Lately I'm Into...

Flipboard for iPad + the whole Internet

I got an iPad earlier this year and this is definitely my favorite app. Flipboard's primary function is as a news reader but I think it's best way to view almost any content on the web. When you first sign up, you get to pick feeds from sites that are relevant to your interests from several outlets, whether it's news, tech, entertainment or fashion and it's delivered to you in a pretty, easy to digest format. However, my favorite feature is the ability to import my personal feeds from other services. It's not secret that I'm a Google Reader junkie (although I am really sad about them doing away with the social aspects of the service earlier this year) and I love that I can sign in and view all my feeds (200+) and folders (22) are organized and ready to flip through in a gorgeous-magazine style UI. In fact, I actually prefer catching up on my unread blog posts this way (curled up in bed or on the couch with iPad, flipping through) instead of the Google site on my laptop or the mobile version of the Reader, which leaves something to be desired. I can quickly save an article to Pocket* for later reading or share a blog post directly from Flipboard to my Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

I also love viewing my Instagram feed via Flipboard (I actually prefer it over the Instagram iPhone app interface, which is already pretty much perfect). You can view photos in your feed at full-size, comment and like friends' photos as much as you want and view the "popular" feed - everything you need, just short of actually being able to take photos, edit and upload them from within the app. It's like getting to flip through a magazine with fresh daily content curated just for you. And it's freeeee!

Ming Doyle's Girl Reporter Print Set

I ordered these little prints months ago but they've sat collecting dust until recently because I was convinced I had accidentally thrown away Girl Reporter Friday & couldn't bear the thought of displaying an incomplete set. She turned up when I cleaned my room but I haven't figured out how I'll put them up yet. Ming Doyle is exceptionally talented (check out her other work)! I love these sassy ladies and at $12 for the whole set, they're a steal.

This ring.

Y'all know how I love my jewelry, the bigger the better. I seem to have misplaced** my favorite ring - doubly sad for the facts that 1) I bought it last year so it's probably no longer in stores and 2) I bought it at H&M which until recently has eluded the state of Texas but hell if I'm driving to Dallas to find out. On the plus side, I found a ridiculous suitable replacement at Forever 21 yesterday. I love it but I do not love retailers being so unimaginative and lazy the last few seasons that they slap the label of "tribal" or "ethnic" on just about everything.

Finally mastering cat-eye eyeliner after forever.

People keep asking me for tips or pointers but really all I can say is gel eyeliner (I used e.l.f. cream eyeliner - no particular reason other than because it's $3) + an angled brush + a lot of practice. I DON'T KNOW, GUYS, IT'S MAGIC.

* Another free app that I love!
** There seems to be a pattern here...

Ahem.

I think that's enough radio silence for now.

Hi, remember me? I think I might actually be ready to start writing again. I'm still working a ridiculous amount between jobs uno y dos but why not pile on more to my sense of responsibility and obligation, right?

In the meantime, I'm going to update the lazy man's way: things I bought fairly recently, c/o Instagram.

Jason Wu for Target dress, 50% off! I still haven't had the occasion to wear it yet, though.

Banana Puddin' cupcake from Sugar Mama's Bakeshop. Only on the menu on Wednesdays, highly recommended.

Labradorite crystal necklace from Mana Culture. It came with a helpful card of the "properties" of the crystal. I may not buy into all that, but I liked the way it sparkled and I'll take whatever good juju I can get.

Gold Chrome Slider iPhone case from Incase. Gold on the outside, pink on the inside, makes a decent mirror in a pinch.

Pigasus bank from Open Sky. Because why not?

OMG, Spring, you guys!

I Didn't Say It, I Declared It.

I declare blog bankruptcy. I just deleted a whole mess of posts (only 15/96 remain) because I want to take things in a different direction, both in real life and online. I had an inkling to start doing outfit posts but I am just not cut out for fashion blogging - more disposable income would be required, I'm kind of restricted about what I can wear at work and plus I've come to the realization that I just don't care about fashion that much. Don't get me wrong, I love cute clothes and outfits that are put together well. I just don't get caught up the excitement of Fashion Week or the latest designer collections. But what I'm really into: handbags, scarves and wearing as much jewelry as humanly possible (as I type this, I have five huge ass rings on) and my preliminary market research (aka like three of my friends on Twitter) shows that it's that's the kind of niche that people would like to read about.

That said, I want to put more effort into Beyond 6th, I've been taking classes to brush up on my HTML & CSS skills (through Girl Develop It, which I'd highly recommend!), I just started a new job that I absolutely love and I'm back in college so things are in a weird transitional phase right now. So what, who cares? 

Anyone else on Pinterest? This is the Internet thing that I'm all about at the moment. Click the picture to peep my boards & follow me.

Endless Summer (Reading)

I'm just going to accept that I'm terrible at blogging but still update this thing when I feel like it, for some reason. Is my web presence spread too thin and that fact the reason why I can't keep up with this thing? Probably. I have an irrational impulse to sign up for every social network/Internet thing ever. Speaking of which, I'm on Pintrest, follow me if you're into that sort of thing!

(via... yes, that's me.)

Summer may technically still be a month away but it's already started in Texas. I had my first swim of the year last weekend, which was oddly, my very first visit to Barton Springs Pool, even though I've lived in Austin during and toughed out four blazing summers before. I know, it even shocks me. I anticipate several trips back as the oppressive heat continues to terrorize us (just checked the forecast and it's supposed to get up to 100 today... and it's only May).


Because I work a weird schedule that makes it pretty much impossible to be social during the week, I end up spending the bulk of my free time consuming various forms of media (a LOT of podcasts, Hulu, Netflix, etc.). Now that most of my TV obligations have closed out their seasons for the summer (my favorites, of course, being Parks & Recreation and Community and my guilty pleasures, Grey's Anatomy* and Private Practice), I'll have more time for other stuff, like my ever-growing Summer Reading List AKA books on my Kindle that I'm ""getting around to"" reading (in no particular order):

• Currently Reading: How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane Crosley
• Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith
• We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill
• Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, and An Early Cry for Civil Rights by David Margolick
• Decoded by Jay-Z
• The Commitment by Dan Savage
• The Kid by Dan Savage
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
• No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman
• Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
• Spook by Mary Roach
• Undoing Gender by Judith Butler
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Tales of the Beetle Bard by J.K. Rowling
• Goat Girls by Francesca Lia Block
• Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block
• Help! a Bear Is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• John Dies at the End by David Wong
• All of the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris
• Black No More by George Schuyler

Here's hoping to make a dent in it, at least until True Blood, The Walking Dead and Louie come back.


* I swear I had kicked the habit several years ago because it was so bad but within the last two seasons, I've somehow gotten sucked back in. It's still bad, over the top and ridiculous but entertaining.

I Guess We're Kinda Legit Now

Wade got us these awesome shirts for the Beyond 6th podcast to wear around during SX (or whenever)! They came out awesome, I'm really pleased!

I'm going to start using this shirt in lieu of showing actual ID at bars. "Hello, I'm right here on this shirt and I'm holding a glass of sangria, of course I'm 21!"