Stay in a cozy cabin at Kartchner Caverns State Park!

 

Although this year has been a strange one due to covid, one of the unexpected experiences that has come out of it is that we've been given the chance to check out local state parks, and travel destinations on a more personal level because there aren't a lot of people traveling at the moment. I recently was given the chance to work with the Arizona State Parks Department! The opportunity is very exciting for my family and I because we love camping, being outdoors and exploring so we can't wait to work with the parks department more through out the next year.

This time around we were given a night rental at a small cabin inside of the Kartchner Caverns State Park located in Benson, Arizona. This state park is wonderful for camping and hiking, however that isn't all that it offers. It is also home to the Kartchner Caverns itself which is beautiful and well preserved cave system that I will cover in another post coming soon.  The views from front door of the cabin are gorgeous, you have a perfect view of the mountains and trails that are free to explore. All of the information on reserving a cabin or camping spot can be found on their website.

                      

 Coming from North Phoenix the drive took us about three hours to reach the park, once inside the park rangers were very helpful getting us checked in, letting us know what time we could get into our cabin, and more. The cabin itself was easy to find, there are four cabins located inside of the park along with a few dozen camping spots and RV spots that are able to be reserved for up to two weeks at a time. Wondering how much a cabin rental will set you back? A cabin rental is surprisingly affordable at $59 a night (plus a one time $10 reservation fee) the rental fee includes the daily park fee. The cabins have two parking spots located directly next to them for each cabin, all four cabins have a designated sign letting you know where to park. Directly in front of each cabin you'll find a firepit (wood can be purchased from the park rangers) and a picnic table for your personal use.

Each cabin sleeps up to six people and includes a queen bed plus two bunk beds. Originally I had pictured a big open cabin similar to one I had stayed in at a KOA in New Mexico, however we were surprised to find that it was actually split up into two rooms. The first room contained the queen size bed, a table with four chairs and a small kitchen area that includes a microwave and small fridge. Guests are asked to bring their own pillows and linens due to there being no washing machines at the camp, they do provide mattress protectors to help keep the beds themselves clean. We had no issue with bringing our own bedding, it was like packing for a camping trip without the tents.

You may notice that aside from the microwave there is no other methods for cooking, however there are plenty of outlets so you could bring a small toaster or cooking top to prep your food if you plan on staying for a long stay. We were only going to be staying for a one night/two day stay so we had brought some breakfast items to make in the microwave and we opted to take a small drive into Benson to get some dinner. 

                

The day we arrived it was a stormy day and had been raining on and off, that combined with it being winter the weather outside was a little chilly. So was the cabin warm? Yes! Each cabin has both heating and air conditioning, they don't have an actual way to set the temp you want on the heater it simply has three options "Low", "Comfortable" and "High". We had it on high or a bit but ended up turning it down to comfortable, the cabin stayed toasty warm and just the right temp, you couldn't even tell it was chilly outside. 

You may have noticed that the back room is the room with the two sets of bunk beds, however not shown is a bathroom. Though there isn't a bathroom inside of your cabin there is a camp site bathroom just out the backdoor of the cabin, a quick two minute walk gets you over to the shared bathrooms which also contain showers for anyone looking to wash off. The bathrooms were clean and well kept, since the walk was short we didn't get too chilly. If you have a lot of trash to throw out there are also dumpsters, along with a small trash can inside of your cabin. 

   

We are a family of four and we were all perfectly comfortable, and cozy inside of the cabin together. There was plenty of room to move around, and plenty of space to store our belongings. There were several hooks around the cabin, outlets with USB ports, lights and heaters in both rooms and if you want privacy to get dressed or from the kids at night there is a door you can pull shut between the two rooms. 

After we checked into our cabin the first night we went to check out the trails so we knew where we were wanting to head in the morning, we also picked up some board games while we were in Benson so we could play them at the cabin table. We had a very enjoyable stay and the park itself was gorgeous, I will be doing a blog post soon with more photos of just the trails and another with info on the caverns itself. This is a gorgeous place to visit and it is a destination that isn't to be missed! 

