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Posts Tagged ‘food’

Yogi Surprise November 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body wipes, books, eye creams, food, guides, lifestyle, pictures, products, skincare, snacks, yoga, yogi surprise

19 November 2015

I really enjoy all the types of products that I get introduced to. I’m constantly surprised by the yoga-themed things they can find!

Yogi Surprise is just under $36 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – use my referral links from this post) and comes with yoga gear, skincare, food, and other lifestyle products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you free boxes.

breath perception guide – Cool, this is sort of like a meditation guide! I need to make time in my routine to incorporate breathing exercises. You hear about the benefits all the time, but it’s so easy to not do it. Once you get into the habit though, I’m sure it will be worth it.

Banyan Botanicals Nasya Oil – I don’t know what it is about sticking something up my nose, but I’m a bit apprehensive. I guess it’s because I’d heard of those yeti pots where people could get their noses infected if not used properly. It just seems to vulnerable to put oil in my nose. Is that odd? I will have to get used to this idea before I can try it out. Let me know if you’ve done it before!

Laughing Giraffe pumpkin spice snakaroons – Ok, I’m not much into this kind of macaroon. There’s just too much coconut for me. At least these were moist, which I like much better than the drier kind that some brands make. It does feel healthy though, so I might pop one or two in the morning on my way to work.

sibu beauty sea buckthorn age defying eye cream – I love this brand, which I first discovered from Yuzen many years ago. I’ve never tried their eye cream, so this will be perfect! Sea buckthorn is such a cool product and their soap smells heavenly. I do have quite a backlog of eye creams though, so I won’t this just yet.

Yummy Yogi cookie cutter – What, a cookie cutter yogi? Haha, never would have thought of this one. I think I’ve only used cookie cutters once, so I’m debating if I will save this as a gift or try making cookies with this cookie cutter. I’ll sit on it a bit before deciding.

Yuni Instant Shower Sheet wipes – I’m all about body wipes to quickly refresh without the whole shower thing. Once I get in a shower, I never want to come out, so I kind of dislike the idea right now since it’s such a time suck. Now I don’t plan on replacing my showers with these, but at least they can keep me fresh in between them. Certainly great to have after working out (not that I do :-P).

Yogi Surprise Cultivating Gratitude yoga sequence series card – I’ve been out of yoga practice for a long time and I’m not sure when I’ll pick it up again, but when I do, these cards will come in handy. Be sure to swing by the instruction page to download this sequence before it’s replaced by the next one. And erm, if you downloaded last month’s could you share that with me? I must have forgotten…

This was a pretty good box and certainly showed me a ton of new products. Which of these items would you like to have?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Treatsie October 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, candy, caramels, chocolates, food, pictures, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, treatsie

04 November 2015

I’m not sure what happened this month, but it felt like I was waiting for this for ages. I’m happy to see so many products in it!

Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 3-4 brands. That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program to earn store credit. Use my referral link and code FRBUCO01 to get double the treats (a purported $40 value) in your first box!

le bon garçon spiced cider caramel: These are the softest caramels I’ve ever had. They’re crazy silky and a wonderful flavor for fall.

Torie & Howard chewie fruities: Mmm, these are like super soft Starburst. I’m a huge fan of the lemon raspberry flavor, which is sweet in a light way and has a little bit of tartness.

Colts Bolts chocolate: Now I’m not generally a fan of peanut butter, but the way it’s combined with the chocolate makes for a yummy treat. I like that they mixed it up with roasted almonds in there to add a super crunchy surprise.

Zingerman’s Candy milk chocolatey Karamel Krunch: I love the light crunch of this bar! I need more!! The crisped up rice was perfection and I wish the bar was larger so I could have enjoyed more of it. Now I need to go buy a whole box of these things.

Cocoa Dolce Artisan Bar: Omg this chocolate is so smoooooth. It just melts into a silkiness that is wonderful. I had to stop myself from eating the entire bar in one go. The caramel and pecans inside the bar offer a great mix to the texture, especially the crunch of the nuts.

I loved every single item here and I’m so glad I got to try them. My fav was the Karamel Krunch and I must get my hands on more of those. Which treats do you like from this box? To get Treatsie, sign up with my link and code FRBUCO01 to get double the treats in your first box!

