Strange & Charmed

On My iPhone {July 2014}

On my iPhone is a new monthly feature on Strange & Charmed where I give you a peak into what I have been loving on my iPhone for the month! Covering topics like apps, games, podcasts, music, websites, books and more, I hope this series helps you all discover new and exciting content out there that can be enjoyed from your iPhone! To stay up to date with this series, make sure to follow the On My iPhone tag!

I had such a great time putting together my first installment of On My iPhone last month that this month I was pumped for this post! This month has been a lot of fun for me and I have been trying to make the most of my summer while it still lasts. I’ve been watching more TV than I think I ever have (thanks to a cable upgrade) and I feel more creative and inspired than I have in a long time. So, without further ado, here is what I have been loving on my iPhone this month!

Currently Playing, LYNE: Puzzle games are some of my favorites, especially when they are meant for a relaxed, enjoyable pace of play like LYNE. The basic premise of the game is to create an unbroken line from start to finish on the triangular tiles of the game board. With no annoying timer and a mellow soundtrack of ambient sounds, this app is a nice way to pass some extra time. I was lucky enough to get this app for free from Starbuck’s Pick of the Week, but you can grab it for $2.99 on the app store!

Currently Reading, Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1: In July, I finally got my act together and watched Game of Thrones on HBO. All four seasons in two weeks (I know, I’m hardcore!). Now that I am all caught up, I want for more! So, I started reading, err, listening to the audiobook of Game of Thrones on my iPhone. I know this is sort of cheating since I am not actually reading it, but I thought it would be more enjoyable for me if I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it since it is a rather lengthy series. You can pick up the audiobooks via iTunes, but I will warn you, they don’t come cheap!

Currently Watching, Nicole Matthews: Recently, I have been watching a lot of videos from my new favorite YouTuber, Nicole Matthews, and I have really been enjoying her channel. She has only been making videos for about a year and has a little over a thousand subscribers, but she has great quality videos and I can really see her channel going places! So, if you are interested in fun beauty videos, tutorials, OOTDs, hauls and the occasional TAG video, you should head on over to Nicole’s channel and subscribe!

Currently Surfing, Yoga Studio: Okay, so again, I cheat, this is an app, not a website, but I have been pretty obsessed with Yoga lately and I am really into this app! I have a few Yoga apps, but this one is by far my favorite. Again, I got this one for free from Starbuck’s Pick of the Week (seriously, they give away some of the best apps ever!). It’s basically like having a yoga instructor on your iPhone/iPad with pre made routines as well as an option to design your own. It’s a clean, easy to use app with wonderful step by step instructions and soothing narration. If you are into yoga or would like a great app to help you get started at home, pick it up for $3.99 on the App Store!

Currently Listening, Lana Del Rey: There is something about Lana Del Rey and her album, Born to Die that is so quintessentially summer to me! I am a major fan of hers year round, but I get get enough of her music lately. Something about her sultry voice and suggestive lyrics has me listening to her songs on repeat, so if you haven’t checked her out yet, I suggest you check her out or pick up her album on iTunes!

So, how have you been liking my new On My iPhone Series? Have you been looking forward to it as much as I have? Let me know what you think about this month’s picks, and of course, let me know what your tech and web favorites have been this month!

Filofax

3 Simple Planner DIYs

Today I’m mailing out a prize for a giveaway I hosted over on my Instagram account. I am not big on doing a lot of giveaways on my YouTube and social media channels because I always feel bad that there can only be one or a handful of winners. I would prefer to give prizes that everyone can benefit from, but those are usually harder to come by. At least in the example of this giveaway, the prize was a set of three DIY Planner embellishments that I had made during a tutorial I published on my YouTube channel a few weeks ago that were incredibly simple to make. So, I thought I should share them here on my blog for those of you who like stationery and planner DIYs. They were an embellished title page, a decorative page marker and a repositionable divider! For each DIY, I used Project Pages from the Me And My Big Ideas line of stationery, as well as some stickers and embellishments also from the line.

