Strange & Charmed

Must Have Apps for Working Professionals

Now that iPhones have become an acceptable mobile device within a majority of companies, many working professionals are able to use all the benefits that the app store has to offer to help them with their daily productivity goals. From getting hard business deals signed, sealed and delivered, to making new connections and reaching out to new customers or clients, there is an app for just about any business scenario. Here is a list of some of the best apps that all professionals should have on their iPhone!

Documents to Go {$9.99}

It’s true that for most of us our professional lives revolve around the Microsoft Office Suite of Applications. Even if your company is up to speed on integrating iOS into the day-to-day workflow, you still lack the ability to view, create, and edit Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents on your iPhone or iPad. For this, Documents to Go is a must have app. It’s a bit pricey, but then again all of the MS Office integrated apps are and this one is reasonably priced without loosing any key features. Remember, you won’t have the full functionality of your desktop version of MS Office, but this is a pretty good substitute for your on the go needs!

DocScan {Free for basic use and $1.99 for Pro}

Since we still do not live in a completely electronic world, we need to find ways to deal with paper on a day to day basis. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a little, easy to use and reliable scanner you could carry around in your pocket for those times when you need to share printed documents or forms with others? Guess what, you do! Its called your iPhone and with DocScan you can turn it into that portable scanner of your dreams! I cannot tell you how many times this app has saved my butt, it is awesome for quickly snapping a scanner quality (or better) picture of a document and then sending it off via email, text, etc! It even works well with multi-page documents. Give the free version a try, and if you find you get a lot of use out of it, I recommend upgrading to the Pro version, if only to thank the developers for creating an immensely useful application!

Hootsuite {Free}

If you are a professional who needs to keep up with their social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, Hootsuite is a great free app that puts all your social networks into one place. If you are constantly connecting to colleagues, potential business partners or other organizations you will certainly find Hootsuite’s scheduling feature for tweets and posts to be a major time saver! You even have access to Facebook Pages so you can manage your online business or identity from the convenience of your iPhone!

Feedly {Free}

If the death of Google Reader turned your world upside down, may I suggest another rss reader for you called Feedly. It has a nice simple interface and works the way you’d expect. Since Google Reader was shut down, Feedly has been the most popular free option to replace the service. It looks like in the last few weeks with the migration of users from Google Reader to Feedly, things have started to go a little wonky with their servers, but I expect that this will all be rectified soon. It works on iOS and also has a web app that is very handy so that you have access to your feeds on the go or in the office!

HelloFax {Free or Tiered Subscription Plan}

Okay, so this may not be an iOS app per se, but HelloFax is an online service that you can subscribe to that essentially turns your iPhone into a fax machine. Depending on your needs you can subscribe to a free or paid membership plan that gives you access to your own unique “fax number”for your phone and then you simply create emails with PDF attachments and email them to the recipient fax number with the addition of @hellofax.com in the send to field. That’s it! Your email becomes a fax machine and likewise, receives faxes as well. Its a major game changer for working professionals who hate having to track down a fax machine or pay per page to send a fax at an office supply store!

Everest {Free}

Lets say you are the type of person who sets goals for themselves but has a hard time achieving them. That sounds like most of us doesn’t it? Well, Everest is an app that addresses that issue within each of us to help us work towards achieving established goals. Whether you are trying to achieve personal or professional goals (or both!) this app can be a working gals BFF. If you have lots of priorities to juggle but find that you have a hard time seeing things through to the end, give this app a try!

Evernote {Free or Unlimited Paid Subscription}

Keeping track of notes and ideas is a major part of professional life. No matter what your career path, company or cause you are bombarded by information all day long, but you may or may not have a current method of capturing all that information so that you don’t misplace it. Evernote is one of the most popular all in one note taking apps that gives you multiple means of capture. Make lists, take a photo or snap a webpage to import information into Evernote. Once its been input, you can add tags that will help you find your information in the future and even arrange information in notebooks within the app. Pretty nifty!

Career

How to Stand Out at Work: Mentor Others

With half of the work year behind us and mid year performance reviews to look forward to shortly, now is the perfect time to discuss how to stand out at work. Whether you are hoping for a raise or a promotion in the upcoming year, learning to stand out from your coworkers is an important step to bigger and better things in your professional life. How to Stand Out at Work will be a 5 week series where we discuss different ways to improve your image to set yourself up for success.

