Violet Vox Box

I haven't received a vox box in forever and was excited when I was chosen for a violet vox box. I love every product especially the travel size of NYM clean freak dry shampoo. NYM clean freak dry shampoo is absolutely one of my favorites because it's affordable and gets the job done. I've tried other dry shampoos in the past and was disappointed to find out that I only got one use out of it.

SoyJoy is one of my favorite on the go snacks. Ground whole soy baked with high-quality, non-genetically modified ground whole soy—retaining all of soy’s naturally-occurring nutrients. Soy is the only plant-based source of the complete protein that our bodies need. They also use real fruit flavors, no artificial colors or hydrogenated oils. For those who are GF sensitive? They're also gluten free.

If you follow me on my beauty blog, you'll know that I'm obsessed with face masks and I was over the moon excited to try out montagne jeunesse clay spa face masks. I'm not a huge fan of the kind where you have to wash off, but I figure I might as well give this one a go.

Goody athletique reversible quick dry headband is probably one of my least favorite products I've received. I don't wear hairbands let alone while I'm working out.

I love me some nail polishes, but was disappointed in the color I received- Sally Hansen in Play Koi. I already own a similar color and honestly, I haven't even applied it. I think I will be gifting this to a friend or put it up in a giveaway.

I was not paid to write this post. Voxbox was kind enough to select me to try out these products and all reviews are 100% my own. If you would like to join Influenster, please comment with your email & I'll send you an invite!

Oh My Tookies!

Have you heard of Tookies on Etsy? Or through blogland? Or possibly seen her delicious gourmet marshmallows, cookiewiches and jar cakes floating around? Or better yet, have you purchased something from Tookies? Let me just say, Julie, the fabulous woman behind Tookies is not only creative when it comes to creating new sweets and treats, but also a complete sweetheart. As well as a fellow Army wife.



We are a small southern family business whose heart is set on keeping everything we do 100% handmade. All Tookies are 100% handmade, hand-cut, hand-rolled, hand-whipped, hand-sprinkled, hand-dusted, hand-stirred, hand-wrapped, hand-packaged, hand-stamped, and then lovingly handled into a package sent to you. Our packages never leave the Tookies facility without a hand-written note specially created for you. Every item found in Tookies is a unique, one-of a kind, family recipe, exclusively created by Tookies to be made, the old fashion way, of small handmade batches. If we change this process to tripling quadrupling our recipes, they then start to become ‘commercialized’ and we will not do this. Our love is in staying small, staying unique, staying handmade and never becoming commercialized are what we value and desire to bring to you our customers, this is why we have a bit of a wait time for your Tookies to arrive. We thank you again for your sweet patience and hope you understand that we are about making you quality handmade Tookies...not speedy processed cookies and with this comes time.





I received a lovely surprise from Julie last week and I couldn't wait to dig in! The cookies were soft and delicious, but truthfully, it's their butter cream that takes the cookie. Her butter cream is always so light and fluffy and quite addicting really. I'm serious. I ended up eating the cookies by itself and just dipped a spoon into the butter cream when no one is watching... or when the husband is sleeping.



Tookie's ever so unique gourmet marshmallows are not to be messed with. These babies are MASSIVE and oh so delicious!

Are you intrigued yet? Salivating for a bite of Tookie's gourmet marshmallow or her cookiewiches with the most addicting butter cream? You can go check out her shop on Etsy or her blog. There will be a giveaway coming up, so definitely check back and make sure to follow me on Bloglovin!

Lifeway Kefir Review

I recently received a coupon from Influenster to test out Lifeway Kefir Probiotic. Even using their store locator, I had a hard time finding their products near me, so instead, I gifted my friend Beth the coupons since she had some in her fridge.

What is probiotics? Probiotics are a friendly bacteria. Once they are in your system, research shows evidence that they may support immunity and promote better digestion. They also may help aid with weight loss, lactose-intolerance and regulating the body after you take antibiotics.

