Simply Earth essential oil August box review.

Simply Earth Monthly subscription box for August is a back to school theme! Augusts unboxing video is here. Check out the facebook page for Facebook lives where I make the products!

First things first, If you use my link and the coupon code CRAZYLIFEASMOMFREE you get a FREE diffuser with your first box! That's a $49.95 value! If you look at the august unboxing video above I show you the diffuser in the video!

It is $39 a month and you can cancel, skip or pause any time. Their oils are 100% pure and smell AMAZING! Here are the July Facebook unboxing and Facebook live DIY video. They properly test their products for purity, and have amazing customer service.

My favorite part of these boxes is that you get FULL size oils for $39!

Separately the oils are;

Coffee - 5ml - 9.95 (my favorite oil this month) I cant drink it, but It smells SOOOOOOO GOOD

Copaiba - 15 ml 9.99

Focus - 15ml - 11.99

Grapefruit -15ml - 9.99

The oils alone cost $41.92!!

This box contains 4 oils mentioned above, recipe cards, 2 10ml stainless steel roller bottle, 2 plastic inhalers, 1 sack of glass beads for a backpack or locker freshener, sweet almond oil (carrier oil) and two labels.

TI have mentioned before that I wish the 2 round labels were water resistant and simply earth made note of this. I suppose even a clear label to go over the top would be helpful to keep the label in tact.

The recipes this month are for
-backpack/locker freshener
-Get focused roll on
-rise and shine diffuser blend
-Do your homework diffuser blend
-Immune boosting inhaler
-stress relieving dough ball.

The DIY aspect is fun and you get the extras free with your oils in the box.

Simply Earth donates 13% of their profits to end human trafficking. How cool is that? Such a great way to give back.

Check out my previous reviews of the March soap box, and the May beauty box, and July box.

Woman Up Subscription box (July) review

Each month WomanUp box come with 6-8 beautiful items. These items are created by women for women. The monthly subscriptions starts at $49.95 and ship around the 25^th of every month. You can buy a single box from the previous month, month to month, 6 months, or 12 month subscription. When I went on to their site, that is what the price difference was. I did not notice it last month.

WomanUp Box's motto is to “Uplift yourself and lift up women”. You can see  the review of Junes box, which was their inaugural box,  as well as the June unboxing video here. This is a great box just for moms who need a pick me up. We all know that we don’t buy ourselves things, right? Is that just me?

JULY BOX unboxing video is here and the products are listed below.

Woman up Box Exclusive

A snazzy BPA free 23 ounce water bottle that says HYDRATE!

Passion moon potions

Potions are made by Francesca Sakai. She is on etsy under PassionMoonPotions. She makes everything in small batches and has organic shea butter and essential oils and she whips it until its light and fluffy. They are based out of Kona Kailua, HI. This 4oz container is coconut mango whipped Shea butter and it smells SO GOOD. It is vegan & cruelty free. This company had a lipbalm in the last box as well. Read here

Goddess garden after sun gel

Helps when you get too much sun!  Biodegradable to help with further deterioration of the coral reefs. This is a lightweight spray gel to help heal sun exposed skin with aloe vera, tea tree, and lavender. Check out EWG (environmental working group) and check out the toxity.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/696114/Goddess_Garden_Organics_After-Sun_Gel_/#.WXuWvf7rsyE

Spunlight watermelon cotton candy

I don’t eat this type of stuff but this will be a great gift item! It is organic Non-GMO cane sugar with no artificial dyes or flavors. This is a husband/wife team in Arizona that makes SIXTY flavors. Watermelon is their most popular flavor. You can find them on

                                                                                            

Artesian Aromatherapy Candle

Made by Veronica Wilson. You can find her on etsy at TheTranquilGoddess. This candle is a 6oz Coconut pineapple Lime and smells AMAZING. It is made from Soy with a cotton wick.

Hemp Bracelet

The bracelet is made by Maggie Cody. You  can find her on Etsy. SerendipityHemp. Maggie handmakes these and they are adjustable to fit most people. She also donates a portion of profits to charities that provide clean water to developing countries.

