Review catch-up: Part One

Oky doke. I know I've posted before that I'm not great at this blog thing. You've been warned.

Getting to it! I have been collecting photos of products that I have used to review, so it has been in the back of my mind. No I'm not being paid to do this, it's just kind of fun.

So, first up (they will all be Fragrant Jewels products)... WAIT, ANNOUNCEMENT!! Sugar scrubs are back on their website AND they have their own section! So, happy dance :). It only took six months.

To continue, first up: FJ candle fragrance White Cotton. At the time of this writing it is still available. They describe it as follows:

"Smells like: Freshly Washed Laundry. Wrap yourself in your favorite, freshly dried throw and light our new White Cotton Candle. Each inhale smells of spring flowers in bloom and freshly washed laundry hanging dry. With fresh citrus and light musk notes adding a grounding earthiness, you will be at peace and renewed for days to come!"

And I kind of agree. It is one of my absolute favorites so far. A nice, clean smell that isn't over powering at all. And the ring that came with it was pretty cute.

Next up: FJ candle fragrance Scandalous. At the time of this writing it is still available. They describe it as follows:

"Fragrance Notes:Top: Fruity, Bergamot, MandarinMiddle: Rose, Jasmine, Lily of the ValleyBottom: Amber Musk, Patchouli, Cedarwood"

Now I don't know particular smells outside of a few, so I can't say if I agree of not. I don't recall smelling patchouli, but it might be there :p. I do know it wasn't one of my faves, but it did smell about as I expected based on how it looked, so there's that. It wasn't my least favorite either. Just, eh I guess. Kinda strong, but not overwhelming. Good at covering up unpleasant smells, but I wouldn't leave it burning for hours either. The ring that came out of it though, was pretty awesome. The jar has a 'frosted' silver sparkly lips design. I put frosted in quotes because it's more textured than any frosting on glass I've experienced, but I don't know what else to call it.

Next up: FJ candle fragrance Ocean Mist & Sea Salt. At the time of this writing it is still available. They describe it as follows:

"Reminiscent of our California roots, each inhale will surround you in lush greenery and dewey moss before melting into a quintessential California Spring bed of orange blossom, rose, and water lily. The pairing is met with teak and sandalwood that will have you floating through a California daydream."

Now this one has a semi-strong smell for sure. It's actually one my husband bought (he stole my Unicorn Tears and went stopping to replace it) and it is actually a 'masculine' scent in my opinion.

Next up: FJ candle fragrance Starry Night. At the time of this writing it is not available as a candle. However, it IS available as a sugar scrub! You bet your ass I got it. I digress. The smell is pleasant and I assume the sugar scrub is scented the same way, so here's the scrub's scent description:

"Fragrance Notes
Top: Pink Grapefruit, Orange, Black CurrantMiddle: Pineapple, Peach, PrimroseBottom: Sandalwood, Teakwood"

I want to like the smell more than I really do, if that makes any sense. I adjust to it really quickly, but if I step away and come back and kind of blasts back in my face for a second. I like it, just strong is all. Anyway! It's also a pretty dark blue color and when you light it the wax turns kind of black. And the ring is gorgeous! The photo does not do it justice. The only ring I like better so far is my Unicorn Tears one.

Well, that's all for today folks. Next time I may have the Crystal Quartz ready to go, or maybe one of the new sugar scrubs. Who knows? I'm still using the Amethyst scrub I raved about last time, though it's almost done.

'So EXCITING!' Or 'When you find the silver lining'

Maybe it makes me cold? I'm so very excited to be making this post, but I don't think I'd be making it if my Great-Grandmother Jesse hadn't passed away.

Let me be clear, I miss her. I'd much rather she be alive and well than not, but none of us live forever and she's truly better now that she's passed. In her wake she's left a full life and many family members. During said full life she accumulated family photos and mementos that I'm not even sure most of the family is aware of. I certainly wasn't until I found a stash when I was a kid.

Maybe now's a good time to mention that I'm a family history enthusiast.
It was a huge discovery for me when I was a kid 20 years ago.
It's huge now that I've been given the opportunity to archive her collection.

Sadly while she was alive I was too timid to ask her questions about the photos and her family. I tried a few times, but I wasn't as aggressive as I should have been I guess. She wasn't cagey about it, she just waited for me to ask questions when I would bring it up, but I didn't know what questions to ask and I didn't want her to think I was only interested in the past and not the present. Now, as it is, I'll probably only ever be able to identify half the people in the photographs I've been able to get my hands on, if that.

