September 2, 2010
Traveling with your favorite beauty products is a pain, no matter which way you slice it. Either you’re squeezing lotions and potions into too-tiny bottles, crossing your fingers that you have enough serum or face scrub to make it through your trip, or you lug your full-sized bottles with you, and you’re the poor girl waiting for your baggage long after the carry-on crew has left the building. Thankfully, the ladies at 3floz.com have a better way— they send you TSA-approved, travel sized bottles of your favorite high-end beauty products. Have them shipped to your house so you can pack them before you leave, or send them to your destination so they’re waiting to make you beautiful when you get there. 3floz.com is proof that good things come in small, security-friendly packages.
1 comment - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
August 26, 2010
Sometimes, you want to shop in your jammies. You want to point, click and buy. You want your spoils to arrive in a brown box carried by a man who looks good in brown shorts.
God bless the internet!
There are some times, however, when the internet just doesn’t cut it. Maybe you want to get up close and personal before you make your final purchase decision, or you just crave that instant gratification that Mr. Buy It Now button just can’t provide.
When you want to research online but shop local, use Milo.com to see what’s available at local stores in real time. Milo scans the shelves of stores near you so you know what’s available where before you leave home— no more running from store to store hoping that they’ve got what you need. Clothing, home improvement, electronics, books and more… if it’s in Milo’s database, you’re assured a successful trip to the local store.
5 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
August 19, 2010
Recipes are fun. Organizing recipes and creating shopping lists is not. Enter ZipList, the app that helps make easy work of keeping your recipes all in one place (even the ones you tear out of doctor’s waiting room magazines), and creating shopping lists from the recipes you want to make each week. Check out the video and watch how easy it is to get started creating a digital shopping list that anyone can update and won’t get left on the fridge.
What’s your biggest grocery/meal planning challenge? And where do you get your recipes from? I’d love to hear from you!
4 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
August 12, 2010
It’s not easy being geek. Check the bottom of my purse or laptop bag and you’ll find a tangled ball of headphone cords, peripheral cables, dongles and thumb drives (those last two sound more exciting than they are, believe me). Answering my phone is always a colossal event, as I have to pry it from the grips of the mess, and by the time I’ve determined which of the plastic-metal boxes is my phone, it’s usually gone to voice mail. Sigh.
That’s why when I stumbled across Cocoon Innovations and their amazing Grid-It system, I was intrigued. Actually, I was jump-up-and-down excited because I was heading to BlogHer and KNEW that I couldn’t afford to be digitally disorganized as I made my way through the convention halls.
The Grid-It system consists of a board wrapped with a basketweave of rubberized elastic bands that intersect in varying widths, so that some of the spaces between them are large enough to hold a camera, and some are small enough to hold a pen. Cocoon Innovations was kind enough to send me their new iPad Sling to wear at the conference (thank you, CI!), and not only did it do WONDERS for my back because of it’s over-the-shoulder design, but the Grid-It board that came with it kept my lip gloss handy, as well as my cell phone and Flip video camera (a geek chic triumvirate if there ever was one!)
Cocoon Innovations makes all kinds of corralling gear for geeks— cases for laptops, gaming devices, phones, camera bags and more, most of which come with a Grid-It, which can also be purchased separately.
Cocoon Innovations was kind enough to give me an iPad Sling to wear at BlogHer, but I was not compensated for this post in any other way. I also would never write a positive review just cause I got free stuff. That would be icky.
1 comment - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
August 11, 2010
The BlogHer conference was a blast, and I hopped from party to party, collecting business cards like a mad woman and tweeting up a storm. I might have even made some great joint venture deals— hard to remember with all that wine and swag flowing! Now that it’s over, I’ve got sore feet, stacks of business cards and days worth of unanswered emails. The party is definitely over!
The idea of following up with everyone I met and catching up on the work that I missed is making my brain throb. I am definitely experiencing Conference Crash. Here are the helpful tools and apps that I’m going to use to make my post-BlogHer recovery a little less painful.
Neat Receipts by Neat Company
Trapped inside each card in that stack you collected is a friendship, an opportunity, some great information, your next client or your next sale. And trapped they’ll stay if you don’t have a way to swiftly get them all into your contact management system, a daunting and time consuming task. Consider yourself rescued by Neat Receipts. This diminutive yet powerful scanner reads and extracts key information from your cards, documents and receipts so you can export it into your own system or database. Scan those scribbled notes you took at the keynote, hand-outs and flyers, and receipts you need to track for your next expense report— using Neat Receipts is like hiring a personal assistant to do all your typing for you, and it won’t even ask you for a raise.
Evernote
Where can you store that business plan you wrote on the back of a napkin, the Exhibitor Hall contact list, that audio interview you recorded with the keynote speaker, and that photo of the Chardonnay label you sipped at the sponsor party? Evernote is like one big giant notebook you can tuck just about anything into. If you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you store, organize and retrieve it. Web clippings, lists, documents, scans, audio files and more, all can be tagged and organized so you know you’ll be able to find it when you need it. Stuff it full of stuff from all corners of your digital life, and it will never be as heavy as your conference bag.