Disclaimer- The one night cabin rental mentioned above were provided by The Arizona State Parks Department for a review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase

TownleyGirl Palette Giveaway!

I remember one of my favorite holiday gifts I received from my mom when I was about twelve was one of those small makeup boxes with some makeup products in it. I was so excited, the makeup at the time was a good starter set but the box had a lot of storage and I actually still have it today and keep a lot of my loose shadows and products in it that I don't use on a regular basis. I recently received some products from TownelyGirl in exchange for writing some site reviews for them, and I wanted to giveaway a few of the items here.

TownleyGirl has some new makeup palettes that they have started selling at Walmart (You might have seen them in the holiday section already) and they are pretty fun. Each one features a different cute cover and have a mixture of eye shadows and blush plus a glitter makeup brush. 

One of the nice things about these palettes is that they are only $5 each! They would make a great gift or stocking stuffer depending on the size of the stockings you have. I like giving back during the holidays so I want to spread the love, I am going to be giving away all four palettes shown above! There will be two winners who will each receive two palettes to use as holiday gifts this Christmas. 

I typically run my giveaways for a two week period, however I am going to shorten it a little so that hopefully when I ship these out they will reach you before Christmas.

PRIZE ALERT:
Two lucky winners are going to receive two eye shadow palettes, the images above shows the two palettes that are being given away with each other. 

This is open to US Residents only! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 12/12/2020

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me which of the palettes above you like the most. 

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Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Townleygirl for a review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase

Glasstic Shatterproof water bottle Review & Giveaway!

 

For a long while we didn't have a water cooler so we bought cases of water from the store, however we quickly realized that not only was it becoming costly but it was also a HUGE waste of plastic! So we ended up getting a water cooler and lots of re-usable water bottles to fill up, but I am always looking to add more to what we use on a daily basis. I recently received the chance to work with Glasstic trying out their shatter proof water bottles. They are called shatter proof, but are they really?

After receiving these I was rough on them on purpose including dropping it from about shoulder height, a smacking it against the counter because I was curious how their claims stood up. They are indeed shatter proof, nothing happened to the glass what so ever. So how does it work? The Glasstic bottles have two layers, there is a plastic outer layer and a glass inner layer with a space in between the two of them. 

The space between the two layers isn't just there to protect the glass, it also doubles as a way to personalize your bottle. In the photo above is an example of how the bottle breaks down into four pieces, this makes it easier to clean all the pieces or to put an insert in. You can purchase a set of style sheets that are already printed and sized to your bottle, or you can create a master piece of your own to put in your water bottle.

My kids love that they can customize their water bottle to their own personal interests and that they can change it at any time. The bottle was a little difficult the first time we took it apart because the seal protecting water from getting into the empty space is a fantastic seal, but once you get the hang of how to remove the plastic it is very easy to pop in your doodles. 

The glass in the middle helps keep your water or drink cold while the plastic allows you to hold the bottle without your hands feeling cold. We also like that it has a lock on it so the lid won't randomly come open and it has a really nice handle on it. The bottles come in six different colors so you can pick out the one that suits you the best and customize it more once it arrives. I thought my daughters use of yellow paper with her purple bottle looked nice. The bottles are easy to wash and dry, so far we haven't had any issues with them.

Their bottles are $19.99 each but until the end of November they are having a 25% off sale, you also have the chance to enter to win a bottle of your own right here on my blog. 

PRIZE ALERT:
Use the Rafflecopter below to win a Glasstic bottle of your own!

This is open to US Residents only! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 12/02/2020

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me if you'd use one of their style inserts or if you'd create your own! If you are going to create your own, what is something you might design?

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Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Glasstic for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Grade School Reads with Candlewick Press!