Mentor Others

Once you’ve gotten your feet wet within your organization, a great way to stand out to both your supervisors and to your peers is through mentoring. You may think that mentoring is something for upper level management or those who have been with your organization for a long time, however, it really is never too soon to start mentoring others and there are two ways you can do this.

First would be through informal mentoring where you find a colleague at work and “take them under your wing” so to speak. You can give them information and guidance; be that single point of contact that they know they can reach out to for help; or simply be their for them by lending them your ear every now and again. Informal mentorships are like a professional friendship that stays within work and are about developing trust between colleagues. Rank within the organization doesn’t matter soo much in this relationship because its informal so you can act as a mentor to older or more seasoned colleagues as long as you have something (knowledge, ability, time) that they need from you to make the relationship work.

The second type of mentorship would be a more formal relationship in which your supervisor and perhaps even HR know that you are actively mentoring an individual. In these scenario’s it is normal for the mentor to be someone of higher rank or experience in order to make the formal relationship a beneficial one to all parties involved. Some organizations encourage experienced employees to take on mentorships as a way to help develop their own career and assist in the development of others. Generally, as long as you are not the lowest member in your organization, you can actively mentor others.

Mentoring is one of those activities that shows your supervisors and upper level management that you are willing to share your time with others and pass on your knowledge and/or skills. Both formal and informal mentorships are a great way to stand out at work because they establish you as a peer resource. Your team and your boss will know that you are someone that others can go to for help and that makes you more valuable as an employee. Once your peers see that you have demonstrated the ability to assist others with problems or issues and give sound advice, more of them will begin to approach you with questions of their own. Be prepared for this as it is not feasible for you to act as a mentor to everyone who comes to you for help, but you also want to be sure you do not turn people away looking for help. This is one of those faucets thats hard to shut off, so try to be reasonable with expectations for yourself and others. If you don’t think you can help everyone, let them know kindly and as quickly as possible. The more your boss sees others coming to you for direction and assistance, the more you will be worth to your organization when it comes time for raises and promotions!

lifestyle Solutions

5 Ways to Style a Settee

On a recent trip to T.J. Maxx I picked up this beautiful high backed winged settee in a gorgeous heather grey fabric. Although I didn’t have a space for the settee in mind when I bought it (it was one of those, I have to own this no matter what moments) by the time I had gotten it home I had thought of a handful of different uses for it. In case you are not familiar with the term settee, it is an upholstered chair with a back and arms that seats more than one. A traditional settee is something of a love seat sofa, but not as deep as a traditional sofa, they are more of a double wide arm chair! Now, because a settee is relatively small there is really no room in a house that couldn’t fit one! I, however, have boiled it down to five simple and elegant ways to style a settee with a few images courtesy of Pinterest to help me make my point!

1. Style a settee as luxe piece of office furniture.

2. Style a settee as an entranceway statement piece.

3. Style a settee as a dining room table bench or booth seat.

4. Style a settee as an elegant addition to the foot of a bed.

5. Style a settee as an upscale powder room seat.

So, you may be wondering, how then did I end up styling my settee? Well, after careful consideration I decided to do this!

Yep! My beautiful settee is now a bench seat for my dining table! I cannot be more thrilled about it! I have always been a fan of upholstered booth seating in the dining area and this was such a perfect fit for my apartment. I really like the way that the high back of the settee breaks up my great room into a clear living room and dining room area. Of course, the settee is all mine at the dining table and I have taken to bringing out my laptop and sitting at the dining table to write and surf the internet because I enjoy the piece so much!

I hope you enjoyed this post! As I said before the images I found came from Pinterest and you can find the exact links I used by heading over to my Pinterest page and taking a peak at my board called “Spaces.” There are even a few more examples that I pinned but did not use for this post in case you need some more ideas for how to style your settee!

tech The Pink Mac

Apps to Help You Fall Asleep

iPhone-Apps-for-sleeping — Sky Guide in action as I lay in bed.

