Sunday, November 30, 2014

Swift & Supersonically Snappy Short Review #47: Candles from the Keeping Room Reviews, Fall and Winter Tarts Part 2!

Heyo! Did you want to see some more Candles from the Keeping Room fall and winter tarts reviewed? Well, you've come to the right place! More, more, more!
Caramelized Crimson Pear - ripe crimson pears sprinkled in caramelized brown sugar with fresh churned maple butter, and we gone one step further with the addition of a touch more sweetness..a great pear blend
Candles from the Keeping Room's Caramelized Crimson Pear
Cold Rating6.5/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating: 7/10
Christmas Snow - The magic of Christmas snow!  Crisp and fresh; the icy sweet coldness of those magical snowflakes melting on your tongue...hoping Santa makes it thru the snow to your house on Christmas Eve...making that one perfect snowman, hoping just a little that he is magical and comes to life!  This oil will take you down memory lane and remind you of the joys of those magical Christmas moments!  Fresh clean, frosty air, hints of Lemon Leaf and Tangerine Zest
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas Snow
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 3/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating5/10
Family Gathering - Warm, buttery baked spicy fruity scent that reminds you of all the bakery at a family gathering. This scent has top notes of mulled fruit and spice-berry blended with apple cinnamon, then topped with sweet clove and vanilla.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Family Gathering
Cold Rating6.5/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating7/10
Frost on the Pumpkin - A warm, delicious recipe of pumpkin, spices, honey and maple topped with sugary vanilla frosting. You will love this pumpkin blend!
Candles from the Keeping Room's Frost on the Pumpkin
Cold Rating: 6/10
Lit Rating: 4/10
Throw Rating: 5/10
Overall Rating5/10
Home Sweet Home -  a blend of cinnamon, clove and apple.this is a strong scent
Candles from the Keeping Room's Home Sweet Home
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 8.5/10
Throw Rating8.5/10
Overall Rating8.5/10
Hot Orange Spiced Toddy - a great all year drink scent, a hot toddy with spice and an orange slice.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Hot Orange Spiced Toddy
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 8/10
Throw Rating8/10
Overall Rating8/10
Pumpkin Cream Donuts - a delightful blend of a pumpkin, with some spice..and a cake donut, filled with a marshmallow vanilla cream..so yumm
Candles from the Keeping Room's Pumpkin Cream Donuts
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 9/10
Throw Rating9/10
Overall Rating9/10
Pumpkin Marshmallow - A fabulous treat! Cardamom, Cinnamon, Marshmallow, Cooked Pumpkin, Madagascar Vanilla, Buttermilk, Caramel-Glaze, and a hint of Graham Cracker.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Pumpkin Marshmallow
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating7/10
Pumpkin Spice - a strong pumpkin blend. sweet pumpkin mixed with lots of pumpkin spices.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Pumpkin Spice
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating8/10
Overall Rating8/10
Sweet Harvest Pumpkin - A pumpkin pie with a touch of clove, cinnamon and ginger with a base of creamy, sugary-sweet vanilla. This does have a touch of spice, but not overwhelming at all...very nice!
Candles from the Keeping Room's Sweet Harvest Pumpkin
Cold Rating6.5/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating6/10
Vanilla Pine Cone - a wonderful pine blended with our sweet vanilla...for those who like pine but not the full blast of it...the vanilla softens it
Candles from the Keeping Room's Vanilla Pine Cone
Cold Rating6.5/10
Lit Rating: 8/10
Throw Rating7.5/10
Overall Rating7.5/10
(No scent description available)
Candles from the Keeping Room's Vanilla Snowflake Type
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 5.5/10
Throw Rating5.5/10
Overall Rating5.5/10

Did any of you lovelies shop this weekend? What's on your Christmas list this year?

Friday, November 28, 2014

Swift & Supersonically Snappy Short Review #46: Candles from the Keeping Room Reviews, Fall and Winter Tarts Part 1!

