((little fat notebook))

The hidden gems of iOS 9

laelene Post in general blog, reviews，Tags: apple, ios, pictures, reviews, software, technology

17 September 2015

I just got around to upgrading my phone to iOS 9 today and there were some surprises in store for me! First was the new font, which is a bit… cuter, I’d say. It’s hard to describe but I feel like it’s a bit thinner, more rounded, and seems slightly more spaced out. Most people probably won’t even notice it.

The biggest shock was when the keyboard popped up and *gasp* there were lowercase letters! This seemed like such a basic thing, yet it took years to finally get it. In fact, I’ve already converted to Swiftkey as my default keyboard because the Apple one just doesn’t cut it.

ios 9 new safari bookmark icons and lowercase keyboard

As you might also note from here, Safari bookmarks now show a letter when there’s no custom icon from the site. Previously, they used the Safari compass icon as a placeholder.

Switching between apps takes on a new feel as you swipe in the opposite direction now. It glides more but I find it harder to close two apps at once.

Menu box pop-ups feel rounder and more spaced out.

ios 9 new photos folders for selfies and screenshots

New default photo folders group together “Selfies” and “Screenshots”

Photos have a scrubber at the bottom, where you can quickly navigate through.

Other nice updates allow you to zoom on videos to get a better view, quickly select a bunch of photos by swiping across them (no more individual taps!), and swipe down on a photo to go back to the thumbnail view of an album.

ios 9 new notes with checklist, sketching, and image capabilities

Notes gets a lot more functionality, with the ability to create checklists, draw sketches, and insert photos.

Notes can also be put into folders, making it easier to organize.

Now easily add a webpage to your notes too!

ios 9 search within settings functionality

Search within settings when you can’t remember where something like battery usage would be found (don’t we all have trouble with this?)

ios 9 view event showing schedule before and after event

Viewing events in Calendar show you a glimpse of your time before and after the event.

ios 9 reminders with number of reminders and overdue items shown

Reminders have nice summaries of how many items are in each list and which of those are overdue.

Sometimes text runs into each other though.

And then of course there are plenty of other changes that you probably heard about as well:

-directions for public transit in select cities

-smarter prompts from Siri: swiping right from the home screen pulls up suggestions for contacts, calendar events, apps, and more

-“Back to [previous app]” option in the top left now lets you quickly return to the app you just came from

-Low power setting to conserve your phone’s power usage

-Improvements to performance so battery life is extended

-Passbook is now Wallet and you’ll be able to add loyalty cards in addition to other forms of digital cards/tickets

-A News app for aggregating news that you might want to read

-“Remind me of this” prompts Siri to set up a reminder about whatever you are looking at

-Add attachments in Mail – not just for photos anymore!

So far I’m really liking the changes and I look forward to stumbling upon others that make the experience better in subtle ways. I’m not upgrading my iPad mini just yet because a coworkers told us that the version of Reflector we use isn’t compatible with it. I need to be able to show my tablet screen for demos and webinars and I’m not keen on paying for the newer version of the software just so I can have iOS 9 on my tablet. Have you upgraded to this new operating system? What do you think so far?

Homegrown Collective August 2015 review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, bug spray, candles, homegrown collective, insect repellants, pictures, reviews, salves, subscriptions

13 September 2015

Hah! How perfect that this came when I’ve been having some skin flare-ups. I wonder if they’ll be good for that in addition to actual bug bites? I don’t know what is causing my redness and bumps but it might just be worth a try.

The Homegrown Collective GREENBOX is $39 per box + $9 shipping (or as discounted as $429 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with fun and easy projects to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program you can apply to join.

Project #1, DIY anti-itch salve: This looks really promising for soothing itching skin of all sorts. I love how simple it is, so it can be quickly put together and slathered on. I’ve rubbed it on my swollen fingers and so far so good with the soothing effect. I may smell like I’m trying to ward off vampires, but if it helps with the itching then I’m all in.

Project #2, DIY plant-based bug spray: Whoa, there’s a lot going on here! All sorts of scents to keep those bugs at bay and create a barrier between us and anything that might want to to irritate our skin. Mosquitoes, beware! This should definitely pack a punch.

