Review & Giveaway: Mary's Secret Ingredients Subscription Box

I have always considered myself a foodie.  I love food, there's no denying it, and I love lots of different kinds of food.  In fact, there isn't much I don't like, except maybe Uni (so chalky and bitter).  So when I was contacted by the fabulous people behind the subscription box Mary's Secret Ingredients to do a review, you'd better believe I was more than a little excited.  Let's face it-I like subscription boxes as much as I like food.

Mary's Secret Ingredients is a surprise culinary subscription box created by Mary Pisarkiewicz,  who is the blogger behind LOVE-the Secret Ingredient.  The box has limited quantities and ships out once per quarter, and it is seasonally themed and filled with goodies hand-picked by Mary and her team.  In the box she shares some of her favorite foodie products, recipes, and tips and tricks for even more goodness in the kitchen.

When my box arrived, I could barely contain myself with excitement.  I opened it up and dug through all of the wonderful goodies inside.  I instantly wanted to try it all! This is the Mary's Secret Ingredients Spring Box, which is now sold out, but I expect nothing short of this awesomeness next box.

Included in the box, and my opinions of each product, are:

Delta Bred Cheese Straws:  I usually don't like cheese straws, which was the first thing I thought when I opened this box up and decided to try one.  Yet these and a rich smokey cheese flavor and a kick of spice at the end.  While I can still only eat one or two at a sitting before I don't want anymore, I do think I'll continue eating them-much to my surprise!

Reids Maple Pecan Oatie Bites: This was perhaps my favorite thing in the whole box, and I have eaten the entire package.  They're like little crumbly oat cookies, and the maple pecan flavor is sweet (but not overpowering) and to dream of.  It's kind of milky, but not really milk flavored.  Hard to explain, but suffice it to say I immediately got online to find out where I could order more, since they're made in Scotland.  Thankfully Mary's Secret Ingredients links you to everything in their Marketplace.

Samba Flavor Chimichurri Spices:  This is a powdered herb mix with instructions right on it to make a Chimichurri sauce. Funny enough, I tried Chimichurri sauce for the first time from a food truck the other day, so now I'm excited to try this!  I have yet to make this sauce so I cannot review it, but I'll be back to do so when I have.

Savory Choice Pho Concentrate: Pho is one of my favorite dishes, and my friends and I go out for Pho quite often.  I've said many times that I've wanted to try and make it at home, and with this concentrate I can!  I have yet to try this product, and will be back to update with a review once I have.

Loaker Cremkakao: This chocolate bar was a really light flavor and a creamy chocolate.  I prefer a richer style of chocolate typically, but this one had great texture and was still very enjoyable-I mean I still ate the whole thing in one sitting.  Chocolate is chocolate, right?

Shirataki Harvest Noodles: These were interesting to me.  It's like a microwave dinner, but it can just store in the cupboard instead of the freezer.  The idea is great, because then you could store them in your desk at work and they have very few calories in them. Alas, very few calories usually means no flavor, and these were no exception.  They kind of remind me of Spaghetti-Os, but with less flavor.

Chef's Planet Cit-Trease: This is a tool meant for taking citrus out of their peels.  It kind of looks like the tools you use for brushing horses...  Have not tried it yet, but it could definitely be useful in the kitchen!  Especially if you want to use those campfire brownies that you make in Oranges, or those jello shots you make in lime peels.

Over all, I was really impressed with what I received, and I think I'll probably at least try their next two boxes for Summer and Fall.  Especially since I'm getting back into cooking and enjoying it so much.  Plus, if you sign up for their newsletter on their homepage they'll send you tips, recipes, and a 25% off code for your first box!

The amazing people over at Mary's Secret Ingredients are offering one lucky winner their Summer 2015 box for free!  The Summer boxes are top secret (but I'm sure you'll love it) and will ship out on June 25th!  Giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, and will end at 12AM on Monday, June 15th, 2015.  Entering below agrees to all terms within the rafflecopter.

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Happy Friday + Life Lately

I confess that I'm still missing Oregon.  I've been back for over a week now but my heart is just not in anything... I desperately want to go back there.  Did you see all my gorgeous photos I took with my new DSLR?  If not see Eel Lake, Umpqua Lighthouse, Cape Arago, Bandon, & Mr. Bingo's Backyard.  Here are a few Instagram Photos that didn't get shared in those posts:

1 // At the airport I stopped for a wine tasting.  It almost made me miss my flight though! 

2 // On our first night there we went to Pueblo Nuevo for dinner and I had this Margherita with the most amazing seafood burrito.  It was in a sauce that I can only describe as a Mexican Alfredo.  Love! 

3 // The ocean is amazing.

4 // My camera on the very first day I took her out shooting.

5 // I did a lot of cooking, the first morning I made coconut pancakes and the next I made crepes! 

6 // Inside Tony's Crab Shack.  So delicious and adorable! 

7 // The beach in Bandon was super windy, but very pretty! 

8 // I also baked banana bread for the first time in my life while I was there.  This was Nutella Banana Bread.

9 // Mr. Bingo's back yard - it was awesome!

10 // On my last night there we went back to the Mexican restaurant because I wanted that burrito.  Except they were out of the small seafood that went inside and only had large Prawns, so he offered to make me something else with the big ones.  I asked if he could use that same sauce (since it's really what I went for) and they outright refused.  The waiter was nice, but the owner was pretty rude about it.  Screw them!

11 // The tree in Mr. Bingo's front yard.  I feel like I say goodbye to it with a photo every time I leave.

I confess that I haven't done laundry since before my trip, so I'm now forced to wear my nice blouses and dress slacks to work.  How funny is it that I dress nicer on laundry day?  

