Tech Gadgets

I’m a bit of an expert on surviving long haul flights, given that my first 17 hour one was at the tender age of 6 (we have a lot of relatives in Asia). Even as a young one, I distinctly recall thinking, “Man, this sucks” as I took in the plane’s stale air, questionable food, and roaring overhead noise while barfing into an air sickness bag. Since then, experience and technology have been great aids in reducing the airplane’s assault on the five senses so far that I even LIKE long haul flights (but capped at 17 hours tops). My tips at dealing with the pains of traveling:

1.    Feel:  As every travel-related site and dermatologist will tell you, airplane air is bad and dry, wreaking havoc on complexions (read: breakouts) and your throat. You have to stay moisturized.  I like to prepare first by stocking up on water after TSA frisks me. You may be thinking, “Why should I buy water when I get it for free on the plane?” True, but I can’t be the only one that gulps down their tiny airplane ration of water two minutes after receiving it. I also remain terrified by a story a friend’s father told me. He was stranded on the tarmac for 4 hours, parched and hungry, after the flight attendants ran out of provisions. I’d prefer for that not to be me.  Experts also tell you to avoid drinking on the plane as alcohol dehydrates, but if you are a nervous traveler, I don’t see the harm in slightly indulging. A friend of mine has a long time fear of flying and kind stewardesses routinely used to give her shots of tequila on the plane.  Worked for her, and she even did one with Flava Flav one time at 6 am. (more…)

I might be the last editor at TDO to jump on the iPad bandwagon, but I finally took the plunge and can only ask myself, “Why didn’t I do this earlier?” And now that I have this $500 device, you better believe I’m going to do everything in my power to prevent anything from happening to it! I’ve stocked up on some protective iPad gear, that still manages to be professional, classic and stylish. (more…)

One of my favorite things to do is “favorite-ing.”  I like ‘favorite-ing” blog posts, articles I read, websites…my Mozilla Favorites tab is an unorganized mess of links that I’ve saved to read later (like this week’s 25,000 word New Yorker piece of Scientology…I’m getting to it, I swear), to return to, and to recommend to friends.  I also like “favorite-ing” pictures, but I never found a good way to do it, apart from painstakingly right-clicking and saving the “liked” picture onto my computer.

Naturally, in this internet age, there is a solution to my oh-so-painful dilemma: Pinterest, an online bulletin board network, where you can share and re-pin your favorite pictures.  Pictures can be “pinned” onto Pinterest from other blog links or you can upload your own directly.  Text is light, with only a caption option, but this is a great digital way to organize and make online mood boards.  You can create any number of boards at a time, with theme ideas like “Favorite Places and Spaces”, “Home Inspiration”, and “Kitchen Adventures.”  You can browse and follow other member’s boards, to see what they’ve “pinned.”

You can browse the range of individual pictures on Pinterest in individual subjects such as Fashion, Art+Design, Food+Drink, Design, Travel, Prints and many others.  I’ve been able to find a ton of things that I’ve been visually obsessed with, such as David Yurman advertisements, pictures of old 1930′s Shanghai for mood inspiration, old Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn photos, Arthur Lindbergh photography, and some lustful travel daydreaming.  This is a great site for anyone planning a wedding, since they have an easy way to collate any of the images they’re currently feeling.  Pinterest is a members-only site, but similar to Gilt Group and other sites of that nature, you can get an invitation from an already existing member.  I love logging on during lunch and seeing what the newest “pins” of the day are.

Check out Pinterest and let me know if you like it!  And if any of you have an interest in looking at pictures of cuddly puppies, bunnies, or kittens, you can find me and my ‘Awww cuteness’  board on Pinterest.

For awhile now, I’ve been in desperate need of both a new iPhone case and a new laptop bag.  The case I had my iPhone in was seriously the plainest, cheapest black case ever and my laptop bag was a last minute purchase years ago right before I had to get on a flight with a new computer.  (Hence, the ugly bright orange color and bulky outside pockets).  So when I got a chance to try new ones from Agent 18, I jumped at the chance.