If you haven’t seen the video, I will link it below so you can watch the tutorials. No matter what your skill level, these 3 Simple DIYs are something anyone can accomplish using a few key items and they can add a lot of personality and personalization to your planner system. Although I used MAMBI stationery accessories, you could easily substitute these for Project Life cards or even printed images you found online! If you like these tutorials and give them a try on your own, I would love if you shared pictures of your DIYs with me via Twitter or Instagram! Also, if you have any other planner hacks or tutorials you would like to see, make sure to leave me a comment below!

Filofax lifestyle organization Solutions

How to Back Up Your Paper Planner

I have to admit, one of the major benefits of using a digital planning system is that, for the most part, they are easy to back up. Using a calendar or to do app on my iPhone means I can sync with the cloud, have my information on not only my phone but also on my iPads and my laptops as well. If I accidentally delete something in one place, I always have a backup somewhere else. It’s convenient and secure, two very important things that paper planners lack. It’s a critical flaw of Filofax’s and other physical planners, but one that can’t be avoided. It’s paper after all. Paper burns, rips, decomposes if touched by water, and a paper planner can be lost entirely. Even if I lost my iPhone, I wouldn’t have to worry much about my information. Lists would be retrievable, information can be restored and my phone could be instantly whipped of all information if I was concerned about sensitive information getting out (because you know, being an international blogging sensation, I have lots of sensitive and top-secret post information that people are dying to get their hands on… LOL, please note the sarcasm!) Jokes aside, though, you know what I mean! Even though paper planners have their fatal flaws, however, there are some things we old-fashioned analog planner users can do to keep our information backed up, in case any terrible tragedy should strike our organizational companions!

The simplest and easiest way to back up a paper planner or Filofax is through the use of photos on our smartphones. It may be an extra step to take when we make important notes in our planners, but if something were to happen to our planners we would at least have some form of backup for our information. And with the superior quality of smartphone cameras these days, you can capture all the details on a planner page or spread with great clarity in case you need to refer back to it later. Since i use an iPhone, I like to use the app DocScan to back up any important lists or notes in my planner. DocScan is great because it uses the camera on your iPhone to “scan” documents, physical pictures and notes, allowing you to then save the information in a multitude of different formats. Its like having a portable scanner with you at all times! Another popular application, Evernote, does much the same. Evernote is a great note taking application, but it’s also great for storing and saving information via pictures taken on your smartphone! Evernote allows you to synch your notes through the cloud and access them from a variety of different devices, even through the web directly!

So, if you’re concerned about backing up your paper planner or Filofax, give this method a shot! Start getting into the habit of taking a quick pic of your planner pages as you fill them up or make new notes. If you ever, heaven’s forbid, loose your planner or an important page goes missing, at least you have some sort of backup stored away for digital reference.

lifestyle tech

Geek Chic: Showing some Geek Love!

Geek Chic #1 by misstrenchcoat featuring a canvas purse

So, in all honesty, I cannot believe I have never done a post like this before!

I love geeky clothing and accessories and I am always on the hunt for them wherever I go! I have a specific “geek uniform” that I like to wear around which consists of a black blazer, geeky tank top and leggings/skinny jeans. Of course I’m partial to geek glasses, which I do already wear, and its not uncommon for me to wear multiple accessories that include glasses on them like my glasses bangle and iPhone case from Kate Spade. No geek ensemble would be complete, however, without a pair of awesome headphones and some wearable tech. I love the rose gold Frends Layla headphones and I have been thinking about getting a smart watch of some sort, although I’ll admit, I’m waiting for Apple to make one that is killer!

So, I’m wondering, are their any other geek gals out there who like to dress the part? What sorts of clothing and accessories do you prefer? Tweet me some links for some items I should check out or leave me a comment below letting me know your geek chic style! I’m thinking about doing this as some sort of regular feature, so if you like this, make sure to let me know!

