Native Box : August 2014

I had actually received this box first, but have been really unwell this month so didn't ever get around to reviewing it. Better late than never I guess, I'll make sure to do Septembers quicker, it should be here sometime next week yay!

Like GoodnessMe Box, Native box is a monthly subscription box (If you didn't see me latest post on the September GoodnessMe Box, please check it out here).

Native box is a healthy lifestyle and eco friendly box, that provides an assortment of natural personal care, food, lifestyle, household and even cleaning items in sample or full sizes. I love that this box contains more than just food items. This box is $24.95 per month (month to month, can cancel anytime), or discounted in you buy in 3, 6 or 12 month blocks. A bonus with Native Box, is that you earn points for all subscriptions and purchases made, which you can redeem for dollars to spend in their online store. They have items from the boxes available in their store which is really convenient.

Native box have more than one box type available for subscription: Classic box (I have this one), Vegan box (all vegan items), Supersize box (same as classic box but includes only the full size versions of everything) and Beauty box (beauty products only), so there is something for everyone. 

Here is my review of the August 2014 Classic box:

The box comes as is delivered in the post (not inside another box).

First glimpse of the box: There is no tissue paper inside the box, however I assume this is so that the packaging is more eco-friendly which I appreciate.

Like all boxes it comes with an information card, however Native box did not provide price information on the card. I did note that they had the items available in their online store, so where available I used these prices for comparison otherwise I did a search online.

First in the box was a packet of salted Koala Popcorn. I ate this shortly after receiving the box and liked it, however did not feel it was any different to normal salted popcorn. It would be convenient though having it pre-packaged rather than having to do it yourself. This retails for $1.95.

The first beauty product was this Anerah Rejuvenating Mineral Mask. I can't wait to use this, I just keep forgetting! I love the look of this and hope it works nicely on my skin. This is approx 5g of product which is worth about $3.70.

The second beauty item was some Papaya Ointment by Pure by Phytocare. I am a long time user of Lucas Paw Paw Ointment (since Childhood) and it never occurred to me to try anything different, but I love this. It has a different smell and consistency to what I'm used to but its nice, and I like the lip applicator. I now have this in my handbag instead and would repurchase. This was a full size product which retails for $5.95.

Next up we got some Organic Dried Figs by Essentially Natural. Dried figs were something I had actually really wanted to try but never purchased, so I was really happy to have these in the box. Turns out I don't actually like dried figs! But at least I know now and didn't have to go out and buy a full size product just to try them, so I'm a happy camper. This sample size was worth about $2.

Also from Essentially Natural, was a sample pot of their Organic Coconut oil. Again this was something I've been wanting to try so also pretty excited to be given this. I haven't tried it yet so will let you know what I think later on. This was a 25g sample (good size) which would be worth about $3.60.

This is a palm leaf plate set, a cute alternative to plastic plates and cutlery for a party. This was pretty different, and I liked this also. Not sure if I'll have the chance to use it, but would love to get something like this for future birthday parties. I wasn't sure how many were included in the packs online as it didn't state, but I assume each pack included 10, so this would be worth around $1.40.

In addition to the above items, this box included 2 'bonus' items which were not included on the card. My first bonus item, was this blemish control gel by Meditree Organics. Since getting this I have used it every night before bed and am really liking it. I also find the smell of the tea tree really soothing. This was a full size item that retails for $7.95.

The final 'bonus' item was a packet of Wotnot biodegradable wipes. Since having a baby, I'm constantly using wipes and always have them with me in my handbag so extra wipes can never go astray. I love that these are more eco-friendly so will be using these straight away! This was another full size item that retails for $2.95.

In Summary

This was my first subscription box ever, and it was amazing! I couldn't believe my luck at getting quite a few things that I had been wanting to try, as well as other things that I genuinely liked. There's honestly nothing in this box that I wasn't happy to receive. I calculated the value of the box to be around $30 so it was worth the $25 I paid which is great. I have already signed up for the next 3 months (they had a good deal going) and I think my next one has just been dispatched so should have another one to review very soon.