I tried some of the strawberry flavored one and it's not that bad. It's thick like yogurt, but drinkable and slightly enjoyable. I'm not a fan of the tang. I also liked that it's lactose free which is a huge bonus for me. I'm not lactose-intolerant, but some dairy products out there do make me sick even having a little bit.

You Popped Out of a What?!

I don't get much happy mail now and days. Especially after I cancelled almost all my subscription box services to help save money for our upcoming trip when he gets home. Which is soooooon! Today though, it was a happy mail day. Aside from the usual junk, my card I made at Cardstore came in today! Lauren from Cardstore contacted me recently to try out their card making service and you know me, I love to customize anything and everything so of course I jumped at the chance!

With my husband's birthday coming up in just a few short days (he's going to be 30!!), I had already sent him a surprise box. My friend Jenny's birthday is coming up soon, but she reads my blog. So, she's out too. My friend Ro's birthday isn't til the end of September and this card is SO her! Plus, she doesn't read my blog!



I love how easy it is to navigate the site and to be able to personalize it with different colors and fonts. I also love that when you register for a free account, you're able to add cards to your favorites instead of having to scroll through the whole site again. The cards are all reasonably priced and compared to what you pay at your local card store, you're getting more since you're able to customize them.

I'm seriously loving Cardstore and what they have to offer. I've already started saving my favorite Christmas designs and look forward to making more cards with Cardstore for the future!

K'ya Bistro Bar in Laguna Beach, CA

June 20, 2013. Here I go, having drinks again... the person who drinks maybe once year has had 2 drinks in the span of a couple days. This is a record for me you guys! I also must have sign on my forehead that reads "She doesn't drink, let's make it extremely strong for her" because again, my drink was extremely strong. Later, when we went up to the roof top, Jenny ordered the same exact drink and her drink looked a whole lot different then mine. *sigh* I have decided that I do not like mint. Actually, I detest the taste unless it's in candy, gum, ice cream... anything but the leaves in the bottom of my drink. While taking out the lime and mint I discovered a loooooong strand of hair, so that ended my drinking for the day.



We came specifically for the view (The Roof Top) and for their happy hour menu and let me just say... these filet mignon tips with horseradish sauce? BOMB.COM We were tempted to order another plate, but I was already full and had a pretty late lunch to boot. Seriously, if you go, I highly recommend ordering these. We started with chicken empanadas (not pictured) which were really delicious!



Mmmm their caprese skewers with pesto and sundried tomato toast was so refreshing after stuffing our faces with nothing but meat.



Jenny was still hungry, so she ordered Thai chicken drumettes with a coconut dipping sauce. The drumettes were delicious... a little spicy, but delicious. I didn't discover the sauce til after I ate the whole thing, but the sauce was to die for!



After a delicious snack we went to check out the beach scene.... people were surfing and we met the cutest puppy. Jenny went and frolicked in the ocean while I played paparazzi. Gorgeous! I wish we could of just sat there with a packed picnic and just hung out. We were both pretty exhausted and cranky and ended up going to her beloved Pho Tastee after a quick Target run.



K'ya Bistro Bar
La Casa del Camino Hotel
1287 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651 | 949.376.9718
Website

Hanging With the Bride to Be

I haven't seen the bride to be in almost a year so we made sure to set aside a day just for us. Hang out, catch up, EAT and of course do wedding stuff. We decided to head out to Fashion Island to shop around and I really wanted to go to True Food Kitchen. One of our stops was 'lette macarons and it was so delicious! Jeannie bought a dozen and shared 4 of them with me... I got the coffee one (seriously amazing!), caramel, raspberry and earl grey. Was a little disappointed in the earl grey though. Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with earl grey in general.



One of my current foodie pet peeves? People who keep calling them macaroons. *roll eyes* I'm sorry, I've become one of those people now.



