A Review of my 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale Purchases

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small amount of compensation which I will then use to buy more Vera.

Now that tickets for the 2017 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale are available for purchase, it's time to start planning. Tickets are available for the first three days of the sale on Ticketmaster. Vera Bradley only charges $5 for the tickets, but Ticketmaster added another $8 in ridiculous fees, so be prepared for that nonsense.

One thing I thought might be helpful for planning is to review the items I purchased at last year's sale. I try to plan and make lists before the sale, but once you're on the sales floor and the pressure of the crowds and time are on you, decision making can be quite frantic. So, now that I've had my items for 10 months, how do I feel about my purchases?

As a reminder, here are the items I purchased at last year's sale.

Let's start with the bigger items in the left side picture.

Cooler Tote in Marrakesh - This was an item that I had pinned to my Vera Bradley Wishlist on Pinterest, but wasn't sure I'd actually find it at the sale. I grabbed one when I saw them at the sale, but wasn't sure I'd get it due to the price. I'm so glad that I did decide to get this. I use it for frozen and cold items when I'm grocery shopping and it works so well! I live 20 to 30 minutes away from Meijer depending on traffic and I didn't have any problems with frozen items defrosting on the drive home during the hot summer. My ice cream was still frozen!

Vera Bradley Laptop Messenger in Impressionista - This was one of my must-have items at the sale and I'm glad I got it. My laptop fits perfectly in it and feels so much more secure than when I carried it in a Vera tote. I do wish it had a shoulder pad on the strap though. The bag gets a little heavy after awhile and the strap digs into my shoulder.

Vera Bradley Glenna in Cheery Blossom - I wasn't going to buy another Glenna, but I fell in love with the Cheery Blossoms pattern. I still love the pattern and carrying it in the gray winter cheers me up. I really love how much I can carry in this bag and the outside pockets are great. However, I think I'm done buying Glennas. I now have 4 of them. I really would like to have a crossbody bag I can carry every day. Especially in the winter when my bulky winter coat makes carrying a shoulder bag more difficult.

Let's look at the smaller items I picked up in the right side picture

Pencil Tin in Hello Dahlia - I grabbed this for 99 cents. At the time, I thought I'd find a use for it, perhaps carrying chargers. I still haven't used this. I don't regret buying it since it was only 99 cents, but I'm still not sure what I'll use it for.

Vera Bradley Binder Clips in Impressionista - I confess that I've only used one of these. I use it to mark my place in my planner. Did I need these? Probably not, but they're pretty and I'll use the rest of them eventually.

Vera Bradley Mini Notebook with Pocket in Alpine Floral - I haven't used this one yet, but I love my mini notebooks. I carry one in my purse for shopping lists and it's a great size.

Vera Bradley Lanyard in Flower Shower - I used this one for my keys and whistle at summer camp last year. I like that they are comfortable and lightweight with 2 kinds of clips. Flower Shower worked well with my brightly colored camp shirts.

Colorful Hair Clips in Midnight Houndstooth and Lucky Dots - These are a necessity for ponytails which is how I wear my hair daily during camp. They work perfectly for holding short hairs and don't slide around. Sadly, I don't see these on the Vera Bradley website anymore, so I don't think they're making them anymore. I will be buying these in every pattern available at this year's sale.

In the Loop Keychain in Lucky Stripe - I really like this one! It makes finding my keys very easy and it's handy when I'm carrying bags to my car.

Vera Bradley Stretch Headband Set in Midnight Paisley - I'm pretty meh on this. I wore the wider one on camp days when it was windy to hold my hair back and I still had problems with it sliding on my head even though they have grip strips on the bottom. I had high hopes for these, but I won't buy any more of these.

Wash and Wear Organizer in Tango Red - Not pictured This was a free item I received for having to wait to check out for 2 hours due to computer issues. I haven't done any traveling in the past year, so I haven't used this. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll ever actually use it. It's kind of small, so maybe only for weekend trips.

So there you have it! I think I did pretty well for shopping in such a chaotic environment. Apparently, I'm a sucker for the accessories section of the sale, but most of them worked out well. Doing my research and having a list going into the sale definitely helped. I already have ideas for this year's sale and can't wait to start my wish list.