 

One of my favorite gifts to give a young child is a good book, they help expand the mind and the imagination. I still have some of my childhood favorites and my kids have picked up my love of reading as well which is why we are always so excited to get the chance to receive and review new books with Candlewick Press. Today I wanted to share some of their awesome books with you! 

All of the books I am sharing with you today are great for children in grade school, they are all easy readers that include lovely illustrations and help keep your child's attention by keeping the books short and sweet. 

Dandelion's Dream (Retail $16.99) - There are no words in this book, the story is portrayed in images letting your imagination fill in the rest. In this story a dandelion turns into a real lion and does on an adventure before turning back into a flower. This was a cute and quick flip through book, I think it would be best suited for Kindergarten/First grade reader levels, since there are no words you could encourage your child to tell their own story while reading it with them and asking them questions about what the lion is doing on his adventure.

Creature Features (Retail $17.99) - This is a book that I had fun looking through because of the fun and colorful illustrations showcasing different creatures and the things they have in common such as scales, excellent ears and more. This is a fun way to show children the differences yet similarities that animals have with one another, plus there are a lot of neat animals features that you might not know about.

Alba and the Ocean Cleanup (Retail $16.99) - This way this story starts out reminds me a bit of the Little Mermaid, Alba is a fish who loves collecting lost items that drift to the bottom of the ocean. Every year for her birthday she goes out to find a new object to add to the collection, until one year she finds that it is hard to find something due to the amount of trash around here. This is a great book that showcases how the use of single use plastics, and trash impacts our oceans and that we need to start making changes to help the ocean life thrive. 

What's that noise? (Retail $16.99) - Magnus the seal is awoken one morning and hears a strange rumbling sound, unsure of what the noise is he sets out on an adventure to try and find the noise. Along the way he runs into some friends who agree to help figure out what the noise is as they can hear it to. After a fun adventure and wandering around for a while, Magnus and his friends realize where the noise is coming from. It is coming from Magnus himself! He is so hungry his stomach is making a choir of noises. 

My green day: 10 green things I can do today (Retail $7.99) - This is another great book that helps you think about the things you can do to improve the amount of waste being produced on a daily basis, and small ways you can change your routine to live a Greener life. Some of the examples they give are making a compost pile and owning your own chickens. I think this would be perfect for a class room to read during Earth Day. 

Houndsley and Catina at the Library (Retail $15.99) - This is a short chapter book about two friends and a day spent at the Library. This book is only three chapters long, but both characters are lovable and it is a fun story, it makes us want to read the rest of the series as well to see what else these two get up too on their adventures and daily lives. 

Fergus and Zeke & the field day challenge (Retail $14.99) - Have you ever wondered about the life of a classroom pet? This is a fun series about Fergus and Zeke who are mice that live in a class room, they love doing everything the kids do. On this particular day the mice find that it is too hard to do the same thing as the children so they spend the day creating their own field day that is perfect for two small mice to finish. This is a cute book showcasing how you can use your imagination and creativity to problem solve. 

Chick and Brain; Egg or Eyeball? (Retail $12.99) - This four chapter book is laid out like a comic book, it is easy and fun to follow along with while keeping you engaged. Brian found an object and isn't sure what it is, he thinks it is an eyeball but Chick and spot think it is an egg. The adventure to find out what the object is, is full of laughs and it has a surprising ending! (You'll have to read it to find out what it is.)

Dot goes fishing (Retail $14.99) - Dot is a fun series about a little girl named Dot along with her family and friends. In this particular book she sets out to go fishing with her dad, he usually comes home from fishing empty handed, but Dot has a plan to change that. Dot brings a high tech gadget along with them that is supposed to help locate where the fish are, but things don't work out quite as she planned. The device is eaten by one of the fish and they have to rely on her dads "old school" fishing equipment to get it back. 

