Uppercase Box & Owlcrate Box | February's Subscriptions Box

This month, I decided to try two different book subscription box; OwlCrate Box, and Uppercase Box. This is my second month as an OwlCrate subscriber and my first time as a Uppercase subscriber. Unlike OwlCrate, Uppercase doesn't have a theme for every month, so you can't expect what book or goodies that you will get. It's totally a mystery box. Uppercase also has two different types of boxes. One is an 'Expert Box' (23 USD) and 'Book Exclusive Plan' (13.99 USD). With the cheaper box, you won't get any goodies from what I understand. And, unfortunately at this time, Uppercase does not ship outside the US and Canada. So, without further ado, let's get down to business.

First, let's take a look at this month's OwlCrate Box. The theme was 'Run Away with the Circus'.

What I receive in February's OwlCrate Box:

• A beautiful red tote bag inspired by Night Circus and created by Evie Bookish exclusively for OwlCrate. ( I wish I get the black tote bag tho)
• Le Cirque des Reves candle from FrostBeard Studio. A blend of caramel popcorn, roasted chestnuts, and bonfire fragrances. (Ahhhhh, I'm so in love with this candle. I love scented candle and more collection for me)
• Mini doughnut lip balm from Geek Fire Labs
• An awesome little notepad made from recycled casino playing card from Attic Journals
• Fun sticky page flags with circus themed from Girl of All Work. 
• OwlCrate Circus theme pin
• Caraval (Hardcover) by Stephanie Garber, which includes a signed bookplate, a beautifully designed quote card, a sneak peak of the audio book, and a letter from Stephanie.
  

I was so excited for Owlcrate to arrive, especially when they hinted that items from Evie Bookish and FrostBeard Studio would be included. And of course, I'm excited about the book as well as all the Owlcrate member know what book we will get this month. I may be a little bit disappointed with the Owlcrate Box last month, but this month I was very satisfied with it!

Now, on to Uppercase Box. 

Technically, Uppercase isn't a subscription "box" because its contents are in this cute cloth bag, which is shipped in a USPS padded envelope. So, it's more of a subscription "bag". And here's what I received in February's Uppercase "Box":

• A loose tea of Pride & Peppermint tea with bookmark from NovelTeaTins 
• A key necklace to 221B (Sherlock's apartment)
• Valentine Card from Epic Reads
• I <3 YA Laptop Sticker from Epic Reads
• Bookmark of codes for special reading experience and exclusive content 
• By Your Side by Kasie West (Uppercase Hardcover Edition) - SIGNED

I really love their exclusive bag design for this month, perfect for Valentine's season. It's really cute! And, I love all the goodies that I get. The key necklace is adorable, and I love the tea (though, I'm not sure when I am going to drink it because I grow up drink with tea bag lol). Since February is the Month of Love, I was expecting the book will be a contemporary and romance book. And I love the fact that the book comes with signed on it. I have yet read any Kasie West's book, but I heard good things about her other book. I can't wait to dig into it and this book will be in my March TBR list :)

Conclusion:
All in all, both boxes were equally fun to get and exciting to open. With OwlCrate, the price seem to be fair for all to get especially if you are really into all the great goodies, while Uppercase more to the book. Well, it's a toss up! I can't choose which box I want to continue to subscribe. I di enjoy the boxes enough to give it another shot lol. So, next month, it looks like I will be trying out both boxes again before I make a final decision about which one to continue subscribing to.

Which ones do you like best? Let me know what you think! :)

OWLCRATE BOX GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Hello Everyone! The time has arrived to announce the winner of OwlCrate Box Giveaway. I want to send thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway and helped make it happen! You guys awesome! Just to let you guys know, the winner was randomly selected with Rafflecopter.

And the winner for the Owlcrate Box is...

BUDAKVANILLA'S !

Congratulations, BV! You will receive March Owlcrate Box. The box ship between the 15th and 20th. I will send you an email with shipping notification and tracking number once I received an email from OwlCrate. You might receive your box 4-6 weeks after shipping. Once again, congratulations!

A huge THANK YOU, to everyone for joining my giveaway. Although you did not win this time, I will be throwing again more giveaway next time, so please stay tuned! :)

OWALCRATE BOX GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! As the title of this post implies, I am giving away one free month of Owlcrate as I promised! Yay!

