geeky

these are a few of my favorite things (aka. apps for 2013)

Santa was very kind to me this year, and he whispered in Mr. M’s ear to get me a super special treat. Miss L helped out by picking the size and color, "The small one! And black!" and on Christmas morning, my new iPad mini was sitting under the Christmas tree. And since no new toy is complete without some lovely new apps to play with… I thought I’d share some of my favorite apps here (for both iPhone & iPad).

Day One

Simple “twitter” style daily journaling application. Makes journaling as simple as a social media share – incorporates photos, location data, time (for multiple entries in one day) and even the weather! Also syncs to your iCloud or Dropbox seemlessly, and will be releasing a “publication method” in the near future.  Super great for anyone trying out Project Life this year or P365 as well!

I try to end each day (or start each morning) with a recap of a moment from that day. It’s so easy and accessible, and has the added bonus of being private and discrete. While some platforms, like instagram or blogs, are great for mass sharing, there are moments you’d like to include in your history that aren’t for public consumption.

 

Paprika

It’s not my favorite spice, but this might be my favorite app of all time. It turns a tenuous task  — finding/organizing/transcribing/scheduling of food/menus/recipes/etc — into an incredibly fun one!

Paprika for iPad

Just browse for recipes on the built-in app browser, and when you find one you like, click "Save Recipe." You can categorize and tag it as you like, and then you can schedule your weekly meals on the Meal Planner. Need to plan out your grocery list? Just click the cart icon on the recipe, and select which ingredients you need to add to your shopping list.

And as an added bonus, you can email that list to anyone in a moments notice. Like, "hey honey, can you run to the store and get me all of these things right now?" (Cause that pretty much happened to me and Mr. M at 4pm on Sunday after playing with this program all day long!)

 

Zombies, Run!

 

This one is for your iPhone (or Google/Windows phone too). If you’re looking to get out and get running, but the lack the motivation without a goal in mind, this little app might be just the thing!

It’s a RPG and exercise mission all in one… and it’s just plain awesome. Get out and run and complete missions and get in shape at the same time. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  They also have a 5K app, which is slightly more motivating than your normal C25K app!

 

TripleTown

 

They’re just bears and houses and trees and bushes and grass. But oh my gosh is this game tremendously addictive!!! It’s a bit pricey for the "unlimited" version at $3.99, but it’s definitely a fun puzzle game to play in your spare time!

 

Feedly

 

You’ve heard me rave about this before. But yeah, it’s even better now. Your blog feeds looks like your Flipboard.

But even better… with one swipe to the left you mark everything as read on your page… that’s it! Blog reading on your device is lovely fun again!

 

30/30

 

iPhone Screenshot 1

This task manager is very useful and helps you prioritize tasks and get them done as you need them done! I often use the "pomodoro method" at work, but sometimes you don’t want to split things into shorter or longer intervals or limit your time to certain activities. 30/30 takes a little more effort on your part in tasking, but it’s great in the execution!

{edited on 1/3/13 to add}

Where’s My Water?

I can’t get over how cute Swampy is… and despite the fact that my fingers aren’t always quick enough to fill his bath, I love this puzzle game just the same!  And through January 15th, you can get a FREE voucher for the game!!!

What about you? Any apps that you’re currently head over heels in love with ??

5 Comments

  • Sugar Scientist

    Question for you on Day One — does it “publish” to anywhere, or is it all just stored on your iPhone? I see it advertises syncing via cloud/Dropbox, but what is it synching to? The web? If I wanted to view entries on my computer, do I have to buy a separate app for a laptop or can I view them online?

    Thanks for the suggestions! :)

    • Kim

      Well I learned one thing… guess my iPad’s comments don’t go through :(

      DayOne only “syncs” to the Dropbox or cloud if you want it to… and you want to run it on multiple devices (ipad/iPhone/Mac). It CAN publish entries to various social networks, but it’s a first and foremost just a diary. It saves the files in a way that you can extract the entry text and photo from each day easily as well (well… at least the files in my DropBox are that way).

      And you do have to buy it separately for each platform (phone/Mac/etc.) — no online version!

  • Heidi

    I don’t know why I didn’t download Feedly after your first post so thank you for the reminder. The first 10 ,minutes of our new relationship have been heavenly! Happy 2013!