It's Paper Dear Review: September 2012

You may recall that a few months ago, I tried out NatureBox (reviewed June and August), my very first subscription box. I mentioned that I had a hard time finding a box that suited me. As much as I loved the concept of NatureBox and a few amazing snacks they featured, I ended up canceling it. For me, it wasn't worth the price. I think the concept of the subscription box is a lot of fun, so I was pretty disappointed that it didn't work out.

Jenny to the rescue! She posted about It's Paper Dear, a cute little paper store run by super-sweet Zie. One of the items Zie sells in her shop are paper goods subscription boxes. Score!! Exactly my type of box. I signed up for the three-month subscription, and my first box arrived yesterday!

My Review - September 2012 It's Paper Dear Box
Check out these goodies in all of their glory! The background for the pictures is actually the pretty tissue paper that everything in the box was wrapped in. The yellow polka-dotted bag is hiding more inside. There were tons of cute things in the box, so I grouped them into general categories and took detailed shots so you can really see everything I got.

Sticky Notes & Pen & To-Do List
The little kraft folder holding a mini-pen and colorful sticky notes was super cute. I actually have a lot of sticky notes in various colors already, so this wasn't the most exciting thing in the box for me. But it definitely gets points for cuteness and I'll add it to my collection or give it to a friend. I adore the mini patterned sticky notes (white with orange & blue). Even though I do have tons of post-its, I really like collecting unique/patterned ones. The pen is pretty standard but the mint green color is just gorgeous! Plus the shop's name is so cute that the branding actually makes me like the pen more. Love the design of the To-Do List printout, although it might be one of those things that's so cute I don't want to use it! At least not for every day stuff... but maybe for a "life to-do list" type art/scrapbook project. Possibilities!!

Pretty Papers & Cutouts
I am a total sucker for pretty papers. Of any kind, really. I probably wouldn't choose these designs for myself at the store, but that's kinda what I love about a subscription box. Honestly, when it comes to paper patterns, I will find a use for everything - and sometimes interesting papers are what inspire my cards or art journaling pieces. So in summary, I like it! Also love cute cutouts - they are double-sided, making them more versatile. I'm not really sure what to do with the S, so I guess I'll have to be creative on that one.

Notecards & Tag & Postcard
Never hurts to have more pretty notecards! I love the striped mini-notecard. Gotta love anything with that many colors! It's the perfect gift tag size, but I'll probably be selfish instead and use it for an art journal spread. The papaya pink tag is pretty, but I was more excited about the chevron wax paper bag it came in! The paws print postcard (from one of the September It's Paper Dear sponsors) is not exactly my thing (although I really like some of the other postcards in her shop), but I can always send it to a friend I think would like it more.

Stickers
Apparently I never grew up, because I LOVE stickers! The sheet of label-like stickers will be perfect for all sorts of things. So pretty! I am a huge fan of stickers with some depth, so the pretty patterned "n" (which could also be a "u") will get used somehow. The kraft sticker has a cute silhouette but wasn't anything special. Bird? Very pretty! But my favorite is that bear... it's hard to beat red + black + predator for me!

Embellishments & Business Cards
The fun minty green lace doily gets points for being my current favorite color! Loving the gold sequins and the detailed think pink plastic heart. Flower button was cute too. And the pretty, delicate ribbons will definitely get some use - I love those colors! Yeah, yeah, I know... business cards aren't "supposed" to be part of the gift. But they totally are for me... I collect them. The cards were from this month's featured vendors, who contributed items to the box. The Little Pink Studio contributed the pretty ribbons, while Nature's My Friend contributed the postcard and bear sticker.

Pricing / Options

One month - $20 + $6.20 US shipping

Three months - $54 + $18.60 US shipping total ($2 savings per box)

Zie makes a set number of boxes each month. You purchase ahead of time for the following month (or three months). If you're interested, just be sure to purchase a listing early as it could run out. She also ships internationally - if your country isn't listed, you can contact her. Box ships the second week of each month.

You should always check the It's Paper Dear shop for most updated pricing & info. Zie also posts updates on her blog.

Overall

I am very happy with my September box! Unfortunately, the sticky note booklet was probably what you'd consider one of the larger items for the month (I think it counted as this month's journal?), and as I mentioned, I have a lot of those. Not the box's fault, I just have too many. I appreciated that everything was packaged very nicely, and I'll certainly re-use the wax paper bags. Overall presentation was great, with a consistent color scheme while still providing a wide variety of products. I was very happy with the sheer number of products included, and liked or loved almost everything in the box. Based on the number of products and careful selection, I think the pricing is reasonable.

Bottom Line

I would definitely recommend this box. Looking forward to the October box and to using everything in I got this month! I'm hoping for a washi tape next month! =D

NatureBox Review: August 2012

Last month, I wrote about NatureBox, a subscription service delivering healthy snacks. Because I signed up between snack cycles, I ended up with the June box last time (even though it was July). This time, I'm back on the normal track and received my August box on Saturday. If you recall, last month's review was mixed, but I wanted to give it another shot. Here's the result:

My Review - August 2012 NatureBox

Top (left to right): Dried Fancy Figs, Far East Rice Crackers, Bombay Curried Cashews, 
Bottom (left to right): Maui Onion Crunch, Mexicana Mango

The theme of the August box was "Snacks From Around the World."

