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So, there I was.  In a dilemma.

(lindsay. obviously.)

I’d just returned from this super-incredible vacation and I had all of these fantastic-amazing photos of it that I took on my trusty iPhone 2.  Naturally, I’d run almost all of them through the Instagram App that I love so dearly because every photo looks better with a vintage filter.  Am I right?  AM I RIGHT?  I’m right. 

instagram? we're pals.

Anyway, I thought I might order some prints of my doctored-up photographic achievements.  I logged onto Snapfish, uploaded my photos, and BAMMM – they look terrible.  I could order them if I wanted, but Instagram had resized them to the cute square shape I adore, and they would be blurry if I printed them out myself. DRATS!  I shook my fists in the air.

No way, I didn’t want to order 200+ blurry photos!  But, I liked my Instagram-ed photos better than my actual ones.  Dilemma…

I did some light googling along the lines of “how the heck am I going to get my Instagram prints now??” and I eventually found my answer: Printstagram.

Good news!  Lucky day!  By way of Printstagram, I had ENDLESS (okay, five) options of what I could do with my Instagram-ed photos.

I could order a large, high-quality poster made with my Instagram photos.  It’s 20″ x 40″ in size, and can accommodate anywhere between 50-400 photos.  Printstagram sizes them to fit the full poster size and arranges them in a clean grid.  All for only $25. 

STICKERS were another option.  Heck yes!  You get 252 stickers per order, so you’ll be able to use them liberally without breaking a sweat…or the bank.  A slick $10 will seal the deal.

The Tinybook.  Is there any cuter way to show off your pictures than THIS?  The photo quality is great, and tinybooks even magnet to your fridge.  Order 3 tinybooks with 24 photos in each for $10.

Tinybook too small?  No problemo.  Prinstagram offers the Minibook, as well.  The photos are printed back to back on card stock with a glossy photo-finish.  Photos are printed at just about the same size as they appear on your iPhone.  Order 2 minibooks with 50 photos in each for $12.

Or, you can opt for what I purchased: Miniprints.  Instagram miniprints are printed on card stock with a matte finish and just the right amount of weight to them.  It’s a simple and classy way to showcase your artistry.  Give them away to your friends, stick them in a scrapbook or on your walls, or carry a few in your wallet.  Order a set of 48 prints for $12.

my miniprints

Mine just arrived today!  So excited.  (Take note, future Printstagrammers: They ship from Taiwan, so expect for them to take their sweet time getting to you.) 

Check out Printstagram HERE.
Watch Printstagram’s product video HERE.
See what else Printstagram is doing with the Instagram platform HERE.

I’m a Printstagram FAN:)

xx, L

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As we were paying the bill at Holeman & Finch the other night, our server dropped off a bright orange business card that read, “Like my service?  Thank me on We&Co.”  She noticed the confused looks on our faces and explained that it was an iPhone app that we could use to rate her service + our experience with her at Holeman.  It sounded interesting to me, and I happen to like bright orange, so I checked it out…

We&Co is a free iPhone app (Atlanta-based, too!) that allows local businesses to register their employees.  Visitors can rate those employees (with an emphasis on positive criticism) and add them to your “favorite people” collection – kind of like Yelp.  

Presumably, the aggregate score will encourage others to frequent the employee’s place of business, thereby gaining them popularity and ultimately, more tips.  It also puts a name to the faces you see every day at your local eateries, drinkeries, and provisionaries.

You sign in with Twitter, Facebook, or a distinct We&Co account.  The app picks up current locations and employees, and allows you to add locations and employees to various locations.  You then select the employee in question and give them a virtual pat on the back, high five, fist pump, you get it…  The system allows you to follow your favorite employees (bartenders, for example, or hair dressers) from location to location, and employers can choose to reward you for your ratings.  (P.S. Many thanks to Tech Crunch for all the good info!)

As the bright orange business card says, “So give it a go.  See if it brightens your day.  See if it brightens someone else’s day.  We’re betting it will.”

That’s the Q+DD spirit!  We just love.

xx, L

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Hello!  I’m typing at you from sunny Panama City Beach, FL!  I took a few days off for some fun in the sun and it has been SUBLIME.

I have literally spent the last 4 days with my toes in the white sand, in not one stitch of makeup, with a gin + tonic in one hand and in the other? ...my new NOOK!

I am OBSESSED.

FYI the “Nook” is Barnes and Noble’s e-reader.  My mom has an Amazon Kindle and we spent the whole trip debating the merits of each…  she still loves hers but I’m still pretty happy with my choice for 2 main reasons: #1.  I got the new color version so in addition to books, I can also read my trashy gossip magazines AND #2. I have the CUTEST Jonathan Adler Nook-case EVER.