Escape Monthly October: California Box review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body butters, boxes, california, chocolates, face mists, face oils, food, guides, loofahs, pictures, products, reviews, shower gels, snacks, subscriptions, travel, wallets

26 October 2015

Wow, I can hardly believe it was well over a year ago that the other California box came. I’ve got to say, this box introduced me to some great products that I quite enjoy!

Escape Monthly is just under $40 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – see end of post) and comes with a variety of food, home, skincare items themed around a city/region. Each box comes with a guide for that area. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral commission program.

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As before, I like the skincare items that were included. Guess there are a lot of those great brands out west. The other stuff is pretty cool too and overall this box has more things I’ll use.

Here’s what came in the box:

Frommer’s EasyGuide to San Francisco – This is only the second Frommer’s book that they’ve used. It’s got a ton of maps that will be useful in finding things. I’ve only ever explored SF on my own of things I’d heard of, so I’m curious what the guide will recommend.

Goldrush Sourdough Starter – This is packaged to be mailed like a postcard, which would be a fun thing to do from CA. I love sourdough bread and I’ve never thought about making it, so this should be exciting! I might even take this home to LA with me this Thanksgiving to try it out in my mom’s bread machine.

California Mango cleansing gel and hand & body lotion – As I’ve recently learned, mango skincare products smell amazing. These generous tubes will last me a very long time! I’ll smell fabulous coming out of the shower. The lotion almost smells a little bit coconuty, which is also a super tropical sort of scent.

sisal pouch – I’ve got small pouches with smaller holes for the solid shampoo and conditioner pieces that are too small to use alone and now I have the perfect pouch for my soap! I recently got a cute wool soap that’s meant to do a similar thing. I can also use this as a glove to scrub my body with if I want a rougher exfoliation.

Torn Ranch milk chocolate truffle bar – I just got a bunch of chocolate in Europe, so I’m saving this one to eat later. The truffle bar sounds rich and wonderful – can’t wait to try it!

loofah pad – I’m all about exfoliating, so I’m happy to have this to use in the shower. I might even make soap and pour it around it to make loofah soap, like this one cool bar I once got from Hawaii.

Napa Organics face mist and face oil – Ooo, now these look like luxurious products. I love mists and toners, so this toner mist is just perfect to use after washing my face. I swear the oil smells like some sort of honey (clover honey maybe?) that I’ve had before. It has a nice earthy element to it and feels like it could be a healing tonic with medicinal qualities.

travel wallet – Too bad I didn’t get this before our travels, or I could have used it to keep some money and cards stored away. I think it could just fit my passport in it as well and definitely plane tickets, which would have been nice to help me organize all my stuff.

I think a lot of the focus here was on NorCal products, so I hope that there’s a SoCal or LA or San Diego box in the future, to learn more about products from my neck of the woods. No idea what the next destination is but I’m hoping more Asian countries will show up. There are amazing things to be found out there. What products from this California Escape Monthly box do you like most? If you want to sign up, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to get a code for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription.

European goodies

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: chocolates, drinks, europe, food, france, germany, gifts, italy, jewelry, mugs, pasta, pictures, snacks, spain, travel

21 October 2015

Panda and I had a fun time on our tour of Europe and came home with some great items! Most of our focus was on eating local food, seeing the historical sites, and exploring the cities – but I still managed to bring back some things.

In Italy, I insisted on finding some fun pasta. I had an amazing Milka bar that then prompted the purchase of this giant one. And that bottle of olive oil came from our dinner meal, where the restaurant explained that oil olive is best enjoyed fresh, so when you purchase bread and oil, you get your own bottle to use. Anything unused can be taken home.

In France I had to get something from the Eiffel Tower, as I’m wont to do when I go. Lately I’ve been into unique mugs, so this one with legs caught my interest. At Versailles we had lunch at Angelina and I saw a loaf of gingerbread with honey that sounded good. At Orly airport there was an amazing shop of treats (mostly candy, just the way I like it). I found flavors of Toblerones that I never heard of before! The Oreo Milka looked too good to pass up and the guy kindly offered a discount on the hot chocolate tins, which are gifts for the folks who helped watch the cats while we were gone. Finally, we ate at Exki in the airport and I was a total sucker for their bamboo utensils and grabbed at set to use at work.

