iPhone Cases

I got an iPHONE!

Finally! I had a Droid Incredible before and, while it was great, it simply wasn't reliable enough. I went through three refurbished models because it kept breaking down on me. Now that I was up for an upgrade, I decided to pull the trigger and go all Apple.

The problem? There are just TOO MANY cute iPhone 4s cases out there that I can't decide which one to get! Here are some of the contenders.

Kate Spade

Alpha Chi Omega

Otterbox Commuter Series

Dixieland Monogram

Lilly Pulitzer

Etsy

Lipstick Shades

Uncommon

Does anyone have any suggestions of good iPhone case brands?

The iPod is Here!

[This was supposed to be posted about a month ago...my bad.]

Remember when I wrote this post about sending my 1st generation iPod Nano in so Apple could replace it? Well, my new Nano came, and quicker than I expected.  

The annoying bit about the whole process was that a signature was required to receive the packages. I understand why it was necessary (I don't want my neighbors stealing my packages off my porch!) but it made it almost impossible to pick the package up. The FedEx guy decided that he would come to drop off the packages at noon each day, when NO ONE was home, and couldn't leave them without my signature. I ended up having to drive forty-five minutes away to pick up the package at a FedEx location. 

The package was extremely light. It felt like almost nothing was in it at all.

I was surprised that the Nano didn't come in any special packaging. The AppleCare Service letter basically said "here ya go" and talked about the 90-day warranty of the Nano. But other than that, where's the headphones? Where's the USB adapter? I shouldn't complain, though: I have both of those accessories already, and I got a new Nano for free!

Shockingly, the Nano turned on right away and had almost a full battery. Apple's website says it has a 24 hour battery life, which is amazing! Also, the graphics are stunning, especially for such a small screen. The Nano I was given is silver (I couldn't choose the color) and has a capacity of 8GB, twice the amount of the Nano I sent in.

I can't wait to play around with it more and tell you all what I think of it. If you missed my previous post, you can click here to read about how you can exchange your 1st generation iPod Nano for a free new one, courtesy from Apple (and the fact that they don't want any more old Nanos exploding in people's faces).

Ghost Radar

And here it is, the post that will make you all question my sanity.

I recently downloaded this app on my Android phone called "Ghost Radar Classic".  It was one of the most popular apps on the store, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The app looks like this, courtesy of the app's webpage:

You have a radar on which little spots appear. As you walk around, you'll run into some of these spots, which are apparently areas in which your phone detects "quantum fluctuations" (in other words, GHOSTS according to the app creator).

Then the program will turn these fluctuations into words, which are supposed to be what the ghost is saying. I know, this sounds really fake-y, and I thought so too!

Via

BUT I've been playing around with the app for a few days and it seems almost legit. At first I thought the spots were just detected motion, such as if someone was walking outside or something. However, I set my phone down with the app running on my kitchen counter as my mom, dad, sister and dog were there. The phone didn't detect anything.

I did the same thing when I was the only one in the house, and the app went crazy. Most of the words don't make any sense, but one time one of the words that showed up was "car" after I asked the ghost where it was. I went into the car and the app went crazy again, detecting several "ghosts" at once.

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Another time I was driving past a hospital. After several minutes of inactivity, tons of things showed up on the screen. The words that flashed were "hurt", "chest" and "operation". CREEPY...all of the words are associated with a hospital.

I know, you're probably still skeptical. Just download the app and decide for yourself what it's all about. I don't know if I believe in it's validity, but the app is a lot of fun to play with. And it might just be making me want to sleep with a light on.

May Favorites

Now that I have a few weeks off, I'm going to spend them relaxing and getting ready for my trip. Here's just a few of the things I'm going to love during the next two weeks!

1. DIY Friendship Bracelets: Ever since I saw this tutorial on Pinterest, I've been obsessed with making a bunch of these colorful bracelets for the summer. They look so easy to make and cheap...embroidery floss is, what, a buck per color? There's also a bunch of projects I can make with the extra floss.

2. Harry Potter marathon: I'm an HP fan, but I haven't seen the movies in forever (even though they're on ABC Family every 3 months or so). I got the 8-disk DVD set for Christmas, so on a rainy day I want to just plop down in front of the couch and spend a day reliving my childhood.

3. Nook Color: I have tons of books loaded onto my Nook, just waiting to be read. No more Victorian Lit for me...the next two weeks are going to be filled with nothing but chick lit, let me tell you!

