November Ipsy Review!

 

It can be a lot of fun getting a subscription box in the mail every month because you never know what is going to be in it (unless you peek). I've been getting Ipsy for the last few months, I enjoy getting them because it is fun finding new products to try and it also helps me find new brands to put into my monthly beauty and the book giveaways. Each month comes out to about $13 with free shipping.

This months bundle included a green velvet makeup bag, It feels more like a Christmas bag to me so I am surprised it isn't part of the December bags. Let's dive into what was in my bag this month:

Kosette Salt Facial Scrub - This exfoliating treatment sounds lovely, it is infused with bamboo and charcoal to help give your skin a deep detox. It also has sea salt to help remove dead skin cells from your face. So far I haven't tested this because I had many other products I need to get through first, but I am looking forward to using it. 

Tarte Sugar Rush Cake Butter Whipped Body Butter - Oh my goodness this smells so good! I could smell it through the foil seal and couldn't wait to use it. I used it after getting out of the shower and it left my skin feeling soft, and fragrant. It smells like fresh baked goods, and it is a long lasting scent that doesn't disappear right away like some fragrances tend to do. A little goes a long way, it spreads out nicely and I know I will be save when this little tube is gone.

Papa Recipe Tea Control Green Mud Mask - As mentioned prior I have a lot of skincare products I have to get to before this, but I am looking forward to using this as well. 

Tanais Liquid Kajal in Bengal Green - The color of this liquid eyeliner is bold, and gorgeous. It glides on quite smooth and is long lasting, I like using this as a double liner on top of a black eyeliner to add an extra pop to my eyes.

YC Collection Light in the Dark highlight in "Coin" - The color of this is gorgeous, you can see it sparkle and shine through the packaging. I hardly ever use highlighter though so I knew this wasn't going to be something I am going to use thus it went into my giveaway product collection. 

If you missed my last post here are the pros and cons of using Ipsy:

Pros - 

• If you don't like something in your bag, you can always re-gift it.
• You can try out name brands you might not normally be able to afford.
• Many of the products may be travel/sample sized, however some of them last for quite some time. Items like lipstick can last months before you run out of it so it is a good deal money wise.
• Broken down it comes to $2.60 a product if you don't include the bag, or $2.16 if you count the bag.
• Each month you get to hand pick out one product that goes into your bag.
• You can earn points for reviewing products on their site, which you can cash in for freebies.
• Easy to cancel your subscription at anytime.

Cons -

• You might end up with a product you don't like/won't use.
• You end up with way too many bags if you subscribe for several months at a time.
• For me personally, I seem to get more skincare products than makeup and I would rather get a better ratio or more makeup than skincare. 

Do you subscribe to any subscription brands? If so which do you like, and are there any you hate?

* This is not a collaboration with Ipsy, I pay for my monthly bags myself, I just like sharing them with my readers.

Coin & Currency Club Review & Giveaway!

 

When I was younger my mom worked at a thrift store for a little while and sometimes would bring home neat things from the store. A few of the things she brought home were coins from different countries, I always thought they were really neat to see and have and so over the years collected a few other coins and a few bills. I don't have anything overly crazy just basic coins and bills that are easy to get such as coins from Mexico  & Canada along with a euro or two and a bill my cousin brought back during his time in the military. 

Even as I've grown older I think seeing the different bills and coins they have around the world is so neat, so when I found about the Coin and Currency Club I thought it was something my kids would enjoy seeing and receiving in the mail. This subscription is surprisingly affordable at only $12.99 a month with free shipping, or you can upgrade your subscription to a PCGS pack which comes with better protectors and your coins/bank notes will have a professional grading on them which can be registered online. 

This subscription box was started by Zachary Lowry and his wife Jessica. Zackary started collecting coins when he was ten years old and carried that love into adult hood which also helped spark an interest in finance, history, the world and how money not only connects all three but also the stories they can tell. Thus the Coin & Currency Club was founded and now the pair run it together. Their customer service is fantastic, speedy and you can really tell they enjoy what they do and want to share it with everyone else who has similar interests. 

