Succulents Box Review & Giveaway!

 

While I might not have the greenest thumb in the world, I love picking up a new house plant from time to time. I have the perfect corner in my bathroom that gets plenty of indirect sunlight through out the day & the plants get humidity from the shower being on. I was excited when given the opportunity to work with Succulents Box on a review & giveaway. Not only do they sell a monthly subscription box that will deliver four succulents to your door each month, but they also have a large assortment of plants you can buy from their online store. If you have a plant lover in your life, one of their succulent subscription boxes would make a wonderful gift whether it is for just one month or three months, they are sure to love it. 

I was lucky enough to be sent one of their four packs of succulents, plus I was given a twenty dollar gift card to choose something from their plant selection. I was quite pleased with the selection they sent, each one looked completely different which will be fun when I put them into a new pot along side one another. I have some open space in the succulent planter I already have so two of them will be moving into it & the other two I will probably get another small planter for. I found an awesome succulent planter on amazon that I liked, that was tall enough to put a layer of rocks under the dirt while still shallow enough to keep the succulents happy. So far they've been loving it, so I am hoping the new plants will as well. The monthly subscription box & the succulent bundles they sell are a great way to find new succulents they might not have in stores near you! Take for example one of the four I received, at first I thought it had some little dead spots, then I realized that is how it is supposed to look. Looking on their website, It is either a panda plant kalanchoe or kalanchoe chocolate both of which naturally have those little brown spots near the tips. All four succulents look healthy & happy! 

Picking out something from their huge plant collection was so hard! There were so many beautiful and exiting plants to look at that it was hard to pick which I wanted. I ended up picking out a Epiphyllum anguliger fishbone cactus & a braided stump money tree. I love money trees, but depending on the time of the year here they can be hard to find, so I was happy to see that Succulents Box had more than one type on their website. The money tree was quite a bit bigger than I thought it would be when it arrived, I can't wait to see how much it grows over time! The fishbone cactus was also a bit bigger than I thought it would be. On their website it looks more condensed together & shorter so I was surprised to see it's little arms so long when it arrived. I also enjoyed that fact that all of their plants offer different styles of pots you can get them in depending on your preference. I went with just the basic growers pots, as I knew I was eventually likely to move them into a different pot, but wasn't sure what kind of pot I wanted at the moment. 

The prices on their website are pretty good! In fact the low prices may even get plant lovers in trouble, because they will want to add so many to their carts. Their plants start as low as $6.50, plus you can almost always find sales and discounts to use while shopping. During the shipment process they will add a type of paper tape around the bottom of each plant to cover the dirt which will prevent it from all spilling out during their journey. It was very simple to remove and didn't make that much of a mess, all in all I would say 90% of the dirt stayed right in the containers. Everything looked to be in pretty good shape after their trip to my doorstep, I didn't see anything that made me upset about the new plants I acquired. Between the prices & the wide selection of plants they offer, I would 100% make a purchase from them again! In fact there are about two dozen more plants I was looking at when trying to decide what I wanted to get this time around. I also like that they let you sort by a number of characteristics like "Pet friendly plants" or "best houseplants for beginners". They also offer care guides on their site for anyone who could use them. 

💚 GIVEAWAY! Stop by my Instagram page or my Tiktok page & click on my Succulents Box reel for your chance to win a $10 gift card to their website. You can enter on either platform or enter on both to double your entries. All entries will be put into one drawing & a winner will be selected once the giveaway has ended. 

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Succulents Box 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.

Maricopa County Home Show!

 

When it comes to the weather in the summer here in Arizona, inside events are a must! Instead of being stuck in the house all day hiding from the heat, going to an indoor event can be a great way to get out of the house while avoiding the sun. The Maricopa County Home Show is a family friendly event where you can not only find services for your home such as yard maintenance, or blinds but there are also small local businesses selling things like soaps, bags, plants and more. You'll also find spots like hotels, dog training and more offering specials for anyone who signs up at the home shows. 

