Hello, Summer.

'Ello! Our weather elevator is currently docked in hell, which means that summer is definitely on the horizon. I'm praying that despite my extremely empty pockets and the screaming heat, I'll be able to get out and enjoy the season at some point. I have noticed that some of my tastes have shifted a lot for what I've been into compared to last summer. This year, I found myself much more inspired by colors rather than activities or outdoor stuff, so it was fun to explore all of that and get myself into those summertime vibes (I had initially said that last part seriously, but when I remembered that this was also the name for last year's summer inspiration post, it felt like fate to keep it so I could link you to it. LOL). 

Fashion: 90s fashion, cutoff shorts, old tees, low-top shoes, ruffles, rompers, floral print, overalls, bodysuits, jersey mesh, wrestling tees, fanny packs

I've really been digging the resurgence of '90s fashion as of late. I'm a '90s kid and personally, I never thought it went out of style lol, but it's been really cool to see the trends circling back around. It's funny, when you're younger you think you have your finger to the pulse with a trend thinking its new, but then get older and realize that it was just new to you. Every trend is recycled in some fashion. Now that I'm old enough to see a trend recycling, it's been cool to watch and be part of. The new thing for me this time around has been the old tees. I started seeing the old rock concert tees in stores a few months ago and I wasn't on board because most of the people I saw wearing those shirts didn't even like rock, so it felt a little fake to me. I love classic rock, but I've never owned any of the shirts and didn't want to start just because of a trend. So rather than the band tees, I've been into the '90s DARE/PSA-related shirts and retro wrestling tees.

God gave me a few extra pounds for my 30th birthday so while the plus here is the fact that 17 years of praying for boobs has finally been answered, the minus is that the rest is in my stomach, ruling crop tops out of the equation this year. lol Which is a damn shame, because I'm probably more into them now than I was when I could wear them. Enter rompers and playsuits, which would do a good job of hiding the extra weight while allowing me to still look seasonally appropriate. The last couple of years I preferred backpacks for my summer adventures and while I'm still into them, I also want something smaller and more portable to put my essentials in, so like any good '80s baby/'90s kid, I'm now on the hunt for a fanny pack. Don't judge me.



Hair: fun buns, ponytails, messy top knots, textured hair, ombre to pastel, loose waves, half ponytail buns

My natural hair is finally growing out but when I leave it in its regular state, it's still a small curly 'fro because of all the shrinkage. I'm still growing it out and trying to strengthen it so I don't bother with it too much. Re-enter my wigs, which are much easier for me to work with. Last year I was really into braids and buns, and this year I'm into ponytails and buns. I know current vernacular would have me call them space buns, but I'm a Black kid who grew up in the '90s. Those are always going to be Afro puffs to me, even if I like the name space buns. lol I don't want some crazy neon color in my hair though--I was into pink and orange ombre last year, and now I just want a relaxed pastel ombre, something a bit cooler in tone. Big, textured waves and bedhead are on the list this year as well; I've been enjoying the messy, effortless look.



Beauty: highlighted, glowing skin, bright lips, long and wispy lashes, bronzed body

My beauty regimen and preferences are pretty simple; I don't want to bother with a ton of makeup but I want my skin to look sun-kissed and have a bit of glow. A tinted moisturizer or BB cream is the heaviest coverage I want on my face right now. I've been into highlighter for a couple of years now but at a lesser level; I take a gold cream shadow and put it right above my cheekbones in a crescent moon shape to play up the golden undertones in my complexion. I tap it on so it doesn't have the look of a strip down the sides of my face, then take a fan brush with no product on it (or a little translucent powder if I want to dull it down a little) and blend out the sides so that the glow looks a little more natural. If I want a more intense glow, I'll layer a little bronzer or gold powder eyeshadow on top of the cream and blend that out as well. I'm definitely not into highlighting at the level of social media influencers, but I do enjoy the effect it has on the face.

I'm still into the false lashes, but long, wispy lashes that aren't so heavy on the eyelid. Metallic accents on the eyes in addition to said highlighter are also becoming go-tos of mine for summer. Finally, a bright, vivid lip to finish everything off would be all I need. I still love my matte lipsticks, but I've been into satin finish lipsticks as well. The extra moisture they provide on the lips is welcomed, especially at this time of year when it feels like my entire body is drying out. lol




Headspace/key words: wanderlust, waterslides, outdoors, aesthetics, adventure, exploration, vivid

I wanted to try something new with the Headspace portion of the See section and start using key words. When I think of certain things or seasons, certain words come to mind. When I'm struggling to figure out what my headspace is like for these posts, I just think of what words come to mind when I think of the season. This year, travelling isn't high on the list but exploring local places is. I'm developing a few business ideas for my local area but because I spent so long in the house dealing with my anxiety, there's been a lot of development that I've missed so in order to continue working on those ideas, I have to get out and be a tourist in my town. I don't mind that. It can sometimes trigger a reverse response when you immediately try to jump and do larger things, so starting small would probably make things much easier for me in the long run.

If I were to travel though, I'd want to go to the Blacklight Slide, which is going to Brooklyn next month. My Twinsie's supposed to be going to the Brooklyn event, which would have been awesome to go to. The closest the event is getting to me is Phoenix, but that's not until October. I've said this before but summer is the season that I feel like my senses really come alive, so visual inspiration has been big for me this year. I want to see and explore things this summer. Will I actually be able to? Honestly, who knows. But a girl can dream. lol

grilled meats, cold salads, crispy finger foods, parfait, frozen yogurt, sandwiches, cold sweet treats

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My preferences for summer foods hasn't changed much this year either; I'm still into grilled meats, berry fruits and cold salads, but there are still a couple of new additions. Whereas I wanted ice cream to get me through last summer, I think I'd prefer frozen yogurt this year instead. I'm also trying to curb some of my unhealthier choices, so this partially explains why I'm into frozen yogurt and fruit parfaits. I've really been wanting to picnic this year but I'm not trying to drag a bunch of food with me, so I've been looking for sandwich and sub recipes that could feed a group. For some reason, I've been into popsicles this year as well but I think it's only for visual inspiration; I don't intend to have too many of them. lol I've also been looking at finger foods lately; I haven't been in the mood for a large sit-down meal so I've been wanting smaller versions of certain dishes; finger food-sized would be best.

nautical and beach-related projects, bright furniture and decor accents, popsicle and fruit-themed decor, bright colors, neon-colored pieces, lights

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Nautical and beach decor have been longtime favorites of mine for the summer months but I've also been liking popsicle and fruit-related decor (hence the sense headers in this post) and neon accents, something that's a bit newer to me. I don't mind bright colors but I think I've always been a little apprehensive about neons. I'm starting to come around, but they're still something I'd only rather have during the summer. Most of these are colorful, which was more my focus rather than the beach and nautical decor. There are three photos that don't have links (the ones that have no numbers); there was no actual tutorial for them but I kept the photo for visual inspiration.

saltwater, fruity and floral scents, combinations of scent profiles, scents with crisper notes

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I'm still into my fruity, floral scents but I'm also liking saltwater and slightly musky scents for this summer. If I had to name a cologne that fit some of my scent profile I'd put it between Acqua di Gio and Nautica for Men. I also like combining different scents, like a lighter-based masculine scent with a stronger feminine scent (or vice versa), so that I can have a bit of both scent profiles without them overwhelming me. I've been liking slightly drier, crisper scents than I usually prefer for this time of year and it's different, but I like that I can see how things shift and change for me over time rather than fighting change in myself like I used to.

