When I went on the UK vacation a few weeks back, I had my heart set on finding some cool skincare line based in that region. When I arrived, I kept my eyes peeled and soon enough, I came across Neal’s Yard Remedies shops. I was immediately drawn to the brand because it’s organic and comes in wonderful blue glass bottles. I tried some of their products in the store and decided that the witch hazel water was best suited for me since it soothes and my skin has a tendency to break out like mad. I purchased a bottle from a store in London and brought it back with me. Then at Green Festival DC this year, I came across a booth with – whatdya know – Neal’s Yard Remedies! They don’t have stores, but they do have reps selling their products in the US. I couldn’t resist getting the white tea facial mist (a bestseller) and organic facial wipes. So far I’m really enjoying their products, which are gentle and soothing. I’m really glad I came across this great line of products!
Posts Tagged ‘pictures’
365great Day 228: Neal’s Yard Remedies
365great Day 227: Venus flytraps
Aren’t these just the coolest plants? I think it’s amazing that they managed to grow into a claw shape and developed a mechanism to basically become carnivorous. Out of all the insect-eating plants out there, my favorite is the Venus flytrap because it really looks the role. As a kid I really wanted one of these plants and I asked my mom for ages before she finally decided she’d let me. I was crushed when I wasn’t able to find them for sale at the grocery store after that! I looked for years with no luck and while I’m sure I could get some these days, I have yet to actually ever get any. Perhaps with the move to the new condo, I can add that to my list of things to get, but I’ve heard they’re hard to care for so I might just keep postponing it. Whatever the case, I always love it when I come across these awesome plants. The way they’ve adapted creatively is pretty great.
Escape Monthly October: Hawaii Box Review
Ah, as the weather cools down, it’s a great time to think of warmer escapes. This month’s Escape Monthly theme is Hawaii and it’s a nice way to get your mind off the coming winter months. Too bad I didn’t win the trip as well, but Panda and I might just vacation there again next year anyway!
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. Each box comes with a Moon Handbooks guide for that region. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a lovely recurring referral commission program.
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I think we can all agree that Hawaii is a pretty fantastic place. Those who have been want to return and those who haven’t have it on their bucket list! Luckily, I’ve been twice in my life and had great memories both times. This box covered some great items made locally and definitely highlighted more tropical flavors. I like the range of products included! Totally feeling that island vibe.
Here’s what came in the box:
Moon Handbooks guide to Big Island of Hawai’i – This is perfect for a future trip, since so far I’ve only ever been to Oahu and the next trip to Hawaii will definitely be to another island. When I decide to go check out the Big Island, I’ll be well-prepared. There’s some great information in here and I love that there’s a section for honeymooners so Panda and I know what we can do for a romantic vacation.
Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya Lime Macadamia Crunch – I generally find some tropical fruits like mango and papaya to be too strong for me, so I was skeptical of this snack even though it looks fab. After tasting it, I can’t say that I’d want more but it was interesting to try. The lime did help quell some of the papaya but overall the flavor mashing was still too strong for me. Plus, they’re nutty and I’m not much of a nut fan as it is.
gentle scrub facial buff – Oftentimes, these fun products are one of my favorite items in the box and this is no exception. I totally need a facial buff pad like this to help work away my acne scars and help prevent buildup for future breakouts. Absolutely love it and I’ll be using it the shower when I wash my face.
Personal Paradise Coconut Lime body lotion – This lotion smells wonderful and absorbs well. I’m totally going to be using it after I wash my hands. It absolutely reminds me of being out in Hawaii and I enjoy the scent that wafts up after I apply it.
Tub & Scrub Hawaiian bath salts in Oregon Rain – Haha, was it purposeful that they went with the Oregon Rain scent? I wonder if that’s a coincidence or if they meant to tie it in to the previous box’s theme. Whatever the case, it smells refreshing and soothing all at once. I’m drawing up a bath right now to go try it out! Can’t wait. 🙂
Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt – Freakin’ adorable packaging makes this cool already. It’s so cute I almost can’t bear to open it… but I will eventually. I’ll try it out next time we cook and then I’ve got to find a way to repurpose the jar once I’ve used it up. I’m a sucker for good packaging.
