Let’s Compare: Rain Boots

It seems ridiculous to post this when the temperature in my neck of the woods seems permanently set in the nineties and my air conditioner is crying with exhaustion. But I am not so silly as to think that the whole world is smoldering in their sandals. Since it is technically fall, let’s talk about rain boots:

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Last year I wrote a post about the new Chooka Rain Boots that I had purchased at Costco. I was very pleased with my Chooka Rain Boots and they even garnered their own funny story. However for Christmas, my husband surprised me with a pair of Hunter Rain Boots. And I supplied a post for those, as well.

Both are in a very similar color of green.

I decided to write a new post about what I like about each of them.

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First, when I pulled my rain boots from my closet after less than a year of being stored in there, my Chooka Boots appeared brand new and my Hunter Boots had a waxy white film across them. I only wore each pair of boots two to three times last year (darn California drought), so I am by no means an expert on accessories for the rain.

But I can tell you the pros and cons I have found with each of the shoes:

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Chooka Rain Boots Review:

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As I said above, the Chookas have retained their sheen and still look brand new after many months in storage.

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I think the Chooka Boots are more comfortable than the Hunter Boots, because they are a tad bit shorter and do not hit the back of my knees like the Hunter Boots do.

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The price. I paid $30 for my Chooka Boots at Costco last year (from what I have seen online, I believe the average retail price is around $60). This is a great deal for a nice pair of boots.

The negative about these boots is that I am not a huge fan of the buckle on my Chooka Boots. I do not mind it on the Hunter Boots, because the buckles are balanced by the label in the center. But I wish the Chooka Boots did not have the buckle on the side. I feel like it draws attention to the lack of a label (which is actually another positive. Most of the time I am a label-free girl).

Chooka also now sells boots with a pretty contrasting brown buckle. I like that look better than the ones that I own.

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Hunter Rain Boots Review:

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First, the gorgeous logo. I mentioned above in the Chooka Boot Review that I generally am not a label girl, but it has to be said that the Hunter logo is stunning and makes the boot.

The taller length of the Hunter Boot is better for skirts, and looks better with them because of their height than the Chooka Boot. However it is not as comfortable as the lower height of the Chooka Boot.

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The Hunter Boot runs slightly larger than the Chooka Boot. This means that sometimes rain can get into my boot through the larger gap at the top (which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a rain boot). I bought a size eight in both brands and the Chooka Boot fits perfectly while the Hunter Boot runs a little big. There are pros and cons to both. In colder climates, the Hunter Boot would allot for a thicker sock to keep feet warm in the brisk weather. Hunter Boots also appear to accommodate a larger calf. I feel the Chooka Boot is better for warmer climates because it would not accommodate a larger sock unless you sized up, but in California, I do not need that. I simply need a boot to keep my feet dry. Chooka Boots seem better for smaller calves.

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The price. Hunter Rain Boots are expensive. My husband purchased mine for $79.99 at Nordstrom Rack. They are usually around $150. I know Costco typically offers them every year on their website at a large discount, as well.

Finally, my pair of Hunter Rain Boots do not look as pretty as they did when I first received them less than a year ago. I am hopeful the waxy finish will go away with more trips out into the rain but I am not positive. The reason I am thinking it is going to take a bit of work to remove the white film is based on this article I found on the subject. I really wanted a low maintenance shoe, so I am disappointed that these require some elbow grease.

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So with all of that said, which ones do I recommend? Honestly, I like them both. The Chooka Boots have a slight advantage because of the great price I paid for them. And the fact that they still look the same as when I first purchased them.

Vainly, I like the Hunter Boot for the logo. And I adore the many colors it comes in. If you ever see a baby pink tall pair at a discount please let me know. I love that color!

I will keep wearing both of them.

And be happy and grateful that I have the options.

Do you own a pair of either of these brands? What do you think? Did your Hunter Boots produce a white film? And if so, did the waxy quality on the Hunter Boots go away without having to do anything special to them?

*I was not compensated for writing this post. These opinions and reviews are my own. Your experience with the different boots may vary.

Target In January

I recently went to Target. As I do. When I want to buy a mindless variety of unnecessary items.