TOTE

- Good Vibes Only canvas bag made by Stacy Hernandez. You can find her on etsy at LiveLoveSurvive. The bag is made of canvas and is 15”x12”

Sample

-Flying bird botanical tea – sample

The summer charity partner receives 10% of the proceeds which is Dress for Success

The total for the items in this box is $75
Water bottle - $15

Passion moon potions - $13

Spunlight cotton candy - 3

Artisiona aromatherapy candle - 9

Goddess garden - $11

Hemp Bracelet – $12

Tote - 12

Enter to win a box here! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vitajuwel Via Gemwater bottle review

Vitajuwel Via Gemwater bottle

As a disclaimer I do not have much experience with Gemstone therapy. I find this method of wellness fascinating. Apparently this was done in ancient times as well, dating back to Pedanios Diskurides in the 1^st century AC.

The VitaJuwel glass bottle has two openings. The top for rinking and the bottom for screwing in the gempod . The Gempod has a silicone washer to create a seal and protect the jar from breaking. This screws into the bottom of the class cylinder.

When I got this bottle I went into it with no expectations. . I did a series of blind taste tests for myself (you can see the papercups in the first picture), Mr. Crazy Life, and Little Crazy Life. Every single time we could tell a difference. I tried glass containers, paper cups, and ceramic mugs. I used filtered water from the fridge, tap water, and purified water from the cooler at work. The sharpness of the water is gone. The water had a smoother taste and tasted like spring water.

The Gemod is manufactured in the Austrian Alps. There are 17 combinations of gemstones to create a HUGE selection of bottles. In their brochure they have

Wellness – rose quartz, amethyst, clear quartz

Fitness – Red jasper, magnesite, clear quartz

Five elements – Amethyst, Chalcedony, petrified wood, rose quartz, ocean chalcedony

Balance – Sodalite, Clear quartz

Love – rose quartz

Vitality – Emerald, clear quartz

Momentum – Chalcedony, moss agate, milk opal

Beauty – amethyst, aventurine quartz, rose quartz

Inner Purity – aquamarine, clear quartz

Focus – red jasper, sodalite, orange calcite, agate (brown), aventurine quartz

Passion – Carnelian, halite salt

Sunny morning – orange calcite, clear quartz

Allure – Garnet, clear quartz

Inspiration – Lapis lazuli, rutilated quartz

Vision – noble shungite, clear quartz

Diamonds – diamond slivers, clear quartz

Golden moments – rhinegold, halite salt, garnet

Vino – amethyst, clear quartz

Everything on this planet gives off energy and vibrations.  Water is a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen molecules with a specific structure. From my current understanding of Gemstones they can change the structure of water by the vibration and energy that the stones produce.  When water is exposed to Vitajuwel Gemstones there have been the following effect recorded by Institute Hagalis;

-Distinct improvement of tap water quality

-neutralization of Harmful substances information

-Improvement of the PH Value and oxygen content

-Increase on bioavailability of minerals

-Increase of energy and biological valance

Even if you don’t believe in the power of Gemstones therapy, Vitajuwel products are STUNNING. I have had so many comments on my bottle. I would LOVE to get the Gemwater dispenser to keep on my counter, because its seriously GORGEOUS! How about that for a statement piece?

They also have Gemstone vials, decanters and droplets. I have also read that professional sommeliers have used this method to improve their wines by softening the wines natural acids to make it smoother. I guess I better get some wine to test this theory out!

Vita T

Bottle insert to steep tea in your gemwater bottle.

They also have a gemwater bottle called:

Tea time – moss agate, clear quartz

  

HUGS and LOOP silicone top and bottom protectors to help prevent from bumps

Abrazo Designs Essential Oil bag and pendant Review

I love the story of how Abrazo Designs was created. The creator of Abrazo Designs was inspired by her mothers legacy after she passed away. She wanted to bring style and affordability to have also ealized the amazing uses for essential oils and their healing properties. As someone who has studied complementary health, this is a passion of mine. I look to find ways to rid toxins from my home where I can, and find ways I can treat illnesses or bumps/bruises naturally. I lost my father to cancer which helped spur my quest to research cancer and actually wrote my thesis on it!

Now, back to Abrazo.

 

Their 42 bottle Essential oil storage bag is made of quilted canvas on the outside  and has a nice handle. Inside the bag you will find beautiful velvet and padded dividers that are only secured at the sides.