At the hotel in Paris, they had adorable yogurts in glass containers that we rinsed out and kept, along with fun tea boxes.

In Spain our big purchase was the Tous earrings, which is a brand Panda loves because of the cute bear designs. They’re Spanish, so we were hoping for a good selection and were rewarded with not only that, but excellent prices as well. It happened to be located in an El Corte Ingles shopping center that offered a loyalty card for 10% of your purchase value towards the next one. The amount earned from the earrings was exactly enough to get the three sauce bowls – perfect since I’ve wanted that sort of thing for a long time. Then the points earned from that plus 0.45€ was enough to get that shot glass for my collection! Love the bonus items we got. 🙂 The two drinks were from the hotel.

On our way home we had a few more Euros left and one of the only things that we could get for 4,20€ or less was this bar of chocolate (from Sweden, nonetheless)!

A soufflé dining adventure

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: dining, dinner, experiences, food, france, meals, paris, pictures, souffles, travel

17 October 2015

While in Paris, Panda and I were looking for a popular and special place to have dinner. With much searching, he came across Le Soufflé – offering a completely soufflé experience. They had a three-course meal that was all soufflés!

We eagerly walked there after a long day of exploring and stepped inside to a cozy little entry. A gentleman approached and asked if we had a reservation. We did not, so we wondered what the wait would be.

“I’m sorry, we are booked for the rest of the evening,” he told us.

“When’s the next time you have an opening?” we inquired.

“All reservations for the night are taken,” he explained. “You can make a reservation for tomorrow lunch.”

Disappointed, we stepped out and considered our options for our meal. It was past 9 and many restaurants were closing within the hour. We returned to the hotel to get online and search for somewhere else with soufflés.

With little success, we went to ask the concierge. He immediately recommended the restaurant we had been turned away from. We started telling him how they were booked, but he was already dialing their number. At first it seemed like they might give us a reservation, but then he started shaking his head. Fully booked. :-/

So he began calling a variety of other options asking if they at least served dessert soufflé. Finally, one place said yes – but it was not walking distance and we did not want to take a taxi. So as things looked more and more dismal, I was about ready to just eat at the hotel. Then, out of the blue, the concierge tells us we can go to Le Soufflé!

What?! We were confused. Apparently he had called them two more times and they had a cancellation, so we got in! We quickly rushed over the half mile or so to the restaurant and arrived aright round 10.

At first we planned on getting a set each, but upon seeing the size of the soufflés, we decided to share a single three-course meal. It was 37€ so we were happy to save on the cost too.

le souffle free bread, butter, and water to start the meal

We began with bread, butter, and water included in the meal.

le souffle artichoke & haddock appetizer souffle

The appetizer soufflé was the artichoke haddock, with pieces of both. It was very savory with that fish taste and a slight hint of tartness from the artichoke.

The side salad came with the first course.

le souffle chicken & mushroom main course souffle

Our main course was the chicken and mushroom. The chicken gravy came separately and we poured it bit by bit as we ate the soufflé. It reminded me of a chicken pot pie (which I had been craving) with a soft, fluffy top rather than a flaky crust.

And to wrap it up was a classic chocolate soufflé, which came with a chocolate sauce to pour in. There was a graininess to it that I quite enjoyed. It was very sweet!

This was a fun dining experience and the meal felt very satisfying, even with such light food. I think ait’s great thing to try for anyone new to the city. 🙂

Escape Monthly September: Greece Box review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, candy, chocolates, escape monthly, food, greece, greek, gums, juices, lotions, olive oil, orzo, pasta, pictures, reviews, snacks, soaps, subscriptions, treats

27 September 2015

Yay for Greece! I love the wide variety of products, many of which feature olive oil, of course. Nothing looks familiar but it’s cool to see some Greek on the packaging.

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It shouldn’t be a surprise that there were plenty of awesome food items and I love that I’ll be able to make a dish or two to really get that sense of Greece.

Here’s what came in the box:

Mastic care body lotion – I can smell the plants in this as I rub it in. It is very smooth and instantly softens my hands. Feels great and I think I’ll use it for lotioning up after showers to lock in that moisture.