I often find myself wide awake at 3 o’clock in the morning wondering what in the world is so important inside my own brain that I cannot enjoy the benefits of sleep! Although I try desperately to try to calm myself down, going through the motions of my night time rituals hoping to get my brain on the same page with my body, the affect is often lost and I find myself more awake then I was before. So, what do I turn to? Well, my iPhone! Although professionals say that it is best to avoid gadgets within an hour of bedtime, I find that when I cannot fall asleep no matter how hard I try, the quickest way to get myself asleep is by playing on my iPhone! Now, when it comes to trying to get myself to sleep, I won’t start doing anything major with my phone, but I have found that there are a few apps and games that actually help put me to sleep on those nights when I can’t stop tossing and turning.

Sky Guide: Sky Guide is a wonderful app with an intensely peaceful atmosphere! It uses your phone’s GPS to create a map of the night’s sky above you, whether you are indoors or outdoors. With a delicate soundtrack that sounds like a gentle lullaby, the app allows you to explore the sky around you, selecting stars, constellations and galaxies and providing you with histories and explanations for each and every celestial body. It’s almost like counting sheep, but your interacting with objects light years away.

Splodes: One of my favorite and most relaxing games is Splodes. Again, there is something about its gentle soundtrack that puts you into a state of easiness and comfort. The game itself is very slow paced, and all you need to do is “pop” a few splodes causing a chain reaction that may or may not release you into the next level. The game isn’t so much about winning as it is developing a simple strategy and I think one of the reasons it helps to put me to sleep is because it focuses my brain on the gameplay so that I am not lost in thought in my own mind. Definitely a game you will want to try if you have not already!

Osmos: Another super slow paced but very popular game that I suggest for late night decompression is Osmos. This game launched to much acclaim as one of the earliest iPad arcade style games, but it translates nicely to the small screen of the iPhone. Again, a new-agey but very calming soundtrack paired with simple gameplay mechanics soothes you to a zen like state that is very conducive for falling asleep!

Zen Brainwave Meditation: Speaking of Zen, one of my favorite on the go relaxation apps is Zen Brainwave Meditation, an app that is a portable sound machine for your iPhone. Simply choose your favorite ambient noise like the sound of rain or thunder and then select the evening brainwave program and the duration of your session and you are lulled to sleep by the science of brainwave stimulation. Its really something out of Star Trek but it helps to put me to sleep so I can’t complain! Also great for morning and afternoon meditations as well!

iBooks: When all else fails to put you to sleep there is nothing like spending some quiet time reading. Now, one of the benefits to night time reading on the iPhone is that the brightness of the screen as you read creates a heaviness on your eyes that almost immediately forces you to sleep. So, have a few good books downloaded on your iPhone just in case you have trouble falling asleep. And make sure the books are easy bed time reads and nothing to heavy and complicated for a midnight reading session. The goal is for you to fall asleep, not stay awake anxiously reading a best-seller!

Career

How to Stand Out at Work: Volunteer for More Work or New Projects

With half of the work year behind us and mid year performance reviews to look forward to shortly, now is the perfect time to discuss how to stand out at work. Whether you are hoping for a raise or a promotion in the upcoming year, learning to stand out from your coworkers is an important step to bigger and better things in your professional life. How to Stand Out at Work will be a 5 week series where we discuss different ways to improve your image to set yourself up for success.

Volunteer for more work or new projects

If you are interested in getting ahead at work and standing out as a shining star on your team or within your organization, one of the most important things you will have to do consistently is do good work and always be on the lookout for more projects and more responsibilities. With our economy still on the mend after the recession, employers are often slow to bring on more help or create additional positions until they see their business beginning to return steadily. For many companies, business is not back to where it once was, so upping their headcount is out of the question. So, who is going to take on that additional work that needs to be done with fewer heads available to do that work? The answer needs to consistently be you!

Now, I am not saying that you need to take on each and every new project and bulk on extra work all the time, but if you are seen as the team member that is able to get their own work done while also offering to take on new tasks and new responsibilities, when it comes time for a discussion about a raise or a promotion, you are going to be golden in the mind of your manager. Before you begin asking for more work, make sure you are completing your current work to the satisfaction of your managers or supervisors. Although you may be able to get your work done quickly, it doesn’t always mean you are up to par on the level of work you are producing. Speak to your boss and ask about your performance and how they view the quality of your work. You do not need to wait for a performance review to have that discussion with your manager, it should be an ongoing discussion that you return to whenever you take on new tasks, or complete new projects.

