As a treat to myself, I recently signed up for a subscription to the Bella Rose Subscription Boxes. I placed a late order and received mine in about three days, but they typically ship out by the 20th of each month. I recently learned that if the box is holiday themed, I will get my holiday themed goodies delivered to my door the month before so I can enjoy them during the whole holiday month. Yay! However, each box is themed and packed full of awesome surprise items with 1 item being personalized just to me...which means I get to feel special and take some time for just "me" every single month! I feel like we could all benefit from more self-care time! Sarah (the curator) puts so much detail and thought into the items inside, and I feel good knowing that I'm helping support other Women-Owned Businesses!
During my typical day, I'm a Virtual Assistant and work to support women and their businesses. So, when I learned that each box contains only goodies from women owned business, I was SO excited! I get to pamper myself and support other women owned businesses? Yeah, sign me up!
The first item I pulled out (and may I add that my 4yr old quickly snagged) was an adorable Princess Moana sticker. The stickers were random and came from Amber Soeurt, who owns Minnie's travel Boutique. She's local to Indiana, and is a travel agent that specializes in any type of travel. However, I found out that she is known for being an amazing Disney Travel Agent. And, by being a subscriber, if I book a Disney vacation with her, I will receive a free personalized traveling cinch sac!
The next item I pulled out was the monthly yummy treat! As a mom, Sarah knows that women are always on the go and seldom get the opportunity to have a snack for just themselves. So every box includes a tasty treat to enjoy! But, of course, I had to fight both my husband and our four year old for the Dream Big scoopable peanut butter by B. Happy peanut butter. This local business supports Kathy Weed and is family owned and operated. I don't know where they got the idea for this, but they clearly know what they are doing! To put it mildly, it was delicious! The peanut butter had white chocolate and pretzel pieces, and went very well with the granny smith apples we had on hand. I was afraid the pretzel pieces would be soggy but they definitely were not! They were still crunchy and absolutely delicious!
My kiddo regularly refuses meals but we can always get her to eat peanut butter. This sweeter treat that we dubbed "dessert", checked my boxes and satisfied me with the protein amounts. She got some healthy protein and it fulfilled her sweet tooth. I was really sad when it was gone, but when I went online to order more, I found out that B.Happy sells their peanut butter in all Indiana Kroger locations! I quickly snagged another Dream Big mix, and also tried the So Happy Together (snickerdoodle popcorn spread). It is also SO delicious. B.Happy offers many other regular and seasonal flavors.
Next, I pulled out a book called "Destined for Greatness" by Sarah Nuse. Sarah owns a business in Kentucky called Tippy Toes Dance. She struggled with different obstacles on her path to fulfilling her dream and passion, and this book dives into her finding in her worth, following her dreams, and proving that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. Once, I found time to open her book one weekend, I definitely stayed up past my bed time to finish it. It's even available as an audible version so I could listen to it while I worked. Regardless, it was certainly inspiring. Haven't we all struggled with fulfilling our dreams?
Another item my kiddo claimed as hers was the pretty little saltwater princess shower steamer from Ivory Anchors. Ivory anchors is located in Kentucky as well and is owned by Dana Grady. Dana started her business by wanting to be able to pamper and spoil herself, but quickly realized many bath care products were not very female part friendly. (Girl, I can relate!) Thankfully, Dana's husband is an OB/GYN, so she uses ingredients that are all safe for females to use.
My mini usually prefers bath bombs to pamper herself, but some nights at our house just don't budget for a 30min bath soak. The shower steamer is neat though, because the steam from the shower actually activates the shower steamer and let's off the scent. I personally didn't love the florally scent since I prefer heavier, and muskier scents. But when I went online, I found a lot of other steamer scents. As a long time sufferer of allergies, I loved that they have one for sinuses. I may or may not have picked up one for hangovers, for my husband to try after a long night of drinks with the guys. I'm sure he will thank me later :)
The most stunning item in my box was the teardrop earrings from Hand + Tool Studio. This business is owned by Colleen Boyle from St. Louis, Missouri. If you check out her Etsy store, you will see that she makes lots of stunning jewelry pieces, but mainly polymer clay earrings.
Her jewelry is definitely more high quality statement pieces, rather than the cheap plastic pieces you will find at your local store. I wore mine out on a date night, but I can (and will) definitely wear them to a wedding and maybe even my fall family pictures. I usually prefer silver over gold tones, but these earrings are just absolutely gorgeous! I'm so glad I got my earrings when I did, because they are currently sold out in her store. Once they restock though, I will be sending a pair to my younger sister.
The princess dish towel I pulled out of the box really made me smile. I love wine and I my favorite Disney Princess is Belle. Who wouldn't want her library?? Each subscriber actually got to pick which princess design they wanted, how awesome! The dish towel was made by Melissa House, from InHouse Custom Embroidery in North Carolina. Her princess towel was beautiful, but she actually does all sorts of custom embroidery like logos, names, etc. I did find out that she can embroider what ever item you want (like a duffle bag) if you ship it to her. Since her work is time extensive and detailed, you will definitely want to reach out early for any custom orders.
The last item that I pulled out made my bookworm heart smile - a custom wood bookmark with my name on it from Sarah! My kiddo did try to run off with it, but it is sturdy (as well as beautiful) so it did not end up torn or creased like some of my favorite laminated paper bookmarks have suffered in her hands. Sarah makes at least one custom item for each subscription box, and this paired perfectly with the book I received.
The great thing that I have noticed about Sarah's custom items is that each item can include your name, a favorite color, or one of your interests. I think custom items like this definitely adds to the box's uniqueness. If you are purchasing a box for someone else, you can add information to engrave a special design or saying on the custom item.
If you subscribe to the VIP box which includes a custom T-shirt of the month, you would have also received a magenta shirt with a gold design that said, Dream Big. I have a few shirts and a hoodie made by Sarah, and they are SO soft! She uses the Bella + Canvas brand, which are a unisex cotton and poly blend. They have little to no shrinkage and feel like your favorite worn in tee. They definitely compliment my work from home uniform, but also have been enjoyed by several members of my family. If my mini was older, I'm sure my shirts would go missing more often.
The last item was a paddle board session from Erica Weddle who owns and operates Simply Fitness in Nashville, IN. I paid for my paddleboarding lesson during the Member's Day Out last month, but was super excited to get a free lesson included in my box. I had already signed up for her moonlit yoga flow and paddle boarding session on August 22nd, but I will be using this voucher to take my husband on a day date. If you do not live in Indiana, the voucher could instead be used for a private yoga YouTube video, that is sent from Erica via email. The YouTube video allows you to do yoga multiple times, so you will get multiple uses out of it instead of just the one time lesson that I got for paddleboarding.
I'm currently eagerly awaiting my August subscription box now. The theme is "I'm a Succa For You" and is succulent themed. I don't have a green thumb, BUT, I can keep succulents alive so I'm really excited! I also got to choose the color of my custom macrame plant hanger, so I know it will match my home décor while also being practical. There are currently only THREE August boxes left, and it would SUCC if you missed out on it! (See what I did there? I crack myself up, lol) I'm really excited to see what other women owned businesses are featured, and of course, I will definitely be going to the next Member's Day Out.
I hope you will all get the upcoming subscription box so that you too can enjoy the next outing. I would love to meet you!
- Courtney Castagne-McCavit
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