If you are interested in learning more about the Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale, here a few of my posts you might find interesting -

My Experience at the 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale
My Tips for the 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale

What I Love Wednesday: Sinful Colors Sinfulshine

Disclaimer: I received this product free to try. All opinions are my own.

I'm a member of Influenster and over the summer, I received one of their Vox Boxes, the Sunkissed Vox Box. And like the bad blogger that I am, I never told you about it. The box was filled with some great products and today I wanted to share with you my favorite product from the Sunkissed Vox Box

I received a bottle of Sinfulcolors Sinfulshine with Gel Tech nail polish in the VIP color. I was excited about trying this product because 1. I love nail polish, especially when it's free and 2. it's a bright pink color which is my favorite color to wear on my toes in the summer.

I was in need of a new pedicure, so one Friday night I decided to try out my new polish. Immediately, I was impressed. The polish was thick and went on smoothly with great coverage after only one coat. I did two coats because I always do, but one coat probably would have been fine.

When the polish dried, it was super glossy without even using a topcoat.

 One complaint I always have about my pedicures during the summer is that they chip easily since I wear flip flops and sandals all the time and my toes are exposed. Not with this polish! Not once did the color chip. In fact, the only reason I had to give myself a new pedicure was because the color was growing out. This is seriously good nail polish!

(And normally, I would probably show you a picture of said product in use, but nobody wants to see a picture of my feet, so take my word for it.)

And the best part? The price. It turns out this awesome nail polish that works better than my pricier brands is only $2.99 at Walgreens. The Sinfulshine collection is exclusive to Walgreens, so it does mean making a special trip, but for the quality and price, it's worth it in my opinion.
 

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Review

Thanks to Influenster, I recently got to try out a new product - Palmolive Fresh Infusions dishwashing liquid. I'm always excited to try out new products even if it means washing some dishes.

The first thing I noticed was that even the bottle was pretty. I tend to leave the bottle of dishwashing liquid on the counter so it's handy and this is a bottle that looks nice in my kitchen.

The second thing I noticed was that the scents weren't your typical dishwashing liquid scents. Palmolive Fresh Infusions come in three scents: Lemon Thyme, Ginger White Tea, and Lime Basil. Unfortunately, my box contained 2 Lemon Thyme bottles and no Lime Basil, so I couldn't smell that one. The good news is, the Lemon Thyme smells amazing and it's my favorite, so now I have two bottles! I love the smell of lemons and the Palmolive Fresh Infusions smells like I've just cut open a fresh juicy lemon. No fake scent here!

Of course, the most important thing about dishwashing liquid is how well it does the job. I'm happy to report that Palmolive Fresh Infusions does an excellent job at cleaning dishes no matter how dirty they are. I made my yummy stuffed shells one night and left the pan to soak in the Lemon Thyme Palmolive Fresh Infusion. The baking dish came clean without any scrubbing after its soak!

While I still may not enjoy doing dishes, at least now I can enjoy a great smell and do less scrubbing with Palmolive Fresh Infusions. But don't just take my word for it, check out with other users had to say and read the Influenster Reviews. Ready to try Palmolive Fresh Infusions for yourself? You can find them at Walmart.


 
Disclaimer: Influenster provided me with free products to try. All opinions are my own.

No nonsense Tights and Leggings Review

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense. All opinions are 100% mine.
I'd never consider myself a fashionista. If I had to categorize my fashion style, I'd probably say comfortable. While I like to look nice and professional at work, I'm still all about feeling comfortable in my clothes. I only just recently discovered how comfortable a pair of leggings can be. And bonus, they are trendy and cute! By adding some leggings to an outfit, I still feel comfortable, but can also feel like a fashionista.
I was given the opportunity to try new No nonsense tights and leggings recently.  I was sent a pair of No nonsense denim leggings in Dark Denim and a pair of No nonsense fashion tights in Rose Floral Openwork.
I tried on the leggings right away and was impressed with how well they fit and how comfortable they were. I could definitely get used to wearing these! Because I've never had a pair of denim leggings before, I don't really have any tops in my closet to wear with them, yet. But, I'm on the lookout for tops and good sales, so I'm sure I'll be sporting them regularly soon. In the meantime, I put together an outfit using Polyvore that I'd love to wear.

