Subscription Box Corner: April 2015 Love With Food Review!

Love With Food (the link above is a referral link, but don't feel like you have to click! the rest of the links below are non-referral links) was having an "only pay shipping" sale last month, and since the box was only $2, I jumped at the chance to find a subscription service that could finally replace my beloved Goodies Box. Let's dive right into this box since I have now had a chance to try all of the tasty goods!

As always, a box shot! I like that it's red, it sets it apart from other subscription boxes I have seen. Looks like each order gives 1 meal to someone to help fight hunger in America, an added bonus of the service! This is such an awesome cause and concept. Follow them on all their social media listed above!

The openings right off the bat...

Like most subscription boxes these days, Love With Food includes an insert detailing the contents of each box. I love this one! Product information, a brief description, ingredients, very cool!

this "snacking star" is a magnet! I ripped it while trying to pop it out, though. :(

In my very last Goodies box, I received a package of olives like this. Oloves are the same concept from a different brand! I am addicted to olives, so this was right up my alley. The garlic and basil flavors were melded perfectly against the saltiness of the green olives. I ate them straight from the package! The only thing I disliked were they were a teensy bit greasy, which was sort of crazy. There was a watery liquid (not much), and there was oil in there, too. Not a major complaint, though! 4.5/5.

I know I have asked this before, but where do we stand as a collective on the word "yummy"? Okay? Skeevy? Anywho, YUMMY Earth's Natural Sour Beans are much more like gum drop than jelly beans, but they were still really tasty. Not sure sour, though. Still, I could eat a lot of these in the drop of a hat. Almost disintegrating in your mouth because they are natural. Good treat! 4/5.

Mighty Leaf's Green Tea Tropical tea was good, but I'm not a huge fan of hot fruity teas. This was an interesting sort of pineappley tasting tea, but nothing I would personally ever purchase again. I think fruit tea fans would like this a lot, though. 2.5/5.

Back to Nature's honey graham sticks were little tiny graham crackers with a huge crunch. These were good, but rather uninteresting. I think they key here is these are made with natural ingredients and nothing crappy. Honestly, they tasted just as good, though I think they could have been a bit softer. 3.5/5.

Vintage Italia's Pasta Chips\ were amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!! The flavor was insane on these bad boys. They tasted like crackers with a great snap, but they were a bit more airy than crackers. WOW. I was blown away by how good these were and need to get some ASAP. The Garlic Olive Oil flavor is NOT for garlic haters, folks...nothing else to say but damn. Amazingly good. 5/5.

Wild Garden's sea salt quinoa chips and traditional hummus duo was good, but not great. The chips tasted stale, but this isn't the first time I have experiences quinoa chips like this. Maybe that's just the texture, like a stale rice cake only made from quinoa instead. The hummus on the other hand, while not as authentic as it probably should have been, was lemony and garlicky and good. 4/5 for the hummus, 2/5 for the chips.

I chuckled to myself when I saw this Luna bar in here. Deb from It's Always Something is a huge Luna bar fan and I almost saved it to send to her! But, I figured I needed to try it. Ehhh, it tastes like a health bar. The bright, tangy lemon really helped convince me I wasn't just eating twigs and protein. 3/5.

Walker's shortbread cookies are some of the most amazing cookies on the planet. Since they are only made with butter and flour and sugar and salt, well, you can guess why we don't keep 'em around the house. Pure, buttery goodness in every last bite. Melt in your mouth, not too sweet but not salty, the perfect shortbread cookie. Mmmmmm. 10/5.
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I am quite pleased with my first Love With Food experience~ Only a couple of minor misses for me, and everything else was quite good! Yay! Have you ever tried Love With Food? Does this look like a good box to you Anything stand out as something you might want to try? They seem to have a lot of sales, so if you're interested in trying this box, sign up for their emails!

Swift & Supersonically Snappy Short Review #71: The Bathing Garden's Green Mango Papaya

We're sure having some highs and not so highs this week in San Diego. It was in the 90's last week, and now, as I type this, it is 65 and very windy. I am loving this weather...but I should have switched the last melt I reviewed and this one. This is a much more springy scent.

The Bathing Garden's Green Mango Papaya
Cold Rating: 6.5/10
Lit Rating: 9/10
Throw Rating: 9/10
Overall Rating: 8/10; WOW. I am super surprised by this one while warming! It smells sort of like a basic tropical/spring fruit scent in the clamshell, but when melts, booooy howdy! The mango and papaya sing together in beautiful harmony. STRONG THROW and STRONG LIT! I melted this in the living room and it lasted somewhere between 6 and 10 hours, I stopped counting. Completely overtook the bathroom melt at the time. 2 cubes per melt, I have melted it twice. Both times, excellent throw and wonderful results. Embeds are adorable. I am starting to loathe glitter and diddlybobs in wax, unless it is micro, superfine glitter. Not my typical go-to scent, but I love being shocked. Clamshells aren't my fav, but TBG does 'em right. Lightly colored wax and very cute labels. Vendors who have been notoriously hard to buy from becoming much more accessible. Added a warmer in the living room, Glade warmer pictured here was gathering dust in our main bathroom (since I use a wallflower in there sometimes). Out of the way warmers producing massive throw. Waxy friend on Instagram said this smells like a gum and I agree in the BEST possible way! Fruity, flirty and thriving (points if you know the movie).