Of the long list of vendors I love, Candles from the Keeping Room will always be at the very, very top. That being said, I have a lot lot lot more reviews to put out for you all today and this time, I am focusing on fall and winter tarts exclusively. They will be super snappy, I assure you!
Autumn Morn - A cheerful fall welcome with the spicy warmth of autumn leaves, cinnamon apples, nutmeg and clove.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Autumn Morn
Cold Rating: 7/10
Lit Rating: 6.5/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating7/10
Christmas on the Farm - Mandarin Cranberry Y Type-a great blend of cinnamon, mandarin oranges, mixed sweet and sour cranberries and a tiny hint of citrus on a base of rich creamy vanilla
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas on the Farm
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating5.5/10
Overall Rating5.5/10
Christmas Past - Reminds me a what Christmas in days gone by would have smelled like. Nothing fancy. Blue spruce and fir scents with top-notes of northern pine, a spicy cinnamon middle note and a warm woody base note. Super strong.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas Past
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 8/10
Throw Rating: 8/10
Overall Rating8/10
Christmas Song-a wonderful light scent of pine mingled with a minty freshness.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas Song
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating7/10
 Christmas Spice - A delightful blend of holiday spices. Just the right amount of pine, cinnamon, spices, fruit and candy to make you think Santa has filled your stocking to the brim!.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas Spice
Cold Rating: 8/10
Lit Rating: 9/10
Throw Rating8.5/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Christmas Wish - a strong holiday scent, love all year around, blend of pine, orange and spices
Candles from the Keeping Room's Christmas Wish
Cold Rating: 7/10
Lit Rating: 10/10
Throw Rating10/10
Overall Rating10/10
Cinnamon Noel - cinnamon + vanilla bean noel
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cinnamon Noel
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating6.5/10
Overall Rating7/10
Cinnamon and Spruce- A classic blend of pines and spice opening with notes of stately Northern pine, Douglas fir, and Blue Spruce complemented with notes of spicy cinnamon & clove, rosemary and woody cedar.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cinnamon Spruce
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 7/10
Deck the Halls - holly and berries, a little spice and a hint of balsam that make this scent a holiday scent
Candles from the Keeping Room's Deck The Halls
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating6/10
Eucalyptus Spearmint - a relaxing blend of austrailian eucalyptus and american spermint.enhanced with with smooth notes of citrus, spearmint and peppermint.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Eucalyptus Spearmint
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating7.5/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
(No scent description available)
Candles from the Keeping Room's Harvest Ginger
Cold Rating: 6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10
Holiday Hodgepodge - A cornucopia filled with an array of fresh oranges , spices, cinnamon and hints of clove.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Holiday Hodgepodge
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6.5/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating6/10
Mulled Cider - a delicious blend of your cider apples and spice, to give that mulled aroma..makes me think of our county fairs, with apples press's and apple butter making....
Candles from the Keeping Room's Mulled Cider
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 10/10
Throw Rating10/10
Overall Rating: 10/10
(No scent description available)
Candles from the Keeping Room's St. Nick's Lane
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating6.5/10
Overall Rating6/10
Tis the Season - this scent is composed of boughs of holly, pine and fresh berries..a great holiday scent.
Candles from the Keeping Room's 'Tis The Season
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 8/10
Throw Rating8/10
Overall Rating8/10

Have you been melting many fall and winter tarts? Any standouts lately? Let us all know in the comments!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Swift & Supersonically Snappy Short Reviews #45: Candles From The Keeping Room Edition!

