Favorite YouTubers

YouTube is great for finding out how to do just about anything but I've found some YouTubers that I really enjoy watching for their content as well.  I'll watch a video or two during my lunch break and it's a great escape from my daily routine.

1)Do It On a Dime with Kathryn- I've mentioned her tips, Dollar Tree finds and ideas in other posts. She finds the BEST Dollar Tree stuff!

2)The Sorry Girls- This Canadian duo shares tons of DIY's, decorating and thrift store challenges.  They work out of a super cool loft too.

3)High Carb Hannah-I love watching vegan vloggers cook and show what they eat in a day.  Bonus points for beautiful camera work and she definitely has that as does my next fave. Did I mention she lives in a tiny house with her husband and many pets in Arizona?

4)Liv B-Her photography is gorgeous and I love seeing her life and eats in Nova Scotia.  Plus she just adopted the cutest puppy!

5)Jinti Fell-She's a vegan vlogger but also lives in van (now bus) with her partner and two little ones in Australia. Their drone footage and videography of Australia is just breathtaking.

6)SparklyFamilyVlogs- Another 'exotic' locale for me.  This adorable young family lives in Hawaii and they vlog about daily life on their beautiful island.

7)Taina Licciardo-Toivola- Speaking of exotic--this huge family (10 kids!) lives in Finland and go on Finnish adventures like this one.   

8)Katie Hespe- My Trader Joe's insider.   Katie works at  TJ's and tries out most of the new products. She lives in California so she gets a lot of the stuff before it hits our stores.

9)Allie-The Journey Junkie - For yoga, I love Allie's videos and gorgeous locations. She's currently sailing around the world with her husband.

Do you have any recommendations to add to my list?

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{Tips & Tricks} Wifi Extender

 This is one of the quickest fixes to a problem we were experiencing with our WiFi. I'm probably last one to hear about it, but if not, check this out!

We noticed that our WiFi service did not extend outside to our deck and sometimes it was spotty in other parts of the house too.  We picked up this WiFi range extender at Costco for under $100. The installation was very easy and quick   Before we knew it, we had WiFi out on the deck!

Now I can work on my website, listen to Pandora or just check Facebook on my laptop out there. If I'm on my phone I don't have to worry about it switching over to data!  Why did it take us long to try this?!

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Wednesday Blog Hop

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{Get Crafty} WiFi Password Sign

Make your guests feel welcome with this wi-fi password sign.  I've seen these signs all over Pinterest but I needed a really easy one or it wasn't going happen.

I found one that was perfect and free. Yay! You can find it and down load your own here.

It lets you customize it for your own wi-fi password, then print it out. So easy!  I used colored paper to give it a little pizzazz.  We recently switched providers and our new password is long and hard to memorize.

 Now, it's posted in a handy spot in our kitchen if we need it or one of our guests wants to connect.

I made one for the basement too (not our real password).  So what do you think? Do you have one of these handy signs or an easy to memorize password?

Let's keep in touch!

    
Linking up:
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{Get Techy} Upgrading Your Mac's Memory

I'm probably the least techy person when it comes to my laptop so if I can do this, YOU can do this. I don't know what took me so long to do this but I'm so glad I finally did.  It's seriously so easy to do.

If you can handle a screwdriver, you can do this.  My friendly Apple Genius pointed me to the website Other World Computing for my memory upgrade.  The site is simple to navigate and helps you find your model number, amount of memory you can upgrade to (I went from 4GB to 16 GB) and provides instructional videos for installation.

If you follow this video, you can see how I upgraded my RAM space.   My only glitch was not having a small enough (++) Phillips head screwdriver when I was ready to upgrade. You can order that from the company as well but I didn't and realized I needed it after the fact. I found a set at Lowe's that had the size I needed for less than $10.  

The video link also has step by step instructions and photos which were so helpful  The difficulty level was EASY so it was the perfect first techy project for me.   You basically open up the back of the laptop, remove the old memory modules and insert the new memory modules then close it back up. Easy peasy!

Since the upgrade, my laptop doesn't crash when I have multiple tabs open. I can listen to my favorite Sirius radio station and work on Photoshop at the same time!  It also feels faster in general.

We upgraded College Girl's Mac when she was last home too. Just call me Mrs. Tech!

Let's keep in touch!

    
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Delivered Right To Your Inbox

I've got a  Friday quickie for you.   

If you don't want to miss a post, you can receive every one of them via email. It's easy peasy, just scroll down on the blog to where you see the words "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" and enter your email address, then hit submit. 