The reason I had gone there was because in my rummaging cleaning, I found 4 gift cards totaling $100 to Target in my drawer. They were given to me over the last few months as my kids would get them as gifts and then order something off of Amazon and pay me with their Target gift cards. I didn’t mind. I knew I would use them. Or lose them. Whichever came first. I decided to get on using them before I forgot.

With the holidays just recently being over and it being the beginning of the year, a lot of us are not spending money. I wanted to show some inexpensive options Target is offering right now, in case you wanted something new, but did not want a high price tag to struggle with.

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I didn’t mean to go to the clothing section. Cross my heart. But that is where I ended up. And I saw the best shirt. Seriously. Run. Don’t walk. And go get yourself this shirt. The only sizes left in black at our Target were XS and Large. I bought a Large for myself (fits perfectly) and an XS for my daughter (now you see why they don’t mind paying me with their gift cards).

The shirt is $16.99 and so similar to the more expensive shirts in my wishlist. See here. And here. Plus, you get 5% off if you use their Target Red Debit Card. It also came in the prettiest seafoam green color. But I needed a black shirt. The back has the pretty key-hole.

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Does this remind you of anything? How about my Ruffled Hem Pullover? This was less than 1/4 of that price?! I do like my Anthropologie sweater better. The back is more detailed. But this Target sweater was a great price. At $20, this was a nobrainer and my daughter got one, too. I bought the medium in this although I think I could have even gotten a large. It matches my AG Stevies Cords perfectly.

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And this awesome poncho pullover is so cool! At $20, it is simple to throw on. It is the easiest black and white stripes. Goes with so much. It covers the bum. Another steal. Another win for Target. By the way, I have no idea what is on my thigh. I had put those pants on for the very first time five minutes prior to this pic.

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I did not buy either of these sweaters. Not at Anthropologie. Not at Target. I do not own a French Bulldog, so it wasn’t for me. There was a popback of this sweater at Anthropologie last week and I would have ended up paying the same amount as the Target price. But I didn’t need it. So I didn’t buy it.

I just have to say… Umm. I’m not sayin’ this is a blatant copy of Anthropologie’s sweater. What do you think? Wink. If you missed it at Anthropologie, Target’s copy is $20.

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Gnomes!!! Look at these little darlings. I love ’em. I want to marry them. I want to rub their cold little hard bodies all over my cheeks. I want to… Okay. Let’s quit there. $4 a piece (just the 4 crackled versions in the pot). Adorable.

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And a big one to greet folks at the door. I only wish they had two more of him.

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And a sad, sad little fellow. He looked so forlorn, I had to take him home to cheer him up. He still isn’t happy. I have a feeling he never will be. But he is a pretty color. Blue. Just like his heart.

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This awesome crockpot was marked down from $35 to $17.48. How cool is it? I cannot wait to use it!

Have you been to Target lately? Do you always walk away with more than you came for? The buyers there are doing it right!

* Some pictures shown here were taken from Target and Anthropologie’s websites.

Chocolate Croissants and an Unexpected Experiment

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Oh man! The memories that chocolate croissants give me… Well, they are not good. Not good. But I used to love them. Love them and loathe them. I loathed them so much that I only recently tried one again after 25 years…

My sister is allergic to bees. Deathly allergic.

My dad is a beekeeper.

Well, you can see the problem here.

We lived in the middle of nowhere. Medical attention was about an hour away. We were armed with an Epipen and terror.

My mother was desperate. She decided to do a medical trial. My little sister (I believe she was five or six years old) would be dragged “down below.” This is what we referred to as “the city.” Any city I go to… It does not matter where. It is “down below” to me.

This drives my husband crazy.

My sister had to get a shot of bee venom every two weeks. It was to try to build up her tolerance for it (it did not work). The tears. The scared tension. The hours of driving. And the waiting. Fish swimming endlessly in the tank at the office.

It was “Groundhog’s Day” on crack.

And after the nightmare. Or during. My young memory is fuzzy. We munched on chocolate croissants. Picnic style. In the middle of the office building’s hallway. They sold them in the bakery downstairs.

Chocolate croissant. Shot. Chocolate croissant. Shot. Over and over.

I am sure my sister thinks it was much worse than I do, as she was the one waiting for the dreaded needle. And she hates needles more than I do. But after a time, I associated chocolate croissants with waiting, needles and boredom. The thought of them turned my stomach.