DIY lifestyle

DIY Starbucks @ Home Green Tea Frappe

Aren't you super impressed with my Starbucks Green Tea Frappe Watercolor? I made it myself, much like this recipe! — Aren’t you super impressed with my Starbucks Green Tea Frappe Watercolor? I made it myself, much like this recipe!

One of my favorite summer drinks from Starbucks is their Green Tea Frappe! I am a big fan of green bubble tea and green tea flavors in general, but as you know, in the heat of summer, that Frappe addiction can end up costing you quite a pretty penny. So, I save my cash and opt for a homemade version instead. It’s pretty easy to make so long as you have a blender and either matcha or a green tea powder mix. I buy my matcha from Teavana because it’s owned by Starbucks now so I assume they are sourcing their matcha from the same place that Starbucks does. Matcha is a little pricey, but a little bit goes a long way. Another option is to purchase the Tazo Green Tea Latte Concentrate. It’s what Starbucks uses for their drinks, but it’s a bit controversial because its a mix of matcha with other sweeteners and ingredients that end up making it really high calorie (another reason, I have been opting to make my Green Tea Frappes at home). The third and final option is to use a Green Bubble Tea powder mix. You can buy this online or purchase it in an Asian market. It is a mix of matcha and sweetener, but its more reasonable calorie wise, although you don’t get as strong of a flavor as you do with the artificial Starbucks mixture.

From there you just need some milk, additional sweetener, vanilla extract and of course, ice! Below is my recipe using matcha. I have also included a video I made on how to make a Starbucks Green Tea Frappe at home, using green bubble tea powder. The recipes for these two differ slightly because when you are using matcha you need to add sweetener at a 2:1 ratio because matcha is very bitter. When using a powder mix that also contains sweetener you use a 1:1 ratio of mix to sweetener (if you even need sweetener depending on the type of mix you are using).

Green Tea Frappe

1 cup of Milk (your choice)
1 tsp matcha
2 tsp sugar (or alternate sweetener)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup filled with ice (5-6 cubes)
Whipped Cream (optional)

Add all ingredients into a blender and mix until desired consistency (ice cubes have broken down into a slush consistency and no large pieces of ice remain). Pour mixture into cup and garnish with whipped cream and an extra sprinkling of matcha if desired.

See, that’s super easy! And delicious! And have I mentioned I’m obsessed with green tea flavored things?

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Starbucks @ Home. If you did, please make sure to tweet this recipe out and/or share it on your social media! Let me know if you have any other drink requests for me to create an at home recipe for you! Have a Frapptastic Day!

Filofax organization

How to Start a Filofax!

Ever since I became involved with the Filofax community, I have been asked tons of questions about how to start with a Filofax or similar ring bound planner system! It’s such a complicated question, mostly because the experience of using a Filofax is so highly personalized, which is exactly why I like to use a Filofax over any other sort of planner system. You can set up a Filofax in an uncountable number of ways, whatever suits your needs. I will say, however, that there is a basic process that everyone can use to start themselves off with a new planner, and if you’re thinking about getting a Filofax and want a general idea of how to start personalizing your own experience, this should help!

1. Pick out a planner that suits you: Filofax has a number of planners in a variety of styles and sizes to suit a variety of needs. If you’re not sure where to start off, I would suggest a personal sized planner because it’s the most portable, but if you know you need tons of space to write and don’t have a problem with carrying around a larger planner, go with A5. Once you know what size planner you want, it’s up to you which style and color you choose, whether it be leather or cloth, a bright color or a neutral. That part is entirely up to you and your style!

