Upgrade your kitchen accessories inside & outside your home with Barebones Living! + A Giveaway.

When my husband and I started dating we were both pretty young and didn't really cook a lot, but as we've gotten older and learned new ways to cook it is a lot of fun cooking meals either together or on our own. Part of cooking is having the right tools for the job, so when I was offered the chance to review a very sharp and eye catching chefs knife, I couldn't refuse. A company called BareBones Living and they also have the brand NoBox which sells a range of products for "barebones living" to help those who love camping, living out of their RV's etc and one of the products they sell is a gorgeous chefs knife that comes with a leather sheath. 

The knife arrived in a box that is quite giftable, I was excited to get it open and test out the knife to see if it would live up to how it looks. The sheath it comes with is made from full-grain leather and a metal clip to keep it safely inside of the sheath when not in use. The handle is made from natural rosewood, which gives it a comfortable hold and it allows enough weight to keep the knife balanced. My hands aren't very large, however I have no issues with gripping the handle or having a comfortable hold, I found this knife easy and comfortable to use, plus it was a lot of fun seeing how thinly I could cut a tomato with it.

The blade itself is made from stainless steel and it is sharp enough to cut all types of foods without any issues. I barely touched it to a tomato and it started cutting through it with hardly any pressure at all, it also did a great job cutting through chicken breast that was still semi frozen. I am a little picky with meat when I am cooking it, I usually look for the pack that has the least amount of fat so when I go to cut it off it doesn't take that long. This knife made cutting off the small fatty or ugly looking pieces a breeze, I was able to get dinner prepped just the way I like it in a matter of no time.

Due to the handle being made from rosewood it is not recommended to soak this in your sink with the other dishes, because it can ruin the natural wood handle. To keep this knife in it's best condition I would recommended just washing it right after using it and drying it off with a clean hand towel. The knife is simple to clean and so far this has been one of my favorite knives that I own! You don't have to keep it stored in the sheath, however the sheath itself looks lovely as well so you may want to show off both pieces. 

We haven't gone camping in a while as the heat is starting to rise here in Arizona, but you can bet this will be coming with us the next time we go camping. You can purchase this knife from their website for $110. If you want to see the knife in action I will be putting up a reel over on my Instagram page (@Themoonlitnook) to show you how well it cuts.

Along with the chef knife I was also sent a heavy duty cutting board which I was also excited about because one of our large cutting boards recently broke and we couldn't quite find one we wanted to replace it with. I knew before hand that the knife was being sent, but the cutting board was a complete surprise! 

At the moment I can't find any info on it on their website so I can't link it, however I do have the tag that came with the board. It is a thick maple wood cutting board that has a steel handle. I like that the handle makes this easy to hang off of your grill if you want to, and it is small enough it is portable to take camping. Both of these products are extremely well made and I feel like they will last a long time, especially if they are cared for properly. The company also offers a ton of other awesome products to take along camping or to use at home. 

Prize Alert: One lucky winner is going to win their own Chefs Knife! This prize is retailed at $110

This is open to US 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 04/29/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me another product you'd love to try from BareBones Living. 

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Disclaimer-  Barebones Living 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. 

Twisted Wares Review & $50 Giveaway!

 

When a package arrives on your door step with this advisory, you know you are going to get a good laugh out of what ever is in the box. If you love puns, cursing like a pirate and naughty humor this post and company is one you are going to love. I personally am a sucker for a good pun, and there are so many products on Twisted Wares that made me laugh out loud while I was looking through what they have to offer. 

Who is Twisted Wares? They are your one stop shop for funny gifts and housewares, it was all started by a woman named Missy who started creating what is known as the Hang Tight Towels. She was sick of picking up hand towels off the floor when her three boys kept knocking it down wiping their hands or simply running by the stove. So she created a towel that holds on and won't fall off until you are ready to take it down, and since then the store has grown into the hilarious beast it is now. 

I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with them on not only a review, but an awesome giveaway as well. For my review I went with more of the mild mannered products, however there are a ton more products on their website that will make you laugh like the "Rock out with your crock out" towel that has a picture of a crock pot or one of my favorites "Ringmaster of the shit show". For my review I provided them with a small list of items I was interested in for my home and was sent two bathroom hang tight towels, a potholder, a oven mitt, a note pad and a car air freshener. 