Project #3, DIY mint citronella candle: I know that citronella is great for keeping bugs away, so this is a great candle to have for burning outdoors. Luckily, it smells good to us humans and can provide a nice freshness to the air. I like to keep the door open in the evening so the cats can play on the porch, so I might try having this candle by the door to hopefully keep the insects from flying in.

It’s great to have these natural ways of repelling insects so we don’t have to worry about what we’re putting on our skin or what we’re breathing in. This box offers three great ways to keep the bugs away and/or soothe any bites that you might have gotten.

Want your own? Subscribe to the Homegrown Collective to start getting projects too!

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Petit Vour August 2015 review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: hair care, pictures, products, reviews, scrubs, serums, skincare, subscriptions

09 September 2015

I was really excited about this box, which came with a really large full-size product to try. Everything happened to be from a brand I’ve experienced before, but all products were absolutely new to me.

Petit Vour is $15 per box (or as much as $30 for international subscribers) and comes with vegan beauty, skincare, and other personal care products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free boxes (email contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you if you sign up!).

Juara Clove Flower & Tumeric Serum – What fancy ingredients! I’ve never had any product with clove or tumeric before. A little bit is enough to nourish the whole face and it has a slippery texture that then absorbs into skin well.

Modern Minerals Tea Rose Finishing Glow – Hmm I’m debating whether I should use this product. It seems like a blush-like item and I don’t usually use that, but this seems like fun to apply. I might try it on my cheeks or even eyes, for a rosier look.

Yarok Feed Your Shine hair serum & Feed Your Curls defining creme – This definitely brings more shine and luster to my hair. I just don’t like the smell though, so I’d have to use it super sparingly to not get a whiff of it with each move. The creme seems like a cool product to style with. I hardly ever do my hair, but I’ll pull this out the next time I do.

MyChelle Fruit Enzyme Scrub – I love this product! So happy that we got the full size to use. It smells wonderfully of something sweet and the little grains offer excellent exfoliation. It’s so much fun to rub around on my face and I feel great using it.

I’m a fan of what came this time and just the scrub was more than worth the value. What do you think of this box?

[This post mentions a referral program. Signing up and emailing contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Pain and discomfort

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: experiences, health, pain, panda

06 September 2015

The past two weeks have been pretty brutal. Ever since coming back from vacation, I’ve been dealing with a slew of (mostly) skin-related issues. Rashes, bumps, itching, swelling… it makes it hard for me to move and do things at times. In fact, after being out for three hours today (and moving veeery slowly), I was ready to call it quits. I couldn’t take any more pit stops or detours and we had to head home.

Unfortunately it’s not great at home either – I’m applying creams and salves left and right, eating medicine, applying ice packs. A few times a day the itching gets so bad I can’t help but scratch until I’m red and likely just exacerbating the problem. It seems that as soon as the creams are applied, the soothing effect diminishes to null. What a miserable way to spend the day, always uncomfortable or hurting!

I’ve never had so much of my skin feeling so raw and tender before. It’s difficult to find any position that doesn’t hurt this or that. I’ve been waking myself up in the early morning when I subconsciously start scratching and the pain gets to me. Have you experienced this before? The best I can hope for is a quick healing process and enough distractions in the mean time to keep my mind off it.

Now even Panda is having some problems: he woke up this morning with a swollen knuckle and two giant bug bites. Is there some skin condition bug thing going on for us? It better go away soon!

Escape Monthly August: Hawaii Box review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body mists, boxes, coasters, dried fruit, food, granola bars, guidebooks, hawaii, keychains, lotions, pictures, postcards, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, sunscreen, travel

03 September 2015

Wow, Hawaii again? I hadn’t paid attention to when they announced the next month’s theme or I might have thought about the wisdom of a third Hawaii-themed box. Still, it turned out ok and there isn’t much overlap in products, which is great.

Escape Monthly is just under $40 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – see end of post) and comes with a variety of food, home, skincare items themed around a city/region. Each box comes with a guide for that area. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral commission program.

(click to enlarge and read full messaging)

I must say, I’m pleased with the selection here and really found some new favorites!

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Maui – Darn, this is the same one I got in the second Hawaii box. I wish it was a third kind so I could keep amassing my collection! Now I don’t know what to do with this. Maybe donate it to a library?