Denim Leggings by pinkpollyanna featuring a stacked heel

Top / Denim pants / Frye stacked heel

Personally, I feel that leggings are not pants, so they should be worn with tunics and dresses. I love this plaid tunic shirt I found at Modcloth and I think denim leggings look great with boots.
The No nonsense tights in Rose Floral Openwork that I received are very pretty. I can't wait to pair them with a dress or skirt and wear them to church.  I love to wear tights with skirts with dresses in the winter. They're a great way to dress up and still feel warm and comfortable. Unfortunately, since the tights are openwork, they aren't very appropriate for Midwest winters. But, I'll save them for a little warmer day when spring is around the corner.
Here's a cute outfit I put together for the tights.

Floral Tights by pinkpollyanna featuring patent pumps

Pleated dress / Apt. 9 embellished cardigan / Flower tight / L.K.Bennett patent pumps, $115

I think the floral tights are a great way to jazz up a solid dress and add some interest to the outfit.
Clearly, No nonsense leggings and tights are great additions to outfits that won't sacrifice comfort. And they don't break the bank either! No nonsense leggings and tights are affordable and can easily be found at food and drug stores in addition to mass market retailers. No need for extra errands to add some style and comfort to your wardrobe!
And No nonsense recently teamed up with the bestselling author of "I Have Nothing to Wear!" Jill Martin. Jill, who is also seen on The Today Show for their Ambush Makeovers, is assisting No nonsense in teaching women how to wear their new colorful tights and leggings. Check out this video below for more.

Ready to get some No nonsense tights and leggings of your own? Check out their website to locate a retailer new you.
And don't forget to like No nonsense on Facebook!No nonsense on Facebook
How do you like to wear tights and leggings?

Farm Rich Review

I recently had the opportunity to try some snacks and appetizers from Farm Rich and I wanted to share with you my experience.

Farm Rich makes frozen snacks and appetizers that easy to make and their variety ensures that there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Since M and I are big fans of mozzarella stick appetizers at restaurants, the first Farm Rich product we tried was their Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. We loved them! They were really easy to make. In fact, we even made them two different ways. I baked some the first time and then M threw some in our deep fryer one night for a snack. They were delicious either way!

I especially love that they are made with 100% real mozzarella cheese and the breading is seasoned just right. They're even a source of both calcium and protein.

Next, because we love pepperoni pizza, M requested that we try the Mini Pizza Slices. Again, these were very easy to make. I baked some up with the cheese sticks one night, but they can also be made in the microwave.

These were really tasty too. The pizza crust is stuffed with mozzarella cheese (100% real again) and pepperoni slices and some marinara sauce. I love that they use whole pepperoni slices so you can actually taste the pepperoni in every bite. Again, these are a source of both calcium and protein.

Will we be trying these products again? Definitely! I think Farm Rich products will be a staple in our freezer from now on. They were tasty, filling, and so easy to make. I can't wait to try some of their other products, like the Mozzarella Bites!

If you're looking for a wholesome, easy-to-prepare snack, I highly recommend Farm Rich snacks and appetizers!

 
Disclaimer: I was provided with free products to review for this post. All opinions are my own.

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

Now that it's November and Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away (What?!) I'm getting excited about Christmas. I'd love to just start decorating now, but I'll settle for listening to Christmas music and planning some shopping until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

One thing I'm not putting off though is picking a Christmas card. I love the tradition of sending and receiving cards and I'm looking forward to finding those festive envelopes in the mail. 

Of course, once I started thinking about Christmas cards, I started by checking out my new favorite source for paper products, Tiny Prints. I had such a great experience ordering the baby shower invitations from them, that I was eager to work with them again.

Here, let me show you some of my favorite Christmas Cards from Tiny Prints.

I love the plaid design on this one. Plaid just says Christmas to me!

I like how this one looks like a chalkboard.

I'm a big fan of white Christmases, so I love the sentiment of this card.