Anyway! The fun, exciting part! I've got photos to share! Look, that University degree did get used. :p The first two I'm sharing are still works in progress. I have A LOT of items to work through, but I just liked these so much that I needed to share them sooner rather than later. I'll be posting my progress when I think to, but in this post I'll share two versions of each. The first version is 'as is' with the only alterations being removing glaring marks of damage. The second image is B&W and adjusted to a certain stopping point. They aren't necessarily 'correct' as I like a bit more contrast them some. I'll post 'correct' later. For now I'm just sharing something fun. Enjoy!

 The above image is of three boys: Estel James Lawson (1904-1974), Earvin Leo Lawson (1913-2001), and William Otho Lawson (1908-1979). It's printed as a post card, about 2"x3". Looks like a contact print, taped to the paper. I did a lot of dodge-&-burn on this one. I love the chicken in the back.

The above image is of my 2nd Great-Grandfather Jesse Adam Lawson (1891-1964), his brothers: Earvin Leo (the littlest boy from above), Roland Lawson (1915-1991), Estel (from above), William Otho (boy with the sling from above), and my 3rd Great-Grandfather Adam Granville Lawson (1870-1951). The black and white is 'incorrect', as I have the contrast set higher. I like it that way. I'll post the correct one later. Maybe. Also it needs more restoration work.

Review: Fragrant Jewels Candle (Holiday Special)

It's March (almost April) and I'm writing a review on a Christmas candle. Yeah, that sounds about right. I wouldn't have written a review at all, but I saw a really negative review on their candles on YouTube and I felt compelled.

First, this candle is awesome because it has a wood wick! For real! The idea is to make the crackly-wood-fire romance without the fireplace. It is not a crackly fire, but it's cute.
Now, as I mentioned in my previous entry I don't like strong smells, so if I had lit this baby as soon as I got it it might have been an unpleasant experience. As it happened I set it out for a little while to just let the ambient good smell roam around. After a little bit I started burning it in my kitchen when I was in the main part of the house and eventually it made it's way to my office where it is currently.
The fragrance is called Snow, described as pine and spiced wood and it's really nice. I hope they bring it back so I can buy it again. I do hope they change the type of ring that comes with it though. It's supposed to be "moonstone" (CZ version), but I don't really feel like it was successful. Still pretty, but I was a little disappointed.
Yes, the candle comes with a ring. It's their whole gimmick. And I was actually patient about it this time! Well, I was for awhile. I did try to "cheat", I'll admit, but it's actually really hard to cheat this and I advise against it.
To address the negative feedback that I heard in the video: I do not have a smoking problem, at all, what-so-ever. I really do think that that woman doesn't know how to maintain her candles. In her video she's in the tub with candles lit and she's got burn marks up the walls and one of the glass containers was broken, so, consider the source. I actually haven't needed to trim the wick in this case at all. I'm really digging the wood wick, I think it works well. I would light it and take a picture, but I'm using some aromatherapy to help me and the wee one with our allergies, so I don't think adding another fragrance right now would be a good idea. Maybe I'll edit one in later.

Candle is 4.25" high and 3.75" across at the top. Perspective makes it look a lot bigger than it is.

Review: Fragrant Jewels Sugar scrub

All righty! As the title suggests, this is a review. Fragrant Jewels is a company located in California, according to their "About Us" section, that makes things like scented candles, aromatherapy waxes (tarts), bath bombs, and now sugar scrubs, and donates part of their proceeds to various causes such as Toys for Tots and The Ocean Foundation. I got their Earth Day bomb last year, but I don't remember the organization they raised money for. Also, each of their products comes with a shiny ring. That's their thing, besides being a pampering product.
Here I will be focusing on their sugar scrubs. At the time of this writing, scrubs aren't one of their main products. To find them go to the "Collections/Birthstone" section. Edit: At the time of this writing (Feb 2018) I can't find them, which is a damn shame. Maybe if enough people email them, they'll bring them back. It makes sense since each of the items they offer seems to be limited time as it is. Excellent business model really, if there's always something new people will keep coming back to check it out, right? Only draw back is when you find something you really like, like sugar scrubs, and when you go to tell people about them, they're gone. So, with that in mind.

