I absolutely love discovering new apps and many have become a vital part of my everyday life. It’s so easy to overlook some amazing apps that are lost in the crowd of millions. I wanted to write a blog post about my favourite iPhone apps that I have been enjoying this month so that I can hopefully share the love and maybe even shed some light on some hidden gems.
- Instagram. I know… it’s one of the most popular apps in the world – but up until last month, I still didn’t even have my own account. Since my friend decided to sign me up, I thought that I should probably make the most of it. Where have I been?! I’ve completely fallen in love with it and may have become slightly addicted to it. If there’s some chance you don’t know what Instagram is, it’s basically an app that allows you to share photos and discover so much more! There’s something on there for everyone to follow – not necessarily just the cliché insta shots. I spend most of my time scrolling through photos of my favourite celebrities, cute bunnies, stunning cakes and places I want to visit. You should also go check out my Instagram (ashleighgoh) and give it a follow – I promise you, it won’t disappoint!!!!
- Pocket. This app was recommended to me by my English teacher and is probably my #1 favourite of this month. Pocket allows you to save articles so that you can read them all later, offline and in one place. To some people, this may not sound amazing but for me, it was a lifesaver. I love to read articles; they’re interesting and help give me knowledge of anything and everything happening in the world. You can save any article to Pocket, which means that I can save the latest articles, with topics that range from beauty to science, or history to food. This app has made it so easy and convenient for me to be able to pull up an article to read whenever I have 5 or 10 minutes – even when I have no internet connection. There are also recommended articles; so that you always have something to read.
- Runkeeper. I’ll be the first to admit – I’m not the best at keeping up with my fitness. So for a while, I’ve been using fitness apps to keep track of my fitness and motivate myself to go out and exercise. There are tons of different apps on the market for running and other activities like Runkeeper, but out of all the ones I’ve tried, I have to say that it’s my favourite. The app is free and has a free plan (which is what I have and is still amazing), but you can upgrade to premium for a cost. What first drew me to Runkeeper, was the fact that I could listen to my offline Spotify playlists through the app itself – something you couldn’t do in other apps. You can set goals to tailor to your specific needs, take on challenges and schedule reminders to go train. I loved that you could set specific runs, such as an interval run (for those starting to build up fitness), where Runkeeper will keep track and tell you when to walk or run for a specific time, in order to reduce fatigue and injury. As most other fitness apps, if you turn your location services on (no cellular needed), Runkeeper will record and show you on the map exactly where you’ve run. This also includes smaller details like weather, elevation, splits, pace and steps/min. Lastly, I love Runkeeper because the app layout is very aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly.
- Epicurious. This app is for all those who struggle a little with finding recipes to cook. There are over 30,000 recipes that cover food for different seasons, occasions and take into account certain dietary requirements. You can find quick and easy meals for when you’re in a rush or delicious meals that take more time. What I like most about Epicurious, is that if you decide you want to use a recipe, you can save it and then add it to your shopping list. It will then allow you tick the ingredients in the recipe that you don’t have and after you’ve finished deciding your meals for the week, there will be a compiled list of ingredients (with exact amounts) that you need to get when you go grocery shopping. I find Epicurious so useful for finding inspiration on what to cook when I have no ideas; you don’t even have to follow the recipes you find.
- Bonjournal. So while I only got this app in April and haven’t used it much, I’ve included it in my favourites because I love the premise of the app. Bonjournal allows you to record travel journal entries while you’re overseas. You can save photos to these entries and use it without any internet connection. I really enjoy the minimalist layout of the app and everything is super clear and easy to set up. There is a search bar that allows you to search for journals about certain places. This could help give you ideas on what to do while you visit or experiences that people had while they were there. You can also follow friends and users if you really enjoy their entries (my username is ashgoh if you search it – I’ll be sure to post some entries when I travel next). I also like that you can share the journals with your friends and export them to a PDF so that you can have them forever – I thought that this was very cute.
Congratulations if you’ve read this far!!! I didn’t even realise how much I ramble on until I saw the word count inch closer and closer to 1000. These are only 5 of the amazing apps that I’ve discovered in the past few months, so please share and leave below your favourite apps so that I can go try them out for myself. I think what I’m hung up on most, is how long it took me to actually get an Instagram *eek* – I’ll try my best to follow you all back as well. I hope that you enjoyed this post (please tell me if it’s too long, I’m still very new at all this!) and that you’re having a wonderful day where ever you are in the world. The weather is getting worse and worse in NZ, which does nothing good for anyone’s mood. But it does mean I get to cuddle up in blankets and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows while I write this – so I guess every cloud does have its silver lining.
Love,
The Ash Edit 