I also found some cards that I like that don't apply to us this year, but I wanted to share them with you because I like them so much.

This is a great card for a newly married couple. Christmas cards are a great use of those wedding pictures.

If we had had a baby this year, this is so the Christmas card we'd be sending. How cute is this? I love it!

If you're looking for Christmas cards this year, I highly recommend you check out Tiny Prints. If you're looking for a deal, be sure to check out their Special Offers page.

Also, be sure to check out Tiny Prints on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and their own blog.
 
Disclaimer:Tiny Prints is providing me with a promo code in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Review

Now that I'm done with our honeymoon recaps, I wanted to do a quick review of our hotel, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

As I mentioned before, Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe resort. We splurged because it was our honeymoon and we were lucky to get a PIN code that took 40% off the rack room rate. Disney randomly sends out the PIN codes and I had rarely received one prior to planning our honeymoon. Now, I seem to get them all the time. Too bad we aren't planning a trip!

On a previous trip to Walt Disney World 5 years prior, I had checked out the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I had seen the lobby, the pool, and the savanna. I knew then that I wanted to stay there sometime. My husband was sold on it when I showed him the savannas.

I booked a standard savanna view room because if I was staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I wanted animals outside my room!



And with views like this, I was glad we splurged! I loved sitting on our balcony each morning while eating breakfast and putting on my sunscreen for the day. It was also nice to sit out there in the afternoon reading a book and relaxing.

I've shown you the amazing views, but what does the room look like?



I've raved about Disney's attention to themes and details before and the room was no exception.



I wanted most of the furniture and decor for our vintage safari themed living room.



Here's the sink area of the bathroom:



Yeah, I don't know what I'm doing either...

I didn't get a picture of the other part of the bathroom, but it was your basic shower and toilet.



Here's a close-up of the wallpaper in the sink area. Again, I wanted some for my own home.

Overall, the room was great. It was very comfortable and spacious. I had no problems with our room.

The amenities of the Animal Kingdom Lodge are also great. The pool is nice, the dining options include a quick service food court, a buffet restaurant, and a table service restaurant. There is also a lounge and a wine bar. Although we didn't check it out, there's also a massage and fitness center. There are also various activities throughout the day for children and families.

Would we stay there again? Absolutely! In fact, I'm pretty sure the Animal Kingdom Lodge has spoiled me for all other resorts. I never want to stay anywhere else. I highly recommend the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Venus & Olay Razor Review

You know, I love free stuff, right? And I love to join programs that allow me to try products. So I am loving the Influenster program. I was lucky enough to be chosen to receive their newest VoxBox, the Love VoxBox.

The Love VoxBox was filled with great products to prepare for a date, but one product really stood out for me.

Source

I was fairly happy with my current razor, so when I pulled the Gillette Venus & Olay razor out of the VoxBox, I wasn't sure that it was relevant to me. But then I started reading about the razor and I got intrigued .

It turns out, this razor combines the best of Venus and Olay. It has 5 blades to give you a close, smooth shave and it has Olay moisture bars to keep your skin moisturized and give your legs a "goddess glow." My favorite part was that because the razor has those Olay moisture bars, you don't need to use a separate shave cream.

Ok, to be honest, I only use shave cream when I'm pampering myself and indulging in a bath. Normally, I just use my shower gel and I often have to use lotion after my shower to keep my legs from drying out.

I liked the idea that I might get to skip a step or two and maybe even take a faster shower, so I decided to give it a whirl. And I loved it! I didn't have to lather up my legs first, I just got the razor wet and started shaving. And the razor glided so smoothly, it didn't feel like I was shaving at all. The pivoting head made shaving my knees so easy. And when I was done, my legs were smooth and not dry at all. I didn't have to use lotion at all. I can't wait to keep using this razor all summer long for smooth and glowing legs.

I was lucky enough to try the Gillette Venus & Olay razor before it was in stores, but you'll be able to pick one up of your own by the end of the month, so keep an eye out for it when you're shopping. A refillable Venus & Olay razor with one replacement cartridge sells for approximately $8.99-$10.99. Packages of three replacement cartridges are available for about $14.99 - $19.49.

For more information, be sure to check out the Venus website.


