Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

365great Day 167: international roaming

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , ,
28 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 167: international roamingWhen I left for my trip to the UK, I went into my mobile phone account and added international data to my plan. For $30, I can use 120 MB in most countries around the world – perfect for a medium-length vacation where I’d like the freedom to hop online to get directions or look things up. I don’t feel imprisoned by an inability to use mobile data and that is quite liberating. I am so much more empowered this way and it’s especially useful in a foreign country where you easily get lost and need help finding things. I only turn it on when I need to use it and then I disable it right away to ensure no crazy overages. I did accidentally forget how much data it takes to upload a picture so I used up a large chunk of the allowance early on, but have since learned my lesson. This time I opted just for data because it’s more useful to me, but being able to easily allow roaming for data, text, or voice for a decent price is pretty great.

Escape Monthly August: Napa Valley Box Review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 August 2013
1

Woo hoo! I got the very first Escape Monthly box last week and it turned out great. When I heard the destination for this box would be Napa, I was a bit concerned it might be too focused on wine. Since I don’t drink, that wouldn’t make a very fun box for me. Luckily, it had a great mix of food, skincare, relaxation products, and travel info. I had to rush off before I could get proper pictures of all the products, but here’s an idea of what it all looked like:

blue escape monthly box with white lettering

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.

first look at inside of escape monthly box with blue and white chevron pattern and welcome sheet

look at inside of escape monthly august napa valley box with info card and products showing

escape monthly august napa valley info card listing products with prices(click to enlarge and read full messaging)

I love that they really took the time to write out messaging that fits with their theme and explain how each product can contribute to your experience of this destination. The variety is great, though I think another snack item might have been nice since the products were rather spa-heavy. Still, I liked that there were bath items, skincare items, household items, a food item, a drink item, and of course a tour book of the region. I definitely feel a lot more prepared for what Napa Valley has to offer and I am definitely set for creating a relaxing experience in the comfort of my own home!

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Napa & Sonoma – A very handy thing to have when preparing a trip to the region!
Napa Valley Wine Soap – How cool is this? Made with grapeseed oil and local products – perfectly incorporating relaxation with the wineries.
all natural loofah bath sponge – I’ve wanted to have one of these for ages and kept telling myself I’d grow them, but now I don’t have to!
deluxe floating bath candles (set of 2) – Pretty little flower candles in my favorite color… you know I’ll be making good use of them. I feel so motivated to take a bath.
100% Pure Juicy Sugar Body Scrub – Yes, yes yes! I love trying out this brand and I can’t get enough of scrubs.
Cookie Zen Cookie & Cork Pairing – Well, I’ll skip the wine part and jump straight to the munching on cookies part!
7th Heaven natural face masks – Another brand I’ve been interested in so I can’t wait to use this mask. I’ve been meaning to use masks more!
Mixture Luscious lip balm – I’m looking forward to smelling what scent this is. Lip balms are always useful and I’ll probably throw this in a purse or car so I can have it handy.
mystery soap – So when I get back to my box, I will check on the brand, but there was actually another soap in this box. It was a smaller bar of soap and might be the bonus item mentioned in the info card.
Suki lotion sample – This is a brand I learned about through Yuzen and I’m always happy to try their products. Adding this to my samples baggie that I’m working through!
$50 NakedWines.com gift card – Here’s the wine portion of the theme! I won’t be using it but for those looking to create that Napa experience this would certainly help. If you’d like the code let me know and I can share it with you. Terms do apply so I’ll let you know about those if you’re interested.

My favorite product is the 100% Pure Juicy Sugar Body Scrub, which combines my love of scrubs with my fascination with 100% Pure, which I’ve received sample lotions of before. I can’t wait to try it out when I get a chance! I’m also really happy that there was a loofah included since that’s just the type of bonus accessory item I was hoping for. I’ve gotten tons of food and beauty products from subscriptions and I always appreciate when I get an item that works well with them but is more of a tool. It allows me to enjoy my products that much more!

Did you get an Escape Monthly box? What do you think of their introductory Napa Valley destination box? If you’re interested in signing up, they’re still offering 20% off for the lifetime of your subscription with code ESCAPENOW. Oh! And each month some lucky subscriber wins a trip to the destination!! How amazing is that?? 🙂

 

[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 166: pillows

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , ,
27 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 166: pillowsI’ve got a bit of a love affair with pillows. I love them in all shapes, sizes, fabrics, and uses! I mentioned body pillows before, which are awesome for their huggability, but really any type is good in my book. I have super fun moshi ones like the star and round one here, not very practical but too cute to pass up ones like the Tootise Roll one, and functional ones like a sweet kitty pillow with built-in speaker for listening to music. I like smooth ones and fuzzy ones and coarse ones and stretchy ones. I use them for my head or to hug or keep my lap warm or to pad my butt. They’re such a versatile product! You can find them on beds and couches (and in my case, strewn all over the house). I love when my bed is just covered in them so I can grab whatever suits me at any moment. They’re like little clouds of awesome that you can use to be more comfortable or just to decorate a space. For such a simple product, that’s great!