If you would like to sign up, you can receive $5 off your first box! Just use the following link: Get awesome Native box!

Riette

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GoodnessMe Box : September 2014

I recently became aware of the existence of subscription boxes, whereby you pay a fee every month, and you get a box of surprise goodies delivered to your door for you to enjoy. From what I understand, the original boxes were beauty boxes (makeup, skincare etc..) which were developed as a way for people to trial different products and new releases. However now there seems to be subscription boxes for all interests, including health, food, babies, and even pets! I was never to keen on trying any of the beauty boxes as I'm pretty set on the products I use day to day, but I recently saw a picture on instagram of the GoodnessMe Box and knew that it would be right up my alley. 

From what I can tell, GoodnessMe Box only has a limited amount of boxes and they open up the 'store' for a certain period generally at the beginning of the month, so if you want one you generally should be ready to buy as early as possible. Once you're signed on to a month-month 'contract' though it seems like you don't need to renew and are guaranteed next months if you stay on.

Some information about GoodnessMe Boxes (info from http://goodnessmebox.com/):

• Every month, you get 5-10 surprise health food goodies in your box
• Items are 2 or more of the following: Organic, raw, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, sustainable or vegan.
• Boxes are $25 per month (including delivery) if paying on a monthly basis, however if you buy blocks i.e 3 months, 6 months or 12 months, there are discounts. 

I wanted to start reviewing these boxes to give people a proper look at what comes in them, and also to provide information on the actual value of the items included. I've based the values on the information cards provided in the box, and also done my own search for best prices online to make sure they are not inflated. For the purposes of these reviews I will list both (if different) and a total for both the card's price and my price at the bottom. 

As a disclaimer I purchased the box by myself and this is my honest point of view.

So let's get into it!

The box came neatly wrapped with tissue paper, the overall presentation of the box was great, just like a present.

First glimpse of the boxes contents:

There were a couple of cards that came with the box, including this one which included details about all the items and a couple of recipes. I didn't read the card first though, as I wanted the items to be a surprise first!

The first item in the box was some Brookfarm Entertainer Brother Blend. This is a new product I believe and I am looking forward to trying this as I enjoy nuts and seeds, especially pepitas which it seems to depict on the package. This was one serving of 35g which was a good sample size. This costs $4.95 per 75g, so for this sample the equivalent cost would be $2.30.

The second thing that popped out straight away was the RosehipPlus Rosehip Oil Skin Boost Roll-On. Per the card this was a bonus gift, and seems to be great for stretchmarks, which considering I've only recently given birth will probably come in handy. I am happy to have received this product and will definitely try it. This was a full size sample, and per the card, retails for $14.95, however I found you can purchase it online at Chemist Warehouse for $9.69.

Next up was a sample of Museli by Yousli. I had not heard of Yousli before, but love the concept. Its an online store where you can make your own muesli combination which is delivered directly to you! This was the Gluten Freedom blend, and is another item I'm looking forward to trying. This is a serving of 45g, which is worth approximately $1.35.

Meko 100% pure coconut water. Although not particularly exciting, this won't go to waste as I use coconut water regularly. Per the card this retails for $3, however you can buy cases online making them only $2 per can.

This is the Cocolife Coconut Oil spray. I particularly liked the look of this one, and have already used it on some sweet potato baked in the oven which turned out really well. It was also good timing as I'd just run out of olive oil spray so I will use this as an alternative instead. This is a full size item which was great, and retails for $8.95.

Artisana Raw Coconut Butter sachet. I didn't mind receiving this, however from all the pictures on instagram, it appears other boxes received some Loving Earth turkish delight instead, and to be honest I was a bit disappointed I didn't receive that. The card shows this retailing for $3.95 however it can be found of iHerb $1.64 per sachet if purchased in a box of 10.