I am happy to be sharing this review with you and excited to say there is a giveaway as well! I was gifted three mystery bundles to check out & review, I had no clue which countries I would end up with so I couldn't wait to see what was included. All three packages were well wrapped, I like the presentation of the envelope stamped with their logo on the front and everything arrives wrapped in a layer of brown tissue paper so the contents stay together. Each month you will receive one coin, one banknote, a sticker with that countries flag and information on where in the world your bundle is from. Here is what I received in my packs:

North Macedonia - The banknote included in this set has one of the most unique features I've seen on any bill I've ever held in my hands, it has a section where it is a thin clear plastic and you can actually see through it. The banknote also features a colorful & lovely illustration of  the archangel Gabriel. The coin features a Sarplaninac which is a dog that is seen through out the Balkans and known for their sheep-herding abilities. It is so cute seeing the dog on the coin, I wish more of our coins had cute animals! 

Democratic Republic of The Congo - When you think of different aspects of African wildlife one of the main animals you think of is the Lion, and that is exactly who is featured on the coin in this pack. The coin itself is surprisingly light weight. The banknote has two beautifully done prints showing some aspects of Congolese history, the back has some men playing long drums which was a way they used to communicate with neighboring villages. I really like the pink, purple and grey coloring seen through out this bank note

Nepal - This banknote features Mount Everest and Blackbucks which are a type of antelope. It has a nice mixture of greens, orange, purple and bronze shades. The coin also features Mt. Everest and is a bright gold color. I also learned from the flyer that the antelope shown on the banknote can also be found in Texas! Due to a smell population of them being introduced to the region in 1932. 

 I think this subscription is a really great way for adults and children to explore the world from home, it isn't always affordable to travel and this gives an extra level of interest in learning about each country as it gives you something physical to collect and look back on. I love the fact that the subscription isn't just a banknote and coin, the addition of the postcard, flyer with information on the banknote/coin and the flag sticker is fantastic. This subscription is great for anyone wanting to start coin/banknote collecting, it can be an educational gift for kids and also would be great for teachers to share with their students.

Prize Alert:  Three winners will each receive a envelope in the mail containing a bundle from a random country.

This is open to U.S & Canadian Residents ! 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 12/06/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know what country you might hope to get, or leave a comment with a country you'd like to visit.

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Disclaimer-  Coin & Currency Club provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway 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.

Fruit For Thought, A Review of a fruit themed subscription box!

 

I always enjoy subscription boxes that have a little mixture of items to where you aren't sure what you might end up with, maybe makeup, or a new hand towel? I recently came upon a unique subscription box called Fruit For Thought that is a monthly artisan gift box that is a fruit (or sometimes vegetables) scented, flavored & colored theme. Each month has a set theme that is centered around one specific fruit and all of the products included in the box look, smell or taste like that fruit. I was lucky enough to receive one for review and I was very excited to find out what the theme was and what was in the box. Each box is $39.99, and there are extra options such as deluxe boxes and mystery boxes that are for sale on her site.

Each box comes with five to seven items that fit that months theme, when I opened the box I found that even the tissue paper included had a fruit theme to it. I love the colors on the tissue paper and think the box was well packaged keeping everything secure during shipping. 

Here is what was included in this months Caramel Pear themed box:

A pear shaped & scented candle by Fire Lake Soapery. The candle comes in a cute little paint can container that has a small round metal washer attached to it so that you can pry the metal lid up to access your candle. The lid is easy to pry open, but getting the candle out will take a little work! You'll need to remove all of the inside filler before being able to get the candle out. It smells A-mazing, it really does smell like a freshly cut sweet pear that is ready to be devoured. It smells so good you'll debate whether you want to actually light it or not. 

Spiced apple pie caramels by Little Apple Treats. When you open the package you can immediately smell the spice scent, it is lovely however it reminds me of a pumpkin pie more than an apple pie. These candies are made with freshly pressed apple cider and other natural ingredients. I really wanted to like these, but I personally found them a little tart vs the creamy caramel I was expecting so I will be passing these onto my co-workers to try out. 

Peaceful Pear Edible tea by Capuli Club. This is such a fun and fancy tea mix, it has pear, banana, pineapple, cinnamon and sweet ansie in it. Instead of getting a bunch of tea leaves inside of a tea bag there are full slices of pear, and more. Once your tea is brewed you are able to eat the fruits if you choose to do so. The tea is caffeine free and no sugar is added. 