For those who haven't read my last entry (here) Owlcrate box is a book subscription. Every single box will include:

• A highly anticipated new YA release (Hardcover) with a letter and signed bookplate from the authors
• 3 - 5 high-quality bookish items
• Exclusive items from publishers and authors
• A postcard explaining the selections for the month's box

OwlCrate offers 3 packages: one package at $29.99 per month, 3 months and 6 months prepay packages with shipping rate vary depending on location; $6.99 per box (US), $10.59 per box (Canada) and $19.99 per box (Worldwide)

To give you an idea, here is the box that I received last month. The theme for this box was Classic Remix.

Already excited? Enter this giveaway for a chance to win the OwlCrate Box. The theme for upcoming March Box is SAILORS, SHIPS & SEAS.

GIVEAWAY

The Giveaway will run starting today 2/17/2017 til Tuesday 02/21/2017
The winner will receive the March OwlCrate Box
(In case the March Box sold out, the winner will get the next month box)
This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL
Must be 18+ to enter, or 13+  with parental consent
Winner will be contacted via email and has 24 hours to respond, or another winner will be announced

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND LOVES!

JANUARY OWLCRATE : MONTHLY YA SUBSCRIPTION BOX AND GIVEAWAY?

Hello, everyone! I finally bought my very first Owlcrate Subscription Box, and it was a lot of fun! I have been wanting to purchase a subscription box for a while, but I just hadn't gotten around because it is quite pricey, to be honest. So, just in case if you are not familiar with it, Owlcrate is a Monthly Young Adult subscription box, where you get a new released YA book that has to do with the theme and theme changes every month. You will get other bookish goodies along with the book, which is a really fun way to get a book every month. So, without further ado, let's get into it. 

January's theme was Classic Remix! Here are the items that were in it:

When I first open the box, this was the first thing I saw. The back of the card has what everything is inside the box, but I tend not to look at it because I don't want to be spoiled until after I open the entire box.

The next item in the box was this gorgeous 'Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' bookmark designed by LexyOlivia, and it is a quote from Slaughterhouse Five. It is made of firm, durable material, and the watercolor artwork is beautiful. Each side of the bookmark contains half of one quote, which I liked! And I love, love and love bookmark!

First Edition Tea Co. created this tea inspired by classic literary characters, The Little Prince. The tea is a mint and rose herbal tea. This little fridge magnet which is The Phantom of the Opera. It was designed by Sweet Sequels and used the original French title with the author of the opera included, Gaston Leroux. Next, we have a lovely little pin that says 'The Owlcrate Theater'

A small bar of soap shaped like an open book from TeaSoapBooks and was inspired by The Secret Garden. Its smells amazing and nope, I'm not going to use it lol. I'm going to keep it as long as I can xD

Since it's the first month of the year, Owlcrate included this calendar designed by Obvious State. Each month has a different quote from a different "Children's Classic",  like Peter Pan, Alice Adventures in Wonderland and etc., with a modern illustration.

A little teaser poster of Wire and Nerve book by Marrisa Meyer. I believe it's her new released graphic novel that is part of The Lunar Chronicles series.

Finally, the book for this month is RoseBlood by A.G Howard, a Phantom of the Opera retelling. It Includes an author letter and a signed bookplate. I absolutely love the cover and can't resist keeping touching it lol. I never read or watch the phantom of the opera, but I can't wait to dive in it.

ABOUT ROSEBLOOD:

In this modern day spin on Leroux's gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she's trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her; RUne's mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year; located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.
At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn-an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn's dark agenda comes to light, and he's forced to make a deadly choice; lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom of the opera who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he's ever known.

Their next box is going to be Run Away with the Circus theme.

I was a little bit disappointed by some of the items for the theme. There's just wasn't much here I was over the moon about. Maybe I was expecting more than this. I've thought whether to continue or cancel the subscription's box for days. Then, I give a second chance for it. In fact, I signed up for the Uppercase box so for February, I will have two unboxing subscription's box for y'all. Both boxes will starts shipping tomorrow, 15th February. I am looking forward to the boxes and can't wait to see what kind of goodies will be included next!

PS: I know some of my blogger friends wanted to try this subscriptions box but due to the price of the box itself is expensive. So, I have this thought, to throw a giveaway to my blogger friends so we can experience the excitement feeling while unboxing the box together. 

