Tuesday, October 30, 2012

What's more fun than a box? bluum box

 blumm is a monthly subscription box created for parents by parents.
I had the pleasure of receiving their December, January and February boxes shortly after their release in September 2011. I purchased a 3 month subscription at a discount at www.onsale.com (I purchased my voucher November 2011 and at the time of purchase it was $18 for $36 value.)
    Themed boxes have about 4-5 deluxe samples in for baby and mums. Don't get hung up on the idea of deluxe being a size but more so of the quality. Some reviews complain about the illusion the description of the boxes should be with full sized samples but in fact it's more like the quality of the products that are deluxe.  The boxes are prepped and packed with care.
    If you are looking for a collection of samples of different companies and products out there then this is something to consider.  They are doing the research and hunting for you. I was able to learn about a few different brands that I was not aware before like NurtureMe.
    The site says that they alter the boxes to your baby's age, however the boxes that I received and those that were posted all appeared to be the same.
    My favorite box was the February box that was themed "Cuddle Buddies". There was an adorable B Kids Loop Around Wrist Rattle.




How cute is this little guy?!
    You have to sign up by the 10th of the month because they ship on the 17th of the month. They currently have a wait list that you can sign up to receive an invitation. They accept all major credit and debit cards but not Paypal. The monthly subscription rates offer are as follows: 3 months $49.95/ 6 months $79.95/ 12 months $149.50  (It looks like the price has gone up a smidge since I signed up)
   A nice bonus is that they have a program where you can earn points for writing reviews on the samples you get and friends referred. With those points you can earn free boxes.  
   
    I must admit I currently have my subscription on hold. I was disappointed in their lack of customer service or at least response to my inquiry and suggestion. I had received a black tea sample in one of my boxes and just wanted to suggest that if they were sending boxes out per stage of babies and possible breast feeding mums then the caffeine amount in the black tea wouldn't be ideal. I never heard from them, not like I was trying to get them to apologize because there was nothing to apologize for. I just would have appreciated a "thanks for the suggestion". To me, customer service is very important - even if it just a suggestion.
   My final review is that bluum is a nice subscription box service to sample and learn about the different companies, products and services out there for mums and babies. It is a little smaller in box and product size compared to others. If you find a discounted offer on a deal site I would suggest trying them out for a box or two.
    Have you tried out bluum? What was your impression? Likes? Dislikes?

______________________________________________________________
Next box on deck to review: TeetheMe 


Got away with it

    I'm going to be real brief on this post - luckily WNY was spared from the Superstorm Sandy. In fact, we had one tiny branch that broke off and leaves everywhere. And lets not forget the gobs of water all over. The creek by our house is overflowed and into the neighbor lady's yard. A drastic 180 from the bone dry status of it from over the summer. 
    To my friends in NYC, NJ and PA, I hope you are all well and safe! 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sandy Schmandy?

    The hubs and I just finished watching The Walking Dead and now the Weather Channel is on with all the hoopla about "one of the biggest storms of our lifetime". I am amused at how much energy they are pouring into this broadcast. It's like they have been waiting for something to focus on.
    I will admit, I'm not entirely worried. We have plenty of candles, quick foods, water and juices, a generator or two, I would like to think that we are going to be good. (Although baby bear's swing picked the wrong date to crap out on batteries. Sent the hubs to Lowes on his way home today and apparently the batteries were all cleaned out. But he did manage to find some D's somewhere else so we have the swing working - whoo hoo!!)
    Within an hour I received two emails, one of an order being cancelled and another of a webinar being cancelled. Boo on both - why not reschedule until after this "storm"? Think Halloween would be rescheduled? haha.
    Right now we're sitting pretty with a high wind warning in WNY which could knock out some power lines or take some trees down. As long as the snow doesn't start to creep in, I'll be fine. I hate the snow.
    What do you think of this storm? Are you on the storm path? Is it hoopla or for real?

I saw this on FB and thought it was hilarious!!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Fifty Shades of....

    I didn't read Fifty Shades of Grey, nor do I have any immediate plans of reading it (although Warm Bodies is looking very interesting) Anyway.., this post is the fiftieth post being made on right here on the ol' blog. How cool is that?! The big 5-0!
    Ok.... so I know I am still a newbie to the scene and I'm still learning quiet a bit about blogging, getting visitors, raffles, and so on but this is a sweet accomplishment for me. Insert happy dance here.., yeah I said it... happy dance!
    The weekend is here and apparently we have a huge storm brewing. I don't want to think of the snow and icky slick rain that might happen upon us, so I'm going to share some pictures from our nature hike yesterday when it was warm and sunny and the air smelled like a fresh autumn day. What is something that you like to do on a warm fall day?
Love the Fall leaves

Checking out the creek

The Tweedles under the tree arc

Trey's photography skills

Thursday, October 25, 2012

I'm so crafty but...

    I have so many projects and ideas in my head, but I don't have the place or time to do them! Major bummer for crafty people!! Well... my area that I have sort of set up for crafts and crafting is a wreck and I blame myself. (On the flip side of that statement, it's because I have all my holiday shopping done and packed up around it so I beat the rush but now I have the goods till the holidays).
    I was able to make some quick cloth napkins out of existing cloth napkins that were way too big for us to use. I just cut them in half and then sewed a seam along the uncut edge to finish it up. Easy peasey! But it was at like 9pm and I was so tired and when I was half way through doing them I didn't want to do it any longer. The need for sleep was winning.., boo.
    So today's post is to help give me motivation to get that area cleaned up and organized so I can get a-crafting again! Any hints or helpful ideas? How do you do your crafty stuff with kids around? 
This just cracks me up!!!