My Current Obsession: Tech in Color

I love color. So much that I recently realized I don't own one single little black dress. But I have dresses that are in oranges, greens, red and blue stripe, mint green...you name it. This also spills over into my tech accessory life as well. Obviously my standby accessory color is leopard. But, when that isn't available, my mind wanders to pink, orange, lavender, teal and yellow! That is definitely the case with Urban Ears headphones {I own teal and lavender} and my Native Union Pop Phone {I own, orange, pink and light blue}. With the change of seasons, there might be the need for change of color...possibly red?!

App Spotlight: Poshmark

Out with the old and in with the new...is how I feel every time I have a garage sale. Yes, I love having them! I get to make some money, then turn around and spend it on things that I *need* at the moment. Well, if you aren't in the mood for a yard or garage sale but want to make a few bucks, there's an app for that, and it's called Poshmark! They have been around for a while, well since December, and I finally decided to try the app out for myself last month.

Through the app, you list things from your closet for sale {can be new or used}. If someone buys your item, Poshmark emails you a prepaid mailing label to print out and use. Once the buyer receives the item {usually three days via USPS Priority mail}, Poshmark "deposits" that money into your Poshmark account and you can either get the cash via deposit, check {my choice} or you can use it as a credit to purchase items instead! Overall, I would recommend it as an easy way to make a few bucks and clean out your closet. Please let me know if you have any questions about my experience on Poshmark or if you are already on, please share your username!

You can find Poshmark here. Find me on Poshmark as @amberpresley {see a pic of the app below} or preview my Poshmark closet here.

Sitting Pretty By the Water

Today I am daydreaming of things I would love for the perfect sun-filled day...whether by the beach, pool or lake: a sun shelter that feels oh so glam, underwater "scuba suit" for my iPhone, zebra beach towel that isn't so beach towel'ish, a pretzel pool float because it's just hilarious and mp3 speaker bag in PERFECT chevron print! Oh, and the pink cooler from my glamping post that holds 12 bottles of champagne. 12 bottles of champagne!

Sun Shelter / Zebra Beach Towel / Pretzel Float / iPhone Scuba Suit / Chevron Speaker Bag 

Office Tricks

I have been on a bender trying to cute'ify my work space. It is still a work in progress but so far got the iMac, the T-Rex planter and the West Elm Parsons desk. As I continually search for more inspiration I stumbled across one of the most fun and unique ideas on the Made By Girl blog that totally suited me: the Native Union phone holder.

Amazing idea, right?! Like a lot of people these days, my landline has been gone for a while and I only use a mobile. I purchased a couple of Native Union phones around the holidays (pink, orange and sky blue)-I just find it easier talking for long periods on a handset versus my iPhone. If you don't have one...get one! But, beware, there are so many colors, you may end up with multiples.

To recreate this look, I purchased a hook at Wal-Mart in the hardware department-it looks exactly the same and was under $3. Doesn't my work-in-progress desk just look so much cuter and "official" with my phone?!

Monogram Mania

What's in a name? I remember the first thing I ever bought with my name on it. It was a sticker book that said Barbara. No, my real name isn't Barbara, but when I was a kid they didn't have anything with the name Amber! It was SO frustrating. I think it was in the 90s when I started to finally see my name, so I bought pencils, $5 nameplate necklaces, notebooks. I stocked up!

Today we are lucky. You can have any name in the world and personalize it. I recently bought a pretty little iPhone cover with my initials, exactly like the one below, and am buying my mom one for mothers day (from Daninotes) in lavender and yellow (shhhh!).

Next on my list is either a nameplate necklace or initial necklace.

Other things I would like to have monogramed...anything J Crew, especially that peach sweater, which happens to be the color of the week. I already have a Cambridge Satchel Company bag, but it looks so good with letters. And, Jonathan Adler pillows make a sweet addition to any room. 

Get Organized While Charging Your Tech

iPad charging, check. iPhone charging, check. Kindle charging, check. MP3 player charging, check.  Location, all over my house equaling cords everywhere.

Admittedly I am a neat freak. Before I go to bed, I clean my house, put away any dishes and plug in any of my tech tools that need a charge before the next busy day. As my list of tech tools has grown, so has the location they are plugged in around my house: my kitchen, bedroom dining room and living room.

To some, this won’t be a big deal, but add another person and their tech tools into the mix and you have cords everywhere. My solution to this was simple: I needed a charging station. I needed to organize my cords. A quick search online pulled up many options. But, I also needed to factor in that I also wanted one that was aesthetically pleasing and wouldn’t stand out in my house. I ended up choosing the Bedford Smart Technology Large Recharge Station from Pottery Barn. Beautiful.

The charging station is 12” wide, 12” deep and 6” high, which isn’t small but it fits comfortably on one section of my dresser in my bedroom, next to a 32” flat screen. My favorite feature is the built in power strip plug-in with 6 plugs available. This was a must-have for me, since many (like a similar and cheaper one from Wal-Mart) seemed not to come with it. The four holes allow cords and wires to be hidden but conveniently placed for easy-access to charging. The charging station also features a pull-out drawer, where I keep my flash drives and extra iPhone covers. 

My Top Five: Photo Apps

I admit it. I am an Instagram addict. It is by far my most used app, even over Facebook and Twitter. I also have become quite a shameless photo app hoarder. I had to recently edit myself because my space was filling up on my iPhone...I had six folders full of photo apps alone! Here are my top five right now.

Shake It Photo, $1.99 - gives the classic polaroid photo look without buying the vintage camera. This is one of my go-to apps, which I then usually add an Instagram filter to. In this photo I also used Doodle Booth for the cute orange bow. 

Masking Tape, $0.99 - In real life I am getting into the whole fancy masking tape thing. I recently bought green polka dot masking tape and one with music notes. This app allows you to add pretty masking tape to your photos. Pointless yes, but is your photo cuter with masking tape that is red with hearts...YES! In this photo I also used Phonto for the wording and Montage so I would have white space around the photo.

Photo Reflection, Free - Sometimes a photo is so pretty you want two of it! Photo reflection is easy to use and you can customize the photo in many different ways. I also used Juxtuposer and Diptic for this photo. 

Diptic, $0.99 - I probably use this app more than any other. I love combining multiple photos into one shot. I used an Instagram filter on this for the color. 

Squareready, Free - This app is more of a "I am a perfectionist when I post app-edited photos" type of app. You view your photo in Squareready and adjust how you want it to be seen on the Instagram screen, and you can post directly via Squareready. It is perfect for the photo that may not fit all the way in the screen. This is what it looks like when you are editing it for Instagram:

Let me know if you have any questions about the apps! You can find me on Instagram as "amberpresley" or see my feed here.

Pretty Tech, New and Old

I remember the first time I recognized what a Mac was and I wanted one: Legally Blonde character Elle Woods sits down in class and pulls out a perfect orange iBook. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. At the time, computers weren't accessories but right then, that changed for me. I never got one...but I still want one.

And lately I have been obsessed with typewriter keys (I have an "A" necklace) which has transferred to an obsession for typewriters. But not just any typewriter, it would have to be pink.

Images from: typewriter, iBook

A Little Leopard

This is my favorite iPad 2 case so far...from Dodocase in a partnership with J Crew. Soon to be gone since the iPad 3 has arrived.