I received this product complimentary to test through Influenster’s VoxBox program. All opinions are my own.

Mini Cupcakes Review

About a year ago, I bought a Groupon for a local cupcake bakery. It was still pretty new and I hadn't tried them yet. The newspaper's food columnist had raved about them. I love cupcakes, but we always got cake from our wedding cake baker. He does do cupcakes, but just regular chocolate and vanilla ones with the occasional seasonal flavor. I took the Groupon as a sign that I needed to check this place out, so I bought one. 
Well fast forward to last week when I still hadn't used the Groupon and it was going to expire. Since we were having dinner at my mother-in-law's on Thursday, I ran over to the baker (It's not far from our house) and finally used the Groupon. It was good for a dozen of their mini-cupcakes for which they are known. Since they had 12 different flavors of mini-cupcakes, I got one of each.

My mother-in-law and I split a few that night. While they are mini, they are not bite sized. Each cupcake was more like 4 bites for me.

Let's take a closer look at those flavors...

On the left is Cookies and Cream. It was the special of the week.  It was good. There were cookie pieces in the cupcake as well as the cookie crumbles in the frosting. It probably could have used more cookies in the batter to make it less like a plain cake.

On the right is Carrot Cake. I didn't eat this one at all. I don't like carrot cake, but my mother-in-law does. She said it was good, but kind of dry.

Left, Chocolate Raspberry - There was raspberry under the frosting, but I couldn't taste it very much. Then in my last bite, there was raspberry in the cupcake and it was good, but I wish it had been there for the whole cupcake. The frosting on this on was amazing. Very rich chocolate, almost like a ganache.

Right, Red Velvet - Confession: I've never had red velvet before. And frankly, I don't really need to have it again. I really don't see the point. It's not fully chocolate, just a touch. The cream cheese frosting was great, but the cake for me was just meh.

Top, Chocolate Peanut Butter - This was good. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It was just the right amount of peanut butter for me. Sometimes these can get overly sweet, but I liked this one.

Bottom, Chocolate with Buttercream Frosting - Good chocolate cake, good frosting. Nothing special, but it was good. They have a great frosting to cake ratio.

Left, Snickerdoodle - This was one of my favorites! The cake was cinnamon sugar and then the buttercream icing had more cinnamon sugar on it. It was a great combination of flavors.

 

Here's a cross-section of the Snickerdoodle. You can see the awesome frosting to cake ratio here.

Right, Black Bottom - This was my mother-in-law's favorite out of the ones she tried. It's a brownie bottom with cream cheese and chocolate chips in the middle.

Left, Chocolate with Chocolate Icing - Again, the frosting was amazing. The sprinkles were unnecessary, as the frosting is so good on it's own. The cake was just typical chocolate cake.

Right, Marshmallow Cream Filled - This was OK. Not as good as those Hostess cupcakes, but probably has less chemicals!

Top, Strawberry - This is their best seller and I can see why! My other favorite! Strawberries not only in the frosting, but also in the cake. I would easily take a dozen of these! And they make regular cakes too!

Bottom, Yellow Cake with Buttercream Icing - This was good, but nothing special.

So, would I buy again from this bakery? Probably. I'd definitely get the Snickerdoodle and Strawberry cupcakes again. But for regular chocolate and yellow cupcakes, I'd probably stick with my usual baker.

Private Selection Frozen Foods Review

I've mentioned before that I'm a BzzAgent. As a result, I often get to try new products and review them. This time I was asked to try Private Selection Frozen Foods. I was sent coupons for free products to try in exchange for Bzz.

One of the coupons was for a Private Selection frozen pizza. We take our pizza pretty seriously around here, so I was excited about this one. Our local Kroger only had 3 different varieties of Private Selection pizzas. We selected the pepperoni and roasted garlic variety.

A few days later, we decided to try the pizza. I was a bit disappointed when I opened the box because the pizza was rather small. It was more of a meal for one or an appetizer for two. The pepperoni looked great. It was large and there was plenty for the small size. However, the cheese was a little sparse and there were some bare spots, so I tried to spread the cheese out more before I put it in the oven.