Island Art Store map of old Hawaii vintage-style postcard – Adorable postcard that I’m going to keep as art! I love the look and feel and it’s a great little map of Hawaii. It’s just too nice to actually use!

Pure-Aid sport sunscreen – While sunscreen is important, I wish they’d included either a local brand or a tropical scented one at least. The sport version just seems generic, though it will be useful for the outdoor activities you’d want to do in Hawaii.

Kahala Pineapple slices – These are amazing snacks that I already want more of. I love how the pineapple is soft and slightly chewy. Most dried pineapple gets too hard and chewy for my liking. The sweetness was just right to offer a snack that’s also a treat. I see they’re in Whole Foods all around Hawaii, but what about elsewhere?! I’ll keep searching every Whole Foods I go to.

glass coasters – Totally random items that weren’t even listed but this pair of coasters is one of my favorite items. Ever since being a homeowner, I’ve enjoyed mundane household things. Like cute glass coasters. The design of seashells fits the Hawaiian theme nicely and these coasters add an elegant look to our coffee table.

surfboard keychain – This surfboard is nice and smooth with a glossy finish. I love the look of it but I wish I’d gotten any color other than pink! Oh well, it still looks good and I might swap out the Australian surfboard keychain on my keys for this one now.

Island Soap Candle Works plumeria blossom body wash – The body wash smells great, with a nice light flowery scent. I’ve never had anything plumeria scented before! I’m surprised this is the bonus item and would have expected the surfboard or coasters, but hey we seem to always get the bonus item anyway so that’s great.

Ola coconut body lotion – I’ve got this same scent from this brand in the body butter, which is of course thicker than this lotion. The coconut scent is quite subtle once you rub it on and the consistency is somewhat runny.

Ola passion fruit body mist – Whoa, what an immensely fruity smell! Great in the spring to liven things up, or to remind you of blossoming flowers. I like that this spray can be used around the room, on linens, or of course, on the body. It’s sure to add a little boost to the experience.

MacaMania Anahola tropical granola – I’ll never love granola bars, but this one looks pretty good. I’m saving it for a trip when we do something like hiking or a long drive. It’s great to have a burst of energy for those types of things.

I’m happy with the different products being showcased this time around, but I do wish they wouldn’t rely on Hawaii so much. The third year in a row isn’t necessary when there are so many places in the world yet to explore. Which products from this Hawaii Escape Monthly box would you want too? If you want to sign up, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to get a code for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription.

Next up is Greece! Now that’s a great place we haven’t escaped to yet and I can’t wait to see what comes. I’ve been there before and really enjoyed it, so I hope some things remind me of my trip.

Treatsie August 2015 review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, candies, caramels, cookies, food, hard candy, pictures, recipes, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, treats, treatsie

31 August 2015

I’ve had these treats for awhile but didn’t get to try them all yet. Still, here’s a look for you on what came this month!

Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 3-4 brands. That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program to earn store credit. Use my referral link to get your first box FREE!

Walker Creek Sea Salt Caramel: I can always have more caramel! This is a really soft kind that is a nice morsel to pop in your mouth. I do tend to prefer mine a little more firm, but the taste is great and I will eat them all.

Butterfields Peach, Lemon & Honeybell buds: These are the ones I haven’t tried yet, but I don’t know why. They were the most intriguing for me and I sort of want to keep them around longer. I have no idea what honeybell is, but it sounds good. These are great snacks to have in the heat, since they won’t melt on you.

Grey Ghost Bakery Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter cookies: I’ve had this brand from previous boxes and I like their cookies. My all-time favorite are the lemon ones. These are nice and I enjoyed them, but they don’t quite top the lemon ones!

I liked and will eat every single thing here. I think they’ve finally figured out a great way to use the other side of their cards, with another awesome recipe! I like this new approach. Which items do you like from this box? To get Treatsie, sign up with my link and get your first box free!