Tiesta Tea Immunity Maui Mango – This is actually a tisane rather than a true tea, since all ingredients are just fruit and flower parts, with no actual caffeine content. It looks really fun but I’m hesitant to open it to try since it has mango and I’m just not into that flavor. However, the pineapple and orange might mask much of that flavor so I’m curious how it’d taste. I’ll probably try it eventually.
seashell lei – This is a cute little necklace that will be decoration somewhere. I don’t have much use for it, but I’ll keep it around and bring it out for any tropical themed needs in the future.
Honey Girl Organics Face & Eye Creme and Night Creme – I totally saw these when I was out in Hawaii and was super curious about the brand! I’m really glad I get to try them out now. The face & eye creme is really rich and thick. I’d probably use it more at night. The night creme is fascinating… it kind of melts with your body heat and seems greasy but is like this layer of softness. It feels really healing!
Ostara Organics lip balm in Cuppa Java – Well, since this is supposed to be a coffee scent, I’m going to save it for someone else. I don’t drink coffee and I’m not a fan of the smell, but there certainly are plenty of people who do like it. In fact, maybe I can give this to Panda since he needs to use more lip balm especially as the winter approaches.
Ola body butter in Coconut – I didn’t want to break the seal on this one just yet, but I’m totally using it this winter. It seems like the perfect product to keep my skin hydrated in the bitter cold. I love the size too, which is easily portable and will last me for quite a few uses. Funny how a tropical thing can be so fitting for very non-tropical conditions.
Hawaiian Host Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamias – Mmm, yummy! This is a nice snack with rich flavors, just enough sweetness, and a wonderful crunch. It’s a great way of highlighting macadamia nuts in a delicious treat. I’d totally eat more of these.
So what do you think of this Escape Monthly box? Have you been to Hawaii before? If you want Escape Monthly for yourself, sign up, and try one of these codes (not sure which ones are still active): ESCAPENOW for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription, TROPICALESCAPE for 20% off, GIFTESCAPE for 25% off.
And a preview of next month:
[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 won this box and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 226: caramel
Mmm I looove caramels! I mean, I enjoy fudge and toffee and similar candy too, but my all-time favorite is still caramel. It can be a wide range of softness and flavors. I’m particular to the gooey ones that are quick to melt in your mouth. I’ve tried watermelon-infused ones, coconut ones, chocolate-encased ones, and they’re all fantastic. Everything from Milk Duds to the pictured Crack Caramel caramels are good in my book. I’ve never had a problem with them sticking to my teeth and if they did I figure they’d just melt away eventually anyway. Their sweetness is the perfect pick-me-up for my sweet tooth. Between the taste and texture, they’re really a great treat!
UK Vacation Day 5 Recap
By day 5 of our trip, Panda and I had made it up to my old stomping grounds of York. I went over some of this in my post in honor of York, but here’s another look at it. We walked around town before meeting up with Philosopher and reminiscing about old days with him as we returned to the Uni of York campus. We took a break for lunch at one of my fav sandwich shops, then checked out the rest of the university. Later in the day we wandered back into town and explored a bunch of shops before ending up at York Minster. From there, it was time to grab dinner and hang out with Philosopher a bit more before sending him off… til next time!
[If you missed out on the others, here are Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 recaps.]
We stayed at the Hampton Inn right by the train station, which was quite modern and new.
We were right next to the City of York Council, which had a nice courtyard with a quote by WH Auden, who was born in York.
Off we go to the more busy side of town!
I remember eating the largest naan ever here… it was at least the size of my torso and came hanging from a giant hook.
The River Ouse running through town.
Good old York Dungeon, which I’ve never been in, and Gallery, which was my go-to club.
Met up with Philosopher and started our stroll to the Uni of York campus.
The day couldn’t decide if it’d be sunny or cloudy, which made for some cool skyscapes.
I thought my flats would be fine for walking but my feet got rubbed raw.
We used to live here in M Block!
For lunch we went over to Brown’s in the little town of Heslington.
Brown’s sandwiches are yuuummy!!
After lunch we went on a little tour of the main campus area.
On our way back towards town, we came across a bird that the guys tried to corner.
Love the green initiatives popping up.
We’d never actually been to Clifford’s Tower so we decided it was time to take a look.
Got up to the top of the stairs for a great view, but didn’t feel like paying to enter so we left.
Back in town and where to go?
We came across street performers doing Native American music, which was quite good.
I never knew we had a cat store in town! And check out the ice cube tray I knew I had to have.
Browsing a store, I found an unwanted resident in one of the mugs for sale.
We then approached York Minster and went inside just in time to catch the evensong performance.
