Author: Joules

My Thoughts on Citrus Lane

So Tuesday evening Citrus Lane posted on their Facebook page that they were going to be offering a Groupon deal for new subscribers to enjoy three months of their surprise boxes for just $35 (usual price $75).

Being a marketing kinda girl, I thought this was a great idea for them to get the word out to people who are on the fence about trying out their subscription. However, when I clicked on the update to check out the 60ish comments posted by their followers, I saw a bunch of complaints.

Basically, their followers were using the forum to complain about the boxes and also complain that current subscribers weren’t getting a special deal.* Which is totally FINE that they wanted to voice their complaints, I’m just not sure if this was the appropriate place to do so. Each month the company sends out a customer survey to get feedback on the boxes. THAT is the appropriate place for people to comment. Also, Citrus Lane seems to respond quickly to both emails and tweets. This is MY personal experience in dealing with a billing issue that was fixed within 24 hours.

On the status post, in addition to the complaints were worried comments from people who were now not sure whether they should try out the subscription at all (based on the bad comments). So I wanted to speak for a moment about MY experience with Citrus Lane for anyone out there thinking about taking advantage of the Groupon offer.

I have been a subscriber of Citrus Lane since March 2012, when my son was one month old. While I feel that the subscription service is totally worth it, obviously others do not feel quite as happy about the company.

My suggestion to you is to make up your own mind.

I think a lot of it has to do with people’s expectations when they sign up for the subscription. If your goal is to get a monthly treat and be surprised with fun products that you most likely wouldn’t have purchased for yourself, you will probably love Citrus Lane. If you’re going to compare your boxes to others that people received for different age ranges or be angry about a particular product that you might not necessarily care for, you might want to skip the deal.

Feel free to check out my previous box reviews to see if the Citrus Lane subscription boxes sound like something you would like:

I did not post a review of the April box because I wasn’t really thrilled with it… until I actually started using the products and decided that I really liked them. I also did not post a review of the September box – not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I was super busy and didn’t have time to post.

I have been wanting to post my review of the October box, because I really loved its contents – however both my son and I have been sick so I haven’t been able to do a fun photo shoot with the products. I do hope that we are both feeling better soon so I can post that review. And well, it would be nice to NOT feel like I’ve been run over by a snot truck…

Anyways, back to my point. If you are interested in paying the small commitment of $35 to try out three months of surprise gifts, go for it. You can always cancel once the time is up! Click here to access the Groupon offer (good for 10/24/12).

Here’s my typical disclosure: I was not rewarded by Citrus Lane for reviewing their boxes on my blog. I review the boxes, because I feel like other mom’s would be interested in seeing what they’ll get if they sign up for the monthly service. However, if you missed out on the Groupon offer and would like to try out the subscription — by using my special link I will receive credits on my account. You can also benefit by using the code SPRINGFUN which will take 10% off the cost of your subscription.

If you do decide to try out Citrus Lane for the very first time, stop back by my blog and let me know what you think!

*Even though the post states that they will be releasing a special deal for current subscribers soon.

Like what you see? Share me with your friends!

Ugly Green Bathroom Update: Less Ugly AND Less Green!

On the last episode of “My Ugly Green Bathroom” we left off knowing that my dad was coming over to help me kick some bathroom butt. And kick butt we did – we accomplished even more than I hoped for!

Here’s what we got done:

  • Finish removing the metal track that remains from shower doors. DONE
  • Remove the old shower curtain rod. DONE
  • Remove the green toilet and replace it with our new one. DONE
  • Remove the green sink and replace it with our-new one. DONE
  • Replace the current shower head with a handheld version. DONE
  • Remove the medicine cabinet/light and install a new fixture. DONE
  • Install new trim to fit around new vanity. DONE
  • Remove all remaining wallpaper  and spackle. DONE

It took a full day of work (once we add in the trip to Home Depot and the required yummy lunch to thank my dad for his help) but we got ‘er done and I’m so thrilled with the progress.

Oh, if you want to get a full idea of where this bathroom started out, check out my first post on the original Ugly Green Bathroom complete with plaid wallpaper!

