Sunday's media madness...

I enjoy browsing the app store on iTunes for new fun stuff and was really in luck the other day when I came across Flipboard.  Currently it is for the iPad but the iPhone version will be launching very soon and is worth the wait.  I must have been under a rock because it was named one of Times top 50 innovations of the year in 2010.  (Figures I am a year behind.)  So what does it do?  I allows you to create your own digital magazine which includes articles of interest to you, full or partial newspapers like USA Today, FaceBook, Twitter, Tumbler, Flicker as well as many full magazines like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Oprah and tons more.  It puts just what you want all in one place, laid you the way you want them.  So you get all this greatness rolled into one place what what could be better?  The price.  Its free.  This is my "go to" app before bed at night to catch up on things I may have missed during the day, a little fun, a little news, a little social media, all mixed together, the only think I don't like about this app is that I didn't find it last year!

Hope you all have had a great weekend.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Recently I have added some new apps to my iPad so it is ready to take on vacation.  Surprisingly my favorite way to pass time now is playing UNO.  Gameloft has a great app for only .99 cents and it allows you to play against another person or play the AI in a single game or in tournament mode.  In the tournament mode there are a variety of rules to play through and win, standard rules, penalty rules where you can play a draw 2 on a draw 2 and so on until the last player standing has to pick up a bunch of cards, the 7-0 rules which require you to change hands with a player of your choice when you play a 7 and all cards go one person left or right, depending on the direction of play, when a 0 is played, and jump in rules which is just that, when you have the same card, both color and number as the card played you can jump in and play it.  All these variations make the game a ton of fun and can be hugely entertaining for kids or adults.  You can find the game on iTunes or at the Gameloft site.

The other app I found came to me in an email from Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, I currently subscribe to and love their magazine, now it is available to me on my iPad for free as part of that subscription.  You will need to enter your magazine subscription number which should be on your mailing label.  Some subscribers are having issues logging in, I had no problem however.  I was more than willing to download this app and wait for the fix if I needed to, its one of the magazines I look forward to being delivered!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

C.Q.


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Friday's freebie...



The weather is blustery around most of the country, its a good time to curl up with a good book and a cup of your favorite hot beverage.  Today's freebies will help you do just that starting with a great book.  The Google eBook store has thousands of free eBooks available for download to your Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Nook, Sony or computer, simply pick what you like and send it to your specific device.  You may need an application installed to accommodate your books, you can find the instructions right on the Google eBook site.  If you own a Kindle you can download free books from Amazon directly to your Kindle or your iPod, iPad or iPhone that has the Amazon Kindle app installed. 

Now for that nice hot beverage.  If you are a coffee fan then try a cup of Tasters Choice, just fill in your information and they will send you out a free sample.  If you are more of a tea person then check out the sample of Persimmon tea over at Natural Persimmon, again, just fill in your information and they will send you out a free sample to try on them.

Have a great Friday everyone and stay warm.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

This holiday season why not let your iPod and Smart Phones make your shopping a little easier?  There are some really great cool apps available that can help get your shopping done in short order so you have more time to relax and bake those cookies for the office cookie exchange.

First lets start with know how much you can spend, you can use Mint to help you with a budget, its available for free download to both the Android and iPhone, if you don't want that information on your portable device they are also available on Yahoo.com.  When you have your budget set you can stretch it using application such as Coupon Shurpa, it offers coupons to over 5,000 stores from your home computer, or download the free app and it will send coupons to over a hundred stores directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Need directions or store information?  One of the best apps available is YPMoble, this is not the Yellow Pages of your childhood, now it is super charged with a search feature, driving directions, web links, reviews and a way to save your contacts or favorites lists. YPMoble is free and available for your iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Android, Palm and Blackberry.  Now that you have made it to the mall and parked in the sea of cars, will you ever find your car again?  You will if you download Carr Matey, this app is available for the Android and will help you find a place to park, let you enter parking garage information,and remind you when your meter is set to expire.

Well you made it, look out shoppers your off to the races!  But which direction do you need to go?  With Mall Maps Mobile you can find your way around almost any mall with ease, its great for finding new places that have just opened or when you are traveling and shopping an area you are unfamiliar with. This free download is available in the iTunes store for the iPod, iPad, and iPhone.  Now that you have found your favorite store are you getting the best deal on your purchase? Used to be you had to run all over town to find out, now you can just use an app like Shop Savvy 4 by using the camera on your iPhone or Android camera to scan the bar code and compare prices with other stores and on line.