Window or aisle?

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
27 August 2013
0

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and in my flight back to LA not long ago, I had an aisle seat for the first time in ages. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a window seat. I always get a window seat. But, since I was given an exit row seat I figured it would be nicer than cramped in a normal aisle by the window, right? Little did I know how uncomfortable it would be for me to not be able to look outside. As it turns out, being able to stare blankly at the clouds, towns, and landscapes going by is actually really important to me. So that makes me wonder: do you prefer the window seat or aisle seat? (I’m assuming most people wouldn’t go for the center seat.)

row of airplane seats in set of three

I’m all about the windows because I love looking out. I don’t mind being squished in a small space and I rarely need to get up to move around or use the restroom. If the flight is around 5 hours or less, I almost never get up. It’s only on more long-distance (typically international) flights that I would get up. Plus, I love having the wall to lean on.

Meanwhile, Panda is an aisle seat kind of guy. He prefers the extra space to spread out a little and the freedom to get up as he pleases. He doesn’t mind not seeing out and when in first class, he gets to choose his meal earlier!

So what about you? Do you always sit in a window or aisle seat? Or do you like the center seat??

365great Day 165: rocking chairs

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , ,
26 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 165: rocking chairsWhat a fun concept it is to sit and rock yourself back and forth. While I enjoy rocking chairs, it’s more about that soothing motion for me so I’m a big fan of gliding chairs and hanging chairs as well. Perhaps it’s comforting because it’s sort of like bobbing in the ripples of the ocean. The rhythmic motion sort of lulls you into a gentle trance, peacefully rocking away your stresses. Rocking chairs are a great place to sit and forget about your day. Somehow whenever I’m in one I appreciate the world around me a bit more and I get super into staring out into the distance or people-watching. It’s also a great time to curl up with a book or even take an afternoon nap. I always envision them sitting in a perfect patch of sunlight, the warmth of which is relaxing. I’m totally going to have a set on my porch someday because they’re so great for chilling out in!

365great Day 164: Pandora

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , ,
25 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 164: pandoraPandora offers a fantastic service that has helped me discover a ton of music I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s so hard to filter through all that’s out there and find songs to my taste. Why not take advantage of technology that helps me do that? Pandora has a large library of music and quite a robust system to find the qualities that you like about certain songs and artists. I mean, I never would have been able to break it down like them, but it totally works. Sometimes what I like about a song or artist is not obvious but as I keep rating what I like and don’t like, Pandora can start to hone in on my preferences. I’ve set up a bunch of channels based on my mood and I know I can count on a great mix for whatever I feel like!

Graze snacks (two more boxes)

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
25 August 2013
0

It’s been awhile since I last wrote about the Graze boxes I’ve been getting! I’m knee-deep in them now and have slowed down my deliveries to anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I’m starting to get bored of them so I think I might discontinue my subscription (or keep pushing back deliveries).

Graze is $5 per delivery (you choose the frequency of deliveries) and comes with four pre-proportioned, nutritionally-balanced snacks. Choose from the regular nibblebox or the low calorie caloriecounterbox with a default frequency of every 2 or 4 weeks. You can always increase or decrease the weeks between deliveries to fit your needs, thereby effectively “skipping” weeks as you please. They offer a referral code and link program that gives your referral their 1st and 5th boxes free and earns you $1 off your next box (or you can choose to donate it).

Here are boxes 5 and 6 that I received:

my fifth graze box with fruit & seed flapjack, eton mess, herby bread basket, and eleanor's apple crumble

My fifth Graze box with nutritional info.

graze fruit & seed flapjackThe Fruit & Seed Flapjack came before I realized I just don’t like flapjacks that much. I’ve since chosen trash for all the variations so I don’t get them. These are still sitting around waiting to be eaten. I might end up putting them out for the birds and squirrels to nibble on. Or, if I can convince Panda to take them to work as a snack that would work too! Verdict: TRASH.

graze eton messEton Mess has these super fun little meringue bites. I love how crisp and fluffy they are. The almond slices are a nice way to offset the sweetness of the rest of this snack. I wouldn’t go crazy over these but I’d definitely munch on it every once and awhile. Verdict: TRY.

graze herby bread basketOh yes, now this is what I’m talking about. The Herby Bread Basket has crunchy bits of bread and it’s a savory selection. I love a good salty snack (that does not involve nuts) and I love bread, so this is a good combo of those two things. This is not my favorite of the salty snacks but it’s one I’m always happy to eat. Verdict: LIKE.

graze eleanor's apple crumbleIt’s funny, I don’t generally like dried apple but I find the super soft texture of these to be fun to chew versus those crisp bags of dried apple slices. Eleanor’s Apple Crumble pairs the soft apple with crunchy almonds and chewy raisins for a wide range of textures. This one can get a bit sweet for me, but I can see myself eating it infrequently. Verdict: TRY.

my fifth graze box with mississippi bbq pistachios, tropical daiquiri, my thai, and poached pear

My sixth Graze box with nutritional info.

