Hatchery Review: March? April? 2015

The reason I'm not sure which month this box is for is because I signed up for one of those online deals for three months with Hatchery, but it auto-renewed. After two months, I canceled so it wouldn't auto-renew because I didn't want to be worrying about while moving. However, in doing so to avoid being charged, the system also canceled my last box.

I recently realized I hadn't received that third box and contacted Hatchery. They not only replied in an hour, but also had a box in the mail that day. Talk about awesome customer service! I'm actually a fan of this box and think it would make an awesome gift, but the last thing I need right now is to worry about another address change.

Each month, with the Tasting Box, you are sent five small samples of cooking items or food ingredients from artisans around the US. There's always a great variety and Hatchery provides suggested recipes as well.

My first item was a bottle of Michigan Apple Pie shrubs. I've never really used these, but it sounds interesting and I don't mind trying it out. Now that summer's on the way, maybe I can make something yummy and sit out on the porch!

Little Lace Box Review: April 2015

Reviewing Little Lace Box has become difficult for me, because it's such a nice box and a pleasant surprise each month - and every time I see anything online about Little Lace Box, I find myself irritated. I don't understand why this box seems to get so much animosity from the same group of people, but I grow exhausted by it. It's well worth the value, the items are so nice, and it really does cater to a lifestyle of treating yourself well and appreciating the finer things. I suppose that's not something a lot of people do these days, but I really like this box and it makes me happy - and then the negativity that gets thrown at it feels draining. 

Anyway, other people and their issues aside, I thought this box was phenomenal. I smiled while opening it and my husband and I loved every item. 

Little Lace Box Review: February 2015

Little Lace Box is one of the hottest things in the world of subscription boxes right now. When they opened up subscriptions in January after releasing their "The Dining Car" box, the internet broke. I had been on the waiting list for a while and I knew I wanted in on this, so I spent EIGHT HOURS refreshing and fighting just to get my subscription started. Lots of others did as well, so when the February box spoilers went out, suddenly the backlash began. 

I think expectations are absurdly high for this box, because of the hype on the day of signups. The Dining Car was also incredible and people were expecting the same. Of course, each month is different. In addition, Little Lace Box was faced with some trouble due to the weather this past month and the dockworkers' strike, so their original items didn't end up arriving. With that said, the box is still very nice and top quality. Each item is of high value, even if people were disappointed. I admit I was a little disappointed but only because I won't use most of these products. I do think, though, that Little Lace Box was worth it and I think they're like POPSUGAR and FabFitFun, in which you will definitely be able to gift anything you don't use yourself. Finally, I admire Little Lace Box for limiting subscriptions because they prefer quality over quantity and a lot of subscription boxes could learn from this model. Not only does it generate buzz (because everyone wants to be in on limited items), but it also means that there is more care put into each box rather than mass producing anything. As a company highly focused on working with smaller artisans, Little Lace Box knows that they need to have reasonable standards for those crafters.

Treatsie Review: February Subscription Box

Oh, man, Treatsie makes a nice box! I feel a little silly sitting here with all my healthy snacks in the pantry while my Treatsie box doesn't even make it that far. This is a dangerous subscription box. I paused a lot of my candy subscriptions, but Treatsie's box is more dessert type treats from artisans than candy exactly. And it is very good.

We already get the double box because my husband and I like each getting our own and ideally the box should last the whole month that way. This month, Treatsie had the deal where you got double treats so my box is ridiculous. (In the best possible way.)