After some sweets, I was hungrrrry and the crankiness was coming out. On top of that, it was another hot day in Southern California. True food kitchen was so COOL! Everything from the tables, to the decor to the open kitchen... Even the food was delicious. I started off with their kale aid which has kale, apple, cucumber, celery, lemon and ginger. I skipped the ginger. I ordered their chicken chopped salad with the chicken on the side. Best salad I've ate in awhile. It has the salad part with manchego cheese (first time having it and i love it), dates, dried cranberries, jicama, marcona almonds, farro and champagne vinaigrette. Jeannie wanted to come here because she's trying to eat "light", but she ended up ordering their bison burger with a side of kale salad and sweet potatoes.



Since we were sort of in the area, we went and checked out Sweet and Saucy Shop in Laguna. What a sweet shop it is! Jeannie tried their strawberry shortcake in a shot glass and OMG this trumped both of my desserts. It was light and the strawberries were so fresh. It was that good where she ate another one. I, on the other hand chose passion fruit panna cotta mainly because I've never had it before and it was extremely tart! Tart to the very last bite. I chose the mini s'more cupcake... mainly for show. Plus, if you 'like' them on facebook, you get a cupcake for free. The cupcake was okay. Loved the marshmallow goodness on top. This cupcake shop is extremely far, but we're glad we came by to try out their sweets.



After all the eating, we went back home to pick up her cousin and do some wedding stuff. I think I was there til about 1:30am decorating tumblers for out of town guests. KPOP + Wedding duties makes the time go by a whole lot faster that's for sure.

True Food Kitchen
451 Newport Center Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660 | 949.644.2400
Website

Sweet & Saucy Shop
7922 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Newport Coast, CA 92657 | 949.715.0920
Website

Kimberly's Cafe

I don't write too many food reviews on here since I mostly do it all on Yelp, but I thought I'd add this here anyways.

So, my friend Ro was still in town and she definitely loves her breakfast foods so I looked up some places that served brunch. Surprisingly, when I lived in Lakewood about 4 years ago, we've driven past this place countless of times and only now have I tried it. Upon walking through the doors, it smelled absolutely heavenly! Maybe it was their soup of the day, but that scent made my stomach grumble instantly.

I have been craving eggs benedict for a couple years now and I did have some when we were up in Leavenworth, WA but it wasn't that great. So of course, I ordered their eggs benedict and I think this is the BEST eggs benedict I've had all week. I love that don't drench my food in the hollandaise sauce like some people. My friend had their country beef steak with scrambled eggs, hash browns and a side order of french toast. Her beef steak was delicious! We've both never had it before so it was new to us. The french toast isn't anything spectacular.... I only took 2 bites of it.

Overall, for what we ordered, I loved everything about it! I would definitely want to come back to try their lunch and dinner menu. If you are near JBLM, I definitely recommend check them out!



Kimberly's Cafe
11126 Gravelly Lake Dr SW
Lakewood, WA 98499

253.588.8989

That Gut Wrenching Feeling

Our last whole day and I could feel the tears well up at the smallest things, but I was a sport and kept on going to make the best of the day. Why ruin it with tears. The whole time he was home, we never did venture out to Seattle... we were always in nearby cities, but we decided we would go get his favorite 8oz Burger in Capitol Hill. I love their rustic decor and using locally sourced ingredients. You can read more about them here.

We started off with Beecher's mac and cheese (not pictured) and it is possibly the best mac 'n cheese I've ever had... we seriously devoured that the minute our waiter put it down. Hubby ordered their Classic 8oz while I tried their Banh Mi Burger. Oh my goodness my burger was so delicious! It's made with marinated beef/pork sausage patty with pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber, serrano peppers, liver pate and lemongrass siracha aioli all on a brioche bun. My mouth was on fireeee after I got a big slice of the pepper though, but oh so worth it.



We also ordered roasted garlic fries and bacon brussel sprouts. Truthfully, I think the way I make my brussel sprouts taste a whole lot better, but I've seen rave reviews on Yelp. I know that there's a million and one things to eat in Seattle, but if you're ever there, I recommend checking out 8oz!



