Product Review: Umba Box

I’ve had the pleasure of trying out many different monthly subscription services and this is my review of yet another one of those. This service is called Umba Box and is $26 per month, but they recommend that you purchase a half yearly subscription or yearly subscription. The service features products from various Etsy sellers or handmade/small business sellers that are put into a box just for you. Unlike many of the monthly subscription services that involve a style quiz or have you pick items, this service leaves you basically in the dark about which items will be featured in the box for the month. Once all the boxes have been shipped out they will then post on their blog and their facebook page the items for that month.

Pictured you will see what I got for my half yearly subscription aside from my last box which I completely forgot to photograph, I think it had a lip balm, a candle , and something else.

To the company’s credit they do give you all the boxes for the months you purchased even if you cancel your subscription because you are unhappy with the service. You also have the option to return the items in you got that month at your own expense for another box.

The service is a really good idea and I completely support small business and Etsy sellers. I cancelled my subscription because I did not think I was getting my money’s worth the entire time and I sometimes I wish I was not kept in the dark about what products I was receiving in the Umba Box. I’m still going to be hunting through blogs to find new Etsy sellers and even on Etsy to find new products. I just won’t be using this service.

Every box comes in white with light blue lettering just like the card above. The card that is included with every box is a short description from each Etsy seller about their business in their own words.

My first box featured a photo card and a necklace. I wore the necklace a couple of times and it is fairly good quality and goes with a couple of pieces that I already own.

My second box came with this clutch. My clutch was a plain white bottom as compared to the various colored bottomed ones featured on the card. The clutch is a good size and fits quite a few things. I also appreciated the fact that it came with a dust cover.

The third box was a set of six note cards and envelopes. While the note cards were cute and I was able to use them for work, it just really was not what I was hoping for that month.

The fourth box was the one I liked the least because of all the bath products, but it is just a personal preference.

The fifth box included salted caramels, a dish towel and a note pad. According to one of my friends the salted caramels were really good. I thought that the dish towel especially in the packaging it came in was really cute and that notepad had a cute design.

Tantalizing Tuesday ♥ 5.22.12

It’s not quite Taco Tuesday here yet, but this was from a couple of weeks ago when KonaBoy and I went to Dave and Buster’s for Taco Tuesday and I got a little carried away with ordering tacos. We ended up eating all, but two of them. This week has felt SO Long so far and I really glad that there’s a long weekend coming up.  Hopefully *fingers crossed* with all the blogging inspiration I have been getting lately I’ll be back to blogging on a semi-regular basis. Here’s just a few things I’ve been loving lately!

• Concert days for Summer and Fall might finally be here
• Once Upon a Time Season Finale
• Hawaii 5-0 Season Finale
• the new Jewelmint pieces that have been coming out
• Eric & John Jackson’s webisode series Brothers on the Run 
• I might just do this challenge from Manifestation Yoga on Positively Positive
• Sally Hansen glitter nail polish as seen on Nouveau Cheap
• Toffee Peanut Butter cookies from Chef Dennis
• G.I. Joe Retaliation trailer even though Joesph  Gordan-Levitt isn’t in it!

John Mayer’s Shadow Days

Jason Mraz’s 93 Million Miles

Product Review: Little Black Bag

A new monthly product service started a few months back and after hearing about it from Jenny (Miss Jen Fabulous on Youtube) I decided to try it and see if it was worth it. The service cost $49.95 a month for designer products. The concept of this one is very different from many of the other sites though in the fact that after you take the style quiz and you get shown your showroom  and while you can still favorite and add things to your showroom you do not automatically get every item you purchase. You get to pick one item you REALLY want to have and then after you check out the team will add 2 other items to your bag and that’s when the real fun begins. After you see the other items in your bag, you can trade with other members on the site for items you would rather have in your bag and they can trade with you. You have 7 days to trade before your bag ships, however if at any point during the 7 days you decide that you are completely satisfied with your bag you can choose to ship it and get them items you want.

I decided to try Little Black Bag to see if the service was actually worth the money. In my first box I picked the Kitson heart bracelet to receive. I also had wish listed the Hello Kitty watch for my boss”s wife and found someone who wanted to trade the item I had in my bag for the watch. The Two’s Company  Skull and Crossbones Decanter I was offered many items to trade for it, but ultimately when KonaBoy said that he would not mind the Decanter for his apartment I decided to get it. My box was shipped and I received it via UPS 10 days later. It came in the box pictured below, apparently the same box comes in various sizes.

