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2 Little Rosebuds

Subscription box reviews by a vegan mom of twins

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Citrus Lane October 2013 Review & Discount

by Wendy Rose — 2 Comments

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*As of December 2015, Citrus Lane is no longer in business. If you’re looking for an alternative, bluum is a great choice. — You can see my reviews of them here. With bluum, you can choose your own products and build your own box. They feature the same great brands, plus you can save $10 on your first month with coupon code “MRVA286CCE“.*

Woah! My Citrus Lane box arrived SO early this month! I’ve never gotten it this fast. Plus, Monday was a no-mail day. How did this happen??!!

Due to its early-ness, I hadn’t seen many spoilers. It was fun opening the box without knowing exactly what would be in it. What a concept! 😉

For all the newbies out there, Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription for babies/kids (aged newborn-5). It’s $25/month (cheaper with longer subs) and includes a nice assortment of toys, books, snacks, toiletries, etc. Sometimes they even include a gift for mom. 🙂

This box was geared towards a 15-month old girl. The theme this time around was “Playtime! Bathtime! Bedtime!”, and included products to use for play, in the bath, and, yep, at bedtime. [read more…]

Love With Food Deluxe Box October 2013 Review & Discount Code

by Wendy Rose — 4 Comments

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Love With Food has been delivering some seriously awesome boxes lately. Seriously. Awesome. Most of the items have been vegan, which of course is a HUGE plus for a snack lovin’ vegan gal such as myself.

This is my second month getting the “Deluxe” box ($19.95), and though I like getting more snacks (who wouldn’t?), I think I’m going to go back to the regular ($12.00) box. I’m literally running out of space in my cupboards due to all of the goodies I get every month. #subscriptionboxproblems

The theme for October was “Scary Delicious” and here’s what was inside… [read more…]

Appleseed Lane October 2013 Review, Discount & Giveaway

by Wendy Rose — 7 Comments

Appleseed Lane is a fun new subscription box designed for kiddos 4-8 years old. The box focuses on age-appropriate science projects and related crafts. Each month features a different theme, with projects relating to it. All of the materials needed are right in the box, including a cute little illustrated booklet that explains the science behind the experiments in a kid-friendly way.

The box that I received for review was “Halloween Science”. Fun! I love holiday-themed boxes! [read more…]

Goody Gorilla September 2013 Review & Discount Code

by Wendy Rose — 2 Comments

Goody Gorilla is a new-ish subscription box that delivers healthy snacks to your door for just $15 a month (shipping included).

When I first got word of this box I was super stoked, since they promised that 90% of the items would be vegan. (It said so in their FAQ’s.) So when I got my box and found that only 4 out of the 7 products were in fact vegan, I was pretty bummed.

Thankfully, customer service was great and offered to send me additional vegan snacks at no charge (even though I requested to cancel my account). I just looked at their FAQ page again and noticed that they took out the “90%” and replaced it with “some”. While it’s sad that they’re not featuring as many vegan products as once promised, it’s cool that they owned up to it and updated their site to reflect that.

Alright… Enough blabbering… Onto the box! [read more…]

Ecocentric Mom “Baby” Mystery Box October 2013 Review

by Wendy Rose — 2 Comments

The long-awaited Ecocentric Mom Mystery box finally shipped this week! (I know, I know… Please try to contain your excitement.)

Here’s the deal: Every so often Ecocentric Mom announces a “bonus” box available for a one-time purchase of just $25. They promise that it’ll be jam-packed with eco-friendly essentials for both mamma & baby. The last time they offered one of these was back in June, and jam-packed it WAS. You can see that review right here. It was good. Very, very good.

So when they made this mystery box announcement over the summer, I knew I had to sign up for one. Had to. And I’m glad I did… There was SO much stuff! [read more…]

Taste Trunk (Health) Box October 2013 Review & Discount Code

by Wendy Rose — 2 Comments

October has been a really good month for boxes so far. First, I got the awesome Vegan Presence package full of my favorite autumn goodies, and then I get this Taste Trunk box in which ALL of the products happen to be vegan. Woohoo!

You probably already know the deal, but if not, Taste Trunk is a monthly food/snack subscription that offers 4 different themed boxes (“trunks”) to choose from: “Sweet Trunk”, “Health Trunk”, “Gourmet Trunk”, and “BBQ Trunk”. If you’re not sure which one to try, there’s an option on their website to switch trunks whenever you want. You can change it every month if that’s the way you roll. Personally, I always stick with the Health one, since I assume I’ll have a better chance at getting vegan-friendly items in the box. (I totally scored this month!)