Don't worry, Little Crab (Retail $17.99) - Little crab is about to go on a big trip, little crab along with very big crab are going to adventure from their home in the tide pools to the big open ocean. Once they reach the edge of the tide pools Little Crab isn't sure if they are ready to leave yet. With some gentle help and reminder that they are not alone on this adventure Little Crab finally makes it out to the big ocean and they absolutely love it. 

Baby Clown (Retail $16.99) - Baby clown always seemed to be a sad little clown, he was always crying and no one could figure out why. All day long he would sit and cry until one day they put him in a show, he loved being the center of attention and enjoyed the crowd cheering for him. Being in the show made it to where he no longer felt sad, and he no longer cried, from that day forward he enjoyed putting on a fun show. 

Candlewick Press offers all of these wonderful reads along with hundreds of other titles perfect for all ages. Shipping is always fast and the books arrive in perfect condition, my children and I love reading their books and seeing what they have to offer. 

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Candlewick Press for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

November Ipsy Review!

 

Ipsy can always be a bit of a gamble on what you are going to get and some samples can be pretty petite, however for only $12 a month it is a decent way to discover new brands. Sometimes you get lucky and get deluxe sized samples or even full sized products such as the eyeliner I received in my November bag.

With the custom profile you put together it feels like they only take it half into consideration, for mine I have both eye liner and highlighter marked as "Rarely" as I was hoping to get more skin care, lipstick and eye shadow. Generally I will use them, however I've grown quite the collection of black eyeliners so several of the liners I received recently went directly into the giveaway pile. Let's dive into what was in my November bag;

Each month you are given a pick of your choice and the rest of the bag is curated by Ipsy, this month I went with the Anastasia Beverly Hills matte lipstick mini in the color "Dead Rose". This color is gorgeous, it is a nice matte tone that goes with an assortment of looks, sadly wearing a mask everyday means I don't get to show it off as often as I would like. This is a small sample but it will last for quite some time. 

Item Beauty lid glaze in the color "Desert Weekend" - This came in a sealed up little baggie, the product name "lid glaze" seemed interesting to me. I generally use powdered shadows so I was curious how this jelly eye shadow looked, this looks gorgeous when applied. It is packed full of color and I think this will do quite well in many makeup looks. A little goes a long way, so again although this is a 5g sample I think it will last for many applications. 

Trestique eye pencil in "Santorini Black Sand" - I am not going to lie, I had a really dumb moment when I first pulled this pencil out to take photographs of it. When I pulled it out I thought "Oh No! The lid popped off" I looked in the box and didn't find a lid, turns out the lid was on it hahaha it just looks like the top of a eyeliner pencil. This also comes with a smudger and a pencil sharpener. I can not comment on how effective this liner is or how the formula is, I did not use it because I want to include it in an upcoming giveaway so it was only photographed. The retail value of this is $19 alone which covers the cost of the bag and then some. 

Complex Culture Good lighting highlighter in the shade "Lucid" - This highlighter looks like it is packed full of sparkles to add a little extra flair to your look. My sample this month is very similar in color to a highlighter I received last month, so this is another item you'll see pop up in a giveaway soon. 

Avette fresh clean coconut mild cleanser - This is a nice cleanser that doesn't leave your skin feeling dry or oily, but it doesn't smell like I expected it too. Being that it is "coconut" I figured this would smell lightly of coconuts, it doesn't, instead it smells like a bar of soap you'd find in a hotel room. Now that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is a light scent and it smells clean. 

Not a bad batch of samples for $12, the makeup bag this month is also a better quality in looks and construction than some I've received in the past. 

*This is not a sponsored post, I pay for Ipsy from time to time and like sharing my experience with the company.

November Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

This is being posted a bit later in the month than I wanted it to be, although that doesn't take away from the excitement that it brings every time I post a Beauty and the Book Giveaway! With Christmas being just around the corner I went with a holiday themed book and wanted to include some fun products that you can keep for yourself or that would make a nice gift. 