You know, I can’t quite remembering eating the Mississippi BBQ Pistachios. I’ve never been super into pistachios but I will eat them so this was one of those that’s enjoyable enough. I do like the unique flavor since I usually just have plain pistachios. Verdict: TRY.

I actually liked the Tropical Daiquiri more than I expected. It seems that I can really get into this whole dried fruit thing. Still, I don’t want to get it too often. Verdict: TRY.

I got the My Thai in my first box and I still enjoy it. I’m a sucker for the crunchy soy and the sauce! Verdict: LOVE.

The Poached Pear is a nice mix of soft and crunchy bits. It’s a nice sweet/fragrant snack but I’m just not that into nuts. I’ll give it a chance though! Pumpkin seeds are supposed to be good for you right? Verdict: TRY.

365great Day 163: jujubes

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
24 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 163: jujubesOk, so there is some confusion about dates vs. jujubes. I always thought them to be one and the same, but apparently dates grow on palm trees. What I’m thinking of are jujubes, aka Chinese dates. Those are the red wrinkled fruits that we commonly put in soups or eat as a super sweet snack. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I learned what fresh jujubes look and taste like. My mom planted one of those trees in our yard and when it started to bear fruit, I had no clue that those fresh green fruits were the very deep red dried fruits I was used to. As soon as I bit into my first one, I was hooked. They are sweet and crunchy but not juicy like apples would be, so it’s easy to eat them and they don’t make a mess! They’re fun to eat fresh and they’re delicious dried too – now that’s a great fruit.

How lucky you are

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
24 August 2013
0

red, black, brown, and gold cross stitch pattern with chinese character and good fortune messageOptimism begets positive things. Time and time again, this theme has come up and I keep reading articles and even hearing of studies where luck becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you expect good things to happen, you tend to act in ways that allow more good things to happen. It’s like a cycle that feeds into itself. This is not to say you can’t be lucky without trying, but to be consistently so I do believe it takes effort on your part to believe it and open yourself to possibilities. In many ways you are creating your own luck just by the way you approach the world. The good thing (for me) is I’ve always considered myself to be lucky, which is probably why I’ve been quite lucky all these years.

One thing that I think is very true about optimistic/lucky people is that they tend to notice things more (which in turn opens the doors of opportunity more).  As seen in a 20/20 episode, an experiment showed how people who considered themselves lucky were much more likely to notice stray money on the sidewalk.  It’s not that the opportunities aren’t there for “unlucky” people – it’s just that they don’t notice them, or they don’t take action on them.

Awhile ago I experienced something similar: I was walking along in Georgetown when I noticed a girl pass by me almost too fast for me to recognize.  Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed, and we’d have gone about our days none the wiser.  However, I did recognize her, though she was halfway down the block by the time I reasoned that I wasn’t just imagining things.  I reached out to her online to confirm the sighting and we ended up meeting up for dinner that night.  It had been 10 years since we last saw each other, and now here we were running into each other in a city neither of us had lived in before.

I previously wrote about another example from my own life about a time I felt lucky, when really a lot of it had to do with pure optimism that I could get my way and make things work out.  Most people will tell you when they win something that they never win anything, which is true enough.  I hear this a lot on the radio, and it makes me smile to think of all the things that I’ve won!  When I look carefully, pretty much everything I won was because of determination and effort, not luck.  So in this way, I’ve created my own luck time and time again.  I’m no luckier than anyone else; all you have to do is believe in yourself and pursue your goal.

365great Day 162: couponing

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
23 August 2013
2

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 162: couponingI never learned how to use coupons until Panda showed me a few years ago. I still rarely use them, but I’ve gotten to appreciate their value a whole lot more. I’ve managed to get cool shampoo for less than a dollar and enjoy some fun nail polish because of my couponing efforts. I grew up used to not buying things very often and when I did it was usually from China or some random small thing that I liked. These aren’t the type of things you find coupons for. When it came to household items, my mom got great deals sometimes by attending closeout sales and browsing swap meets. Our family just wasn’t into the couponing thing and I can’t recall using them as a child. In the past year or two I’ve started to pay more attention because Panda showed me how you can sometimes get free things. We had a lot of fun bonding over an outing to get free things and I really enjoy getting such a deal. I’ve also gotten more into the blogging scene and a lot of bloggers are mommy bloggers who write about saving money and will at least bring up coupons if they don’t actually focus on it as a topic. I think coupons are a great way to save money if you plan wisely!

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