Technology Thursday: Raved

As many of you know, I am moving to Los Angeles at the end of the summer and one of the things I am so excited for is the influx of healthy eateries! While NYC has some of the best restaurants in the world, LA seems to be ahead of the curve when it comes to healthy food trends. One of the ways I like to keep all of my favorite restaurants and restaurants I want to go to organized is an application called Raved. I can create lists like "Restaurants I Want to Go to in LA" and "Best Bars in NYC." It doesn't just have restaurants, Raved has clothing boutiques, salons and spas. You can follow "uber ravers" like Bobby Flay and GQ magazine and you can search by cities and categories. You can also follow me because I got uber raver status!  

 

 

When you click on a restaurant, store, spa, etc., it brings you to a screen where you can see who raved it and what people are saying. The great thing is that they only publish comments from "uber ravers" so it gets rid of over-eager business owners yelping their restaurant a million times. I recently searched for best hair salons in Greenwich and was happy to check out the comments and raves. They also have menus built in as well as the phone number, website and ability to connect to open table to make reservations.

 

 

 

 

I am hooked! There are so many great restaurants I want to eat in and shops I want to shop in when I get to the West Coast and this is the perfect way to keep them organized. It is also a great travel app. Say I was visiting Houston and wanted to see what the best restaurants are and quickly scan the menus - done! You can also check out where your friends love to eat and save amazing lists.

 

 

 

I highly recommend this app for anyone living in a metropolitan area or anyone who will be visiting a metropolitan area who wants to find out what people are saying about the best restaurants, spas, stores, etc.

I added a Raved social icon on the side of my blog and you can also find my profile here! Download the app and see what Raved is all about. It is an absolute must-have.
 

 

 

Technology Thursday: Apps I Love

+ Afterlight - the best photo editing app I have seen to date. They have tons of filters, light leak options and frames. A must have for the instagram obessed.

+Minibar - this seamless-esque app is, unfortunately, only available in New York but for New Yorkers, download immediately. Minibar allows you to have your wine/alcohol delivered in under an hour. I don't know about you, but there have been times I have been in a pinch and really could have used this app. There have also been times where I have been far to lazy to leave the couch and would have very much liked to have had this.

+Sweetgreen - if you haven't ventured over to the NoMad salad destination (originally opened in Washington, DC), I recommend you get over there. They have  freshest salads I've ever had with locally sourced ingredients. The app makes it quick and easy to pay and get rewards.

+QuizUp - if you like competing with your friends over stupid and non-stupid categories, get Quizup. Awesome for those times when you have a few minutes to kill or want to test your knowledge on national flags or Hunger Games trivia.

+Up - If you're looking to track your steps, calories and sleeping patterns, I recommend getting a jawbone. This fitness band is amazing and it keeps me motivated (I set it so that it buzzes if I'm sitting for an hour). The Jawbone comes in a variety of different sizes and colors. The newest Jawbone even syncs wirelessly.

Technology Thursday: Can't Live Without Apps

I, admittedly, took far too long to get an iPhone. I really held onto my blackberry to the last moment it was socially acceptable (sorry blackberry peeps). When I finally to decided to take the plunge, I had to wait a month for it to finally arrive. With that time I obviously did extensive research on apps and user capabilities. I wasn't a complete Apple newb because I had an iPad but I did have a lot to learn. Below is a list of my can't live without apps. I'll leave out the obvious Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram because if you have an iPhone you more than likely already have these!

1. Hopstop- If you live in a major metropolitan area, especially New York, this app is a life saver. Type in your starting address and ending address and hopstop will formulate the best route whether that's walking or on the subway or a combination. 

2. My Fitness Pal- This application is the ultimate diet tool. It is the best calorie counter around and it's so user friendly. They have tons of name brand food and they make it really easy to keep track of diet and exercise. You can set a calorie limit you want to stick to and goals. You can track your weight and they'll make neat diagrams and charts documenting your weight loss. This app really makes you accountable for every bite!

3. Kindle- This seems like another obvious one but I still wanted to put it on the list. If you're an avid reader and want to read your book on every tablet or screen you own, this is the best. I have an iPad that I like to use to read before I go to bed and a kindle that I use on the beach or outside and then my iPhone for those random moments when you're not expecting to want to read. This handy apps syncs to the farthest read page so you never have to lose your place. You can even download straight from amazon.com on a computer and the book will show up on your device or you can choose to share books with friends (a feature I'm still trying to figure out)!

4. Cloth- When I was younger, I always wanted to have the closet Cher from Clueless had. Cloth is a great app for people who are pressed for time in the morning and don't have time to put together an outfit or just for anyone who wants to document their different outfit ideas. You take pictures and then store them in the app. There are different categories like "work," "event," "party," and "everyday" where you can keep your ideas. Mom, you should really be using this!

5. Mixology- Have random ingredients but don't know what drink to mix? This takes the guessing away by allowing you to put in the ingredients and voila, a drink option! You can also browse tons of recipes for different occasion. I've even seen bartenders use this app at bars. 

6. App in the Air- The travel assistant is really cool. It gives you advice from other passengers, latest information on flights, airports and airlines, tons of personal features like a packing list and check-in from the app. I haven't used this one yet but I hear that it's really cool. 

7. Shazam- Hear a song and want to know what it is and download it? Enter shazam. Open the app when a song is playing and watch it go to work. It will tell you the song title, artist and where to download. 

Those are just a few of my favorites (as my friends know, I'm a total tech nerd) and I hope they enhance your life like they've enhanced mine!