Iliada extra virgin olive oil in vanilla – Whoa, I had no idea olive oil comes in flavors! Love it. I like the vanilla one I got, which should offer a nice fragrance and a hint of sweetness to my food. I’ll try cooking with it as well as making a dressing to try.

Misko orzo – I’ve never cooked orzo and I’m excited to not only try the salad recipe (with some modifications for my taste), but also make some lemon orzo soup. I’m a fan of that soup at restaurants and I’d love to make my own version.

glass evil eye – Not much evil to ward off here, but I like trinkets like this so I’ll find a place to hang it for good luck. It reminds me of a bar in York called Evil Eye, which was a really fun quirky place.

Rick Steves’ Pocket Athens – I’m going on a Europe trip this year, but won’t be making it to Greece this time. I look forward to returning to Athens though, and perhaps being very well-prepped if I read this guide!

Elma gum in classic – Cool, gum inspired by ancient times in Greece. This is another product making use of mastic trees. I’ve never heard of them before!

Olivia olive oil soap – Olive oil should be good for the skin and hair, so I might just rub this on my head too. I’m not a huge fan of the scent, but it’s not too strong so that’s not a big deal.

Bingo Serenata milk chocolate wafers – What fun! These remind of Kit Kats and I’m glad we got two. I enjoy chocolate wafers for the combination of taste and crunch.

Ivi peach juice – No wonder this box was so heavy! This giant bottle of juice is nice and the packaging makes me think of Ribena and other squashes (which you’ll easily find in the UK). I love peach products and I’ve put this in the fridge to chill.

Greece was a great choice and I’m happy with the products. I look forward to where the next box will take us! What items from this Greece Escape Monthly box do you like most? If you want to sign up, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to get a code for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription.

Escape Monthly August: Hawaii Box review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body mists, boxes, coasters, dried fruit, food, granola bars, guidebooks, hawaii, keychains, lotions, pictures, postcards, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, sunscreen, travel

03 September 2015

Wow, Hawaii again? I hadn’t paid attention to when they announced the next month’s theme or I might have thought about the wisdom of a third Hawaii-themed box. Still, it turned out ok and there isn’t much overlap in products, which is great.

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I must say, I’m pleased with the selection here and really found some new favorites!

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Maui – Darn, this is the same one I got in the second Hawaii box. I wish it was a third kind so I could keep amassing my collection! Now I don’t know what to do with this. Maybe donate it to a library?

Island Art Store map of old Hawaii vintage-style postcard – Adorable postcard that I’m going to keep as art! I love the look and feel and it’s a great little map of Hawaii. It’s just too nice to actually use!

Pure-Aid sport sunscreen – While sunscreen is important, I wish they’d included either a local brand or a tropical scented one at least. The sport version just seems generic, though it will be useful for the outdoor activities you’d want to do in Hawaii.

Kahala Pineapple slices – These are amazing snacks that I already want more of. I love how the pineapple is soft and slightly chewy. Most dried pineapple gets too hard and chewy for my liking. The sweetness was just right to offer a snack that’s also a treat. I see they’re in Whole Foods all around Hawaii, but what about elsewhere?! I’ll keep searching every Whole Foods I go to.

glass coasters – Totally random items that weren’t even listed but this pair of coasters is one of my favorite items. Ever since being a homeowner, I’ve enjoyed mundane household things. Like cute glass coasters. The design of seashells fits the Hawaiian theme nicely and these coasters add an elegant look to our coffee table.

surfboard keychain – This surfboard is nice and smooth with a glossy finish. I love the look of it but I wish I’d gotten any color other than pink! Oh well, it still looks good and I might swap out the Australian surfboard keychain on my keys for this one now.

Island Soap Candle Works plumeria blossom body wash – The body wash smells great, with a nice light flowery scent. I’ve never had anything plumeria scented before! I’m surprised this is the bonus item and would have expected the surfboard or coasters, but hey we seem to always get the bonus item anyway so that’s great.

Ola coconut body lotion – I’ve got this same scent from this brand in the body butter, which is of course thicker than this lotion. The coconut scent is quite subtle once you rub it on and the consistency is somewhat runny.