8oz Burger
1401 Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122 | 206.466.5989
8oz Burger | Seattle Website

Portillo's Hot Dog

I was surfing the internet one day and came across a site listing "OC's 10 best restaurants". Portillos was one of them and i was instantly hooked by all the reviews on Yelp! Originally, i was suppose to go with my friend to Portillo's for dinner, but he forgot he was suppose to attend a friend's BBQ. I've been looking forward to eating there the last few days and decided that i might as well go by myself. After all, its raining and they have a drive-thru :) There was this poor guy standing in the rain taking orders and he was very helpful in letting me know whats good, whats not and what is his personal favorites. After taking up a lot of his time (thank god there was no one behind me!), I've decided to order onion rings, italian beef sandwich with mozzarella and sweet peppers- extra gravy, a Chicago dog and a Chocolate Cake Shake. Pulled up to pay and again, there was this poor girl standing there collecting my money, in the rain! Pulled up to the next window, collected my food and found a spot in their parking lot to take pictures and grub.

The Onion Rings was like no other onion rings i've ever personally had. They were so freakin' good! Oh dear. It had this amazing crunch to it when i bit it and you know how usually when you bite into an onion ring and the breading falls off and you're left with onion. Worse, still raw-like onion on the inside? Oh, no. Portillo's onion rings were cooked to perfection!! Best of all, they taste good after a hour!! Still has the crunch.



Moving on, Italian beef sandwich with mozzarella and sweet peppers- extra gravy. Yelp reviewers raved about their Italian sandwich, but my first 5 bites, I was slightly disappointed. I was expecting my eyes to bulge out and say "omg wow that is so freakin' good" and fireworks should be shooting out all around me. I got nothing. As I started to make my way through the halfway mark, it started to get better and in the end it was actually pretty good. Next time I would order more sweet peppers though.



Next up, their Chicago Dog. When we were driving from New York to California, i really wanted to stop in Chicago to get a Chicago Dog, but it was sooooo out of our way and the weather was freezing, that i never did get my Chicago dog. I suppose Portillo's is the next best thing. I did read a review from a girl whose born and raised in Chicago and she went to Portillo's and exclaimed that it tasted just as amazing as a real Chicago dog. So, of course i had to try it and it was not that bad. I do love love love the poppyseed bun and the giant slice of pickle, but I also did only take 1 bite so far (the half eaten Italian sandwich really filled me up).

And of course, I saved the best for last, their CHOCOLATE CAKE SHAKE. Yes, i needed to type it all out in capital letters. Again, this shake had so many positive reviews and the guy who took my order swore its like the best thing in the world! And it is! I guess most people who eat a slice of chocolate cake, would most likely drink a glass of milk with it right? Its just the right thing to do. Well, Portillo's went a step further and just threw it all together in a blender and serves it to customers. My first sip, I got a small chunk of cake. Weird. After awhile, i can taste the frosting on the cake and everything. Still kinda weird to me. One of the best things about the shake is that its not so sweet where you feel like you just might keel over, but sweet enough to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Portillo's Hot Dogs
8390 La Palma Ave.
Buena Park CA 90620
714-220-6400

http://www.portillos.com/portillos/

Product Review: Unreal Candy

Bzz Agent is a site that helps bring people and their favorite brands together. You fill out some surveys and participate in their current campaigns which you can sign up and they send you coupons. In return, you help share your opinions with family, friends and all your favorite social medias.

I'm still fairly new to Bzz Agent, so when the unreal candy campaign started, I knew I wanted to jump on it, mainly because I like trying out new things. Who and what is Unreal candy? You can read about their story on their website which is pretty amazing considering if took a 13 year old boy named Michael who wanted to find out how to unjunk his favorite candies. So, if you're interested in candy without artificial ingredients, corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, read on!