Caramel Pear room spray by Forever Shine Collections. This is another item in this crate that smells down right edible, it has such a sweet smell to it. Instead of having that odd fake fruit chemical smell some sprays can have this smells like someone boiled down some sweet pears and put it into a jar to use as a refreshing room spray. 

A cute pear pen by Fun Write. I like the feel of this pen and I enjoy how it writes, it is smooth and writes tiny just how I enjoy writing. 

Spiced Caramel pear jam by Eat This. I know it is pear jam but with the spice all my brain can picture is pumpkin pie when smelling this, that isn't a bad thing though it smells delicious. (pretty much everything in this box smells delicious). I had this on some toast and it was pretty good, but it was even better with a little bit of cream cheese as well. It spreads smoothly and I didn't have to use that much to spread it over the whole piece of toast. 

I am very pleased and impressed with this box, instead of feeling like the owner Pam went to a big box store to find items for the box it feels as if you went to a farmers market with her and shopped small self owned business. I wouldn't say that a pear is normally on my top list of fruits I want to eat as there are other fruits I prefer, but this box makes me want to go to the store and pick up a pear or two. I feel like she puts a lot of thought into each box and I can tell a lot of research goes into finding each item that goes into the box. 

I wish I had known about this before because the October box looked amazing as well! If you would like to check this subscription box out for yourself you can use the code MOON10 to receive 10% off of your subscription. 

Disclaimer- Fruit for Thought provided me with a one month subscription in exchange for a review, 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. 

Honeydew Sleep Pillow Review + Giveaway!

 

How you sleep can make such a huge impact on how you feel the next day, lack of sleep can make you tired, cranky and sometimes angry/sad and sleeping in a wrong position can leave you feeling sore. It is important to find a pillow that is just right for you! I am generally a side sleeper, or I sleep half on my side/half on my stomach, I had three different pillows I spelt with in various spots like one pulled in close to my chest to lean on while sleeping on my side. 

Even with the three pillows I had, I was still having an issue with my left shoulder hurting when I woke up in the mornings and I joked with my husband that I needed a fourth pillow. Well, as luck would have it I got my wish and was gifted the Scrumptious side sleeper pillow from Honeydew Sleep Company. I wasn't sure how much it would help, but I was still excited to get the new pillow. I actually went to the chiropractor not that long ago as my shoulder issue had been going on and off for about three weeks, they said it was mostly soft tissue stiffness.

When my side sleeper pillow arrived, I couldn't wait to get it open! The little pamphlet they include is adorable, it is from the pillows point of view where it introduces itself and gives you a few care instructions before use as you need to let it inflate after it was vacuum packed into the box, and it is has any odor (most pillows do, this one was very very mild) you can wait it out or pop it into the dryer. I went with the dyer option and my pillow was ready in no time. The pillow case does have a zipper on it, however it is small and I haven't noticed it at all while I am sleeping.

I like the waffle type pattern on the outside of the pillow and love how the pillow is quite squishy yet firm at the same time. I was also gifted a pillow case to go with it which fit onto it without any issues and it is made from 100% bamboo so it is soft and light weight. The unique shape of this pillow allows you to sleep comfortably on your side as it tucks up under your chin and kind of caresses you. If you like sleeping with your arm up under your pillow this helps relief some of the pressure put onto your arm/shoulder area. 

Holy cow! When I woke up the next morning after my first night using this I noticed a huge difference in my shoulder feeling better, now that I've slept on this pillow for the last week and a half my shoulder no longer hurts in the mornings when I wake up or any time during the day. This pillow is so comfortable to sleep on, my neck, shoulder and body feel supported when using this and I have no issue with it flattening out in the night. The pillow case is breathable, soft and feels nice on your skin.

It is no lie to say that I absolutely love this pillow. This pillow is so comfortable that even my husband loves it and pretty much tries to steal it from me nightly. I am very impressed with this pillow! I am down to sleeping with just two pillows now which is nice and opens some space up on the bed. I would eventually love to try out their body pillow too! They also have other pillow options depending on your personal preference.  

Prize Alert:  One winner is going to win their own Scrumptious Side Sleeper Pillow + Pillow Case, a $129 value.

This is open to U.S Residents ! 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 12/09/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know what position you typically sleep in & how many pillows you use.

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Disclaimer-  Honeydew Sleep provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway 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.

Get rid of unwanted pests using Nature-Cide!

