Big Game Cravebox by Zatarain's

Have you signed up for the Big Game Cravebox featuring Zatarain's products yet? 

I just received an email letting me know that I have been pre-selected AND that my box is party sized with two of every item instead of just one! The drawing closes this week, so be sure to enter. 

Edited to revise spelling/grammar errors and add links.

January Love With Food Box Review

I received my January Love With Food box yesterday. Like others have posted, the card included in my box did not list any of the items in it, nor were many of the items clearly identified on their packaging.

Love With Food had previously sent an email acknowledging this admission and included in that email was a list of items included. A nice perk was that everyone who purchased a January box was credited with 500 points to their Love With Food account. 

Almond Anise Biscotti by Biscotti di Suzy

Plantain Chips by Turbana

Firecracker ChocoPods by Chuao Chocolatier

Gluten-Free Shortbread Tea Cookies from Kyotufu (These are not currently listed in the Love With Food Shop) 

Flavors: Genmai Toasted Brown Rice, Matcha Green Tea and Black Sesame. Yum?

AppleStrawberry Apple Sauce from GoGo squeeZ (These are not currently listed in the Love With Food Shop)

Tiger Spice Chai by David Rio

Organic Cinnamon Milk Chocolate Leaves by NEWTREE and Organic Belgian Biscuit Dark Chocolate Leaves by NEWTREE

All in all, it was honestly a disappointing box. I am looking forward to the applesauce pouch and the chocolates, especially the Firecracker Chocopod, but that's about it. The flavors of the gluten free cookies are a little scary. Brown rice? Hopefully, they are better than they sound. I am allergic to wheat and am always looking for a good wheat-free/gluten-free snack. 

I like the idea of buying a meal for someone less fortunate than myself, but I am not too impressed with this month's box. I really liked December's box and am now hooked on 479° Popcorn. Hopefully, the boxes improve in February or I may cancel my subscription. 

Did you receive a box from Love With Food? What did you think?

Zatarain's Big Game Cravebox Drawing Now Open

The drawing for the Zatarain's Big Game Cravebox is now open. You can sign up here. 

The box is priced at $15 including shipping. You also have the option with this Cravebox to request more than one box, up to three. 

I entered this drawing just because I am a fan of Zatarain's products. We don't eat much boxed or packaged food, but we all like Zatarain's Dirty Rice. Note: I am not reimbursed by Zatarain's, I just like their product!

Cravebox also announced the launch of their referral program! The only catch is that instead of a referral link, new members are asked to put the Cravebox Username or Email Address of the person who referred them in the Referred By section of their Profile. My username is: aashleyjc. If you found Cravebox through my blog I would appreciate it if you put me down as your referrer. Thanks!

So how does their program work?

According to Cravebox:

So What Will My Referral Points Get Me?

Your Referral Points can win you FREE Craveboxes in every shipment!

• Starting in 2013, we will be giving away 20 FREE Craveboxes from every shipment.
• TEN of those boxes will be awarded randomly to any Member who scored at least one Referral Point for each drawing.
• The other TEN will be awarded to the 10 members who racked up the most Referral Points for each Drawing
• There’s no catch. You do not have to enter a drawing yourself to win. And your Referral Points accumulate automatically – even while you’re sleeping!
• If you win, you will either receive a Free Box Credit in your Account, or, if you’ve also entered the drawing where you scored Referral Points, your box will be FREE

I will keep you posted if I am picked for this box or not.

100 Years Old

My Great Uncle Gus turned 100 years old yesterday. His family celebrated his birthday today at his retirement community. He was surrounded by grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nephew, great-niece and great-great-nephew. Five generations of his family gathered today to celebrate a wonderful man. 

He even received a congratulatory letter from the White House signed by the President and First Lady. 

Happy 100th Birthday, Uncle Gus!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! 

Did you make any resolutions this year? I have a few. I would classify them as goals more than resolutions, though. 

1. Finish my degree - 8 more classes!

2. Cut out wheat from my diet - I have an allergy to wheat, not gluten but wheat itself, and I have been lax in removing it from my diet.

3. Become more organized.

4. Spend less, save more 

5. Become more active

Here's to 2013 being the best year of your life!!

Julep New Year's Mystery Box

I love coming home from vacation to boxes!

One of several boxes I received while I was gone was the Julep New Year's Mystery Box. This box promised to contain products ranging in value from $100 to $500 including one lucky box that included an iPad mini. That was not my box. I am still very happy with what I received.

I received the New Year's Mystery Box - Special. Based on a few quick searches there were several different boxes that went out, but I haven't seen any blog posts about the Special box. 