What do you guys think? Please leave a comment if you guys interested join. Thankyou :)

If anyone wants to subcribe to Owlcrate, visit their website (here) to subscribe.

DECEMBER & JANUARY MASSIVE BOOK UNBOXING BOOKOUTLET & BOOK HAUL | 2017 TBR

When was the last time I read a book? Probably, 4 years ago? Hmm, I can't remember the last time I read an English book for fun, but I remember I read tons of Malay's book after SPM back then when I lived in Dubai with my parents before they moved here in Houston. But lately, I've been getting engrossed in books again, and I've found myself drawn to the bookstores online. I went a little out of control with this book haul, so this is going to be a doozy. Buckle in.

BOOK OUTLET

I discovered the Book Outlet when I first looked up to the Booktubers. One of the Booktuber mentioned about the Book Outlet and guess what, they're having BOXING DAY SALE  for Christmas sale that time. (Thanks to Fatin though for posting about the booktubers). They offered bargain books at 50-90% off the original list price every day, and their books are new. I have no idea what most of these books are about, but I saw them for $2 to $8 and I could not pass up! I will include the price I paid for each book to give you an idea of the amazing deals.

BOOK OUTLET BOX 1 - BOXING DAY SALE (DECEMBER)

• 13 Treasures (13 Treasures, Book 1) by Michelle Harrison - $2.99 (Paperback)
• 13 Secrets (13 Treasures, Book 3) Michelle Harrison - $3.49 (Paperback)
• Fearless (Mirrorworld, Book 2) by Cornelia Funke - $2.99 (Paperback)
• Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Cornicles, Book 1) by Jessica Spotswood - $2.49 (Paperback)
• Sister's Fate (The Cahill Witch Cornicles, Book 3) by Jessica Spotswood - $1.49 (Paperback)
• The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith - $2.99 (Paperback)
• This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith - $2.99 (Paperback)
• If You Go Away by Adele Parks - $3.99 (Paperback)
• Ghostgirl (Ghostgirl, Book 1) by Tonya Hurley - $2.99 (Softcover)
• After the Woods by Kim Savage - $2.99 (Hardcover)
• Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith - $4.99 (Hardcover)
• Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman - $2.99 (Hardcover)
• Dream a Little Dream (Silver Trilogy, Book 1) by Kerstin Gier, Anthea Bell - $2.99 (Hardcover)
• Dream On (Silver Trilogy, Book 2) by Kerstin Gier, Anthea Bell - $5.99 (Hardcover)
• The Fall of The Governor: Part Two (The Walking Dead) by Robert Kirkman - $4.99 (Hardcover)

*For this box, the total price for 15 books is $51.35. And then, I got $20 discount again for spending more than $50. The final price for this box is $31.35. I saved my money around $190! Yay!

BOOK OUTLET BOX 2 - BOXING DAY SALE (DECEMBER)

• I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios - $3.99 (Paperback)
• Everything Leads To You by Nina Lacour - $3.49 (Paperback)
• How to Say I Love You Out Loud by Karole Cozzo - $1.49 (Softcover)
• My Sister Lives in the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher - $2.99 (Paperback)
• What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi - $8.99 (Paperback)
• A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall - $2.49 (Paperback)
• If I Stay (If I Stay, Book 1)by Gayle Forman - $3.99 (Hardcover)
• Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff - $6.99 (Hardcover)

The next day, I still cannot move on with their read-iculously low prices. So, I ordered another box. * books for $34.42 and after $10 discount, it cost only $24.42. 

BOOK OUTLET BOX 3 - JANUARY

• Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass - $4.99 (Paperback)
• Star Cursed (The Cahill Witch Cornicles, Book 2) by Jessica Spotswood - $2.99 (Paperback)
• Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, Book 1) by Kendare Blake - $3.99 (Paperback)
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - $3.49 (Paperback)
• Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson - $5.49  (Hardcover)
• The Third Twin by C.J. Omololu - $2.99 (Hardcover)
• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh - $7.99 (Hardcover)
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - $6.99 (Hardcover)
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - $4.99 (Hardcover)
• Truthwitch (The Witchlands Series, Book 1) by Susan Dennard - $3.99 (Hardcover)
• Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol - $3.99 (Softcover)

*Because Book Outlet keeps sending me a newsletter that I cannot resist to own them lol.