I remember when I was first starting my Seasonal Inspiration series and thinking to myself, "How am I gonna keep this going? If I'm inspired by the same things each season, where is it gonna be interesting after the first year?" At the time, I honestly felt that question was based off of truth, which was that my tastes and preferences never shifted. The actual truth was that I wouldn't allow them to shift. I wouldn't allow myself to be inspired by other things. Spring meant something specific to me, and I wouldn't stray from that. I wouldn't seek out external inspiration from anywhere and as a result, things did stay the same for a long time. But this year, if you checked out my Spring Fling post then you'll know that the inspo board is now a bit different from last year's, especially in the See category. I guess what I'm getting at is to not be like me and allow yourself to change and shift.

*Mandy's Note: The timestamp on this says June, but it's actually July when I'm editing these in, so the livestreams below are only a few days old rather than a few weeks. 

radio favorites, throwback and old favorites, upbeat tunes

I'm doing my last little bit of spring cleaning so now I'm getting to the more tedious things, like my media. As I was reorganizing my music, I realized how many great tunes I'd totally forgotten about over the years. I tend to immerse myself in whatever I'm into at the time and everything else kinda goes out the window, so it was cool to see that much like with fashion, music too can circle back around at a different point and inspire you all over again. The popular songs I was listening to 10-15 years ago are now throwback tunes, which I've been into more than current music. I'm going to make a post about that in a couple of days.

I believe last year was when I started doing seasonal inspiration boards and I recommended some new apps to try out if you were in the market for new music. This time, I'm going to recommend some YouTube music livestreams to you instead if you're into chillstep, light EDM and ambient music. I'm trying to listen to more upbeat music, especially when I'm trying to hype myself up for a day adventure, so my inspo visual is me out in the sun with some some fun, light-hearted beat playing in the background, wind blowing through my weave, letting all my cares blow away....until I get home, of course. lol Anyway, here are a few channels and playlists I found.


1. Pulse8

I want to say this was the second music channel I subscribed to a few months ago. They upload tons of playlists and mixes, most of which have a bunch of chill music with different themes, and they're pretty underrated in my opinion. They should have way more than 195k subscribers. This is a good channel for you if you're into chill music. Here's their current livestream.

2. MrSuicideSheep

This is an OG for me. I heard about SuicideSheep before I got around to listening to him, then I heard a few of his mixes without realizing it was him, and when I finally went to check out one of his playlists on my own, I understood why so many people were talking about him. There's an array of stuff, from chillstep to ambient, progressive house to dubstep and the like. There's a large variety of artists profiled on the channel so you won't be short of exposure if you're trying to find new artists to check out. The video I included is the current livestream, which nearly 1k people are listening to right now. 

3. Chill Your Mind

I've listened to this channel a couple of times over the years, but haven't subscribed yet. The current livestream has a combination of chill tunes, dance tracks, and deep and tropical house. It's more upbeat and fun than the Pulse8 list, which is a simple chill list. 

4. Chillhop Music

I've listened to the mixes here a couple of times over the years, usually when I want a little more hip-hop than electronica in my music. This channel mixes jazz, chill and hip hop so if you find yourself in need of less dubstep and a little more jazz or hip hop, try this channel out. I wouldn't recommend this channel if you're trying to find something upbeat; this is a very mellow channel and the vibe is more for a turn down, not a turn up. lol Here's their current livestream:

5. Sensual Musique

I actually just found this channel when I was trying to get my last livestream choice in the post so they're completely new to me. I've been listening to the stream for a minute and I'm getting tropical house with more of a pop sound to it. I also hear a bit of chillhop, so I guess there's a bit of variety. It was a different sound from the other livestreams I included so that was why I picked it. 

So that's what I've been into when I think of summer. This is a smaller note, but what do you think of the newer sense graphics? I wanted to do something new from last year's inspiration series, so I thought I'd change up the graphics and make them a bit more fun. I love the spring graphics because they were my first try at this particular style, but if I had to pick my favorite I'd have to go with this set. I hope you like them though. 

Anyway, what's been inspiring you for summer this year? I hope this helped you get more in the spirit if you hadn't found anything to get you in the mood just yet. Start thinking about what you'd like to do this summer, because I'll be back in a few days with my Summer Bucket List and I'd love to hear what you're trying to get into this summer. See you soon!

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What I've Been Watching: May

This is probably the last month you'll see this header being specifically directed at Netflix because I'd just like to talk about what I'm watching and I realized I've been including real-life tv in some of my entries as well, so from now on the header will just be What I've Been Watching. Even though Netflix is still my primary source for watching stuff, it's not the only thing I watch so it's a bit misleading to keep having this header then talk about other stuff. This month, however, I didn't really watch any Netflix which is why the list, save for one item, is entirely from YouTube. This confirms for me that I probably should have just made the header WIBW from jump but I never figure shit out the first few times so just bear with me. lol Moving on!

NemRaps

The Philip DeFranco Show

h3h3 Productions

Nicole Guerriero

Ermm Okayy

A&E's Second Chance

My youngest brother and I love a good Don't Laugh challenge and it's probably one of the only things we do together. I can usually find videos that get him to crack but I'm the reigning champ of our challenges so he often gets frustrated trying to get me to lose. One of the channels he showed me, NemRaps, has weekly Don't Laugh challenges posted and we love them.


I've been watching the Philip DeFranco Show for nearly, if not slightly over, a year now but I hadn't featured it here yet so I decided to include it. Basically, Phil is the primary news source I watch on the 'Tube because I prefer a (mostly) impartial slant to my news and with so many news sources proving themselves as untrustworthy in recent months, it's nice to have a source that I can just get my news from and research it on my own time if I want to learn more about it. I don't always agree with Phil's opinion on a story, but I don't watch him because we always agree. I watch him because he gives as much of the news, from all relevant angles, as he can. His opinion is always fairly easy for me to distinguish from the story and I appreciate that.


I unsubbed from H3H3 Productions a few months ago but I still like a lot of the content, so I'll go back and watch from time to time. I've been watching both the main and now mostly-defunct second channel Ethan and Hila, both of which are social commentary/reaction channels to the abyss we call the Internet and some of the questionable, cringeworthy content floating around on it. In some of those videos, there'll be a small parody of the content and those are probably my favorite parts.


One of my favorite beauty gurus is Nicole Guerriero and while she's been a little lax in her posting lately, she's making her return with daily vlogs and stepped away from the beauty for awhile so I'm interested to see where it goes.


As for parody channels, I found this smaller channel called Ermm Okayy a couple of months ago and it's basically a parody of the various Storytime creators and the drama going on on the 'Tube. The channel takes stories straight out of the creators' mouths and animates them, which makes the story funnier, especially if the story's a lie. If the creator is in fact lying, the truth gets weaved into the animation a bit and I just think the way it's done is funny and fresh.


