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Fantastic Subscription Boxes to Check Out!

January 25, 2015
*Complimentary boxes were sent in order to facilitate our honest review and feedback. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own and my family's. 

You all know I LOVE subscription boxes! Who does not adore getting a surprise in the mail each month? While there are already tons of subscription boxes available, new ones seem to pop up all the time. Some are definitely worth checking out. I try my best to stay on top of all the newest boxes to hit the market and let you know which are worth subscribing to. This month, I have four to tell you about that are a bit different. I love the make-up and jewelry boxes, but these are all boxes that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

First up, Brick LootBrick Loot is a brand new subscription box that sends brick aka “LEGO” themed items every month. They are not associated with LEGO, but they still send amazing stuff. Monthly boxes can include unique items including LEGOs, LEGO-compatible products and brick items. This box is recommended for kids 6, all the way to 99! My son loves building LEGOs and I thought this box was too cool not to check out. Oh, and did I mention Brick Loot is the brain-child of a nine-year old?! How cool is that!!

From checking out the Brick Loot website, you will find out some of items you may receive are:
Brick themed T-Shirt
Exclusive Brick Loot Mini-figures
Custom Build with REAL LEGO Bricks (Instructions and Lego pieces)
LEGO compatible products
The newest brick items in the market
Exclusive Brick Loot items you can not get ANYWHERE else!


We were so excited to check out our box the minute it arrived! The January box included an exclusive Brick Loot shirt and mini-figure, along with a custom exclusive build - Pizza Vending Machine designed by BrickBuildersPro, two packs of Brickstix reusable, removable and restickable decals that were thought up by a kid, BrickForge glassware and a Liteupblocks street lamp.



Not including the exclusive shirt or mini-figure, we the retail value was over $42, so I think this box is a great deal, even with shipping. The fact that it introduced us to several awesome brands we had never heard of was really fantastic and we cannot wait to see what they have in future boxes.



Brick Loot costs $27.00/month plus shipping ($6), or you can save by signing up for a 3 or 6 month plan. Right now you can use code "loot1" to save 10% off a 1 or 3 month plan. Brick Loot puts out a limited number of boxes each month and usually sells out quickly. If you want to get the February box, I strongly suggest subscribing before the end of January!
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Next up is Try The World. You may remember I reviewed the Try the World Holiday Box a few months ago. When Try the World let me know that their next box was themed for Venice, I was thrilled! I traveled around Italy about 10 years ago and still remember how amazing the food was. I was not really sure what to expect in the box when I picked it up and felt how heavy it was (in my mind I was just thinking pasta which is pretty light).

Try the World comes wrapped up beautifully and could be given to anyone as a gift just the way it comes. In addition to a product card, Try the World also includes a Culture Guide which I find really cool. It includes recipes, information on the Venice Carnival, and a list of songs and movies about Venice. You also receive 7-10 gourmet products curated by a chef from that month's destination.


This month’s Try the World box included: Urbani Tartufi Red Pesto and Truffles sauce and Pastificio Dei Campi Pasta (my new favorite!! This pasta took me right back to my time in Italy! It is a very light color, and has a nuttier flavor and slightly chewier texture then the pasta we are used to in the states. It is also healthier for you as it does not covert to sugar in our system the way "Americanized" pasta does).



Also included were Mogi Coffee which is described as a full-bodied, creamy roast with low levels of caffeine, Leone Pastiglie (lemon candy-butter-mint-type things), Venchi Torroncini, Perugina Limoncello Chocolate Tab (dark chocolate flavored chocolate bar with limoncello), and Melata di Bosco (the mystery treat in my box - Italian honey).



My favorite item by far was the pasta. It is a new brand to me and I will definitely order it again. My second favorite was the Limoncello dark chocolate. I have not had Limoncello since I was in Italy so it was a fun treat to have something with that great flavor again. I thought this Try the World box was very well-curated and authentic. While I did not do a cost break-down for this box since I could not find several of the items online (since they are imported from Italy), I think this box is definitely worth the price!
Try the World costs $39/box (includes free shipping) which is shipped every two months. Discounts are available on six and 12 month subscriptions. Right now you can save 30% on your first box using code ROCKVILLETRAVELS. Another option is to order through this special link and receive a free Paris Try the World box when you subscribe. (Please note that these offers cannot be combined).
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Awesome Pack is brand new subscription box that focuses on board games and other family fun activities. They offer a Family Pack if you need items that would work for young and older kids, or a Big Kid Pack for older kids and adults (for those with kids 12+). We received a Family Pack for purposes of our review.

When you first sign up, Awesome Pack with send you a detailed survey to find out more about everyone in your family, what they like and dislike, and what board games your family already owns. 

Every Awesome Pack contains at least one super awesome board game suitable for the whole family. Their Experts of Awesome do all the research, read all the reports, and get all the best prices, so that all you have to do is gather your family together and play. Each Awesome Pack comes with a fun activity that you can do as a family, like a science, craft, or DIY project where you can all participate in making or learning something awesome together. For each child AP adds a quality smaller activity (smaller in size but not in awesomeness). These are cool activities like magic marker books, card games, mini games, puzzles etc... They even include a goody for the four-legged members of the family!

So, what did we get in our box? Tons! The Awesome experts selected Coraxis & Co for us. While I was a bit concerned the game looked a bit young for my son, it is an award-winning game with great reviews. My son was super excited to see the Kitchen Science Kit and Coin Magic Kit. He also loves the Magnetic Racer and Nitro Grinder he received. The dogs were beyond excited with their new toys as well. I thought the Spiderman sticker album and stickers, Awesome Pack Activity Guide and Awesome stickers and magnet were all icing on the cake! 



Each box comes with an info card designed just for your family detailing all of the items in your box. I appreciate that they let you know the detail card has spoilers. My son wanted to go through each item in the box before we opened the card to learn more about everything.




Awesome Pack costs $44.99/month (including free shipping). The retail value of everything in our box was over $62 which I think is great, and we were introduced to many items we had never heard of before. I am thinking of signing up for the Big Kid Pack. We have tons of board games for my son and now I am thinking it would be fun to let the Awesome Pack experts pick out the perfect games for when we want to have a mom and dad date night or just play a fun board game after the little guy goes to bed.
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Last but not least is little Blast. Little Blast kits are fun and educational. The kits are designed to incorporate multiple types of learning including building, reading, storytelling, logical sequencing, measuring and more! The little Blast kits include just about everything you need (for example, in the Pulley Kit we got to review, the only things we had to add were water and a shoe or other heavy object to lift with the pulley).



The activities in the kit have a recommended order (brought to life in a cute storyboard that incorporates each activity into a story), but each activity can also stand on its own. There is also an achievement chart which we have found to be a great motivator in my household.




For the Pulley Blast, my son learned about how to Make a Pulley, how to Change Force, how to Measure String, and he was able to build a little Cable Car to move items from one place to another. He was absolutely amazed to learn how easy it was to make a pulley and even more amazed to see how a pulley made it so much easier to lift something heavy (like daddy's shoe).



As we progressed through the activities he learned that you can actually use two pulleys and accomplish lots of different tasks with pulleys and wheels.


Little Blast is a lot of fun and a great option for families looking for a fun way to teach younger kids about science. These kits are designed to be accomplished with a parent's assistance so they are a great activity for a rainy day or family night. There are small pieces included in the Pulley Blast, so this would not be a great pick if you have a really little one who still likes to put everything in their mouth.

Little Blast costs $24.95 per month plus shipping, with discounted three and six month subscriptions available (which include free shipping). They also offer three and six month digital subscriptions. You can also choose to just order a single Blast for $24.95 plus shipping.