While you are walking through looking at all the booths, you'll also be able to test out certain things like massagers that can be placed onto any chair, full massage chairs, mattresses from some local mattress stores and depending on if food vendors are there, you'll have the chance to try out some treats as well. The vendors at the home shows can vary depending on which location the show is hosted at. When it was hosted at the fairgrounds there seemed to be quite a few more local small businesses selling assorted goodies vs bigger vendors like electricians, windshield replacement, etc. The three main spots the events seem to be hosted at are the Statefarm Stadium, The Fair grounds downtown and Westworld in Scottsdale. 

We enjoy going to the home shows because we like browsing the range of plants sellers have & we usually purchase several while we are there. We also like that they put on live demos and classes showing you different aspects of gardening which can be very helpful for beginners. You can find a list of seminars & workshops on their website prior to the show so you can figure out what time everything starts & where to be. Some of the workshops are simply demonstrations you will watch, and others are hands on with small freebies you can take home like potting succulents or creating small projects. 

If you have children under the age of twelve, they offer a kid's craft corner that has everything your child needs to complete a project they have set up for the day. If you have older kids attending, they also have a handmade headquarter that is similar, but with crafts that are more advanced. Each show last for three days, you can attend just one day or all three days if you want to go back. The next event will be September 27th-29th at Westworld in Scottsdale, tickets are $6 per adult and children under the age of twelve are free. Find more information on their next show on their website!

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page). 

Disclaimer- Maricopa County Home Show provided tickets for us to visit 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.

Maricopa County Home Show Review!

 

I've seen plenty of ads in the past for the Maricopa Country Home show, but I had never gone to one until recently. We weren't entirely sure what to expect, but we had a fantastic time, it is a great event for families to visit together. If you are looking for ways to make improvements around your home or in your yard this is a great place to find a lot of information & businesses all in one spot which can really help cut down on research time and gives you the opportunity to talk with them one on one. 

Along with the obvious businesses like landscapers & repairmen you'll also find a wide range of local business that sell food, jewelry & more. Aside from just browsing shopping booths and talking with local business about what they have to offer, you will also find classes & seminars to attend, a kid's zone, and more. There were multiple buildings full of booths and areas to visit, we were at the show for about four hours, maybe a little longer. 

It was a lovely time being able to check out all of the vendors and doing a little shopping. There were five of us in total who went together & all of us ended up buying at least one thing during the event. I ended up purchasing some freeze-dried candy, local honey and some new plants. Even if you do not end up purchasing anything from the vendors, you'll still end up going home with some goodies. Many of the vendors were giving away free samples or little promo items with their logo on it when you stopped by the booth. 

There was a building where it was just food & drink vendors, all of whom were letting guests try their goods before purchasing. There were samples of wine, whiskey, salsa, coffee, tea, honey, beef jerky & more. The samples were very helpful not only to the guests but also to the sellers as I felt it helped drive sales. Promo item wise it ranged from frisbees to flashlights, stress balls, mini food samples and even plants! 

It was a lot of information to take in & we enjoyed the wide range of businesses who attended, we were able to find some we will be purchasing from again in the future. I thought they did a good job setting everything up, there was an easy-to-follow flow of traffic. If this is an event that would be helpful to you or if you want to check it out with your family they have another event coming up on February 23-25th at the State Farm Stadium. 

Does this sound like an event you would enjoy attending? What do you think your favorite part would be?

Disclaimer- Maricopa County Home Show provided tickets for us to visit 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.

Tucson Botanical Gardens Review & Giveaway!

 

We are always looking for new things to do whether it is where we live, or in cities we are visited so on a recent trip to Tucson we deiced to stop by the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The botanical garden is a beautiful & peaceful little spot tucked away right in the middle of Tucson in-between some shopping centers & a neighborhood. I like that the botanical gardens not only offer a wide selection of native plants to look at, but they also have a large collection of gemstones, a butterfly pavilion & art exhibits that change throughout the year. It is $15 per adult & $8 for children, which is a pretty good price for the amount of time you'll spend here & everything you'll get to see. On the day we arrived there wasn't a ton of visitors, so we were able to find a parking spot up near the entrance & explore the garden at our own pace without a large crowd around us. Everything is self-guided, there is a map at the entrance you can take a photo of to find your way around or you can just explore and see what you find. In total I would say we were here for about an hour as we took our time walking around looking at the plants & spent quite some time inside of the butterfly pavilion. 