Witness:

 

How cute is this!? I mean, please!

The Nook is great.  Greg loaded my iTunes into it and I can also Tweet and check my email!  You can do everything with this thing. I was worried that would be a double edged sword- because I’m often too busy (distracted) to finish a single book, but lo and behold: I have read 4 books on this trip! (a book a day!) Here’s what I read:

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
You guys…it was GREAT.  Not only was it laugh-out-loud funny (if you’re planning on reading this in public, you’ve officially been warned.) but Tina also shares some pretty interesting insights – I think my favorite was the section entitled “The Rules of Improvisation That Will Change Your Life and Reduce Belly Fat* (*Improv will not reduce belly fat) and I really appreciated her commentary on media influencing politics…and vice versa.  I recommend this book 100% to anyone. The cover alone had me chuckling:


2. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me
This is a compilation of essays written by her staffers, friends, and family (her dog, Chunk, even has a chapter!) It was really funny and informative and definitely worth the afternoon I spent reading it.  I still prefer Chelsea’s first person books (Are You There, Vodka, Its Me, Chelsea and Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang)

3. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
What can I say? Chelsea makes a great beach read.  In case you’re living under a rock  and didn’t know this- MHL is the first book my lady love Chelsea wrote and if I’m not mistaken – written before she had her own talk show (while she was appearing in the hidden-camera show “Girls Behaving Badly”…which I LOVED)  I still prefer Are You There Vodka and Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang…but this was a great beach read and I’m happy to have completed the series in its entirety.  I love you, Chelsea. I’d order room service and watch TBS movie marathons with you anyday.

4. Skinny Bitch by Rory Friedman and Kim Barnouin
I picked this book up on the recommendation of my friend Angel.  Angel told me this book changed her life and her body…and since has a totally smokin’ hot figure I figured I’d better comply.  Witness:

 

Sandwiched between two of my favorite skinny b--s. Stefani (left) and Angel (right)

Angel wasn’t the only one to recommend this book to me, many of my skinny b— friends have read it and I am here to tell you it TERRIFIED me.   It probably got a LITTLE too conspiracy-theory-y for my taste (pun intended) and it’s pretty extreme, but you know, I think there’s some pretty valuable information regarding our food supply in the US and it gave me a lot of food for thought (pun intended) about my diet.  (I’ll let you know how that goes.) I think it’s a must-read.

And there you have it!  It seems I DID actually accomplish something other than this wicked tan* these last few days!

Catch you when I’m back in the A!

xx, L

(*Deep apologies to my dermatologist and to my airbrush tan artist, Tiffers.)

 

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Judy Jetson is a bit of an enigma to me.

I mean, besides chat on the phone, all the girl seemed to do was  shop… and yet she rocked the exact same midriff-bearing pink space suit every. single day.

The bigger mystery for me, however, is how she bleached her hair to ultimate platinum levels and never, ever seemed to have as much as one split end!

I’m not sure… but I’m pretty sure Judy Jetson’s haircare is available today…at Muse Salon in Alpharetta. (BTW – Muse is absolutely gorgeous and full of pretty people.  I like that in a salon.)

I went up to Muse and placed my tired tresses in the hands of salon co-owner Daniel and stylist Megan and I am here to tell you my hair did a 180.  I am talking noticeable, marked difference.

Enter Kérastase Chronologiste  and the Kérastase Diagnostic Camera.

First, Megan analyzed my hair and scalp with the super magnifying camera and it…was scary.   Breakage everywhere.  Witness:

My actual hair. Yikes.

Then they hooked it up to this bigger computer and I answered a few short questions and it was able to make recommendations on products and treatments based on both the health of my hair and my personal beauty priorities.

That’s when the magic began.  First of all, the Chronologiste treatment looks like a little dish of caviar:

Megan mixed all the ingredients into a paste a paste and massaged into my hair (which was heavenly!) After a few minutes under the heat lamps and a fabulous blowdry… my hair was healthy, bouncy, swingy perfection. More than that – my color looks brighter and my blowdry was quicker. Facts, both!  I totally recommend this treatment.

Bonus: they’re also doing thatFeatherlocks” thing up there.  Have you seen this?

The first person I saw with a feather was Greg’s brother’s incredibly stylish lady-friend Emma. Check it:

Since then, I have seen no less than a bazillion girls with all kinds of different colored feathers secured to their own hair with silicone beads.  Apparently, the feathers perform just like your own hair for 8 weeks!  “Bundles” go for $35/bundle and the average “Featherlock” is 2 bundles.