But I tried a chocolate croissant again in Maui.

And it was delicious.

Something about the lack of sterile air and foul nubby carpet digging into my shins made it much better.

I got an email from William Sonoma. They were offering free shipping on chocolate croissants. I had always wanted to try their croissants. Now was my chance!

I ordered them and waited.

There were no fish to look at.

A week passed. I received no shipping confirmation. Low and behold, they had shipped them randomly on a Wednesday. We were not looking for them. They got placed with some other boxes received that day. The next day, I checked the boxes. The croissants were ruined. I checked my credit card statement. They still charged me shipping! (Remember, they were supposed to have free shipping).

And I realize this was my fault as well. I should have checked the boxes, but it had almost been a week since I had ordered them. I did not know when to expect them. After two emails, they resent them. I, again, did not receive a shipment notification. But this time I was aware this might happen. They showed up randomly five days later. Luckily we were home when they came.

During this debacle, I looked online and discovered Trader Joes sells very similar croissants for a fraction of the price. Sold!

William Sonoma’s Chocolate Croissants are $39.95 for 15 plus shipping. Trader Joe’s are $3.99 for 4.

One William Sonoma Chocolate Croissant = $2.66 (I am going to pretend they honored the free shipping promo I was to receive. If you have to pay shipping, this will be more.)

One Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissant = $1

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I decided to do a comparison.

As one does.

Armed with time on my hands and a compulsion disorder, this was the natural order of things.

Here is how they compared in our house:

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Getting the croissants out of the package was different. William Sonoma’s were easy. None of the fifteen croissants in the box were stuck together. Trader Joe’s croissants were stuck together. I ended up breaking an edge off of one of the croissants as I tried to separate two. I pinched it back together and hoped for the best.

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I tucked in my sweets for the night and could not wait to see what they looked like in the morning.

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Morning came, and both sets of croissants looked relatively the same. They had risen quite a bit. I brushed them with an egg wash (since this experiment. I have made many more croissants. I recommend not brushing with egg wash. It really does not make much of a difference and it causes the croissant to fall a little) and put them in the oven to bake.

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My kids were very excited about this taste test. My teenage daughter actually got out of bed at a decent hour, on summer vacation, to be part of the experiment.

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Everyone got two small pieces of paper on their plate with the respective name of the company from which the croissant was born and half of each company’s croissant.

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Here is the verdict:

2 votes for Trader Joe’s (both children)
2 votes for William Sonoma (both adults)

William Sonoma:

The good:

1. Easy to remove from packaging
2. Prettier than the Trader Joe’s finished product
3. Flakier crust
4. Richer chocolate
5. Weird tang, that had me first voting for Trader Joe’s, but later had me craving more.

The bad:

1. Price. There was not enough of a difference in the two croissants to justify spending more for this.
2. Inconvenient. You cannot run down to the store to purchase these.
3. Did I mention the price?

Trader Joes:

The Good:

1. Price. Decent price for a good product.
2. Nice mild, slightly sweet taste
3. Convenient.
4. Small packaging. Easier to fit in freezer.
5. Did I mention the price?

The Bad:

1. Hard to separate the croissants.
2. Not pretty. The finished product was noticeably uglier than the William Sonoma version. Thus, if I was serving croissants for a special party, I would buy the William Sonoma version.
3. Not as flaky as the William Sonoma croissant.

Conclusion:

Both croissants were delicious. It was wonderful to smell them baking in the wee hours of the morning. It made our home feel like a French pastry shop. The warm, fresh croissants were such an indulgent, pleasant treat.

The products were very similar. I mean, very similar. The William Sonoma croissant had more depth of flavor. But the kids did not like this. The Trader Joe’s version was just so affordable.

Since this experiment, I have purchased many more Trader Joe’s chocolate croissants. The package is small in the freezer. They continue to be hard to separate. This can lead to some imperfect croissants. However, it is still a wonderful product. It seems so special to have something that takes a bit of time to eat for breakfast. We do not eat these all of the time (perhaps once a month). But when we do, the house is filled with excitement. And delicious smells.

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Have you tried these bake at home pastries? What did you think?

* P.S. My giveaway for a $25 World Market gift card ends Monday night. Please do not forget to enter!