Polishes

1. Dakota - Julep describes this as a "Rose gold metallic chrome" not really my color, but very pretty. (Regular Price - $14.00, on sale for $6.00)

2. Annie - Trina Turk Fall '12 Collection - electric blue topaz creme (Reg. Price - $14.00, Maven - $11.20)

3. Harley - liquid silver metallic chrome. I am pretty excited about this one. I love silver nails. (Reg. Price - $14.00, Maven - $11.20)

4. No Name Mystery Glitter - It appears to be an orange/black/silver glitter in a black base. Since it is a mystery glitter and not on the Julep website, I am going to guess at the price being $14.00/regular, $11.20/Maven like the majority of the polishes on the site. 

5. Chelsea Glitter - Violet, purple and silver full coverage glitter. I am not really a glitter person, but I love the colors. I will probably end up wearing this on my toes. (Reg. Price - $14.00, Maven - $11.20)

Boho Glam Lengthening Mascara - A girl can never have too much mascara. (Regular Price - $24.00, Sale - $10.00)

Julep branded nail file - This is not available on their website that I can see. (Value estimate - $1.00)

Sicilian Blood Orange Foot Soak - Looks good, smells good. (Regular Price - $26.00, Sale Price - 8.00)

I also received 3 One-Step Polish Remover Pads (Regular Price for 10 - $9.99, Sale Price - $7.99) and 2 sample packets of The Best Pedi Creme Ever! (value - I valued these at the same price as the polish remover pads just because the Pedi Creme is not available in packets on the website)

Total Value: $125.95 Retail or $73.75 Sale and Maven Pricing

All in all, a great value for the $19.99 I paid with free shipping. I plan on testing all of the polishes, including the two I received in my Classic with a Twist starter set tonight. 

Referal Link: Julep

Another year or two has gone by

I had completely forgotten about this blog until I received an email from Google reminding me to log in! The irony is that I had been thinking I should start keeping a blog. We will see how that works out. I made it exactly three posts the first time!

Update on me:

So "Operation Stagecoach" to lose weight didn't exactly pan out. If anything I weigh more now than I did two years ago! Stagecoach itself was a blast. Maybe one day I will do a post about it with pictures. Maybe. I didn't post about it the first time around, I won't make promises that I will do it two years after the fact.

I made the decision to go back to school to finish my bachelors degree in late 2011. It has been a long, difficult and expensive road but the end is in sight. If all goes well, I will officially  be done with classes in August 2013 and have that fancy piece of paper that says I am edumacated. That sucker is going in the fanciest frame I can find. The lack of a degree has held me back professionally in more ways than I care to explain. 

The shopper in me has become addicted to subscription boxes. Subscription boxes are monthly deliveries of various full-size and sample items. The prices range from $7 -$75 each box. I haven't worked my way up to a $75 box yet. My first delivery came yesterday and was a Love With Food box for $12 ($10 monthly subscription price and $2 delivery). Love with Food boxes can be ordered here - Love With Food. Full disclosure - That is my referral link. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures when it arrived and by the time I had remembered the boys had been into it and there was not much left. If you are interested in what came in the December Love With Food box, there are plenty of blog posts out there. 

I have also signed up for:

Cravebox. (no referral program here!) Cravebox is a themed, curated delivery program. Unlike regular subscriptions, you enter a drawing to be picked for the upcoming box. If your entry is chosen, your credit card information is automatically charged. I was picked for the upcoming Winter Favorites Cravebox that is scheduled to be delivered on Thursday, December 20. I also entered the drawing for the Dog Lover's Box. Jasmine would love a box full of new toys!

Julep Maven Referral Link Julep is a nail polish subscription program that appears to run about $19.95 a month with the option of add-ons. I am not normally a polish sort of girl, but have recently taken an interest in keeping my fingers and toes brightly colored. I used the code: julepvip to receive my first box for a penny plus shipping. After shipping I paid $4.99 for two polishes and cuticle oil. I'll post when that box comes in. 

POPSUGAR Must Have Box Referral Link Of all of my upcoming boxes this is the one I am most excited about. Unfortunately, I won't receive a box until February so hopefully it is worth the wait. This box is $35 a month, with free shipping, and contains full-size and premium items with a value of over $100. Based on what has been in previous boxes (scarves, candles, jewelry) I am pretty excited. 

Goodies.Co (No referral program here!) The Goodies Company is a Walmart owned company and only $7 a month. I am hoping that by size and influence alone, this is a good box. I am scheduled to receive the January box. I'll update when I receive it.