Christmas gifts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Planning ahead will benefit you in ways you never even imagined — especially when it comes to shopping for the holidays. I always start my holiday shopping in August. Yep — I’ve already bought a gift for someone on my list! This is a tradition that I think you should start as well. Read more
I’m all about shortcuts to make life easier – even when it comes to list making. Up until now I had been testing out a few apps to store my “must try” and “favorite” restaurants. But I kept reverting back to my usual list-making ways: writing them down and storing them in Evernote or Wunderlist. Those have all worked fine.
But – I have found an app that is smart and easy to use and does just what I need it to do. Perfect! Gone are the days of trying to remember the name of that restaurant or shop that you passed by last week. Now all you have to do is download one app – Matchbook.
Matchbook allows you to enter the name of the place you want to remember manually or search for it. If you are nearby – you can click the button “I’m walking by it” and Matchbook will find it for you! Brilliant!
You can add tags to remember certain things about the place like if it’s got a great brunch, is loud or is super trendy. If you’re stumped for a spot to meet friends after work – you can search via neighborhood and tags. It’s much easier to navigate than Yelp’s vast database of knowledge but the searching is a bit quirky. That will be fixed in future updates, I’m sure!
It works all over the world and organizes your bookmarks by area, which makes it easy to find a place quickly. There’s also a map so you can see your bookmarks laid out in front of you and see what you’re closest to.
You can share places with friends but you don’t have to “friend” anyone through the app. Just lots and lots of list making! Check it out and let me know what you think.
David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
For some reason — everyone was out sick yesterday. It’s weird. Not only in my office but in others too — did I miss a national holiday? Nope — it turns out the change of weather does strange things to people and makes us sick! Yep — I have a list for this. This one comes from my friend and colleague Jess Lieberman, a fellow list maker.
On an everyday basis — my iPhone amazes me. It’s a wonder how we got through life without these super smartphones. One thing I absolutely love is how easy apps make my life. Here’s a list of some of my favorites:
Just the other day — my friend Danielle (are you sick of hearing about her yet?) and my friend Brian (equally mentioned on this blog) were doing a little home project — fastening a wine rack to Danielle’s wall. It did not turn out as planned – the wall was concrete. As any DIYers would guess — they didn’t have the right tools to finish the job — so instead of going to Home Depot they Facebook’ed my father (Mr. Fix It) for some answers and cracked open a bottle of Pinot Grigio while they waited for answers. Needless to say — no wine rack is on the wall today. Read more