Hello iPhone

Case: Kate Spade

When someone says that The iPhone hasn't changed, I disagree after coming back to it from 3+ years ago. I've been in Android world since 2012, and just came back to iPhone because it got to be quite bothersome transferring media between an android phone and MacBook. 

But there were things I loved about my Android that I brought to my Apple platform and think that are superior to the stock apps on the iPhone:

1) Google : Not the Chrome browser, I'm talking about the Google search engine. When you first open it, there's a voice searching option (and it picks up words much better and faster than Siri).  Based on your caches/cookies through recent searches, it customizes informational cards right below it, and intelligently knows where you work and the time it takes to get there (if location is enabled)

2) Google Calendar: This Calendar is the bomb! The platform is very visual, and allows you drag the top down and view a splitscreen between the full month view and list of daily tasks. Every time you designate a location for an event, it imports a beautiful image of the place from Google.  Really visual and pretty!

3) Google Drive & Keep: If you haven't made out by now that I love visually appealing apps vs. wordy apps, this has GOT TO confirm it. Keep literally looks like sticky notes on a board and I love it! I can view more than my Evernote allows. Google Drive was my lifesaver for backing up all of my photos and videos from the Android. Unlike the iCloud, to my experience so far, you can create multiple email/login accounts and have  15GB of free storage to begin. iCloud is 5GB free. So there's just more flexibility to the Google Drive route.

So those are my top 3 apps to use over the basic iPhone apps. 

Side note, I don't usually talk about my interests in tech but today it was pretty fitting being dressed up as computer software for Halloween

at work today, ha!  

Shout out to all you other nerds, whether at heart or just to play dress up, and Happy Halloween-Eve. 

Tell me your favorite apps for iPhone & how they make your daily gadget-use easier!

Birthday Cake & Karts

 ^ glorious cheesecake ^

^ I'm not surprised this little speed demon won 1st place ^

Guys, I'M TWENTY-EIGHT! How did this happen -- I still feel like I'm 18! Sometimes I think "oh gosh, I'm old now" and fall victim to the good old comparability to what others my age are doing or have done. Then instantly, I think intentionally to put those little thoughts to a screeching halt and just say "Rach, you're great!" and reflect on where I'm coming from and where I'm going.

Chris planned some birthday surprises...
He arranged a special little dinner with our friends. I ate the most delicious salmon with mushroom and caper sauce.  I ate so much that me and the girls were laughing at how I loosened my belt to the largest hole. Hah, and that was before dessert!  Afterwards, we did some go-karting which was PERFECT because my ritual is that with every birthday, I need to do something that I'd normally do as a little kid. Staying young at heart is important, wouldn't ya say? 

After wrapping that up, Chris hinted that he had another surprise for me on Saturday...

Garage Sale Success

(random items hung in an orderly fashion - does this pass for the ladies section at your local Marshalls?)

       With some close friends selling their house, of course they had a ton of furniture, belongings, and nicnacs to get rid of - this calls for a garage sale! Chris and I made a point to go help and visit them for a little quality time.  I also had a ton of clothes that were just going to get tossed to Goodwill, so why not lay them out for purchase right?

 
Garage sales can be flight or flop - but you can make a difference with a few key tips: 

• Simplify your pricing with price stickers on objects so the customers don't have to go into haggling blindly...haggling? Yes, it's a norm and expect to be flexible but also know for sure what your things are worth. 
• Make it easy to shop. Organize random items like your favorite Marshalls! Garage sales are low-involvement, meaning people do it impulsively and need it to be seamless to make the sale. 
• Have a partner in crime success to help monitor and run things. 
• Make the environment welcoming by simple Hellos to people as they walk up, but don't hound.  Who likes that sales associate that follows you highlighting every promo within an arm reach of you? Play some nice music, or offer free lemonade? Putting "free lemonade" on your end-of-street sign draws alot of people to come by too.  It's funny how many people just want something for free. 

Summer is here!  Best time of the year to find extra time to be productive & spend time outside. Garage sales can do this & be a reason to hang with good friends and make some spare change doing it!

Three Lessons I've Learned From Traveling

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

Since our tour completed last week in Dallas, I am finally back in Florida. Wooh!  Looking back at the route we took all over the USA is AMAZING!!
If anyone has the chance to road trip the USA, definitely do it!  I had dreams to travel exotic and foreign places yet there is SO much to see still in this country.  Some places were more built up than others, yet some of my most memorable moments were in places that had a highway, some corn fields, and a local ice cream shop - so we had to get creative with our time. Ha!

Tour enabled me to learn a lot about myself, my outlook, what matters most to me, and the unknown after it ended sparked a drive in me again.

I can't say I've got it all figured out yet surely feel on the right track...

Before tour I was really fixated on the idea of just leaving Orlando and booking a tour dancing and doing what I love.  Besides the traveling, I fell in love with everything from aerial silks to snowboarding over the past 10 months. Now that I've done that, I know that I have quite the travel bug + really enjoy staying active beyond dance so this gives me some leads to what my next endeavor shall become.
For most of us we get comfortable in a job, even if it's something we love doing, because the flame dies down if we aren't challenged.  Dance is a creative activity, and making the same routine my daily routine became monotonous and boring both at the theme parks & on tour.  I know now that I need to make dance a creative avenue more often.

Life is better lived outside of your comfort zone.

Challenge is like the fire lit under our butt.

I had friends on tour, yet nothing fills the void like your significant other.  Long distance is hard I tell ya!  (Future post hopefully on long-distance success tips). Back in Orlando, FL with my boyfriend - Chris - and good friends really reminds me where home is now.  Chris and I have been dreaming up different plans for our future together, and slowly finding a path to take action.  My family still lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Thats a quick drive from Orlando, and I love them a lot yet planning a future with your significant other & sustaining a long distance relationship suddenly made wherever he was - my home.

It's not about the places you go but who you

are with that matters.

Having to pack for 10 months away from home, you quickly get an idea as to what you really need and can live without.  We could bring 2 suitcases - yeah, when I first heard that I couldn't imagine what I'd pack without feeling under-prepared for the changing climates.  I did it though, and ACTUALLY didn't wear it all.  I didn't purchase much while away from home either.  Eventually I saw that minimizing my wardrobe to basics that could go with a variety of outfits made things way easier.  It began with the wardrobe, then eventually moved to beauty products, and even food (since we had minimal cooking options).  This is now a way of life that I seek to continue - to live with minimal material possessions so as to reduce stress, be happier, and put more time towards things that really matter (ex: organizing all my luggage on the last night in a city vs. spending the last night with friends).

When we think more options & variety will make us happier,

it actually brings more anxiety and stress.

It'll free your attention to things that really matter.

Join a minimal movement - less is more

I already cleaned out my wardrobe, minimized the belongings, and keeping my performing at the parks occasional so as I don't get into my old routine.  Feeling a little stressed from not being so busy with a full-time job now - I slowly see this period of transition is a golden opportunity.  Chris told me this is a time I can do anything, and try something new - he's so right. We will see what happens...

have you ever transitioned careers?  what did you learn in the process?

did you ever travel then come home with some life lessons up your sleeve?