Etsy Review: Banana with Sesame Seeds- Rolled Fruit Leather From HealthyTreat

I finally made my first purchase on Etsy! For days I had been eyeing up HealthyTreat's Shop. Since I'm now on a mission to lose weight and get healthy I've become very conscious of the amount of junk food that is out there. I'm what you would call the classic emotional eater. Happy, sad, depressed, excited....really for any reason I'll eat. I love to eat! I can't imagine not eating. But lets face it most junk food just falls short. It leaves you unsatisfied, feeling guilty, lethargic and just wanting something more.

I decided to look for some alternatives to snack on and came across HealthyTreat. This shop is packed full of fruit leather and dried fruits. No added sugar nor perservatives it is simply just fruit and a bit of locally cultivated honey. The prices in this shop are also insane! Not only are they the lowest but free shipping. I dare you to find another shop on Etsy that sells what they do for such a low price.

Finally after drooling for days and trying to decide just which goody I would go with I settled on trying the Banana with Sesame Seeds Fruit leather. It was quickly shipped and I received it in just a few short days. It was packaged well in a small box with enough paper to keep it safe but without killing the environment. I couldn't wait to try a taste. They compared it to taffy and after a bite I could see why. The consistency is a bit like taffy as you chew on it. It is not the consistency of say a fruit roll up. It has bit of chew to it making it last longer. As far as the flavor goes I agree with shop owner Matt that it tastes like banana bread. You get that great banana taste without it being too sweet. It takes like a very ripe banana. You also get that great distinct flavor that only a sesame seed can impart. At first I wasn't so sure about the texture but found I kept going back for another guilt free bite. I love it! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a healthy treat that is different. It is so yummy and you can eat it without any guilt. Try it you wont regret it!

Keep an eye out next month for a feature on this shop. Better yet they are going to be one of my sponsors for the Halloween blog hop giveaway. So if you want to give them a try come back and check out the giveaway. Better yet anyone who buys an item from their shop before the giveaway will get an extra 15 entries into both prize packages for the blog hop for each item you buy. Just leave a comment and I will confirm with the shop that you purchased.

Book Review: Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

Lately I've been on an apocalyptic/dystopian/zombie/contagion kick. I've even had daydreams of it happening and what I would do to protect my family. Hahahaha call it my over active imagination and need for escapism! I was able to borrow a copy of Hollowland for my ereader from a friend who highly recommended it. I had heard of some of Amanda Hocking's books but had never seen this one.

Hollowland is a pure zombie post-apocalyptic book. Bands of survivors exist throughout the country. The book starts with the main character Remy being in a quarantine that suddenly becomes overrun with zombies. Her brother who is in the sick ward has been transferred to another quarantine. The book then becomes about her journey to finding her brother. Along the way she picks up a few companions. As you can imagine it being a pure zombie book along the way some of the companions fall.


I really really really loved this book. There were a few things that annoyed me such as all of the characters names. They were names like Harlow, Remy, Blue, Lazlo, Vega etc. I got over it when I figured out that some of these names are popular now among babies being born so perhaps these are supposed to be that generation. The only other thing that bothered me would be spoilerish but when it comes to the lion I had to suspend my belief a little bit too much. But other than that it was a perfect zombie book for me. A bit of romance without it being over the top. Lots of action and scary moments.  It kept me reading and wanting more! It ends in a cliffhanger. But thankfully the next book in the series comes out sometime this fall! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Board Game Review: Power Grid- Factory Manager

The original Power Grid  game is a household favorite. We have spent many a gaming session playing it. So when we were on vacation in Lancaster and stopped by a wonderful gaming store (sorry forgot the name of it) we picked it up. Stepdaughter practically begged hubby for it. So they worked out a deal where she paid for half and we paid for the other half. It makes me smile to know that our 13 year old loves board gaming just as much as we do. No Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders for this family!

Power Grid Factory Manger has players building and running their own factory. You must strike a balance by buying machines and robots to run said machines from the market. All while trying to effectively run your factory.

This game is nothing like the original Power Grid. The only thing that resembles it is the artwork.This is a much faster paced game as there are only 5 rounds. Power Grid can take well over an hour to play whereas Factory Manager can be played in about 30 minutes. Even though the main game board is smaller than in P.G. the game still takes up a big amount of space. We have only managed to play it once so far but we enjoyed it. We were left some confusion and questions as is normal for a new game. But thank goodness for BoardGameGeek who always has the answers to our questions.  I didn't enjoy this as much as P.G. but  I love it is a much faster game. I would give it 3 and half out of 5 stars. Whereas original P.G gets 4.5 out of 5.