The items comes wrapped like gifts and in the fashion of the company comes wrapped in black tissue paper with the company’s seal as pictured below.

Both the Hello Kitty watch and the Kitson bracelet arrived safe in their packaging. The decanter however did not arrive safely. The moment I opened the box and heard the rattling I knew something was wrong. When I opened the box that held the decanter I found that the cork for it was in one piece, but that the rest of it was completely shattered to the point that I did not even get to take it out of the box.  See the pictures below.

Hello Kitty watch in the box

Kitson heart bracelet

The best picture I could get of the damaged decanter.

After I took a look at the packaging for the decanter and knew that the company should have packaged it better, but maybe that comes from my years of encounters with the postal service. I contacted customer service the day I received my box and explained that the decanter came broken. Within the next business day I received an answer to my customer service issue and they offered to add another item to my box for the following month.

The next month I picked the ZAD set of 3 leaf bracelet set. Also in my box were the ZAD set of 3 hammered bangles, Disney Couture “Love” necklace, and the Lee Angel Resin Bangle set.  The box arrived in the same timeframe as the last box and thankfully nothing was not broken this time. See pictures below for the items.

Everything I received in my last box

Disney Couture “Love” necklace

ZAD set of 3 hammered bangles

ZAD set of 3 leaf bangles

Lee Angel Resin bracelet set

I decided to cancel my subscription not because I didn’t receive good customer service or that the products weren’t any good. I canceled simply because the service is a bit overly expensive for my taste. Nearly $50 a month for 2-3 high end products is a bit expensive for my taste. I know that I’m saving money, but ultimately it wasn’t enough for me to keep the subscription at this time. I may decide to pick up the service again in the future, but at this time I’m not entirely happy with the price of the service.

Book Review: Hunger Games

So unlike the rest of the world I had not read the Hunger Games obsessively and was eagerly anticipating the movie until recently. My co-worker finally worked me down to have me pick up at least the first book to start. I finished the first book in a week and am are already calculating when I can pick up the rest of the series because I want to find out what happens ( please don’t spoil it for me!)

I love Katniss’s strength and how she sees everything just as it is. I agree with quite a few people that although the story line is a good concept, I would not want to be in the Hunger Games and have to kill fellow kids my age let alone live in a society like that. I saw the movie twice this week once by myself and then with KonaBoy cause he really wanted to see it. I LOVED the movie! I really appreciated that it was not in 3D because in my opinion the quality of the cameras and the angles made it look so real that I think that having it in 3D would have made the movie fall flat. I didn’t recognize Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, but thought he did an amazing job and very relatable. I did think that some of the casting for the participants in the Hunger Games fell short for me. I had pictured many of the characters differently, no I’m not upset that the characters from District 11 were black that actually made me quite happy. I especially liked the rebellion scene in District 11 after Rue dies. I have not finished the other books in the series yet, but in my opinion I think that Hollywood may want to rethink some of their casting for future movies like this. As stated earlier, I pictured several of the participants differently and with a bit more of an ethnic flair. Just something to consider.KonaBoy really enjoyed this movie and we can’t wait to see the next ones in the series.

Want to hear a funny story though? I had heard about the Hunger Games series last year from someone and picked it up for my friend who loves reading as a Christmas gift. She started reading the first book and was immediately hooked. She then made her fiancee go out and repurchase the series for her because she liked all of her books to look the same and preferably in hardback. She has not seen the movie and probably won’t cause she believes that books ruin the movies.

Tantalizing Tuesday ♥ 5.8.12

Mix Cranberry Juice and sparkling wine and you get a Hibiscus drink
Yay! It’s been a really great but long week so far. Last weekend I was in the outskirts of Sacramento for a conference and the conference itself was amazing. Being in the boonies of Sacramento not so much.  This week is also finals week for the students at work, which as un-amazing as that sounds means that there’s a good chance that I’ll be catching up on blogposts and doing tons of work late at night. I think insomnia has hit me pretty hard, unfortunately. This summer is going to be crazy, but hopefully it will be an amazing one. Here are some things that I’ve been loving this week.

