PupCrate May 2016 Subscription Box

What Is PupCrate?

PupCrate is a monthly subscription box for dogs. 

Their treats are from the USA and their toys come from all over the world. They will send you 4-5 items in each box.

They have three size categories of dogs to choose from. Something that I like about their subscription box is you can choose what types of toys you want in your boxes. The categories are Plush Toys, Chew Toys, or Mix.

They have a month to month option, 3 month option, or 12 month subscription option.

The Subscription

Box Items: 4-5 items

Size options:

• Small (0-20 lbs)
• Medium (20-50 lbs)
• Large (50+ lbs)

Cost: 

• month to month = $29.95/ box
• 3 months = $85.93 ($28.65/box)
• 12 months = $330.95 ($27.57/box)

The Details of THIS Box

**THIS BOX WAS PROVIDED TO ME FOR REVIEW**

I believe this is the Large size box, with the mix toy option.

What's In the Box?

Here is what the box looks like when it is delivered to you. I love the paw prints on the side!

And here is what the box looks like on the inside!

They include a card explaining each toy which I always love. Shows that they take the time to make their boxes and don't just throw random things together.

Treats

Buy A Bone Bone Help Give A Dog A Home Peanut Butter (2.5 oz) - $2.49

This treat was a huge hit with the pups. It was gone in seconds. And as you can see on the packaging it is wheat, corn, and soy free. I only wish there was more of it. It was good sized, but definitely something that you have to use soon once opened since you cannot seal it closed again. 

Snicky Snaks Cinnamon Crunch Bar Organic Dog Treats (1.9 oz) - $2.26

Ours arrived broken in half but that's not a huge deal. It's still a treat that my dogs can eat whether it's broken or not. They really enjoyed the treat though. Again, I wish there were more treats but they loved it so it's ok! And it looks like it's organic, which seems like a plus. 

All-Natural Chicken Jerky Strips (6 Medium Strips) - ~$4

These were a HUGE HIT. My dogs would basically do anything for these. We used them as our treat to convince our dogs to come inside for bedtime. You really can't go wrong with jerky when it comes to dogs. And it looks like it does not have wheat, corn, soy, artificial additives, or preservatives. That's another plus for those of you with dogs that have allergies.

Toys

Booda Softies Turtle- $3.39

This toy was a huge hit, not only with the dogs. When I was unboxing this my baby snuck by, sneakily took the turtle to the other room, and gave it hugs and kisses. So she had dibs on it for the first few minutes. Once the dogs got to it though they loved it too. My dogs seem to like plush toys the most. They like destroying them but this one seemed to last a while surprisingly. 

Heggies - ~$8.00

This hedgehog toy made me so happy when I saw it in there! They had a Large one of these we bought from Walmart (was a different type and company) and they loved it. So I knew they would love this one. When it is squeezed it makes a grunting noise. They both took turns fighting over it. Somehow Darwin pulled our the longer hair pieces and made him bare in that spot, but this toy is still going strong in the backyard.

Earth Rated Dog Waste Bag - $0.87

We are always in need of dog waste bags so this was a good thing to receive! I also like that they went with the Earth Rated brand. There are 15 bags per roll so that will last us about 15 walks! Darwin doesn't like to go potty while we are on walks...I have no idea why.

Final Thoughts

Ok it's time to calculate the value of the box!

• Buy A Bone Bone Help Give A Dog A Home Peanut Butter (2.5 oz) - $2.49
• Snicky Snaks Cinnamon Crunch Bar Organic Dog Treats (1.9 oz) - $2.26
• All-Natural Chicken Jerky Strips (6 Medium Strips) - ~$4
• Booda Softies Turtle- $3.39
• Heggies - ~$8.00
• Earth Rated Dog Waste Bag - $0.87

The total value of the box came to $21.01

That's almost $8 under the price per box on the monthly plan, and about $6 under the cost per box on the yearly plan. Buyers like to be getting more than they paid for the box, but it's a little difficult to do with the dog boxes. I feel like the toys were a little on the small side this time, and the value of this box is lower than last month's. However my dogs still loved every item in this box so it wasn't a total loss.

