revealing more quarterly boxes
The postman's visit is an event at our house. Since I was small, I've loved watching the letters fall through the slot. Where we live now, we have a box at the curb. One with a flag to put up if we have outgoing mail. Though I miss the unmistakable clank of the heavy brass slot cover, I've grown accustomed to the sound of the delivery truck as it rumbles down the street, accelerating and braking in a regular give-and-go as it stops at each box.
Some days, however, our postman pulls into the driveway. We have too much for the box. Recently, we experienced one such day.
He handed me not one, not two, but three 'Quarterly' boxes. Because it's that time. Here's what arrived:
Let's take them in order, shall we? Left to right:
'No More Dirty Looks': It was my first box from them and I can't say that I was thrilled. As a recent devotee of the 'Think Dirty' app, I thought this would be a good addendum to my new commitment to go clean - or at least clean-er - with my makeup and toilette. The past boxes looked good, full of RGB polish and natural mascaras and soy. But if I'm truly honest, it was the One Love products from #NDL05 that sold me. You might recall that I'm a One Love fan. So rightly or wrongly I was hoping for more the same. Specifically, more One Love. I didn't get it. I got esme products, which haven't worked for me in the past, and yet another set of bamboo makeup brushes. I'm probably not being fair to the box though, since I am in the process of switching and streamlining all of my products - mostly to RMS Beauty. That said and more to the point, it just didn't grab my attention or hit my happiness zone. Especially for $50. Subscription cancelled.
Jesse Kornbluth: My first box from journalist/author/HeadButler Mr Kornbluth did not disappoint. In fact, I was delighted! His first box, which I missed out on, was a tribute to the Roaring 20s, apropos for the timing of its release with the new Gatsby movie. It looked intriguing, and well worth the $50, which is why I subscribed. His second installment, the one shown above, was 'a sliver of France'. Heavens. And it was divine: a movie ('Tell No One'), a book (The Foreign Correspondent), music (by Lou Doillon), and lavender soap. I plowed through the book (a wonderful escapist read set in Paris in the late 1930s) and put the music in my cloud. The soap sits amongst my unmentionables and I will pop the movie in some upcoming dreary winter evening. I eagerly await my next box!
'The Happiness Project': This was the final THP box from Gretchen Rubin. There was a touch of sadness in her farewell note as she explained that she is swamped with family and work and commitments - and the demands of writing another book. Good for us; overwhelming for her, I suppose. And so she takes her leave. What arrived in her 'hurrah' box? A delicious KIND bar, a nifty Zebra pen, a notebook, and the book 'Not Quite What I Was Planning', a compilation of six-word memoirs. Fitting. Although I only received two boxes from her, Ms Rubin's playfulness and exuberance for all-things-happy will be missed.
And since this post was begun several...ahem...weeks ago, another newly-subscribed Quarterly box has arrived:
Given the 'weekly updates', I am certain that none of you are really surprised to see this box arrive for me. And it is the MOTHERLODE! Goodness. Take a look:
What you're looking at, counter-clockwise: a faux fur collar from Adrienne Landau, 'La Creme' lip cream from Too Faced, Essie polish, a wedge of pearl + luxury soap, a VBeaute 'It Kit', black leather spiked cuff from baublebar, an ear cuff from Jack Vartanian, and the December issue of Marie Claire.
I'll let this sink in for a moment. And then hurriedly encourage you to jump on the Quarterly site right now and subscribe to Nina's next box. The 'glam grunge' she collected for just $100 was amazing. She set the bar high, people, and somehow I think that she won't hesitate to exceed expectations going forward.
So that's it for the quarter.
Click here for past reveals - and look for the next updates in ... um ... three months.
Onward.