4. Frappuccino Happy Hour: May 4th-May 13th at 3-5pm, frappuccinos will be half off at Starbucks. I want to try their new Mocha Cookie Crumble.

5. Pinterest: I'm on that site 24/7, but I want to start making a board filled with "Bucket List" items, which I've seen other pinners do. I'll let you all know how it goes.

6. Shopping: These two dresses are from Forever 21 for around $20 a piece. I need a new summer sundress, so they would be good deals. And very in-style too!

What are you loving this May?

iPod Nano 1st Gen Replacement Program

Did anybody ever buy the original iPod Nano? The one from around 2005?

Via (with article about the recall)

I did. And apparently the things are now fire hazards. All these years, I've been keeping in my pocket something that could spontaneously combust. I could've died. 


A couple sued Apple after their iPod Nano exploded. I always say that Apple has the best customer service, and this is more proof of it: they are recalling all first generation Nanos and will replace them, free of charge, with new generation ones. So of course I'm taking advantage of the offer.

My Nano was my present for my 14th birthday. I vaguely remember making a Powerpoint for my parents telling them why I needed a Nano so very badly. I just thought their sheer size was amazing--I could literally fit a thousand songs in my pocket! Needless to say, I thought I was "so cool" bringing my Nano to middle school and listening to it during our lunch break.

See? My parents even personalized it for me with my name. Part of the replacement deal is that I have to send Apple the Nano so they can make sure I'm not using it anymore and risking my life just to listen to Nicki Minaj. It's kind of special to me, and I'm sad to see it go...

...ok, not that sad. Because look at how cool the new Nanos are!

Via

Some interesting features about them:


*Half the size of my 1st generation Nano, which I already thought was small!

*Come in a rainbow of colors, and they seem to be more scratch resistant than my old Nano

*24 hour battery life! My old Nano had, what, a 6 hour one?

Via

* Built in clip: I can attach my new Nano to my pocket and listen to it when I'm walking to class

*Twice the amount of GB

*Built in pedometer/work out system! I'm so excited about this. If you wear the Nano while working out, it'll upload your stats to Nike+'s website and tell you how many calories you burned. It'll be a great incentive to get me working out

Via

*CLOCK FACES! I don't know if I'll ever do this, but you can attach the Nano to a special watchband and wear it as a watch. SO AWESOME! Remember how I was just saying that the watch was dying out?

*Radio capabilities: there are a ton of radio stations and Chicago that I want to discover

I'll keep you all updated when I get my new Nano. For all of you who still have a first generation Nano, send it in!

 

Going Retro: Polaroids

Today I'm guest posting on Sarah's blog, Shorelines and Sunshine! Check it out! Shorelines and Sunshine has a monthly feature called "Shoreline of the Month" and today I'm talking about the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Go and visit Sarah's blog!

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The children's hospital I volunteer at is moving to a new location in June, which means that there's a lot of cleaning out to do. I work in the teen "playroom", so we've been slowly cleaning and discovering things in our closets we never thought existed.

One treasure we found: a legit Polaroid camera that looked like it was from the 80s.

Via

Imagine four college girls trying to get this contraption to work. By the time we were all in elementary school, digital cameras had already been invented and film was becoming a thing of the past.  Luckily, a mom of a patient came to our rescue. Having majored in photography, she knew the ins and outs of the camera and taught us all how to load the film. It's so weird: I never remember having to load film into a camera, even when I was a little kid. It's been digital cameras all the way.

Long story short, we had a fun day volunteering and took pictures of everyone we could find. Here's a picture of myself on a retro Polaroid. Sorry for the blurriness!

And now I really want a Polaroid camera. I went to Urban Outfitters' website because I knew they always had retro-looking cameras whenever I visited them.

Alas, no Polaroid cameras. They do carry this cute little hipster camera, which actually uses film. When was the last time you saw a camera that used film?

I don't even think Polaroid is making those cameras anymore. This is the closest camera I could find to the original one (it's the Polaroid Instant Camera 300), but it just doesn't seem the same.

Via

Also,I just learned that Polaroid made these cameras back when I was a kid. I always thought they were just toys. Does anyone remember these? They took tiny instant pictures that were stickers. I remember sticking those things all over my the house, much to my mom's dismay.

Via

Guess I'll just stick to my digital camera for now. Does anyone else miss the days of old-fashioned cameras and film?