It would be nice to see the box have a higher value in the future though.

What are your thoughts on this PupCrate Box?

BookRoo April 2016 Subscription Box

What is BookRoo?

BookRoo is a company that aims to help parents build their children's book collections. They believe it's never to early to read to your child and they try to make it more affordable for parents to get new books for their children.

If you receive a book that you already have, they have a solution! They will give you $5 off your next subscription when you take a photo of you gifting the book to someone else and send BookRoo the photo.

The Subscription 

Box Items: TWO pictures books or THREE board books (you get to choose which option you want)

Cost: 

• Monthly = $17.99 + s/h ($22.99)
• 3 months = $16.66 + s/h ($64.99)
• 6 months = $16.33 + s/h ($127.99)
• 12 months = $15.99 + s/h ($251.88)

Shipping Fees:

• $5 for US shipments
• $16 to Canada
• $25 anywhere else

Coupon: For 15% off your order go here 

The Box

I chose to do their monthly plan to make sure my daughter actually enjoyed this kind of box. I also chose the THREE board books option. 

Here is the darling box that you will receive when your books arrive! 

And here it is opened. They wrote a note on the box which I thought was cute and I appreciated. I have my own Etsy shop and things like that take a lot of time when you have a lot of customers!

They also included a code to pass on to your friends so you both get discounts. 

I LOVE that the books are wrapped individually. And my daughter loved opening them! 

The Books

If Big Can...I Can. - $4.99

This book was quite cute. It had few words per page and had very cute drawings. My baby seemed to enjoy reading it. There were a few pages with more words than usual and it made it hard for my baby to sit through it, but the artwork is phenomenal.

Chuckling Ducklings - $7.99

I absolutely LOVED this book and so did my baby. We have read this one many times since we have received it. They list each of the baby animals on the last page so you know which animal it really is. 

My Pet Polar Bear - $5.82 

This one was a good book because it was a touch and feel book, meaning it has things to touch on each page. However the art work seemed to make it difficult for my young one to see exactly what was going on and the touch and feels were quite tiny on each page. She still read it a few times but the baby animals book above was enjoyed a lot more.

Final Thoughts

I think this is a very cute subscription box. And because they wrap the books individually, if you have multiple kids they can each open one. The books were very cute and nice quality.

The cost of each book:

• My Turn to Learn Colors - $4.99
• Mockingbird Song - $7.99
• My Pet Polar Bear - $5.82

Total: $18.80

Going off of the one month plan, this box would be $17.99 excluding the $5 shipping charge. I did save a little bit of money doing this subscription so that's reassuring. I didn't save as much as I thought I would, but at least happy I saved SOME money. Curious to see what the total of the books comes out to be next month. This was a little less than the total for last month. If you do the long term plans you save even more so that would definitely be worth looking into when doing this subscription. 

All in all I think this is a cute box and my baby loves receiving new books each month. 

What did you think of these books?

Pop Sugar Must Have April 2016

What Is The Pop Sugar Box?

This is a subscription box that delivers full size beauty and style items to your door monthly.  They claim each box will have over $100 worth of items.

The Subscription

Box Items: Full size beauty and style items

Cost: 

• Month to Month: $39.95
• 3 Month: $109.85 ($36.61/month)
• 6 Month: $$214.70 ($35.78/month)

I signed up for the month to month subscription.

Packaging

Everything arrives in a large pink and white box.

Most of the items were covered with simple white tissue paper.

And here is the card that was in the box.

Products

Noon Design "Lemons" Flour Sack Tea Towel - $18

This is a very thin feeling kitchen towel. I like it when their thin, but I just hope it actually dries items or retains water. Yellow is like one of my least favorite colors but I can never say no to dish towels since my baby drags them all over the house and I have no idea where they end up. It's a little small for me to pile all of my hand washed dishes on to dry but I could see it being a good towel for wiping down the counter and drying of my hands.

Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm - $48

Firming products make me nervous but I will have to try this sometime. However when I opened it the color definitely wasn't super appealing. Kind of reminded me of the stuff in the movie Flubber. All of the reviews I have seen on this product are great though so I may give this one a try.

Canvas Home Tinware Salt and Pepper Shakers - $12

I was quite curious what would be in the box when I came upon it. These salt and pepper shakers are quite cute. And I love that they are blue on the bottom because everything in my house is becoming blue themed. I'm a little nervous to USE them though since they seem to be glass or easily breakable if dropped on the floor, and that's not a good combo with big dogs and a small child! But they are very cute and love the corks on the bottom.

Royal Apothic Field Poppy Conservatories Hand Creme - $24

This seems to be some very fancy lotion. I didn't really love the smell that was coming from the box. I haven't broken the seal yet since I might gift it to someone. I am not a fan of floral smells but whoever is would love this. I also am not super fancy...and have no idea what the spatula thing is for. but maybe you know :P

Next by Nature Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans - $3.99

I was bummed to see that they were espresso beans because I don't drink chocolate or eat anything related to coffee beans. But one of my friends might enjoy this. Hoping the next chocolate covered treat is chocolate covered almonds. Those wouldn't last more than 5 minutes here! These will be gifted to someone else.

Chrissy Teigan's Cravings: Recipes For All the Food You Want to Eat - $29.99

This seems to be a very nice cook book. I love cook books that provide pictures of the final product because then I know if I totally botched it or not. This book has been showing up as an advertisement on all the recipe websites I have visited lately so I am happy I got this! My husband and I will search through it to find some fun new recipes to try. 

Final Thoughts

Here are the prices of all of the items in the box:

• Noon Design "Lemons" Flour Sack Tea Towel - $18
• Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm - $48
• Canvas Home Tinware Salt and Pepper Shakers - $12
• Royal Apothic Field Poppy Conservatories Hand Creme - $24
• Next by Nature Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans - $3.99
• Chrissy Teigan's Cravings: Recipes For All the Food You Want to Eat - $29.99

The total value of the box came out to be $135.98 so they definitely held true to their claim of everything being over $100. 

I will be using all of these items except for the coffee beans for sure and most likely the poppy lotion. Overall I am pretty satisfied with this box and I am curious to see what happens next month!

What are your thoughts on this PopSugar Box?

GlobeIn Benefit Basket April 2016

What Is The GlobeIn Benefit Basket?

The GlobeIn Benefit Basket is a smaller version of the Artisan Basket. Each month you recevie one item that was handcrafted by someone abroad to help bring the creator exposure.

Each item is put inside of a hand made basket that they receive from Oaxaca, Mexico. They will also explain the story behind the creator for that month and how your support helped them.

The Subscription

Box Items: One item handcrafted by someone abroad.

Cost: 

• Month to Month: $19.95
• 3 Month: $56.95

I signed up for the month to month subscription.

Packaging

Everything arrives in a box.

And here is what the box looks like when opened.

The card inside is a pamphlet that explains where the item came from and more about GlobeIn.

And here is the basket that the item arrives in.

Product

Coyuchi Diamond Stripe Kitchen Towel Set - $15

I at first thought I received just one towel but when I opened it up there were two! I don't have any green in my kitchen so this won't match very well but they seem like high quality kitchen towels. We are desperately in need of some too so this worked out great. They are quite large and I see myself using them as towels to dry my hand washed dishes on. Quite the surface area is covered!

Final Thoughts

The box itself cost $19.95 and the item in the basket was $15 according to their website. Taking into account the handmade basket it arrives in goes for $12 on the GlobeIn website the total of the box comes out to $27 which is more than what I paid. 

I love the idea of this basket. I think I was a little confused about the towels because I was expecting an item from a company that wasn't quite so well set up already. The company seems quite successful and has a very nice website. I was expecting an item from a shop that wasn't so well setup. But either way it's a great product and the basket it came in is going to come in handy!  I am curious to see what their next month's box with have.