You can also see this bag close up in my facebook live here.

Without the slightly adjustable dividers in the middle, this helps keep you oils even more secure. There are two bigger pockets near the back that can hold bigger one ounce bottles, more of the 15,10, and 5ml bottles, or other essential oil tools you may need. The bag has a heavy duty zipper and very well padded.

When I try to jostle the oils in the bag, they don’t move. This particular model can hold up to 42 oils and holds 15, 10, and 5ml bottles. The case is about 8”.x9”x3.5” high.

This would be a GREAT gift with some labels for the top of the bottles for a newbie and gives them room to grow their amazing collection. You can also get their products on AMAZON!

Diffuser Pendant and felt pads

This stainless steel has an 18” chain and has a cutout with 8 hearts. They have three other beautiful designs on their site and you can also get these on Amazon! The 50 felt aromatherapy pads come in a variety of colors and are AMAZING for customizing your pendant above to match your outfits. 

Butcher Box Meat subscription review - $10 off and free bacon!

ButcherBox This is the first time I have tried ordering meat online and having it delivered. Use this code and get $10 off and free bacon!

I received a tracking email and I watched that thing like a hawk. I checked it multiple times when it was out for delivery. Once the box was shipped it took 4 days to arrive. I was curious to how it would fare with it taking that long. Much to my hearts delight all the meat was completely frozen! The green insulated bag was zippered and set inside an insulated box with dry ice bags. If you check out the live video, you can see how frozen the meat was.

In my classic beef and chicken bag I received

- 3 packs of organic tenders = 2.75 pounds

- 2 one pound packs 85% lean ground beef = 2 pounds

- one pork loin tenderloin = 1.9 pound

- 2 beef ribeyes = 10oz

-2 grass fed beef striploin steak = 12oz

- 2 packs of sirloin steaks = 12 oz

- free bacon!! 10oz (Best bacon EVER!)

First of all, I was extremely impressed. ButcherBox is very high quality meat and the bacon is the best I have ever tasted. When I cooked it up there was nearly ZERO fat in the pan! I was shocked. Even with high quality meat from the local health food stores, there is always grease in the pan.

Butcher Box beef is 100% grass fed and grass finished. Chicken is Free range organic, and their pork is Heritage breed. Their 8-11 pound box of meat is $129 per month and can feed 20-28 individuals. Obviously we don’t have the 6oz portion control down because the meat did not last that long.

While ButcherBox is a subscription service, you can change the frequency or cancel at any time. You can try different cuts of meat and get handy recipe cards.

I learned while reading up on ButcherBox that nearly all beef for sale in the US is grain fed and processed in feedlots. When you have multiple sensitivities in the house, this is not good. Feedlot cattle are fed antibiotics, hormones, corn, soy and sometimes byproducts and even CANDY? WHAT? We always buy natural no antibiotic meat, but had no clue they fed them CANDY. What in the heck? In searching this its true. There was a recent publication in January ’17 that reported an investigation over red Skittles that do not make the cut for packaging (no white S on them). It turns out the massive amounts of skittles were intended to be used for feed. The candy is intended to provide a cheap source of carbs. The maker of the candy denied selling for feed, but apparently this is a common practice that was heightened in 2012 when the corn prices surged.

If you want to get your meat from a reputable source that guarantees quality check out ButcherBox!! I was seriously impressed with the quality of the meat, especially the beef.

WayBasics Connect Cube review

WayBasics Sent me their connect cubes to review. We have a small open area under little CrazyLifes built in bookshelf that is completely open. It collects SO much random stuff due to its odd size. We have never been able to find anything to fit under this shelf, until now. If the connect cube came in half the width of this, we would have been able to completely fill the area. However, the open space does house a Barbie bin to the side of the cabinets.

Currently she is using the connect cubes to house her lego village creations so they don't get knocked over or broken. Once I can get a good picture of this, I will update this post.

With Waybasics products you get the sides, small wooden pegs, and the backing (and a lifetime warranty). The double sided sticky tape is already affixed to the connect cubes on one side. The boards themselves are made from from zBoard material. It is EXTREMELY strong, and much healthier than  particle board or MDF. Little Crazy Life can stand on the bookshelves without damage. I feel better knowing that these have NO VOC, toxins, or formaldehyde especially since they are in her room.