The two hand towels I picked out say "Please wash your hands, No Seriously!" which I picked out because I feel like I am always having to remind or ask my eight year old son if he remembered to wash his hands. The second says "A fart is a wish your butt makes" this one made not only myself laugh quite a bit, it also made my twelve year old giggle uncontrollably so I picked this one out for her. How do they work? The back side of the hand towel has a black fabric band that you tuck the front half of the towel into, you can move it up to the desired width you'd like the towel to hang. As you can see in the images above one I tightened all the way to be flush with the hand towel holder and the other I let hang a bit loose which I prefer the look of so it isn't touching the top of the counter. They won't fall down, and they are easy to hang up/take back down plus they are quite absorbent and they will make you smile every time you look at them. They can be purchased for $14 each.

Now onto the kitchen! I was in need of a new potholder the other one got a little burned on the grill by accident, so this one came just in time. Looking through their site I found this humorous "This recipe sparks joy" oven mitt which of course reminds me of the Marie Kondo method, and it also made me smile because my husband and I enjoy cooking and are always happy when our dishes turn out delicious. I also received the "Made with love and some other shit" because it perfectly describes how I feel when I cook, I always joke homemade food tastes better because it is made with love.

Both of them are thick and are very helpful with protecting my hands from getting burned! They also seem like they will be easy to wash which is perfect because we all know the kitchen can be a messy place. The oven mitt can be purchased for $14.99 and the potholder is $12.00.

They also sell a variety of other products like candles, aprons, makeup bags and more. When I spotted the "Get thy shit together" list pad, I knew I had to have it because one I like keeping track of what needs to be done, and two it is always nice to keep all of your shit together so the pad will come in handy. The list pad is HUGE, it has 250 sheets and feels like it weighs a pound. I've already started using this pad and I love it, the paper works well with my favorite pens, there is no smudging or running ink and the sheets are easy to tear off. The chunky list pad can be purchased for $12 and unless you are using multiple sheets a day this pad will last a long while. 

Last, but not least I received a set car air fresheners that say "Queen of damn near everything". This air freshener is in the scent "Happy Hour" which is a mixture of pomegranate, zesty grapefruit, fresh mint, tart red currents, sugared blackberry and amber musk. I had planned on giving one of these to my best friend however after smelling how amazing this scent is I am not sure if that is going to happen now! I am also now curious how the rest of their air fresheners smell, and I wish they sold this scent in a room spray. You can purchase a two pack of car air fresheners for $5.

They have a lot to look through so if you like what you see here I would head over and see what else they have to offer you! I personally am eyeing some of their candles, greeting cards and aprons. Speaking of heading over to see what you might want to get for your own home, who wants to enter a fun giveaway?

PRIZE ALERT: One lucky winner will win a $50 digital gift card!!!

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 ends on 03/05/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me a product from their website that you'd buy if you won the gift card. 

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Disclaimer-  Twisted Wares has provided the products mentioned above for the review + the prize for a 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. 

Cat Lady Box Review!

My cats are like my kids, I like to randomly pick up a toy or a fun treat for them when I am at the store so when I found out about the Cat Lady Box, it sounded like something I had to check out. There are plenty of subscription boxes out there that are either for a human or specifically for a pet, what sets this subscription apart is it is for both! Each month you'll receive a few adorable cat themed gifts for yourself plus a few toys or treats for your cats.

I managed to get the box open and remove one item from it before Bones came over and wanted to check out what I was doing. She spotted the small stuffed penguin and went right for it! It made me laugh when I saw the penguin inside of the box because she actually has another small stuffed animal she stole from one of my kids that is a penguin as well. 

There are two different subscription options you can select from, the first is the CRAZY Cat Lady box which is the box I described above it comes with 3-4 items for yourself and two items for your cat OR the second option is a Cat Lady box which has 3-4 products just for you (nothing for your cats). A Crazy box is $39.99 a month and the Cat Lady box is $34.99 a month. You can purchase a single box or you can let it renew every month and keep getting purrfect cat themed items.

So what was in the January box and was it worth the $40 price tag? Let's get into the details of what was in the box:

Brilliant Cat Glasses (Retail Value $29.99) - This was a cute set of two glasses that feature cat faces and a star pattern. They kind of remind me of whisky glasses due to their size and shape, they are great for really any type of drink. I think these would be perfect for when we have cookies and milk! The design is cute and they seem to be pretty sturdy, they are easy to wash and they dry quickly.