Finally, I wanted to talk about a platform that I think is new to this series--Snapchat. I love that more tv networks and websites are utilizing Snapchat in a way to create smaller blocks of content in an engaging way. One of those networks is A&E, who created this new Snapchat-exclusive series called Second Chance. In it, two exes come together to talk about their feelings and the primary reason behind the breakup, and at the end one of the exes reveals that they brought the other person there to ask for a second chance. All of this is done via Snapchat's 7-second video format, which I love. It has the ability to be engaging and deep without going on too long, without saying too much. I believe the series just ended and I haven't looked to see if this was an experiment by A&E or something they'd like to break up into seasons, but I hope it's the latter. As with any social media, there's a lot of fluff on Snapchat but this is one of the more innovative, intriguing things to watch. I love the concept of creating Snapchat-exclusive series and Second Chance represents what networks and the like have the potential to get right by using this format. I hope they do a second season of the show.

Pick of the Month: A&E's Second Chance on Snapchat

Throwaway Pick: Nicole Guerriero (only because other beauty gurus on YT might be more up your alley) 

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What I've Been Watching: April

 Hi! For once, this month I actually have a list of new things to watch. Both categories of things I've been watching are full of shows and films I've never seen before. I have one pick from regular tv lol, but the rest are all a mix of Netflix and YouTube. Overall, it was a pretty good month in terms of new things I was able to watch.

Feud

Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On

Gangsters: Faces of the Underworld

Samurai Gourmet

Con Men Case Files

Look at Us Now, Mother!

The Doctor Blake Mysteries








So let's start with the only pick I have for traditional tv. I mentioned the show in last month's WIBW but the season came to a close earlier this month and it's been in my head ever since. This was such a heartbreaking, beautiful look at a feud that has intrigued me since I got into classic films a few years ago. The season finale was the inevitable tragic spiral downward for Joan Crawford, and even more of a look into the resilience, the stubbornness and the mental fortitude that Bette Davis possessed in the twilight years of her career. For a classic film buff like me, I didn't go into this expecting to learn a bunch of new things about Baby Jane or its lead actresses, and I didn't. But it spoke to that part of my mind that always imagines a happy ending, regardless of how brief, fleeting or delusion-induced it was. I admired both of these actresses greatly before the show premiered, and it was my biggest hope that the show would do them justice without tarnishing their memories. It was my biggest fear that today's drama-hungry society would only soak up the salacious, raunchy and dirty parts, meme them (a trend that I can guarantee with certainty that both actresses, Joan in particular, would have absolutely abhorred), and spit them back out, potentially ruining these actresses all over again for probably the last generation that will know of them. But this was so beautifully done in a truly wonderful tribute to both the long-gone days of Old Hollywood and the two iconic actresses that were the subject of this season. You would think that a show about a feud couldn't possibly be about a tribute, but it was. In addition to showing those ugly, infamous moments that have long outlived their creators, they also showed moments of vulnerability, of insecurity, those moments when these icons were just women dealing with society's rules and the reality of life at that time. I absolutely loved it.

This documentary ended up being nothing like what I expected and everything I needed to see and hear when I watched it. Look At Us Now, Mother! followed the story of a mother and daughter's rather rocky relationship, from her childhood to present-day and the various challenges that both tore them apart and brought them together. I promise, the way I just described it was deeper than it actually ended up being. Even though deeper issues were presented and confronted, it didn't feel as painful or uncomfortable as similar documentaries I've watched in this vein, and I enjoyed it. Per usual, the story went much deeper than initially figured, by both the daughter and the viewer, and it explained quite a bit about the mother's behavior and why she became the person she is. It takes a lot of strength to film such intimate moments over a long period of time, especially if you're trying to film something at least partially with or about another person. As a broad with her own complicated maternal relationship, it's always both a therapeutic and eye-opening experience to watch documentaries like this. We may not always like the things our parents do, we may not always be treated fairly or even properly by said parents, but at the end of the day, even though they are our parents they're still people too. I guess sometimes I make the mistake of assuming that because my mom is a parent, she should have the answers I need, should know all the answers to why she does the things she does. But she is who she is partially because of how she herself was raised, and I sometimes forget that. As much as my mom's parenting style could be considered progressive by old school standards, there are a lot of ways in which she has become my grandma, probably without realizing it. These relationships are often more complex than we assume, and if its at all possible to explore them (with the exception of the really severe situations, of course) then I think we should. It's especially important if we'd like to avoid making the same choices as parents or are actively trying to heal from those old wounds. 

I'm only two episodes into this show so far and right now, I don't know how I feel about it. I believe it's an Australian show because of the accents, but the period crime drama is already being done flawlessly with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (which is also Australian) and I'm a loyalist, so I wasn't really trying to get attached to any Australian detective who wasn't Phryne. lol Lucien Blake couldn't be any more different than Phryne Fisher, and the tone is much darker than MFMM. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet but I've been giving it a go. 

I watched the Hot Girls Wanted documentary a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I thought it was an honest look into how young girls are brought into the sex industry and how their pasts affect the decisions they make, both financially and emotionally. It's not something I can watch more than once but I liked it, even if I was disgusted at the deceitful efforts people used to get these easily influenced young women into their fold. This is a follow-up of sorts but rather than being a one-off documentary, this is a series about the current state of the porn industry and its various contributors. Each episode features a different person with some involvement in the industry, whether it be as a viewer, performer or businessperson bringing the two together. Much like The Doctor Blake Mysteries, I haven't gotten too deep into the series to say much about it, but I've started watching it.


This series only has 5 episodes available so I tried to drag it out, but I love it. I've always been really intrigued by conmen and the extensive lengths they go to to deceive others. I'm not smart or morally decrepit enough to be a con(wo)man, but I find the stories behind their schemes and the peeks into their psyches endlessly fascinating, mainly because I don't understand it and can't relate. When I can understand why people do what they do, it's not as interesting to me because I can piece together how the mental state is functioning in order to make certain decisions. It's something that's totally foreign or unheard of to me that usually gets me, and I think that's what draws me into the world of conmen. It's unheard of to me to even consider starting a business I knew from jump wasn't legit, but these people weren't fazed. They had fake businesses, exchanged non-existent services, played judge and jury over people's entire lives with absolutely no thought for their actions. The level of boldness and sense of invincibility always amazes me.


As I've said in other Monthly Favorites posts before, I love me a good crime show. I'm still jonesing for more seasons of Underworld and Mafia, so when Gangsters came up in my Recommended feed I had to check it out. This is another one that I'm on the first episode of, but my understanding is that each episode features a couple of different prominent gangsters across Britain. My primary exposure to non-American gangsters is via the Irish gangsters, so I'm pretty interested in the British underworld. There are only 5 or 6 episodes though, so its another show I'd like to drag out for as long as I can.


When I saw this, it came up as a similar option to Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, and while I'm waiting on some word about another season of that show, I figured I could try this one out. So far, it's not quite what I expected, but I'm willing to keep watching. From what I understand, the show is about a former policeman? detective? who finds himself struggling after retirement to find a new outlet for his energy. I'm only on the first episode, so I don't know much more than that.