 

It is never fun when you are having a nice BBQ outside, or relaxing inside when uninvited guests known as bugs show up! Around this time of the year from August until about mid-November the mosquitos here can get pretty bad due to monsoon season, we've noticed there seemed to be more this year and knew we needed to spray for pests again. I was lucky and Nature-Cide Pesticides sent me one large and one small bottle of their all purpose spray. A 32oz bottle can be purchased for $19.95, other sizes and varieties are available. 

Some of the other pesticide brands we have tried are indoor/outdoor brands, but they usually still have a little funky smell to them that can be irritating on the senses. This doesn't have any kind of harsh smells to it, I would say it is on the same level as a lightly scented citronella candle. This mixture comes ready to use and will kill bugs on contact. We used this around the base of the doors leading to the outside and along the windows to help prevent creepy crawlies from coming into the house looking for a warmer place to hide out for the winter. 

I am impressed by the variety of different insects this spray helps kill and prevent including some of the main culprits everyone wants to get rid of like ants, wasps, cockroaches, ticks and more. The spray bottles are easy to use and the spray seems to last quite a while so you are able to cover the areas in your home you want to use it on. 

 Disclaimer-  Nature-Cide provided me with the product mentioned above for free in exchange for a review , 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. 

Help your aches and pains with a Thermal-Aid pack!

 

Earlier this week I shared a post with you about a pain relief cream and mentioned a few other ways to help with muscle, joint and body pains. One of those helpful tools for pain management are hot/cold packs which can be used for a large number of discomforts. I was recently gifted a Medium sectional hot/cold pack from Thermal-Aid, I've used packs like this before so my brain had a image in my mind of what the size was. I should have read the dimensions better! This is a lot larger than I had expected it to be, however it will be great for when my back hurts or when my daughters back is having a bad day (she has scoliosis). The medium sectional can be purchased for $30.95 on their website, along with other sizes, shapes and even packs for children that are shaped like animals.

The packs are made from 100% cotton and the inside is made using a specially engineered corn that helps hold the heat and cold. The packs are washable and can be wiped off if needed, I have been thinking about sewing a cover for this though so the cotton material stays how it looks. 

My medium sectional has a little bit of weight to it which is nice as it adds a little bit of pressure to your sore muscles along with the heat or cold. Packs like this can be used to help a number of issues from sore muscles to head aches, I've used them for a number of issues. I always find that if my head hurts, resting for a little while with a cold pack on my forehead is a huge help. 

Sometime packs like this can easily tear at the seams which makes the beads/corn fall out, I do not see myself having that issue with this particular pack, it seems well made and long lasting. 

What kind of pains would you use a pack like this for?

Disclaimer-  Thermal-Aid provided me with the product mentioned above for free in exchange for a review , 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. 

Puzzlcrate Review!

 

The holidays are coming up which means it is time to start thinking about gifts for the ones you love, a great idea for a gift is a subscription to something that relates to a interest of your loved one. There are so many awesome subscription boxes that cover a number of things, today I am going to be sharing a subscription box with you called PuzzlCrate. Each month you'll receive a box that comes with two different puzzles and a collectable pin, each box is $35 monthly or you can save a few dollars if you subscribe for a longer plan. They offer six and twelve month subscriptions along with one for month to month.

I was gifted a box to check out and share with all of you, as you can imagine my kids were pretty curious what was in this box when it arrived. It drove my husband and kids a little nuts because I waited two days before opening it! 

Inside I found two very unique puzzle cubes, a really cute puzzle pin, a sticker and two papers explaining each cube. The first one I pulled out is called the Mefferts Curvy copter, the design on this is actually quite pretty it reminds me of a four leaf clover. The way this puzzle moves is crazy, there are so many moving pieces that can be moved around at once. Everyone was passing it around playing with it, and between more than one person trying to turn it different ways, it actually ended up with two pieces being completely stuck and jammed, my husband ended up taking it apart and putting it back together to fix it. (which was neat seeing what was inside). 

Once back together you can't even tell it was ever taken apart and we are back to having fun with it trying to figure out how to get all the sides back once we mixed it all up. 

Next in line is a puzzle called the Duomo Pyraminx. I really enjoy trying to figure this one out, its movements are quick and make a nice sound when figuring out the puzzle. Even with as much fun as both of these are they make me realize I really suck at trying to figure these out, hahaha, but that won't stop me from continuing to try and maybe one day I will manage to get it figured out. 

