iPhone 6 Review

I would like to start by saying that originally I fully intended on purchasing the iPhone 6+. I had heard that the 6+ had a better camera, battery life, and better resolution due to the larger screen, and was intrigued at the idea of having the 'best' iPhone. However, when I got to the Apple store and held both the 6 and the 6+ I knew I had to get the 'normal' 6.

I take my iPhone with me everywhere. The majority of the time I'm holding it in my hand or in my vest/coat pocket, and I just didn't think the 6+ was portable enough for me.

The iPhone 6 offers way too many new features for me to discuss all of them, but here are my thoughts on a few of the big ones:

Battery Life - The battery life on this phone is soooo much better. I still have to charge it at some point during the day (I use my phone an excessive amount), but that's such a huge improvement from the 3-4 times a day I used to have to charge my phone. 

Size/Weight - I love how sleek and light this phone is, however along with being sleek and light the phone is extremely delicate.... so don't drop it. In terms of size, the phone fits perfectly in my hand - just a little bit larger and it would be uncomfortable and difficult to use.

Camera - I haven't taken too many pictures in different scenarios (i.e. sunsets, dark lighting, etc.) but the photos I have taken have turned out great. The camera app offers various editing tools in terms of light, color, and tilting the picture. I'll still be using my go-to editing apps, but the new camera features are perfect for quick fixes.

Slo-Mo -  The 6 also offers a new "slo-mo" video feature that allows you to take (big surprise here) slow motion videos. My friend Chloe posted a video of her and a friend throwing glitter in the air, and my mind has been reeling with Instagram possibilities ever since.

Touch ID - It was hard to set up, but it works now! When you set-up your phone it makes you place your thump on the 'Home' button about a thousand times to get a complete reading of your thumb print, but after you go through the pain of getting it set-up it works great. All I have to do to log into my phone now is place my thumb on the button. However, if you're logging back into your phone after having powered it off completely it makes you log in with your password.

The only real negative in my opinion is that they don't make these phones durable enough to use without a case. The gold on this phone is gorgeous, and I'm so bummed that I have to cover it all up with a case to keep it protected. Let's hope Kate Spade rolls out some cute case options ASAP!

Crystal Faye {Giveaway}

Today I am thrilled to announce that I am partnering for a giveaway with one of the sweetest bloggers/shop owners - Crystal Faye. Crystal is an Ohio girl like myself who somehow managed to write a blog, open an online boutique, get married, move to Arizona, and lose 25 pounds all in 2012 - I know, crazy right? 

Well, today Crystal is offering one of you lucky readers an iPhone case from her store. I happened to win an iPhone case from Crystal during her "12 Days of Giveaways" in December and absolutely love it - I can't tell you how many times I've been complimented for it. *side note* you'd be surprised how many people ask me what the "E" stands for.....ummm Emily.

My iPhone case is from the "wide stripes collection"

Although I picked the rainbow stripes case the polka dots were a close runner up

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will end on February 16, 2013 at 12:00 AM - Good Luck! 

Pic Collage

For the past year I have used the app Pic Collage to make my cell phone lock screen background - the pictures in my last collage were a little outdated so I sat down and created a new one yesterday! 

While you're making it you can tilt, size, and overlap the pictures any way you want and are also able to ad some fun sticker-type images to make it a little more fun (I didn't use any).  I get at least one compliment on the screen a day so I thought I would share it with you all - if you've got some down time it's a fun little project! 

Jumbled

Wow, I just realized I only blogged three times in May. Too crazy! Whenever I go through a transition I always find myself a little less inspired and way too busy. I've been lifeguarding all month as well as coaching swim team. We've also had some crazy things happen at my house....my brother had his graduation party last weekend (he graduates tonight), my parents and brother are currently at Miami for his college orientation, and the other night my 7-year-old dog had a seizure. We have absolutely no idea what caused the seizure - his doctor said everything looks fine physically and his blood work is fine, so if you have any insight/experience with dogs having seizures let me know!

I've missed blogging this month so much. I hate not being able to spend time reading what's going on with all of you fabulous people - but now that I've settled into my summer schedule I think I'll be able to spend some more time on blogger.

Anyway, on to more fun subjects - here are a few of my favorite things from this week:

I'm loving this Kate Spade dress....especially the way they styled it. I'm hoping it will go on sale soon so I can pick it up. However, I'm really wishing I had it right about now so I could wear it to my brothers graduation.

I've also been really intrigued by these personalized otter boxes from the Blue Dandelion.  Recently I've made a habit out of dropping my phone, and considering I'm a swim coach and lifeguard I figure it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra protection around all that water and concrete.

Have a great rest of your weekend - I'll be working at the pool for 10 hours tomorrow!

Viggle

I was watching the Today Show a few weeks ago and they introduced me to an app called "Viggle" - Viggle allows users to "check in" to television shows, and earn points for every show they watch. You can use the points you earn to get rewards like iTunes, Starbucks, Target, and Best Buy giftcards.... 

You get more points for featured shows - Revenge, for example, was a featured show on Wednesday and was worth 300 points if you checked into the show.

I know I watch a good amount of television when I'm at school doing homework, reading, etc... for some background noise and have already accumulated a good amount of points, so I thought I would share! What a good way to get some fun, easy rewards.

