Soda Stream fountain Jet - Review

One of my fondest childhood memories was using our soda stream, so when I found out they were back and being made again I knew I had to get one. One of my biggest annoyances in life is having to lug heavy cans and bottles of soda from the store to home, and then feeling bad about putting them all in the trash because our area does not recycle much. Soda Stream is a fantastic solution to these problems because once you have the kit there is no more heavy lifting, and the unit is extremely environmentally friendly.

I was sent a Soda Stream A200 fountain jet kit which contained the unit, 1 re-usable C02 carbonator, 2 reusable carbonating bottles and a selection of flavored syrup mixes. There really is no setting up, you just have to insert the CO2 canister and voila you are ready to go! My husband and I decided to have a soda party and invited around 2 friends so we could try all of the flavors we were sent. Our favorites were root beer, cranberry raspberry and the energy drink mix, however every one we tried tasted good.

There are over 30 flavors to choose from with many coming in diet as well as regular, so there truly is something for everyone. Unlike most sodas you purchase in the stores the Soda Stream products are entirely free of high fructose corn syrup and aspartame!! Each bottle of flavored syrup can create the equivalent of 33 cans of 12oz soda.

So, you may wonder how easy it is to begin making soda once you have inserted the CO2 canister? Well the answer is very easy. You fill up one of the empty bottles with water, then screw it into the front of the unit. Then you press the carbonation button on top of the unit several times until you hear a short buzz which lets you know its fully carbonated, however if you wish you can give it 1 or 2 more presses if you like your soda extra fizzy. The you unscrew the bottle, and select which flavor you'd like. Once you have chosen you fill up the cap with the syrup and then pour it into the fizzy water. After a quick turn upside down to ensure the syrup is fully mixed in you are ready to drink. The whole process is done in under 30 seconds, which makes this kit SO convenient.

In conclusion, I would certainly recommend this product to anyone who enjoys soda, flavored waters of seltzer. If you are conscious about your impact on the environment then this product is for you, with no empties, no packaging from continues buying of cans and less energy wastes transporting heavy bottles you shall be truly doing your bit. The taste truly does compare to the brand names we all love and I can certainly see Soda Streams appearing in everyone kitchens because they are so convenient and fantastic! You can check out their website here and get yourself a Soda Stream Kit today!

Disclaimer: All opinions in this post are 100% my own and honest. I was sent the Soda Stream kit and flavored syrups in exchange for this review.

The top 10 items I want from Amazon !!

I must admit that I am a bit of an Amazon junkie, and if money allowed I could probably make a good dent in my wish list! So I decided to list 10 items that I really want! You can check out all the items listed in the slideshow at the bottom o this post.

1. D90 Kit- I have been wanting a DSLR for years now, and after much research have decided upon the D90 kit. At almost $1000 it sure isin't cheap, but it shall truly be an investment.

2. Over the door jewelry organizer - In recent years I have built up my jewelry collection so much that I now need a better way to organize it all. I keep my expensive pieces or sentimental pieces in a jewelry box, but this over door organizer looks ideal for the rest of my bits and bobs. It can hang ear-rings, bracelets and necklaces in a convenient way.

3. Kitchen aid stand mixer- Its no secret I love to bake, and sometimes my little $5 hand mixer just does not cut it. I have always loved the look of the classic stand mixers and thus it is now in my top 10 wants!

4.  Green pashmina scarf - After watching the movie 'Confessions of a shopaholic' I have since wanted a green scarf just like hers! I have yet to find one exactly like the one she had, but when I do I plan to snap it up!

5.  Lighted make up mirror - I actually bought this for a friend once and she loved it. After I used it too at her house I decided I wanted one also, and hope to buy one eventually. It not only has magnification and light, but also different types of light so you can match your make up to the situation e.g night time/club !

6. Charcoal smoker grill - This is more so my husbands want, but I love his grilled chicken so much that I want it too. He is certainly a charcoal man and has his eye on this baby. It has a smoker on the side where you can place smoker chips to truly enhance your foods flavor!

7. Colorful drawers - I actually have these drawers back home in England and use them to store and organize my make up and make-up/hair tools! They are quite simply perfectly sized, and within each drawer I put 4 small Tupperware containers so I can organize the contents yet more. They would also be perfect for craft needs and storing things like paper/scrap-booking items. Below is a video I made which shows the drawers in my room back home.



8. Apple Ipad 2 - Its no secret that the Ipad is this years must have gadget, and I do not normally give into hype but its stats do really look quite impressive, and after fiddling with one at an apple store I have to admit Id love one. I cant afford one yet, but hopefully I'll be lucky and win one! haha one can dream!

9. Warcraft priest tee - World of Warcraft is my game of choice, and after playing almost 5 years I am pretty loyal to my main character, a priest. Id love to get this tee and show off my geekiness!

10. Wilton Decorating set - As I mentioned above I love to bake, and this set would be a dream addition to my kitchen. Since moving I have hardly any baking equipment, but having this kit would be fabulous!