During our visit we were able to see some beautiful sculptures on display that were created by John Benedict. Each piece is made from a combination of steel, copper, glass and other natural materials. It was neat seeing some of the recycled pieces he used in the art including chains & more. The pieces were gorgeous & very detailed, a few of them would be lovely to have in my own garden. The kids really enjoyed some of the critters such as the toad that was wearing a top hat with a little pipe in his mouth. The gardens did a wonderful job at intertwining the sculptures within the gardens, so everything flowed together & felt like it belonged in the spots they were placed. This exhibit is being featured until January 14th, 2024 so there is still a little bit of time to see it before it is gone. 

We were also lucky to catch the La Calavera Catrina which featured Dia De Los Muertos sculptures by Ricardo Soltero as this exhibit ended on the 31st of December. The sculptures were placed into a small, enclosed area in the middle of the garden that made it feel as if you were transported to another location. I loved how many poinsettias were lining the garden in front of the sculptures. Throughout the entire botanical garden, you will find spots to sit down & take a break or just relax and watch any wildlife that might be around. The day we went it was cloudy & raining off and on, but we did still manage to see a hummingbird or two. 

There were so many cool varieties of cactus & other types of plants. I've seen tons of cacti in my life, but some of the cactus they had on display I've never seen. I actually found quite a few different plants & cacti types that I'd love to own and have in my own home or garden. I liked the different themed areas they had including a herb garden where you could touch & smell different herbs like thyme, sage, mint, etc. however because it was raining it made it harder to actually smell the fresh herbs. They also had other areas with food growing, a Zen garden & more. We had a lovely time walking around together as a group looking at everything the botanical gardens has to offer. They have a restaurant on site where you can grab lunch, however we didn't stop in as we had lunch shortly before we arrived. 

I did enjoy walking around and seeing all of the plants on display, but my favorite part was the butterfly pavilion. They had a small area where they had a bunch of cocoons on display with several that had recently emerged & drying out inside of the window. Inside of the pavilion they had some tropical plants, some small pond areas with gorgeous fish & of course tons of butterflies all over including the walls, flying around and even on the ground so you had to watch where you were stepping. The blue & purple morph butterflies were gorgeous, I loved seeing glimpses of their gorgeous colors fluttering around and chasing each other. 

🌼 GIVEAWAY 🌼

One lucky winner is going to receive two day passes to visit the Tucson Botanical Garden. They will be good until the end of 2024! 

This is open to Arizona 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 is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 01/09/2024

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

What is your favorite type of plant?

What theme of sculpture would you love to see featured at the Botanical Gardens?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is easiest if you log onto Rafflecopter using the Name/Email Address option. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- The Tucson Botanical Gardens provided two passes for this review & two passes for the 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.

SucculentBox.com Review!

While I can't say that I have a green thumb like some people, I love plants and would like to learn how to properly care for and start growing my own mini garden both inside and outside of my house. One of the types of plants I really like seeing are the different varieties of succulents out there, they are come so many fun shapes and colors I wanted a few for my house. I received a few as a Christmas present and so far they are doing well, one of them even grew quite a bit. I recently stumbled on a subscription box that mails out a monthly box containing several different succulents! That brand is called Succulents Box and I was so excited to get the chance to work with them on a review. You can purchase a one month subscription with four succulents + four clay pots for $40 or you can subscribe for a longer amount to lower the monthly box cost, if you would like a smaller subscription they have different amounts of plants/pots available including an air plant option . Along with subscription boxes they also offer pre-selected packs, gift sets and more starting at just $5. All of their plants are organically grown in Southern California and you can tell a lot of love goes into growing everything because the plants look fantastic. 

