Food

Disney World 50th Anniversary Post Trip Review October 2021

I just returned from Walt Disney World yesterday. I stayed at Coronado Springs Resort from October 2 – October 8 and checked out on October 9. I flew with Southwest. Here are some thoughts and impressions.

Sprinkled throughout are some photos. Some are photopass and others are camera pics from either my Iphone 13 Pro or my husbands Galaxy – something 11? maybe? I am too lazy to match the pics to what I’m talking about so pic is not related to each paragraph and just here to show off the fun and excitement we had on our Walt Disney World vacation Disneymoon / Honeymoon. read more

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Food Fantasy Game Review

Food Fantasy is a brand-new cooking RPG and card collecting game from the creators of Love Nikki Dressup Queen. It combines many different styles of gameplay such as allowing you to research new recipes, gather ingreedients, explore the story, battle monsters, and collect cards known as “food souls” to add to your party or put to work in your shop. I’ve been playing since the game launched a few days ago and thought I’d share with you my initial thoughts of this cute little free mobile game.

Title: Food Fantasy

Genre: Cooking Simulation, Restaurant Management Card Collecting / Battling, RPG

Publisher: Elex

Release Date: July 2018

Price: Free

Where to Get:

IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/food-fantasy/id1366072359?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.egg.foodandroid&hl=en_US

Geeky: 1/5 – There’s not much “geeky” about this game. If you like cooking mama and can imagine a mash up of cooking mama with love live, then you can imagine something like Food Fantasy. Mostly I can’t give high marks because the combat is very basic and mostly automated and not very engaging or challenging. I don’t see this having wide appeal unless you like cute things or love games like cooking mama.

Sweetie: 4/5 – I think girls will like the simulation aspects the best. When the game starts you can select a cuisine style to specialize in, you can research new recipes, decorate your restaurant, and you can collect cute “food souls” that can work as staff in your restaurant, or be added to your battle party. I can’t give it a 5 for appealing to girls because the story is quite weak.

Overall: 49/60 82% B- “Very Good Game for Girls”

Gameplay: 4/5 – I’m on the fence about the gameplay aspects. It is a unique and fun game for sure. But I think the combat system leaves much to be desired. But combat is not really the main focus of this game. This game tries to be a jack of all trades, but is really a master of none. There are better RPGs, better card collecting games, and better cooking games out there – but none of them combine all 3 of these things…

When the game starts you select a small thumbnail image to represent you. – Other cooking games often let you customize an avatar character and add dress up options – since this game is by the creators of dressup nikki I was surprised, and a little disappointed not to see such features in Food Fantasy as well. – But there are some female “avatars” (thumbnails), and some “fantasy” type ones – for example my avatar is a black cat with little chef hat lol. It’s pretty cute.

After naming yourself and choosing your little thumbnail picture, you’re shown a tutorial and introduced to a few characters and shown some background story. Through the tutorial you will experience many things. First you will select one of three cooking styles which will determine your first recipe – and I’m not sure if they will have an effect on other recipes you can obtain or give you a boost to certain recipes.

Next you get to fight some monsters and progress through various missions. Sometimes some monsters will drop ingredients that you need for cooking. – they don’t seem to drop often enough though.

Back in the restaurant you can assign staff to cook food or wait on customers. Different characters give different bonus effects to your restaurant. Customers will come and go to your restaurant even while not playing, or while adventuring and exploring other parts of the game. You will need to periodically check in to cook new dishes and collect your tips and other aspects of restaurant management.

You can decorate your restaurant with cute items which in some cases grant bonus effects when placed in your restaurant.

You can also improve your dishes by leveling them up by making them over and over again, or by adding spices and other items to each recipe. In addition to improving existing dishes, you can also research and develop new dishes if you have enough ingredients.