 The unique thing about the waybasics cubes is they have wooden pegs to put them together along with strong double sided sticky tape. YES, TAPE! I put these together without instructions. It is pretty simple.

Simply line up the holes and pegs after removing the sticky tape showing 3M. I did this by myself, but it is helpful to have another set of hands or a wall to lean the first side up.

 What I LOVE about the connect cubes is that they are not wood, yet they are so durable that you can stand on them (without breaking)! The pieces are made from recyclable materials. They are eco-friendly and little crazy life was able to help me put them together. I have her problem solve how to put things together, and this was pretty intuitive.

 and.............. a lifetime warranty!

After putting these together, and using them for awhile, I really like them. They are extremely lightweight and little crazy life can change them around in her room without hurting herself.

I would LOVE to get these in every style because waybasics provides such versatility and it helps keep little crazy life a bit more organized.

As I am eyeing their product line, you could easily use a combination of the waybasic cubes and make an easy lego desk to secure baseplates to. I would just secure the backs together with painters tape or decorative duct tape to keep them from separating. We have legos EVERYWHERE and this would be a fun project to try. If you do, let me know!

Time Block Swiss Botanical Science Review

I was sent time block supplement in exchange for my honest review. As with any supplement, I cannot guarantee what results you will have with them. Each person is extremely different in their supplementation needs. You will want to look at the ingredients and compare with any allergies/sensitivities you have. This is my personal experience with this product and your results may vary.

Time Block is a dietary supplement. This has a Telomer Complex which has plant derived nutrients, microalgae, vitamins and minerals. Supplementation is suggested as one morning and one evening which are indicated on the back of each bubble pack. 

Typically when you take supplements you need to create a constant balance of within your body throughout the day, that is why some dietary supplement suggestions are twice per day and not once a day. This helps the presence of the vitamins/minerals stay in your system. These are not heat pressed, which can cause them to be only partially digestible and hard on the stomach. I used to take a multivitamin and after years of seeing no results, I stopped. Those mass produced horse pills are nearly indigestible! Not to mention they are mass produced with such general ingredients. There will not be one multivitamin or supplement that is right for everyone.  

From reading the ingredients on Time block, one thing that strikes me is that I can pronounce everything in both the day/night capsules. The ingredients are Vegan, Not genetically modified, Gluten free, no added sugar and lactose free. This is a huge plus for me. We try to eliminate GMO's and highly toxic items from our house.  Time-Block was developed in Switzerland with GMP (Good Manufacturing Procedures). According to the company there has been decades of finding high quality ingredients that are harvested sustainably and grown in dedicated organic areas above 1500 meters in altitude. According to the EPA, this has a direct impact on air pollution or lack thereof. The EPA claims that the most impact is shown in human health and the lower concentrations of pollutants in the air. Translate this to plant health and it appears to be the same type of effect.

A quick breakdown of a few of Time Blocks ingredients are Biotin (preservation of skin), Folate (immune function and bones), Zinc (hair/vision/cell division), B12 (methycobalamin which is the non-synthetic version, cell division/nervous system), Selenium ( thyrdoid/oxidative stress). Calcium (Metabolism).  

As with any supplement, check with your physician prior to taking.

Glovax all purpose adventure gloves review

Golvax adventure gloves  light, slim,  cut resistance, water/oil proof, breathable and anti-skidding.
Check out their indiegogo here.

Mr. Crazy Life used these to trim some tall tree branches and was able to keep ahold of the extended clipper very well. He experienced no slipping and was able to manage a good grip. He then left them on to move the branches and had good movement of his fingers. I then used these to do some gardening. I had great flexibility in them and was not limited in my movement to work in the garden.

Glovax is an adventure glove that adapts to all of your needs. Glovax has many features to include cut resistance, anti-skidding, abrasion-resistance, water and oil resistant, flexibility, and comfort!

From what I found out, The glovax glove is made from special yarn materials developed by only two factories in the world. One is in Japan, another in Zhejiang China. It is abrasion resistance, blade cut resistance, tear strength resistance and puncture resistance.

They are said to be super comfortable and flexible for outdoor uses and some activities such as car repair, gardening, fishing, and hunting. We only used them for yard work and did not use them in the house of for adventuring. They were definitely lightweight and anti skid.