Here is my review that I posted on Bzz Agent. Please note that I am not paid in any shape or form for my opinions or reviews.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical, but also excited at the same time.

I was lucky to discover them at my local Walgreens here in the Pacific Northwest and the first bar I tried was Unreal8, which is an imitation of a Snickers bar. Right off the bat, it has a very mild taste compared to the original bar chock full of sugar and creamy caramel.

The next candy I tried was the Unreal 41 aka M&M's. The one thing I loved about this candy is that there is no Red40 or other artificial colors, BUT on my first few bites, I noticed that I can taste the vegetables that they used to dye the candy. It was a little off putting at first since you generally don't expect your chocolate to taste a bit like veggies. I'm not a big fan of this one.

My last candy I've tried is Unreal77 aka peanut butter cups. I would definitely recommend to try this candy first if you're a little iffy about Unreal candy. To me, this tastes just like the real deal, but without the toothache. Peanut butter could be a little creamy, but overall veryvery tasty.

If you're interested in more info about Unreal candy, you get check out their website at Get Unreal

Bo De Tinh Tam Chay

Every time I'm in SoCal, I have to come here at least once just for their Thai Soup which is my absolute favorite! When they first opened, they use to have a lot add-ins and now with ingredients being more expensive, they have cut down a lot. My mom and I like to call it the faux squid and on my recent visit, we didn't have any! Come to think of it, there was a lot of canned mushrooms and canned bamboo. What a disappointment. I've also noticed they have made the soup a little spicier, but overall taste was not as good as it use to be.

Another favorite is their Banh Uot Cha Lua with the thick rice noodles and vegetarian "ham" (I believe) and crispy tofu. Their vegetarian fish sauce is also my favorite! We also ordered the Beef dish for my hubby which is actually really good for being faux beef. It almost tastes like the real deal. Almost.

Service is alright. When they first opened, none of the waiters spoke a lick of English, but over the years, they have immensely approved. They also charge you $0.25 for WATER. Yes, you read that right! Now, in 99.9% of restaurants, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to charge water, but I think they use filter water. I'm not too sure about that, but I like to think that they climb a mountain each morning to retrieve the freshest water possible and haul that water back to Westminster, CA, because who charges for water?!!

Bo De Tinh Tam Chay is a serious gem. Delicious vegetarian, even for us meat eaters.

Bo De Tinh Tam Chay
15352 Beach Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683 | 714.891.4455

Umami Burger

We're home from block leave! We spent almost 2 weeks in Cali and it was an absolutely delicious trip. I have a lot of photos to upload via my iPhone, but today I have a review for the popular Umami Burger in Costa Mesa.

The Umami Burger in Costa Mesa in located in The Camp, replacing where Valhalla Table use to be. Our server was really nice and since it was our first time, he kinda explained to us what Umami is about and his favorites. I had their Umami burger (at $10) cooked medium well and it was a little disappointing. My husband had their Manly burger (at $12) cooked medium rare and he really enjoyed his. My friend order the Truffle burger and at the end of lunch, everyone boasted about their burgers. My husband said he can eat at Umami Burger every day! Although I wasn't too excited for my burger, their sweet potato fries and dips (my fave garlic aioli) were delicious!!

I feel like I must of missed something because I didn't feel like it was all that amazing! If you're in Costa Mesa or even LA, definitely still give it a chance. Maybe you'll have better luck than me.


Umami Burger
2981 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 | 714.957.8626
Website

Facing East in Bellevue, WA

I have been craving Chinese food that is not from panda express or a buffet and was so excited when a friend recommended Facing East. We came on Friday night and was sad to find out dinner hour didn't start til 5pm and we got there a little before 4pm! It was definitely worth the wait though.
We ordered the pork burger, oh-a-jian, beef noodle soup with thick noodles, this spicy beef dish my husband ordered and I got a milk tea with boba.
Pork burger was DELICIOUS! The oh-a-jian was really good too! Definitely brought me back to when I would visit my cousins in Taiwan. Beef noodle soup was... a little disappointing. I definitely have had better in SoCal! I didn't really eat the dish my husband ordered and it wasn't even that good. My milk tea with boba was good, but not cold enough. At least the boba was cooked correctly.
Overall, it was still a great meal and I wish it wasn't so far, but it's definitely worth the drive! I also saw on their specials menu that they had Yóu fàn which I want to try if it's still available!