Once you are certain that your manager is pleased with the level of your work, you can then approach them about taking on new responsibilities. I would always suggest that when you go to your supervisor you have examples of the types of projects or responsibilities you are looking to take on. Perhaps you know that there is a new client project coming up and it requires a great deal of writing. If you believe yourself to be a strong writer, you will want to bring that to the attention of your manager when asking for that responsibility. Explain the skills you believe you are confident in and ask for the opportunity to take on that new challenge. Your boss will be impressed with your initiative and after a while, once you have a handle on your new task, you can ask for more work again if you are able to fit it into your day. Be careful not to take on too much new work, however, because if you take on a new task and it becomes too much for you, that is not going to help your cause. Always try to be deliberate with the new roles and responsibilities you are willing to take on so that they are serving your goals in the end.

Just be prepared to get an answer that you are not thrilled with. If your boss does not think you are prepared for the task you suggest, they may offer another less desirable responsibility. If this happens, don’t panic. Continue the conversation with your manager and try to understand why they think this different role or responsibility would be helpful for you to take on. Remember, you will want to make it clear to your boss that you are not simply looking for more work, but rather you are looking for new challenges and opportunities to help you grow and learn in order to prepare yourself for future roles. If they think a different task will help you along in your career more, take their advice and take on the new task. Even if it’s not what you originally intended to do, your boss will see that you have taken the initiative and when it comes time for conversations about raises or promotions, you will have a good leg to stand on!

Quirky Uses

5 Quirky Uses for Empty Wine Bottles

5 Quirky Uses is a new periodic feature for Strange & Charmed. For each post, I will select an everyday item and suggest five alternate uses or ways to upcycle the item in a fun or unusual way. Keep up with these posts with the Quirky Uses category!

For my second installment of 5 Quirky Uses I decided to focus on an object that fills many a recycling can, wine bottles! There are many arts and crafts projects that involve empty wine bottles that are easily accessible through Pinterest, but to stray away from those more complicated upcycling projects, I decided to focus on uses for the bottle whole! So, without further ado, here are 5 ways to use an empty wine bottle(s).

Stuff them into tall boots to help them keep their shape.
Fill them with a string of lights for an interesting lighting option.
Fill them with water and use them as a vase for long flowers.
Stick a taper candle into the neck and use them as a candle stick.
Fill them with sand, cork them and use them as book ends.

tech

What Your iPhone Case Says about You!

In todays world, our smartphones are the single most important day to day solution we have on hand. With everyone relying on them everyday to connect, they are really one of the few things that people have in common. Think about it. The next person you meet is bound to have a smartphone and I have found that people have taken to noticing and commenting on iPhone cases specifically as a segway for conversation. I am frequently being complimented on my iPhone cases and since I have quite a collection of them, it lead me to thinking that your iPhone case can really speak volumes about who you are even before you meet someone. So, what does your iPhone case say about you? Let’s find out below!

Minimal or no case: Obviously, there are many people out there who do not use a protective case on their iPhone, or use one of those minimal cases like a bumper. If you fall into this category, I can surmise that you are a very confident person! You are clearly not worried that you are going to drop or damage that very expensive device, or else you would have invested in a more substantial case!

Basic plastic “plain jane” case: If you are someone who uses a simple case to secure their iPhone, I would think that you are the type of person who like to just float on by through life. You are not interested in bells and whistles, you just like to put in the minimum effort and hope that its enough. Its not necessarily a bad thing, but in a world full of flavor and variety, you are clearly a vanilla type of person, or else you would have found yourself a slightly more interesting iPhone case.

Quotation or meme case: If you carry around your iPhone in a case that has a clever quote or popular meme printed on the back of it, I would have to say that you are someone who wants to be seen as intelligent. Now, whether or not you are as intelligent as you are trying to come off is besides the point. The point is, you are trying, perhaps a little two hard, to make a statement to the world. I would not be surprised to find out that you are also the type of person who adorns their car with bumper stickers. Just sayin’.

