Joanne Arden Organics Bath Set Review + Giveaway!

 

The holidays are quickly approaching & you might be looking for a few last-minute gift ideas. If you have someone on your holiday list who loves bath products, a gift basket in one of their favorite scents could be a great gift to get. A store front on Amazon called Joanne Arden Organics sells a wide range of gift sets in a variety of scents, I was recently gifted one of their Mom's Lavender set to test and I will be giving one of you a chance to win a set as well. This set sells for $24.99 on amazon and has a four and a half star rating on amazon.

This gift set comes in a cute pink toiletry bag that says "Worlds Greatest Mother" and "Amazing, Loving, Strong, Happy,Selfless,Graceful". On amazing it shows that they have the word "Mother" in blue to point out that the words used container the word within them, however the set I received those letters aren't blue they are the same color as the rest of the bag. The bath products included are a body butter, a bottle of body wash, a bottle of bubble bath, a bar of soap, muscle rub cream, a lip balm and a small glass bottle of bath oil. Most of the products have a lavender set to them however the bath oil is a eucalyptus spearmint and the muscle rub is coconut milk & honey. All of the products are big enough they will last through quite a few uses, which is pretty good considering when you break down the price for the seven products + the bag everything comes out to $3.12 each. 

The scent of the products aren't overwhelming or overly strong. I like the combination of the lavender and chamomile, it is calming and will help you de-stress after a long day at work or running errands. I like the toiletry bag, it is quite large and will hold a lot when going on a trip or you can use it as storage in your bathroom. The bundle arrived quickly & everything inside of the gift set was packaged nicely, everything was individually wrapped which made it feel like getting more than one gift and it also helps protect the packaging. 

What is your favorite scent when it comes to bath products?

Prize Alert:
One lucky winner is going to receive a Lavender Bath set just like the one shown above.

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

This giveaway ends on 12/19/22

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know another gift set from their collection you would like to try out OR tell me which product from this set you are most looking forward to trying.

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Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Joanne Arden Organics 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.

Dust-free kitty litter from Tuft + Paw!

 

In my personal opinion the worst thing about kitty litter is when it creates a little cloud of kitty litter dust when you are pouring it into the pan. It gets into your nose & on your clothing leaving you smelling litter even after you are done changing the box. So when I received an email from Tuft + Paw asking if I wanted to try out their new Really Great Cat Litter that is dust-free how could I say no? 

This litter really is dust free as advertised. Instead of little bits of clay, sand or crystals this litter is made from soybean byproduct & is in the form of little pellets. The pellets also help prevent you from having litter tracked outside of the litter box since it won't stick to your cats paws and fur as easily as traditional litter. It also disintegrates in water making it safe to flush down your toilet instead of having to bag it up to throw out. One bag of litter will last you for a whole month, you can buy one bag at a time for $29 for opt to get three months at a time for a discounted price. 

My cats seem to enjoy using this litter & I find it easy to scoop to clean out. It doesn't have the traditional smell of cat litter which is great for my nose and it seems to do well at hiding most cat smells that escape from the litter box. It is also light weight and I haven't noticed any of it being tracked around the bathroom, plus the low-dust/no-dust is a big help for the cats as well. This is a litter I would think about using again once what we currently have is gone. I also like that it conveniently ships to the house, perfect for anyone who doesn't want to carry around a big container of kitty litter at the store.

Disclaimer-  Tuft + Paw provided the products mentioned above 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 purchasing the product.

Wormholes the board game!

I was recently gifted a copy of the board game Wormholes sold by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) & it has instantly become a hit in our house. This fun game is a race across the galaxy trying to connect planets via wormholes while picking up & dropping off passengers to each planet. 

This is a one to five player game recommended for ages 14+ & the play time is 45 to 60 minutes. Both of my kids are younger than the recommended age, they are 9 & 13 however neither have an issue playing this game. The game is very easy to set up, you'll have everything put together and ready to go in less than ten minutes. All of the rules are easy to follow, simple to understand & everything is straight forward.

Depending on how many players are participating you'll have eight to ten planets ready to have wormholes set up to travel to them. Once all of the planets have had a wormhole connected to them there will only be three additional rounds before the game is over. The first person to connect a wormhole to a planet earns a point chip, however since the game will be coming to an end shortly after all planets have been connected the group may want to extend waiting to connect all planets to earn a few additional points by dropping off as many passengers as you can.

To pick up passengers you'll need to be directly next to a planet or the space station which is when you can pick up four passenger cards. There is a small catch to picking up passengers, you can't pick up cards that match the planet you are picking up from so they will need to be discarded & while at the space station you can only pick up cards that have been discarded. After picking them up, you will need to make your way across the board to the planet that matches the passenger card so you can drop them off at that planet. Each passenger is worth two victory points per passenger dropped off. 