2. Pick a calendar/diary refill: A new Filofax will come with a calendar/diary insert (different styles come with different layouts, so be sure to check which comes with yours) but if you want a specific layout you may need to buy it separately. There are all sorts of monthly calendars, weekly and even daily layouts available and if you would like the chance to try out one without committing to buying a refill pack, you can always check out the free printable diary refills from Philofaxy! Generally speaking, may people use a combination of a month on two pages calendar with a week on two pages in order to get a monthly view and a weekly view of their schedule, but if you have lots of to-do items that you need to schedule, you may require a day per page or a day in two pages layout! Make sure to check all available options to understand what’s available and how you could make use of each type.

3. Purchase refill scrap paper or to do lists: Like I said, Filofax planners come with a variety of paper already depending on the type of planner you buy, however, I love to find additional pads of paper to use as scrap paper in my planner since refills from Filofax are usually pretty expensive. Once you know the paper dimensions of the planner you are going to use, you can easily find notepads that are compatible with your planner. These may require you to do a little hole punching on your own, but I find the effort is always worth it because you save yourself money and open yourself up to a variety of different paper for your planner. I love scouring the Target dollar bins for paper pads, as they often have ones closely compatible with a personal sized Filofax that I can punch and use in my own planner!

4. Get yourself a nice pen: Technically, you don’t need any sort of fancy pen to use in a Filofax, however, many planner enthusiast prefer to use erasable ink pens in their planners in case they need to remove scheduled events or to do items. The Frixion Pen is a very popular option and comes in a variety of ink colors and pen sizes! I love the .38mm Frixion Slim Pen shown above!

5. Find yourself some decorative sticky notes and cute stationery accents: I love cute sticky notes, page markers and paper clips in my planner, although you can technically use any old stickies and clips! I find that with the variety of affordable decorative stationery available online and in craft and hobby shops, you can really personalize your planner to the next level with very little effort. Cute stationery extras are a simple way to keep yourself motivated to stay organized with a planner, while also playing a functional role in your planner system!

I hope these tips help you to get started with your first Filofax planner system! The sky is the limit with how you can set up your own planner and all the different additions and personalizations you can put into your planner to make it unique and functional for you. If you need more inspiration for starting your first planner, feel free to check out my Filofax and Planner series on my YouTube Channel where I show you my own planner set ups and hauls filled with different stationery and accents I use in my planners!

Solutions

Apps for Your Summer Vacation

We’re getting into that time of year when most people are headed into their summer vacations. Whether you’re backpacking through a foreign country, discovering a new city in your own, or taking a staycation in your own hometown, these apps will help you travel with ease and may even save you from a sticky situation!

Uber: I think everyone has heard about this awesome ride-share site that’s located in over 100 cities in over 30 counties. So, no matter where you are, you can get a ride in a snap with this handy app. Low on cash? Don’t sweat it! You can pay via the app so you never have to worry about being without a ride when you need it most!

Airbnb: The whole Airbnb scene has been booming for the last couple of years, and although you need to be smart when searching and booking Airbnb reservations, it is a pretty sensible way to find affordable accommodations if you are in a pinch!

Word Lens: If you are traveling abroad, and even if you’re not, you never know when you will need a quick translation tool. I love this handy app because you just hold it up to any sign or text and it quickly translates it for you. Great for information signs and even menus!

Google Maps: If you don’t already have Google Maps installed on your smartphone, you need to remedy that asap! Even the most seasoned traveler gets lost every once in a while and there is no greater mapping software around this!

Urban Spoon: In an unfamiliar city and don’t know where to eat? Rediscovering your own town and want to find something new? Urban Spoon is a quick and easy way to find a wide variety of food around you. Search by cuisine type or location, read reviews and even browse the menu, right from your phone!

Tiny Death Star: The one constant with traveling, no matter where you are headed is the inevitability of delays and traffic! If you find yourself stuck in one place for a significant period of time, you’re going to need a fun, yet stimulating game to pass the time. I love Tiny Death Star because I’m a Star Wars geek, but it’s basically a Lucas Films Themed version of Tiny Tower. A great time waster when you have a lot to spare!

What other apps do you have stocked up on your phone for your summer vacation? I would love for you to share your favorites with me via the comments, twitter or instagram!