The final aspect of the game is the “card collecting” in the form of summoning new “food souls” which as mentioned can be assigned as staff or assist you in the battle field. The cards range from common to ultra rare. Drop rates seem generous, I summoned an ultra rare food soul, Peking Duck, early in the game without spending real money. There are also numerous special events, such as the launch party that will award ultra rare food souls for completing specific tasks and missions.

You can then take these food souls into battle – but the battles are really rather dull and not a very fun aspect of the game. You can tap to remove status ailments from your party members or tap to interrupt the boss from using powerful special moves, but largely, it’s more automated and you sit there watching your food souls fight, and the difficulty level is quite low. I have not lost a single match yet.

Story: 3/5 The story is very weak and poor, and there are some awkward phrasings and some questionable translation issues. I feel the story has potential to be interesting, but it’s not yet. Basically, you summon a food soul who has no powers and they tell you she is an empty shell and that usually such food souls are discarded, but you feel bad for her and take her in, because you feel responsible because you were the one who summoned her. She vows to help and often tries to protect you even though doing so without any powers would mean sacrificing herself. She is frustrated and wants to grow stronger, but you’re told it is impossible. – If I have to guess, she probably does have some special power or something, that’s how these stories usually go. Right now, the story is slow and dull, but perhaps things will get more interesting – I’ve only been playing for 2 days, maybe an hour each day, so I’m still in the beginning stages of the game. But thus far, not really impressed with the story.

Characters: 5/5 – The characters are super cute, and there is a mix of male and female characters which is rare for these summoning types of games. Also every food soul has an English Voice Actor (or Actress), and if you don’t like the English voices, you do have the ability to select the Japanese ones as well. This is a really nice plus, I haven’t seen many of these summoning games that bother to add English voice acting. The artwork is adorable, and of course it’s all inspired by various food and beverages which gives it a nice theme.

Graphics: 5/5 – Graphically this game is quite nice with a unique storybook like style. The anime style food souls and npc characters are all very cute. The backgrounds are really detailed and lovely. I can’t find anything to complain about here.

Music 3/5: Some of the music and sound effects sound recycled from love nikki? Or at least very similar in style.  It’s average at best. Nothing really stands out, but thankfully nothing is annoying, although like most mobile games it can be repetitive at times.

Voice Acting: 5/5 – I love that there’s English Voice acting – and some of them are quite good. I also equally love that they’ve left the option to switch to the original Japanese voice actors at any time as well. Great touch. I know they spent a lot of money licensing the original cast, as well as hiring all new voice actors for the English release. This shows me they care about the fans, and about the game, and it was just a really nice surprise and does set the game apart a bit from other summoning games out there.

Crafting: 5/5 – I love that you can research new recipes. This game reminds me of several other much larger cooking/crafting games such as the Atelier series of games, or Mana Khemia, or Kamidori Alchemist Meister.  The crafting aspects are probably the highlight of the game. In that regard though there are probably a dozen other mobile games which do a better job – If you’re looking for similar games check out anything by Kairosoft, Nippon Cafeteria, Sushi Spinnery, or Ramen Master being 3 that focus specifically on food – while other Kairosoft titles apply the same game mechanics to other jobs/roles. Or check out other cooking and restaurant management games such as I love Pasta and I love Coffee – which I reviewed here. Or of course, I’m sure you’re familiar with the famous Cooking Mama games. Even though these other games may have more in depth crafting/management aspects, I still give food souls a 5 in this area. Out of all the different aspects of this strange little game, I think the cooking and simulation aspects are the strongest and most fun elements.

Customization: 4/5 – You can decorate your restaurant, assign staff, and choose your food specialty. But most other mobile restaurant simulation games have a dressup aspect and I miss that here.

Cuteness: 5/5 – The food souls are super cute and the graphics and voice acting take that cuteness to the next level.

Replay Value: 5/5 – With the special events and wide variety of things to do, from battling, to cooking, to decorating your restaurant, to collecting food souls, to inventing new recipes to serve in your restaurant, or progressing through story missions, this game has a lot to offer and will keep you busy.