Pic Collage

My friend Ashley just introduced me to the coolest photo collage app. It's called "Pic Collage" and is completely free! What it does is it allows you to create a collage using pictures saved on your phone, from Facebook, or from the internet. You get to decide where the pictures go, how they overlap, and what size they are. 

This is what I came up with. I think it's an adorable idea - and I love not having to choose just one picture for my phone wallpaper!

Valentines Day for the Single Girl

Valentines Day is less than a week away. Valentines is one of my favorite holidays (third in line behind Christmas and The 4th of July), and if you are single I fully believe in buying yourself a Valentines Day present(s). I mean why waste a holiday full of chocolate, pink, and flowers solely because you are single?

Last year I bought myself the iPhone 4 (and went completely broke) for Valentines day and went on a Sushi date with my best friend Sarah. If you really want to read about it you can do so here.

Here are some of the things I'm considering buying myself for the big day...

A monogrammed Lipstick Shades iPhone 4 case.

A pair of Jack Rogers. I don't own a pair of these and lately I have found myself looking at them quite a bit, so I think it may be time to add them to my shoe collection.

Finally, I plan on treating myself to some ice cream and chocolate covered strawberries while I watch my favorite romantic comedies (Proposal and Crazy Stupid Love anyone?) What do you plan on doing for Valentines day?

Temple Run

I am addicted to Temple Run.

Everyone at school had been tweeting about the game and I'd seen things about it on Tumblr so when my friend Ashley told me she stayed up until 2:30 AM playing it I decided it was time to try it out. And I can legitimately not stop playing it.

There really isn't a huge plot to the game you just have to control your little guy as he is running away from the creatures that are chasing him. My high score is currently around 900,00 - I thought that was pretty fantastic so I called my brother and started bragging to him about it. Then he sent me this screen shot...

3,404,222

Really Andrew? How does that even happen? Now I'm on a mission to beat his high score, and I'm really nowhere close to it. Do you play Temple Run? If you don't and you have an iPhone, iTouch, iPad it's free so go buy it! And tell me your high score so I can determine whether or not my brother is insanely good or if I'm just insanely bad.

Mistletoe Radio

I've never really understood Pandora radio. All of my friends started using it in high school, but I could never comprehend why you would want to type a song into a search bar and not be able to listen to it - just songs that are similar to it. I don't like that. When I want to listen to a song I want to listen to it now. However, my perspective on Pandora changed  when....

I was lying in bed the other night without my iHome radio (it's at school), so I decided to try the Mistletoe by Justin Bieber Pandora station on my iPhone. I am in love. *NSYNC, Martina McBride, Hilary Duff (arguably the best Christmas CD ever), and the Beibs himself make regular appearances on this station - enough said.

** Side note - there are a ton more artists on the Mistletoe station, but I listen to it while falling asleep so I miss out on quite a few of them.

Do you listen to Pandora?? I realize I'm a little late on this trend, but what are your favorite stations?

Life According to my iPhone

I take iPhone pictures like it's my job. I think I currently have 400+ on my phone. And they aren't always (actually almost never) are of important things. So here is the last 2 weeks of my life in iPhone photos.

My seven dollar "hope" bracelet that I picked up uptown.

Wearing completely inappropriate (and cold) shoes to a hockey game. Yep, I'm the pair on the left. First time I wore them and a rhinestone fell off :(

Watching my brother perform in band for the last time last friday.

The insane amount of stuff I brought home after a 3 day weekend.

My parents are the presidents of my high school swim team so they sent me a bracelet with a "Believe" spacer charm, Celtic Knot (our school symbol), "Breast" charm (that was my stroke), and an "Achieve" spacer charm.

What's in your phone picture library?

All Time Favorite App

So today I finally bought the app that I've been seeing/hearing about on facebook. 

And I absolutely love it.

On the way home from the grocery my mom dropped me off at the front of the neighborhood so I could try it out - I was that excited to see what all it could do.

First of all, it tracks your distance and verbally tells you when you've reached mile marks. You can also set it for just a normal run or to keep you going for a certain amount of time or distance, and is conveniently connected to your music.

You can also post that your starting your run on facebook and your friends can "cheer you on" by 'liking' your status or leaving a comment - and then the app reads them to you.....I know pretty cool.

My favorite part is the app shows your route using goggle maps....I would have posted but I don't think every person in the world potentially needs to  know where I live - hope you understand loves :)

Lastly, after your run you can mark how you felt, what the weather was like, and what kind of surface you were running on. Today for example, I ran on a road,  it was cloudy, and I felt sluggish.

Anyone else have this app or another good one? Or maybe the thing for your shoes that tracks it for you?

Valentines Surprises

So after a fun Valentines Day with my friend Sarah I found that there were still some more surprises coming my way. I received a Valentines package from my mom (2 days late) that consisted of some burlap TOMs. 

It was 67 degrees today so I got to wear them to class. They were very comfortable and looked pretty cute - definitely a fun pair of shoes.

Finally, my new iPhone arrived on Valentines Day. I'm going to miss my cute, purple Blackberry, but I have already found my iPhone to be ridiculously entertaining.