This was a sample of dark chocolate with sea salt by Kokopod. I've already eaten this, it was delicious and I would repurchase if available locally. Based on it being $10 a block, this sample is worth $1.20.

This packet contained 4 sachets of Natvia sweetener. I would like to try this so happy it was included in the box. The 4 sticks are worth about 50cents.

The last item was this Leda Bar in banana flavour. These are gluten free snack bars, and I ate mine as soon as I opened the box as I hadn't had lunch and quite enjoyed it. I liked the texture considering it was gluten free, probably a little too sweet as I could only eat half at a time, but there is 2 serves in the bar. This retails for $1.90.

Also included in the box was a voucher to purchase some Glow Inner Beauty Powder for $20 off (or 30% off). I noticed a couple of people seemed to receive the actual product in their box so I wonder what that's about? Considering I wouldn't actually redeem this voucher I'm not going to add the value to my calculated total, but have included in the boxes total as they included it on their information card.

In Summary

In total the value of the box was around $58 if you go by the card, or $30 going by my research online (this also excludes the $20 discount card). So either way, you're definitely getting more value than what the cost of the box is which is great, and something I consider important when getting subscription boxes. One thing I noticed was that they noted the Rosehip oil as a 'bonus' item, however had the item not been in the box the value of the box would not have been enough so perhaps it should have just been a standard item as it seems everyone received it anyway. I digress...I loved the fact that this box contained a number of things that I hadn't seen before and also a wide range of items. For $25 I think it was well worth it, and I have already signed up for next months box. I can't wait!

Riette

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The week of the 4th August

Its been another busy couple of weeks, I didn't get to do a recap last week so this is effectively for two weeks. Between gymbaroo, swimming, mothers group, and trying to catch up with friends, the weeks have just flown by, and the weekends come as a well needed refuge.

We finally signed a contract to have our bathroom and laundry renovated. It starts next week so I'm excited but also nervous about having to work around not having a bathroom with a young baby for three weeks.

I started making lactation cookies again to see if they would help (I blogged about my issues with breastfeeding here if you want to read about it), so have been snacking on heaps of those as well as this yummy five:am yoghurt.

 I also finished my box of chia squeezes, so I decided to make my own and they turned out great! I actually think I like them better than the Mamma Chia ones, which is good because its also cheaper to make my own. I got these reusable pouches from Pouched.

 In major fashion news, I got my Jimmy Choos signed by the man himself! Jimmy Choo was making an appearance at Claremont Quarter for a shoe exhibition they have set up in his honour. I was lucky enough that my mum works for the centre and got to meet him! So lucky ;)

In other fashion news, I bought my first pair of pants in about 5 years. I have refused to wear pants for such a long time as I didn't think they suited my body shape, but I found these at target and really liked the look o them. My mum thought they looked like pajamas, but I don't think so. What do you think about this style of pant? I ended up getting the blue ones, but thinking about getting the black/white as well.

Also fell in love with this skirt from Seed. I haven't bought anything for myself from there before, only baby clothes. 

New shoes! I really wanted a pair of bright pink shoes and these fit the bill perfectly. This was also a nice bonus from work!

Finally got a new one of my favourite candle: Aquiesse Boardwalk. I haven't even had to burn it yet, the smell of the candle alone fills up the room.

Another big thing that's happened is I've officially cancelled my gym membership. I was finding it so hard to go now that I've got a newborn, because I'm already out of the house two nights a week for pilates, and the rest of the week I really wanted to be home with the husband and baby for quality family time. I am now on the Turbo Fire bandwagon, and having done it for about a week so far I can say I'm enjoying it. Its much more practical for me as I can fit in a workout at home when S is asleep rather than having to wait for P to get home to look after her. 

We went to the Perth Baby Expo on Saturday, and made out like bandits with samples. Will probably give quite a few away to my mother friends as I really don't need most of them.

Lastly, on Sunday we went on a huge (1.5 hour) walk down by South Perth. The weather was amazing and it felt great just to get out with the family and enjoy a walk.

