AHAlife – This upscale website is an “online discovery destination where you can learn about – and purchase – the best unique products from around the world, collectively curated by our group of influential tastemakers.” In other words, AHAlife (‘aha’ referring to the sound of discovery) features high quality products for you to admire and buy, ranging from fashion and home decor to food, travel and technology. Think of it as an online store offering a curated collection of items for people with exquisite taste.
To get an idea of the sort of things you can buy here on AHAlife, here’s the What’s New page.
What really makes AHAlife stand out from any other upscale store is its team of curators. This certainly serves as worthy added value you won’t find elsewhere. I strongly encourage you to register to AHAlife and be inspired by beautiful, meaningful things on a daily basis.
LearnVest – Did you ever take a personal finance class back in school or college? Neither did I, and quite frankly, it’s surprising it’s not a degree requirement in universities and colleges in America. Alexa von Tobel felt the same when she was a Harvard Senior. A few years and lots of research later, Alexa has created LearnVest, “an online platform to help women everywhere gain control of their finances.”
I have to admit, I had some problems with the fact that this site targets women and their implied inability to control their spending. Having that said, I do believe personal finance sites on the Web fail to address the special concerns and issues of women when it comes to staying on top of expenses. So, what’s so special about LearnVest? It’s a full blown wallet watcher if you please, that also offers regularly updated content on living richer and better.
Sign up with Facebook and start exploring LearnVest: there are bootcamp programs (many are free!) such as how to get out of debt, cut costs, build health and more. There is also the Money Tuneup which offers a comprehensive resource on investments, retirement, insurance and loans, and my favorite: Living Frugal which shows you how to spend sensibly on fashion and beauty, eating out and entertainment, even on styling your home.
In short, LearnVest is a blessing, and I’m already subscribed. Here’s a fascinating article I found on LearnVest and wanted to share: How to Splurge Right.
Simply Breakfast – Jennifer Causey loves cooking up breakfast dishes as much as she loves talking pictures, and that’s how this food-photography blog came about. If you want to expand your morning meal repertoire, Simply Breakfast is rich with new, healthy (for the most part) and yummy breakfast ideas you will love. No wonder this blog is one of the Weekly Blog winners. My only complaint is that I wish Jennifer would have made her breakfast recipes available – they’re too delicious to look at!
To learn more about Jennifer and her work as a photographer, click here to get to her professional site. If food is what you’re after, see the image below of my personal favorite breakfast ever!
Architizer – This exquisite site offers a much anticipated meeting point for professional architects and companies of the industry, with prospect clients and other professionals. As the site explains, “one architectural project has dozens of contributors, from the intern who made the conceptual models to the construction administrator.” Architizer tries to bring all of them together.
Architizer offers different pages for projects, firms and people from all over the world, in addition to news, jobs and competitions. This is a terrific hub for all the various professionals working in the architecture industry, and I’m certain it also acts as a project facilitator in many ways. Great job Architizer! Here’s a project I wish I were the client of: Lefevre Beach House in Chile by Longhi Architects.
Man Made DIY – This unusual yet intriguing blog (another Weekly Blog winner) by Chris Gardner is a cross between guerrilla-style craft making and modern day indie design inspirations. The range of topics you will find in Man Made’s posts varies tremendously, but one thing stays the same: interest and lots of it. I suggest starting out with Man Made’s Top 10. If you can’t wait, see the two posts below I decided to share:
How to Make a Back Yard Drink Caddy for $2.00
Animal Jam – National Geographic Kids has come up with a brilliant idea to bring in young followers and nature learners. Animal Jam is essentially the animal kingdom with all its glory and engagement, wrapped up in a kid-friendly interface that’s beautiful and engaging. The result is an interactive game that teaches little ones about the wonders of nature with lots of fun and color.
Once your child has signed up (parents also receive an email concerning content), he or she can choose their animal character and name it (mine was Countess Snowyflower). Animal Jam then takes your child to the vast animal world via several different locations, each filled with short games, animal videos and fun facts. I wish I had this when I was a kid…
That’s Chic – Style galore is what lies behind the That’s Chic blog title. Rachel Nguyen is a model-icious young woman from California who lives and breathes style and aesthetics. Whether it’s the amazing clothes she wears to the pretty photographs she takes of moments in her life, Rachel invites us to explore her exquisite taste.
Each post is a well-written account of Rachel’s recent events, and includes large photos of Rachel, chic as ever. In addition to clothes, accessories and home design you will find food related posts with mouth-watering photos. That’s Chic is one of last week’s Weekly Blog winners, and here’s a photo that shows you why (click the image to read the full post).
Rome – As the browser war rages on (remember the brilliant Pac-Man collaboration with Internet Explorer 9 we reviewed a couple of weeks ago?), Google Chrome is giving a fantastic fight with ROME. This whimsical and fabulous film by Chris Milk -works only on Chrome, of course- is a “hardware-accelerated 3D graphics” built onto the Chrome browser and requires no download or install of any software. Don’t forget to move your mouse sideways while the film is playing.
This Google Chrome Experiment is a whimsical film with a beautiful soundtrack by Danger Mouse, who have a new album out called -you guesses it- Rome.
If you wish, you can add your own dreamy additions to this project by clicking ‘add to the dream’ and see how others have already contributed. ROME is an amazing collaborative adventure of creativity, 3D technology, great music and a powerful browser showing off for a good reason. Enjoy.
Picassohead – Everyone’s an artist with this super cool portrait generating tool. Give a try and explore Pablo Picasso’s most famous painting style, cubism. To create your own Picasso head, pick a face, add facial features from a variety of noses, eyes, hair styles and lots of other options and see what comes out. If you just want to explore what others have created, see the gallery. Mine is below.