I did buy a couple of sugar scrubs from their birth stone collection. It was new and I wanted to try it out since I had already tried out a bath bomb and liked it. Last night I finally got to break one out, the amethyst scrub. I'll admit, I am impatient and went ahead and dug out the ring. I cheated, so sue me. Picture included at the end. Now, there are a couple of important things to know here:
- I am not girly. The fact that I even bought this would rock most folks' perception of me to the core.
- - I have been gifted such items, but never end up using them, or if I do go to use them the overwhelming smell turns me off.
- - I've only ever really liked maybe two perfumes. One was Clinque Happy, if that tells you anything.
- I have two little kids. One is 2.5, the other is 11 months. If you're wondering why this matters I think you may not have kids or you have a phenomenal support system. Or maybe I just suck at momming while maintaining my humanity. I don't know.
Kids that small means I don't get to bathe all that often, much less indulge. Most showers are once-a-week speed competition events. Outside of that sometimes I have to do what maintenance I can with wet wipes. This is the nitty-gritty stuff they don't tell you folks. Thankfully that doesn't happen all that often.
Last night though, magic happened. I told my spouse I needed a shower and he took over both kiddos long enough for me to do so! A real shower! Now, you can't use a bomb in a shower very well, can you? This is why the scrub.
A scrub can be indulgent, but quick. No bath tub to fill, no time to wait for the bomb to disintegrate, no need to have time to soak to actually enjoy it. A scrub takes as much time as your soaped up shower puff. But it leaves you feeling silky, girly, and smelling good.
And feeling good about yourself is *SO* important, especially for new moms and moms with young kids. There are about 151,351,685,413,210 (give or take) ways to feel crappy in our society, so something that is quick and leaves you feeling a little better about yourself is amazing.
Anyway. The smell is nice, not overpowering, and I still gently smell good this morning. The scrub is also moisturizing, like their bombs. Since this was at the end of my shower I did kind of rush it, I'm not used to being able to do more than the bare minimum, and only used it on the really rough and dry parts of me (I also hate lotion, so I have a dry skin issue) and it really made a difference! I will not be posting before and after photos. You don't want to be scared like that, trust me. Suffice it to say that I must be part dragon. But I'm  a little less scaly now :)

In sum, this 'tom-boy', lotion-hating, 'I don't like smelly stuff', frazzled mom gives the sugar scrub two thumbs up. And I REALLY hope they bring it back. It makes me sad to think my mom friends can't buy it now, and no, I'm not sharing. Maybe that gets me bad karma, but I'll risk it. That's how much I like this particular girly product.

The prize: A shiny ring. This one is amethyst themed to match the birth stone collection it comes from. It's CZ and crystal and the ring is either silver or silver plated, I can't remember which, no turning. This ring is valued at $25 according to the code it came with. Each ring you get with each product comes with a code that you enter on the website. The code tells you the value of the ring you received (most of mine have been $10, but I do have a couple of $25 ones now), gives you reward points you can redeem more for shinies if you wish, and gives you a chance to win an additional ring valued at $100, $1000, or $10000.

So, I'm trying some new things

To catch up real quick, in the past four years I've had two kids. Really that's all I can remember. Because of previously mentioned kids. I'm sure some things have happened, but they all truly fade to the background.

Currently I've got a couple of things going on as I try to find meaningful ways to contribute to the world around me. Since I have two young kids and a full time job I find I don't have much time for anything and I don't have much energy either, physical or mental, so I focus on smaller scale things I can do.
Like writing a reminder for people to register to vote on my car's rear window. Seriously, vote.

I've also been trying to contribute to an online "village" I found by 'accident' aka via serendipity. These folks are awesome and you can find the results of this village effort on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/themominars/) and on the web (https://www.themominars.com/). I've been trying my hand at writing, interviewing people, and reviewing things. It's been pretty awesome and there are so many great contributors to the project. So far I've written one piece on my experience with trying to find the unicorn known as "self care" and I've done one book review (An Eye For An Eye) and an interview with the author Caroline Fardig. I'm currently prepping for my next review and interview for The Mominars and hopefully I'll have that done soon. I'm also reviewing things outside the Mominars platform to get in some more practice on Amazon and on NetGalley. Practice makes perfect, right?

So maybe that's where I should leave this: my experience with reviewing. How I approach book reviews. I approach book reviews cautiously, like an animal in the wild. I don't want to write a book report. Boring. I don't want to write a synopsis, that's already there on the book's digital listing or back jacket. A review is about your opinion and experience as the reader. I also don't want to give away any plot points. So, what to do? I've read a few guides and this is what I've managed to adopt so far:
-title and author. There are a lot of books out there with the same title. Just look up "fire and fury" and you'll get a couple of very different results. Authors are important.
-Could you relate to the character (if told in the first person)? I read for escapism, so if I'm fighting with being able to understand the actions and motivations of the person from whose point of view the story is being told, well then it's not a very good escape.
- What about a story/writing is important to you? Turns out I care about writing devices and scene transitions and dialogue organization. I'm probably not the only one. What you care about is probably not a unique concern of yours either, so write about it. I recently read a short read purely to have something to do while the baby was going to sleep and I was trapped and if I had seen a review that talked about all the peeves of mine that this set off I would have saved myself the trouble. And vice versa, you could really help an author out by singing their praises.
OK, now I'm rambling even to myself.
Next up, a bath bomb company review. Because why not?