This month's giveaway has a retail value of over $150! Included in this month's giveaway is:

• Summer & Rose Celine Crossbody bag
• Tarte SEA drink H20 (full size)
• Jules Smith Palette 
• NYX lip butter mini
• ELF liquid highlighter
• ELF eyeliner in black
• EcoTools mini mask mate
• Jade Roller
• Makeup bag
• Clean & Clear Travel Facewash
• Tarte "Big Ego" Mascara mini
• Spalife Facemask
• Two beauty samples
• The book "The Mistletoe Murder"

I can hardly believe it is the end of the year already, it was such an odd and stressful year that it make the days seem very slow yet they seemed to fly by at the same time. I hope that you are all doing well, staying safe and are looking forward to the holidays, I know I can't wait to see everyone with their holiday decorations up. I will be putting mine up soon! 

This is open World Wide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME and is not associated with any of the brands mentioned above.

This giveaway ends on 12/14/2020

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment letting me know something that is on your holiday wishlist this year.

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October/November Creepy Crate Review!

It's Spooky & It's Creepy, It's the Creepy Crate! If you love the darker side of things, Creepy Crate is a bi-monthly subscription box that brings you products based off of Horror Movies, True Crimes and more. Every box comes with at least one book along with several fun products for you to use. I've received two of their boxes in the past and was pleasantly surprised when I got a email letting me know I was getting another box, I was so excited. 

When my box arrived I was a little nervous at first because it sounded like there was broken glass inside, however upon opening the box I found everything in perfect condition. The noise was two shot glasses bumping into each other in the box. The October/November crate came with eight different items, nine if you count the shot glasses as two. So what was in the box?

Up first was a lovely light peach scarf with spiders and webs printed on it. The scarf is a little sheer, but very soft and light weight, it is also a decent length so it can be used for a number of purposes. It is a pretty cute scarf, although I don't see myself wearing it much this year because it is still kind of hot here in Arizona so I may use this for something else instead. 

Under the scarf I found a package of 3D bats, I actually have two packages of this already and have several on my wall so I know this is a top notch product. They look fantastic when hung up and they are quite sturdy so they will be there until you take them down. 

The noise I mentioned before that sounded like broken glass was a set of shot glasses that had been bumping up against one another. Both glasses are Bloody Mary themed, one has her shown as a regular dolled up shy girl and the other shows her wild bloodthirsty side. I love how both of these look, but I wish they didn't had a giant sticker on them since the residue stickers leave behind can be a pain to clean. 

This crates physical book is "We keep the dead close" by Becky Cooper, it is based off of a real cold case. I hadn't heard of this case prior to receiving this book, looking into it the case seems like a crazy and mysterious one that is sure to make you not want to put the book down until you read everything the book has to offer. 

It also came with a digital copy of "Incubus" by Ann Arensburg. The description the item sheet gives is "New England horror and Halloween just go hand-in-hand. . . and this modern-day folk horror novel will remind you why. When inexpicable evil descends on Dry Falls, Maine, neighbors become enemies and the world slowly turns against the insular northern town." Both sound like they will be thrilling to read, I can't wait to dive into them. 

Isn't this sun catcher stunning? It features none other than the Mistress of the dark herself, Elvira can be hung in your window as a sun catcher or you can add her to your Christmas tree. It comes with a small suction cup and a ornament string. It is light weight but pretty hefty, the material seems like it will be long lasting and durable. 

What are the holidays without cookies? My kids and I like baking cookies during Halloween and during Christmas so this skeleton cookie cutter is perfect, it can be used to make sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. I can't wait to make skeleton themed gingerbread cookies, some red and green glitter will help tie Christmas in with Halloween. 

I generally like all of the items that are included in the crate, but my favorite item that I enjoy finding in the crates are new pins! The October/November crate included a glow in the dark pumpkin pin, I was very excited when I spotted it. I need to get a corkboard to hang all of my pins on so I can show off my slowly growing collection, I used to keep them on my purse but the backs keep falling off and I don't want to lose any of them. 