Overall: 49/60 82% B- “Very Good Game for Girls”

Food Fantasy Game Review Read More »

pokemon center

I Want To Take an Anime and Manga Tour in Japan

Animate - The World's Largest Anime Store
Animate – The World’s Largest Anime Store

OMG… I want to do this. (Maybe Next Year – I don’t have Vacation Time left this year since I will be going to Peru this summer) Their next tour is in just a few weeks, and seems to only happen once a year, in March coinciding with the International Anime Festival AnimeJapan.

https://japandeluxetours.com/japan/group/anime-japan-tours#anime3

Visiting Japan is my life long dream. (sadly, mostly just so I can go shopping for anime, game, and doll stuff lol. Although I do want to do the museums and cherry blossoms and hot springs and other cultural things too – though mostly, I’m just a big geeky nerd who loves anime and wants to go shopping – which is what this whole tour is designed for <3)

It’s not that much money (well OK it is, but it’s cheaper than I expected honestly). Guided 6 Day Anime Tour in Japan which includes hotels and Guides through all the “anime” spots in Japan (since I can’t speak Japanese a Guide would be helpful…)

Only $1,500 a person, includes hotels for each day. I’d just have to have airfare, and LOTTTTTTTTSSSSS of money for food and shopping. Like seriously I’d probably want to have another $1,000 with me just for shopping lol. If I buy a dollfie dream or custom volks doll or something that’d eat half that budget right there. Then there’s all kinds of cheap (but cute) dolls / toys / figurines, etc.

I wouldn’t want to go by myself either – I would hope my boyfriend would go with me but if not then I’m pretty sure that I could find a friend or family member to take… If I had to pay for both of us that’s $3,000… The tour includes several meals but I’d need money for more meals (Let’s say $100 a day food budget X 5 days $500) Airfaire is probably close to $1,000 a person too So not counting shopping expenses I’d need $5,500… I want to mainly go shopping so I’d want at least $1,000 for shopping for myself that’s $6,500…. which still… isn’t that bad because of all the things this tour includes.

This tour includes all of the Ghibli and other museums, the largest anime stores, and even admission to an anime convention for one day. OMG and an anime theme park another day… OMG it includes real life mario kart racing too…. omg…

The number 1 place I want to visit actually isn’t on this tour – that place is Doll Point Akihabara – Volks store where you can buy Dollfie Dreams and Asian Balljointed Dolls and Accessories – including some items available only in the store and not sold online.  But that’s OK because the tour gives you free time in the evening and one free day where you’re on your own without a guide.

My dream / life goal / bucket list… lol…

Now that I have my passport I can actually do stuff like this O_O!!! Now I just need money (lots of money) (and to wait for my vacation time again lol).

https://japandeluxetours.com/group/tour/anime-japan-tour-6-days-a

Tour Includes

  • 6 DAYS
  • 5 nights accommodation
  • 7 MEALS
  • 5 breakfasts
    2 lunches
  • TRANSPORT
  • All transport shown

Details:

  • 4 nights Western hotel
  • Daily Breakfast-Buffets and 2 Lunches included
  • All ground transportation in Japan during the tour
  • Complimentary Airport Transfers (see details)
  • Admission Fees, Tax & Gratuities at all included Destinations
  • Full time service of licensed English speaking tour guide & separate bus driver
  • Japan Deluxe Tours Handbook and Tour Goods Package
  • Free Wi-Fi in Bus & Most hotels
  • read more

    I Want To Take an Anime and Manga Tour in Japan Read More »

    Spring 2017 Pusheen Subscription Box

    Pusheen 2017 Spring Box Opening Review

    Spring 2017 Pusheen Subscription Box
    Spring 2017 Pusheen Subscription Box

    Pusheen box continues to impress with large, big ticket items, and tons of exclusives. Pusheen 2017 Spring Box marks one year of my receiving this quarterly subscription crate, which first debuted in Winter 2015 (I missed out on the first box, boo). Ever since I joined in Spring 2016, I’ve never once been disappointed by the contents of my box, making it by far, the best subscription box for girls.

