Old Factory Candle Gift Set Review/Giveaway February 13, 2015

I was recently contacted by Old Factory Candle to see if I would like to try out their Gift Set. I jumped at the chance since I obsessed with candles and love that they are soy so burn much cleaner than the standard wax candle. These candles are currently sold exclusively on Amazon and come in many different scents. Their candles are hand-poured in the USA with natural soy wax, self-trimming cotton candle wicks, and premium fragrance oils. The Old Factory Candle Gift Sets each contain 3 different scented candles. Each candle burns clean and even for 20 hours. The subtle jar design makes it the perfect complement for any decor, and any room of the house – kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, family room, great room, and basement.  Each gift set is themed around a group of related fragrances. So everyone is sure to find something perfect for every occasion, every room in the house, and all the special someone’s in your life.

I chose the Vacation set which included 3 (2 ounce each) candles: Sea Breeze, Hawaiian Lei, and Awapuhi. I figured since it is the middle of winter I would change things up with a summer/vacation vibe. I am sooo glad I did. I burned these candles in my kitchen for a few hours as well as my bathroom and the scent was perfect. It wasn’t overwhelming but any means, but it held enough scent that I could momentarily transport myself to somewhere tropical. I just lit all 3 candles and placed them in various places in my living room and I am really loving the combo smell of each scent. I am sooo impressed with these and would definitely consider purchasing them in the future, as well as for a gift. I love them even more that they are soy/clean. I hate to be inhaling artificial chemicals and possibly altering the color of my walls etc. from them burning too close. These candles are definitely winners!

That being said, Old Factory Candle would like to offer one of my of my lucky readers (with US address only) a chance to get 1 box of an Old Factory Candle Gift Set. Feel free to leave a comment on this post or “contact me” letting me know which scent combo you would like to try. This giveaway will end one week from today on Friday, February 20th and I will email the winner directly. Good luck!

**Disclosure: I did receive a FREE box of an Old Factory Candle Gift Set, but all opinions are my own. I was not compensated in any other way**

Berry Almond Chicken Salad June 13, 2012

Tonight for dinner the boyfriend stopped and picked up Wendy’s and got me my favorite (newly) seasonal item ever — their berry almond chicken salad. It consists of field greens, grilled chicken, shaved asiago cheese, strawberries, blueberries, and roasted almonds topped with fat free raspberry vinaigrette. It is sooo delicious!!! As soon as we saw the commercials on TV for this salad I knew I needed it soon. Now that I’ve had a taste I might need it like once a day. Thank God it’s only about 2 miles from me haha. This afternoon I spent studying my oral boards, although the boy sent me a Bill Simmons interview with Lena Durham so that took up about an hour of my time because I had to listen since I love her. I love the show “Girls” on HBO. It’s so raw and real and just wonderfully written. I’m sooo sad the season finale is this week booo. Oh well, I was already informed this even we will be watching the NBA playoffs game #1 how fun ;P

P.S. I can’t add a pic because I ran out of space on my blog ahhh so sad! I’m debating if I want to buy more, stay tuned!

Multigrain Rice Cake with Banana Slices, Almond Butter, & Cinnamon June 12, 2012

This morning for breakfast I am having a multigrain rice cake with banana slices, creamy almond butter, and a cinnamon. I wanted to make this like I usually do with the almond butter spread nicely on the rice cake topped with bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon, but I opened up a new package of rice cakes and the first three were broken!! I decided it wasn’t worth it to keep digging down for the fourth since I was making a mess as it was, so here it the final product. Hey it all ends up in the same place right ha? So last night I went to bed at 10pm and slept right through until about 6am. This is rare for me. I was super tired all day yesterday so hopefully this chunk of good sleep will get be through the day. I have a pediatric immunizations lecture this morning from 8am-12pm that is 341 slides ahhhh! I think it’s going to be horrible. Hopefully it will be a little interesting at the very least. Lunch packing time!

Swiss Steak with Sweet Peas June 11, 2012

Tonight for dinner I made swiss steak with sweet peas. I planned to make this about a week ago and kept taking the meat in and out of the freezer and then ended up having different things. Well tonight is the night and it came out great. This meal definitely reminds me of home. This evening I wasn’t that hungry since I snacked a little throughout the day. Tonight I am just relaxing and maybe studying a few study guides for oral boards since I don’t have another exam until Monday. My orthopedics exam went better than I anticipated today even though I thought it was tricky. Hopefully I can end my last semester of PA school on a good note. I was really tired this afternoon and planned to nap but it didn’t quite happen. Maybe I’ll just end up going to bed early. Otherwise, I’m not quite sure I can fit a nap in ha. Class all day all week blah. Is it August yet? Please come soon!