OtherInbox
Stacks of unanswered emails are the worst side effect of Conference Crash. There’s urgent stuff— bills, work tasks, and emails from “real” people—sandwiched in between the department store coupons and mass newsletters. OtherInbox helps you get to that stuff first, and fast. It’s like having someone sort through your email, leaving all the important stuff in your inbox, then organizing and filing the rest for you to peruse when you’re done playing catch-up. Use the Organizer to teach OtherInbox about which emails are important to you and which can be tucked away to read later. Now, your inbox is a little less overwhelming and you can find your mom’s cat photos that much quicker (unless you tell OtherInbox to file her emails away— mums the word).
Klout
You met so many lovely people in 48 hours, but let’s face it, you want to network with some of the big fish first. How can you know whether that woman you met in the bathroom is a hobby bloggess, or a social media maven with legions who hang on her every word? Klout can help you determine the overall online influence of anyone. Just enter their twitter handle and you’ll get a thorough evaluation of things like their “Amplification Probability” (how likely their tweets are retweeted, or spark conversation), and their “Network Score” (how influential their followers are). Now you can make an informed decision about who to include in your first line of response— you’ll get to the rest, but first get to the ones with the most Klout— er, clout.
Cocodot
A hand-written “nice to meet you” note for everyone you encountered at BlogHer would be the ultimate smooth move— what better way to stand out from the pack? But writing all those letters is a one-way ticket to carpel tunnel, not to mention that most of your contacts didn’t give you their mailing address, and the postage bill would be sizeable. Send a card without the hassle with Cocodot, the eco-chic e-greeting company. Select from thousands of beautiful templates, then customize fonts and colors ‘til your heart’s content. Send a card to one or many, and each arrives in your recipient’s inbox in a digital envelope, which opens to reveal your beautiful card. The experience of opening one is so visceral it’s almost like the real thing. Upload your blog logo or company name for an even more personalized touch, or add a picture of yourself to the card to jog a new contact’s memory about what you look like.
6 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
July 21, 2010
Ever since I arrived on the east coast, it takes every calendar entry and sets it 3 hours back, to west coast time. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the incorrect entry then syncs with my phone, where it gets set back another three hours. I have modified every setting, and Googled every possible explanation, but nothing has solved the problem. We missed the day-before-camp orientation by 3 hours and my poor kids showed up to an empty field with no counselors or campers to get acquainted with— ah, good times.
Even geekiest among us have computer drama every now and then— they’re not perfect (they are built by human beings, after all). The key is not to add to your problems by tacking on a whole sad story to the situation: There’s something wrong with me, I mess up anything digital, I’m the only one whose computer never works… sound familiar?
I’m having too nice a time here in Canada to make myself nuts over this computer conundrum— I’m just going write my calendar down for the summer and hope my computer returns to it’s right state of mind when we touch down in California.
Guess there’s no place like home, even for my Mac Book Pro.
What’s your latest computer drama? Share it with me here!
2 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
July 7, 2010
Tweets, pokes, followers, friends… sometimes social media can feel less like a cocktail party and more like being a waitress at a cocktail party. It can be such a project to keep up with all your social media channels, and who really has the time to nurse them all with frequency?
That’s where Nutshell Mail comes in. It delivers the latest happenings from all your social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn) to your Inbox in an easy-to-read digest. With easy set up and customization, you can get the 411 in one, digestable email— click on any link or post and go straight to the web to react, or just read it and get on with your day.
I’ll show you how to get an account, and what your email will look like when it shows up in your Inbox!
http://www.vimeo.com/13137417
6 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
June 24, 2010
Behind every great mom, there’s a great planner. A battered notebook or agenda, wearing formula stains and jelly fingerprints like so many battle scars. Agenda items about next week’s staff meeting sit alongside grocery lists and reminders to sign-up for soccer clinic. Pockets bulge with business cards, permission slips and a list of books you’d love to read… one day. Or maybe you’ve gone the digital route, and you need a screen and a pair of thumbs to access your life. Either way, every mom’s brain needs a place to offload, process and organize both work and home life.
I’ve rounded up some of the best planners made especially for us, usually by other moms who get how wacky it is to try and manage life with kids. Here are my favorites— enjoy finding the right one for you!
Paper
For the Big Brood
When you’ve got a pile of kids, all of whom have schedules of their own, you need a planner that acts like air traffic control— guiding in one kid’s arrival from martial arts so that it doesn’t collide with another’s departure to band practice. Oh yeah, and then there’s your schedule, which you need to see simultaneously to keep things running smoothly. Good thing MomAgenda and Mom’s Weekly Planner have got this concept down, giving you wide open pages to plan the flight schedule. Mom’s Weekly Planner has a spot for important contacts, and tear-off to-do sheets you can take with you. MomAgenda’s Day Planner offers a full address book, a fitness log, party planning pages, and many more resources, all wrapped in a stylish cover that says, “I’m not too frazzled to be fiercely chic.” MomAgenda Daily Planner $43 at momagenda.com; Mom’s Weekly Planner $19.99 at http://www.peterpauper.com
For The Perky
Crack the cover of Erin Condren’s Life Planner and you’ll be invited to “Carpe Diem!” Hard not to seize the day when you’re organizing them with this highly-customized, rainbow-colored planner. But it’s not just a pretty face— this 18-month calendar allows you to see life by the week and month, using a clean design and really functional pages. Its “to do” and “to delegate” task sheets offer a reminder to take some stuff off your plate, and a tear-off notepad makes quick work of grocery lists or meeting agendas. With an address/phone book, stickers, monthly motivational messages and helpful add-ons like a storage envelope and a clip to bookmark your place, this is one sunny little book that means business. $24 at http://www.erincondren.com.