    I received my box in May, which happens to be my birthday, and inside, there’s tons of birthday / party related goods – awesome coincidence. I could throw myself a Pusheen party, but don’t have anyone to invite except for my cats lol.

    It came packaged in a cute Bunny / Easter themed Pusheen faced box.

    It included things like Photo Booth Props (some assembly required):

    Also some cute banner decorations and party balloons. 🙂

    You can already see the next item in the above pics, a Pusheen Tshirt, here’s another look. Mine is a wee bit big. I think it will probably shrink though when washed? lol. The colors are so cute and the lil birthday hat Pusheens kill me lol.

    This month’s exclusive vinyl figure is an Easter bunny Pusheen with a spring chick on her back.

    The next big ticket item is the adorable and useful Pusheen Bento Box and Utensil set. Perfect to pair with the Pusheen thermos from the Pusheen 2016 Winter Box.

    All that food is going to make you super thirsty, so they’ve given you a bottle opener shaped like our favorite feline.

    What party would be complete without some tunes? Enter this adorable Pusheen Wireless Speaker to solve all your party music needs.

    Last, but certainly not least, a cute Pusheen selfie stick to capture memories of your party with your friends!

    My phone case doesn’t really fit too well in here, and it was a lil difficult to operate, it didn’t seem to support the weight of my phone (or case) too well. Did slightly better when I removed the case. Maybe I just don’t know how to use a selfie stick lol. It seemed “loose” and wanted to flop “forward” from the “square” part that holds the phone… Still cute, but dunno if I’d trust it to hold my expensive Iphone lol.

    Also speaking of things flopping forward, Some of the Photo Booth Props seemed floppy – but maybe I’m just a derp and didn’t assemble them correctly. That is about my only complaint in this month’s box.

    As always is the case with my Pusheen Box reviews, this is in no way a paid review. They do not even have a referral program. I’m merely sharing photos of all the cuteness because I know it will appeal to my readers.

    If you’re interested in getting your own Pusheen Box you can sign up at PusheenBox.com

    Final Score:

    Packaging: 10/10 – The box is even shaped like Pusheen, the bottom of the box even has jelly bean toes – can’t handle the cuteness.

    Quantity of Items: 10/10 – Packed to the top with tons of Pusheen stuff

    Quality of Items: 7/10 – this month had a lot of “cheap” “paper goods” such as the photo booth props, banners, balloons, etc. While I was still happy with those (especially given that my birthday is next week lol), I am not used to seeing these lower quality items. Also as mentioned the selfie stick didn’t seem very sturdy to me. — The other items are all super high quality though. And compared to other boxes where you get mostly “cheap” plushies and stationary items, this box still feels higher quality overall.

    Size of Items: 8/10 – Many nice larger items such as the Bento, Wireless Speaker, Vinyl Figure, Tshirt, and etc. Offset by a few cheaper/smaller items (mentioned above). Overall, compared to other boxes, Pusheen box consistently delivers more “big ticket” items. Compared to past Pusheen Boxes, the Spring 2017 box has a lot more smaller items as well. Hope this is not a continuing trend in the Summer box. Still mostly satisfied and surprised by the number of expensive, large, nice items. I feel it is well worth the cost of subscription and not just trinkets and baubles.

    Variety of Items: 10/10 As always, a nice variety of items, ranging from fashion, to home goods, to toys, to stationary, to even electronics.

    Rarity of Items: 10/10 The exclusivity of the items – being only available in this crate and not in any stores, makes this box one of my all time favorites for collector value.