They sent over the FlowerVest Case for my iPhone 3GS (I’m dying to upgrade to the new iPhone 4, but AT&T won’t let me do it yet) and it’s just a really great change from my previous case.  I requested the purple and white one because I wanted a shade bright enough so that I’d be able to see it in the big bag I’m always carrying around and that totally works – no more disappearing iPhone!  The case is made out of silicon, so it’s soft but protective, and its surface stops my phone from sliding when I inevitably toss it onto the counter or put it in my pocket. (more…)

I’m always incredibly inspired by the awesome handmade creations over at P.S. I Made This.  Graceful ankle wrap sandals, pom pom necklaces, ruffle t-shirts, ways to customize your own clothes with the D&G paint inspired trend, this site is the ultimate in fashion do-it-yourself bags, clothing, and jewelry and offers an inventive solution to inexpensive style.  My most recent favorite is this preppy chic iPad case, which can almost be mistaken for a fashionable clutch. Made out of an inflatable travel pillowcase, electrical tape, and gorilla cloth, I love the rattan stripe pattern of her original version, but you can pick out your own pattern and customize it when you select your pillowcase.

Not so great at do-it yourself?  Check out a notebook inspired hard iPad case that reminds me of my favorite moleskins behind the jump (more…)

Ladies, to be honest here, I don’t have that much experience with getting jewelry from men–but I do have enough to know that what men think women want and what women really want don’t always sync up.  As if buying jewelry for someone else isn’t already hard enough, what woman hasn’t chattered amongst her girlfriends about “what would you do if you got an ugly engagement ring?” Yikes. I prefer not to think about that. (more…)

I’m soooo not a Techie, but do you ever have those moments when you discover something new that is so great, that you think to yourself, “Technology is so cool?”  For me, that thought came to my head yesterday, when I visited Poladroid.com.  I have  always loved Polaroid pictures: I love their dreamy, muted, look which give them an evocative and nostalgic quality, their instant pictures (immediate gratification), and because everyone looks good in Polaroid!  One of my favorite things to do is to browse Jeremy Kost‘s pictures on Fashionista and those inspired me to almost get my own Polaroid camera: the only thing stopping me?  The $149.99 price tag.

Yesterday, my friend Sami, sent me over a link to Poladroid, a computer application, that turns your digital pictures into Polaroids!  I downloaded the application last night, and loved the results so much that I started Poladroiding all my pictures.  I began with the pictures from my last vacation to the Bahamas with my friend Sarah  (how gorgeous does that azure water look?) and you can check out some of “Before-Poladroiding” picture here.  The application itself is charmingly designed and easy to use.  The interface for the application is designed like an actual Polaroid camera–all you have to do is drag over your photos, one at a time, to the empty frame icon in the camera and wait for your pictures to “develop”.

Your pictures will slowly go from fuzzy to sharp, vivid color, as they would with a real camera, and after they are done “developing,” you get the option of saving them on your computer.  Each session allows you to Poladroid 10 pictures. Once the pictures are done developing, you get the option of saving them to your computer.  Poladroid software is MAC/Windows compatible, as well as free,but they are taking donations.

Visit Poladroid.com and share some of your favorites with us!

I speak from experience (many pieces of ruined furniture, clothes, and electronics) that the only place nail polish should even get remotely close to is my nails. That’s partly why I found it a bit surprising (and odd) that OPI, the legendary nail polish company, recently partnered with..Dell? Dell’s new Inspiron and Studio Laptops will now be made available with 26 OPI favorites such as ““I’m Not Really a Waitress,” “Kyoto Pearl,” and “Rosy Future.”  The new laptops are certainly a nice addition to their collection of colorful laptops and I particularly like “Up Close and Personal” which is pictured above.  More images of this upcoming collection can be found on Dell’s Flickr page. What do you think?

It’s a cute idea and may find a nice audience in OPI fans and college girls, but I’ll probably stick with my only 2 preferred colors for laptops: black and silver. “Up Close and Personal” however, is basically the nail color-du-jour this season so I’m off to hunt for a bottle of my own!