DANI Naturals: a hard case to crack

laelene Post in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: home, panda, pictures, reed diffusers, tools

29 August 2015

For secret santa last year, my pledge bros and I did a long distance exchange. Most of us are distributed around the world now, so it was a fun way to reconnect and send each other gifts. I got a lovely bottle of DANI’s lemongrass lavender reed diffuser. When my most recent reed diffuser ran out, I eagerly opened up the box for this one. Little did I know how challenging opening it would be! Since Panda and I don’t drink, we don’t have one of those wine bottle openers that might have helped with the whole process. Instead, this is what happened…

First we tried using pliers and other tools to grip the stopper and wiggle it out. It was the soft rubbery kind though, so it would just bend out of shape and wouldn’t budge. Eventually it started to break apart so I knew we needed to try other methods.

dani naturals reed diffuser bottle with paperclip trying to move stopper

So then I got a paperclip and started shoving it down the side of stopper. It was so tight I couldn’t get any sort of hook shape going.

dani naturals reed diffuser bottle with paperclip inserted at two points to leverage popping out stopper

I tried putting in the other end to leverage them against each other.

dani naturals reed diffuser bottle with nail trying to release stopper

After bending the paperclip until it was near the breaking point, we decided to get a nail and screw it in the top.

dani naturals reed diffuser bottle with nail to slowly move stopper

After MUCH wiggling, we saw progress! The dirty part is where we’d tried pliers and such. The bit of clean below that is how much slowly came out.

dani naturals reed diffuser bottle with stopper finally pulled out

I had to keep screwing the screw back down since it would start ripping out, but eventually we got that satisfying ‘pop’ of freedom!

tools used attempting to open dani naturals reed diffuser bottle

Can you believe it took all these tools and a good half hour or more to get this silly thing open? They really need to redesign the stopper.

At least now I get to enjoy the lemony smell of my reed diffuser!

Yogi Surprise August 2015 review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: body wipes, boxes, braclets, food, jewelry, reviews, snacks, subscriptions, yoga, yogi surprise

27 August 2015

This box was waiting for me when I got home from my trip! It’s eclectic and offers some cool stuff.

Yogi Surprise is just under $36 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – use my referral links from this post) and comes with yoga gear, skincare, food, and other lifestyle products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you free boxes.

SunBiotics chocolate almonds – These are very crunchy, with a mild cocoa flavor. They’re coated in powder, so it wasn’t quite the type of chocolate almonds I thought. They’re pretty tasty and make for a great healthy snack. Since they’re raw and have added probiotics, it should help with digestion as well.

Aura Cacia Revive body cloths – Ooo, what nice wipes for the body! These are perfect for a quick refreshing cleaning on a hot day or after a workout. I don’t want to open them just yet so they don’t dry out, but I can’t wait to try them.

My Tat inspiring temporary tattoos – If I ever want to show off my yoga lifestyle, I can put one of these one. There’s a nice collection of yoga symbols to decorate your body with.

African turquoise bracelet – They seem to really like including bracelets now – this is my fourth from them! Each one is made with something different, but they are similar in that they’re composed of beads. I might keep some for myself and I might give others away.

Yogi Surprise Fire to the Core yoga sequence series card – This is a new initiative that they’re doing and I think it’s a great way to tie in yoga to the box more. This cute little card reminds you of the sequence they put together and you can also check out the special page highlighting the full sequence complete with video.

Jem raw & organic Cinnamon Red Maca almond spread – Next time we have bagels in the office, I will give this a try. I might not like the almond taste as a spread, but the cinnamon could mask that. If that doesn’t work, I’m sure my coworkers can help me eat this.

Neelu Kaur Yogini Bliss – I can’t pick out the scents comprising this, but it’s a nice blend of essential oils and smells sweet and slightly minty. It’s great for breathing in to relax and clear your mind.

There were some great new items in this box that I look forward to using. I’m glad to see the item count back up again, which gives me a chance to try more products. Which of these items do you like most?

A string of travel troubles

laelene Post in stories，Tags: experiences, family, panda, travel

25 August 2015

For the past two weeks, my family has been struck by some really unfortunate incidents. It started exactly two weeks ago, when we happily drove from the hotel to Pier 91 in Seattle. My parents, husband, aunt, cousin, and I were set to embark on our week-long cruise to Alaska. After dropping them off, Panda and I drove to the nearest rental car location to drop off the car. The plan was to walk back to the pier, which was about 3 miles away. As we were enjoying the day, debating whether we should take a bus for part of the trip, I got a phone call from my parents: my aunt and cousin would not be allowed on the cruise.