There are chances to earn extra points through out the game as well. Once you reach the final round you will tally up all the points & who ever has the most is the winner. During the first few rounds of the game, I won each game but as we continued to play everyone started catching on to how to space out their wormholes better to rack up points so now it is anyone's game. This is a fantastic game to pull out when we are wanting to play a quick game that is fun to play. The board & game pieces are well made, bright in color and go together quite well. You can purchase this game on the AEG website for $49.99.

Is this a game you would enjoy adding to your game board collection?

Disclaimer- Alderac Entertainment Group provided the products mentioned above 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 purchasing the product.

Exploring Earth - Science Kit Review!

 

If your child loves to collect rocks, loves science or enjoys learning about earth then the exploring earth kit from The Young Scientists Club line sold by Horizon Group USA would make the perfect gift for them this holiday season. This fun kit comes with a dig kit along with supplies for a few science based hands on projects your child will have fun completing. It is recommended for ages five to seven, however I see no reason a child older than seven wouldn't enjoy this as well.

One or two of the projects in this kit can get a little messy so I would suggest doing this kit when the weather is a little nicer out so you can complete them outside & save yourself the hassle. If heading outside to complete the projects isn't an option, you can always lay down a plastic table cloth which will help collect any messes. In total there are sixteen activities included  in this kit & not all of them need to be completed at once so your child can spread them out over the course of a few days. The first project we dove into was the mineral dig, in the book it shows that it is supposed to come with eight minerals in total - four that have been polished & four that are unpolished. Our kit only came with seven of the minerals, we completely broke apart the block then even smashed the pieces into dust to check for the lost gem but it was no where to be seen, while a small bummer it is alright because we still love the others. It came with a little wooden chisel, but I was surprised that a little wooden hammer wasn't included as there is usually a chisel/hammer set in the dig kits we've done in the past. To help contain the mess we did the dig kit on the inside of the box everything came in & did it out on our front porch because the chalk the gems are buried in tends to get everywhere. 

The second project I would suggest potentially doing outside is the exploding volcano, chances are it won't end up everywhere but just in case we did this outside too for an easier clean up. Thankfully we have everything on hand that is needed for this project minus the volcano cone which comes with this kit. I like that the booklet that comes with this kit telling you how to complete the projects also has fun facts about the earth & spots for you to write down your observations of the projects you complete. This kit would make a great kit to use any time of the year & I think it would make a great gift as well for any child in your life interested in STEM projects. 

My son is nine so he was able to complete all of these projects by himself, younger children may need a help with a step or two of the process which works out because the projects are fun to do together. Horizon Group USA sells this kit along with dozens of others across their lines that are perfect for young children, all of the kits are fun yet educational, plus the best part of all is that they are affordable. You can purchase their products on Amazon, or at big box stores such as Walmart, Michaels Craft Stores, Etc. 

Disclaimer-  Horizon Group USA provided me with the products mentioned above 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. 

The Immersive Nutcracker event!

 

It is always nice to get out of the house & be able to do a family event together as a family. New to Arizona this year is the Immersive Nutcracker being hosted at the Lighthouse Artspace Phoenix located in Scottsdale at 4301 N Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85251. The lighthouse does not have it's own designated parking so you will need to park at the parking garage up the street or find an open street parking spot, during the time we went we were lucky & found a parking spot just one street over so we had a short three minute walk to get to where we needed to be. 

When purchasing a ticket you will need to select a time slot you'd like to visit, we selected the 4:30pm time as I felt like it wouldn't be quite as busy during that time. Tickets are $29.99 each or if you buy the Family pack it lowers it slightly to $26.99 per person for a total of $107.96 for a family of four, it includes admission + a small gift. 

Okay, so now that I have the information about the event out of the way now comes the part which is always a little awkward when a review isn't always a hundred percent positive. But, that is the whole point of reading a review, to read the good & the bad to make a decision on whether you want to purchase a product or attend an event. While this was a neat short experience to see, is it worth thirty dollars a person to see it? In our opinion, no it should be at a lower price point. They had a few cute photo opportunities set up that you could stop & take photos at including one that had a life sized nutcracker you could take a photo with then you walked into the main exhibit. There were two large rooms that had projectors on the walls & floor, the floor projectors played things like gems, snowflakes and lights to match the mini Nutcracker movie being played on the walls. The movie was about twenty minutes long then it went to a few winter scenes, in total we were there about half an hour so roughly it came out to a dollar per minute per person to be there. 

We stuck around for a little bit to see what else might pop up on the projectors, but not much seemed to be happening. Exiting the exhibit takes you into the gift shop then the exit to head back to your car. I saw a few people enter & then exit without spending more than five minutes watching the projectors so it felt like we weren't the only ones who weren't sure what to expect. It was fun for some of the smaller kids, as they were able to run around and chase the projections on the floors and it was calming sitting there for the twenty minutes watching the nutcracker on the large walls, however I feel like it might be better suited to be closer to ten dollars a person than thirty, we were never offered the "small gift" either so I can not comment on what the admission was supposed to come with. There are thirteen different cities across the nation so each one may have different photo opportunities & be set up slightly different than the one here in Scottsdale. Keep in mind this is just our opinion, you could end up enjoying it significantly more.

