I was recently sent a SodaStream* starter kit via House Party to hold a party and essentially advertise the SodaStream Source.  It was NOT a requirement that I make a blog post on this, but I'm just so obsessed with my new SodaStream I had to share myyy thoughts!  

House Party is a neat website that you can sign up for to hold "parties".  Basically they send you a free item, and you commit to having a party with your friends to try out the item.  I was incredibly lucky to get in on the SodaStream party!  When my SodaStream arrived I fell in love instantly.  I've seen them in stores but never would have purchased it for myself.  However, after playing with one I definitely would have ended up buying one.  Several people from my SodaStream party have ordered one already ahah!  

REVIEW:
So far I cannot find anything negative to say about this unit.  It's easy to use, makes wonderful drinks, and is environmentally friendly.  What more could you ask for?  My favorite flavors include: Orange Soda, Ocean Spray Cranberry, Dr. Pete, and Diet Pink Grapefruit.  I will warn you, all of the flavorings have a sort of "artificial sweetener" taste to them.  None of the flavorings are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the diet flavors are made with Sucralose instead of Aspartame.  The non-diet flavors do seem to be made with a mixture of Sugar & Sucralose.  This keeps calories lower than regular store bought soda brands, but something to keep in mind if you do not like to consume artificial sweeteners.  They do offer regular Cola flavoring without artificial sweeteners, it's made with 100% Pure Cane Sugar.  I haven't tried this one, so I am unable to tell you how it tastes.  There are other flavorings as well in their "Sparkling Naturals" line that are made without artificial sweetener.  

CONCLUSION:
If you don't mind consuming artificial sweetener, and are looking to cut calories, SodaStream would be an amazing option for you.  Even just using it to have plain sparkling water!  If you prefer pure cane sugar drinks, but want to limit your intake of High Fructose Corn Syrup, I'd say this would also be a good purchase for you.  The only downfall to the latter is that they don't have as wide of a flavoring choice for the no artificial sweeteners.

I took my sodas to work to have my party.  Nearly all of my friends are my co-workers and it was just easier that wayyy.  We had a great time tasting different flavors and even made rootbeer floats!  

We work in I.T. so we've all got headsets on :)  I'm not pictured because I was the photographer, and my other co-workers chose not to be photographed.  We had a fun time being sillyyy && just taking a break! <333

*All opinions are my own, I was not paid to write this post.  I was sent the SodaStream Kit by HouseParty.com, however, making a blog post was NOT a requirement by them.  I chose to write about my SodaStream on my own accord. 

adorn your android [October 2013]

I've mentioned before how I love to see other peoples phone layouts. So I think I'm going to start a monthly series on my layout. I change it up about everyyy month, so why not share it?  My username on cocoPPa is emileeblogs.

grocery store price list [menu planning]

I wanted to share with you my grocery store price list book.  I do 98% of my grocery shopping at Aldi.  They have the best prices in myyy town.  I don't coupon except for personal product items && cleaning items, so Aldi is the best choice for me.  

I created a price book by saving receipts and entering them into my book.  I separated it into categories, and list items in it accordingly.  This helps me stay on my grocery budget when menu planning && I always know how much I will be spending at the store.  

I used a little notebook that I purchased in a 3 pack from Wal-Mart.  I placed washi tape on the front && using a Sharpie I wrote "Aldi Price Book 2013".  Then I used self adhesive tabs on the pages to create categories.

On the pages I just list the item and price.  Depending on the item or category I will also include size and/or weight.  

My categories are:

• meat
• dairy
• canned
• produce
• dry goods
• bread
• frozen
• snacks
• seasoning/sauces
• condiments
• misc. [because I also purchase my paper towels && ziplocs at Aldi]

And there ya have it!  An easy reference price book for grocery shopping.  I keep it tucked in the back of my FiloFax so that I always have it on me.  This way if I happen to be at a different store && see something on sale, I can quickly see if it's cheaper for me than at Aldi.  <333

project 20 pan [update 2]

It's been awhile since I updated my project 20 pan.  This is where I'm at...  I've been able to cross out 10 items!  I'm going to be honest and say that I've purchased things since declaring project 20 pan, however they were only necessary purchases.  Only to replace things I've used up.  I've done really well at keeping my splurge spending at bay!  [Something I'm very proud of!]  I was terribly sad to see the last squirt from my Urban Decay De-Slick.  I loved this stuff.  With summer being over, and me no longer working during the day I have decided to not repurchase it just yet.  I don't have a need for it at the moment.  My Naked Palette never should have been included on this project!  Ack!  This eyeshadow lasts forever!  I'm never going to fully run out of it!  Same goes with my mark blush quad at the bottom.  The ONLY reason I included the mark blush quad, was to remind myself I have a large abundance of blush and do NOT need to purchase more.  I've done pretty well at using up the product that I really wanted to get rid of.  Maybe I'll start another project 20 pan, and make it more realistic by removing the Naked Palette and my mark blush quad.  

I challenge you all to do the same until the new year!  Pick 10-20 items that you need to use up before purchasing anything else.  Link your post below, or just tell me about it in a comment. 

hulu Xbox error code 4004 [fix]

My Xbox hasn't had Hulu working for months. I'm in I.T. so I understand all the basic troubleshooting. Nothing was working. I primarily use hulu during the fall tv season, so I was starting to panic. Sure I have a kindle, a laptop, and a phone I can watch hulu on... It's just not the same.  After scouring and scouring the internet researching the error, I was at a loss. Every suggestion I found didn't work. I was getting frustrated.

Well guys & gals, I fixed it! The "location" of my Xbox was set to "other" instead of "united states". Once I changed that, hulu started right up. After being incredibly angry that it was that simple, I was rejoicing! 

From your dashboard:

*settings

*system

*console settings

*language and locale

*locale

Hope that helps you!  

adorn your android [september 2013]

My cellphone is an extension of me.  There I said it.  I'm not ashamed and neither should you.  My cellphone is my mobile planner, my mp3 player, my music streamer, my camera, my brain, oh and my communication to the outside world ;)

I have an HTC EVO 4G LTE, and I've had it for almost a year and a half.  I adore my phone, and it has been perfect to me.  Today, I'm going to post pics of my customized homescreen [cause it's pretty & fun]!

My Homescreen:

• At the top left I have my 2Do app widget.  It allows me to quickly view my to-do tasks, as well as quickly add tasks in
• The top right folder is my "sleep" folder
• Below that is my shortcut to the website Swap-Bot
• Middle left to right: 2Do app, flashlight app, Candy Crush, CocoPPa [the app that I used to customize all my app icons]
• Next row is my folders: Social Media, Music, Photography, and Games
• Bottom: Phone, Gmail, all apps, GoSMS Pro, internet

• Sleep folder contains my favorite bedtime apps: Sleep Cycle [which tells you what time to wake up that won't interrupt a sleep cycle], Relax Melodies Premium [my favorite sound machine app, and I purchased the premium version], Alarm Clock Extreme, and a shortcut to a gossip forum I like to browse before bed

• Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest
• Youtube, GoodReads, Blogger, SnapChat

• Music app, Pandora, SoundHound, Dogg Catcher Podcast Player
• Tune In Radio, Audible, Amazon Mp3

• Camera, Pixlr-o-Matic, PicsArt, Photo Grid
• Gallery, Lumia, Textgram, InstaQuote
• Text Cutie

• 4 Pics 1 Song, Dots, My Singing Monsters, Google Play Store
• Netgear Genie, Tap the Frog

I just love browsing at other people's apps & screens, so I thought I'd share mine with you all again.