Ola passion fruit body mist – Whoa, what an immensely fruity smell! Great in the spring to liven things up, or to remind you of blossoming flowers. I like that this spray can be used around the room, on linens, or of course, on the body. It’s sure to add a little boost to the experience.

MacaMania Anahola tropical granola – I’ll never love granola bars, but this one looks pretty good. I’m saving it for a trip when we do something like hiking or a long drive. It’s great to have a burst of energy for those types of things.

I’m happy with the different products being showcased this time around, but I do wish they wouldn’t rely on Hawaii so much. The third year in a row isn’t necessary when there are so many places in the world yet to explore. Which products from this Hawaii Escape Monthly box would you want too? If you want to sign up, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to get a code for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription.

Next up is Greece! Now that’s a great place we haven’t escaped to yet and I can’t wait to see what comes. I’ve been there before and really enjoyed it, so I hope some things remind me of my trip.

Treatsie August 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, candies, caramels, cookies, food, hard candy, pictures, recipes, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, treats, treatsie

31 August 2015

I’ve had these treats for awhile but didn’t get to try them all yet. Still, here’s a look for you on what came this month!

Walker Creek Sea Salt Caramel: I can always have more caramel! This is a really soft kind that is a nice morsel to pop in your mouth. I do tend to prefer mine a little more firm, but the taste is great and I will eat them all.

Butterfields Peach, Lemon & Honeybell buds: These are the ones I haven’t tried yet, but I don’t know why. They were the most intriguing for me and I sort of want to keep them around longer. I have no idea what honeybell is, but it sounds good. These are great snacks to have in the heat, since they won’t melt on you.

Grey Ghost Bakery Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter cookies: I’ve had this brand from previous boxes and I like their cookies. My all-time favorite are the lemon ones. These are nice and I enjoyed them, but they don’t quite top the lemon ones!

I liked and will eat every single thing here. I think they’ve finally figured out a great way to use the other side of their cards, with another awesome recipe! I like this new approach. Which items do you like from this box? To get Treatsie, sign up with my link and get your first box free!

Yogi Surprise August 2015 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body wipes, boxes, braclets, food, jewelry, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, yoga, yogi surprise

27 August 2015

This box was waiting for me when I got home from my trip! It’s eclectic and offers some cool stuff.

SunBiotics chocolate almonds – These are very crunchy, with a mild cocoa flavor. They’re coated in powder, so it wasn’t quite the type of chocolate almonds I thought. They’re pretty tasty and make for a great healthy snack. Since they’re raw and have added probiotics, it should help with digestion as well.

Aura Cacia Revive body cloths – Ooo, what nice wipes for the body! These are perfect for a quick refreshing cleaning on a hot day or after a workout. I don’t want to open them just yet so they don’t dry out, but I can’t wait to try them.

My Tat inspiring temporary tattoos – If I ever want to show off my yoga lifestyle, I can put one of these one. There’s a nice collection of yoga symbols to decorate your body with.

African turquoise bracelet – They seem to really like including bracelets now – this is my fourth from them! Each one is made with something different, but they are similar in that they’re composed of beads. I might keep some for myself and I might give others away.

Yogi Surprise Fire to the Core yoga sequence series card – This is a new initiative that they’re doing and I think it’s a great way to tie in yoga to the box more. This cute little card reminds you of the sequence they put together and you can also check out the special page highlighting the full sequence complete with video.

Jem raw & organic Cinnamon Red Maca almond spread – Next time we have bagels in the office, I will give this a try. I might not like the almond taste as a spread, but the cinnamon could mask that. If that doesn’t work, I’m sure my coworkers can help me eat this.

Neelu Kaur Yogini Bliss – I can’t pick out the scents comprising this, but it’s a nice blend of essential oils and smells sweet and slightly minty. It’s great for breathing in to relax and clear your mind.

There were some great new items in this box that I look forward to using. I’m glad to see the item count back up again, which gives me a chance to try more products. Which of these items do you like most?

Cat vs pizza box

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: behaviors, boxes, cats, food, pizza, videos

05 August 2015

We don’t get pizza much, but when we do it’s almost guaranteed that our food will be crushed by the cat. She also happens to enjoy destroying the box… #lifewithcats