    Items Fit Theme: 9/10 Everything is 100% licensed Pusheen Goods. This month’s theme seemed to be a “party” theme and almost all of the items fit this theme, you have food and drink, party decor, music, and memories. It also seemed to have a vague easter theme with the box having bunny ears and the vinyl exclusive this month matching that. Perhaps a better match would have been a party hat Pusheen box and vinyl figure. But that’s a minor thing :).

    Overall Value: 64/70 91% A- “Excellent Subscription Box For Girls”

    Pusheen 2017 Spring Box Opening Review Read More »

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    Pusheen Box – Spring Pusheen Box – Box Opening – Review

    I purchased the Spring Pusheen Box which is a quarterly subscription box filled with all Pusheen items (you can learn more at http://www.pusheenbox.com/) – Sorry no video this time; I was so excited that I opened it right away – but I did take lots of pics. I promise I will do a video review for the Summer Pusheen Box. This box is REALLY cute. I have a grey tabby/maine coon too that reminds me so much of Pusheen – that’s why he’s one of my favorite webcomics / characters.

    I did have a small problem with one item being broken – however, the damage is REALLY minor and I plan to just fix it myself. The large limited edition Baking Pusheen figurine, mine’s rolling pin was snapped off – however, I can glue it back on easily enough.

    Overall I was really super pleased with the quality of all of the items and knowing they’re officially licensed and not counterfeit. They say that most of the items are exclusive and not available in the Pusheen online shop or in stores.

    Enjoy the pics – I’ll try and make comments about each item too 🙂

    Even the box is cute! He even has little jelly bean feet underneath the box!

    Let’s Open the Box and see what’s inside!!

    Everything is packed nice and neat.

    The first item is an adorable apron – I just wish it wasn’t white because the kitchen can get messy sometimes. Would have been better a bright color I think, Maybe red, or blue, etc. But otherwise, it’s adorable.

    The next item is an umbrella – I can’t get a good selfie of it obviously since it’s so big lol – This cute design goes all the way around. It was a lil tough getting it to snap/lock into place, and really dang hard getting it to “snap” back together (when it’s folded it has a strap that you wrap and snap around to keep it all nice and neat, and I think this strap needed to be a lil bit longer) but it is still adorable. 🙂

    There was also a 3-pack of socks — THEY ARE CUTE! OMG – One of my fave items in this box (of course its spring now and I’m wearing sandals so not sure if it was good time to ship socks, but I love them anyways. Each one shows Pusheen munching on his favorite snacks, such as donuts and pizza)

    Of Course, my VERY favorite thing in this box was the Baker Pusheen Figure – Exclusive only to the Spring Pusheen Box. – As mentioned above the rolling pin was broken on mine but it was very minor damage. I will glue it back on and he’ll be good as new. It was MUCH larger than I expected. I love it. He also can snap off his base which is nice for play or possible interchanging figures/bases etc.

    The next item is a 3 piece pin set – when I first saw it, I thought maybe they were magnets, until I read the description – Seems like magnets would have fit the kitchen theme better, right? lol. These are cute though! You could wear them on your clothes, or if you have a corkboard in your kitchen (which we do) you could pin them on there to hold recipes, grocery lists, or other items with.

    The best part about the spring pusheen box is this pusheen cookie cutter – I haven’t used it yet, when I do use it I’ll come back and update this post with pics of how the cookies turn out 🙂 I have some friends coming over and we’ll bake lots of cookies together. I think you could also use it to do mini pancakes and lots of other things.

    This adorable Pusheen Mini Planter was also inside the Spring Pusheen Box – It is ceramic – and I’m impressed it arrived without any damage (since there was little to no padding in the box.) I am really happy with this item – I’m planing to use it for paint brushes and art pencils and things of that nature in my doll room now.

    There were a few small items in the box too such as some sticker sets and a key cover. I like scrapbooking so those stickers will be put to good use!