Here are some in-progress shots from this weekend:

My handsome husband, starting to remove the glass door rail from the tub.
Oopsie, once we finally scraped off all the caulk holding the rail down to the tub we found out it was actually a WHITE tub painted green. Since we can’t scrape ALL the paint off, I’ll be repainting this ledge with a (hopefully) matching dark green Rustolium paint.
This is me — scraping off the two layers of 80’s wallpaper still stuck to the wall behind the old toilet. I don’t know why it looks like I’m displaying my engagement ring/wedding band. I’m just fancy like that.
This is my dad’s arm — after the sink and toilet have been ripped out and all the walllpaper was removed.
Oh look, more wallpaper! This is where the medicine cabinet/light used to be on the wall.
Here’s how the bathroom looked when we went for our late lunch/dinner break. Pretty, right?

Okay, now are you ready for some “after” shots? Well, not really AFTER since we’re not done yet. More like a little further of the in-progress shots:

Here’s how the tub looks with the shower door down (and filled with trash and baby bath stuff, because that’s how we roll).
Here’s the new vanity and toilet. SUCH an improvement, right?!

There is obviously still work to be done to finish the job, but it’s all quite manageable. My biggest challenge will be finding the time to paint the room, since someone else will need to watch Jack for the day. I’m also thinking of painting both the bathroom and master bedroom at the same time so I can just get messy and do it all at once. I may wait until Thanksgiving week since I took off work but will still put Jack in daycare for at least one of those days.

My updated task list of what’s left:

  • Spray paint shower curtain rod, toilet paper holder and towel rack (oil rubbed bronze, of course) and re-install.
  • Paint edge of tub with ugly dark green color (*groan*).
  • Remove and replace broken hooks on the back of the door.
  • Hunt down a larger mirror and hang it over the sink.
  • Sand down walls.
  • Paint trim and inside of door – glossy white.
  • Paint ceiling – eggshell white.
  • Paint walls – probably something from the light smoky blue color family.
  • Buy and put up new artwork.
  • Put up new shower curtain.
  • Purchase any additional décor needed to finish the room (or steal from rest of house/stash) – bath rug, trashcan, shower dispenser, hand soap, etc.

I’m still hoping to have the entire project completed by Thanksgiving and will post one more update once it’s all pretty. I’ll also provide a full cost breakdown for the whole project (shhhh don’t tell my husband…).

There you go: what I did this weekend. Did you do anything fun like rip a stinky toilet out of your house? Or did you do what I really wanted to do on my anniversary weekend — curl up with your honey, a movie and a yummy bottle of wine?

Like what you see? Share me with your friends!

Fun Fall Swap – My Gift is HERE!

So yesterday was pretty much an all-around fantastic day!

Proof of its fantastic-ness:

  • I had a dentist appointment where the hygienist not only told me that I have NO cavities, but she also complimented me on losing the baby weight and looking great. Um, thank you!
  • I had awesome shopping karma and got a ton of errands done in one evening: 2 thrift stores, Homegoods, Marshalls, Joann Etc and the Columbia Mall. Two of my most impressive scores: a nearly new (possibly fully-new) queen-sized quilt and shams set for $14.90 and a gorgeous tufted fabric ottoman on clearance for $50 because it’s missing a foot.
  • I came home from my shopping extravaganza to find TWO packages of fun for me, me, ALL ME! My Fun Fall Swap gift and the October Citrus Lane box (which will be covered in a separate post, hopefully on Sunday).

Check this out; wouldn’t YOU be excited to receive a box marked FRAGILE?

I carefully opened the box. Oh, who am I kidding? I ripped that thing open like a PMSing Joules who just spotted some unattended Halloween candy.  Here’s what I found:

Do you see that owl? I LOVE him – he is so adorable and I’m currently thinking of what to name him and where he should live in my house. He is the epitome of Fall Fierceness! But that’s not all… inside the owl (ew, that sounds gross but it totally wasn’t because he’s made of felt) was this:

That’s right; it’s a jar of soup starter for Homemade Cream of Pumpkin soup! I’ve never had Cream of Pumpkin soup, but I’m in love with all things Fall… which includes a yummy bowl of soup enjoyed with a hunk of bread, so I’m excited to try this! And if I love it (which I think I probably will), there is enough for a few batches so I can enjoy it for the whole season.

All Fun Fall Swap bloggers are supposed to guess who gave us our gifts, but since I was the person who randomly assigned swappers I already know my secret gifter. If you want to play, you can try and guess who from this list!

As soon as everyone receives their gifts and posts about them, I will be writing a reveal post of who had who and links to everyone’s blogs so you can check them out for your own gifting inspiration!

How about you – how are you decorating for Fall? Have you had Cream of Pumpkin Soup and is it the most delicious thing ever?

Like what you see? Share me with your friends!