Simply Earth July subscription box review AND Giveaway

Simply Earth Monthly subscription box for July is shown here.

First things first, If you use my link and the coupon code CRAZYLIFEASMOMFREE you get a FREE diffuser with your first box! AMAZING! 

It is $39 a month and you can cancel, skip or pause any time. Their oils are 100% pure and smell AMAZING! Here are the July Facebook unboxing and Facebook live DIY video.

My favorite part of these boxes is that you get FULL size oils for $39!

Separately the oils are;

amyris - 13.95

Orange - 6.99

Peace and quiet - 9.99

Ginger - 11.99

The oils alone cost $42.92!!

This box contains 4 oils mentioned above, recipe cards, an aluminum spray bottle, aloe vera gel and two labels. The only thing I wish is that the 2 round labels were water resistant.

The recipes this month are for
-hand sanitizer
-linen spray
-spa day diffuser blend
-Peaceful diffuser blend
-mini car air freshener
-Linen spray

The DIY aspect is fun and the kids LOVE IT! It gives you control of what you put on your body. There are SO many chemicals in commercial products that they just aren't healthy.

Simply Earth donates 13% of their profits to end human trafficking.

Simply Earth provides full size oils that can be used with future boxes or other creations that you come up with. This has been one of my favorite subscriptions that I have received. 

Check out my previous reviews of the March soap box, and the May beauty box.


Enter to win a free box!
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Vermitek compost bins & raised garden bed review

HOLD UP! Don’t throw those food scraps away! Grab yourself a Compost bin/pail!  A compost pail is used to collect kitchen scraps before transferring them into your compost bucket.

Vermitek sent me a Stainless Steel Compost Pail

It is beautiful on your counter and will match all your appliances. The lid is the important piece because it contains activated carbon filters in the vented lid for odor removal.  Additional sets of filters are included for replacement. You will need to replace as you start smelling your scraps in the bin. This compost pail features a fluted, polished stainless steel body and a satin-finished lid to create a product that also is durable (it does not rust the way many other brands of steel buckets would). Another feature is the heavy handle that makes it easy to carry the contents to your main compost bin. This compost pail is dish-washable. This unit uses compost pail filters (large)-- available at their store. The capacity of this model is 1 gallon and is 7”

The Bamboo Compost pail -

This is probably my favorite even though its only ¾ gallon. It is Environmentally designed, and is a green way to store daily kitchen scraps. We only have 3 people in our house, but I managed to fill this baby up in 2 days. Luckily we have a Vermitek bokashi composter in the garage. The exterior is made with real bamboo, and the inside lined with smooth plastic.  This model also has a replaceable charcoal filter. This model is 7”diameter, and 8” height and weighs 2 pounds.  This unit uses compost pail filters (large)-- available at their store.

RAISED GARDEN BED 

Vermitek Raised Garden Bed - http://vermitek.com/raised-garden-bed.html

We live in the ‘burbs which means we have no control of what our neighbors use in their yards. We cannot rely on using organic soil and non gmo plants because we have runoff into our yard. I am VERY excited for this raised garden bed. Being in suburbia, we try to grow our own (fairly successfully) garden in large garden pots. This helps insure our food isn’t contaminated by chemicals from the neighbors who don’t have the same view as we do. We have taken this raised garden bed and lined it with material from Amazon. We then filled with Organic soil, and planted our veggies.

One reason I love Vermitek is they used 100% recycled plastic for their raised garden beds. These are great for a small plot of veggies. You can customize the shape of your garden to fit your area as well. Raised garden beds are supposed to keep pathway weeds from your garden soil, help prevent soil compaction, provides necessary drainage and can be a barrier to pests such as slugs and snails.

The sides of the beds keep garden soil from being eroded or washed away during heavy rainfall. Raised garden beds allow a longer growing season. You can plant earlier in the season because the soil is warmer and better drained when it is above ground level.

Another plus (because we aren’t young),  raised garden beds also reduce back strain when bending over to tend to the garden. Raised garden beds do not have bottoms and are open to the ground. What I found out is this offers the benefit of permitting plant roots to go further into the ground for available nutrients if needed.

Check out my previous review of their worm farm, and bokashi composter too!