YouTube:

Awestruck/Snooki and JWOWW's individual channels


The Bella Twins


Mr. Kate's OMG We're Coming Over! 
Seasons 1 | 2


ImAllexx


Secureteam10






For some reason, I watch more new things on YouTube than I do on either Netflix or tv, which brings me to my first item on the YT side of things for this month. I was not a Jersey Shore fan at all. My brothers and sister loved the show. Me, not so much. For someone who has emetophobia and doesn't drink, the concept of the show didn't appeal to me on any level. On a pop culture level I knew who both Snooki and J-Woww were, but I knew nothing about them other than that they lived in Jersey and liked to drink. So it was more than a small surprise that I liked their #MomsWithAttitude series so much on Awestruck's channel.


For someone who doesn't want kids, I've been watching a lot of mommy-related programming. If you're a wrestling or Total Divas fan, then you already know Brie Bella is pregnant with her first child (little Birdie Joe is due any day now!) and I recently found out about the Bella Twins' YouTube channel, where both Nikki and Brie post short videos about their day. From a viewer viewpoint, I was never a fan of the Bella Twins and I do not like either Total Divas or Total Bellas, which is why I'm so surprised to be enjoying their channel so much. Admittedly, I watch more of Brie's videos than Nikki's because I like watching Brie's pregnancy vlogs, but it's been really surprising to find that I actually like them as people after 10 years of not liking them as either wrestlers or reality tv personalities. I still won't watch Total Divas or Total Bellas, but these shorter, realer peeks into their lives have been fun to watch. If you ever want a good giggle, check out the weekly Bella Brains series on their channel.


Like I said, it's been a weird month. I went from not watching anything related to Snooki, J-Woww or either Bella Twin to watching their videos all the damn time and most of the time, one right after the other. I think I like them all as individuals and their lives away from reality tv, but once you start adding in networks and manufactured shit I guess I'm not here for it. lol


I've been dying...and I mean fingers tingling with restlessness dying...to create something, to make something with my hands. I've been building up projects for my DIY series for over a year now and I've wanted nothing more than to finally start putting out the series. I've always loved DIY and home construction series as well, which brings me to Mr. Kate's OMG We're Coming Over!, which is a home decor series by husband-wife duo Mr. Kate in which they redecorate the dwellings of fellow YouTubers. If you're a semi-oldie like me, then this show's a touch While You Were Out, with a hint of Trading Spaces and maybe a little Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Kate usually oversees the overall design and aesthetics of the room they're redecorating while Josh, the "Mr." in the duo, handles the woodworking, painting and technical side of the room. I've been hooked on this show because they have creative ideas, Kate really seems to understand a person's style and avoids making all of their redesigns look identical, and I like that small DIY tutorials are usually included at some point in the process.


I don't make a habit of watching many people in the commentary community anymore because I've noticed a lot of hypocrisy in that corner of the YouTube world, but I still watch a few of them from time to time when they pop up in my feed. One of those names has been I'mAllexx, and although I've seen my share of videos about his alleged hypocrisy on issues he discusses, I generally enjoy some of the content. Not because I agree with everything, more so because I like the way he approaches his videos. I probably wouldn't subscribe to the channel, but I don't mind popping in from time to time and seeing what he's talking about.

I think I mentioned my affinity for checking out the supernatural, which for me includes aliens. I keep coming across Secureteam10 in my feed and when talking about UFO discussions and the like, it's hard to find a creator who doesn't sound entirely bonkers. Tyler doesn't sound like a nut and for the most part, shows videos free of CGI or other manipulations and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions. If you're not into aliens, I fully expect your opinion on the subject and the videos on this channel to be nothing more than supernatural fluff. But if you have an open mind or fully believe, these really do add onto the belief that we aren't alone. There's a lot of convincing proof in photos, videos, interviews from those in science-related industries and even mini-investigations into abnormalities in the field. 

Pick of the Month: Feud, obviously

Throwaway Pick: The Doctor Blake Mysteries

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What I've Been Watching: March

Hi! It's the end of the month already, so you know what time it is. I have a little addition to this month's list, which I'll get back to in a minute. I have to confess, even though this series is titled "What I've Been Watching on Netflix," most of the shows on my list this month are actually on regular tv. LOL I'm such a jackass and I apologize. I stop watching regular tv because I'm always watching Netflix so the TV portion of the site goes untouched for years. I finally figure out that I should mention what I watch on Netflix, then get a couple months into it and get overtaken by regular tv again. I'm gonna get it right one of these days, I promise. lol Anyway, let's get into what I've been watching this month.

Feud


Ultimate Beastmaster


The New Frontier


Duck Dynasty


WWE Raw & SmackDown Live


Amy Schumer: The Leather Special

The Most Hated Woman in America




When I first heard that the Joan Crawford/Bette Davis feud was being brought back to life, I internally cringed. I was really worried that the need to bring excitement to the story would cause a lot of fabricated drama that would make the ladies look worse, but so far it's been an awesomely layered story. Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon have been knocking it out of the park and its been so much fun to watch. I haven't been excited for a show on regular tv in a long time. The rest of the cast isn't made up of slouches either, Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci being the standouts for me. Kiernan Shipka's doing a fantastic job of making me hate B.D. but her mother's no innocent either, so even though I cannot stand the character, I understand a bit of why she is the way she is. Operative phrase being 'a bit.'


I want to say I've included Ultimate Beastmaster on one of my WIBW lists before, but I can't clearly remember. In case I haven't, this is a challenge show in the vein of Stone Cold's Broken Skull Challenge, with a little American Ninja Warrior thrown in for good measure. This is harder than both of those challenges and the BSC ain't no bitch so that should give you some indication of the difficulty. lol In this show, a total of 12 participants take on the Beast, two apiece from 6 countries (USA, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Mexico and Brazil, I want to say) while two hosts from each country serve as both commentary and moral support. It's a fun show to watch.


If you've watched tv over the past few years, I don't need to tell you about Duck Dynasty. The show is in its final season, so that made me go back to the episodes I have on the DVR and watch the first few seasons. I definitely don't agree with the family's political views, but I do appreciate their commitment to show a good family program that doesn't have hoodrat behavior and cursing through the roof. It's a simple show, it takes me back to a simpler time, and I love Uncle Si. lol


I've said this before, but I've loved wrasslin' all of my life. I'm not quite so happy with the programming and content right now, but they're heading into Wrestlemania and I usually come back for that, so here I am. lol I may leave the crowd for awhile, but I always come back. I don't really know what else to say--if you know me, you know the target of my thirst, and that's a primary reason why I watch Raw. Smackdown is a more solid show as wrestling goes so while I enjoy that more in terms of the actual program, Raw is more entertaining. At times, watching wrestling also helps me calm down when I'm up all night with anxiety, which has been the case as of late (the last 12 years if we're being technical, but who's counting?), and having the Network around to find things to get through the night really helps.

I've never been an Amy Schumer fan. Not because I specifically disliked her, but her style of comedy was never really my thing. No knocks on those who do like her style of comedy; it just wasn't for me. I decided to try again when she released her latest show, which was a collaboration with Netflix called The Leather Special. I wasn't expecting to love it--so I wasn't surprised when I didn't lol--but I was hoping I'd laugh a few times. Other than a few chuckles here and there throughout the special, which were more related to Amy's delivery rather than the meat of the joke, I wouldn't call it laugh out loud funny unless you're already a fan of Schumer's work. I felt this was more for her core crowd, her ride or dies. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. But if you're not already an Amy Schumer fan, I can't see you getting a lot out of it. I don't like knocking a comedian's work as I know a lot of time goes into trying to build a routine for a one-off special. But I just felt like I'd heard many of the jokes before and if they were new jokes, they seemed built off of a tried-and-true schtick that had lost a bit of its sheen. Some of the jokes were new and the delivery of other jokes made it a bit fresher, but overall it just wasn't my butter and jam.