All together I am pretty happy with everything that was in this crate and everything will get used in one way or another. You can purchase a three box subscription for $120 or a six box subscription for $240 (single boxes are $40).

Disclaimer- Creepy Crate provided a box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

2020 Jeep Sahara Review!

This year we experienced a longer than normal period where it was a constant 100+ degrees outside, so now that the weather is finally starting to break it is the perfect time to go camping. Normally when we go camping we just take my car, however I needed to make a repair or two so I didn't want to take it up into the mountains, instead we rented a Jeep from a rental company up the road from us. 

My husband had been wanting a Jeep so we were pretty excited to get the chance to check it out and see how we liked it. The rental company provided us with a 2020 Jeep Sahara for what we'd be renting for the weekend. Both my husband and I have slightly older cars so they don't have all the extra bells and whistles that this truck does. This truck has a back up camera, Bluetooth connection for our phones/devices, a built in compass, keyless ignition and more. When driving this I did have a slight "Oh my gosh" moment that I felt silly about, this car has engine start-stop technology that I wasn't aware of prior to driving it. What does this mean? It means that when your car comes to a complete stop at a red light, stop sign, drive thru, etc. that your engine will turn off on it's own and will start up again once you take your foot off the brake. Not knowing this I thought the truck had died while I was driving it and had a mini "No Way!" moment thinking I'd have to take it back to switch for a different vehicle. All was alright though once I realize what was going on, the start-stop is supposed to help save fuel consumption and lessen emissions being released, it just makes it sound funny when you are stuck in stop and go traffic because your car will keep turning off and on.

While I really enjoyed some of the features the truck came with, there wasn't as much room inside of the Jeep as I thought there would be. We actually had to leave a few of our camping items at home, as I hadn't realized just how square the inside of Jeeps are so the back storage area is short and tall instead of being deep. Since renting this I've actually taken a look at other Jeeps as I've driven by them and have noticed that most people usually don't have a lot in the back, I noticed one woman had just her stroller back there and it looked cramped. It also seemed a bit stuffy up front where the driver/passenger sit, I am used to my car that has a lot more room in the front to stretch out while driving. 

One of the cool things we noticed about this truck is that the back passengers seat has it's own set of A/C vents right in the middle of the front seats, there is also open spots to put USB chargers and even an actual plug! The cup holders are also a nice side and have a little slot just incase your cup has a handle.

Everything in the front was pretty simple to figure out when it came to tuning the radio, turning on the A/C and hooking up my MP3 player to play when our cell phones weren't getting reception due to the mountain area. You'll also notice that the controls for the windows is on the center console instead of on the drivers side door.  Once the car is on your dark provides you with the outside temperature, the direction you are headed in, what radio station you are listening to and a digital speedometer along with the normal speedometer on the right hand side. The truck we were in also had a warning light on letting us know that it was out of windshield fluid. It also has automatic headlights that will come on when it is dark out, they will be on as soon as you open the truck door. 

 

The ride itself was very smooth, it had no issues with the mountains we had to drive up and down to get to our camping spot and it didn't have any issues with the curvy roads/dirt roads that we took. As with any car after a camping trip we did end up with a bit of dust and pine needles in the truck but it was really easy to clean out. It also did well on gas, we drove about 220 miles round trip  (all highway) and doing an errand or two near home, it used a little less than a full tank.

After testing out the Jeep and talking about it, my husband decided that he doesn't want to get a Jeep when we switch over to a new car for him. This Jeeps seems better suited for off roading for fun or camping for a couple vs camping for a family of four. Instead we are going to look into a small suv or truck similar to a 4-runner that offers more space in the back.

What are some of your favorite features that you'd like to have (or already do) on your vehicle? 

**This is not a sponsored post, I am not affiliated with the Jeep brand. This is a truck we rented ourselves for the purpose of taking camping, this is a post simply sharing my thoughts.**