Far East Rice Crackers

This was a mix of various Japanese crackers, sprinkled with dried peas. I have had lots of these snacks before, so they weren't anything new to me, but I imagine they would be novel to some. It was good! I have always liked these kinds of snacks, and this was a relatively mild mix, which I consider a good thing because I'm a spiciness wimp and other times you get really weird flavored crackers. Not the case here. Good, solid snack, and I love how (like all NatureBox snacks) it contains no high fructose corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, and no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors.

No sugar, fat, or cholesterol. Serving size: 1/4 cup.

35 calories (0 from fat), 55mg sodium, 8g carbs, and 1g protein.

Maui Onion Crunch

The only way I can think of to describe this snack is: savory almonds covered in a light, powdery sweet Maui Onion dry marinade. Crunch and flavorful and so, so good. Definitely a hit in the salty snack department. Jacob loved this one too. I had to hide it because, well, it's mine!!

No cholesterol. Serving size: 1/4 cup.

160 calories (130 from fat), 14g fat (1.5g saturated), 460mg sodium, 8g carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 2g sugar, 5g protein.

2% vitamin A, 2% vitamin C, 8% calcium, 6% iron.

Dried Fancy Figs

Okay, I'll admit it. I really dislike figs, so this was not my snack. I left this unopened so I can give this one away.

No fat or cholesterol. Serving Size: 40g.

132 calories (2 from fat), 6mg sodium, 31g carbs, 6g dietary fiber, 23g sugar, 1g protein.

5% calcium, 1% iron.

Bombay Curried Cashews

This was definitely the "interesting" snack of the bunch, to me. Curry flavored snack? It does have a strong curry flavor, which was a little odd to me on fruits and nuts, but it wasn't bad. I would say this was a medium snack in my book - I wouldn't buy it specifically, but I will probably eat most of the items in the bag.
No cholesterol. Serving size: 1/4 cup.
140 calories (90 from fat), 10g fat (1.5 saturated), 35mg sodium, 12g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 5g sugar, 4g protein.
2% calcium, 6% iron.

Mexicana Mango

Definitely my favorite snack! I am a completely mango lover. I've tried all sorts of dried mangoes. These were divine. I used to go for the Philippines brand dried mangoes, which are delicious but have tons and tons of added sugars. These were light, natural tasting, and delicious. The snack was gone within two days of opening the box!

No cholesterol or sodium. Serving size: 3.5 pieces.

130 calories (5 from fat), 0.5g fat, 34g carbs, 4g dietary fiber, 30g sugar, 1g protein.

30% vitamin A, 90% vitamin C, 2% calcium, 2% iron.

Each NatureBox comes with a little description card, including a recipe and snack details.

Overall
Once again, the snacks were a little hit or miss for me, but I preferred these overall to the snacks in the June box. Two soaring favorites, two good but not exceptional, and one miss for me. Not too bad for a blind subscription box.

Bottom Line
I will give this box at least one more month and decide then.

Signing Up
I wrote about how to sign up along with additional information and a coupon code in my June box review.

Tried any new subscription boxes lately?

NatureBox Review: June 2012

Subscription boxes have made frequent appearances on various blogs this year. They seem like a fun idea - get a surprise box of different goodies each month. However, none of the well-known boxes sounded quite right for me. While I love eye makeup and am getting back into nail polish, I rarely use other beauty products, so while GlossyBox and BirchBox sound interesting, it didn't seem worth the investment for me. I love the premise of UmbaBox - delivering handmade goods each month. However, My style is dissimilar to the creator's, so I am not sure how well the delivered items would suit my taste.

(Note: A few other new box subscriptions I might enjoy have recently come to my attention, but they were unknown to me at the time of this purchase.)

Enter NatureBox: healthy snacks delivered to your door each month. Bingo! Sounded perfect for me. I have always been a snacker, but made a conscious decision to start bringing fruit and healthier snacks to work in the last few months. Recently, I switched to working four 10-hour days each week (and having Fridays off). I leave work at 6:30 and get home by 7:30, so I am usually starving by the time I get home. I tried bringing more snacks, but I was quickly getting sick of my options. See, I find a snack I like, get instantly obsessed, buy a ton of it, and then get sick of it within a few weeks. Then it sits around in my pantry until its turn comes back around. Bad habit, I know.

Case in point: KIND bars. I was starving and decided to try out a cranberry bliss bar at work one day (our cafeteria has a focus on healthy foods). It was so good. I went online and bought four full boxes of bars in different flavors. After several weeks of having a bar daily, I got tired of them. We have since reconciled and I am working through my boxes at a slower pace, but still. There are a lot of bars left. That's me.

When I read that NatureBox delivers five different full-sized healthy snack packs each month, checked some reviews online (all very positive), and looked through what snacks they provided in previous boxes, I was sold. I signed myself and my parents up (I knew they would love it - especially my dad).