You'll receive a follow up email asking you to confirm your subscription and once you confirm, you're all set!  

Let's keep in touch!

    

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{Giveaway} Powerocks Magicstick Portable Charger Review and Giveaway

They don't call this thing Magicstick for nothing!

Powerocks contacted me to review their Magicstick mobile charger and I was excited to give it a try.

There is nothing scarier than running out of power on your phone when you are stranded and sometimes it's just plain inconvenient when you aren't able to connect to a power source on the go.

The Magicstick 2800mAHbattery means that you can get two charges out of it before it needs recharging!  It's super lightweight and portable and comes with its own little carrying pouch.

It charges standard smartphones and other digital devices like Bluetooth headsets, cameras, GPS and e-readers.  

Look at all of the fun colors it comes in.

The Magicstick is perfect for vacation but also for everyday use.

We put it to the test last week when we went to New York City for the day and used our Iphones all day, depleting most of our batteries with constant use.

 We pulled out the Magicstick on the train on our way home and we were all able to individually charge up our devices so we had enough power to use them on the trip back.

I'm a fan!

You can be a fan too!

Sorry, this giveaway is over.

Powerocks has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers a Magicstick2800mAH portable power charger too!  

Leave a comment below, letting me know how you'd use a Magicstick. Please include an email where you can be reached if you are the winner.

Giveaway ends January 10, 2014 at 5pm EST.

Good Luck!

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{Travel} Disney Apps to Try

We have an upcoming trip to Disney planned and I though it would be fun to try some of the many Disney apps that are available for our trip.

This one looks pretty awesome.

My Disney Experience  for Iphone and Android (free)

I've already installed it and I've been exploring all of its options.

You can link to your Disney resort and dining reservations. It also has interactive park maps, wait times, park hours, dining options and a lot more!
Here are some screen shots.

 

Another fun option is sharing your itinerary and plans with friends and family you are traveling with.

The reviews are mixed so I will also get a few more apps in case this one isn't running quickly enough once we're in the parks.  Like this next one...

Disney World Wait Times (free)
This one is all about the wait times for the attractions at all four parks in WDW. You can see them all on one screen and it uses the GPS on your phone to locate the closest ride to you.  You can even participate by adding in a ride time while you're at one of the parks.

I always take a lot of photos while I'm at Disney and this app is all about enhancing them.

Disney Memories HD for Iphone and Android (free)
It makes my photo-taking heart go pitter patter!

 

Missed a photo op with your favorite character? You can make it happen with this app.
You can also add Disney themed filters and stickers to your photos and frame them up with attraction and character themed frames, then share them easily with your friends and family!
To keep the magic alive all year long, there's even a DisneyTime Photo of the Day to experience it all over again!

I'll review these all when we get back.
Do you have any favorite Disney apps to add to my list?

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Easy Wreath Birdbath

On Friday I teased you with this sneak peek of our weekend craft project.  This is all you need to make a birdbath for your feathered friends; a grapevine wreath, terra cotta pot saucer and some cord or rope.  How do I know this?  Because I discovered an I-touch/phone app called Family Fun Craftfinder.

 I downloaded it to my I-Touch (free!) and checked it out.

You choose an age group, amount of time you have and time of year/holiday and out pops a list of matching crafts.

We chose this one.  It's great because I could pull out my I-Touch at the craft store and get the list of supplies we needed.  I never seem to remember what I need when I'm actually at the craft store. The employees were impressed.

I couldn't find the 15 inch wreath and 10 inch saucer that the directions called for so we made a smaller version.  It couldn't have been easier. Cut three pieces of rope/hemp cord (make them shorter if you are doing a smaller bird bath like we did). Then knot them at each end.

Nestle the wreath in the ropes.

Then put the saucer on top of the wreath. Hang it up and fill with water.

We decided not to add the artificial leaves, we get enough real ones out on the deck where we were going to hang it.

We got this far and then it rained for about three days so I couldn't get a sunny day photo of it until yesterday.

I still haven't seen a bird on it so it might be too small or too shallow. I still think it looks pretty and I can always fill it with birdseed but those squirrels...those ornery squirrels!                                                             

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A Sweet Read

What's that, you say?

Just the niftiest way to keep up with my book club selection while my family went on vomit inducing rides at Disney.  Hooked myself up with the free Kindle App for my ITouch and downloaded the book right from Amazon.  I didn't know how I'd like reading on such a small screen but it was actually very comfortable and I loved having the book in the ITouch for portability.   The time went by so quickly.   It wasn't just the Florida heat that had me fanning myself. wink wink.

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