For dinner, it was Gert & Henry’s for their Sunday roast.
A delicious meal to warm up to.
365great Day 225: collages
Pictures go a long way to convey things, but a single image sometimes isn’t enough to showcase stuff across locations, time, or other factors. That’s why I love to put together collages – it’s an easy way to visually get relevant images grouped together so you don’t need to flip through a dozen different pictures. A more consolidated view like that can help bring out a theme and if offers more versatility than trying to get everything into one picture frame in the first place. In the case of this collage I put together for the Carrabbas First Tastes event, I couldn’t have had all the items laid out on the table at once since the courses came one at a time. Even if they all came out at once, a giant picture of all the dishes could have shadows in the wrong places, dishes blocking each other, and other challenges. That’s why collages are great, since you can work around those issues!
Pre-drywall walk-through
Panda and I had our pre-drywall walk-through at the condo this week, where we got to check out the general frame and make sure we were getting outlets, cables, and ceiling rough-ins where we needed them. It was cool to be able to see the place in this unfinished condition right before they get the drywall installed and the interior starts looking like a home.
There’s a whole lot of wooden beams!
Got all the approvals in order for gas, plumbing, wiring, etc.
The porch is still in the works.
The next building is already well underway.
Outside there are a ton of materials still to be used.
This is where our sales guy explained to Panda how I get the walk-in closet. 🙂
Can’t wait to make good use of our new tub.
All kinds of HVAC stuff going on in here.
One last chance to see the stairs from this side before the walls get in the way.
There are random chunks of insulation everywhere.
Many more trees to be planted between us and the single family homes we face in the back.
365great Day 224: yoga
For the longest time I meant to take yoga classes and when I finally did, it did not disappoint. It’s amazing how something so simple, slow, and low-key could work you out so well. Yoga builds strength while somehow making you more limber. You can practice it just about anywhere and when you’ve gotten good you can do all kinds of cool poses like this one my friend’s holding. Yoga is also very much about your mind and I’ve always found it to be a peaceful activity that is relaxing yet rejuvenating. Through precise, controlled movements and deep, careful breaths, I manage to improve a bit each time. I can get a great workout in without ever breaking a sweat!
Treatsie October 2013 review
Trick or Treatsie!
Treatsie is $15 per box and comes with artisan candy from 3 brands. That usually means 5 or 6 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.
This time it was Halloween-themed! So cute.
Even the tissue paper and sticker inside were themed.
I was too excited to try it all that I forgot a picture of all the items together, so this is the best you’ll get!
Alma Chocolates Thai Peanut Butter Cup & Salted Lavender Caramel: These are super cute little chocolates that are reeeeeally rich. The peanut butter cup was very smooth and definitely wasn’t your normal American peanut butter flavor. I’m not sure I could eat these normally since it was so creamy. The salted caramel is delicious and I wish I could eat more but it’s very strong too so half a piece is already more than enough. These taste like high-quality treats and I’d totally get more caramels.
Taza Chocolates Organic Stone Ground Dark Chocolate Crispy Crunch Bar: This is an excellent crispy chocolate bar. It’s like a healthy version of Nestle Crunch bars. I didn’t even know they used brown rice in these! This is more of a dry taste, probably due to the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the crispiness of the rice.
Craftmade Toffee Almond Toffee with Milk Chocolate & Caramel Corn Toffee with Milk Chocolate: O.M.YUM I looove toffee and these are just fabulous. The perfect kind of sweetness and crunch with extra bits to balance out the flavor. The almond one is good but the caramel corn one is heavenly. Amazing! I must get more of the caramel corn one. Noooom…
I like that Treatsie’s back to focusing on chocolates as the weather cools down. These are all wonderful fall candies that I can see myself eating with a nice mug of hot chocolate and a book by the fireplace (not that I have a fireplace). What do you think of these snacks?
[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!]
365great Day 223: desserts
I’m a sweets kind of person. That’s why my favorite course is dessert and I often don’t wait until the end of a meal to enjoy it. In fact, in high school my best friends and I would go out to restaurants and get our dessert brought out first. It confused many a waiter, though I’m not sure why they made it such a big deal. So what if we wanted to treat the dessert like an appetizer? I figured we may as well start with the best part and work our way from there. I also find desserts to be really fabulous breakfast items. My favorite is a giant cone of vanilla bean ice cream to kick off the day. I did that many a morning in middle and high school and I thought it was great!