The Most Hated Woman in America told the true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who was one of the first advocates for atheism, primarily through her fight to end the then-mandatory prayer policy in American schools back during the '1960s. She became an outspoken activist for and creator of one of the first prominent atheist organizations. The story is a long, tangled one but in her later years, she was abducted, along with her son and granddaughter, and later found dead at the hands of an ex-felon former employee of O'Hair's organization. She wasn't an innocent granny herself and I think the fact that she wasn't made her story all the more complex. Despite that, nobody deserves to have their life ended the way hers did and it's a sad end to an otherwise courageous story. This was a completely new story to me and while I didn't agree with many of O'Hair's views, I did respect her gumption. 

YouTube:

I thought I'd add a new section into my WIBW posts and it's a little funny to me that I hadn't considered including it until now. I talk about my borderline obsession with watching YouTube all the time, but when I talk about what I've been watching throughout the month I never mention it. There are months when I don't watch a lot of new things on Netflix or tv, but its usually because I've been watching more YouTube than anything else. So I thought I'd include a couple of the channels I watched a lot during the month, in case any of them are up your alley. This month was a little dry, I'll have some more up next month.

Tati (Glam Life Guru)

UNHhhh with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova













I've been watching YouTube for a few years now and Tati periodically came up in my recommended feed, but she wasn't quite my style at the time so I didn't watch her regularly. I will say though that I trusted her opinion on brands and the like, despite not being a regular viewer of her content.  Tati's approach to establishing a schedule of consistent but relevant and fun content has been agreeing with me lately. I go through phases where I prefer certain beauty gurus over others, but right now I prefer to watch Tati's videos. 

When I tell you that I love drag queens, I LOVE drag queens. I know liking drag queens is 'in' now because RPDR is going mainstream, but I actually don't watch Drag Race. The only season I watched was season 7 and that was because I was a fan of Miss Fame from her YouTube channel. That brings me to UNHhhh, which is hosted by two other fan favorites of season 7, the hilarious duo known as Trixya. I don't really remember Trixie's time on the show, but I remember liking Katya and finding her really unique. Then the two joined forces for this show and it is some of the kookiest, off-kilter commentary I've seen in awhile. Each week is about a different topic and from what I can see, that's the only direction they get and the rest of the episode is them, unfiltered, playing off of each other. The editing is also a hoot.


Pick of the Month: Feud, The Most Hated Woman in America

Throwaway Pick: Duck Dynasty

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Spring Bucket List

Hi! I'm doing something a bit new today, for the entire week actually. With Spring Break (already!) on the horizon, I'm doing something I didn't get to do last year. I wanted to put together a month full of weekly posts centered around spring cleaning and the like, but I didn't fully figure out what I wanted to do in enough time so it didn't happen. I got my ish together this year (for the most part), so I'm doing it. I wanted to start things off with something new; a bucket list. I've never done anything like this for spring before; the seasons that I usually focus on creating lists for are summer and fall and I thought it would be fun to challenge myself a bit. So here's what I came up with:

I believe this list is even shorter than last summer's bucket list, which is for three reasons: Firstly, I don't have a lot of experience with trying to find spring-themed things to do, secondly, there aren't a ton of outdoorsy things to do in my city that aren't amusement park or fair related (two places many emetophobes have near the top of their "Nope" lists) around this time of year, and thirdly, I had to make sure that I added things that were feasible for my budget and transport limitations. So let's get to them.


1. Get frozen yogurt 

Not much explaining to be done here; even though Texas winters are typically mild in comparison to the rest of the country, they're still cold to me, so obviously I'm not going out for frozen anything in the middle of December. I'm not quite in the mood for ice cream yet (and I've convinced myself that frozen yogurt would be healthier to eat--even with the inordinate amount of sweet toppings I put on top of it) but it's warm enough again to want a cold treat, so here we are. 

2. Feed the birds 

I want to say I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't, one of my favorite calming pasttimes is feeding birds. I know that's boring and weird but I find it really relaxing. I usually feed the birds who nest near my house, but they're so skittish that tossing the food usually makes them fly away so I'm on the hunt for more courageous birds. lol At our downtown bus depot the birds give no f*cks about any of us and will box with each other for crumbs but we're no longer allowed to give them anything, so that's no fun either. Geez Louise I sound like an 80 year old. I'm talking to you about the best places to feed birds. lol 

3. Make a dish with fresh ingredients

I'm not sure why it's a bigger deal to me to cook with fresh elements during certain seasons, but when I think of spring food, I think of lighter foods with more fresh ingredients and lighter tastes. I don't often cook with fresh veggies so I thought this would be a fun challenge to take on. It can also be difficult to utilize fresh ingredients on a low budget and I wanted to see if I could do it on mine.


4. Have a picnic

Ideally, I could take my little dish from up above to said picnic that I'd like to have in the park. The park is one of my favorite places to be this time of year; it's warm enough to not need five layers of clothing anymore, but it's not so hot that I sweat my makeup off the moment I step outside. So while the elevator has momentarily stopped on its way back down to hell temperatures, I'd like to enjoy it by spending an afternoon picnicking at the park.


5. Tackle this year's Reading Challenge 

I just mentioned this in the 2nd edition of Posts from the Vault (which should have gone up yesterday) but I've been so busy trying to finish the last set of late posts then roll right into 2017's posts that the first two and a half months of this year have already blown right by. I just finished my 2nd annual Black History Spotlight over on ATV, which explains where I was for a lot of January and all of February but as a result, I fell right back off the wagon over here. lol I've been trying to catch up on book reviews I was asked to do so naturally those come first, but I'm also trying to get better at scheduling my time so that I can get to this year's Challenge.


6. Plant at least one thing

I have always dreamed about having my own garden one day. I can't have it living at home for a number of reasons, but it has always been my goal to have a garden the moment that I move out, whether it be a small portable garden or a huge oasis. Personally, I'd love the latter but if we're talking on a realistic financial scale, it'll probably be the former. Now that it's warm enough for me to finally plant something, I'd like to finally do it. I say that I want to plant something every spring but I never do it. Even if it's one solitary flower, I'd love to finally get something planted.


7. Take a class

I've been missing school something serious. I've been out of school for four years come September and the last college I graduated from, Le Cordon Bleu, is closing all of its American campuses this month so I've been a bit depressed about not going back. I ran out of fin aid as I was graduating and that combined with the closure of the college closed the door on my going back for my Bachelor's degree. Since I can no longer go through an entire program, I've been trying to find some classes I'd like to take instead. I've had my eye on a photography class but it requires you to own a DSLR and since that's strictly against the terms and conditions of my Empty Pockets sponsorship, I've been trying to find a different class that would be relevant for me to take.