Okay, let’s dig in! [read more…]

Vegan Presence October 2013 Review (my favorite one yet!)

by Wendy Rose — 4 Comments

So festive!
So festive!

Okay, so after having kind of a so-so package last month, Vegan Presence totally made up for it with October’s offerings. From the festive Halloween-y ribbons, to the items they chose, it was probably my favorite package from them yet.

Some of my favorite things to enjoy during the autumn season (and, well, anytime) are hot tea, good chocolate, and scented candles… ALL of which can be found in this month’s Vegan Presence package. Hells. Yes. [read more…]

Personalized Photo Ornament Review & Giveaway

by Wendy Rose — Leave a Comment

I know, I know…  It’s not even Halloween yet and here I am posting about Christmas ornaments. Perhaps I’m a wee bit ahead of the game, but when Dixie Midwest contacted me about reviewing one of their personalized ornaments, I just couldn’t say no. What can I say… I’m a sucker for things with my babies faces on ’em. 😉 [read more…]

Healthy Surprise September 2013 Review & Discount Code

by Wendy Rose — Leave a Comment

So many snacks!
So many snacks!

Healthy Surprise is a monthly subscription box for snacks — vegan/gluten-free/soy-free, all-natural-super-fantastic ones! It’s a great box for those with food allergies, vegans (hey, that’s me!), or anyone who wants to snack a little healthier.

Oh, did I mention that all of the snacks are FULL SIZE? Yep. They sure are. No sample-sized, mini snacks in these boxes! You can choose from 3 different box sizes: Starter (16-20 servings), Healthy (32-40 servings), or Large (48-60 servings). Boxes start at $33/month and you can cancel at anytime. (But why would you want to?)

Okay, less talk, more snacks! Let’s see what goodies Healthy Surprise delivered this time! [read more…]

Vegan Cuts Snack Box September 2013 Review

by Wendy Rose — Leave a Comment

The box!
The box!

September marked the first anniversary  — I mean, “snackiversary” — of the Vegan Cuts Snack Box! Woo! Although I don’t currently have a subscription, I was lucky enough to WIN this box in a giveaway over at another blog. So awesome!

Vegan Cuts offers two different, 100% vegan & cruelty free monthly box options: The Snack Box and the Beauty Box. Both are just $19.95 a month (free shipping!) and deliver a fun assortment of snackin’ & beautify-in’ essentials. Most of the products in the Snack Box are also gluten-free (roughly 80% of ’em).

Okay, let’s see what was inside this celebratory snackiversary box! [read more…]

Ecocentric Mom Baby Box September 2013 Review & Discount

by Wendy Rose — Leave a Comment

The goods!
The goods!

This is the first time I’ve gotten my Ecocentric Mom box totally spoiler-free! I was surprised to find it on my doorstep so soon and couldn’t wait to tear into it. (No really, these things truly do excite me! Sad, I know.)

Ecocentric Mom offers 3 different box options: Mom-to-Be, Mom, and Mom & Baby (for babies up to 18 months). Every box contains products that are eco-friendly, natural, organic, and often vegan-friendly. Subscriptions are $21/month (or less with longer commitments) and shipping is free.

I always get the “Mom & Baby” box, because I’d much rather get stuff for the girls than for me. Hey, what can I say, I’m just that damn awesome. 😉 Okay, let’s see what I got this month! [read more…]

e-Sentials September 2013 Review & 50% Discount Code!

by Wendy Rose — Leave a Comment

e-Sentials is a brand new subscription service for that oh-so-wonderful “time of the month”. They want to save you the trouble of having to go out and replenish your stock of “essentials” every month. (Or worse, making your bf/husband do it.)

There are 3 different package options to choose from: $10 for 20 pads/tampons of your choice. $13 for the pads/tampons and 3 disposable razors. $16 for the pads/tampons, 3 disposable razors, and deodorant. Packages are totally customizable — you choose how many pads and/or tampons you need, if you want light/heavy/etc., and whether or not you need extras (there is a 30 cent charge for additional pads/tampons). Shipping is always free.

I was sent the $16 package for review purposes. Here’s what I received… [read more…]

Bestowed September 2013 Review & Discount Code!

by Wendy Rose — 1 Comment

Overflowing box!
Overflowing box!

Bestowed is a monthly subscription box that features healthy snacks & foods carefully chosen by nutritionist/author Heather Bauer.

Boxes are only $19/month (including shipping!) and contain a nice variety of different snacks, food items, and beverages. While the box isn’t geared towards any particular diet, I was pleased to find many vegan items in this month’s selection. (Yay!)

