Hello my friends. I hope your day is filled with sunshine and your favorite things! I’m really happy to be back into a bit of a blogging groove. Thank you so much for the lovely tweets & comments in response to yesterday’s not so serious post.

I’ve been wanting to share a few techie things that have me pretty excited. Also, I’m on the hunt for a few goodies and could use your help if you have any ideas. Here we go.

First, the loves!
I’ve been geeking out just a tad on my MacBook Air. With a recent upgrade to OS X Lion, I am enjoying the streamlined nature of going full-screen.

I am using Fluid to create apps for websites like WordPress and Google Reader. I’m also loving how Alfred speeds up my search process for files, applications, etc.

Oh, and I still get really excited each time I remember to put WordPress in fullscreen. Oh how lovely it is to type on a blank screen with minimal distractions.

Now, the wants!
I am looking for a new iPhone 4 cover. My hard case broke and is barely holding on. I’m tempted to embrace the animal print trend and order this one or this one. Thoughts?

Speaking of cases, I bought one of these for my computer but it cracked within a few weeks. Such a disappointment! Since then, my laptop has been traveling naked. I’ve had my eye on this, but am curious to know if you have a case that you adore?

Image Credit: #358 Look what I found among the leafs via Mikael Miettinen

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started is breaking your complex
overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks,
and then starting on the first one.
(Mark Twain)

I have 6 bags of clothing and goodies ready for donation. When I was growing up, my family moved around every few years. This was a major inconvenience for me as a child, but it’s probably why I’m so good at parting with non-essentials these days. I’m by no means a minimalist. I just don’t like having things around that aren’t working – from clothing to kitchen utensils.

The change of seasons is a welcome opportunity to update and refresh. When you only have 720 square feet and a VW Beetle to your name, it doesn’t take long to overhaul your physical belongings. For someone like me (and most likely you) spring cleaning an online presence can be a much more laborious task, but I think it’s worth it to start off the season with a fresh perspective.

Here are 5 steps I am following to spring clean my web presence. Please let me know if you plan to play along, or if you have additional ideas you’d like to share!

1. Evaluate the terrain.
What online profiles do you have today? Are there any you want to drop? Are there any that you want to pick up? Do your profile photos need updating?

2. Know your priorities.
What are you trying to accomplish? How do you know when it’s time to power down? Have you set goals or intentions for your time online?

3. Be a little flexible.
It’s ok to break a few rules. Go ahead and tweet about that delicious glass of wine, or share a picture without any makeup. Be yourself, be genuine.

4. Find an app for that.
How are you leveraging your web savvy talents? Do you listen to podcasts on your drive into work? Do you download apps that will save you time or help you stay connected?

5. Sprinkle some sparkle.
Take stock of your mood and tone online. Next time you’re feeling down, use your social media powers for good. Tweet something sweet. Send a message to your bestie on Facebook. Text your favorite aunt. Write your little brother a nice email.

Image Credit: You almost miss it via Travis Isaacs

Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow.
(Peter McWilliams)

Hello lovelies! How is your week going so far? With the holiday on Monday, mine seems to be flying by at record pace. After a month of blogging daily, I can’t believe that my 32 Days of Sparkle is almost complete. Friday marks my 1-Year Blogiversary. Crazy times.

Throughout the past year, I’ve cultivated a list of websites that I visit often. These web-resources make my days brighter, more efficient and full of sparkle. Take a look, and let me know if I’m missing any that you adore!

1. bit.ly – my link shortener of choice, love the stats
2. Epicurious – go-to site for recipes & menus
3. Etsy – a site full of inspiration
4. Flickr – the creative commons search is a goldmine
5. Google Reader - some people watch the news, I read blogs
6. InterfaceLIFT – perfect desktop and mobile wallpapers
7. Mint – personal finance, tracked in pretty graphics
8. Pandora Radio – a brilliant resource to find new music
9. Twitter – my favorite social web
10. We Heart It – an evolving catalog of beautiful images

image credit: weheartit

Monitor, engage, and be transparent;
these have always been the keys to success in the digital space.
(Dallas Lawrence)

July was a hot, summery month full of humidity, interesting opportunities and weekends away. A major highlight was when my mentor @gwenbell approached me with a simple request—while she unplugged for a month-long digital sabbatical, I was invited to send her updates (or daily digests) on the net’s happenings.

I jumped at the chance to be her eyes on the inside, and welcomed a reason to reconnect with this place I love. Since starting my new job in February, I’ve spent significantly less time online—evidence that when some of my burners are running hot, the others cool down. As a result, I have been unsatisfied with my lack of connection.

Today is Gwen’s reentry to our web society. In celebration of her homecoming, I’m sharing snippets of July’s Daily Digests:

7/2/10: Slate had a contest to see who could represent the essence of the Declaration of Independence in a single tweet.

7/3/10: Fast Company featured an interesting article about the 20% of Twitterers who are categorized as “informers”. This small group of people tweet useful information, while the rest are narcissists.

7/6/10: A smart “Happiness Flow Chart” floated around today, it’s simple and smart.

7/7/10: 8 Ways to Become More Confident + this quote:
With realization of one’s own potential & self confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world. (Dalai Lama)

7/8/10: A friendly office request, misinterpreted.

7/9/10: Fun can change behavior for the better, happy messages in chalk, and innovations in marketing.

7/12/10: Paper Tweets are the next best thing for social media gurus on sabbatical.

7/14/10: Old Spice took the social web by storm in a start-up-weekend-esque stunt.

7/15/10: What are your 7 links?

7/21/10: Daily thank-you notes… a lovely exercise in gratitude.

7/22/10: ’500 Days of Summer’ inspiration turned into romantic reality.

7/23/10: 10 Rules for Brilliant Women.

7/24/10: 10 Reasons to Stop Apologizing for Your Online Life.

7/26/10: The State of the Internet, 5 months ago.

7/29/10: Most of the time, it’s not enough to be better. You need to be different.

These bits and bytes are a sort of time capsule of my social web safari from July. I’m thankful for the experience and am happy to have participated in a slice of Gwen’s sabbatical. After spending July logged offline and checked into real life, she’s got some serious wisdom to share.

image credit: via weheartit

We are part of a world with more data at our fingertips than ever before. Our computers, smart phones, and iPads hold answers to an unlimited array of questions. There’s no need for encyclopedias, National Geographic or newspapers. TVs, CD players and radio broadcast have been rendered useless by Hulu, Pandora and podcasts.

In a day and age when business conversations are over gTalk and romances blossom online, we are all seconds away from replacing our doctors, travel agents, stock brokers and movie critics. We are a society that’s dialed in to information of all kinds, we are friends with Ashton and share our caloric intake with the world.

I witnessed an interesting thing the other night while was at a bar playing a game of trivia with my coworkers. A tricky question was asked—What flower does vanilla extract come from?—and without blinking, one of my teammates said, “I don’t know, let’s Google it!!”

Quick internet searches have become an extension of our natural thought processes. Random facts that once lived in our minds are now stored as bits of data in the the cloud.

I see Google as an unlimited access phone a friend. When my brain goes blank and I can’t remember an awesome site or inspirational quote, I type a stream of conscious batch of words and Google reveals the answer. In my eyes, this is an efficient use of time and resources. There is no need to bother someone else  if Google’s got it covered.

brilliant image credit: via dullhunk