Love, Life and Appreciation

I received my first Yuzen box yesterday and I love it! It's $26 for the box and according to the website "Each box has the very best eco-conscious products to nourish the body and soul. They are carefully chosen for excellence, mission and integrity and always put to the Yuzen test before we share our favorites with you!" Yuzen recently announced on their Facebook page, that they are no longer doing monthly boxes but instead will do quarterly boxes. The next box will be February and after that the box will be in May. The quarterly boxes are for each season, so one in the winter, summer, spring and fall. I like this idea, plus it's better for my wallet. They did say that they will offer limited edition boxes at different times during the year.

Here is the box:

I thought the box was such a nice and delicate touch.

I really like the way the inside was presented. The paper is a dark purple with a beautiful design. (Purple is my favorite color).

Underneath the paper there was Essence of VALI Sleep- a Bedtime Ritual. It says this helps to ease you into sleep and place one drop on the corner of the pillowcase. As a new mom, sleep is one thing that is very scarce.

*I tried this for one night. I did not place that much on the corner of my pillowcase. The smell was nice and relaxing at first, but after a few minutes I started to get nauseous and tired of smelling it. I don't think I'll be buying more of this.

Aromafloria Stress Less Foaming Bubble Bath and Pangea Organics Italian Red Mandarin with Rose Discovery Cream. I can't wait to try the bubble bath. The discovery cream says it's for dry to sensitive skin. I have more oily skin though.

*I tried the Discovery Cream and saw that it irritated my skin.

Shea Terra Organics Moroccan Argan Oil, Tilvee Lavender & Lemon Hydrating Lip Balm and Sweet Riot Cacao Nibs. I've been hearing a lot about argan oil lately. It's very precious and I see that larger qualities are very pricey. I'm excited to try this oil though, as I heard it has many benefits. Plus a little can go a long way. The lip balm will be nice especially for the cold, dry winter air. I'll try this after my Eos lip balm is out.

*I love the Sweet Riot, I'm not a fan of bar dark chocolate but these little nibs were so good. I like that there's a saying in the container too, with lucky numbers. It reminds me of a fortune cookie. The Moroccan Argan Oil is very nice. I've been using it for three days now and my skin feels moisturized. I'm using it in my hair too. Think I'll get more of this product. I've used the lip balm as well. I love the smell and the product goes on very smooth. My lips feel moisturized.

Acure Moroccan Argan Oil + Argan Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner. These travel sized samples are perfect for trying this product. There's the argan oil again. They must be good. Hehe. I'm excited to try this too. The products are said to deliver moisture to dry hair, which is good because that's something I struggle with.

The box also included a few coupons, a cheat sheet on various uses of Moroccan Argan Oil and a DVD for Gaiamtv.com. The site offers many videos that help towards whole body wellness. There is also a free trial offer.

I am very pleased with this box. I saw previous boxes and it looks like this company finds some of the best products to give interested customers. They really pay attention to detail too, with their presentation and it's like no other box, that I have received. I look forward to February box. For more information on Yuzen, check out this link.

Disclaimer: I purchased this box with my own money and was not monetarily compensated for this review. Opinions are honest and are completely my own.

This is the third Cravebox I received. I previously got the Holiday Spruce Up and the Winter Favorites. I did not write a blog entry for the Winter Favorites, but it was a good box. Te box was $15 and was good as well. I had trouble actually getting the box due to UPS and the delivery of it. It said it was delivered January 10th, yet me nor my husband was there to receive it. I never saw it by my door or in my building and spoke to UPS about the missing package. They said they couldn't do anything about it and that I had to contact the shipper. I contacted Cravebox, who asked me to ask my neighbors if they had seen anything. I did and they said no, so I told Cravebox that and they informed me that I'd be getting a replacement box at no extra charge. Well four days after it was supposedly delivered, the box showed up by the mailboxes in my building. It was so strange because I had not seen it anywhere in the days before then and when I asked nobody knew anything about it. I checked the box and it was not opened. When I opened it nothing was taken. I contacted Cravebox to let them know I had received the box and they said that I'd still be receiving the replacement as a bonus for my troubles. I had never had anything happen like this before, at all the places I have lived. It was so strange. UPS never should have delivered it, if no one was there to receive it. I thank Cravebox in regard to how they handled the situation. Thank you Kelley. I can see that they really care for the satisfaction of their customers and that is wonderful. My replacement box was shipped yesterday.

So enough of all that. Here's the box!

That's white confetti, the Winter Favorites had blue. I honestly think the confetti is a bit much.

The box contained one Perfectly Simple Peanut Crunch bar, three Sun Rype FruitSource Plus Mango Strawberry bar, one Sun Rype Just Fruit & Grains bar, one Wholly Guac chip clip, two Celestial Seasonings Metabo Balance tea bags and four CocoaVia extract supplement samples. I tried the Strawberry bar and it was really good. I got the tropical grapefruit flavor for the tea. I gave that to my husband, since I am allergic to grapefruit.

One can of 7UP Ten soda and one can of A&W Ten soda. I drank both and you can tell the difference from the regular, I think more on the 7UP then the A&W. They taste good though and it's great that they are only 10 calories with 2 g of sugar. I might have to buy more of these.

One .5 oz sized Mary Kay Timewise Repair Voul-Firm Eye Renewal Cream. On the website this product retails for $40. That's awesome Cravebox included this in their box. I think I'll give this to my mom.

One .9 oz sized Pantene Pro-V Silky Moisture Whip. I can't wait to try this product as well.

Lastly, the box included various coupons.

Overall, I am happy with this Cravebox. I feel the selection of products was very good. I do look forward to future boxes. Hopefully I won't have the same trouble receiving them, as I did this one.

Disclaimer: I purchased this box with my own money and was not monetarily compensated for this review. Opinions are honest and are completely my own.

May turned one month on Thursday :-) She's doing great, she is so observant and alert. She had a growth spurt at about 3 weeks. I knew it when she would not stop crying. Rex was at work and I fed her, and rocked her and cuddled her but she would not go to sleep. It was a very long night. Finally she got to sleep around the early morning hours. I know they'll be many more. She gaining weight too. Those cheeks are getting chubbier. I'm breastfeeding and pumping and supplementing with a little formula. We've gone days without any formula and that's where we want to be. We supplement when my milk supply is low. It was low recently due to a bit of the baby blues. I was just feeling really overwhelmed and upset at not really leaving the house. I was too tired to eat at night too. It got better though and my milk supply is pretty good. In the morning my milk supply is the highest and I can get about 4 fl oz from my right and about 3 fl oz from my left. It decreases throughout the day but I can get enough for at least two bags to store in the refrigerator. I read that it is more established around 6 weeks. I'm hoping my supply will stay around this way.

I've gone back to school, from the winter break. I'm done with classes and working on my thesis now so that I can defend in May and I'm looking to graduate this August. I won't be spending too much time away from May. I'll be going to the school two days a week and during those days she'll be with our babysitter. Our babysitter is though one of Rex's co-worker's. It's nice because she is not far away and she loves children. Rex is doing good at his job he's also looking at attending school and will be taking the SAT soon. He's studying for it currently. I'm wishing him luck :-)

I also celebrated my birthday on the 9th. I told May and she smiled. Rex had work from morning until the afternoon that day and I spent the day with May. Later that evening we left May with our babysitter and had a nice dinner at the local Applebee's.