Month in Review: Hits and Misses of March 2015

March was a much longer month and there were a lot of stragglers from February that ended up being delivered in March due to weather and so on. Some of those end up in the mix for March because they deserve a fair shot, too. I also decided to cut back on a lot, although that will really impact April and moving forward from there since there will be far fewer boxes coming.

Fortunately, there were no horrible issues as there had been these past few months with French Box, Try the World, and Loot Crate. Instead, this month's misses are really just based on my personal preferences and interests. There were some that were a lot worse than others for me, but honestly, none of these are boxes I would strongly advise other people not to order if they thought it felt like a match for them. I am happy to say that, this month, they're just things I didn't like. Some I STRONGLY disliked, but again, to each his own.

Escape Monthly Review: March 2015 (Australia)

I was actually really enjoying Escape Monthly until this box. They were a bit on the expensive side, but I felt like I was getting a lot in the boxes and the value was there. In addition, I had found the items to be useful and very similar to the kinds of things I would buy when traveling. So when they announced Australia as their destination for March, I was thrilled! This is one of the places I have not been that I really would like to visit. I don't, however, feel like I experienced it at all through this box.

For starters, I was pretty disappointed that they normally send travel guides but for the one place I may actually use it, they sent a book about living abroad. I have no plans to live abroad and if I did, it wouldn't be somewhere I have not even visited. Why would I get a travel guide to Portland and not to Australia? This doesn't make a lot of sense. 

Escape Monthly Review: February 2015 (Nashville)

I was so impressed with Escape Monthly last month and couldn't wait for this box. I think it's really all about personal preference with a box like this, because I like food. However, if you're looking for something special or particular to a location, rather than items from local artisans, you may end up not enjoying it. I did, however. A lot!

All of Escape Monthly's boxes come with a foldout brochure for an info card. It looks like the kind of travel brochure you get in hotel lobbies on vacation and I love that added touch. You also get a travel guide to each location. Although this is probably a hit or miss for most people, since if you have no intention of visiting the area it ends up just being useless, I think it's nice to learn more about each area. I will especially love this for areas I either plan to visit soon or ones I know well.

Escape Monthly Review: January 2015 (Portland, OR)

Escape Monthly was one of the boxes I most wanted to try, but I was wary because I'd seen a few less than positive reviews. It sounds like some people didn't like the quality of the box or the items. I decided to put it off and go with Try the World instead (what a mistake!). Then I saw that Escape Monthly had a deal on Living Social and decided I would try it out. With the deal, I was paying a lot less and it wouldn't auto-renew supposedly (I'm still trying to work this out, since I decided to go ahead and subscribe after seeing this box, but now I have two accounts and subscriptions. Hopefully they will be good about replying to emails!).

This is a monthly subscription box with a different location (US and international) chosen for each box. I love this concept and I love the idea of receiving items from each location. After seeing this box, I'm quite satisfied because these are exactly the kind of souvenirs I would pick up from my own travels.

For January, Escape Monthly selected Portland, Oregon. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the location and somewhat wished I had saved my voucher for a better destination, but since I'd ordered, I was getting this box one way or another. I am happy that I actually liked it as much as I did, because the items were really well-chosen and the whole box was extremely well-curated.