Looking For Sponsors

Haha so I lasted all of a few hours before deciding I want to do a giveaway. I would like to join up with A Halloween Harvest blog hopevent October 14-24. I'm looking for sponsors to donate prizes related to fall, harvest, halloween, autumn etc. Decorations, costumes, books, jewelry, candy, clothes, anything you can think of! Blog hops are big events that draw in a lot of people. This will give you exposure! If interested please either comment here or send me an email to mommywantstoread at gmail dot com I look forward to hearing from you!

Book Review: Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

As I said before I've been having a very hard time getting through books lately. I'll start one then cast it to the side. This is the first book in over a month and half that I was able to get all the way through. Wake Unto Me is about modern 15 year American Caitlyn. She earns a scholarship to a fancy French boarding school. But Caitlyn is not normal. She often has nightmares of strange beings that she calls screechers who scream and scratch at her. Her dreams are always vivid and soon she dreams of Raphael a young handsome man who died 400 years ago. There are secrets buried within the school and it is up to Caitlyn and Raphael to uncover those secrets.

This is a time traveling YA romance story. I really enjoyed it. Though some of it was predictable how you got to those predictable things was not. If that made any sense LOL. Part mystery part love story it was enough to keep me reading. My biggest problem with the book was the abrupt beginning. It starts off with her being school and asked to a party by a guy who normally would bully her. She comes home to find out she made it into the boarding school then the next chapter takes place months later where she is off to school. I would have liked the beginning to have a little more to it. The jump was too big a jump and was jolting. But beyond that it was a thoroughly enjoyable clean YA read.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars

Wednesday Blog Hops

Morning and welcome to my blog. How is everyone doing? Please leave me a message letting me know you are following and I'll be sure to follow you back!

http://takeitfrom-me.blogspot.com/

Etsy Finds: Play with Your Food!

As I approach a new healthier lifestyle I've realized that if you cant eat you might as well play! Here are all amazing items made from felt. These shops are so creative and talented! All shops have less than 30 sales so lets send some love their way. If you have an etsy account (you can sign up for free) please favorite their shop or heart a few of their items. Or better yet buy something as these would make gifts for the holidays, birthdays, parties, sleepovers etc.

• CharvetCreations based out of Titusville, Florida is run by a stay at home mommy. Whenever her two children take a nap or are in bed at night this mommy goes to work making her creations. Many of them are inspired by her kids- 1 boy and 1 girl. Her shop is full of so many different things such as jewelry, booboo bunnies, bookmarks, and even birdhouses! Check out her shop and some of her great Halloween 
• items. Here are some of her yummy felt creations (my favorite is the smoores one!)

ashinybeetle's shop run by Yuki is a fairly new shop to Etsy. Not only does Yuki make gorgeous felt play things but she also makes some beautiful hair accessories. Her pansy hairpins are so cute any little girl would love to wear them! There is even a super adorable dinosaur mobile in her shop. My favorite item would have to be Blueberry Banana Cup Cake!

KennasFeltForest  based out of  Hickory, North Carolina is run by yet another stay at home mommy. Her two daughters are Kenna and Quinnlyn. She has been crafting items for her daughter Kenna since before she was born. Note only does this mommy create cute play food items she also creates awesome notecards and has crafted some snazzy bow holders. I've fallen in love with the Waldorf sandwich! 

                                      

                                                  

The PemberlySeamstress is run by fellow book lover Emily Muller from Thousand Oaks, California. The second I saw her shop and saw her Anne of Green Gables items I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. Not only is she a fan of Anne girl but she is also a big Jane Austen fan! She often has tea parties with her kids. This new shop opened back in January. Now then if only I could get a bite of Diana's Salad!

     

LittlePeanuts3 is another new shop that is based out of Lafayette, Indiana. This shop run by Prudence Clark is filled with some wonderfully crafty item. She has some super cute headbands, and baby dresses that makes me wish I I had a little girl to put them in. She also has bracelets and cute decorated snowmen. But the item I love the most is her butter and green beans playset!

Back Again?

It has been a crazy few months. My husband became very ill and spent some time in the hospital. Then came the business of life. Hurricane Irene didn't help either. But I'm back. I had some wonderful sponsors lined up to do some back to school giveaways but have decided it wouldn't be fair to them for me to do it now while I'm not 100% certain that I'm going to continue blogging. Don't get me wrong I've missed it very much. I love doing giveaways and letting people know my opinion on things. However, I don't want to neglect my family in the process. For the 4'th time in one year my husband almost lost his leg/life and it kind of puts things in perspective. So for now I'm back and will do reviews and as always show my obsession with Etsy. As far as giveaways go I can't make any promises but if I can get back in the swing and bring back up readership I'd love to do a fall type giveaway or at least something for Christmastime  I haven't done much reading in all my time away. I've picked up and discarded books sometimes midway through sometimes half a page through. I've finished one book in all this time. So being away from blogging has NOT helped me in the reading department. Anyway, thanks to those who are still around!