Swift & Supersonically Snappy Short Review #70: Lake Providence Lodge's Cranberry Apple

Who cares that it was 90 degrees last week and I was holed up in the bedroom with the AC on full blast melting fall scents??

I sure as hell don't. #hatersgonnahate

Lake Providence Lodge Cranberry Apple
Cold Rating: 8/10
Lit Rating: 9/10
Throw Rating: 9/10
Overall Rating: 9/10; Josh's pick during a hot day. Sweet cranberry and apple mix perfectly together with a cinnamon spice to create something that smells exactly like fall, encapsulated. Pungent. Potent. In your face. Lasted 16 total hours in the bedroom, did not want to stop throwing, even with a diminishing throw it was still smellable. Not for the faint of heart. Wonderful melt. Amazing throw, strong, I have come to expect this from LPL. Fall. Apple pickin'. Cranberry cider? Warm thoughts of the end of the year.

Random Post: April 2015 Favorites!

Ahoy hoy! Today, better late than never, I am bringing you my April 2015 favorites! I don't have a lot of variety this month because I am a boring hermit, but here ya go!

-Pop! Funko figurines: Since I know Ron Perlman loves reading my blog, I am/was obsessed with "Sons of Anarchy" there for a hot minute. By the way, SUCH a good show. Well, since I am a huge Ron Perlman fan in general, I figured I should get this little Pop! Funko doll to commemorate my love for him. Pop! Funko dolls are amaaaazing little vinyl figurines and they make such great collectibles! In fact, while I have you here...

...we might have an obsession with these. They don't take up too much space and really fill in the gaps in our big shelf in the front of our house. This company makes all sorts of dolls, and they range in price from $6+. Love them!

-Blue Snowball iCE Microphone: Josh and I have been working for instareviews.ca for almost a year now, and we have begun to record podcast style movie reviews and breaking news reactions with our partner, the website's founder, Jeff! We needed a better microphone than the one built into our headphones, so we bought this bad boy. The Blue Snowball is a USB microphone that plugs in and has INCREDIBLE sound! We love it! It works so well. If you're curious, you can listen to our SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/nstaeviews

-Bath & Body Works' Watermelon Lemonade medium 'hob knob' candle: Can you see how pretty this candle holder is?! B&BW was having a $7 sale (normally $12.50) on all their medium candles, and normally I would never partake in any sale for these since they don't have the best track record with throw and often have bad burns, but....this holder....I arguably bought this for the holder instead of the scent, LOL. Talk about an impulse buy! I haven't burned it yet, but I already know what I'm going to do with it when I'm done! ;)

-Bath & Body Works' Lavender Vanilla medium candle: In order to use the coupon I had for my B&BW order, I needed to add $8 to my cart. Since the candles were $7, I figured, well, let's add another one in a scent I know I love?! I picked this up and it is burning right next to me as I type this with a boisterous, wonderful throw. This is the ultimate relaxing scent, in my opinion. Love this. Excellent burn, too, which I am frankly surprised about. I am not, however, thrilled about the giant cut in the middle of my candle. :/

-Maisie Jayne's headbands: Is it weird to say you picked up a fashion tip from a 1 year old?? My friends Erin and Mitch have the most adorable baby girl in the world and she is a bow and headband enthusiast! She has all the cutest styles in headwear, it seems. Well, I found Maisie Jayne randomly on Instagram? Etsy? I think?? now I am second guessing myself! and they were having an AMAZING Black Friday (AHAHA, talk about late)! sale last year. The first X minutes at X hour gave you 50% (?) off your entire order. I picked up 3 of these headbands with cute bows, but I only wear them at home and when I'm cleaning to keep the hair out of my face. I am not a cute 1 year old and I cannot pull them off outside the house, LOL. It has been majorly hot this week, so they have gotten A LOT of use! And, as a "bonus," the shop owner is from San Diego! Yay!

-Bath & Body Works' Watermelon Lemonade PocketBac: I bought one of these to see how it smelled in another B&BW order we placed earlier in the month for soap. WAIT, SIDEBAR!! We were completely OUT of soap this month. I mean, OUT. NONE left. Do you remember what it feels like to be out of something?? I had forgotten how it felt. Anywho, I liked this scent so much that, my B&BW order mentioned above, I bought 5 of these. F-I-V-E. Talk about disgustingly opulent, LOL! I always have one of these handy, and knowing B&BW penchant for yanking things us customers love when we least expect it, I figured, hey, might as well get 'em while they are there! I will not apologize for being efficient.

-Cheeky's Glass Nail Files: Apparently it's better to use glass/crystal nail files because it causes less splitting. I have been using these for a year and I love them. It came in a 5 pack when I bought them, and there's one in every room. I try to file my nails a couple of times a week and these have never split my nails. Excellent product for a great price.