They are pretty discreet, but f I can figure out how to completely hide a hot pink feather M through F I am ALL ABOUT IT. Just saying.

Listen, go check out Muse.  They’re incredibly cutting edge, elegant and…high tech.

Just like my girl Judy.

xx, L

Muse Salon

4620 Kimball Bridge Rd # 5
Alpharetta, GA 30005

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Hi!  Hello.  :)

I’m back from California + I’m happy to report that my week was pretty blissful.

(view from my room at the resort in sunny palm springs)

It wasn’t too shabby to wake up to THAT every morning, I have to admit… 

Constant sunshine + dry heat weren’t too hard to deal with either.  I’m going to brag: my hair looked amazing.

i mean, really, it was awesome.

Anyway, prior to my departure I had a bit of an issue to handle.  Merely days after professing my love for my iPhone to the world, it was taken from me.  Stolen!  Just like that. 

i'm pretty sure that he's the culprit...

Gone. 

I filed a police report + am now in like Flynn w/ the hard working folks at Midtown Blue(And, God bless ‘em!)  I worked with my insurance company – PSA: if your iPhone is not currently insured, insure it today! – to recoup $$$ to purchase a replacement phone.  While in CA, my check arrived in the mail + yesterday during lunch I ran to the Apple store in Lenox Mall to grab a new one. 

I got the pearly white iPhone 4.  Please behold its beauty:

la la la la LAAAA!

(Which you are likely to only see here b/c I have since covered it with a supa-flashy neon orange + pink Kate Spade cover.)  What did you expect?  Really. 

kate spade...spade.

It’s new – they just got it in last week.  It’s bright, loud + slightly obnoxious.  So, it’s perfect.  (And, they discontinued my old, relatively-understated case…)  A colleague referred to it as a “sherbet lego.”  I loved that.

I am hoping to have better luck with this iPhone.  I plan to treat it with the deepest respect + not leave it sitting out on a table at The Warren so that it could easily get swiped again.  iPhone, I’ve changed.  You’ll see.

xx, L

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In case you’ve been wondering, I’ve been loving my iPhone 4It’s a love affair, really…

And now, I’m loving more than just the adorable (albeit not-REALLY-functional) Kate Spade case! 

I take pictures like crazy + edit them all fancy-like thanks to Hipstamatic + Instagram photography apps.  I have about 15 Words w/ Friends games going on at any given time (frequent exchange at Slick + my condo.  Slick to Lindsay, “What are you doing?”  Lindsay to Slick, “Playing words w/ my friendsssssss!”)…and I’m getting pretty good at Fruit Ninja.  My entire social network is at the tip of my fingers (fingertips?) whenever I feel inclined to check Facebook, tweet or check in on Foursquare.  I am always in the loop on Gilt Groupe sales + I’m never without my trusty Scoutmob app.

In the past, I’ve blogged about TracknBurn + how great of an app I think it is (still do), but now I’d like to bring two more to your attention:

1 – MealSnap

Jo Duff alerted me to this one.  (Thanks, Jo Duff.)  It’s an iPhone app that counts your calories when you take a picture of what you’re eating.  Within minutes of taking a picture of a meal + matching it to a database of 500,000 food items, MealSnap sends an alert with a range of calories for the photographed meal.  (I haven’t downloaded it b/c I enjoy being in denial…but I think it’s super interesting + could be very eye opening.) 

Read more about it here: MEALSNAP INFO
Buy MealSnap for $2.99: SNAP MY FOOD

2. Taxi Magic

(This is Slick’s new favorite app.)  Taxi Magic is the first nationwide free online taxi booking service that is directly integrated with taxi dispatch systems.  You can book from your mobile phone or the Web with a few quick taps, track the arrival of your taxi, charge the ride to your credit card + expense the trip with an e-receipt.  In Atlanta, it’s intergrated with Checker Cab.

Download Taxi Magic here: TAXI, TAXI!

On demand cabs?  I’m down!  :)

iPhone, oh iPhone…I love you.  Really, I do.

xx, L

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I never thought I’d jump on the iPhone bandwagon.  I really didn’t.  I’m just not that into technology to freak out over a phone.  (Please witness my former command station below…)

Well, no longer b/c surprise, surprise…this weekend Slick gave me my Hanukkah gift – an iPhone 4!

He said that he was sick of watching me text (hitting the same button three times to get the ”I”) on my $5 flip phone (what?!  it was a good deal…).  It was the most perfect gift for me.  Something I’d never buy for myself + that I’m totally + completely OBSESSED with now!