There are just so many reviews waiting to be published! So much wax, so little time to write a bajillion reviews!! It seems like I have been neglecting my CFTKR stash, so I have been melting that a lot lately. Here are a ton of reviews for you all, numericals only!
Ambrosia - A wild and strong blend of oranges and sweet cherry, coconut, toasted marshmallow with just a hint of vanilla! The perfect me up for those hot summer days on the beach.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Ambrosia
Cold Rating4/10
Lit Rating: 3/10
Throw Rating3/10
Overall Rating3/10
Bliss - a refreshing, exhilarating and blissfully tranquil. Fresh ozone mixed with ruby red grapefruit, mandarin orange, hints of lemon with just a touch of green.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Bliss
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating6.5/10
Blue Cotton Candy - An airy sweet cotton candy fragrance with fruity notes of strawberry and raspberry, laced with caramel swirls and hints of nutty almond sweetened with vanilla
Candles from the Keeping Room's Blue Cotton Candy
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating: 7/10
(No scent description available)
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cardamom Cedar Blossom
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating5/10
Overall Rating6/10
Cherry Lime Cotton Candy - a yummy cotton candy with cherry and a splash of a sweet and sour lime..this is very good,a good thrower
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cherry Lime Cotton Candy
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 8/10
Throw Rating: 7.5/10
Overall Rating7.5/10
Cinnamon Strudel - a sweet cinnamon bakery aroma..like a cinnamon coffee cake with the sweet brown sugar crumbles on top.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cinnamon Strudel
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 5/10
Throw Rating5/10
Overall Rating5/10
Cinnamon Sugar Cookie - this is a CFTKR blend, our sweet yummy frosted sugar cookie mixed with gooey Cinnamon. Great scent for the cookie and cinnamon lover
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cinnamon Sugar Cookie
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating5/10
Overall Rating5/10
Coconut Pear - Rich, sweet coconut with lingering tones of vanilla and musk blended with luscious ripe pear sparkle with a tiny hint of green.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Coconut Pear
Cold Rating5/10
Lit Rating: 4/10
Throw Rating: 3/10
Overall Rating4/10
Cranberry Noel - a wonderful aroma of spiced cranberry and vanilla bean noel..turns the cranberry into almost a designer.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cranberry Noel
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating7/10
Overall Rating7/10
Cranberry Pomergrante - Precious pomegranate seeds and tart cranberries permeate this exotic citrus scent. Crisp and complex, this fruit is sure to awaken your senses.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Cranberry Pomegranate
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 8.5/10
Throw Rating8.5/10
Overall Rating8.5/10
Frosted Lime Cookie Snaps - a super blend from CFTKR, a sweet bakery lime mixed with a sweet sugar cookie..very yummy..has a snap to it.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Frosted Lime Cookie Snap
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating4/10
Overall Rating6/10
Golden Sands - A version of this popular Y scent! Ah, so relaxing! Your private beach awaits, where time stops so you can breathe in the soft breezes of soothing sandalwood, luminous orange flower and warm tonka beans. The orchestration of white citrus, orange flower, star anise, soft breeze, soothing sandalwood, Tonka beans and exotic musk will lull you into an exotic vacation without leaving your house!
Candles from the Keeping Room's Golden Sands
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating6/10
Grapefruit Mango - Grapefruit mango fragrance begins with top notes of Japanese grapefruit, ruby red grapefruit, and mango; followed by middle notes of cucumber and honeydew melon; and sits on a dry down of vanilla
Candles from the Keeping Room's Grapefruit Mango
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 5.5/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating6/10
Holiday Relish - this is our signature scent, a CFTKR blend..sweet orange, sugared cranberries...and a big blast of citrus juice..this is a strong scent, and is excellent.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Holiday Relish
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating8/10
Overall Rating7.5/10
Hot Toddy - hot toddy is a well-balanced blend of Fuji apple, bergamot, lemon wedge, cinnamon stick, granulated sugar, zesty clove, hot apple cider, nutmeg, and vanilla bean.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Hot Toddy
Cold Rating: 8/10
Lit Rating: 10/10
Throw Rating8.5/10
Overall Rating: 9/10 (slightly rounded up)
Kringleberry - A very-merry-festive fragrance oil with the aroma of fresh cut evergreens, and juicy apples,  delicate white winter florals, sprigs of bright-and-cheery hollyberry, and fruity cranberries and red currants
Candles from the Keeping Room's Kringleberry
Cold Rating6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10
Lemon Meringue - one of our best lemons, sweet and true with sweet meringue and hint of pie crust.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Lemon Meringue
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating5/10
Overall Rating6/10
Lime Leaf and Lily - The fragrant leaves of the Kaffir Lime from Tropical Thailand are often used to give Thai foods a unique and fresh flavor. This exquisite green fragrance with the delicate aroma of white Lilies to create a complex, fresh scent that's bursting with spring!
Candles from the Keeping Room's Lime Leaf & Lily
Cold Rating9/10
Lit Rating: 10/10
Throw Rating9/10
Overall Rating9/10
Rainbow Cotton Candy - Here is a fabulous fruity cotton candy blend.Take an escape everyday with this refreshingly-familiar scent of raspberry, fresh squeezed oranges, strawberries and bananas and blended with sweet cotton candy.... More rewarding than a pot of gold.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Rainbow Cotton Candy
Cold Rating8/10
Lit Rating: 9/10
Throw Rating8.5/10
Overall Rating8.5/10
Stress Relief - You will love this version of this popular BBW Type. Relax and think clearly. Blends of Eucalyptus Essential Oil clears the mind while blends of Spearmint Essential Oil uplifts to help improve concentration. Relieve stress after a long day, with this aromatherapy blend of lavender and sage, eucalyptus and spearmint, fresh ozone and dry down woods.
Candles from the Keeping Room's Stress Relief
Cold Rating7/10
Lit Rating: 5/10
Throw Rating5/10
Overall Rating5/10
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Wickless Wednesday: Another Trader Joe's Haul!