Mew Year 2021 Shirt (Retail Value $19.99) - How cute is the design on this shirt! It is a great way to welcome the new year and show off your love for kitties at the same time. The shirt fits well and it is quite comfortable, I think this will be a shirt I will end up wearing often. I like that it didn't have a funky smell when it arrived, I always hate ordering shirts online and they show up smelling like hot plastic. 

Fluffy Snowball Cat Pen (Retail Value $5.99) - Pens are one of the office supplies I have the most of, I always like getting new pens and I have them literally all over my house because you never know when you might need a pen. This pen is great for a child or an adult, it adds a little extra pizzazz to your office supplies. 

Petie the Penguin Catnip Toy (Retail $5.99) - When Bones had first come over and tried taking off with this I thought it was because it reminded her of her other toy, or because she loved stuffed animals. I didn't realize at the time it was a catnip toy, but now I can see why she was so excited about it. Along with being just the right size for your cat to drag around the house, the flippers have some crinkle paper in them so they make noise when your cat is playing with it. This is well made and feels like it will last for quite some time especially since Bones never tears her toys apart, she just likes flinging them around and hiding them various places.

Flurry Snowballs Cat Toy (Retail Value $6.99) - Another great cat toy! Both of my cats enjoy chasing this around the house, and the kids love it because it is one of the only types of toys both cats love playing with. The kids can be a little rough on this type of cat toy because the strings that attach the toys to the stick are usually pretty thin, but I have a feeling this toy will last a lot longer than the others.

Cardboard Box (Priceless) - If your cats are anything like mine then the box itself is a present to them, because of the catnip being inside of the penguin my big cat went nuts rolling around in the box and having fun jumping in and out  of it. 

The box also came with a post card that features a Cat Lady Artist, and a Cat Lady sticker! I may be more inclined to like this particular kitty postcard because it kind of looks like my cat Aleister. So as you can see the total retail value of the box is $68.95 which is almost double the price you paid for the box. I personally loved all of the items that came in this box and so did my cats so it was a win-win situation for me. 

I think that this is over all a fantastic idea for a subscription box, What animal owner doesn't like buying special treats for your pet? And as a bonus you get gifts too, heck yes! This time around I also took some clips of my cats helping me do an unboxing of this and I will be uploading a few clips into one or two reels over on my Instagram page.

😻 What do you think of this subscription box? Do you have any pets, if you do leave me a comment letting me know what type of pets you have.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Cat Lady 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.

Quilo 3-in-1 Fan Giveaway & Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Quilo for the review & giveaway free of charge.**

Arizona can get pretty dry, in the summer it is hot and dry and then in the winter the inside of the house gets dry because of the heater is on which it feels like it sucks all the moisture from your skin leaving you feeling like a lizard out sun bathing. While poking around online recently I saw an interesting post about a personal evaporative air cooler created by a company called Quilo and it really peaked my interest, once you hear everything it does you will be interested in it as well.



The Quilo 3-in-1 is a fan, evaporative cooler and humidifier which is only 9.84" W x 12.44" D x 28.86" H but it packs a lot of power while being energy efficient as it only uses 1.5 amps. It is crazy how many cool features this device has, it has a normal fan mode which can be turned on low, medium or high and then it has a cool mode which is when the machine uses water from the bottom base to cool down the air even further. If you want the air coming out to be extra cold it has a special compartment at the top where the water flows through to the filter where you can add ice so the water is extra cold which means the air will be cooler in turn. When the device starts to run out of water it will alert you with a light indicating that you need to add water just like when your car needs oil added to it.



This unit also has a turbo mode which blasts winds at a higher speed for a stronger airflow or if you don't want to deal with the noise you can put it on quiet mode which lowers the wind speed. Impressed with how many features I've already listed? So was I and I am not even done listing them yet. It also has a "swing" feature which makes it to where the louvers will begin to move left to right automatically just like a stand still fan does, and the front vents can be moved up and down as well to direct where the air flow is going. If you want to fall asleep with this one but don't want it on the whole night it has a timer, once the timer runs off the device will automatically turn off. Best of all it comes with a handy dandy remote so you won't even need to get up to change the settings if you don't want to, when you leave the house and do not want the Quilo on you can turn it off and put the remote in it's designated dock at the top of the device. It's retail value is $149 and ships free to US residents.