My June box actually arrived in July, since I signed up in late June.

My Review - June 2012 NatureBox

Top (left to right): citrus kick almonds, harvest fruit granola, organic mighty mix

Bottom (left to right): apple rings, sun-ripened white peaches

Apple Rings

The apple rings are delicious. Sweet and chewy, just as described. The box also came with a recipe for cinnamon apple ring muffins, which sound delicious... but I'm not sure there will be any apple rings left by the time I get around to it!

No sugar, fat, cholesterol, or sodium. Serving size: 28g.

90 calories (0 from fat), 23g carbs, and 2g dietary fiber.

Sun-Ripened White Peaches

These were soft, chewy, and unsweetened. I was not a fan of the dried white peaches. Then again, I am fairly picky about my dried fruit. But I didn't like the texture and these weren't really sweet enough for my taste. This was my least favorite item in the box.

No sugar, fat, cholesterol, or sodium. Serving size: 1.5 pieces.

95 calories (0 from fat), 25g carbs and 3g dietary fiber.

Harvest Fruit Granola

Best thing ever. Seriously. This granola is so, so good. There were nuts and dried fruit mixed in - it was so soft and delicious. I really hope they follow through with their idea to offer some popular snacks for sale in larger quantities, because I would buy this. Tons of it. Definitely my favorite in the box - it was hard not eating everything at once!

No cholesterol or sodium. Serving Size: 1 oz (28g).

120 calories (60 from fat), 6g fat (1g saturated), 16g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 7g sugar, 2g protein. 

Organic Mighty Mix

This was a mix of raisins, dried fruit, nuts, and other seeds. This was honestly not my favorite - it was a bit of a weird mix of sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy. I'm not keen on raisins and the other mystery dried fruit was just okay. The seeds and nuts were decent but I think they would have been better as a separate snack. It is nice that these were not sticky at all, so they would be nice to bring as a trail mix of sorts on a hiking trip.

No cholesterol. Serving size: 1/4 cup (30g).

130 calories (70 from fat), 8g fat (1g saturated), 15mg sodium, 14g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 10g sugar, 4g protein.

Citrus Kick Almonds

These almonds are covered in a citrusy coating - they look like sugared almonds but they definitely don't taste like them! "Citrus Kick" is the perfect way to describe them - they pack a punch. Jacob didn't like them, but I actually did enjoy them. I wouldn't say they were among my favorite snacks, but they are interesting for sure.
No cholesterol. Serving size: 1/4 cup.
170 calories (130 from fat), 14g fat (1g saturated), 280mg sodium, 7g carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 2g sugar, and 6g protein.

Overall
As you can see above, the snacks were very hit or miss for me. I think it would be perfect either for someone who is less picky than me, or for a family/group of people with different tastes - that way none of the snacks go to waste. You can see the contents of their other past boxes here. I am not sure if I will continue my subscription - I may try another box and see how I like it before making a final decision.

The size of each snack package was decent - midway between sampler size and chock-full. Each package had 3 - 4.5 servings (you can see the serving sizes above).

Possibly because shipping is built into the price, the snacks are on the pricey side. $19.95 for 5 snacks equates to $3.99 per bag, which is about what I would expect to pay at Whole Foods or (insert name of fancy/organic grocery store). Then again, they pick a variety for you and ship it directly to your front door, so there is something to be said for that. Also, with the discount for multiple months, it will cost less per bag overall.

I was impressed by their customer service - friendly, helpful, and professional. I had quite a list of questions for them and they were all answered satisfactorily.

Bottom Line
I would probably recommend this for those who love everything granola/nuts/dried fruits. For someone like me who is a little pickier, I'm not sure it's worth the money.

Notes About Dietary Restrictions
- I called to inquire about if the boxes are vegan/vegetarian. The friendly lady who answered informed me that while the next few boxes are scheduled to be vegetarian, there is no guarantee. They also contain some honey/dairy products so some snacks will not be vegan.
- However, they are looking to provide customizable boxes for these types of restrictions - vegan, allergies, no nuts, etc. Contact them directly to be put on a list, and they will notify you when these options are available.

Pricing/Options
- $19.95 / mo for month-to-month subscriptions. Use referral code "REFER25" to get 25% off your first box for monthly subscriptions only.
- $99.75 / 6 mo - essentially you get one month free.
- $179.55 / 12 mo - includes three months free.

Want to Sign Up?
You can sign yourself up through their website and they recently added a section for 3 or 6 month gift subscriptions here. You can also sign someone up for a gift subscription and keep paying until you choose to stop. Shipping is included in the price, except for the 3 month gift subscription. Please note that this is a relatively new service and they are frequently changing their policies/features, so be sure to check their site for the most updated information.

If you want to order your own NatureBox or find out more, visit their website here.

Have you tried NatureBox or found any other interesting box subscription services? Let me know if you decide to sign up, and how you like your box!

Note: This is my personal opinion and is in no way sponsored by NatureBox. Just like every review I write, I will always provide my 100% honest thoughts.