For a review I was sent a four pack of succulents that came in mini clay pots. When my package arrived I couldn't wait to get it open and see which succulents were waiting for me, as soon as I saw the package on my doorstep I knew where it was from due to the adorably cute cactus tape they use to seal their package. Inside of the box I found four neatly and well packaged clay pots that had been taped up inside of bubble wrap to prevent the pot and plants from being damaged during shipping. 

During the holidays my husband had ordered me a small set of succulents online and they arrived damaged, two of them weren't even in their pots and dirt was everywhere so I didn't know if I was going to experience the same thing with this. Aside from a little dirt coming out of the pots both the plants and pots were completely in tact, I was quite happy about that. As you can see from the photos above all four of the plants are firmly in their pots, with very little dirt missing. How can you tell what succulents were included in the box if you aren't familiar with the different types? They provided a small business sized card that had a photo of each plant on it, the name of the plant and care instructions on the back. Here is what I received inside of my succulent four pack:

Cooperi - This succulent has cute "chubby" leaves and it looks squishy to the touch, when they get a little larger I think they look pretty neat stacked up like shown on the card. 

Zebra - This is one of my two favorites out of the four, I love the stripes that run down the leaves and that they almost look fuzzy where the white strips are. (spoiler, it isn't fuzzy but those sections are slightly raised up from the rest of the plant). I was excited to find this in my box, as this was one of the succulents that was in the package I mentioned earlier in this post that my husband ordered that sadly died while being shipped. 

Aeonium Green Platters - This succulent grows in a beautiful almost rose/flower like pattern as it gets bigger. From photos I've seen if you care for this properly it will continue to grow eventually turning into a rather large plant, I honestly would love to see how long I can keep this growing for to see if I can get it large enough to plant into bigger and bigger pots. 

String of Bananas - Aside from a fun name, this succulent reminds me of something I'd picture in a jungle due to the way it drapes over the side of the pot as it gets larger. My best friend actually has a string of bananas that is quite large compared to this little guy, so I look forward to caring for this plant in hopes of it growing to the size she has. I love draping plants that flow over the side and reach towards the ground, something about looking at them is calming. 

I do love the cute little clay pots these arrived in, however I am not sure how long I will keep them inside of the smaller pots. I purchased some succulent soil and I am looking into some cute succulent friendly pots to move these into so I can find them a nice home in my house. I have a spot in front of my kitchen window where I have a plant stand, however for some of these plants such as the Zebra succulent they need more light so he will be relocated to a location with more sunshine. My biggest issue with plants is that I either forget to water them or I think they need water when they don't and they end up drowning because I over water them, so that is something I am working on. Thankfully with these they only need to be watered once the soil is dry to the touch, the instruction cards let you know that you need to water thoroughly and then let it drain to help prevent root rot, fungus or bugs (yuck, who wants those nasty little gnats?). 

Overall I am pleased with the plant selection I received and I have my eye on several other sets and plants sold on their website (and guess who has a birthday coming up soon?). Compared to other plant sellers I've seen online Succulentbox.com has fair pricing, wonderful products and great customer service so when I go to purchase more succulents they will be my first stop to look through their selection. As an added bonus on top of receiving beautifully grown plants from them, they donate a portion of their sales to a charity of their choice, at the moment they are making donations towards a covid related charity.

What type of plants do you enjoy?

Disclaimer- The product mentioned above was provided by Succulentsbox.com 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.

Little Marvel Designs 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 Little Marvel Designs for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

I've always loved having plants in my house, but sadly even trying my best to keep them alive there wasn't enough sunlight in the apartment to keep them alive. Now that I live in a house with a large glass sliding door and big kitchen windows my plants have plenty of room to live and thrive but I don't really have the space for all of the plants I want so I've had to start thinking about unique ways to display my plants. A great Etsy shop called Little Marvel Designs was the answer to my search, store owner Heather sells a wide assortment of macrame plant hangers and wall decor. I should note my plant holder may look a little silly in the photo below, this is due to my own fault because I was overly excited about the pot holder I found while at the store and I didn't realize it was too big for the size macrame I have. For my review I receive a small Macrame hanging planter with a turquoise daisy decoration. 