8. Start walking at the park

Another goal I always set and never keep is to start walking. This time the reason's more legit than laziness and lack of transportation, though. A couple of years ago I was running from a rodent and smacked my toe pretty good on a shelf in the process. I mentioned this in my "Things I'm Grateful For" post for Thanksgiving 2015 and said that I was grateful I hadn't broken anything because I'd since been able to start moving my toe and walking on it again. I have to apologize now for selling you a bridge because that shit was broken. lol I found out it was broken last May and I've been in a boot (that I've named Chi-Chi) since last June. She's quite heavy for my chicken legs so I won't be doing any extensive walking until we fix my toe, but the minute the doc says it's okay for me to walk without her again, I am on it.


9. Take family pics

This one is more of a gift rather than a bucket list item, but it's something I wanted to do last year and wasn't able to. My egg donor doesn't read my blog but a couple of relatives peek in from time to time and I don't want word getting back to her, so I'll leave this one alone.


10. Go to an outdoor event

For both social anxiety and emetophobic reasons, I don't count outdoor events among my favorite places to frequent. Amusement parks and fairs are super crowded, they scare the paranoid person inside of me who always worries about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and both of those places are excellent breeding grounds for running into people losing their lunches. While many people think their friend getting sick after being on a ride is comedy hour, it is terrifying for folks like myself and as a result I steer clear of places where it's a thing. So the challenge for me this year is to find an outdoor event that isn't overflowing with people but wouldn't make one sick. Good luck with that one, right?


11. Make another flower crown 

I talk about my love for flower crowns so much that it now elicits the same response from my family; they usually roll their eyes and hit me with a DJ Khaled. "Another one?" And the answer to that will always be yes. You can never have too many flower crowns. Well, you can when you already have an issue storing the ones you have, but we'll get to that later in the week. Anyway, I can already see this crown in my head. I'm seeing one that goes across the forehead rather than sitting on the top, and lots of large, pastel-colored flowers. I'm making one for St. Patty's as well, I think. They're not functional or practical and they're very extra but who cares? I like them. So I'm gonna make more of them. lol


12. Take seasonally themed photos

Since my Empty Pockets sponsorship has banned me from buying the DSLR of my dreams, I've had to get resourceful in order to still take quality photos. One of my favorite kinds of photos to take are nature-themed, and it's been a goal for a number of years now to take pictures of the same tree throughout all four seasons. Spring is not a season I'm used to being active for, so I think I miss a lot of the more subtle hints of the season.


13. Find a good place to read outdoors

Because I am your typical wheezing, sneezing geek spring often wreaks havoc on my sinuses. I am allergic to all of the grass, weeds, trees and plants native to my area, adding on to the growing list of reasons I don't spend a lot of time outside. I'd like to find somewhere I can enjoy the weather without being right in the sun or near a ton of greenery so that I can read in peace.


14. Find a garden to go to

Living in a desert has the obvious drawback of not having the conditions to grow all the plants you see in the more famous botanical gardens. My city also isn't about to spend all that money on a botanical garden, so there's that. We have a desert botanical garden but I'm not very interested in going, so I'm trying to find a garden or large greenhouse I can take a walk through.


15. Extra: Make potpourri 

I know it's going to make me sound like a total fool, but I only recently realized you could make your own potpourri. I was experimenting with potpourris and making your own scents for them for one of the posts in the series and came across some potpourri recipes. I didn't know that it was mainly composed of dry flowers! So if I develop the patience necessary to do this correctly, I'd like to try my hand at making a batch of potpourri.


16. Unlisted Extras: Get through this series! and catalog book collection

I know I have a bad reputation in these parts for not finishing what I start. To be honest, remaining consistent has long been a flaw and challenge of mine. But I've been waiting for a year to have the opportunity to do this series, so I'm going to make sure I do my best to see it through.

Something else I've been wanting to do for quite some time is catalog my physical book collection. I primarily read e-books now but when I see a physical book out in the wild I'll still pick it up; I just don't pay as much attention to the physical collection as I used to. It's still growing though, so I'd like to get a new bookshelf one of these days so the books will stop taking over my room. 

So that's my spring bucket list. Wasn't too long but per usual, I've dragged it out. lol I'd just like you to get to know me aside from my reviews so when I do posts like this, I like trying to give a little backstory on it. Clearly, I give novels but whatever. Anyway, hope you'll be joining me this week (if you have no life like myself) and I'll see you tomorrow!

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What I've Been Watching: February

Hi! So even though I said in last month's edition that I'd probably be back to normal for February's WIBW, this month's list was also surprisingly small. I was expecting to watch more things, but the month was so hectic between my personal life and Black History Spotlight that I wasn't really in the mood to watch anything heavy. Despite that, I was still able to find a few new things to watch throughout the month. 

Love Me

Married, Single, Dead

My Sex Robot

Enlighten Us

Ultimate Beastmaster

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Cyber Attacks

The Eccentrics

The Santa Clarita Diet

Men in Rubber Masks

Love Me is a matchmaker documentary about the exploits of several men who've employed the services of a matchmaker. These stories always intrigue me, the unconventional and sometimes frowned upon ways of finding love. I once fell in love and built a relationship with someone I met on a virtual RPG site so obviously I can't look down on someone else for their methods (as long as they're safe and legal) to find love. I worry about the matchmaking though because many, many women know matchmaking is not for the poor or financially unstable, so they know there's money there. What I enjoyed about Love Me is that rather than displaying these men as lonely dumb schmos and the women as aggressive money hunters, you get to know them all a bit better. It seems a bit more honest and revealing than other series of its kind. I enjoyed it.  

I watched Married, Single, Dead on Valentine's Day and at some point I think I even commented aloud on the morbidity of it but I was sick, exhausted and didn't care. I've been seeing this pop up on my Recommended feed for months now but I wouldn't watch it because I was already pretty sure of the subject matter and I didn't want it to make me even more commitment-phobic. This mini-doc told the stories of four married women who were murdered by their spouses after changing their FB statuses to single. It's scary to think that just making the decision to end your marriage could result in your death, and its a sobering reality that you can be with someone for years and still never truly know them. 

My Sex Robot was a hoot to watch. Again, I'm not the judgmental type when it comes to the hows and whys of one finding love. Even though I don't want a relationship, that doesn't mean that I don't want companionship so if we were in a society where robots were the norm I'd be open to checking it out. Not for the sex, for the companionship. Let me be clear about that. LOL This was about different people who are attempting to pioneer the sex robot industry by creating robots of their own. It was interesting to get a look at both the strides made by the creators and the perspectives of those interested in having their own robots.


Enlighten Us is a documentary based on the story of James Arthur Ray and his efforts to revamp his career after his release from prison. If his name sounds vaguely familiar to you but you can't place where you heard it, you probably heard it on the news. A few years ago, Ray was an internationally known motivational speaker. He was featured in the bestselling self-help book The Secret and was on Oprah's show a couple of times. During one of his retreats, a few of his followers died and Ray was later convicted of negligent homicide. Enlighten Us tells the story from many perspectives, including Ray's, between cutaways to his present-day status. This documentary bothered me on a number of levels but Ray seems almost unwilling, even now, to take full responsibility for his actions and in some of his speeches and confessionals, seemed to have a victim's stance on the situation. Not cool. Regardless, even if you were already familiar with the story, it's worth the watch. 