For Those Who Travel Light
If you’re looking for a planner that doesn’t weigh a ton but packs some powerful tools, Buttoned Up’s Family.Agenda has got it all. It defies the physics of a 2-page spread by giving you big blocks of space to see your life in weekly and month views. Plus a special page to track “scheduled” events (so you don’t have to write them in over and over). Plus, leave it to Buttoned Up to pepper their planner with helpful organizing advice, and opportunities to “do” what’s important and “delegate” the rest. All in a lightweight, soft-cover book that’s smaller than a magazine and a lot more helpful. $10.99 at Organize.com.
For the Eco-organized.
Some days, life with kids can make you wonder if you’ve lost your mind. Keep your head on straight by getting a LobotoME— not the surgery, the eco-friendly notepads and planners! The MomME Weekly Planner, made with soy inks and recycled paper, has plenty of space for the days events, plus encouragement to eat right, exercise and find time for you. Grocery and list pads help make easy work of list-making and trips to the market. And if you feel like you’ve lost your marbles, head to the MantraMe poster for inspiration (you can download it as free desktop wallpaper or purchase the poster for some kick-in-the-pants wall art). Plus, if you become a fan, you can sell LobotoME products at your next fundraiser, or become an affiliate. It’s a no-brainer. MomME Weekly Planner $19.95 lobotoME.com.
For The Non-Committal
Sometimes you don’t need an agenda so much as a war room— a place have a strategy meeting or brainstorming session with yourself, get clear, and go go go. You need scratchpads, and lots of them, all designed to get you clear on different things. Mom Essentials has got you covered, and then some. Built by Amy Keroes of MommyTracked fame, it’s a series of tear-off sheets that help you plan your week, track to-dos, and plan menus with grocery lists. There’s even space for the phone numbers of your favorite take-out places (keepin’ it real) and pages to track your favorite websites. Knock Knock’s 5 Days A Week Paper Mousepad and other fabulous pads also offer indispensable, disposable support for a mom with a lot on her mind. Their “All Out Of” pad reminds you when you’re out of milk, and their “Planning the Menu” pad makes easy work of “What’s for dinner?” Mom Essentials Mom Essentials Planner $14.95 Pokkadots; 5 Days A Week Paper Mousepad $11 at Knock Knock.
Digital
For the Master Coordinator
Cozi isn’t just a web-based family planner, it’s grand central station for simple family management. Adding items to your calendar is a breeze with an update field that understands english (When you type “PTA Meeting on Thursdays” it adds the recurring appointment automatically). Make multiple to-do lists so that you can track your errands separately from your phone calls. It’s mobile version is accessible from any smartphone plus there’s a snazzy iPhone app, so you’ll never be standing at the market wondering what you need (and you can text a list to your husband if he volunteers to stop on his way home). Plus a great journal feature allows you to capture life’s little moments and effortlessly create a website to share with friends and family. It’s FREE and easy to get started. Sign-up for free at Cozi.com.
For the List-Obsessed
If lists are your addiction, then ListPlanIt is like the pusher who gives you your fix. There’s a checklist, worksheet or to-do list for every possible scenario in your busy life, from planning a move to keeping track of what you lend to your neighbors, to budgeting to packing your diaper bag. The weekly and monthly planner templates offer you printable time management help in day, week, month or year formats. Membership offers you access to all these and more so that you can print, itemize and check-mark to your heart’s content. Memberships from $20-50/year at ListPlanIt.com.
For the Tough Cookie.
If you’re looking for one do-it-all solution for managing your schedule, meal plans, contacts, finances, household inventory, goals and lists, plus a personal journal you can confide in about your impossibly high standards, you’ve met your match with the Daily Home Planner. Homeschoolers will love it’s functionality for planning lessons, and lots of demonstration videos will inspire you to use it more ways than you might have thought. Available as a Windows desktop application ($19.95) and web-based app ($5/month), either is a small price to pay for organizational zen. dailyhomeplanner.com.
11 comments - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
June 21, 2010
What do you you do with all the articles and blog posts you want to read… later? How do you track all those pages so that you can find them all when you have time? And what if you don’t have an internet connection when it’s time to start reading? Read It Later answers all those questions and more– watch this 2 minute video where I show you how to use this simply powerful application to track things you want to read later.
http://www.vimeo.com/12565264
1 comment - Add a comment
Tweet about this post
