I just wasn’t quite sure what to do with the crumbs after we were done using the mat that we received in our April Citrus Lane box. Luckily, Sam, the founder of Oogaa set me straight. That’s right, she somehow came across my little ol’ blog and reached out. Such a sweetheart!
I wasn’t required to write a blog post about it or anything, but we finally had a chance to test it out yesterday and OF COURSE I had to take some pictures.
Check out my saucy little minx…
Really mom, you’re going to try to feed me when I’ve been doing it myself for months?!See, I’ve got this!Oh, you want me to try the plane spoon? Okay…SUCCESS!
My favorite part of the set is that the bowl is a softer silicone. So when Jack decides he’s had enough and throws it on the floor it doesn’t scare the bejesus out of me. Because, frankly nobody wants to be missing their bejesus!
Disclosure: In case you skipped over the first part of this post, I received this set for free but wasn’t required to write about it. All thoughts are my own.
I try not to indulge too often, but I can’t resist a loaded up hotdog, warm Krispy Kreme donut or Old Bay coated French fries.
I have not been shy in sharing that I have a special place in my heart for marshmallows – whether they be stale peeps, the gourmet version or just a plain oversized one that I can shove on a stick and roast in my fireplace.
Well, I decided to do some self-improvement and branch out a little bit… with cookie butter.
Apparently cookie butter is where it’s at. I’ve heard about it for months and it’s gotten to be such an “it” item that there were rumors that Trader Joe’s was only offering a small amount for sale each day. On pinterest there are a ton of recipes that use this elusive buttery beast and there are even Facebook fan pages dedicated to its awesomeness.
So as you can imagine, when I was recently cruising the aisles of Trader Joe’s and saw a big display of their Speculoos Crunchy Cookie Butter I grabbed a jar to try for myself. I wasn’t really sure HOW to eat it though, so I asked for suggestions on my Facebook page. According to my followers, the best ways to eat cookie butter are…
On your finger
On a spoon
On everything
With chocolate
On toast or pancakes
On ice cream
On graham crackers or cookies
On a marshmallow (of course!)
With your suggestions in mind, I took one for the team and tested the cookie butter. Yes, it was hard work, but I survived. The Trader Joe’s cookie butter has the texture of slightly crunchy peanut butter. It has a sweet taste which makes it work well with dessert recipes. Although I didn’t have a chance to try it, I think it would probably also be really good on top of freshly baked brownies!
My tasting range goes from 1 (just okay) to 5 (back up from my cookie butter or I’ll cut you!):
Although the cookie butter wasn’t terrible on things like marshmallows, cookies and crackers… it was just so much better on a spoon. Whether it be alone or with a dollop of Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Butter (like Nutella , but with almonds instead of hazelnuts).
Truth time: the container of cookie butter lasted in my house for exactly 5 days. I didn’t share with anyone and I ate that whole darn thing by myself. I also may have a second jar hiding in my pantry (so my husband can’t find it) for emergencies.
Around day 2 of testing, I thought long and hard about whether it would be inappropriate for me to hide the jar in my purse for an afternoon treat. The evening of day 3 I noticed that my jar was in the front of the pantry and not where I had left it (hiding behind the peanut butter) and threatened my husband that if he wanted to keep his wife he would not eat any of MY cookie butter.
I think I have a cookie butter problem.
Have you tried cookie butter? Do you randomly threaten your family members to stay away from MOMMY’S SPECIAL SNACK if they want to keep their dingle dangles in working condition!?
Disclaimer: Trader Joe’s did not provide me with the cookie butter or ask me to review it. However, I would not be against having them send me some cookie butter with maybe another jar of their cocoa almond butter… for testing purposes, of course.
Yay, its Citrus Lane box review time… bring on the party!
I was writing these reviews every single month before reducing down to a bi-monthly schedule. So, if you’re super curious to check out my previous box reviews, go ahead and give a little clickity click to this link to check them all out.
I still feel like I’m posting these pretty often though, so maybe I’ll reduce it further to once a quarter and do a death match between all the items to determine the ones that we love the most? Let me know your thoughts on that, mmmmkay?
Oh and if you’re a complainer or happen to have to listen to a bunch of complainers, check out my last review which included my rant on FunBurglars.
At this point Jack is 14 months old and we’ve been getting these boxes for over a year. I was afraid that by now we’d receive a bunch of duplicate items and be totally sick of the Citrus Lane subscription, but that has not happened at all. In fact, out of the 13 boxes we’ve received, we’ve only gotten one item twice. Since it was the Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water and we LOVE that stuff I am definitely not complaining!
This month’s box was pretty much perfect for his age, so let’s talk about what we got:
Slide & Seek Toy from Melissa and Doug
First off, I really like Melissa and Doug toys in general and we only have a couple of their puzzles. This cute little Slide & Seek toy is the perfect size to throw in the diaper bag and Jack actually seemed to really like it.
Diaper bag essentials: snack container + baggie with a pack of apple sauce, a bib and the placemat.
Packin’SMART Stack –N-Seel 2 Tier from Innobaby
The brochure that came with this month’s box says it best, “Diaper bags have the amazing ability to swallow things whole, making it difficult to find what you need when you need it.” PREACH! I swear I’m tearing through my diaper bag once a week trying to figure out why I have 4 pairs of pants, 3 sippy cups, 2 baggies of crushed cheerios and a partridge in a pear tree all up in there. I try so hard to keep my stuff organized in baggies (one for diapering needs, one for feeding needs), but I’m ready to work this stacking thing into the mix. I’ve already filled one side with teddy grahams and one side with cheerios and it’s working fabulously at keeping my diaper bag a little less crumbly.
Non-Slip Placemat from Oogaa I want to love this, I really do. In theory it’s pretty much awesome – you take this snazzy silicone placemat and put it on the table when you’re dining out. In reality, once we’re done and I’m left with a messy mat I’m not really sure what to do with it. Do I fold the crumbs up inside it and take them home with me? Or, should I try to somehow empty the crumbs into the trash can and wipe the mat off with one of my bleach wipes? Maybe I just need to play with it a little more… About 8 hours after this blog post went live I got an email from the FOUNDER of Oogaa (her name is Sam and I’m super impressed that she reached out to me) and she explained that the easiest way to deal with the mess is by taking a damp napkin to wipe down the mat when you’re out and then you can give it a full washing at home. You can also throw the mats directly into the dishwasher, which is pretty darn awesome. So thanks to Sam for setting me straight and now we need to go out to dinner again so we can try this placemat out properly!
Shampoo & Body Wash from The Honest Company
The fact that this is a full-sized product in really cute packaging is totally right up my alley. Add to that a shampoo/body soap that is organic with essential oils and an insanely delicious smell of orangey vanilla and I’m huffing the bottle of soap like a junkie. Let’s just say, Mommy Likes. And she might not be sharing this with the boys in her life.
My typical disclaimer: I was not rewarded by Citrus Lane for reviewing their box 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.