The Ultimate Beastmaster is a new challenge show featuring 12 contestants from 6 countries. Terry Crews and Charissa Thompson host the show for the American broadcast, and they're joined by two hosts from the participating countries of Brazil, Germany, Mexico, South Korea and Japan. The best way I can describe it is American Gladiators on steroids. If you watched American Gladiators and thought that the obstacles were rough then, the Beast is 10x worse. But it is so exciting. The hosts are all lively, entertaining and actually interact with each other in a genuine way. The contestants are competitive, but you can see that they all root for each other to do well because the Beast is both intimidating and for the average Joe, impossible to complete. The entire first season is available now and I loved it. 

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Cyber Attacks was what I watched after Married, Single, Dead on V-Day (I'm such a romantic, right? lol) and it didn't tell me much that I didn't already know about the cyber attacks on the site, but it went more in-depth about exactly what happened. You would think that being hacked and the secrets of millions of adulterers being exposed would hurt business, but it hasn't. I think the subject of cheating and having a safe outlet to do so would be a fun topic to debate and discuss, though. 

The Eccentrics is a series about different people around the world who differ from the status quo. Each episode introduces us to someone new, from the aunt of Italy who uses her job as a cab driver to escort sick children to and from their treatments and bring them a little joy in the process, to an elderly man who makes a point to talk to nearly every person he sees in an effort to bring them a little joy, to a modern-day Tarzan. I wasn't very happy with the name of the show after watching a few episodes because of purely overanalytical reasons, but I did enjoy watching it. 

The Santa Clarita Diet is Drew Barrymore's new Netflix Original show and in it, she takes on the role of mild-mannered, passive, no-quickies-allowed Sheila, whose entire persona changes overnight. Timothy Olyphant (I love this guy, he's so underrated to me) is her worried but loyal husband Joel, who promises to stick by her as said changes reveal that Sheila has become a walking, talking zombie of sorts. I described it in a really depressing manner, but it's actually pretty entertaining...as long as you have strong guts. For my emetophobes with weak guts, as entertaining as this show is steer clear of it. There's v in the 1st episode, and a copious amount of it at that. The rest of it is more of a gore thing, lots of blood and limbs the first couple of episodes, but that first episode will have you crawling off the walls if you try to watch it anyway. For everyone else though, this is definitely a show you should watch. 

Finally, Men in Rubber Masks was another documentary I watched on V-Day and this went into detail about the 'masker' community, something I had no idea about until I watched it. This is another one that's been in my Recommended feed for awhile but I kept passing up, and even though I still don't understand the entire psychology behind 'masking,' it was such an intriguing peek into the lifestyle. It's odd and doesn't make sense--to us. To maskers though, it's simply how they choose to live their lives. I don't want to spoil it, but I will say that if you're the more conventional type, maybe this one isn't for you.

Picks of the Month: Ultimate Beastmaster, Enlighten Us, Love Me

Throwaway Pick: My Sex Robot

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SBS: Pantry by Try the World

What is it? Pantry by Try the World is the younger sister service of the parent Try the World food subscription service, and specializes in gourmet pantry items such as snacks and condiments from around the world in an effort to upgrade your grocery essentials.  

How much does it cost? The first trial box is free, but all boxes afterward are $29.99/mo. 

Sign-up and ordering: It was fairly easy to sign-up and order my box as I'm still subscribed to Try the World's newsletters, which is how I found out about the trial offer. I just signed into the site, signed up for the trial and updated my credit card information. 

Delivery and cancellation: Delivery is listed as being around 4 weeks after placing your order, but I didn't get mine for 7 weeks. I ordered the box back on November 30th but didn't get it til the 18th of January. Since I ordered it around the holidays, maybe that was the reason for the delay. The box arrived with the regular mail and was in fine condition but one of the products had a bit of damage at the bottom of the box (which you'll see in a minute) which appeared to have happened during shipping. I would have liked the box to have been sealed or secured on the outside somehow because anyone could have just opened the box while it was en route and I didn't like that at all, but fortunately all of my products were intact and appeared to not have been touched. Cancellation is one-click and you get a confirmation email following the cancellation of your subscription. If you're only interested in the trial, I would suggest cancelling around three weeks into your subscription so that you don't get charged for a second box and avoid cancelling your first. 

Customer service: Throughout the time I was waiting to receive my box, I had to speak to customer service once, but it was a painless experience. I hadn't cancelled my subscription yet because I was still waiting to receive my box but because of that, I was billed for a second month of service. I wasn't about to pay for a second month when I had yet to receive my trial box so I emailed customer service about it. I got a response within 24 hours along with an explanation as to why the box was taking so long to arrive. The customer service rep I spoke to, Kaylee, was very helpful in explaining the shipping times to me and reversing the transaction. I got my money back by the next business day, and that was that. I don't recall needing to speak to them again after that, but I enjoyed the fast and friendly response. 

Purchasing received products:

Everything I received in my box was easy to find in the shop, easy to purchase, and the prices were reasonable. There's no difference in sizes between what you receive in your box and ordering the product from the shop. Some might be sold out or unavailable, but everything else is easy to find. 

So what came in the box?

This is how the box came, minus the grassy material that came on top. As I mentioned up in the 'Delivery and Cancellation' section up above, there was a bit of damage to my box of lemon and dill sauce from the toffee spread next to it, although it's likely that it happened during shipping with the products being pressed together en route. They could have been shoved into the box during assembly but either way, this was the only damage I saw. Fortunately, it was just the container that was damaged; the product inside of it was fine. Per usual with my food boxes, I asked my family to try everything out along with me so I could give you more than just my own opinion. Let's get to the products. 

(Canada) Canadian Maple Shortbread Cookies by Sprucewoods, $6.40

When I first bit into these cookies, the taste of the maple hit my nose and tastebuds very strongly. I can't recall having had actual maple syrup many times (if at all) so it tasted a lot stronger than it probably would if I was used to it. I wasn't sure I'd like it but surprisingly, the taste of the syrup mellows out and melds with the texture of the shortbread very well. Choosing shortbread for the cookie was a good choice, as I think it was solid enough to handle what can be a very overwhelming taste in the maple syrup and the two complement each other very well. I think a softer type of cookie would have made the maple too strong. The taste of the shortbread itself was usual shortbread, buttery but drier than a regular cookie. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to eat the cookies as a regular snack but after getting used to the maple flavor, I realized I quite liked them. Loved them, actually. I'd like some more. lol

The family agreed; the syrup taste is rather strong and can be a little overpowering, and it was unanimous that the cookie overall is an acquired taste. They wouldn't grab for it for an everyday sort of snack because more than a couple at a time would be too much, but for a random, "Hey, you want a cookie?" kind of thing, it's alright.