Animal shaped or character case: If your iPhone is covered in a case that was made to look like a cute little teddy bear, a Disney character or anything in between, I would venture to guess that you are pretty immature yourself or at least want to be seen as such. Now, if you are under the age of 18, thats fine, but if you are a twenty or thirty something with cat shaped case, you may want to think about how that case is affecting your career potential!

Ultra protective case: If you are someone who uses one of those ultra protective cases like an Otterbox you fall into one of two categories. First, the athletic on the go type. If you are this type of person and you have an Otterbox case, the world sees you as a no frills, logical type of person. Obviously, you are prepared to protect your investment while you are white water rafting and we solute you. Alternately, you could perhaps be a parent. Obviously, you would need a defender type case if you have a child because kids are not so good at keeping delicate objects whole and again, if this is you, no judgement, you are making the logical choice to secure your phone from your toddler. Now, if you do not fall into one of those two categories, you are either a klutz or a drunk. Nuff said!

Retro style case: There are a variety of retro style cases out on the market ranging from ones that look like cassettes to rangefinder cameras to gameboys. If you use one of these cases you clearly have an appreciation for classic style and a penchant for irony. Perhaps you are the too cool for school type but I doubt you care, your iPhone looks like an analog camera and that makes you the cat’s pajamas!

Intensely sparkly, highly ornamented or otherwise standout case: If you have a case that is a real eye catcher than congratulations! You probably have the most interesting iPhone case that anyone has ever seen! You most certainly get compliments or comments on the daily in regards to your case and perhaps have used your case to get a date! You are obviously an interesting and outgoing person or you have learned to fake it till you make it. Your case gives you oodles of imaginary confidence and makes you the center of attention, which is exactly why you bought it!

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Career

How to Stand Out at Work: Developing a Consistently Professional Demeanor

With half of the work year behind us and mid year performance reviews to look forward to shortly, now is the perfect time to discuss how to stand out at work. Whether you are hoping for a raise or a promotion in the upcoming year, learning to stand out from your coworkers is an important step to bigger and better things in your professional life. How to Stand Out at Work will be a 5 week series where we discuss different ways to improve your image to set yourself up for success.

Developing a consistently professional demeanor

In each and every one of our professional lives, a varying amount of professional demeanor is expected. Some people may come from more relaxed work settings and others a stricter business world, but developing your own consistent level of professionalism is important. You always want to be a few steps higher than the norm in order to stand out in a business setting. A few ways you can do this is by dressing professionally, refraining from office gossip and remaining positive.

Obviously, a certain level of professional dress is required at most jobs, but you can stand out by keeping your work wardrobe slightly more business professional than your coworkers. As they say, dress for the job you want, not the job you have. So if your job expects business casual, aim to be dressier at the business formal level. It speaks volumes to others when you are the only woman at a team meeting in a dress or pants suit while others are in khakis and polos. If you already come from a business formal environment, make sure your look is on point with items that will help you stand out. Jewelry, scarves and a stand out work bag or briefcase are great ways to look more polished and put together than your coworkers. Also, don’t forget makeup. Makeup can be a make it or break it to a business look, so make sure your not too heavy on your makeup look and not too light. If you are not sure, ask friends and family if they think your work makeup looks professional or not, or take it a step further and visit a makeup counter at your local department store and ask their opinion or have them develop you a custom day time look for work!

Office gossip is one of those things that so many women and men get caught up with, but it can carry a heavy negative connotation. Even if all your coworkers are in on the gossip, keep yourself out of it, or at least, listen but do not add input when others are discussing it around you. You never want your name associated with any piece of gossip, so make a point to stay out of it. Even if you are known to your coworkers as a goodie two shoes, its better for you if your boss hears that you stay out of the gossip than in the thick of it!