During the summer you can use the evaporative cooler to keep the house cooler, it helps cool down a space of 160 square feet which is perfect for our living room area, then in the winter you can use the humidifier to keep moisture in the air that would normally get sucked out by the heater. We are extremely pleased with our Quilo and we wish we had one sooner because it would have been a big help over the summer during the extra hot days.

PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky reader is going to win a Quilo 3-in-1 fan of their own.

This is open to US 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!
 Giveaway winners are announced on FACEBOOK, If you would like to see who won my latest giveaways please visit and like my facebook page. This giveaway ends on 10/15/2017
 
Giveaway entry question: Please leave me a comment letting me know which product feature you like best.

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Clean Air Club Review + Promo Code!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Clean Air Club for the review free of charge.**

Although changing out your air filter is important for keeping up your A/C unit and keeping the air in your home cleaner people often forget to buy new filters to replace the old one. I know filters generally aren't on my monthly shopping list because I often forget that it needs to be changed, which living in Arizona isn't good because it is very dusty here. If you are anything like me you will want to check out this innovative website called Clean Air Club. The Clean Air Club is a A/C filter website that allows you to select not only the type of filter you want but you can also set a schedule so a new filter will arrive when the old one needs to be replaced.



The Clean Air Club offers three different types of filters which providing a different amount of clean, they cost $13, $16 and $19. For my review I was sent a MERV 13 filter which is perfect for homes that have a lot of foot traffic, anyone with allergies, homes with more than one pet, for smokers and for areas that tend to get a lot of dust.Above you can see the MERV 13 sitting next to a cheap filter from the store, the MERV 13 has what looks like a thick cotton middle with wire mess surrounding it and the one on the right is very thin and completely see through. Which would you prefer to have in your A/C helping block dust from getting into your unit? Filters should be changed every 30-90 days this will not only help to keep the air in your home clean but it can also help prevent your unit from needing a repair in the future. When I received my filter is was packaged just right to keep the filter from getting damaged during shipment and it was also kept safe from the elements arriving in a plastic bag to help keep it as clean as possible for you.

So how well does the filter work? It recently stormed recently and in Arizona that means a lot of dirt and dust was kicked up into the air and plus taking the old filter out I knocked around a bit of dust that was starting to collect in the vent so the new filter has done an excellent job catching everything so far. This is the filter after a week:

Gross I know! But I would rather see it sitting in my filter than know it is floating around in the air my family is breathing. So when was the last time You replaced your homes filter? The Clean Air Club is allowing me to give all of you a pretty spectacular offer, you can use code 'CLEAR AIR' at checkout to receive your first month of filters free (limit 3 per household). They are currently only US based.

Honeysuckle & Lime Etsy Shop Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Honeysuckle & Lime for the review free of charge.****

We were extremely lucky when we found our home, it has a small room when you first walk in which could be considered a den or secondary living room, we use this room as the kids playroom/TV room. The only issue with it being the kids room means there isn't a lot of room for furniture because they have plenty of toys and bookshelves that take up room so I am always on the look out for small yet comfortable furniture for their room. At the moment they only have one of those kids metal table/chair sets so I wanted to get something more welcoming and soft on their bottoms.





A great shop on Etsy called Honeysuckle & Lime sells an assortment of bean bag sacks, bags, and more. We had a set of bean bag chairs once upon a time ago which were store bought but they were complete garbage and started ripping apart after a month of use causing beans to go everywhere so I was excited these were made from a canvas type fabric that is thick yet soft. Each one is handmade with love by shop owner Ari. The thing that stands out the most with these bean bag covers is that she created them so they are double sacks, it has an inner bag which holds all of the beans and an outter bag which sits around the inner giving it double protection so no beans can escape. The inner bag can be opened or closed using a paper clip as shown above.

