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An Fan Girl’s Thoughts on Apple’s WWDC Keynote 2017

I remember the special day. The day I got my first Apple computer. I graduated from high school and was on my way to FIDM to become a graphic designer. My dad pre-ordered a G5 work horse when they were first released and it came just in time for my first quarter. The rest is history.

The reason why I really like Apple is because of its simplicity. I used to be all about the frills. But when I started my first business in 2004 (my 2nd year in college) I realized what I wanted was a reliable, compact, and portable device that I could utilize to become successful. And for me, Apple did that in every way.

The G5 was so fast compared to what I was used to. Photoshop and Illustrator would load so much faster compared to my old HP PC. Yeah there weren’t as many games available (virtually none at the time) and I had to learn all the new “Apple speak” but it was definitely worth it when the theme was reliability.



Photo Source: Wikipedia

Then came the iPod. Charlie won one at a dance competition and after I saw what it could do I knew I wanted one for myself. It ended up being really useful. My first experiences with a larger capacity external hard drive. I was able to bring large Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuarkXpress files to and from school. Best thing ever.


Photo Source: Amazon

Then came the iPhone. I was like, “WHAT?” I want to see how well it works first. When my 2 year contract was up I snagged a 3GS and it revolutionized the way I did business. My business was at my fingertips – email, calendar, spreadsheets, everything. I had internet all the time, well, most of the time. I went from a Palm Treo (which I thought I loved), to the HTC 3525 (which I liked but crashed ALL.THE.TIME.), to the iPhone 3GS. OH. MAH. WURD. Everything this little entrepreneur wanted – and more! Oh the days of camping outside the AT&T store overnight to get an iPhone when they release. Haha!


Photo Source: iMore

Fast forward to yesterday’s keynote. I made myself a margarita and sat in front of my TV to take it all in. To be honest with you, these keynotes aren’t as exciting to me as they used to be. I guess it just used to be so exciting when new product came out because I was witnessing technology advance. But now, it’s kind of expected. Nonetheless, they’re still exciting!

My big takeaways from the super long presentation:

  1. iPad Pro 😱 I want but just got one. So moving on.
  2. IOS 11. Really excited about this for my personal devices. Terrified of the bugs for my business. Main things I’m excited for: Files, drag and drop capabilities, annotations, new Control Center, and (most of all) Apple Pay in iMessage.
  3.  IMac Pro 😱 That matte black doe! I definitely don’t need a machine that powerful but it’s beautiful. And a girl can dream right?!
  4. Watch OS 4. I’m just so amazed at what this little thing can do and the tools that are now available for us to use to better our health. I’m excited for everything about the new update – more watch faces (not really excited about the kaleidoscope though), activity goals centered around the user, more workouts in the Workout app, a better music experience (Spotify get on this shizz, where you at?!), more intuitive virtual assistant…man! I’m excited.

As a fan girl, I still look forward to these Apple Events. But I have to admit I want to do more to use Apple’s features. I don’t utilize them as much as I’d like. Am I as excited as I used to be? No, I definitely used to geek out way more in the past. But will I stray away from Apple? No, not any time soon.

Xoxo,

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June Wishlist

I have a funny way of shopping. I don’t shop on a regular basis for clothes or shoes. I probably shop for clothes 2 or 3 times a year or when something finally has a hole in it. I get sad that I have to part ways with it. But when it comes to home accessories, tech stuff, and office supplies I’m all about it! 

I recently got a stay cool/hot tumbler and it’s only the 2nd day and I love it already! It’s a 30 oz. tumbler, I like that I only have to refill my cup a minimum of 3 times to get my daily water intake. No moisture on the outside, the ice doesn’t melt right away….ahhhh dream come true. I know, first world problems right? 

I have had my eye on these markers for a while, have no idea why I haven’t bought them yet. But for those of you that are hand letter enthusiasts like me, Crayola markers are my favorite to use! The tips are really sturdy so they last longer than the felt tips I’ve used in the past. And these Super Tips are the perfect size. If you love variety theses are also sold in larger packs.

Here’s my 1 home appliance that I want to buy – an air fryer! I’ve heard pretty good things about this Black and Decker model, considering it’s compact and affordable. I’m thinking I’d start out with this one, after all Charlie and I are only a family of 2 so we don’t need a larger capacity for now.

As you start to accumulate things in your home anything you can do to save or maximize storage space becomes really important. These collapsible colanders have become really useful, I already have a large rectangular one that can expand and collapse to fit perfectly on my sink.

Charlie and I are not professional bartenders by any means, but we like to enjoy a good cocktail at home. And when we host parties we love to have sangria, cold beer, and spirits for people to enjoy at our little bar cart we bought last year. I’m eyeing this bar tool set on Amazon. It’s got everything you need to make a great cocktail and every piece has a home so you’re not misplacing it.

What are the things on your wish list for this month?

xoxo,

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Carlsbad Family Vacation

This year, for a combined Mother’s Day/Father’s Day celebration the Ortegas went to Carlsbad for a relaxing weekend getaway!

When we all get together it’s always a great time. Lots of laughing, memories, and quality time spent. This year, we kept it low key and stayed at an Airbnb in the hills of Carlsbad just a few miles from the beach and Carlsbad Village.

Whenever we go on family vacations like this I love using Airbnb for our stay. It’s really great to house your family in 1 place, you usually have a kitchen so you can cook to save some cash, and it feels like a home away from home.

Before we made the trip down to Carlsbad on Friday night, we got word that our car came in! Charlie and I test drove the Subaru Forester a couple weeks back and special ordered the car so we can get the color and model we wanted. Low and behold, it came just in time to drive it for our family vacation!

Once traffic died down we made our way down to Carlsbad, had a bite to eat at  Mission Avenue Bar and Grill (great burgers!), and started our vacay. On day 2 we stopped by the outlets, ate lunch at Dini’s (great spot by the beach), and cooked a yummy dinner at home.

Where are some of your favorite places to take a family vacation? Would love to explore new places with our family soon!

xoxo,

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