 S also turned 4 months on Sunday, so we wanted to get some proper photos of us. We ended up with some great shots, here's my favourite:

Riette

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Breastfeeding Woes

If you don't want to read about breastfeeding, I recommend you skip this post :)

Our journey with feeding has not been an easy one. I always planned to breastfeed, but it was not to be. However in saying I'm not breastfeeding, S is still in fact getting the benefits of breastmilk, but I'll get into that in a minute.

When I found out I was pregnant, one of the only things I actually knew straight away was that I wanted to breastfeed, and to do it for as long as possible. I requested immediate skin to skin after birth and S latched on like a champ when she was first born so I thought we'd have no issues...until the pain started a day or so later. I had many different nurses check positioning and latch and they said it was perfect, so I could not figure out why I was having such severe pain when feeding. It felt like razor blades every time she latched, and did not subside during the feeding either. I remember all the times I sat in my feeding chair with tears streaming down my face whilst trying to feed S due to the pain. S had also lost more than 10% of her birth weight by the time she left hospital on day 5 and this worried the doctors and nurses, so I felt like a complete failure in that I couldn't even feed my baby properly. On S's third night of life, and once more during our hospital stay, we resorted to topping her up with formula and I felt to guilty yet relieved when we saw she was finally satisfied and slept properly for the first time.

Although the formula helped, I did not want to give up. I called up the hospital to book an appointment with their lactation consultant in the second week of S's life and luckily they were able to get me in the next day. During my appointment the nurse checked her mouth and said that S had a tongue tie and that it would be causing latching problems. I could not believe that this had not been picked up by the pediatrician during her initial checks nor any of the nurses whilst we were in hospital considering I was in so much pain. I booked into the pediatrician that day, and then was referred to a pediatric surgeon that very afternoon (was so lucky that had an appointment available). The surgeon did a snip under the tongue to release the membrane with surgical scissors, and I fed S straight away. I saw an immediate change in the way she latched and she was playing with her tongue poking it in and out which was great to see.

I thought this would solve my breastfeeding problems, but I was again mistaken. S continued to lose weight as picked up by the pediatrician. We did some tests to check there was nothing wrong with her, which all came back clear, and then I was told to exclusively bottle feed her for a whole week to try and ensure she is getting enough calories. I felt my heart sink in the doctors office when he told me that, as I had read so much about putting babies on the bottle then having them refuse to breastfeed afterwards. As I still had milk, rather than putting her straight onto formula I made the decision to express what I could, and top up with formula instead. After one week, she had put on over 100grams which felt amazing, and I had done this on almost exclusively expressed breast milk. Since she had gained weight, I was told I should try breast feeding again, so we tried and tried, but S refused to stay latched on and we would always end up frustrated and angry (her for not getting food, and me for trying to feed her). Again I was very deflated by this, as I knew I had milk for her and I wasn't yet ready to give up.

So I made the decision to pump. And I pumped and pumped. I started pumping around 8-10 times a day for a couple of weeks. These were the hardest weeks as it felt like I was constantly attached to the pump, and to be honest it was really hard to bond with S during that time. Almost every day I was ready to throw in the towel, but somehow I kept on adding one more day and eventually it became easier and before I knew it we had made it to 3 months.

My supply wasn't great so I tried everything under the sun to try and improve it, I have eaten my body weight in lactation cookies! My supply did increase, but not enough to satisfy S, so I visited my fabulous GP who prescribed Motilium, a drug which side effects includes increased milk production. After taking this, I was producing over 800mls a day! S drinks any where from 700ml-1L per day so I was really happy it worked. On days where I don't produce enough, we supplement with a bottle of formula at night.

I eventually was able to wean myself off Motilium, and reduce my pumping sessions to 5 times a day (including one early morning between 3-5am) without a major reduction in the amount of milk each day. Now that I only have to fit in 5 sessions per day, it is much more manageable and I have lots of time to spend with S, as most of the time it fits in with her naps.