Do you follow me on Instagram?  If not, you should!  I'm giving away this cute pink zippy back with a $10 Victoria Secret Gift card, pink Sally Hansen nail polish, a face mask, Blow Pro Hairspray, and a body spray!  It ends on 3/31 and to enter you simply follow me, repost the photo on Instagram with #MSCCMarchGiveaway and @MySoCalledChaos, and then tag three friends on the original giveaway post!

 

Did you hear that the Ultimate Blog Party is coming up over at 5 Minutes for Mom?  I LOVE participating each year-and currently they're taking giveaway donations.  I donated $135 worth of featured advertising this year, and wanted to let you guys know so you can get in on the prize donations if you'd like!  Otherwise it'll be a bunch of link ups from April 4th through 11th that you can join, and you can enter the giveaways too!

Another fun link-up I'm looking forward to in April is Fairy Tale Fortnight.  I'm planning a huge fairy tale related giveaway.  If you don't want to host your own, but offer fairy tale related goods please let me know if you'd like to get in on the big one I'm throwing and have your links in the giveaway Rafflecopter! :) 

I went on my first Utah hike of the season on Sunday.  I looked up easy beginner hikes because I'm so out of shape (Hiking is one of my goals to get in shape this year) and we decided to hike up Ensign Peak behind the capital building.  It was short, but not easy.  I'm super out of shape.  I wrote an entire post over at Health NOT to Health NUT about the things I realized about myself and journey on this hike.  Also, Utah is not nearly as pretty as Oregon and the altitude here kills my asthma.  Hiking along the coast was a breeze.

While in Oregon, Mr. Bingo informed me that he's lost 50lbs over the last year simply by not eating out.  He lives so far from any fast food places or stores that it makes it not quick and easy, so he just cooks now.  I had so much fun cooking meals in Oregon that I decided when I came back I'd give up fast food and work on cooking more, and I've had so much fun with it!  I haven't eaten out at all this week and the kitchen has never stayed cleaner, because now that I'm cooking I keep up with the dishes and stuff.  It's also been nice to have leftovers on nights when I have school (and am too tired to cook when I get home at 8pm) instead of grabbing something unhealthy.

So far I've cooked Ahi Tuna Steaks & Asparagus (Sat), Coconut Pancakes (Sun), the roommate made Irish Stew Sunday night (which carried over into a lunch at work too!), Monday we made Fried Rice, Wednesday I made Linguini and Clams, and ate it's leftovers for lunch and dinner yesterday, and tonight I'm going to make Spaghetti Squash.  I've also eaten a lot of yogurt with berries & oats this week, and salads!

Belvoir Ginnger Beer, a Cornish Pasty, Violet Crumble, & Double Decker.

I confess that I recently went to the British store by my house for the first time.  It's totally overpriced, but it was fun to get a few little goodies to try.  Though I've been informed that ordering these online is way cheaper.

I have a B in French.  I knew I wasn't doing as well as last semester (this is a tougher class/professor and I did miss 2 days already) but I didn't expect it to be a B.  For some reason my brain is equating a B with an F and I am not happy about it at all.  Ugh.  Buuuut, I am understanding a lot more now when it's spoken to me so I know I'm improving, and my adorable classmate Julie drew this picture of me while we watched Être et Avoir - which was the most adorable little documentary about a teacher and students in France.

Work is work.  Not much to report here other than I'd rather be back in Oregon...

How are you?
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Cakes Under the Influence

I was recently contacted for a review of Cakes Under the Influence, and thought it was such a fun concept I had to try it out and share it with my readers.  If you're not familiar with this site, it's an awesome shop where you can order supplies for making alcoholic cakes-in a varieties of styles and flavors!  They also have an option for cookies-which I can't wait to try some time!

Mine definitely did not turn out as pretty as the photos, but it's hard with the Utah altitude.  Pretty or not, they tasted fantastic!  I used just Amaretto (oops, forgot the mixer-who needs mixers? Haha!) with the chocolate cake.  The supplies for baking these are really fun-little martini shaped molds which you place in a cupcake pan to keep them separated.  I had a really fun time mixing these up (and eating left over batter...) and then cooking them up to eat after.  Definitely boozy-just how I like it!

These would be so fun for any type of event, you could put them out for a BIG occasion, or you can have them on a nice night in just for two!  Here are a few examples of fun kits! (Click on the photo to see the kit)

And here are some fun recipes too!  (Click on the photo to see the recipe)

All in all, it was such a fun idea I'm sure I'll be trying more of these in the future! Especially for some awesome parties-these would be such a blast! 

Cafe Zupas: Delicious Soup, Salad, Sandwiches, & More!

Have you ever eaten at Cafe Zupas?  You can find Zupas restaurants in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada-they've won 18 Best of State awards in the last seven years!  That has to say something!  Shawn and I used to frequent it a lot when we had lunch together last year.  He's predictable, he always gets the Roasted Red Pepper Salad and the Chicken Enchilada Soup.  I like to mix it up a bit and have something different each time I go.  

Today Shawn and I were treated to lunch at Zupas.  It was too busy to get many pictures of the inside (busy is good-it means other people think the place is good!) He ordered his regular, and I was in the mood for something else so I ordered the Turkey Spinach Artichoke sandwich, and instead of getting salad like normal, I went on down to the Soup section.  What soup did I want?  I had no idea, but the nice employee behind the counter suggested Tomato Basil and let me have a sample (that's one thing I like about Zupas, they let you have a sample to decide if you'll like it or if you are in the mood for it) and it was so good!  So I ordered it, and did not regret it. 

 I also love that no matter what you order, you get a chocolate-covered strawberry.  Who can complain about that?  Well, Shawn does, but that doesn't count because he gives them to me!  Who can complain about TWO chocolate-covered strawberries?