When we were in the Apple store, I was way more concerned about the case than I was the actual phone.  After much deliberation, here’s the one I selected…

It’s lime green on the sides!  :)

However, I spent the following 30 hours downloading apps.  The iPhone is changing my LIFE.  My first app purchase?  Fart App. (obv.)  My second?  Tracknburn.

What’s Tracknburn, you ask?

Here’s a little breakdown:

Revolutionary Food Tracking: Take the guesswork out of daily weight management.  Tracknburn calculates your daily nutritional needs on the fly to help you stay on top of your goals.  As your weight changes, your daily goals will too so that you constantly stay in-tune with your goals.  Say good bye to plateaus!

Accurate Exercise Tracking: You burn calories much differently than the person next to you.  Tracknburn knows that and takes care of it for you.  Simply pick your activity from one of the 500 activities in our database, enter your time, and pick your Burn intensity.  Tracknburn will tell you how many calories you burned instantly.

Weight Tracking: Select the scale, scroll to your weight, tap the lock.  That’s it.  Your weight is recorded and shown graphically on the same page.  Want the details of your weight management over time?  Export a report from your device and you get instant feedback.

Drink Up: Research has shown that simply drinking two cups of water right before eating a meal speeds up the sense of fullness, decreases calorie consumption, and causes more profound weight loss over time.  Tracknburn makes it simple to monitor and track your water consumption.

Click HERE to read more about Tracknburn.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Tracknburn

It’s a great app (so up my alley) + well worth the mere $3.99 to help me set + monitor my weight loss goals.  I used it a ton yesterday + today already.  Check it out!

(In case you were wondering…I also downloaded the following slightly-less-useful apps: Talking John, Elf Ur Face, Bubble, Finger Scan, Air Horn, Etch A Sketch, Glow Draw, Angry Birds, Zippo Lighter + Oregon Trail.)

I l.o.v.e. my new iPhone!  It’s so fun to be a part of the 21st century… 

xx, L

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It is the WEEKEND, yo. (I’d say TGIF, but I have NO idea where this week went)  

A few things:  

1. This weekend: not one but TWO SEC Championship Pub Crawls! 

Buckhead- $25 for 8 bars, a buffet + a few free drinks!  http://www.buckheadpubcrawl.com/
Midtown – $10 for 10 bars + drink specials: http://www.atlantabartours.com/

2. On sale now: Tickets for Spiral Entertainment Party on Peachtree for New Years Eve: all-inclusive: booze, buffets, and ballrooms in the old Macy’s building on Peachtree.  Multiple DJs, bars everywhere you turn, it’s going to be amazing.  $10 off with promo code “kraselskyNYE” www.spiralentertainment.com 

 

3. Date Night Magazine December issue: READ IT!  Make sure you’re minding your P’s and Q’s by checking out 10 Holiday Do’s and Don’ts and get up to speed on Elvis coverband the Pelvis Breastlies with Ashley Hesseltine’s article, Love them Tender. Click HERE.  

4. Don’t forget about the Midtown Pop Up Shop!  (ET and I shall be hitting it hardcore on Saturday!) 

5. From Tech Crunch (Crunch Gear): cheap stocking stuffers for the technically inclined (click HERE) and gifts for the Hipster in your life (click HERE) 

Oh, oh and… 

Happy Hanukkah! 

(Jewish Yorkies! Thanks for finding this picture Greg.)

xx, L

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Scoutmob Atlanta has made my social life soooo much more affordable, and now it’s even venturing into my wardrobe.  How fantastic!  Much to my extreme delight, this morning I woke up to a Scoutmob deal for 50% off of clothing @ Fab’rik - Buckhead!

Fab'rik - Buckhead

If you are asking“Scout-who??”…I am seriously ashamed of you.  I hope you’ve liked needlessly paying full price for all the delicious eats I’ve been enjoying for 50% off over the past few months…  In fact, over the past two weeks alone, I’ve used Scoutmobs at Pacci, Murphy’s + Varasano’s!  Planning to hit up Parish and Harry + Sons before Thanksgiving, as well.  Honestly, I really don’t see the need to go anywhere w/o one these days.

Basically, if you sign up for Scoutmob e-mails (for all of you living under a coupon rock), you receive one a day for up to 50% off of a local restaurant – and NOW stores, too!  Only a few cities around the U.S. are lucky enough to receive Scoutmob deals, so we should feel very lucky + readily take advantage of them!  And, did I mention that they are FREE?  You don’t have to pay anything at all to get a deal from Scoutmob!