There was also a cute collectable pin that looks like a puzzle cube and a sticker featuring the Puzzlcrate logo. Looking at their website at some of the past crates they send out some pretty crazy looking puzzles, I've never seen a large majority of them before so I think this crate is a great way to discover new puzzle cubes you've never heard of. 

Have you ever figured out how to solve any kind of puzzle cube?

Disclaimer- Puzzlecrate provided me with a one month box for free in exchange for a review , 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. 

Pacific Pain Relief Cream Reivew!

 

You always see those funny memes that show people hitting 25+ and suddenly having an assortment of body pains, I feel that that can be pretty true! Thankfully there are plenty of great ways to help reduce and even prevent pains you might get. I was recently gifted a hot/cold pack and a pain relief cream, however today I am only going to be talking about the pain relief cream and will feature the hot/cold pack soon. The Pacific pain relief cream is from the Malibu Brands and it is an all natural fast acting cream. It can be purchased on their website for $39.95 for a 5oz jar. 

I really like the jar this comes in, the lid is set into wood giving it a more natural look. The jar is only 5oz but the cream is so light weight there is more in it than you would think. The texture looks slightly lumpy in the photo, however it smooths out evenly and without any issues over your skin. This can be used any where on your body that is experiencing muscle/joint pain such as your legs, arms, ankles, etc it is advised not to use it on any open wounds or cuts, in the eyes/mouth as with any other pain cream.

Lately I haven't had many spots that have been in pain so I've only used this once or twice thus far, but I did note that it only took a few minutes of rubbing on the spot that hurt before it started to feel better. I think this would be good for after a work out when your muscles are all sore and you could use a little relief when a hot/cold shower doesn't work. Smell wise I can't really say I am a fan of, the scent is hard for me to describe it almost has an earthy feel to it and I can't quite put my finger on why I don't like it. Everyone is different with what smells they like though, so just because I don't like how it smells doesn't mean someone won't. 

A pain relief cream being put into your normal routine can be a big help! I also like using heat/cold packs, doing stretches and using a massage roller on different muscles when I get sore. 

Disclaimer- Malibu Brands provided me with the product mentioned above for free in exchange for a review, 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. 

Water Lantern Festival Review!

I've always loved the movie Tangled & the scene where Rapunzel and Flynn are out on the boat and you see all the lanterns floating on the water that start to rise up into the sky. When I saw that a event called the Water Lantern Festival was coming that mimics part of the scene I knew it was something I wanted to check out. The Water Lantern festival isn't specific to one state, they have dates for all over the country and recently announced their 2022 dates (they will be adding more), the event we went to was in Tempe,AZ.

Tickets range in price, there are some discounts if you order early. The basic prices with fees are $31.96 for adults and $14.47 for children, each ticket comes with a draw string bag that contains a lantern kit, a marker, & a scavenger hunt ticket. Deluxe tickets are $45.96 and come with everything mentioned along with a mandala throw. Along side the festival there were several food trucks, and several different local vendors to shop from as well as the water festival merch booth and stage.

The event was at Kiwanis Park, We've never been to the park before so we weren't sure what to expect. Parking when we got there was a little crazy as the park is inside of a neighbor hood and parking lot space was limited so the entire neighborhood was packed with cars looking for spots in front of houses, waiting for people to leave etc. There was also a church event and a memorial going on at the same park so there was a lot going on! Thankfully we did find a parking spot about a quarter mile away with an easy walking path to the event. 

Even with the large amount of people at the park the event staff had everything moving along quite smoothly. We got into the check out line and were only in it for two minutes before being called up to be helped, they were well organized, speedy and friendly. We had the deluxe packs that came with a mandala throw, we ended up getting all of the same color so I asked if there was anyway to swap for another color as my daughter wanted an orange one and the staff said it was no problem and quickly switched it out.

There was a nice range of food trucks and vendors to check out and the event staff had a small stage set up where they were allowing people to sing, show off their talents, etc. As it drew closer to launch time for the lanterns they asked anyone who wanted to come up and share why they were there to do so. Some were there just to have fun, to go on a date night, to get out of the house, and others were there to remember a loved one, send their dreams or goals out into the ether and just relax. 