The I of It – This witty game is different than what you’re used to, both in terms of strategy and execution. The narrator will guide you through the stages, and your job is to pass each level by maneuvering your I between obstacles, moving objects and making it tall or short, depending on the level. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Well, I guess you’ll just have to play it to see. For more cool games be sure to visit our I ♥ GAMES page.
Neer – Location sharing is a popular mobile feature these days with Foursquare, GoWalla and Brightkite being some of the prominent location based apps. The problem with these however is that you let others -both friends and people you don’t know- know where you are and what you’re doing. Neer is another location sharing app that’s both productive and, for those who prefer it, private.
Neer is a clever application that connects family and friends based on shared location info, thus making social and family interaction more effective and fun. To start off, create your contact list of ‘cleared’ family members and friends. Next, add the locations you visit most frequently to Neer, and ask your friends to do the same. Neer will send you alerts of when, for example, your spouse has left the office, where they are on their way back home, even whether your kid is back home from school. These alerts are automatic and secure.
If you wish to make use of location-based tools without letting strangers in on where you are, Neer is the perfect app for you, your family and circle of friends. Works on the iPhone and Android. To learn more about Neer, here’s the intro video:
Planning a wedding always seems like a daunting, stressful task, with so many things to think about and choose. Since wedding season is almost at its peak this month and will last through October, we’ve decided to make the special event’s mission totally possible and easier for you: Here’s our Top 10 list of the absolute best wedding resources out there online. This hot list will show you where to get the best gift registry, where to find gorgeous invitations, and how to make your wedding look like a million bucks without exceeding your budget.
1. Project Wedding – Think of this site as wedding day central. It’s a comprehensive source on all things wedding and the site is a perfect first stop in your big day’s planning path. Aside from the obvious bride and bridesmaid dress designs and vendors, Project Wedding shares photos and inspirations from real weddings. You will also find lots of decor, wedding cake and beauty ideas on this site in addition to practical tools such as check lists, wedding websites and more.
2. The Knot – Perhaps the most familiar of the bunch, The Knot offers solid help on every possible wedding aspect you can think of. The colossal variety of topics might confuse you at first, but after a deep breath you’ll see The Knot truly provides a wealth of information and ideas. To start off, check out the ‘planning basics’ menu on the left (offering ideas and tips on wedding destinations, vendors, vows, songs and invitations, etc.). Once you’re ready for more hardcore planning, make use of The Knot’s gift registry page to pick your store (an adventure in and of itself).
3. My Wedding – Although this website might seem as a bit less comprehensive than the two above, its forte -free wedding sites- outweighs any content downsides it may have. Wedding sites have become huge these past few years, and for a good reason. In many cases the bride and groom’s family is scattered across the country, and although phone calls might do for keeping everyone updated, there’s nothing like a designated Web space everyone can visit anywhere with ease.
My Wedding offers a huge variety of website options neatly categorized by color and theme (green, outdoors, traditional weddings and more). If you’re thinking about creating a wedding website for your special event, My Wedding is your spot. Here’s the gorgeous example of Samira and Maxwell’s wedding site, created by My Wedding.
4. Martha Stewart Weddings – For those of you seeking an all-American, traditional wedding style, Martha Stewart’s designated online spot for weddings is a perfect resource to start with. Get all the event’s basics down and stay on top with all your check and to-do lists with Marth. One cute post I loved reading here is Good Things for Spring Weddings – great inspirations!
5. Macy’s Gift Registry – Although there aren’t any right or wrong gift registry choices, I think Macy’s is the best one in terms of both variety of products and the system’s ease of use when registering and adding gifts. Signing up to Macy’s registry service is super easy and quick, and you can start adding gifts in no time. Wedding guests checking in to buy will also find a swift and no-brainer process leading straight to the couple’s list. In short, I can only say that on my wedding day Macy’s will be my gift registry provider of choice.
6. Style Me Pretty – There’s nothing like peeping over at other people’s weddings pictures to see what works, what doesn’t and find new ideas. Style Me Pretty’s Real Weddings section is packed with tested strategies, approaches and features worth checking out before planning The Day. Browse the section’s various wedding styles, including Budget Beautiful, Contemporary, Do-It-Yourself Inspired and Vintage Chic, among others. You should also explore Style Me Pretty’s vendors’ guide, DIY projects and wedding inspirations.
7. Once Wed – Dedicated to the to-be-wed folks who seek a non-traditional wedding, Once Wed is a brilliant resource for planning unconventional weddings that are “artistically innovative or effortlessly beautiful.” Created by the gorgeous Emily Newman, OnceWed is one of the only places online where you can find beautiful pre-owned wedding dresses and get lots of inspiring and creative ideas for your big day. Speaking of dresses, here’s one that caught my eye.
8. Wedding Invite Love – This amazing website brings together soon to be wed couples with graphic designers and studios all over the country, to make successful and beautiful invitations that suit couples’ needs and desires. Search for your favorite invitations vendor via a number of parameters such as price, nearest city location or style and a world of fabulous design will open up to you. Here’s an example of a beautiful design that’s well within the budget of any wedding, by The Letter Office in NY:
9. Wedzu – A site for the budget brides and grooms, Wedzu offers a saner approach to wedding planning, and offers a wealth of cool products for the indie-at-heart audience. From affordable yet absolutely fabulous wedding dresses to reception decorations and cute cuff links, Wedzu is all about making your wedding Etsy style (handmade, that is) while maintaining the event’s haute-couture look and feel.
10. Wedding MiniFaves page on All My Faves – This MiniFaves page dedicated to wedding planning and celebration is an abundant resource for all the big day’s different aspects. Find all the great websites listed above and many others in one place to make your wedding day the event you always wanted. Congratulations to all the newly weds and the soon-to-be married couples!