-KBShimmer's Blue-d Lines: WOW. KBShimmer never ceases to amaze me when it comes to their holos. Totally out of my comfort zone (darker blues and dark colors in general tend to clash on me), I took a chance on this and I love it! It looks great on the nail and is super shimmery. Love it!

-KBShimmer's Thistle Be The Day: Another wonderful holo polish from KBShimmer, Thistle Be The Day is a beautiful light purple with some peachy flecks in certain lights and a sure to be showstopper. It sort of reminds me of pretty flower petals on the nail!

-Ellagee's Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask: Much like Jolie Polish's Nooks and Crannies from my favorites last month, Ellagee has a similar product, only it is a much darker color and uses a wider brush. I like to use them both for different "jobs" when painting on polish, but the darker color is definitely a standout for this product. Try it if you're horrible at painting your nails like me. ;)

-Dolcetta's Artisan Sweets, Peanut Crisp Truffles: CANDY!!!!!! I saw these on Treatsie and knew I had to have them. Sure enough, they are insanely addicting. I love these. I must have more. They taste like these candies we make at Christmas but waaaaay more delectable and fancy.

-The Simpsons Tapped Out app: I am loving this game. I have been playing since it came out and I am finally getting my town in order! If you play, I am the highest level and promise to be a good neighbor. My user name is; lololoves7. Add me!

-Trivia Crack app: Do you want to waste a billion hours playing a game with your friends and be endlessly entertained and frustrated at the same time? PLAY TRIVIA CRACK!!Q My user name is: lololovesfilms, and I am obsessed. Let's have a go, shall we? ;)
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There are my favorite products from last month! Did anything stand out to you as something you'd want to try?

Subscription Box Corner: April 2015 Flicker Box Review!

I was alerted to Flicker Box by a friend on Instagram. Flicker Box is a monthly subscription service that features HANDMADE CANDLES!! Finally, SOMEONE did it! I was SO excited to learn about this service, and when I saw they had a one-time only discount for bloggers on their subscription candle box, I knew I had to jump at the chance! Here's what I received in the April box.

I LOVE this packaging. My package came in a bigger box, but I took all the guts out to get to this. Look how simply but elegant it is! Love the Flicker Box stamp, too. And the twine/thread with a cute bow! Adorable.

What greeted me as I opened the box. Notice all the individual wrapping inside? Each item was carefully wrapped, which I love!

The card displaying the box's contents. I really appreciate when companies do this. These little details matter, people!

My goodies! This month's box had a theme and it was "In The Kitchen." There are 4 candles, each from a different company, only one of which I had tried or heard of in the past. Let's look at them individually.

Copper & Kraft Candles has an Etsy shop based in upstate New York. Just upon first glance, they have soy wax candles in various sizes AND wax melts, cool! They sent a Lemon Pound Cake scent this month. This particular candle is 8 oz and has one wick. I love it when candles are in little tin containers, don't ask me why. It does nothing for the performance versus anything else. This scent is true to the lemon pound cake scent on cold sniff, and boy, is it strong. I don't get any frosting, just a lemon cake smell. This will be perfect for, you guessed it, in the kitchen! I have yet to burn this candle so I cannot write about its performance, but I will keep you updated.

Wild Ginger: spice kick with plum and vanilla.

Lights Out is a Texas based candle company. Again, here's a candle in a tin container, only the ounce-age is 4oz this time, a much smaller, desk-side type of candle. No bother to me as long as it smells good! The Wild Ginger scent is a lot more light on cold sniff, but what wisps I do get smell authentic enough, just like fresh ginger. There is definitely a sweetness to this, though, so I am looking forward to burning it. Since I haven't tried this, I will review it later on!

Paddywax is an awesome candle company based in Tennessee that I was initially familiarized with through my past subscription to the PopSugar Must Have box a year ago. I had fallen in love with one of their scents in particular and was stoked to see them pop up in this box, too. Their mini jar candles are tinted in color and are really pretty, and this Blood Orange & Citrus scent is right up my alley! The blood orange is bright and not too in your face, and the other citrus comes together to make one helluvuh scent. WOW! Though medium on cold sniff, this one packs a strong punch while lit. I LOVE it! I would absolutely buy this scent again, and I would buy from this vendor again. I give this candle an 8.5/10. Wonderful burning, long lasting scent, lingering, just excellent!

4th Street Candle Co. is another new and previously unknown vendor to me. Looks like they are on Etsy, too, which seems to be the way a lot of vendors gravitate to sell their wares, which is good for the customer because it is easy to use. This Southern Apple Pie candle, while not *completely* spring/summer scented, it nothing short of incredible. It is strong on cold sniff, strong while melting, burns well (at least for the 2 sessions I have burned it), and is a good mix of fresh apple, spice and maybe a touch of bakery? Mostly, this is the apple scent I crave during the fall. I love this one, too, and cannot wait to place an order with this company. I give this candle an 8/10. So good!

MATCHES!!! I always need spare matches, so it was cool to see a personalized matchbook with the flicker box logo. Woot!
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And there you have it, my FIRST Flicker Box haul! Have you tried Flicker box? Do you like subscription boxes and my posts about them? Let me know, and have a wonderful weekend!