Turkey & Cheese Sandwich, Cucumber Slices, Strawberries & Blueberries

Today for lunch I packed an oven roasted turkey, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, and baby spinach on toasted whole wheat bread with a sliced cucumber and strawberries/blueberries. This lunch makes me happy. It is sooo colorful and complete I’m sure I will enjoy it. I always feel so much better about eating a balanced meal. Yesterday, I went a little crazy with all the random foods and times I ate, I am glad to be back on track today. I’m hating this whole exam every Monday thing. It is totally killing me weekends and it’s rarely hard to balance with studying for oral boards since they are so important too ahhh! It was nice to have a weekend free of games/babysitting though (even if a family did cancel last minute). This weekend I am definitely a little busier, as expected. I can’t believe how fast the summer spring is flying by. I just need to keep my eye on the prize. Ok orthopedics test here I come!

Peach Greek Yogurt, Golden Delicious Apple

This morning for breakfast I am having a Fage Greek yogurt with a golden delicious apple. Wow so I have really fallen off the blogging wagon and I’m not sure I can pinpoint why. I think it’s just me not having normal meals or not being at home. Now that I have a normal week of school I will try to post my meals more regularly. I do need to plan something for dinner though. In fact, I am running to the kitchen right now to take some meat out of the freezer. This poor meal I just decided I am making I planned to make several times this week and kept taking the meat in and out of the freezer (not good I know!). So tonight will finally be the night. I have an orthopedics test today in a hour and then class until 4pm. Long days of class this summer and I’m not loving it. Today is my friend Elysha’s birthday though soooo happy birthday!!! We will celebrate after this exam for sure :)

Sourdough French Toast with Butter June 9, 2012

This morning for breakfast I made sourdough french toast with butter. I had some bread in a freezer from a few weeks ago I thought I would use up and this was the perfect way. It was actually way more filling than I thought, I couldn’t even finish it I was sooo full. The sun is shining and it’s the weekend so I’m happy. I do have an orthopedics test on Monday but I’m not even too concerned at this point. I don’t have any plans at all this weekend — no games, no babysitting, no commitments. I can just focus on school and get some cleaning done. The boy is working all weekend since his company has these weekend workshops and it’s his turn to project manager so he’s there Saturday, Sunday, and Monday 7a-6pm. He is not excited to say the least. I think I shall go hang with him this evening to break up the monotony. Yayyy for Saturday!

Dark Chocolate Granola Bar, Orange June 8, 2012

This morning for breakfast I am having a dark chocolate granola bar and an orange. Wellll I apologize for not blogging for days but I have honestly eaten the most random things. I have not gone grocery shopping since Toronto because I have been so busy so I’ve been surviving on random things in my cupboard and meals out. Luckily, the last two nights I had dinner plans and I just kind of winged it for breakfast and lunch. I am on the last leg of my fresh things today so I am definitelyyyyy going to the store after class today. Well, kind of ha. One of my best friends from school has a wedding at 4pm like a half hour away so another friend and I are doing her hair, makeup, and mani/pedi since she has no time to get it all done at the salon. I’m actually pretty excited about it. I feel like I rarely do girly things with other girls since college so it should be fun. Lunch is just an apple and a tub of hummus + baby carrots ha. I’ll post groceries later if I have time! PS I totally took this picture horizontally and wordpress will not let me insert it that way. I even changed it and it keeps changing it back. Oh well, at least you can steal read the granola bar name ha. TGIF! Enjoy your day everyone :D

Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms & Bowtie Pasta June 4, 2012

Tonight for dinner I am having chicken marsala with mushrooms and bowtie pasta from the Cheesecake Factory. The boy and I went to dinner there last night and they gave me sooo much food I had to bring half home. I’m glad though because I definitely didn’t feel like cooking and this is super tasty. I had such a long day at school. The morning was really fun putting casts and splints on my friend and her putting them on me. I couldn’t believe how heavy they were to cart around. I was a little nervous when she was sawing them off but she did awesome. After that we had 4 hours of peds lecture which was tough to sit through. It was interesting I was just exhausted. I need to study for geriatrics and oral boards tonight and I am already ready for bed ahhh. I don’t know why I’m so tired anymore. I think I am more mentally drained than anything. Alright well study time it is!!

Fried Egg on Toast, Sliced Apple

This morning for breakfast I made a fried egg on whole wheat toast with a sliced apple. I had to get up a little earlier today since I have class beginning at 7:30am instead of 8am. We have casting and splinting lab 7:30-11:30am. I am super excited about it. We get to cast and splint each others’ arms and legs all morning. It’s particularly fun for me since I never had a cast. I feel like the majority of kids have broken a bone but I never had to have a fun colored cast on — until today :) Then I have lecture from 12-4pm so it is a long day. Thankfully it’s not all lecture though. After that I think I need to get some groceries if I am up to it. I might be too tired so I could potentially wait until tomorrow since I do have leftovers from the Cheesecake Factory last night yum! I was super tired so I didn’t even get to stay up to watch Girls. I will try and catch up later on today. Lunch is just soup and fruit. Catch ya tonight!