We had all kinds of very interesting goodies to play with, including raw honey, bee pollen and beeswax, as well as essential oils and round tins for making our own lip salves. We even had a ball jar to use for adding rose hips to some of the honey so we could infuse it with a delicious special flavor. Darah asked to introduce you to the kit by way of a video. She is SO stinkin’ cute! Perhaps she needs to work on her product presentation a bit more, but still, I think we have a blogger (or perhaps a vlogger) in the making!

What I love about this kit is that the products are VERY useful, and that you have the opportunity to really learn something every month. I also think this box is EXTRA awesome for families with children, as children love to get to do experiments and to get to learn. Darah was a captive audience and a full participant in the process of making the lip balm and the rose hip infused honey. We talked a lot about the different products we were using and their purpose, as well as some of the extra things that we could do with them (the salve, for example, is good for diaper rash and minor scrapes in addition to being great for the lips!).

I would highly recommend the Homegrown Collective Box for families who are interested in sustainability, “do it yourself” remedies, natural solutions to problems, and opportunities to mix and create something yourself. You will find all of those needs met through this one service. Remember, summer will be here soon and it will be SO nice to have some really cool projects that you and your kids can work on together to help pass the time in a meaningful way. Note Darah’s butterfly wings in the picture. She doesn’t have a bee costume, but she thought this was a fair substitute.

Monthly subscription boxes are $39 plus $9 shipping. Or if you bump up to a 6 month subscription then shipping becomes free. If you do an entire year, you get free shipping AND one month totally free. Are you a little put off by the price? I can tell you from experience that everything in the box is VERY high quality and worth what you pay for it, but we all understand the need to choose wisely how we spend our hard earned money. Homegrown Collective would like to offer readers a special 10% discount off your purchase. Simply enter STUFF10 at checkout!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the April Homegrown Collective Box, which will feature an assortment of products to get you ready for gardening season!

Be sure to enter to win my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links.