Day 8 of the Blogtober Challenge – share your favourite apps

Due to a sickly baby, I have completed almost all of my Blogtober Challenge posts from my smartphone thus far. At times like this I would be screwed without apps. I blog on several social media channels. One of them has only just gone ahead with a website so I will have to shortlist that. In fact I won’t be able to produce a short list at all. It’s going to have to be a long list. Or I could go High Fidelity and categorise the apps that I use and then choose from those lists…

Anyway, in the last week, I’ve used the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest apps daily. Of those I enjoy Instagram and Pinterest most.

I started blogging so that I could talk about pretty things and I love visual stimulation. I returned to it because I missed the things that I’d enjoyed before I had kids. I don’t really cover them anymore but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate a little look at some Chanel appliqué or a Tom Ford strappy sandal now and then.

I refer to current affairs a lot more now and I use Pocket frequently. You can bookmark Web pages on smartphones and tablets but the function usually gives you a teeny tiny postcard. Pocket saves an entire headline and the original imagery so I don’t have to work out what I’m looking at.

I love the WordPress app. I’ve submitted all my posts with it this week. It doesn’t offer all the facilities of the Web page but it’s good enough for me. If it had all the functions I would have spent all week faffing around with it – instead of actually writing.

On a personal note, I don’t have very many fun apps anymore. I have an app that records how much exercise I’m doing because I want to check that I get enough aerobic exercise every day. That goes with one that helps me check how much I’m drinking – fluids, not booze. Then the Hormone Horoscope app. It sounds stupid but I feel a lot better when I up my iron intake as I lose blood or eat more carbs because my body can’t cope on just its usual calorie intake.

Now I have a family we need more organisation. I use the Cozi app for the calendar, appointments and lists functions. I have all of those available as widgets on my phone but Cozi means that Mr Sophie’s Voice can access the information too. He can pop to the supermarket and I can add stuff to the shopping list while I give the kids their tea. I can add school stuff as well. It even has a section for the cat. Laugh away – I don’t forget her injections anymore. Life’s not perfect – we still use Just Eat or Humgry House far too much. It takes a lot of work to be as OCD  as Gwyneth Paltrow or Gisele Bundchen.

While they’re all useful, they’re not exactly a treat. For that I have the Headspace app. Ten minutes of guided meditation every single day. That doesn’t sound much but it’s fantastic when you never seem to get a second to yourself. I get to think of absolutely nothing – and a nice calm man helps me. Afterwards I’m like a ragdoll. I sleep like a baby.

On the days when I don’t bother, I use the Kindle app. It’s packed full of a mixture of dirt and dust. I read Elizabeth Gaskell and Cleo Peitsche. Both have a place in my life. Lowbrow, highbrow, warm and cosy, sizzling. I have a digital marketing companion on there – right next to book about 70s Paris. Who doesn’t? We’re all many different people.

My Spotify account is similar. Hall & Oates for a run? Check. Rimsky Korsakov for a little R&R. Yep. There’s some Goldfrapp on there because I’m really affected by music and sometimes I’d like Mr Sophie’s Voice to reap the benefits. I studied music for 12 years to one degree or another – I don’t listen to it enough anymore, but I still love it.

My absolute favourite app has to be the one that only I use. It’s all mine and it’s all fun. It’s definitely the app that the glamazon me chose. I’m not remotely ashamed of the fact. I take My Little Box every month. It’s a tiny treat that comes in the post. I leave it on one side and wait until the girls are with me to open it. They love the drama involved with opening the packaging. Then you get to the pretty box…

I defy anyone not to be excited by a present. Well, My Little Box is my present to myself every month. A new lipstick, a skincare product, glamorous sunglasses, a scarf – a little treat for the part of me that’s a fashionista. She deserves a treat sometimes too. I think it’s important to show my daughters a little joy as well. I’m always so busy and dealing with earnest issues that I worry that they never see me smile. I like taking turns with them to remove the items from the box and then explore them together.

Anyway, the other thing that I get with my monthly present is a subscription to My Little App. It’s a daily dose of cute. I need something to remind me not to take life too seriously. The adorable images, the chic reviews and the useful recipes (yes, I can cook) are lovely.

Who doesn’t need a little lovely in their lives?

Sophie x

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