 The bean bag covers ship from Australia so depending on where you are the covers might take several days to reach you but they are well worth the wait. You can request a customized bag with your child's name on it (Note; I have removed my children's names aside from first initial from the photos above) and you can request the logo on your child's bag be their favorite color. The covers also come in different sizes depending on your child's age, I received one of the larger sizes and my kids love it. As you can see from the photo above my son often likes to kick back and watch TV on his bean bag chair or take a nap on it. When purchasing a bean bag cover please note that it is just that a cover, you will not receive the beans that go inside these will need to be purchased separately. I found large bags at Joann's each bag was $24.99 but you can print out a coupon for 50% off on item which will help cut costs down, each cover took two bags. The covers are washable you can remove the inner bag from the outter or you can hand wipe them off with a rag. The materials used are sturdy and feel like they will last for several years, I am very happy with this product! The shop is currently on vacation until July 10th but be sure to stop by and check out everything she has to offer, she makes high quality kids products.

Power Perch Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Power Perch for the review free of charge.****

Every single home has some kind of electronic that has to be charged at one point during the day, whether it is a phone or a tablet you don't want to just lay it on the floor in case someone steps on it but if there isn't a shelf or something near to set it on what are you to do? Power Perch is the answer!

I think this little shelf is a pretty neat idea that can help keep cords from getting tangled and trampled on. We have a spot in our living room where there is typically a tablet and phone charging at once but it is in a spot where we don't have a table so everything is just sitting on the floor. This Power Perch is nice because I can set the tablet or phone on top and have the cords running through the small hole you see above to help keep the cords from getting tangled and it will prevent anyone from tripping on the cords. Power Perch is sold in single packs, twin packs,triple packs and four packs plus they offer two different sizes. You can purchase them directly from their website or you can buy them on Amazon. Installing this took about two minutes and was quite simple.

Micro-bead pillows Giveaway & Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by Micro-bead pillows for the review giveaway free of charge.****

I spend a lot of time in my computer chair between work and home which can take it's toll on my lower back so I've been on the search for a small pillow to stick behind my back for a bit of support when I need it. I was very excited when a company called Micro-bead pillows offered to send me one of their Squishy Deluxe Microbead Bolster Pillow Junior which is 10" long and 5" in diameter perfect for putting behind my back while in my chair or to use for my neck when I lay down. '

 

 I wasn't too worried about the pillow being smashed during it's trip to me because it is a pillow so it is squishy already but if it is sent in a shipping bag they can sometimes rip open and the contents inside will get ruined for liquid or other materials getting into the bag. I was happy to see that the pillow arrived inside of a protective bag so even if the mailing bag had come open it still would have been safe.

The pillow itself is very soft the material used is a soft and stretchy nylon/spandex blend which feels lovely and cool on your skin. Inside of the pillow is a microbead/microfiber blend to give you maximum comfort, and allows the pillow to be squishy while still being supportive. As you can see from the photos above my son  loves the pillow so much he stole it and claimed it as his own. Both of my kids have used this pillow during a pillow fight, not only did it hold up but it is light enough no one will get hurt. This pillow would make a great gift for any occasion and is currently on sale for $13.95 and comes in five different colors. This pillow is well made and high quality I think it is worth the buy and think you should check out the site to find a pillow that is right for you they offer microbead pillows in various sizes and colors.

Prize Alert:

One lucky winner is also going to win a Squishy Deluxe Microbead Bolster Pillow Junior in the color of their choice.

US Residents only please!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cave Tools Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by Cave Tools for the review free of charge.****

It is finally getting cool enough out that we can start BBQing again without feeling like we're going to melt in front of the grill. One of my favorite things to make is Kabob Skewers but I don't make them that often because we have those wooden skewer stakes from the store which can splinter and who wants that in their food? I know I don't so I was excited to receive the chance to review the Kabob Skewers Rack by Cave Tools.





This Kabob Skewer Rack comes with a metal rack along with five metal kabob skewers, each skewer has a metal disk which helps push the food off the skewer while you are eating it so you can get every piece on it. The metal rack has a number of notches which make it to where there are multiple positions so your skewers are evenly cooked. The rack and skewers are dish washer safe and the whole thing is easy to store once you are done using it. When the rack is in use it helps not only cook the kabobs evenly but they never touch the grill which prevents them from burning and sticking. It was easy to put the meat and peppers/onion on the skewer and everything cooked perfectly, I also enjoyed the little metal disk to push the food off because then I didn't have to use my fingers, as an added bonus the skewers won't splinter like your traditional wood skewer plus they are re-usable.You can purchase a Kabob Skewer Rack on Amazon or on the Cave Tools website, feel free to use the following code for 15% Off: LHWJZQMZ the Kabob Rack.