If you are looking for other fun events to attend for the holidays or in general in Arizona check out my "Things to do in Arizona" section which features delicious spots to eat & events like the Phoenix Zoo Lights, Sugar Rush the drive thru holiday light event and more. 

Disclaimer- US Family Guide along side The Immersive Nutcracker provided tickets to the event mentioned above 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 purchasing the product.

Holiday gifts for Outdoor lovers from Oceas.

If you have someone on your holiday shopping list this year that loves being outdoors & going camping you should check out the products sold by Oceas. They have some great products to help make your trip a little more comfortable & I will be sharing two of those products with you on this post which are the Backpack Cooler & The Puffy.

The backpack cooler is my favorite out of the two items I was gifted to review simply because it is the product we use the most out of the two. It isn't just great for camping, but it is also good for bringing on hikes, picnics & short car trips. The inside of the bag is made with a insulated, leak-proof liner so you can add ice packs or loose ice so you can bring cold drinks & food along with you. According to their website it can hold up to 45 cans of soda, I haven't tried to hold that many cans as we generally don't buy canned soda, but it holds several of our extra large water bottles, some re-usable ice packs along with snacks with plenty of extra room. Along with the inner pocket there are also two zipped pockets, one large one along the front and one at the top of the bag plus two mesh pockets on either side of the backpack. This back pack is comfortable to wear even when it is full of stuff, the straps are padded to give it a little extra cushion. I like using this for hikes, days at the lake, etc because we don't have to drag a large ice chest with us in order to bring drinks. You can pick up their cooler backpack for $59.99 it can be purchased in grey, black or blue & it comes with a bottle opener keychain. 

They sell five different types of blankets for various outdoor needs, I received "The Puff" which is a padded blanket which can either be used as a regular blanket for warmth or you can place it under you for a little extra cushion. This is a soft nylon shell filled with cotton, it is water proof, durable & can be rolled up to fit perfectly back into it's carrying bag just like you do with a sleeping bag. It comes in three different colors - black, blue or green & has a second side with a lighter shade of which ever color you choose. It has a stretchy strap attached to the blanket itself so when you are done rolling it up, you can put the strap over it to hold it into place which makes it easier to get into the carrying bag. You can purchase this blanket for $69.99 on their website along with their other blankets that include the Sherpa which looks so soft & warm. This blanket is not only good for camping, but you can use it at home or take it with to sit on while you picnic or hang out on the beach. The materials used are easy to wipe off & dirt or sand will simply shake right off of it. 

What are some products that would help make your camping or hiking trip easier & more comfortable?

Disclaimer- Oceas provided the products mentioned above 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 purchasing the product.

December Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

How is it December already? It always feels like the first six months of the year drag by, then the last six are a blink and you'll miss it. November was a great start of the holiday season for us, many of the holiday events opened, lots of houses in the neighborhood are putting up decorations & we've put up our decorations and tree as well. This month I am looking forward to some of our holiday traditions, we like trying to watch a holiday movie each night & we like going out on drives to look at holiday lights.

For those of you who live in AZ I have several reels & posts up about some fun holiday events and non-holiday events and hot spots around the state for you to check out. And for all of my readers as a whole, I have lots of great new reviews headed your way this month. This time of year usually has an increase in people catching colds, I know a ton of people where I live are sick as the cough drop/med isle is almost wiped clean so I hope all of you are staying safe & healthy. If you do happen to catch a cold, may it be over quickly! 

For this months bundle I wanted to include some products to help hydrate your skin this winter along with some other fun goodies for a self pampering day and of course makeup!

What's Included in this months giveaway? Let's take a look;

🎄 Copy of "Endless Water Starless Sky"
🎄 Hydrangea scented gift set
🎄 Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion
🎄 Ecotools makeup sponge applicator
🎄 Gamelyn Games Multiuse Tool
🎄 Blue Eyeshadow Palette
🎄 Nude Eyeshadow Palette
🎄 Black eyeliner pencil
🎄 NYX Lipstick
🎄 Maybelline lipstick
🎄 EOS lipbalm
🎄 Gold Glitter makeup mirror
🎄 Winter Berry Bath Bomb
🎄 Two Face Masks
🎄 Foot care mask
🎄 Disney car deacl
🎄 Clay/Mud Mask Applicator 
🎄 Two fabric hairbands
🎄 Snowflake Earrings

One lucky winner will win it all! When I notify the winner it will be via yahoo under my blogs previous name so it will come from Burningmoonproducts @ Yahoo.com so please make sure to add it to your approved list or be sure to check the spam filter on the email address you enter this giveaway with. I had to re-pick a few winners a few giveaways ago that didn't respond to emails or my IG message letting them know they won so new winners were selected for those giveaways. 

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

This giveaway ends on 01/04/2022

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

What is something on your Christmas wishlist this year?

Tell me about something you are looking forward to this month.

What is your favorite part about the holidays?

What are you looking forward to winning the most from this prize pack? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way.