This is made from hand-knotted jute color poly cord and wood beads, the small is made to fit a 4.5" pot and saucer as you can see from the photo above I was silly and bought a pot way too big, granted it fits but it sits unevenly so I will need to buy the proper sized pot. It is completely hand made and is tied and knotted completely by hand, Heather did a beautiful job and I like the color combinations she selected for the wooden beads. The materials used to create this are sturdy, the rope is strong and can hold a decent amount of weight plus it was knitted onto a heavy duty metal ring so it will fit onto any size hook, once it is hung up it isn't going anywhere so you know your plant is safe. The small macrame is only $15 which is a complete steal for a handmade plant holder that doubles as a decor piece, I can't wait for my guests to see mine! I was also sent a Mermaid art print which features a Mermaid floating in a crescent moon surrounded by seashells.





The original art piece was made using only colored pencils,all the colors are soft almost pastel in color. I love how she was able to create the crescent shape of the moon because when you see the print in person it has a bit of a 3d effect to it which really makes the print pop. There are a lot of fine details in this print from her seashell hair comb to the star fish and plants on the moon. This is a great print for any Mermaid or mystical creature lover the piece is calming to look at and adds a bit of magic to the room. The print arrived in a plastic sleeve set on top of a thick piece of cardboard to help prevent it from bending during shipping, both items were wrapped in pretty green tissue paper. Heather has been quite friendly and is more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the products sold in her shop. Stop by her shop to see the other fantastic goodies her shop has in store for you!

Prize Alert:
Two lucky winners are going to receive a $25 Gift card to Little Marvel Designs. * Note gift card can only be used with a purchase of $28 or more so essentially it is a discount of $25.

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!
 
Giveaway winners are announced on FACEBOOK, If you would like to see who won my latest giveaways please visit and like my facebook page.

 Giveaway entry question: Please leave me a blog comment letting me know what you would purchase with your Little Marvel Designs gift card.

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eGardenStudio 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 eGardenStudio for the review free of charge.****

 

I live in an apartment that has two large windows in the living room which should let in quite a bit of light but instead there is a large tree that mostly covers both windows so we don't get as much light as we should which makes keeping plants alive in my apartment impossible. I have finally come into possession of an easy to care for indoor plant that won't die on me, I was recently sent an Air Plant in a Bubble from eGardenStudio a wonderful plant shop on etsy.



This air plant comes in a small glass orb vase with a diameter of about 3 inches, and three little feet at the bottom. The orb vase fits right into my hand and sits perfectly on my computer desk, as a bonus the opening of the vase is about the size of my finger tip which means my cat can't get into the vase to eat my plant as he is known to do. This plant is very low maintenance you simply need to spray it 1-2 times a week making sure there is no excess water hanging out in the vase, I have been turning mine upside down on a paper towel for a few minutes to make sure all the extra water if there is any drains out. It requires bright, indirect light, no direct sun is recommended. You can put them near a window at home, or put them in your office, since fluorescent office lighting also works well for them. Both the light watering and indirect light make this plant a perfect gift for someone who doesn't get a lot of light in their home or for an office to spruce it up a little. Looks wise I think this vase and small air plant are adorable it adds a little bit of nature into what ever space you place it in. The exact model I received retails for $16 plus shipping. 

 

Shipping wise the package arrived fast and was securely packaged to keep the glass and plant from being ruined during shipping, since there was no dirt or rocks in the vase I didn't have to worry about there being loose soil/dirt in the box. eGardenStudio ships world wide, depending on where you live and how your postal service is it may take a few weeks to receive your plant in you are outside of the US. After taking care of this plant for the last two weeks and seeing that it is still healthy and very much alive I would 100% purchase more plants from eGardenStudio not only for my home but for my work desk and friends as well. All the prices are very reasonable and range depending on the plant,vase size and any extras that may come with it. Customer service is wonderful and they are always friendly. Want to check out everything they have to offer including their color moss? Head over to their shop to view what they have in stock.