These haul posts are well received, which makes me happy to share my groceries! This time, I tried to do a little placement of my photos instead of stopping half way during the un-bagging process to take pictures of our food (which I have done in the past, in case ya hadn't noticed). Enjoy these foods!
This is a repurchase (and has already been opened), but this is the definition of a 10/10 product. Do you like caramel? Do you think it should be paired with salt? Well, mosey your butt down to Trader Joe's and GET. THIS. SAUCE. It is so good. It is good on ice cream and good by the spoonful (oops, did I say that?). Yum! Read some other reviews here.
This was an impulse purchase, but an excellent one at that. Pumpkin plus caramel? Uhhhh, YEAH! It is good, but I still prefer the salted caramel sauce. I have had this on ice cream and in my coffee for an extra decadent treat. Delish and spicy and sweet. Hits the spot!
Sweet onions are the only onions we seem to buy. These puppies don't last very long in this house since we love them and use them in everything. This isn't so exciting, but there you have it.
Garlic! From 'Merica!
Granny smith apples are also our favorite. Tart, tangy, no sweetness, great in baked goods, etc. Nothing wonderful here, but good, nonetheless.
We are fans of buying block cheese and grating it ourselves, so that's typically what we do. Plus, we can also get extra sharp cheddar from TJ's, and anything extra sharp or extra extra is okay in my book. And look, Wisconsin! DEB!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feta, or as other people call it, Feet cheese. My favorite. I add it to my eggs, my pizza, anything I can. It's so good. Haters gonna hate. (Also pictured in the background: BEEF!)
A thousand times a repurchase. TJ's Spiced Cider is outstanding and even better with Fireball whiskey or spiced rum. Ohh yeah. I may have blogged about this before and rightfully so because it deserves all the praise in the world. Spicy, fruity, full-bodied, warming...please run, don't walk, to get some of this if you have TJ's by your abode!
You just can't go wrong with chocolate milk. So good. Midnight Moo is another staple we try to have in the house for both milk and ice cream. Wow, I'm making it seem like we eat a lot of ice cream when we don't, LOL.
What kind of milk do you buy? We have been 2% fans forever with the occasional indulgence in whole milk if we need it for recipes (maaaaaybe once a year). We also always have half and half for coffee and also recipes. The 100% Honey Crisp Apple Cider is absolutely incredible. It's waaaaaay better than regular apple juice and we may have 3 extra bottles in the cupboard in case Trader Joe's runs out of them or yanks them from the shelves (which they have been known to do). Read about da juice here and here.
Repurchase! Their Vanilla & Cinnamon black tea is another awesome product. Right around October, I become a tea fiend. This is sweet without being overly so, spicy and delicious. TRY THIS if you love tea! As opposed to other teas with cinnamon, this is less like a chai and more of a simple cinnamon flavor. Read about it here and here.
Another excellent tea, especially right before bed since it's decaf. The candy cane isn't a straight-up peppermint, so again, there is a bit of sweetness here. Plus, A POLAR BEAR! Read more about this tea here, here, and here. Excellent with milk, or milk and honey, or agave, or plain!
How can you go wrong with gingerbread cookies?! The icing kicks them up a notch. It also feels like there are bigger pieces of ginger in here, which Josh and I both loved and welcomed. Unfortunately, we left the door to our bedroom opened one evening and the box was where the dog could reach...and dog got into the box...and well, you know, dog stuff. He straight tore a hole in the middle of the damn thing! He's never done anything like that before, so we were a bit perplexed. I guess it's a sign that they are good? We had to throw the rest away, obviously, but no worries, they have been replace. ;)
These little dark chocolate mint stars are so good. They are really small, so you can eat a dozen and not feel bad. The sprinkles make them even better. Repurchase!
Pita Bite Crackers? Excellent for snacking and partying. Though we have never had them so I am assuming. They look freaking awesome. After writing this, I decided to have some for lunch. They taste exactly like pita bread, but in cracker form. Yum! We had them with some ham and cheese, but they are good on their own. Would be great with hummus or any other dip.

Lastly, we have Fleur De Sel, which is for a recipe, but apparently amazing and small flakes and stuff? We have more kinds of salt than is socially acceptable, so add this to the pile. Have you tried this salt? Let me know how you like it/what you use it for! I am thinking of making my own salted caramel sauce when our jar is empty.

Happy hump day (UGH I HATE THAT SAYING), y'all! And in case I don't put up an update tomorrow, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!