Contemplating a pet bloggy in addition to this one

My recent contact with sponsors and companies regarding products for me to review has given me a new idea. I did intend to use this blog for everything, and include all types of products however the thought crossed my mind yesterday or creating a new one specifically for pet items.

I could style the blog to give the impression Loki and Bucky are actually the authors, and write both how they played with /used the items, and then do a final segment on "what mummy thought" in which I would write a human perspective on the products. I think this might add a good element of humor to the writing, and make it more fun to read. Additionally Having a blog solely for pet items may increase my readers because the content is more specialized, rather than a bit of everything!

Im not sure about this yet, and havent actually contacted any pet toy/ accessories etc companies yet, but if I can develop some interest and I get a good response from companies who would like to work with me, then I may create that one. Should I not get a good reply, then I shall just include the odd pet product review here along with the other reviews that should start hitting the blog in the next few weeks!

Ta Ta for now!

Meet our babies !!

My husband and I do not have children yet, however we do have two very adorable and very fluffy babies of the dog variety! They are both such characters and we love them so so much, they continually make us laugh, cry, scream and much more and we are always kept on our toes!

Our oldest and first baby is called Buckshot (or Bucky for short), whom we adopted from a shelter in July 2006. He was about 3 months old when we adopted him, and although we are unsure of his breed we believe him to be part shepherd and perhaps part border collie. He is our more relaxed, chilled out baby and loves nothing more then to nap by your side. Despite his relaxed nature, some of his favorite things include traveling in the car, running into the ocean waves and chasing flies/bugs!

Bucky weighs about 35 lbs and is now fully grown. His favorite foods are pizza crusts, bacon and salmon flavored treats. Check out the photos below to see our cute baby Bucky !!

Our second and newest baby is Loki, our toy Australian shepherd. We purchased him from a local breeder in the winter of 2009. He is now one and a half and still has bounds and bounds of puppy energy! He loves nothing more then to play all day long, and the moment he gets the tiniest bit excited he goes to grab a toy! His nickname is 'wigglebutt' because when he gets excited his little nub tail shakes and wiggles so much that his entire rear end just shakes, it is so adorably cute!

Loki currently weighs about 22 lbs and probably won't get much bigger. His favorite foods are bacon, chicken and whatever else he can get his paws on! Loki is quite an aggressive chewer, and is not content with simply playing with toys, if he gets bored he will tear them apart until all that is left is threads. We have tried to break him of this behaviour an whilst he longer chews my bra's and my husbands underpants he still enjoys tearing apart toys, so we are always on the lookout for durable, long lasting ones. His favorite things include walking in the park, going on holiday and long play sessions!

Check out the photos of our little wigglebutt below!

Let me know what kind of pets you have, and what their favorite things are!

Review - Eden Fantasys

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Review - Netflix video streaming and DVD rental service

My husband and I are both avid movie lovers, so it was really a no-brainer for us to sign up to a movie rental service. We first signed up to Netflix in 2005 after blockbusters prices were no longer competitive in the rental market, and we were tired of late fees. We decided to opt for a subscription which allowed us 4 movies out at a time. This meant we chose which films we wanted, and netflix sent them to us. We could watch them all and sent them back to get 4 more, or we could watch 2 and send 2 back, hanging onto the other 2 for as long as we wanted whilst getting 2 new ones. It truly was a fantastic concept and we were both overjoyed that if we liked a movie we could keep it and just keep watching it over and over again without stacking up ridiculous late fees!

Netflix first introduced its DVD subscription service to the public in 1999 and in 2007 it announced that it had sent out its billionth DVD! In addition to its varied and plentiful selection of rental DVD's Netflix also offers a fantastic video streaming service,which allows customers to watch movies instantly on their TV's, computers and select phones/hand held devices. Despite the fact there are less titles available to watch instantly than the DVD rental choices, the selection is still extremely plentiful and varied and there is surely something for everyone to watch in every genre. My husband and I make good use of the streaming service and use it most days on both our Xbox and PS3.

Netflix truly make their service affordable to everyone and to find a subscription which is right for both you and your family you can check out their plans and get more information here. The menu's are extremely easy to navigate, and adding items to your queue takes only one click. Netflix is constantly updating their video library so chances are if something you are searching for is not available, it will be in the future, or even better you can request they look into making it available through their suggestion tool. Netflix also includes free shipping of its movies to you and free return shipping back to them, so there are no hidden costs or charges for you to worry about. They send you movies in an envelope, with a pre-paid return envelope also so life couldn't get much easier!

 

It may sound corny but I truly don't know where we'd be without our Netflix. We are on a very tight budget and cannot afford cable so Netflix is our go-to-guy for entertainment. With over 100,000 titles we are never short of choice, and can always find something to suit both our moods. Gone are the days of driving to the other side of town to return and rent movies, now all we have to do is go to our mailbox or open the internet and watch something instantly. I cannot recommend Netflix highly enough, and we have never had any problems with our subscription. The service is extremely reliable, efficient, cost effective and full of both current and past hit movies and TV.

I was not compensated for this review, now was I gifted my Netflix subscription, it is paid for by myself and my husband. These views are my own.