    Overall, I’m very pleased with this subscription box and will continue my subscription. I feel like you get a lot of really high quality items for a great price. It only comes 4 times a year which makes it more affordable for me than paying every month. And I just think Pusheen is the cutest. – I can’t wait for the summer box it looks like it may have a BEACH theme! I’m predicting it might include a summer wearable or big beach towel or maybe Pusheen flipflops lol Or Pusheen Sunglasses – both of which would be sooo cute.

    Also check out my list of the Top 10 Subscription Boxes for Geek Girls.

    The spring box is now sold out – but orders will soon begin for the Summer Pusheen Box – If you want in, head over to www.PusheenBox.com

    Pusheen Box – Spring Pusheen Box – Box Opening – Review Read More »

    D4 Dark Dreams Don't Die Game Review

    D4 Dark Dreams Don’t Die Game Review

    Title: D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die

    Genre: Sandbox Game with elements from Simulation Games, Dressup Games, Point n Click Games, Visual Novels, Adventure Games, and “TellTales Style” Games.

    Developer: Access Games

    Publisher: Microsoft Studios (Xbone) and Playism (PC)

    Release Date: September 2014 (Xbone) June 2015 (PC)

    Platforms: Xbone and PC

    Where to Buy: If you’re lucky, the humble bundle sale may still be going on which includes the entire first season of D4 and a buncha other games for $10. You can check here to see what the weekly humble bundle currently is. Otherwise, you will need to purchase either a season pass, or buy the episodes individually (if that’s even possible everywhere I look appears to be selling “Season 1” for $14.99 (or less with steam holiday sale). You can check steam for the PC version here or Xbox Store for the Xbone version here.

    Geeky

    Sweetie:

    Overall: 70 / 80 88% B+ Very Good Game for Girls

    Concept: 10/10 I picked this up in the weekly humble bundle – I’ve had my eye on it for awhile now but wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not enough to pay full price. I cannot stop playing it. I was up well past my self imposed bedtime lastnight lol. It’s a fun little sandbox style game with a really interesting story that plays similar to telltale’s games with “QTE Quick Time Events”

    Story: 10/10 In the game, you play as a retired police officer, who left the force when his wife’s murder remained unsolved. He has amnesia surrounding the events about his wife’s murder, and a nasty scar that he received as well. Before his wife died, while in the hospital, she told him to “Find D”. The nasty scar left him with a super power of sorts, he can “dive” into the past if he has a memento (a personal belonging) from the suspect and he has been researching and eliminating potential suspects trying to find who murdered his wife – I have a pretty good feeling who it was, because of the cat hissing at him in the prologue, but I could be way off too as I’m only on the 2nd episode right now lol. So this isn’t a spoiler, just my speculation. “Diving” into the past is not without consequence though; similar to Life is Strange, which I’ve reviewed here, our main character gets bad nose bleeds and begins to experience some weird things as a result of using his powers.

    Characters: 8/10 There’s definitely a lot of interesting characters. Your cat turns human, your wife appears as a ghost, there’s drug lords, henchmen, a crazy looking doctor, a paranoid crazy woman, a really quirky fashion designer, and lots of other oddities. The characters are all over the top and a lil crazy, but highly original and entertaining.

    Gameplay: 7/10 It’s really fun to play. The controls are kinda “wonky” on the pc version though. I wish I could just walk around with W A S D and explore freely like in most adventure games; instead it’s kinda like walking around in IMVU, because you just click on one spot after another, and you can look left/right or down as well as turn around in the spot you’re standing to explore further. The combat is fun, and simple, you make swiping movements and it feels a lot more fluid and interactive than telltales games even though its a similar concept. I think the adrenaline pumping music as well as the wild animations and fun things that the characters use in their fights help keep it feeling a lot more fluid. There’s also multiple dialog choices when interacting with people. Interestingly enough, there’s also a ton of customization in this game; you can find outfits and accessories everywhere. Some give bonuses to your stats, but most are just cosmetic. Not only do you get to dress your main character, but also a plethora of other characters that you meet as well. You also need to eat to keep up your energy which slowly depletes itself as you are exploring, interacting, or talking to other characters. You also have a life bar, which will take a dip when you mess up in the quick time events. You can purchase or find first aid kits and bandages to restore your life bar. As for the food, it’s fun finding new foods to eat, they’ve made it into a sort of collection type game where it shows you how many different types of food you’ve eaten, how many calories, etc. Really neat. Loses quite a few points from me for the controls, but the gameplay itself is actually one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in gaming.