Productivity

Desktop Favorites

My Productivity Necessities!

I feel like I have been arranging and rearranging the desk in my office all summer! I filmed a desktop tour video in June, but almost immediately after that went live, I made changes to my set up. When it comes to the way I like to organize my desk, I am far from a minimalist. I love having little gadgets and accessories all around me when I work- it helps keep me productive and filled with inspiration! I do follow a general rule that when it comes to my desk, all the items on it should serve a purpose while also looking like decoration. So, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite desktop necessities that are useful as well as lovely!

Ghost Stand by Twelve South: I recently purchased this Macbook stand in order to give my desk a more ergonomic balance. I love lucite desk accessories because they provide structure without adding to the appearance of clutter. This stand makes my laptop look like its floating on air, which is appropriate since I use a Macbook Air!

Retro Phone Handset: I know these were a fad from a few years back, but since I only use my iPhone for phone calls, I find it way more comfortable to use a handset like this, as opposed to talking on my iPhone for anything longer than a quick chat. It just plugs right into the headphone jack of my phone and the audio quality is great, so it comes in handy to have on my desk!

Kate Spade Paperclips: I have a thing for paperclips. I know its odd, but I try not to staple papers together unless I know they need to be permanent bound. These are such a cute departure from the standard paperclip, and relatively inexpensive, so I think they are a desktop must have! Plus they are infinitely cuter than the standard paperclip when dropped all over your desk!

#GIRLBOSS: You probably already know that I love this book. I love it so much, in fact, that I purchased it in hard copy just to keep it lying around on my desk! Its major motivation whenever I look at it, and I think it adds to the overall positive mojo going on with my desk!

Acrylic Drawer Organizer: I keep one of these on my desk filled with lovely stationery supplies! I like how I can see everything inside the organizer so I know what I have and it inspires me to make use of my abundant collection of paper goods and accessories!

Anthropologie Monogram Mug: Confession, I don’t use this for beverages! I use this adorable “A” mug to hold my favorite writing instruments! Pens, pencils, markers, even my chevron scissor! It’s a cute yet personal addition to my desk that serves a noble purpose!

Macaron Sticky Notes: What is there not to love about these adorable macaron sticky notes? I love leaving myself notes on these little guys because my eyes are always drawn to them whenever hey are sticking around (haha, pun much?).

Kate Spade Bluetooth Speaker: This little speaker cube packs some a major audible punch! Since I love listening to books on tape (currently, Game of Thrones, Book 1) while I work, its great to have this little portable speaker on my desk because I can take it with me all over my house while I’m working, eating lunch, relaxing, whatever!

So, what are you’re desktop favorites? Let me know with a comment below or feel free to tweet me or tag me in an instagram pic of your desk! I would love to see your set up!

tech

Geek Speak #1: Alien Invasions

Geek-Speak-Alien-Invasions — Image found here.

I think anyone and everyone who reads this blog pretty much knows and understands that I am a self-proclaimed geek/nerd/tech obsessed femme. Although I talk about tech much more than the average human, I don’t necessarily think that liking my iPhone or Macbook is precisely what makes me a geek, or is anywhere close to scratching the surface of my nerddom. So, today I’m starting a series where I am going to talk to you about an obsession of mine that really starts to crack open my mind and the way I think that actually earns me these titles. I’m calling this series Geek Speak because that’s exactly what it’s going to be, me talking to you about whatever Geeky obsession is currently captivating my mind and today we are going to start with a topic that really begins to put that whole Strange and Charmed thing into perspective.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about aliens. No, not the movie, and no, not foreigners that immigrate to a new country. I am talking ET’s, flying saucer driving, little green men, aliens! Have I lost you yet? Well, if you made it past that part get ready for some mind-blowing theories to be thrown at you.