BOOK DEPOSITORY

• Furthermore by Taherah Mafi - $5.16
• A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan - $7.95
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - $7.51
• Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club, Book 1) - $5.39

AMAZON

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - $7.00
• A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird, Book 1) by Claudia Gray - $11.26
• The Selection (The Selection Series, Book 1) by Kiera Cass - $9.99
• The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, Book 1) by Mary E. Pearson - $11.17
• Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles, Book 1) by Gena Showalter - $12.32
• This Savage Song (Monster's of Verity, Book 1) by Victoria Schwab - $10.36
• Heartless by Marrisa Meyer - $11.85

BOOKS A MILLION

• Ali's Pretty Little Lies (Pretty Little Liars) by Sara Shepard - $9.99 (FREE)
• Six of Crows (Six of Crows, Book 1) by Leigh Bardugo - $17.08
• Did I Mention I Need You? (The Dimily Trilogy, Book 2) by Estelle Maskame - $8.99
• Did I Mention I Miss You? (The Dimily Trilogy, Book 3) by Estelle Maskame - $8.99

Finally, I'm done with the list. I am not going to give a description for any of these books (I wish I could I)  because it's gonna be a long post and I don't want to bore you guys. Besides, I just picked up blindly, knowing much.

So, this will be my TBR 2017. Trying to catch up with you guys since I'm far left behind. It's really hard to choose which one I should read first because all these books have great reviews. But I already read the Dream a Little Dream and The Third Twin.

Have you read any of these books? Which one should I read first out of these books? What are you currently reading?

JANUARY 2017 ROUND UP

Welcome to my January Round Up post! It's time for the first wrap up of 2017! January has flown by. I can't believe how fast this month has gone by. I had the intention of trying to blog 2 - 3 times a week and that apparently has not happened lol. Anyway, without further due, let's get started with January's recap.

MOVIE

A Monster Calls - I have a mixed feeling about this film at first and end up this is by far one of my all time favorite movie. I watched this movie twice. I don't really get the message at first because I was expecting a horror, creepy story or like other monster's movie (Stranger Things, etc.) and that isn't what I got. It's about a young boy deals with his mother's illness by escaping into a fantasy world. This movie is a tearjerker, but it is so meaningful. ❤❤❤❤❤

Moana - Watched this movie at the same day. I love everything about this movie. The characters, well-written songs, the mix of humor and heart without feeling manipulated. Everything. It was FUN-TASTIC! For those who haven't this Disney movie, please do watch it. ❤❤❤❤❤

HAUL

I don't remember what else I bought this month, but I'm sure I bought all these books except the small and big box of Book Outlet because I bought it in December. And I'll write a separate post for these book hauls.

MUSIC

I'M OBSESSED WITH ALL THE GOBLIN K-DRAMA OST AND THEIR BACKGROUND MUSIC. ALL OF THEM, SERIOUSLY. I've never been so obsessed like this before.

READING

I manage to read three books for this month, and I only finished reading one book (Shadow Falls). I was doing well at the early month that I finished the book for three days. So, I thought I could read 4 - 5 books per month and guess that I'm wrong. The second book (Six of Crows) that I read is nowhere halfway lol, and I just started read The Third Twin last weekend. I don't know how others can read 5 - 10 books per month. Again, do you guys even sleep (Especially, you two, Fatina and Eyqa).

PERSONAL LIFE

Face - Do you know that feeling when you look up in the mirror and see the acne scars on your face fading away? That moment when you thought you were done with the acne's problem. And then, few days after that, pimples pop up here and there. That's what happen to my face lately. Not that kind of pimples you got every month, it's even worse. Severe acne. This usually happened when I missed my period or because of the allergies (seafood, dust). I missed my period for almost two months, and there's construction at my office, so 2 in 1 huh.

Hair - I colored my hair last Saturday!(Yay, 1 wishlist checked) My hair color before kind of purple, brown red-ish color. Then now, my hair is ombre blonde (?). Not sure if I like my hair color now or maybe I just still not used to this color since this is my first time dyed my hair with blonde. I admit that I look weird.

Weather - For God sake weather, could just make up your mind? Houston weather is crazy. It can be 23 Celcius today and the next day 1 Celsius and windy as well. Sometimes, they alternate within the same day. This weather makes me sick!

HOW'S MY 2017 RESOLUTIONS GOING?

Saving Money - Oh Lord, as usual, I spent money on things that I don't really need. What is saving money, anyway? 

