Holiday Gift Guide: Tortuga Rum Cakes

Tortuga Rum Cakes are a great idea for the holiday season. I was sent two of their wonderful cakes to review, a key lime cake and the golden original. Upon opening the box the wonderful aroma of rum greets you. Now, I am a rum fan, so to me a rum cake is a little piece of heaven. The key lime cake was a lovely balance of crisp, tart lime and sweet rum. It made me think of a tropical escape. The original is a delicious rum flavored, sweet, rich treat. Both were fantastic!


The thing ingredient that sets these rum cakes apart from all others is the generous dose of Tortuga Gold Rum in each cake. This rum is five years old and oak barrel aged. Every cake Tortuga produces is hand glazed with this tasty rum before being packaged. The unopened cakes have a shelf life of about 6 months and will keep in the fridge or freezer for quite awhile longer. That way, you can enjoy them whenever you feel like it.

Tortuga Rum Cakes would make a great gift this holiday season. The small ones would be excellent stocking stuffers.


Tortuga also offers, candies, gift baskets, coffees, and even sauces as well. All would delight the foodie in your life. I was very impressed with the product and highly recommend this wonderful company.


Ramblings of a Texas Housewife Product Review and/or Giveaway Disclosure- I have received no compensation other than the offer of free product to review and/or giveaway. Any opinions expressed on Ramblings of a Texas Housewife are my own. My reviews are never reviewed or edited in any way by sponsors.

Back to School Closet Clean Out

Image by criana via Flickr

A few days ago I shared my article about how to determine your child's clothing needs for the upcoming school year. Part of how we did this at my home was by cleaning out the closets. We sorted out things that no longer fit and items that could be worn again this year. This simple act of decluttering can save you some big money.

Once you've cleaned out the closets, really look at the outgrown items you've collected. Are they still in really good shape? If so, you might think about putting them in a consignment shop, a shop like Once Upon a Child where you can trade them in for store credit, or even selling them on Ebay. Selling the kids outgrown clothes on Ebay is how we help pay for their new school clothes every year. There are plenty of resources to help you learn the ins and outs of Ebay if you've never sold before; Ebay Mommy helped me a lot when I got started. If none of those options appeal to you, consider having a garage sale. Gently used children's clothes sell really well at garage sales this time of year. As for the clothes that are too worn, a bit stained, or just better play clothes than school clothes, consider taking them to the emergency clothing closet. They can surely be put to good use there.

By goignt through your closets, you can easily see what you absolutely need to buy for the year and what you can still use. Big items, like winter coats for example, can often last a child more than one year. This way you are not buying clothing that is unnecessary. Plus, by selling the items that are outgrown, you get a little help with all the back to school expenses.