Candles by Victoria Jars (a comparison)

Hey everyone!

As most of you know I'm a HUGE candle addict: And not just ANY candle addict but a Candles by Victoria candle addict!
For those of you who don't know, Candles by Victoria (or CBV) is a family-owned-and-run business in Van, Texas.
Victoria Elliot is the sweetest woman you'll ever meet and on top of being so nice, she makes THE BEST scented candles. I cannot rave enough about them; you seriously just need to try them yourself.

Moving on...
One thing that I've always thought would be helpful to have is a size comparison between her jars SO I've decided to do just that.

Let me start by saying this is a bit of a long post; I took TONS of photos for you guys! But trust be, it's worth it!
I lined up one of every type of jar that I currently own (minus the scent shots because... well... I forgot about them) and had a nice long photo shoot!
I hope you all find this helpful, or at the very least enjoy the photos! haha

Here's a photo of all of the sizes that I'll be comparing!
From left to right:
4oz mini jelly, 8oz tureen, 8oz jelly, 9oz country, 14oz Black Label, 16oz country,
16oz comfort candle, 18oz Love Victora, 22oz tureen, 24 oz mustard.
Just to save myself from having to answer this later the scents (also left to right) are:
Pumpkin Pear Strudel, Vanilla Grapefruit, Honeydew Pear, Strawberry Danish, Earthquake, Chocolate Fudge Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Surprise, Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash, Vanilla Bean Noel, Ginger Peach, and Pumpkin Pralines!


Now here are the "children" of the family:
4oz mini jelly, 8oz jelly, 8oz tureen, and 9oz country jars.

The 4oz mini, 8oz JELLY, and 9oz country all have the same opening size.

A size comparison of the 4oz mini jelly jar and the 8oz jelly jar.

A comparison of the opening size of the 4oz mini vs. the 8oz TUREEN.




Now, onto the medium sized jars!
Left to right:
14oz Black Label, 16oz country, and 16oz Comfort Candle jars.

This is a comparison of the medium jars to the 8oz jelly.

Left to Right, top to bottom:
16oz country, 14oz Black Label, 8oz jelly, 16oz Comfort


I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Can we just take a moment to focus on that freaking adorable candle to the right? Ya know, the one with a fracking lounging gingerbread man!?"
To you I say, "Yes.... yes, we most certainly can."

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of Victoria's lovely Comfort Candles. This one is called Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash and you can read all about what's in it at this lovely page: http://cbv.djahren.com/scent.php?id=726

But for now, I'll just show you how adorable it is!

Is it just me, or does Gingy look a lil' bit high?


(PLEASE excuse the mess, we still haven't totally unpacked!)
Sarge was enjoying looking over the photo-shoot. He's just so cute, I had to share.


Hmm... where were we?
Ah yes! Comparing!

This is the 16oz country and 8oz tureen side by side. I am almost positive that they have the same sized opening.

And now we've arrived at the big kids' table.
Dining with us this evening will be the:
18 oz Love Victoria, 22oz tureen, and 24oz mustard jars.

Let's look at some comparison shots before we get to all of that lovely glitter!

We have the Love Victoria (white), 22oz tureen (pinkish), and mustard jar (orange)
up against the 8oz jelly jar.

Left to Right:
22oz tureen vs. 18oz Love, Victoria

16oz Comfort Candle vs. 22oz Tureen


16oz Comfort candle vs. 18oz Love, Victoria



16oz country jar vs. 24 oz mustard jar

Top: 16oz country, 24oz mustard
compared to 8oz jelly

Now, onto the glitter candles!!!

Here is the 22oz tureen (which is also available without glitter).

This is a (somewhat) decent shot of Orange and Pink glitter.

I honestly think this may have been red glitter instead of pink because it's WAY darker than other orange/pink combos I've seen. Anyways, I'm not sure if this combo is still available but here it is regardless. :P


Here is the 8oz tureen against the 22oz tureen.


And the openings:


And now for my newest glitter candle:
Halo White glitter in a Love, Victoria jar!

Major thanks to Ahren for helping me get the perfect lighting to capture the TRUE colors of this Halo White glitter! It's so subtle but SO pretty!!!

That's all of them! I hope the comparisons were helpful for you and I hope you enjoyed the photos half as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Some jar info:
Like I said, the 4oz mini jelly jar, 8oz jelly jar, and 9oz country candles all have the same size opening so when looking at the above comparisons, keep that in mind. :)
Glitter candle are currently available in the Love, Victoria and 22oz Tureen jars.

These are NOT even close to all of the awesome jars that Victoria offers but they should give you a good taste of opening sizes and a good way to compare sizes.