The coupons don’t expire for a few months, so you should be in no rush to use them immediately.  Most of the November Scoutmobs expire sometime in February.  To grab the deal, you simply click on the “get it free” icon on the coupon e-mail.  Then, it brings up a page where you can insert your phone number or e-mail address (what I do since I’m ghetto), and the coupon code is sent to you within seconds!  As you all know, I don’t have an iPhone – but there’s a really great Scoutmob app.  Frankly, I kind of want to get an iPhone solely for the app…  It would pretty much pay for itself with what I’d be saving around town w/ all the excellent Scoutmob deals, anyway.  So, totally justified?

So, back to Fab’rik…  I love this store + the new Buckhead location is even better than the Midtown one!  EVERYONE, I mean everyone, should download this deal today!  Fab’rik is perfect for finding a cute outfit for the winter holidays or NYE + a totally appropriate place to pick up a thoughtful gift for a fashionista friend!  50% off just sweetens the shopping experience even more!

Fab'rik - Buckhead

I’m SO super excited that Scoutmob is venturing into retail clothing stores!  And, I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Join the ‘mob: http://www.scoutmob.com/atlanta

xx, L

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For me, Sundays usually involve The BMG: Brunch.  Mani/Pedi.  Grocery.

(My version of the GTL, I guess.)

But yesterday it was BMG… S? You guys: I made Scones.

WHAT?!?!?!

Yep. Post-Lily’s, I was cruising Kroger and decided to take the Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner iPhone app for a ride.  I clicked “Breakfast” “Grain” and “Under 45 Minutes” (I was feeling ambitious) and it spit out this delicious-looking recipe for Scottish Oat Scones. Witness:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and currants. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl, beat egg until frothy, and stir in melted butter and milk. Pour into the well, and mix to create a soft dough. Pat dough into two 1/2 inch thick circles. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Score 8 wedges into each circle of dough.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until risen and browned. Split wedges, and serve warm.

They were WAY easy.
I actually doubled the recipe and took one batch to work with me and sent a batch home with G.  (So I was able to substitute ½ of the white flour for wheat flour without any hard math…)

Oh, and because I got this nifty little recipe on allrecipes.com?  I even have the stats:
Per Serving:  Calories: 164 | Total Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 29mg

Yet another instance where my life is greatly improved by my beloved iPhone. (I swear I don’t work for Steve Jobs.)

iLove my iPhone

Plus, a scone is a totally fancy breakfast.  And you KNOW how I adore the Fancy…

(I even broke out my fancy plates!)

xx, L

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This morning I’m excited to be running in the Technology Association of Georgia’s “Techie 10K” (Do dri-fit shirts come with pocket protectors?) After running 6+ miles and all that stimulating discussion about Java development and Unix administration I am certain I am going to be RAVENOUS.

Lucky for me, there are a couple of fun food options today!   Choose your own adventure, if you will.

1.    Battle of the Burgers

Atlanta’s FIRST burger festival and competition is today in Virginia-Highland!  The contenders are:

Burgs, Sweetwater brews, Barefoot Wine, Whynatte milkshakes, photobooths, live music and philanthropy (the event benefits Embraced – click here for more info)…amazing!   May the best burg win!

2.    2nd Annual Atlanta BBQ Festival at Atlantic Station

Team sport: 50 professional and “backyard” teams from across the southeast in a BBQ duel to the death (ok, not death, but there’s more than $12,000 in cash prizes and lots of BBQ ego at stake!)

Atlanta’s Best: 10 of Atlanta’s TOP BBQ restos will be dishing up some of their favorites both by the bite and plateful!

Tunes: Live blues and bluegrass from local favorites!

The only problem is: BBQ vs BurgersHow do you decide?  It would be like…

Ah well, see ya at the finish line!

xx, L

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Oopsie!  Do you have a broken iPhone?

Does your iPhone screen look like this??

I don’t own an iPhone (yet), but I definitely consider myself to be iPhone-friendly. 

(My phone actually looks a bit more like this…)

ZACK ATTACK!  Whatever…don’t judge.  I really like to play snake…

Anyway, my heart goes out to folks who have accidentally destroyed their $$$ iPhones – it really does.  And now, I have a solution for you!

On my way to Sushi Kiku in Buckhead for the second time last week, I spotted the restaurant’s next door neighbor, UBREAKIFIX.  This is such a brilliant idea – such a big market for it. 

According to the store’s website, they handle iPhone repair, parts, broken 3G screen, water damage and dropped iPhones.  I’m sure it’s for a pretty penny, but at least there’s hope, folks!

UBREAKIFIX website: http://www.ubreakifix.com/

And since I am soooooo super nice, I am more than happy to let you borrow my indestructible, antique phone in the meantime while your iPhone is being repaired - just please don’t threaten my snake high score or else YOUBEATITIBEATYOU.  Consider yourself warned.

xx, L

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