• Gala Darling did an amazing TED talk see it here
• Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon chips from The Girl that ate everything
• My recent trip to Sacramento
• Thinking about recycling my old paperbacks here
• Hunger Games movie (book and movie review coming soon!)
• Tattoo and Bar ettiquette from Little Chief HoneyBee
• Kandee Johnson’s post on how to turn troubles into diamonds
• Folica.com is recycling flat irons and hair dryers here
• Kate Voegele’s No Good

Florence and the Machine’s Shake it Out

Monthly Questions: May Flowers…..

1. Mood:
This week has been absolutely crazy! I got back from a trip to Sacramento on Monday and with the college students finishing and summer getting into full swing it’s just gonna continue to get more crazy! It’ll be good though

2. Do you have a friend who’s always up for anything?
I have several friends who are always up for anything. Usually I’m the one trying to contain them, hahah! One of my friends even wants to go sky diving, we still haven’t gone yet though.
3. Time for our afternoon snack break! Where should we go?
 I crave chocolate most of the time, but I often have to alternate between that and salty snacks. I still have not managed to get away from the carbs yet though.

4.Did you take any lessons when you were a kid?
 My mom threw me into all kinds of lessons when I was little: ballet, tap dancing, piano, ice skating, swimming not to mention all the time I spent in math tutoring! I’m not good at any of these anymore unfortunately

5. Breakfast for dinner: yay or nay?
ALWAYS! I love having breakfast for dinner. My roommates and I used to do it all the time in college. Eggs, bacon, waffles, sometimes waffles with bacon inside and on the occasion banana pancakes.

6.What’s the first thing you do when you get off work/out of school?
 Call KonaBoy and see where he’s at if we haven’t already spoken for the day and then grab a glass of water for the road because the traffic when I get off work is HORRIBLE!

7. Do you play video games?
It’s been known to happen on occasion, but because my parents wouldn’t buy a gaming system for my brother and I when we were little I somehow manage to suck, but on very rare occasions pull of brilliant moves.

8.Do you buy lottery tickets?
Nope! Never bought a lottery ticket, but I’ve received one;)

9.  Are you a card shark?
 Not really by any means, although people have called me a shark because often after they wrangle me into a game I win. Who knows maybe I’m just lucky

10. Weekly Goals:
Survive this week, manage to get a lot of my projects done at work, send tons of emails catching up on things, keep caught up on blogging, read more, edit more photos, and breathe!

The original of the above photograph was taken by Dustin Soriano Photography. He’s amazingly brilliant and I highly recommend him. This week has been crazy and I know the next couple months will be even crazier, but hopefully I can find sanity in the midst of it all. My boss has been trying to get us to do meditation for busy people on a regular basis to center ourselves, so hopefully I can stick to it and get more focus and clarity on my life.

Hope that you are doing well and thanks for reading!

Book Review: With a Little Luck

Recently, I finished reading Caprice Crane’s fourth novel With A Little Luck. In this novel, Los Angeles DJ Beryl “Berry” Lambert doesn’t much believe in luck, thanks to her gambling dad. Her name Beryl means luck, but to her close friends she is known as the most superstitious of the bunch.She keeps a four-leaf clover in her wallet, never takes off her horseshoe necklace, and won’t tempt fate by walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors. Ever. I wouldn’t even go into Berry’s stance on love except that this is where everything gets a little crazy. Berry meets fellow DJ Ryan Riley and after a flirty face-off in the break room things begin to heat up on air in a battle of the sexes and even off air. While Ryan is everything that Berry is looking for, even thinking that her quirkiness is cute, she’s counting in her head the end of their romance. All of Berry’s superstitions come to ahead when she meets Brendan,a rocker who for awhile pretends to be as quirky and superstitious as Berry and then after one crazy date he comes clean and admits that he thinks that Berry is borderline insane with all of her superstitious activity.

Caprice Crane is insanely funny! I follow her on twitter and sometimes I can’t stop laughing at her tweets. I loved this book and I look forward to reading all of her books, since I’ve started following her on twitter made this book even more special because I felt that in someways as a fan I was part of some of the process. I definitely recommend this book. I think that you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll relate. I love the way the story flows throughout the book. It’s amazing pick up one of her books and read. I’ve also done a review on one of her other books here