(France) Lemon and Dill Sauce by Christian Potier, $6.90 for 3/1.7oz. packets

The directions on this sauce recommend using the dill sauce with seafood and while lemon dill sauce is excellent for fish and shrimp, I don't eat seafood. lol I used it on chicken instead, which lemon dill sauce also happens to complement quite well. The instructions for usage were clearly labeled and easy to follow. I first used this as a marinade for a chicken breast, then I used it as a topping for the chicken and pasta after it was done. I hate leaving negative reviews, I really do. But this sauce was not good. At all. It smells like a hollandaise sauce, but it tastes like hot plastic. You don't get a good taste of either the lemon or dill, and the taste you do get from it just isn't pleasant. It didn't really leave a lasting taste from when I baked the chicken with the sauce on top but it did make it a bit softer. It does leave a bit of a film on the tongue afterward and the aftertaste also isn't appealing. Overall, I was really disappointed in this sauce. I didn't like it at all.





(Morocco) Orange Zest Cookies by Orientines, $6.40

I'm not very fond of these cookies, to tell the truth. They're small and hard, with little pieces of the hard orange candies baked into them. I'm not that crazy about orange, so maybe these will be great for someone who loves the orange candies. For me personally though, some of the cookies were a bit too hard and the orange was a little too strong. Since they're supposed to complement tea, the texture makes sense. When you just eat a couple of these, the orange comes through really heavily but I've noticed that the more you eat, the more subtle the flavor becomes.  

The family wasn't quite as into these cookies either. My sister agreed with me that the hard pieces of candy sort of threw everything off, while my brother's main complaint was more with the cookies being dry rather than the orange, which he said wasn't very strong. My niece didn't have much to offer on the cookies, we asked her if it tasted like oranges, she said no, then a few seconds later said, "I no like it." Three minutes later, she was asking for another cookie though so I guess her jury's still out on it. lol 

(Portugal) Gourmet Honey by Casa de Prisca (I couldn't find these on the site, but their Honey with Chestnuts was there--unfortunately, you can't purchase that either bc it's sold out. lol)

The first thing I noted about this honey was the glass jar it comes in. The jar is very weighty and for me, it made the product feel all the more special and more gourmet. I know that probably makes no sense but considering that I usually eat honey out of a plastic container shaped like a bear, I clearly don't have high standards. lol

As for the taste, it wasn't like any other honey I've had before--which should be evident by the fact that I've only had honey from bear-shaped containers lol--and at first, I wasn't sure what to make of it. This honey isn't quite as thick as store-bought honey, but it's no less rich. It's not as sweet, either, but I tasted this bit of spiciness towards the end that I definitely wasn't expecting. I hope that doesn't mean I got a bad batch. lol It's a lot smoother than store-bought honey and I was surprised that I liked the difference so much. For my first experience with pure honey, I was pleased. I'm not in love with it yet because I'm still trying to acclimate myself to the differences in taste, but I'd be down to try it again. 

The family's opinions varied on the honey; one of my brothers said it wasn't as sweet as store-bought honey, my sister said it was as sweet as store-bought, and my sister-in-law said it was stronger. Everyone agreed that it has a little kick to it, the aftertaste wasn't very strong but the flavor lasts longer, and the consistency wasn't as thick, which was nice. For the most part, everyone said they'd have to get used to it excluding my sister-in-law, who said she's good on it. This opinion was not shared by my niece, who may have had a couple spoonfuls too many. lol 

(South Africa) Honey and Salt Toffee Spread by Darling sweet, $8.40

This spread says you can eat it as topping for breads like pancakes or toast, or you can eat it by itself for a snack, and I was too lazy to make either pancakes or toast when I first got the box so I tried it alone. lol At first, like the honey and shortbread cookies, the taste can be a little intense. It's very heavy on the toffee and I didn't taste much of either the honey or salt. I think I was expecting a bit more of a sea salt taste since I often see that with toffees, caramels and chocolates. I think the honey makes the toffee a bit smoother, but neither the honey or salt are particularly strong, which puts the toffee taste front and center. If you're on the fence about toffee at all, this may not be the product for you. By itself, I can only handle a couple of spoons at a time. I tried it on toast a few days ago and even though I only spread a thin layer on the bread, the toffee taste still overwhelmed the bread somehow. Maybe I should have used a thicker cut of bread.  

When I had the family try this out, the opinions were a bit more similar than they were for the honey. My brothers and sister-in-law agreed that the spread wasn't super sweet, had a thick texture sort of like peanut butter, and reminded them all of caramel lollipops or cubes. They also agreed that the honey and salt flavors weren't noticeable. My sister said she could have the spread in moderation and wanted to try it on toast rather than by itself next time, but my sister-in-law (and niece, who determined she wasn't about to be left out of the tasting lol) liked it enough to eat it by itself as a snack. 

My thoughts:

As I believe I said during my initial Try the World review in late 2015 (I'll always remember doing that review because the week I received my products and was starting to put the post together, I broke my toe. lol), I love the attention to detail that the company pays to ensuring that their products really do come from places around the world. I love the concept of putting different pieces of the world into one box and allowing me to taste the things that people in those countries may snack on or eat for dinner. It exposes me to new products and companies without having to leave my room, and I love that about the company as a whole. As you can see from the list, I got products from a bunch of different places around the world and I like that I was given a well-rounded taste profile with the products that I tried. I'm also glad I got to try this box with my family; I love trying out food boxes with them but my youngest brother says he's still traumatized from the health-conscious boxes I used to try because he always got the gross stuff. ha

Since the regular Try the World service is the same price as the Pantry service, though, I don't know that it allows for a new consumer to mentally separate the two services, despite the boxes catering to different taste profiles. There are smaller things in the Pantry box so it would make sense to me for the Pantry box to be a bit cheaper than the parent service but because it isn't, anything beyond the trial box may be out of the budget for a perma-broke consumer like myself. I think that would be my primary complaint with the box, or with the Pantry service as a whole. I also think the shipping times should clearly be stated somewhere on the order page because they wasn't there when I ordered mine and it got frustrating as the weeks went by and I hadn't received anything or had any communication from the company about where the box was. To try to keep it fair and not go so hard, I had to remember that the Pantry service is still in a stage of relative infancy so it's safe to assume the team is still feeling things out in terms of how the service will function best. Try the World, however, is not in its infancy, so I guess I was expecting something a bit more concrete.  

So do I recommend the box?

Despite my complaints about the shipping and price, yes I would recommend this box. I would recommend it if you consider yourself a foodie, if you like being the one to say, "Try this!" to your friends and shove something new in their faces (or is that just me?), or if you just want something outside of your regular snack choices and preferences. I wasn't sure 5 smaller snacks was worth $30, but when you consider that each of these are considered to be gourmet snacks, that ramps up the individual price of each snack from about $3 to around $5 or $6. So while it makes sense from that standpoint, it would also make sense to me that it costs a few bucks less than the parent box. Honestly speaking though, I don't know if I'd pay $30 every month for a few snacks. Maybe a couple of times a year for some treats, but not every month. Pantry is a great service though; it exposes you to different sweets, condiments and foods from around the world, just like its parent box Try the World. A lot of attention goes into each box, which gives you a well-rounded look at a number of international places and the treats offered there.  Another thing I really appreciate about this box and its products is that it's not hard to repurchase them, provided they aren't sold out. I've had that issue with quite a few subscription boxes; I can't find the products anywhere else and they aren't always available on the site after the box comes out (which makes no sense to me). The prices are affordable, which is a big factor to me because duh. I'm broke. So if you'd like to treat yourself (ha) to something special and gourmet every so often, give Pantry a go.

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