Everything was calm, the event seemed pretty mellow and everyone seemed to be having a good time. A large portion of the event was just relaxing in the grass decorating the lanterns, it was fun but also a pain trying to figure out what I wanted on each side of the lantern! It was awesome seeing all the different designs my kids and husband did. When everyone started putting their lanterns in it was beautiful to watch all of them floating out into the water. Shortly after we got in our car and went home. Where do the lanterns go? They have a clean up crew who goes through and picks up everything from the water and around the park to make sure the park is in the same condition (if not cleaner) than it was when they arrived. 

Disclaimer- The Water Lantern Festival provided a four tickets to the event for free for the review , 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. 

Rainbow Loom bracelet kit Review + Giveaway.

 

Ever since my kids were young we've always worked on craft kits together, and now that they are older they love doing them by themselves as well. Which is why we are always overjoyed to be part of the Horizon Group USA content creator team, once a quarter we received a fun package from them with a few things to review. Over the last month I covered their Fossil dig kit and the Halloween sticker set, today I will be telling you about their Rainbow Loom bracelet making kit. 

The kit comes with a loom that you create your bracelet with using small rubber bands in various colors, it also comes with clips and the hook you need for creating your bracelets. The basic bracelet instructions are easy to follow, getting the intertwining of the bands can take a little getting used to, you have to do just the right pace or the bands can accidently come off the hook and the loom. Although it is easy to weave it back in if it does happen to come off of the loom. My twelve year old daughter was able to pick this up quickly and is starting to complete bracelets in a matter of minutes, my eight year old son was also able to make a bracelet all on his own.  

I also tested out their pattern for the mermaid tail bracelet which takes a longer amount of time and more bands, however once you get into a groove the time will fly by and it will be completed before you know it. I didn't go with a specific color pattern for the tail bracelet, I just added whatever color came next in the pile and I like how it turned out. 

The end result is a cute and stretchy bracelet. I can see these bracelets being helpful for anyone with anxiety, and anyone who likes fidget toys because it is fun to stretch the bracelet and run your fingers along. Looking at similar kits they have and other patterns you can also make small figures, keychains, rings and more with these bands. If you run out of bands to go along with the loom, they have packs of just bands you can purchase. 

The holidays are coming up and this would make a great gift! You can pick it up online on Amazon or find it in store at places like Walmart & Target. Want to win a kit of your own? Enter below: 

Prize Alert:  One winner is going to win their own Rainbow Loom kit.

This is open to U.S Residents ! 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 11/29/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know what color bands you'd like to have on a bracelet. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer-  Horizon Group USA provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway 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.

Touring the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary!

I have always loved seeing, learning about and being near wildlife, and it is something my children grew up loving too so when we had a chance to visit the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary we were all very excited. We all had different animals we were hoping to see on our trip, the kids wanted to see everything, my husband was most excited about the crocodiles and I wanted to see the lizards. We knew we were going to see quite a few reptiles, but holy moly we were amazed by just how many reptiles and animals they have at their sanctuary. 

Their website has their mailing address only, you are provided the actual address of the sanctuary when you sign up for the tour. When we had first arrived, we thought we were a little lost until we spotted the sign for the sanctuary. When we started the tour we found out why we thought we got lost in a residential neighborhood! It is because the house that is on the land where the sanctuary is was originally owned by the owners parents, and they later bought the property to use for the sanctuary. Don't worry about the space! the property is almost three acres with some a bit of desert around it to spare. Tours are $20 per adults and $15 for children, the money made from the tours goes back towards the cost of feeding and caring for all of the reptiles/animals.

The Phoenix Herpetological Society takes in and cares for abandoned pets, reptiles that are illegal in the state, yet still kept as pets and removed by the authorities and animals that have been wounded and need care. They have a zoo license and also work with the Az fish & game department when they have animals that need a place to stay or a new home. Along with taking in animals, they also have an adoption program where you can adopt a snake or turtle.

As soon as you come through the property gates you are meet by a huge enclosure full of large tortoises, I couldn't believe how many we saw. They had been feed shortly before we arrived so they were all moving around the enclosure, the noise of all the turtles shuffling was quite unique and the noises their shells made when they were climbing over each other was interesting as well. A little further in they have smaller tortoises we thought were babies, however they were just a different species and won't grow any larger than what they were. 

