Tag: Review

Twice IS pretty nice

First off, I want to STRESS that this is not a paid promotion or advertisement in any way. I know that I make it pretty darn clear when I am compensated in some way for doing a review or giveaway (and only give good reviews to products that I actually really like), but I get a little gushy in this post. Okay, I get a lot gushy… but it’s just because I’m super excited about this website and I think you, my awesome readers, might like it too. In fact, the company doesn’t even know that I tried their service and decided to blog about it.

Ok…let’s move on to the awesomeness.

In the past I’ve shared my seasonal switchover process of packing up all my off-season clothes to make way for the next season. I do this partially because I don’t have a lot of closet space, partially because I like the space I have to be super organized so I can actually find what I’m looking for, and partially because it makes me furious to pull out something to wear that doesn’t fit.

Wow, that’s a lot of partially.

Anywho, at the end of every summer I pack away my summery dresses and skirts and bring out my heavier sweaters and tights. I usually end up with one bag of clothes that due to various reasons ends up being donated to the thrift store so someone else can pop some tags.

In the past, I had thought about consigning some of my nicer items. However, I never really felt like dealing with the hassle of taking clothes to a consignment shop and waiting to be paid a percentage of their sale. I was creeping on My Year of Fabulous one day and a reader suggested that Holly try out Twice clothing, an online consignment store.

When I clicked around the Twice site, I saw that they would send you a FREE bag so that you can send in your brand-name clothes to be consigned. Once they receive your clothes, they check them out and make you an offer. You can accept the offer, or decline and pay $5 to have your clothes returned. The reason I liked this more than your typical consignment store is that you don’t have to wait to find out if someone buys your item to get paid; they pay you and then deal with selling your clothes.

I decided to try it out for myself and when I switched from winter to spring I came up with 7 items to consign. There was nothing really wrong with the clothes; I had just bought some larger sizes to wear when I was in the early phases of my pregnancy. Everything was in great shape and the brands were all on Twice’s approved brand list. So I gathered them up, stuck them in the bag that Twice sent me (for FREE!) and dropped them off at the post office.

Within a couple weeks, I received an email offer of $25.00 for my clothes and chose to be paid in store credit since it gave me a little extra money. I then started stalking the site on a daily basis to decide how to spend my “found” money… and came across this shirt and dress:

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I placed my order and within a couple days the clothes were delivered to my house. While I LOVED the dress and wore it one night at BlogHer, the shirt wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. So I printed out a free return form, repackaged it and stuck it back in the mail. For FREE!

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Here’s my Ann Taylor dress from Twice… I LOVED it, especially for only $24.95!

It was incredibly easy and I was really impressed at how quickly my money was refunded to my account. I’m definitely going to start including Twice when I sort through my clothes that I want to get rid of at the end of the season. While $25 doesn’t sound like a lot of money, it is nice to “find” some fun money to spend on myself. Also, I’m still donating a small bag of clothes to the thrift store… so everyone wins (and yes, I write off the donation on my taxes).

With the Fall coming so quickly, I think this is a great chance for you to try them out too. Right now they’re running a referral bonus where you can get $10 off your first purchase (for new sign ups that use my special link) AND if you decide to sell your clothes you can get an additional bonus payout of $10 in store credit. Here is my special code: liketwice.com/Ddm2y

Disclosure: I was not rewarded by Twice for reviewing their company on my blog. I reviewed their service because I feel like you guys might benefit from having an easy consignment option for getting rid of your old clothes. Or buying other people’s consigned clothes.  If you decided that you want to click through on my special link, I will receive credits on my account (click here to access my special link) and you will receive money off of your order!

So what do you think, is this a company that you would use? Is there a website that you found that you’re totally in love with and gush about to all of your friends? If so, please share it in the comments!

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Reviewing Citrus Lane: The April 2013 Box

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!

IMG_1935This 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.

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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 OogaaIMG_1925
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.

However, if you decide that you would like to sign up for your own subscription and use my link, I will receive credits on my account. Click here to access the Citrus Lane website with my special link and you will receive $10 off your order!

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