It was one of those surreal moments where I thought, “Could this actually be happening?” But indeed it could and it did. Turns out they needed Canadian visas since there was a stop in Victoria, BC. We were never informed of this and didn’t even realize there was a Canadian stop along the way. It was too late to do anything at that point, so I started looking up last-minute flights to Oakland, where my other cousin was. We found the nearest bus stop and got to the pier as quickly as possible. On the way, I managed to find a decently priced flight that afternoon. It was pretty devastating to see my aunt and cousin for the last time, having to send them off to the airport when we should have spent a week together on our “family honeymoon” (as I called it).

That totally changed the tone of our trip and it just wasn’t the same. We still managed to enjoy ourselves, but not nearly as much as we could have.

Upon arriving home after the vacation, I then heard from my mom that my dad nearly missed his flight back to China. They overestimated the time they had and he barely got let on the plane while his luggage was not allowed. So my mom had to ship the contents separately. We’re having some bad luck, my mom told me, don’t go out if you don’t have to and let it blow over. She felt that we needed time for the pattern to break.

The next day, I was thinking about my upcoming plans (and the other big vacation of the year, to Europe) when I suddenly realized that a week of team events at work coincided with my grand vacation. The very week that my team lead had asked us to check our availability for was the week that I’d be gone for my trip. I can’t believe I had not made the connection earlier; everyone had likely already booked their flights. I felt absolutely awful and didn’t know what to do. I considered the costs of rearranging the trip, but with multiple flights and some prepaid hotels, it would be too much. This was my first big screw-up and I profusely apologized when I told my team lead. Luckily, he’s a very chill guy, so he didn’t make a fuss about it. I still feel bad though, and irresponsible.

So then I thought that maybe things were on the up and up. When my mom told me about my aunt losing her bag and having it stole in SF, I thought the troubles were back. But then it turns out the thief got hit by a car (what?!) and the police were able to return her purse when the processed the scene. Wow. And I did get a smile first thing Monday morning, when I had a gift on my desk: a bag full of cat toys. One of the guys who worked in our co-working space dropped it by over the weekend. Last Friday was his last day (of course his two weeks had to be during my vacation) and he’d been meaning to bring his extra cat things, but he kept forgetting. So I was super surprised when it actually showed up!

I’m hoping that this all means the unfortunate circumstances will stop plaguing us now. I’m generally a pretty lucky person, so I’d like things to return to normal.

Homegrown Collective July 2015 review

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: green, homegrown collective, pictures, projects, reviews, soaps

23 August 2015

Ooo, another soap box! Almost a year ago, we got a similar box, but the recipes are mostly different this time. I like that they used the same three base soaps, but came up with some more soap types to try out. The charcoal one is the same as last year, but that means I get to try it with both possible bases (white and clear). I want to try using some of the fun molds I’ve gotten, like stars or ducks.

Project #1, DIY charcoal soap: As mentioned, this soap is the only repeat from the last box. Since you can try it with two different soap bases, I look forward to being able to make both! Yeah, I still haven’t made the soap from the last round… I just have so many bars waiting to be used! I’ll make these when I finally work through some of the backlog I’ve managed to accumulate.

Project #2, DIY rosemary mint soap: I don’t think I’ve had a rosemary soap before, so this is a cool one to try. I certainly enjoy cooking with rosemary and I like the benefits that it is purported to have for the skin. Detoxifying soaps are my fav!

Project #3, DIY cacao chocolate soap: For me, this is the most likely candidate for the luffah and I can’t wait to try it. I will look for some extra ingredients to incorporate as well, just to make things more exciting. It’s so much fun to get full control over how your soap will be made! I wasn’t sure when the cinnamon sticks were supposed to be used, so I figure this one would be the perfect fit. I’ll probably shave off some and then break off some bits to mix in.

I prefer using soap over body wash, so I’m more than happy to get another box of them. With these pre-made bars, it’s super easy to customize them the way I like and have fun creating something unique. These ingredients should sit pretty well, so I will hold off on making them until I’m closer to using them. I’ve got a drawer that’s full of other soaps at the moment!

Want your own? Subscribe to the Homegrown Collective to start getting projects too!

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