Drink Water - I don't drink much water, but I drink more than before. Lol, this is one of the reasons why my acne scarring is still there.

Drive Safe - I'm in progress to be a good driver now which is good (obviously) And good news for me that I don't need to read the Handbook Driver's Lesson anymore because I took the 6 hours driver's lesson with the written test online. The only thing I need to do is go to the DPS and apply for the Texas Driving Licence and take the driving test. 

Be Early - Hah. I am still late for everything. Sleep late, wake up late and went to work late. In fact, it's getting worse. I NEED HELP!

Other than I mentioned above, everything is going well. My January has been a good start, I guess.  It's had its ups and downs, but I'm hoping for a better February.

That's it!  Thanks for reading and hope everyone is having a wonderful January. 

2017 RESOLUTIONS

Hey, folks! How are you guys doing? I wished everyone Happy New Year 2017, though I'm a little bit late. I was going to post this after Christmas, and I did write half way of this post, but I don't know what have gotten into me. Suddenly, I don't have a mood to write at all then I just keep this post until now. Not sure if people still reading my post but hey I'm here anyway :)

New Year means new resolution. All my blogger friends make their new year resolution, so I wanted to make one too. So here are my 2017 resolution:

SAVING MONEY: Seriously, I'm so bad at saving money, especially, when I start to shop online. I spent way too much money last month. I overspent my money with unnecessary stuff. I NEED TO STOP BUYING JUNK and invest my money in fewer things that I will use and keep for a long time. 

I'm not hoping that I'm not going to touch my money because I still need to pay my bills, but I hope that I can control myself from spending money. I have a monthly budget Excel document that I update bi-weekly, so I know where my money is going and can pull back if anything looks out of control.

BE EARLY: Sleep early, wake up early and go to work early. I have been struggling to wake up early since I'm still in college. Even though I sleep early at night, I still can't wake up early. I'm just NOT a morning person. I usually wake up at 6.45 am - 7.11 am and get into my office 8.15 am - 8.30 am. I've tried to set the alarm and placing away my phone farther away from my bed; I did get out of bed to turn off my alarm, but after that, I went back to my bed and then sleep lol. I always remind myself at night to wake up at 6 am and off to work at least at 7 am because I need to get in the office by 8 am, but who am I kidding? And I need to stop hitting snooze for real. 

DRINK WATER: I can go on a day without drinking water. I only drink lime juice before I get off from my house, coffee for breakfast and that's it. When it's lunch time, I usually drink my cold coffee (coffee from morning). I got an app on my phone that reminds me to drink water, so I don't forget to drink. I did very well at first, and then I started to slacking. 

DRIVE SAFE: Oooohhh boy, I'm going to admit that I'm not a good driver. I already hit people's car for a few times, I tend to get too close to edges, speeding, I'm always trying to beat the yellow/red light. But when I'm with my mom or my dad, I'm such a good driver lol. I hope this year I'll be a good driver than last year, No phone or trying to eat something while driving :)

READ MORE: I haven't read any English books since I left my high school. But after seeing Fatin, Siqah, Erin, Liyana, etc. blogger, posted about their reading books every month, (especially Fatin) I thought that it is time for me to start to read books. So, last month and this month, I bought so many books lol. For this year, my reading target is 30 books. Hopefully, my reading challenge for 2017 will succeed.

SOCIAL MEDIAs: Not going to spend too much time with social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, and Instagram. And I've been thinking to delete all my social medias account, but I guess I'll never do it. Because y'know, I'm not good at catching up with my friends or my family, so from social media (Facebook), I can see how are they doing and so on :) 

BE A BETTER PERSON: 

• Talk less, listen more 
• Let go of anger - Letting go of anger is easier said than done. It's extremely difficult skill to master. 
• Forgive people - I easily forgive people actually, but there are few people that hard for me to forgive them, even it's been a long time. Oh well, I'm still holding the grudges.
• Stop making excuses - I made excuses every time something went wrong. Instead of pointing fingers and making excuses, I am going to learn to own my mistakes and learn from them.
• Be honest, be helpful, always be polite and be respectful.

Last but not least, I wanted to be kind to myself. Stay healthy, stop thinking it's too late, stop complaining, stop the negative self-talk, stop allowing toxicity in my life and the list goes on. 

That's my 2017 resolutions! ;) and here's my family 2017 New Year picture <3

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM US!