Facing East
1075 Bellevue Way NE
Ste B-2
(between 12th St & 11th St)
Bellevue, WA 98004 | 425. 688.2986

Out & About Burgers

I'm a Southern California native and when I read on Yelp that this burger joint tastes like In & Out, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to try it. It's not a restaurant or a food truck, it's actually a trailer in front of a U-Haul storage facility, but don't let it fool you, it's definitely worth a try. I had their cheeseburger (topped with lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, pickles and their special sauce) and a order of sweet potato fries. The burger was pretty good, patty was a little thin which I didn't mind much. The sweet potato fries were delicious, but a little more burnt-like than I wanted. The fries also came with a side of they fry dip which was good, but I like In & Out's sauce much better. I read their milkshakes are pretty good, but I didn't try it since eating the burger and fries alone wasn't helping my high blood pressure. Also, I don't think they have a soda fountain... someone on Yelp actually commented saying the coke was good. The guy just popped open a can... I heard him pop open a can, so coke was whatever. Cups are a little flimsy.
Overall, if you're in the Tacoma/Spanaway/Puyallup area and instead of heading to McD's or other fast food chain, come check out Out & About! Note: It's a tad pricey for a small burger joint. They do not do combos either.

Out & About Burger
14214 Meridian Ave E
Puyallup, WA 98373 | 253.677.1974

Jubilee Cupcakes

We're pretty much settled in and slowly getting back into the groove of things. A few homecooked meals here and there, but nothing too exciting to post about. Earlier this week, I popped into Jubilee Cupcakes on South Hill and was surprised how delicious their cupcakes are! The store itself is cute with beautiful chandlier's hanging and the girl behind the counter was amazingly nice! I purchased their Red Velvet, German Chocolate, Elvis and Macon Bacon. Their Red Velvet was THE BEST I've ever had! The cake was moist and frosting wasn't overwhelming sweet. Elvis was also amazing and I want one right now. It's banana cupcake with a chocolate filling and topped with peanut butter frosting with a chocolate swirl. The king himself would be proud. I didn't try the German Chocolate, but the Macon Bacon was quiet interesting... I'm not a fan, but the bacon itself was pretty good. Jubilee Cupcakes 13333 Meridian Avenue East Puyallup, WA 98373 | 253.466.3101 Website

Hello Cupcake

We're living out of a hotel. Still. It's been almost 3 weeks! The last time I cooked was almost 2 months ago and the last time I baked was on Thanksgiving Day, so bare with me while I post old recipes and reviews. The thing is... We bought a house. I feel like a grown up! Anyways, usually it takes about 90 days for a house to close, but the people have rushed it for us and we're really hoping to move in before Christmas. Now, that would take a miracle! If we aren't able to move in by the holiday, we should be in before the new year so there's still a silver of hope. Even if we were to move in, no real cooking will be done since we still need to purchase a refrigerator and would need to call transportation to bring our goods! Anyways, DH is on leave for 10 days and every day we drive to look at our house and then just explore the area. Today, we went out to Tacoma and checked out Hello, Cupcake before heading out to Puyallup to turn in some paperwork. The shop is so adorable! The decor is simple and cute. They have a small selection of cupcakes to choose from, which makes the decision making a lot easier. I went with a Carrot cupcake and a Mocha cupcake which DH has yet to eat! The carrot cupcake was really good! A little too much frosting imo, but the cake itself was moist and every flavorful. Hello, Cupcake 1740 Pacific Ave Tacoma, WA 98402