September’s theme is “Back to School” and features lots of kid/lunchbox-friendly products. While my girls are too young for the whole “bagged lunch” thing, I’m more than happy to eat everything myself. 😉 So what’s in the box? Read on! [read more…]

Matilda Jane Clothing Review & Giveaway

by Wendy Rose — 13 Comments

(Don't be fooled, she wasn't posing. She was trying to pull her headband off.)
(Oh, don’t be fooled, she wasn’t posing. — She was trying to pull her headband off.)

Matilda Jane Clothing is a mom-owned company that specializes in uniquely designed girl’s clothing and accessories. Their collections are fun, whimsical, and sized to fit everyone from babies to mommas.

Needless to say, when Matilda Jane contacted me to see if I’d be interested in reviewing one of their outfits, I totally jumped on it. Buying clothes for twins is NOT cheap! 😉

Twice a year, in the spring and fall, a new line is released. The outfit I received is from their Paint By Numbers collection, which can be found here.

Chloe was kind enough to be my model for this post, though she wasn’t exactly cooperative. Ah, one-year olds… [read more…]

Top 10 Reasons Why Having Twins is Effing Awesome

by Wendy Rose — 27 Comments

“Twins? Ugh! Better you than me!”
“Oh boy, twins? You must really have your hands full.”
“Uh oh! Double trouble!”

When you have twins, everyone feels the need to tell you how screwed you are. How your life is over. How they’ll age you faster than you can imagine. How happy they are that they didn’t get stuck with a similar, awful fate.

Well guess what, haters? HAVING TWINS IS EFFING AWESOME. And here are my top 10 reasons why…

10. A new appreciation for BOGO sales. Sure, everyone likes a good deal — especially when it involves buying something and getting another one free. This is doubly (har har) true with twins. They need a LOT of shit. We usually have to buy 2 of just about everything (to an extent), so BOGO sales are fan-freakin’-tastic.

9. We get more help in public places. Strangers often feel sorry for us. Two babies the same age? OMG! In turn, they go out of their way to be nice. Doors get opened, toys get picked up, they move the eff out of our way, etc… Sure, people do that for singletons too, but I think they up the ante a bit for us poor, poor souls who have twins.

8. Twins are cute as hell. One little baby in a frilly dress: cute. TWO little babies in frilly dresses: Cute as HELL. ‘Nuff said.

Right?
Right?

7. We don’t have to remember 6th grade math. I was awful in math. Awful. I was so relieved to finish my last math requirement and dreaded having to revisit it when I had kids. However, since twins will be in the same grade, they can help each other out when it comes to all that equation crap. At least one of them will be smart, right? RIGHT? (fingers crossed)

6. One delivery, two babies. I only planned on having one baby. Ever. But it was always in the back of my mind that what if I had one and decided I DID want another? Welp, no need to stress about it now, since I got myself some BOGO babies. One pregnancy, one delivery, two kids. I’m efficient as hell.

Thanks to Mr. Google, I now know that I'm not the only one who uses the phrase "BOGO babies".
Thanks to Mr. Google, I now know that I’m not the only one who uses the phrase “BOGO babies”.

5. Only one party to plan. One birthday, one party. (But two cakes, cos they shouldn’t have to share everything. Especially cake.)

4. Free stuff! Twins can be expensive. Some companies are willing to give you free shit if you prove that you’ve been cursed with BOGO babies. I made a list here.

3. I’m not a twig, and that’s okay. Babies wreak havoc on our bodies. Twins destroy ’em. While I got lucky and dropped like 30 pounds in the first week after giving birth, I’m still not at my ideal weight (in my eyes, anyway). Sometimes I get self-conscious about my “pooch”, but then I say “Fuck it, I had TWO babies in there. I look pretty damn good.”

(Not me.)
(Not me.)

2. Refer to #6. That really deserves to get listed twice. My uterus agrees.

1. You realize how damn lucky you are. Twin pregnancies are a lot more common these days, but they’re still riskier than a “normal” pregnancy. It’s a lot more demanding on your body and with double the babies, there’s double chance of something going wrong. I’m forever thankful that I didn’t have any serious issues (until the very end) and that the girls were only in the NICU for 3 days. I’m still amazed that despite the fact that they were born 6 weeks premature and weighed only 4 and a half pounds, they totally held their own… For that I couldn’t be more grateful. (I just need to remember that the next time I wake up to the smell of a port-o-potty and a dumbfounded baby with fists full of feces.)