Reaching 3 months of full time expressing was a huge achievement for me, and S is now approximately 80% breast milk fed and 20% formula fed. I often think about why I keep doing this, as it is exhausting (I haven't had a solid night's sleep in over 3 months) and time consuming, but I look at S and see how she is thriving, and if the breast milk is contributing to that I don't want to jeopardise anything by stopping. I have nothing against formula at all, but whilst I have the ability to provide milk for S without also jeopardising my health, I feel that its my job to do so.

Every drop is for her.

Riette
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High Tea at Rochelle Adonis

This weekend, I finally had the oppourtunity to go to high tea at the renowned Rochelle Adonis in Highgate. I had always wanted to go there, but never seemed to have the right occasion, but one of my dear friends was going there to celebrate a belated birthday so I jumped on the chance. 

The tearooms in Highgate are really cute, kind of eclectic with things likes mismatched teacups and saucers, and vintage cutlery. Overall the ambiance is very nice, although quite noisy when the seating is full. You can book seats on a high or low table, and they also have 'private' areas if you have enough people to book a whole table that are sectioned off with organza.

The high tea is different to standard high teas I've experienced before, where they normally present a 2-3 tier stand which has all the savoury/sweet foods on it. At Rochelle Adonis, the high tea is presented in two courses plus a palate cleanser in the middle. I like this idea, as it stretches the experience out and it takes longer for you to eat and enjoy the unique offerings. The cost is $55 per person, which may seem a bit steep, but the price includes two individual pots of tea or french press coffee, and considering the quality and amount of food provided I did not feel it was unreasonable at all.

To start the afternoon off, tea orders were placed from an extensive tea menu. There are your standard teas like earl grey and English breakfast, or more unusual offerings like Vanilla Berry and Moroccan Mint. I chose a pot of Lemongrass & Ginger to go with my savoury course. You could also choose french pressed coffee instead, or purchase other coffees or hot chocolate for extra.

First up was the savoury course. We had a few vegetarians and food allergies in our group, and I noted they were very accommodating, providing specially made alternatives. There is no standard menu, it changes daily based on what the chefs cook on the day.

 

Turkey and Cranberry Terrine: This one was not my favourite, mostly due to the texture, but it was okay.

 

Cucumber Sandwich: A traditional high tea sandwich, but I do not like cucumber so this was passed onto a friend. They said it was really good, it had a herb aioli as well.

Celeriac Soup with Sage: This hot soup was creamy, rich and really delicious. The consensus around the table was that this was one of the favourites.

Smoked Cod with Champagne Batter: I loved this one, it was a great combination of the salty, smoky fish with the batter.

Sweet Potato Roulade with Pesto: This was a nice combination, but I would have preferred if this was hot rather than cold.

After the savoury course we were given a palate cleanser. I believe this was a strawberry sorbet. This was lovely, and not too sweet.

Before the dessert course, drink orders were taken again. This time I opted for the coffee (no picture though). Then the dessert course was laid on the table ready to eat.

My serving:

I forgot to take individual photos of these so here's what they are starting left and going clockwise:

Quince and ricotta cake: This was a layered cake with quince paste and ricotta cream, I really liked this one, it also had a slight orange flavour as well.

Vanilla bean parfait with lamington rocky road: They make the ice-cream in house, and the combination of the coconut and rocky road was really yummy. 

Meringue with passionfruit cream and macerated strawberries: This was lovely and light.

Nougat tart: This was without a doubt the best treat from the high tea, the pastry was buttery and the nougat sweet and sticky.

Overall I had a lovely afternoon and left feeling really satisfied but not sickly full which was nice for a change. If the right occasion came up I would love to go again and sample a different menu, and try some of the other teas. They also have a cake stand at the checkout and a small store selling some lovely things like teacups, and hand made nougat if you're looking for a gift.

Riette

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