Both of our tour guides were extremely friendly, full of information, ready to answer questions, and really seemed to love their job and the animals.  Our group was a bit on the smaller size with just eighteen people in the tour group. There was a ton to see and a lot of information shared so I won't be able to cover everything in this post, but that will make you want to visit even more so you can see and hear everything for yourself! The first stop on the tour is right by the front gate learning about the different tortoises and getting to hold them (the kids loved that), they even have a few Galapagos turtles which were amazing to see, they are massive! There are also a few other enclosures around the property that house tortoises, in total we were told they have over 600 of them. 

After the tortoises we were taken to an area that had two raccoons, opossums, a otter, iguanas and more. You were able to be right next to the cages and see the animals quite clearly, in fact on the otter cage you were allowed to put your hand flat up against the cage and he would sniff your hand. I was so happy and excited to be that close to an otter! The next stop was to see some red eared slider turtles/other water turtles, bearded dragons and two water monitor lizards. Guests were allowed to hold the bearded dragons if they wished to do so. 

Moving on we were brought to the venomous reptile room, we were absolutely shocked how many snakes and other critters were houses in the building and how many terrifyingly deadly snakes they had. They had rattlesnakes (of course, can't be in AZ without those), but they also had cobras, black mambas, a gorgeous green mamba (never heard of these, only thought there were black mambas) and so many other species. The glass aquariums are right in front of you, which means the snakes were within a foot of your face so you can see every detail of the snakes. The sound of the angry rattlesnake who just had his cage cleaned was quite ominous. The employee who was in the room with us and our guides was also very friendly and happy to offer fun facts, information and answer questions. In this room the kids were able to hold a stunning gecko, I being me forgot to get the name of the specific species (I was busy taking photos of the snakes when it was first pulled out). The gecko was so soft, it was shocking just how soft he felt, almost like velvet. 

We were also very close to a number of alligators and crocodiles, so close in fact when you first come into the facility you have to sign a safety waiver and there are signs asking you not to put your fingers through the chain link fence & thus they aren't responsible if you decide to do something stupid. Why do they need these signs? Are they really that close? the answer is yes, they were within the same foot of space as you! While we were walking through their section some of the crocodiles had their tails resting directly next to the fence, to where you could just reach down and touch them (but myself and the herp society strongly recommend you don't). 

As mentioned before they take in a lot of animals that have been harmed, taken care of improperly or even just born with deformities, along the way you'll learn how they came into possession of some of them and what happened to them, some of their back stories are quite sad. One of the crocodiles is missing his tail, it is believed it was bitten off by another hungry crocodile, you can actually read his story here. They have one named "Grandma" that had a poor diet at the zoo she was at and thus has only a few teeth left. Many of the animals they are for have a lower rate of survival in the wild, and many would have been euthanized if they were not cared for by this facility. 

With so many animals on their property, you might be thinking "What if they have babies". It can and does happen frequently! In fact they have several breeding programs for the different animals and species, after they are incubated and hatch they are sent to a variety of different places to live out their lives. You can learn more about these programs on their website. 

The last stop before we left was the non-venomous snake building (though don't be fooled by the name, there were a few venomous things like scorpions as well.) There were a lot of adorable snakes, lizards and critters in this building. We were able to hold a blue-tonged skink (the whole time I was ooing at how cute his tiny little feet were) and we had a chance to hold a snake. The only one who didn't hold the snake was my daughter, we were the last of the group to be in line to hold the snake so I got to be the last one to hold it and I was able to put it back into it's cage. 

The entire experience was exciting, it felt like we went on an adventure and we couldn't stop talking about everything when we got home. If you are ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area I highly recommend booking a tour with them, how many chances do you get to be that close to so many dangerous and also adorable animals? If you are too far away to visit, but would like to help the sanctuary out they are always in need of donations to help keep everything running. The tortoises alone eat about 3,600 pounds of food a week! The sanctuary has a amazon wishlist, a donation page and also virtual pet adoptions where you can sponsor a animal and check in on them when you want. 

Want to see more photos? As requested by the Herp society they asked that no video be taken while on the property, but photos were allowed so I will be posting a slide show I put together of more photos I took while we were there and posting it to my Instagram reels. 

Which reptile or animal do you think you would be most excited to see?

Disclaimer- The Phoenix Herpetological Society provided a tour for the review at a discounted rate, 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.