SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party: MISSION COMPLETE!

So our SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party (made possible courtesy of HouseParty.com and SodaStream) was a success for the most part... it would have been a complete success if the weather had permitted it!

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and had fun learning how to use the SodaStream. I planned it as a potluck style party, so I was able to have some fun too for a change... that was definitely nice! I was originally aiming to have an outdoor party, but it was so gloomy out that I never moved the party to my front yard. We still found some fun stuff to do though; we ended up watching Finding Nemo and playing Apples To Apples and Uno.

Foodwise, I think we had a pretty good mix. I made Ramen Salad, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies, and a turkey. Yes, you heard (or read...) me right, a turkey! We had it in the freezer, so I figured, "Why not?" My friend Heather made gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting. Megan, my friend and awesome co-worker, made crock-pot little weenies... yum! And my mom made vegan no-bake cookies... SOOO GOOOD!!! So much good food... which is why I love my friends and family. Well, that, and they are also AWESOME! (^_^)

During the party, we tried four different SodaStream Soda Mixes: Root Beer, Cola, Orange, and Ginger Ale. We also made a soda with some vegan friendly syrup my mom bought for my sister (who, as you may have just guessed, is vegan). The Ginger Ale was a big hit, as was the Root Beer, which we used to make root beer floats later in the day! The Orange Soda was a bit of a miss... no one was really sure if they liked that much.

I have to say, after seeing how quickly I can supply soda during a party with my SodaStream, I'm certain it will be included in all of my future parties. Not to mention I get a kick out of watching peoples initial reaction to the machine in action. I swear they think it's going to blow up or something... though with the sounds it makes I suppose it is a bit scary at first, haha.

My mom is planning on buying one now, as is one of my friends. I suppose the $20 rebates I was given to hand out to my guest might have helped in the decision making process, haha. So I guess I could call that a success, right?

Here are some photos from the party!

(As well some from the days leading up to it...)

The Party Pack Arrives

Reading the welcome letter and having a quick peek inside...

Taking a selfie with the Party Pack... of course I had to inflate the beach ball first, haha!

Our brand new SodaStream Source, courtesy of HouseParty and SodaStream!

Look at all of the nifty things I pulled out of the Party Pack!

Goodie Bags All Ready To Go!

Baking some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies the night before the party... NOM!

Party day is here! Snapping a photo of the sign I made the night before.

The first bottle of soda of the day! I was Ginger Ale, if you were curious. (Awesome photo taken by Megan)

Playing Apples To Apples and watching Finding Nemo, haha.

My friend Heather made these delicious gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting! As you can see, one of the cupcakes had too much fun at our party. Go home Cupcake, you are drunk!

Root Beer Floats FTW!!!!

The aftermath of the party... judging from this mess, I believe the party was a success... yes?

Thanks again to HouseParty and SodaStream for this awesome opportunity! We had a blast! (^_^)

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Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Coming Soon: SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party!

That's right... I've been selected by HouseParty.com to host my own SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party! I will be having the party on Sunday, June 9th, so remember to be on the lookout for a new blog entry featuring photos and a recap of all of the fun!

By the way, be sure watch the #TellesSodaStreamHP tag on Twitter for posts from myself and my guests before and during the party!

Or come back here and watch the tag right from this post!

Tweets about "#TellesSodaStreamHP"

See you on the 9th!

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Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

My Old Navy Sample Share, Courtesy of Crowdtap!

So I was recently selected to participate in a sample share at Old Navy, courtesy of Crowdtap and, of course, Old Navy. I was given two coupons, one for me and the other for a friend, each good for a free top and bottom from ON's Active collection. So my sister and I made the trip there today... and found some cool stuff too. But I'm posting this to give you more info than that, so here it is, haha!

The Store

Everything was very clean and well organized. Things were easy to find, and departments were clearly marked.. (That may not seem like a big thing, but I've been in stores where that was not the case, and you had to guess where you were by the products in your vicinity. Not really fun or efficient.)