To sign off, I'll leave you with some photos of the AWESOME new lighter Ahren bought for us this week! It's so adorable and I love it! haha

Take care, everyone! Happy CBV melting! :D

Vegan Rice Pudding (It's SOOO much better than it sounds)

SO, in an effort to get healthier I've decided that I'd like to REALLY try cutting out animal products. In all honesty, I doubt I'll be able to go completely vegan, mainly because I don't want to. BUT I am going to attempt to eat as vegan-ly as possible the majority of the time. :)

I started out swimmingly by having this delicious rice pudding for dessert tonight! It's a pretty basic recipe and it's very easy and yummy! Do NOT be intimidated by it's lack of traditional pudding fare (like sugar and milk) it is REALLY good, I promise.

Vegan Rice Pudding
I didn't measure how much this made, but my guess would be about 4 cups.

Ingredients:
-2 cups cooked brown rice (you could use white, it would be a bit fluffier, but I prefer brown)
-2 cups Vanilla Almond Milk (or any vanilla non-dairy milk)
-1/4 cup raisins (I didn't have them, so I left them out but I will def. add them next time)
-3 tbsp amber agave nectar* (this stuff is so delicious, I use it to sweeten everything)
-1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon (use less if you're not a big cinnamon fan, or you could omit it)

After you've cooked your rice, combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat to desired consistency. If pudding becomes too thick, thin it with a bit more milk. Top with more raisins and a dash of cinnamon.

*You could replace the Amber agave nectar with light agave nectar or 2 tbsp Maple syrup. I like Amber agave the best because it adds a sweet, rich flavor without dominating the dish - like maple syrup would.


This would be great in the morning, warmed with a splash of milk, some raisins, and/or some berries!

I hope if you make this that you enjoy it and have fun adding your own touch to it!
-Sara

A great way to start the day (and a blog!)

I've loved to blog since my early days on Myspace, when I really began to use the internet as a means to interact with people and share my thoughts. However, I've become somewhat lax with my Blog upkeep. I usually start one, update it for a few weeks and then totally forget about it.

That very well may happen with this one, but at the very least, I'd like to use this one to review my purchases from an absolutely wonderful company: Candles by Victoria.

Candles by Victoria is a wonderful family owned-and-operated business in Van, Texas. Victoria is an amazing, helpful, and sweet woman who is very devoted to her customers and who makes AMAZING scented candles.

The best things about CBV: (pretty much everything but I'll break it down for you)
1. She has something for EVERYONE!
-To put it into perspective: My boyfriend couldn't really care less about candles. He is very neutral on the subject. The other day (about 3 weeks after I received my first CBV order) my boyfriend found a Yankee candle sitting near my CBV candles. He promptly picked it up, said, "SHUN!" and literally put it in the corner, out of sight and out of mind. That really confirmed to me that Victoria's candles are for everyone. She caries over (I believe) 640 scents. While that's a bit overwhelming, she is very helpful as are the wonderful ladies of her forum, The Pouring Pot.

2. The candles aren't expensive.
-Victoria's candles are very reasonably priced and I consider them to be VERY well priced when the quality of the candle is considered. These are not candles that will lose their scent after you've only burned through 1/4 of it. They are triple scented and smell amazing until the very last drop is gone. She also offers so many sizes that you can buy any of her scents in, starting at only $2 for 2oz "scent shots", which are virtually tarts that you melt in a warmer. Going up to big ol' 32oz Kettle Candles which comes in adorable country style kettle! She also runs sales (usually 10-15% off) nearly every month so if you check in every once in a while, it's easy to grab some things and save a few dollars!

3. Flat-rate shipping for the U.S.
-I find this amazing. Victoria's current shipping rate is $8.50 flat. For someone who lives across the country from her family, I know that $8.50 is NOT very much for shipping especially when you're dealing with pounds of wax and glass jars (two very heavy materials). I'm amazed at the fact that she offers this and I think it's absolutely great.

4. They hand-pour every single candle and scent shot that goes out.
-They basically make your candles "fresh" when you order them. They hand-pour and pack every candle that leaves their store and none of them sit on inventory shelves or anything like that. This kind of service and quality makes a product that is unbelievably good. It makes much more of a difference than you can really think.

5. The best customer service you will ever find.
-If you were to order a candle online from a company like the big Y, I would imagine returns for broken items wouldn't be the easiest to figure out. With Victoria, you simply send her an email or phone her up, explain that it arrived broken (which RARELY happens thank to her husband Matt "Candleman"'s amazing wrapping job!) and she will GLADLY replace your candle! She cares so much about her customer's experiences and really becomes our friend and not just a supplier.


I've only been a part of this wax-loving community for a short while but I can honestly say that it is not one that I can see myself leaving. The candles are amazing and the people are fantastic: What more do you need in a candle company?

Now it's time to go check her out!
www.candlesbyvictoria.com

If you're considering ordering, let me know. I'm thinking of having a Candle Party with her in August and would really appreciate any participants I can get!


I'll post a video review soon-ish, after I've melted a few more scents to give a more detailed description. Til then, happy candle lighting/sniffing!
~Sara