    Voice Acting: 8/10 The Boston accents annoy me – sorry to anyone from Boston here. lol. But no, to be honest, the voice acting is actually pretty darn good. There’s a lot of emotion into the script and the entire thing is fully voiced by a wide range of different characters with different voices and nuances.

    Music: 10/10 The music is really unusual, sometimes heavy metal, other times, almost angelic or gospel sounding. But always fitting with the theme and in a way, the music itself is used to help tell the story. The metal music is used in fight scenes or action scenes, while more mysterious and soft music is used at home or when exploring.

    Graphics: 9/10 The game is cel-shaded, but with a sorta grungy film-noir effect. I really like the character designs, they’re rather “anime-ish” looking in a way, despite how they are colored in a more western fashion. The environments are also very nice with lots of things to explore and collect. a lot of detail went into designing each of the levels. I would have preferred it to be a more clean cel-shading similar to Catherine, which I’ve reviewed right here, but overall, I really like how this game looks.

    Overall: 70 / 80 88% B+ Very Good Game for Girls

    If You Liked This Game You’d Also Like: Wolf Among Us, Heavy Rain, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, and Sam n Max Hit the Road.

    Sandbox Style RPGs
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    The Long Dark shows off its story ahead of early 2016 launch read more

    D4 Dark Dreams Don’t Die Game Review Read More »

    Top 10 Subscription Boxes for Geek Girls

    Top 10 Subscription Boxes for Geek Girls

    Subscription boxes are taking over the internet. If you’ve never heard of such a thing, you must be living under a rock. The basic premise is you subscribe by paying a monthly fee and you get a box full of monthly goods delivered to your doorstep (or digitally in the case of a few subscription services out there). You don’t get to choose the items inside, so it’s like Christmas, or a birthday, opening a box and being surprised every month. How exciting! Of course, you run the risk of not liking what’s inside either though so it’s a gamble. They have boxes for everything from beauty products, to cat toys, dog treats, and yes, even anime and gamer and geeky boxes too.
    This post has been modified but not “updated” to introduce new boxes, or remove boxes which may no longer be available on the market – since its original publication in December 2015. When I initially wrote this post, it was based on “second hand” research, such as watching box opening videos, reading reviews, looking at photos, visiting the websites, etc. However, over the course of 2016, I have personally tried and purchased several of these subscriptions. To see some of the boxes I’ve reviewed look here: https://geekysweetie.com/category/review/subscription-box-review/

    I would also like to take a moment to give a “shout out” to Boxychan since I did not know about it in my original post below. It is my favorite anime subscription box. I’m currently signed up with their 9 month program at $28 a month. You can read my Boxychan review here https://geekysweetie.com/boxychan-anime-box-june-unboxing-photos-review-monthly-subscription-box-anime-manga-fans/:

    And one final shout out to Pusheen Box – I signed up in Spring and am still signed up and expecting the summer box to ship at any time. You can see my Spring Pusheen box review here:

    https://geekysweetie.com/pusheen-box-spring-pusheen-box-box-opening-review/ read more

    Top 10 Subscription Boxes for Geek Girls Read More »

    10 Cat Cafés You Can Visit in North America

    10 Cat Cafés You Can Visit in North America

    Cat Cafés have been a longtime fixture within Japan. These cute café charge a small fee by the hour to let you spend time with the cats in addition to selling food and drink. They allow locals who may not be able to keep pets in their apartment to interact with and enjoy feline company. These trendy cafés also help homeless cats find new homes, either by becoming permanent residents within their café, or by allowing adoptions by the customers who frequent these cafés.