Employees

Everyone at the store was pleasant and willing to help. They all seemed like they got along with each other well too, which is always nice to see.

Selection

The store we went to (in Freeport, ME) had a moderately small selection size- and product-wise. I'm a plus-size woman, and my sister is pretty much the opposite. And it seemed like most of the clothing was sized small - XL... in other words, right in between our sizes. We managed to find a couple of things in our sizes, but it would have been nice to have more to choose from.

Overall Opinion

Although the clothes are a little more expensive than the clothes I usually buy, I like their clothing. My sister and I had fun checking out the store, so that was cool. Taking everything into account, I would shop with Old Navy again... especially if I could find more in my size.

Here of some photos of my sister and I taken during our Sample Share experience!

Me, trying on my Cali Slub and Yoga Pants

My sister trying on Running Shorts and Cami.

My sister snapping a photo of us in one of the store's mirrors, haha.

Thanks Crowdtap and Old Navy for this opportunity!

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Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

Keurig® Vue® House Party: MISSION COMPLETE!

So the party was a big success! Everyone enjoyed themselves, and I couldn't be happier! I love my new Keurig® Vue®, and it was definitely a hit with my guests. What they seemed to love the most about it was its versatility.

For example, some of my guests were not big coffee or
sweet tea fans, so when I showed them that you could use the Vue® to get hot water to use for tea bags or hot cocoa packets, they were impressed! I also put travel mugs out so guests could see how well they fit under the Vue® spout. Everyone liked the cold brew options as well. I can't wait to try some iced coffee for myself... | didn't get a chance during the party because l was too busy being a good hostess, haha.

Keurig® sent me a free Vue® for hosting the party (thanks Keurig!), and House Party supplied me with a variety of Vue® coffee/tea packs to offer at the party, as well as some neat party supplies and a Keurig® Vue® apron! And since I was out of printer ink and couldn't print out the neat decorations from House Party's website, I recycled my Keurig® Vue® box and made my own!

We had a LOT of different snacks to munch on as well. We had some yummy Dancing Deer cookies that came in my party pack, as well as some Chips Ahoy and Newman's Own cookies. I made a bunch of loaded potato skins, pizza bites, and some ramen salad. My friend Heather made gluten-free cupcakes and gluten free/vegan muffins (both were DELICIOUS), and my mom made spinach artichoke dip (NOM!). We ate all of this great stuff during our viewing of The Hunger Games!

And the end of the party, everyone got to bring a goodie bag home with them, containing some "after coffee" mints, a pamphlet about Vue®, and a 50% off voucher for a new Vue® from Keurig® all supplied by House Party, as well as some chocolate-dipped spoons and green tea I supplied myself. Everyone like their goodie bags and went home happy and well fed. I would say this was all-in-all a very successful party!

Here are some photos from before and during the party!

The arrival of my Keurig® Vue®!

Such an exciting morning, haha!

Brand new out of the box. Even got a nifty sampler pack!

Making my first coffee in my Vue®...

... looks good!

The arrival of the party pack from House Party!

Look at all of the goodies!

Pretty sweet haul for my Vue® Party!

Party Day!

The coffee/tea bar.

Some of the goodie bags!

Eat ALL the noms! haha. ;-)

The aftermath of the first group of coffee/snack consumers, lol.

Everyone snacking and watching The Hunger Games.

Thanks Keurig® and House Party!

Thanks to everyone who made this an AWESOME house party! Can't wait to get the opportunity to host another one someday!

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Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

My Keurig® Vue® Party Is Happening Tomorrow!

That's right, the big day is tomorrow!  

So remember, if you follow me on Twitter (@shantellevye), I will be popping on to tweet randomly during the party on September 23rd with party updates and photos, so be sure to check it out! 

The official House Party hashtag is #VueParty , but you can also use my personal party tag, #ShantellesVueParty!

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Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)