Loving your Lemons

You know that feeling when you stumble across a website that you know you are going to have a long relationship with? You know, like when you first saw Facebook (if you can remember that far back) or more recently when first got lost in the beauty of Pinterest. It is that magical excitement of all that is to be. And when you see that the site is still in beta? Thrilling!

So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I first dove into LemonCrate. It is a shopper's wonderland. Literally, you can shop for hours in the comfort of your own home with your coffee and slippers, or in your office Monday morning when the week has become too real already. You can scroll forever and never run out of gorgeous shoes and sassy sunglasses to drool over. You can customize as you go and mark items as 'love this' or search for similar peep toe heels. Or you can just create your own search by color, price, brand, whatever. But unlike slogging through google shopping or Zappos it's fun! The website is sleek and stunning and incredible addictive.

As if this couldn't get any better when you do find an item you have to add to your closet you can pull up the price history. You can see all the stores carrying that perfect clutch and what they are asking for as the purchase price. Some items even give you the lowest price in recent history so you can plan out when to make your big purchase. And if you can't make up your mind you can easily send it to your girlfriend for her feedback. It's the complete shopping experience but without the lines and the hassle of a department store. It has the boutique feel we all crave, but you can compare earrings from different boutiques. Genius. 

As I said it is still in beta so not all features are on every item but its getting there. Plus, the best part of beta is giving feedback on the features you want to see. I know you're still upset about being the last person in your group to start pinning so here is your chance to get ahead of the curve. Get out there and start loving this at LemonCrate!

(If you don't know where to start check out the Kate Spade page for inspiration. Ahhh, Kate Spade...)

Groupon with some Padding

I'm sorry for my disappearance on the blog front the last few days. I am back now and ready for action.

I had hoped to post an update on the new iPad but I'm afraid its still too hot a topic. (Don't worry I won't make any 'how many new iPads does it take to bake a cookie' jokes.) Despite this, over 3 million were sold in the first four days of availability. It certainly makes you wonder how many will be sold when people figure out all the new features besides just the incredible screen. We'll have to wait for the next round of commercials since that is the only user's guide Apple provides for its incredible products. Of course this isn't too upsetting since there is a bushel of Apple Geniuses standing by to answer every question and demonstrate every feature.  Personally, I can't wait to worm through the throngs of people at the Apple Store to check out the new games on display for the iPad.


Of course one app that doesn't need a killer display is Groupon. I have received the groupon eblast for quite some time but had not ventured over to the app until recently. Why didn't anyone tell me it was so great? (I'm sure all of the daily deal apps are phenomenal but this is the first one I've tried so far. Anyone using Living Social or Bloomspot?)

I am finding a great way to explore my new hometown, and really all of Silicon Valley, is through daily deals. Its a relatively pain free and low risk way to find great places. Yesterday I found a cute little nail salon running a groupon deal for a shellac manicure. It was only $20, that's right $20! In the city you could pay $20 just to add the shellac to your regular manicure. Amazing. But the real beauty of it was I found a deal happening that day, paid for it and redeemed it all on my iPhone. It is really pretty ingenious and so much better than probing through the emails and remembering that pesky little voucher.

Well done Groupon. Well done.

Factoring in Fido

San Francisco is one of the dog-friendliest cities on earth. Dogs actually outnumber kids, which is obvious when frequenting the city’s parks – the kids are fenced in, not the dogs. 

Most places in the city will turn a blind eye to a dog trotting through the aisles, but I'm sorry to say I just haven't been too adventurous with my girls down in Cupertino. It is very jarring after living in the city for so long to not be able to walk my dogs while running errands. First of all, nothing is walking distance from my apartment expect for boba tea - which of course I'm grateful for. Secondly, I'm afraid store owners would start screaming if a dog tried to patron their establishment. It's a legitimate fear considering there are absolutely zero dog parks in the city of Cupertino. Apple should actually be ashamed to be located in a city that is so dog unfriendly. 

Thankfully, I have Fido Factor. If you have a dog it is a godsend. It’s basically Yelp for your dog and of course its free. You can search for all nearby bars, restaurants and shops which allow dogs. They even list which have water bowls and poop bags. Don't miss the golden paw print for tips on each location. The app doesn't cover all cities yet but it seems to do a good job in the Bay Area. It is definitely a must have for life in the South Bay. 

Scrambling

The iPhone game craze is everywhere, and for some reason controversial. If playing a game keeps a kid quiet in line, or me from eavesdropping on the conversation next to me while my husband is in the restroom - what's the problem? Isn't it better that the kid doesn't cry and I don't snicker at things I shouldn't be hearing?

In my opinion the word games are by far the best. That may be because they are the games in which I have the best chance of winning. That being said, they are really stimulating and should be embraced more in schools. I'm sure I'd be happy if my child was playing word games throughout the day instead of sitting idly - but feel free to ask me that again in 15 years. Words with Friends may not be the most educational game since now people just know the highest scoring 2 letter words, even if they have no idea what xi or qi mean. W.E.L.D.E.R. is a great game if you haven't played it yet. It requires some quiet and concentration, but at least it will give you the definitions for all of the words you don't know.

My favorite game of the moment is Scramble with Friends. DOWNLOAD IT RIGHT NOW and start a game with me. There are not enough people playing this game yet and I am completely hooked. Zynga is getting really sneaky with how to make money on these games by adding the tokens to this one. It's bad enough we have to endure all the crappy ads, but now we have to buy, or wait for tokens to take our turn? Really, Zynga? Really?


All the same download it, start a game with me and play with the sound on. The sound really makes the game.