    Want to cuddle with some cute felines while sipping tea or eating sweets? The good news is you don’t have to travel to Japan to get your cuddle on. While it seems bizarre, these cat cafés have crossed overseas and began to take root in North America. Here’s our pick for the ten best Cat Café in North America.

    Hint the best ones are near the bottom of the list!

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    The Cat Café – San Diego, CA, USA

    We love that this cat café specializes in finding permanent homes for cats with special needs. It helps raise awareness for cats with medical conditions or disabilities. If you purchase a food or beverage item it’s free to enter the cat café; otherwise, you must make a “small” donation. (No information is available as to the exact amount.) This café also specializes in brewing small-batch western-roasted coffees. All of the cats in this café are available for adoption. Take a look at their website http://www.catcafesd.com/ which includes live-stream video camera footage of the cats.

     Calico Nook – Franklin, MA, USA

    New England’s first cat café also operates a second hand designer fashion boutique with all proceeds benefiting the felines. In addition to the second hand shop, the store also features cat themed retail items and custom art. The café also provides a public library and art exhibit area. This café is co-owned and ran by a former veterinarian surgeon and director. More information is available at http://www.caliconook.com/about-us.html

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     Denver Cat Company, Denver, CO, USA

    This is one of the only Cat café to not charge an entrance fee and also not require you to make a purchase of food or beverage. Their cat café is free to the public Mon-Fri. A $5 donation however is required if you’d like to visit on the weekend.  They also provide useful information for anyone looking to start their own cat café. All of the cats at this café are available for adoption and provided through rescue organizations. More info can be found at http://www.denvercatco.com/

    Purringtons Cat Lounge – Portland, OR, USA

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    This trendy, cute cat café features a custom made structure and private room to help the cats escape from human visitors if they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed. The café is also open to adoption 3 days a week. As of June 6th, 2015, Purrringtons has helped find forever homes for over 40 cats as a result of a visitor falling in love with one of the cats during a visit to their café. Walk-ins are welcome. Reservations are also available at their website http://purringtonscatlounge.com/ and an $8 donation fee is required for each guest regardless of entry method.

    Le Café Chat L’Heureux – Montreal, QC, Canada

    This café features an extensive menu including items for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert including a wide selection of vegan and gluten-free menu items. It aims to act as a source therapy and relaxation for humans by providing a calm environment for them to lie down and nap with or play with the resident cats. The cats here are not available for adoption and instead live full time within the café. They offer catering services and education services as well as a shop that sells homemade petfood and pet items. They have a lot of photos of their cats and menu items at their website http://www.cafechatlheureux.com/en-ca/our-cafe

    Le Café des Chats – Montreal, QC, Canada

    This was the first cat café to open up in North America. Unlike many other cat café in North America, this one features kittens and cats that are permanent residents within the café. In other words, they are not available for adoption. However, this draws in repeat visitors who want to interact with their favorite felines. Before their new life as café mascots, these cats came from rescue and shelter organizations. They have some pretty strict policies for guests visiting the café, including forbidding you from waking or feeding any of the cats. Learn more by visiting http://www.lecafedeschats.fr/ (note this site is in French)

     Green Cat Café – San Francisco, CA, USA

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    Here’s the most educational cat café on our list. They hold public lectures, forums, panels, and workshops to support local animal care agencies, and also educate the public about a variety of cat behavior  related topics. It’s also the first environmentally friendly cat café.  The menu features only healthy and organic food and beverages. A meeting room can be reserved for private groups. They also have one room strictly full of kittens with no adult cats. All of the cats and kittens in this café are available for adoption. Learn more by visiting http://www.greencatcafe.com

        KitTea  – San Francisco, CA, USA read more

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