Ellada Lane is a new subscription box about all things Greek! I am so excited about this box as I have been a lover Greece for as long as I remember and have been fortunate to spend two summers working and traveling in Greece.
Well it took a little while for this subscription box to arrive but let me tell you that it is well worth it! I am overseas at the moment and different countries have different customs regulations. As it turns out Ukraine requires you to pay the customs fee at a bank before the package will leave the entry city. Guess the customs people over here do not trust that the fee will be paid upon delivery or even mailed to a local location. Well after figuring that out I was already back in the US... So when I finally got this box and it had obviously been opened and rifled through and
all of the customs paperwork and invoices were removed... I am assuming that this is not an issue for the boxes arriving in the US. I get things shipped to the US from overseas a lot and I have never had an issue. Oh, the joys of living in Eastern Europe...
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| Hopping Through Life |
moving on
Upon opening the box though, I was so happy that everything had arrived intact and undamaged. As this is the inaugural box the company decided to ship the parcel in a decorative wooden trunk! It is something new and fantastic that I have not seen in another box. It is the style of decorative item that you may find at a World Market or Kirklands type shop. It is very thin wood but perfect as a display piece. It is currently holding my old seasonal decorations for my home. It's about 15"x9"x6" in size.
There is a full sized magazine that let me discover more about the locations and details of each of the items. The magazine also lists fun short articles and secrets about the islands as well as local recipes to try out. This is the most comprehensive informational I have ever received from a subscription box. Yes there were some grammatical mistakes, but I am a writing & literature teacher so I immediately hone in on errors, however they are not distracting and most people will never notice them. I enjoyed reading through this magazine as I uncovered each item.
My first finds were two items from the company
Fish & Olive from the island of Naxos. I have not visited that island so it was fun to see artisans that I have not yet come across. I received a lovely mortar & pestle set and a citrus reamer. Both items are carved out of olive wood and are both useful as well as being beautiful for display. The magazine discusses the items as well as how to care for the wood pieces so that I can make sure to keep these beautiful for a lifetime.
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| Ellada Lane Krinaki Jewelry |
The next packages I received were this beautiful
Krinaki bracelet and soft aqua blue silk scarf. The bracelet is gold over sterling silver and delicate while having nice structure. I would show it on, but am still puffy from international travel. I think this will be a summer staple when going out. The silk scarf is delicate and just simply beautiful. The type of scarf you take for a wedding wrap or evening outing knowing you will be constantly complimented. Honestly it is the type of scarf I am drawn to but rarely ever pull the trigger on after seeing the price tag.
In the package I also received a lovely gold swirled bookmark with designs. I am not sure exactly where it comes from, but I will enjoy it as I love to read actual paper books as well as on my Kindle.
The next set of items came from
Atlantis Books. If you are a traveler you know how difficult it is to find a good English section in a foreign country that is not only the same three popular authors... Well this bookstore is something special and a must visit for anyone on Santorini. This tiny bookstore has a wide selection of foreign and rare books in English as well as about a dozen other languages. It is amazing how much can be crammed into that little store. There is also a lovely balcony overlooking the caldera that you can read and relax to your hearts content. The bookstore doesn't carry multiple copies of books and I seriously doubted a subscription box would toss in a 1st edition of Alice in Wonderland so I was curious what would be enclosed. The box included a couple postcards and a hand drawn map of the island. Perfect for both memories and ideas.
The last item I pulled from the Ellada Lane box was this heavy lavender honey box. I mean I got a wooden box with a large jar of
The Family Beez organic wildflower honey! The wooden box is a miniature example of the honeybee boxes that farmers use to cultivate the honeycombs. I saw pickup trucks transporting full sized boxes when I was in Crete this fall. I will probably reuse this cute box for office supply storage. I love being able to store things in things so I am basically in heaven with this 1st box.
The honey is over a pound of sweet wildflower honey. The company sells two types of honey and the other is Thyme honey. I am glad I got this type as I have a good amount of thyme honey from my recent fall travels.
Overall I am very happy with this box. Each item is unique and useful. This is not simply a box of souvenirs and trinkets mass produced for the tourists and export. I hope that the high standards remain for future boxes! This is the priciest subscription box I have ever purchased, at around $160 bi-monthly, but I love getting lovely home decor and I wanted to treat myself. Plus they ship Everywhere!
to find out more about this subscription box visit
www.elladalane.com or on their
facebook page
I have had several interactions with Stavros the 'voice' behind Ellada Lane. He has been courteous and usually prompt with my answers. Ellada Lane ships around the world and I did not have to pay any additional fee for shipping to Ukraine.
Visit Ellada Lane and find out more!
I used to take pilates group classes at a studio. We would use these Pilates rings in a lot of our exercises. I have a real love/hate relationship with this piece of equipment. I now do workouts at home online. I love how this ring can get muscle groups really focused and a great workout.You can really add to a Pilates floor routine with this ring. 
I like that this ring comes with an exercise guide to remind me of different moves that I can do with this ring. I tries out the exercises on the workout guide and I can always feel them the next day. I also like that the ring is not too soft and not a hard inflexible ring like some can be. This pilates ring is well made and durable. The cushions on the inside and outside of the ring allow for a holding place for your legs or hands.
My first finds were two items from the company Fish & Olive from the island of Naxos. I have not visited that island so it was fun to see artisans that I have not yet come across. I received a lovely mortar & pestle set and a citrus reamer. Both items are carved out of olive wood and are both useful as well as being beautiful for display. The magazine discusses the items as well as how to care for the wood pieces so that I can make sure to keep these beautiful for a lifetime. 
The next set of items came from Atlantis Books. If you are a traveler you know how difficult it is to find a good English section in a foreign country that is not only the same three popular authors... Well this bookstore is something special and a must visit for anyone on Santorini. This tiny bookstore has a wide selection of foreign and rare books in English as well as about a dozen other languages. It is amazing how much can be crammed into that little store. There is also a lovely balcony overlooking the caldera that you can read and relax to your hearts content. The bookstore doesn't carry multiple copies of books and I seriously doubted a subscription box would toss in a 1st edition of Alice in Wonderland so I was curious what would be enclosed. The box included a couple postcards and a hand drawn map of the island. Perfect for both memories and ideas. 
The last item I pulled from the Ellada Lane box was this heavy lavender honey box. I mean I got a wooden box with a large jar of The Family Beez organic wildflower honey! The wooden box is a miniature example of the honeybee boxes that farmers use to cultivate the honeycombs. I saw pickup trucks transporting full sized boxes when I was in Crete this fall. I will probably reuse this cute box for office supply storage. I love being able to store things in things so I am basically in heaven with this 1st box. 