Like most frozen pizzas, this one was easy and quick to make. It smelled pretty good when I took it out of the oven. We cut it up and tentatively tried it. I thought the sauce was good. Sauce really makes a pizza and this one was tasty. I also really liked the crispy thin crust. The roasted garlic was in chunks on the pizza. I took mine off because I just can't stand chunks of garlic, but my husband ate his. He didn't care for the texture of it, but thought it tasted fine.

Would we buy this pizza again? Probably not. It cost over $5 and for that price I can get a bigger pizza from a national brand.

We also got to try a frozen dessert. Our local Kroger had quite a few varieties and I had a hard time deciding which one to try. After eying the chocolate croissants and the apple crisp, I finally decided on the Belgian chocolate lava cakes. I always see them in restaurant and they look so yummy.

A few days ago, I was craving something chocolate and decided to try one. There are four individual sized cakes in the box. They are really easy to make in the microwave and it smelled great. I had a hard time waiting for it to cool enough to eat.

Once I tried it, I was impressed. The cake was moist and chocolaty and the molten chocolate was rich. I definitely needed a glass of milk to go with it and I really wished we had had some vanilla ice cream to pair with it. I'll be sure to pick some up before I eat the others. Private Selection also makes ice cream and we enjoy their chocolate, so I'm sure their vanilla is good too.

Would we buy these again? Maybe if I had a coupon or they were on sale. They were tasty and a nice treat.

Private Selection frozen foods are available at the Kroger family of stores. They range in price from $3 to $7




As a BzzAgent, I was given free products to try. All opinions are my own.

Meijer Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print Review

I love photos on canvas and have been wanting one for somewhere in our house for awhile. Sadly, they seem to cost more than I'm willing or able to spend and anytime a Groupon for one pops up, I just can't justify the cost.

But it turns out there's now a more affordable option closer to home. Meijer nows offers Gallery Wrapped Canvas Prints at their photo center. And the best part? They are available next day!

Seriously, you go to Meijer, upload your picture on their easy to use kiosk or from the comfort of your own home, select the size you want, approve your image, and order. The next day, you pick it up! No waiting for it to ship from a state clear across the country.

And they're pretty affordable. They start at $39.99, but Meijer often runs sales and specials, so you could easily get it for less. In fact, right now, there is an mPerks coupon for 50% off one canvas and it's good until January 9.

Because I'm a BzzAgent, I got an 11x14 canvas for free. The hardest part was deciding what photo I wanted to use. Our dining room is sorely lacking in decor, so I decided to print something for that room.

We're trying for a vintage safari theme in there, so I decided to print one of my many giraffe pictures. I went with one I took on our honeymoon at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I took my memory stick to Meijer during my weekly grocery shopping trip and used the kiosk to order it. 24 hours later, I had this...

I showed if off to my mom and my husband and they were both impressed. It looks very professional and it's hard to believe that's a picture I took with my point and shoot from our hotel room balcony.

Here you can see how the canvas is wrapped. And it came all ready to hang. One nail in the wall and it was done!

I love it! And I'm keeping Meijer in mind next time I want a canvas for our house or a gift.

As a BzzAgent, I received a free 11x14 canvas, but all opinions are my own.

The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm a BzzAgent, so I sometimes get to try products and review them. This time, I was asked to try Kroger's The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. I was sent two boxes of the cookies and that night, my husband and I opened the first box.

The sweet we most often have in our house is chocolate chip cookies and we're pretty picky about our cookies. The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was that the cookies were bigger than other packaged chocolate chip cookies. In fact, they are almost 2x the size of other cookies.

The second thing I noticed was how many chocolate chips were in the cookies. They were chock full of chocolate. Chocolate chips are the #1 ingredient in these cookies,which in my opinion, is exactly how it should be.

Normally, we prefer soft chocolate chip cookies, but I love crunchy cookies if they are full of chocolate, which these are. Plus, there are no added preservatives or artificial colors, so they're just like homemade.

And the taste? They are delicious! Full of chocolate, both my husband and I enjoyed them thoroughly. They taste great dunked in a glass of cold milk.