Ahhhh, almost done but where did you put all those reward membership cards?  With an application like CardStar you can keep all that information together in one spot.  With an ever growing list of merchants that are supported as well as the ability to add your own this is one of the easiest and most beneficial apps available, epically since its free and available for the iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone.  All you do is find the card info and show your phone to the cashier, no more extra plastic cards to carry around.

I hope you all have a rewarding shopping experience this holiday season!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Recently I was at the Mall of America and boy was it confusing!  Unfortunately I left my iPod in the hotel room, if I had remembered it it would have been much easier to navigate.  I have an app I downloaded for free called Mall Maps Mobile and it has come in handy more than once.  If you are going on a vacation and plan on doing some shopping its a great app.  On the iPod it can't use the "you are here" function but you can usually find where you are pretty easily, with the iPhone version of the app you can use this function and it will make getting to where you want to go that much quicker, there is also a version for the iPad.  V.B. & Smith has a list of the malls the app supports so you can check it out before you download it to you devise.

Another free app that is handy to have is Open Table, this application allows you to make reservations for your favorite restaurant right from your iPod, iPad or iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Nokia, Palm WebOS and Windows phone, just make your selection from all the choices and download, it couldn't be easier.  Best of all the app has restaurants at up to 14,000 Open Table-enabled restaurants in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom and the list is always growing. You can search for places to dine based on location, name, cuisine, price or reservation time.  Open Table offers points for making reservations through them as well, so when you have enough points built up you can get a dining check to be used at any of the restaurants that use Open Table.  Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?  Check the web site for more information on their dining rewards program.

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

My friends know my two biggest reality TV musts are Top Chef and Project Runway, I love Chef Tom Colicchio of Top Chef and Tim Gunn of Project Runway, their insights are great and the stories they can tell about things within their respective industries is very eye opening!  While both have books out I have totally fallen in love with Tim Gunn's latest, Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, released earlier this month.  This book has some great stories from the fashion industry, many involving names you know, plus a lot of inside information on both Project Runway as well as his now defunct show Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, including why it is no longer on the air, you may be surprised.  I am also impressed with his emphasis on manners in the book, its is chalk full of great reminders for us all.  Here is the book information from Amazon:

Product Description:
On the runway of life, Tim Gunn is the perfect life coach. You’ve watched him mentor talented designers on the hit television show Project Runway. Now the inimitable Tim Gunndivadom as he describes Vogue’s André Leon Talley being hand-fed grapes and Anna Wintour being carried downstairs by her bodyguards. And you’ll get Tim’s view on the backstabbing by one designer on Project Runway and how it brilliantly backfired. Then there are his down-to-earth guidelines for making life better—for yourself and others—in small and large ways, especially in an age that favors comfort over politeness, ease over style. Texting at the dinner table? Wearing shorts to the theater? Not in Tim’s book. Living a well-mannered life of integrity and character is hard work, he admits, but the rewards are many: being a good friend, being glamorous and attractive, and being a success— much like Tim himself! He is never one to mince words. But Tim Gunn is always warm, witty, wise, and wonderfully supportive— just the mentor you need to design a happy, creative, and fulfilling life that will never go out of style.

About the Author:

Beloved pop culture icon Tim Gunn is best known as co-host of the twelve-time Emmy-nominated reality show Project Runway. He also hosted two seasons of his own former Bravo makeover series, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.
 
I personally downloaded a copy from Amazon to my Kindle so I could take it with me where ever I go, this version was $9.99 directly from Amazon, Barns and Noble has the e-book available for down load to iPad, iPod, iPhone, Android, PC, Blackberry, Mac and the Nook for $9.99.  If you are a member of The Book of the Month Club you can order the book for $9.95 with free shipping, if not you can find the hardcover selling at Amazon for $14.03, if you don't order enough for the free shipping the final cost will be $18.02, if that is the case then go to The Book Depository, they have the hard cover version for $17.99 with free shipping.  If you know someone who is a huge fan and are looking for a terrific gift idea there is a seller with 4 autographed copies on eBay, the asking price for them is $42.95 + $7.50 for expedited shipping.
 
I hope you are all having a great weekend!
 
C.Q.

Finding quality and savings at the farmers' market...