Remaining positive is one of those small efforts that will have a profoundly positive impact on your career. So many workers get into the habit of complaining about their jobs, other coworkers, or their boss and it really shows in their demeanor. If you refuse to partake in the negativity and keep up a positive attitude about your job, supervisors and upper level management are bound to notice. When your boss announces a new project or throws a last minute heap of work on you or your team, take the information in stride, smile and act eager for the new challenge. While everyone else is complaining or groaning you will be happily smiling all the way to a promotion!

lifestyle

Ipsy My Glam Bag July 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Yep! You guessed it! My Ipsy Glam Bag has arrived. This month I almost forgot I was getting the Glam Bag and it was such a welcomed treat. I have been doing this whole low buy exercise where I have been trying not to buy unnecessary things like makeup and beauty products, so I haven’t been purchasing as much as I had been in the last few months. So, when I saw that I was getting my monthly subscription service, it was thrilling!

This months bag was themed Beach Beauty, and we received a fluorescent pink see through tube shaped bag which I really like! It made it hard to be surprised as I was opening it on camera for my YouTube channel, but it was still terribly exciting!

So, lets run down what goodies I got!

The first item I pulled out of my Ipsy bag was this Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Flirty Fuchsia! I was absolutely thrilled to see this first and even though its not a particularly expensive product ($4 value) I love chubby sticks and the fact that I got one in pink made me very happy! You know how much I love my pink lipsticks!

The only thing about this color that is a little deceiving is that they are calling it fuchsia, but its really more of a bubblegum pink, which I do not mind, because I really don’t have any lip products in that shade, so I am glad I got something that is unique for me!

The next item in my bag is a travel sized can of Big Sexy Hair, Weather Proof! Now, I have always wanted to try a Big Sexy Hair product so I was glad they sent me this, and especially glad they sent a Weather Proof formula for the summer. I don’t go through much hair spray on average, so even though this isn’t a full sized item per se, I will still get a good amount of use out of it. I bet you it lasts the summer! Another inexpensive product, but one I was glad to receive ($3-4 value).

This next item was pretty unique! I received the Demeter Roll On Perfume Oil in the scent Salt Air. I really like this product because it is a full sized purse sized sample that retails for $10 on the Demeter site. It also has a very pleasant summery smell that I could not for the life of me figure out until I finally realized that the smell was very similar to the way a Hollister store smells. So, if you like the way Hollister smells, you should like this!

The next item in my bag that was more of a deluxe sample size was this Coola Mineral Sunscreen tinted moisturizer. Although I wish they had sent a larger sized sample, I was very pleased to receive this because I have heard very good things about Coola. At first I wasn’t sure if it was a tinted moisturizer or a tinted sunscreen, but after testing it out I can say its more of a tinted sunscreen, This doesn’t have much coverage to it even for tinted moisturizer standards and it blends into your still without really leaving any noticeable color change. But in a facial sunscreen thats a good thing! Normally, if you use a facial sunscreen you get a ghostly white glow to your skin, but this keeps your face looking normal, which I think is awesome. Only thing I was worried about with this is whether or not it is waterproof. It doesn’t say so on the packaging but I did look up the product facts online and it is indeed water resistant for 40 minutes! Full size is $36, but I would value this sample at $3.

The final item in my bag came in very cute packaging! It is a BH Cosmetics California Collection eyeshadow trio. Now, I have seen BH Cosmetics before at Target and I know its not a very expensive brand, so this set couldn’t cost more than about $5, but when I do see their products at Target I am always curious about them.

The trio was a little unexpected to me because the colors were a bit bright, but its the summer I guess so it goes with the theme! The purple grape colored shadow is very pretty, but I am not sure if its something I would use. I may get some use out of the middle color because although it seems like a dark tan or nude color, its actually a nice bronze. The final color is a very bright gold, which again isn’t necessarily something I would wear, but I can give it a shot. I usually prefer taupes to golds or bronzes, but since I have been going for a neutral eye for the summer, I may be able to create a simple sun kissed eye with these shades. And if they don’t work out for me, I know a friend who would look great in these shades!

Overall, I was very happy with this months Glam Bag, despite the fact that it had the least value of any bag I have received before. I am not sure if this value range is something that I should expect from now on, or if perhaps this month the products were just not as valuable as previous months. I know I have seen other glam bags from prior months that had a different mix of products in it that were of lesser value than what I received so I think its just luck of the draw! Either way I am happy with this bag because I am sure I am going to use up most of these products! If you would like to see my unboxing video for this month’s Ipsy My Glam Bag, click here to be directed to the video on my YouTube channel!

Until next time!

xoxo