I think about aliens a lot. I think it’s pretty normal for humans to be curious about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, but I guess for most people it’s just a passing thought. Lately I have been theorizing about the possibility of alien invasions. I think I’ll blame July 4^th for this since it always makes me think of the movie Independence Day, but if you think about it, much of the time we as humans are thinking about alien life in the universe, it’s usually because we are watching some show or movie that is preying on some deep dark fear we have that aliens are going to come in the middle of the night and kill us all and we will be forced to nuke the planet in order to make it all stop! If this is a fear that you share, I am here to tell you that there is no need to worry! I have given it a lot of thought but alien’s will not ever come to our planet and try to destroy us.

How do I know this? I have a theory based on the behavioral patterns of humans as residents of the universe. In order for an alien species to get to Earth from their point in space, I think we can all agree that it would take a significant amount of technological advancement and knowledge. So many resources and scientific advancements would be required for such an endeavor that in order for such a feat as intergalactic travel to occur, this species would have to have come to a higher consciousness and collectively work together for the greater good of space travel.

Take a look at humans and our current situation on Earth as an example. We have the ability to go into space, and we have for decades, however, partisan politics even within the U.S have effectively shut down our space program because we can’t get along enough to commit to prioritizing our scientific knowledge above allocating resources to wars among ourselves. Imagine if the U.S suddenly decided that we were going to get over our own issues and prioritize the search for knowledge, even then we would still need the cooperation of other nations to get an intergalactic space mission from science fiction to science fact. So, okay, we do it, we get the whole world involved in a global mission to search for life outside of our solar system. The amount of trust and cooperation that would require would be such a powerful force upon our collective consciousness as humans that by the time we successfully launched a fleet or even a single ship to search the universe for signs of intelligent life, the last thing on our minds would be to throw it all away and destroy whatever life we found.

Theoretically, this sort of collective consciousness and communal work ethic would mean that the species would have learned to be inherently good, unselfish and understanding of the importance of putting the needs of others before their own. In a way, they would have to embody certain values and ethics that we as humans on Earth associate with some of our greatest religious icons and because of this spiritual enlightenment, the species would then be unable to actually cause harm to any other species they encountered in the universe. Seriously, imagine if Jesus was driving around the Millennium Falcon and came across an alien race. He absolutely wouldn’t have it in him to kill them off, his only desire for space exploration would be to learn and understand more about the needs and lives of his intergalactic neighbors.

So, the next time you’re watching some ridiculous movie about alien’s bringing our world to an end, remember that any species with the amount of technological and scientific advancement to actually do this would also have a higher consciousness that would give them an inherent respect for life in any and all forms, and would prevent them from executing such a selfish and horrendous act.

So, what do you think? Do alien’s exist and if so, do you think they are going to come to earth to enslave us? Or, do you think one day humans would leave Earth for the purposes of raping and pillaging an alien species? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet to share your opinion!

Career lifestyle

Noteworthy: Lovely Notebooks & Notepads

I know I am all about that digital life, doing most of my writing a designing via my laptop, but the truth is that paper is still a major part of my creative process. As much as I love the clean, sleek feel of a Macbook Air under my fingers as I type away endlessly, writing in notebooks can be even more satisfying and specifically very cathartic for me as I pour my mind out onto paper. Lately, I have been spending chunks of time working on a book that I hope to publish sometime later this year. Although I use my favorite piece of software, Scrivener, to organize most of my writing, it’s been my time with pen and paper that have really helped me organize my thoughts for this longer, more meaningful piece. That is why I love having beautiful notebooks and notepads around me for making lists, doing quick sketches and writing out my thoughts before I hash them out in Scrivener.

A lot of people are always asking me for stationery recommendations, so I thought it would be fun for me to curate a few of my favorite notebooks and notepads from around the web. Some of these I already own and some of these I am simply lusting after, but if you’re looking for a fresh new notebook to crack into for some writing or note taking of your own, I think these are a beautiful escape from the ordinary notebook or journal. Click through the carousel below for more information on this lovely collection!

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