Today I went to the local farmers' market to get a few things to make soup with and I was struck with how much of a good thing there was in out area, we have an abundance of local growers with the freshest produce available every Saturday morning.  This got me to thinking, there are a few things about farmers markets that folks tend to take for granted.  First is that everything is fresh picked that day.  In fact, some things are picked through out the week and held for market, so just like the grocery store its important to check for freshness, also some growers don't care if the birds have pecked at their peppers or the slugs have slimmed the squash, so be sure to check for the overall quality as well.  When you are looking for the freshness of an items there are simple things to look for, beets, carrots, celery root and radishes should be sold with the top on, then you will know how fresh they are, if the greens are wilted they were not picked that day.  I found a really nice fruit and vegetable buying guide from the University of Tennessee that you can download and print out for future reference.  There is also a great app available at iTunes for $2.99 called Harvest, you can also watch the demo movie and get more information about the application at the developers site, I really like this app because it also gives you information on the pesticide levels in your produce.

The other thing a lot of folks assume is that buying at the farmers' market means its organic, as a matter of fact this is not the case at all.  Each state has requirements to be certified organic and in most cases if the vendor stall doesn't have the certification certificate then they are not organic. 

I am usually overwhelmed but the amount of great stuff and tend to over buy if I don't go with a plan, so here are some tips to help you save money when you go,  first and foremost, treat it just like going to the grocery store, make a list of the things you need.  Today I made home made Gazpacho so I knew I needed tomatoes, garlic, corn, onion, cucumber and leek, once I had those items then I could use the remaining cash I had for other goodies.  That brings me to the second thing, have a budget.  Most vendors are not equipped to take checks or credit cards so bring a set amount of cash and when its gone its time to go home.  Once you get to the market check out all the vendor stalls before you buy, remember, not all vendors have the same variety of goods or the same quality.  The final cardinal rule is to get there early, our market opens at 7:00am and if you get there at 8:00am things are pretty well picked over, also be prepared for a crowd, folks that frequent the farmers' markets know the early risers get the best stuff.  If you aren't sure if you have a local farmers market near you the USDA has a web page that allows you to do a search.

Once you get your produce home be sure to store it in the right areas, corn (wrapped in a wet paper bag placed inside a plastic bag), and peas are best in the front area of the fridge.  Artichokes, asparagus (after trimming the ends and placing upright in shallow cool water, then covering with plastic), beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chiles, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh herbs, green beans, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce (after washing and drying, rolling loosely in a clean kitchen towel inside an unzipped zip-lock bag), mushrooms, peppers, radishes, scallions, summer squash, turnips and zucchini are best in the crisper drawer.  Tomatoes are best placed upside down on the counter or on a plate.  Garlic, onions, potatoes, shallots, sweet potatoes and winter squash are best in the pantry, closet or basement (where it's both dark and cool).

Do you have any wonderful summer recipes using your garden's harvest or good stuff form the farmers market?  I would love to hear about them.

Have a wonderful weekend.

C.Q.

Abundantly free apps...

Last week a close friend got an iPod Touch for her birthday, my husband, knowing how badly I had been wanting one finally gave the OK to use all the Ones I had saved all year to go get one. I opted for the 64G iPod Touch because I love all the applications that are out there and wanted to be able to make my grocery list and play any game I want if I get stuck waiting in the car or a waiting room. I knew there were a lot of apps but really, I was ill prepared for the actual vastness of how many there are!

In doing some research I found a wonderful site called TouchMyApps that has been so very helpful! I went though their lists of free apps and was stunned at the great offerings. One of my all time favorites is CardStar. I had mentioned this in a prior blog, you can put in all your reward card info and not have to carry all the cards around with you anymore, I was so excited that this was the first app I downloaded. My 2nd recommendation would be YPmobil, you can set the Yellow pages to your area and there is so much more in this app than just name, address and phone number! Along with all that you get local events with detailed information, browsing by category, a white board for your up coming plans and notes as well as being able to save your favorite places, there are even review of places that you select and an email function to send the info to a friend.

For shopping information both Walmart and Target have apps available. I downloaded Targets app which shows their weekly ad, clearance and registries. There is also a built in gift finder, store locater and a search feature. The thing I really enjoy about this app is being able to go into the weekly ad categories and narrow it down to all the items that are offering a gift card with purchase.

If you love games there are a lot of free games as well. There are the card games Uno and Black Jack as well as a multi level game called Dungeon Quest.

Today I am going to be looking at my TV apps, there is one for Direct TV which I have as well as one for TV Guide. I also found one for the Internet Movie Database, a site I use all the time.

Hope this gives you some ideas on what is available and actually useful for free apps and inspires you to spend some time looking at the fun stuff that is out there, the iPods and iPhones cost enough, you shouldn't have to shell out the big bucks for the apps too.

Have a great week everyone!!

C.Q.