Want to try them? They are available for the suggested retail price of $2.79 at the Kroger Family of Stores, including Fred Meyer and Ralphs. Check them out today! 



As a BzzAgent, I was given free product and coupons to try. All opinions are my own.

Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Chicago

Whenever the husband and I spend the night in Chicago, we book a hotel through Priceline. We like being able to book a 4 star hotel for a night or two at a much cheaper price.

Because we take the train to Chicago, we need to stay some place local to the sites we'll be visiting. And since those sites are usually the museums, we like to stay downtown near the Museum Campus. On Priceline, we always chose the Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area.

On a previous trip to Chicago, we won the Hilton Chicago, which we loved. It was very close to the Museum Campus and the train. We had a nice room with 2 full bathrooms. It was so cool to have 2 bathrooms! So naturally, I was hoping to score the same hotel for our 1st anniversary trip to Chicago in June. (We never could have afforded the Hilton Chicago without Priceline's help.)

However, we didn't get our wish and instead ended up with a room at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The Hyatt is at the northernmost limit of our Priceline area which was disappointing because it meant we were either going to do a lot of walking or have pay for transportation in Chicago. It's also the largest hotel in Chicago and therefore home to lots of conferences and conventions.

We arrived at the hotel before the check-in time of 3:00 PM, but we were able to check-in and get into our room, which was nice because I did not want to carry my bag around Chicago. We ended up being in a double room on a higher floor. So high in fact, that my ears popped the first time we took the elevator to our room.

Here are some pictures of our room, which I forgot to take until our last day.



The view from the door. I promise the beds normally look much neater, but this was our last day and maid service hadn't been in the room yet.



Here are the beds. They were comfortable, but I've come to the conclusion that no hotel has good pillows. Clearly, I need to just travel with my own.



Here's the other side of the room. Desk, coffee maker, TV. The minibar was in those middle cabinets.



The lighting made it tricky to get a good picture of the bathroom. It was a nice spacious bathroom with nice toiletries and a hair dryer.



Here's a better shot of the sink.



This was our view. Not the greatest, but we actually enjoyed looking into those condos across the way. It was fun to see all the different decorating styles.



A seating area next to the window.



The room from the window.

So, would we chose to stay here again? Probably not. It's a bit far from our usual Chicago sites, although we did walk everyday. It is a good location for walking to shopping along Michigan Ave. though.

The room as a whole was nice. However, I did find some small issues that I didn't think I should find in such a nice hotel.



That's a stained comforter from one of the beds in our rooms. It appears to be coffee. (I really hope that was coffee!) I found it while taking the bed apart to go to sleep. How did a maid miss that while making the bed? And shouldn't the room have fresh bedding since we were checking in that day? So this comforter went through the laundry and it still made its way back to a guest room? Not something I expect to see in a 4 star hotel.

Other issues?

• The bathmat in the bathroom had a hole in it. Again, not the quality I expect from a nice hotel. A motel, sure. A Hyatt, no.
• Used coffee grounds in the coffee maker. We don't drink coffee, but I'm nosy and I was checking out the coffee maker. Nice to know that the maids don't clean it.
• The full-length mirror in the room was dirty. Minor, but it looked as if a child had been playing with it and left hand prints all over the bottom. It only bothered me because it made me wonder what else the maid had skipped cleaning. (I found out when I opened the coffee maker.)
• The water in Chicago is terrible. We were next to the river and I started to suspect that the water came straight from the river. Definitely bring bottled water if you want to drink any.
• The channels available on the TV were very male oriented. Several different ESPNs and other sports related channels. No food or home channels.
• It was a $1 to make any kind of call on the phone. Even a local call or a 1-800#. I have never seen that before!
• We tried to check-out on the TV, but it didn't work, so we had to go downstairs and wait in line at the counter to check out.

Also fun, there was a conference going on at the hotel on our last day for Rwanda Day. This included a visit from the current president of Rwanda, who is not exactly a popular guy. I found this out when I had to walk through protesters in front of the hotel when we left. Exciting.

Overall, the Hyatt Regency Chicago is an OK hotel to stay at, especially if you are attending a conference there. Just make sure you look over your room first.

As for me, I'd rather be at the Hilton Chicago .