My 5 Favorite Apps for Blogging

August 3, 201718 Comments

For the most part, blogging is really fun. I personally don’t blog full time (I have a regular old 9-to-5 job that I absolutely love) & I blog on the side as a hobby. Even though it’s a hobby, I do spend a significant amount of time writing, taking pictures, posting on social media, etc. etc. And like I said, most of the time being a blogger is really fun, but sometimes it’s really hard work. (I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be a full-time blogger–kudos to you guys).

My friend/fellow blogger Sam (check her out at F-perfection.com!) and I have this joke that bloggers never sleep. Every time we’re brainstorming new posts or thinking of yet another Instagram caption, we say “well, bloggers never sleep.” Being a blogger is about sharing your life with your readers, and to some extent, it’s always in the back of your mind. I can’t tell you how many notes I have on my phone about blog post ideas or how many lattes have gotten cold because I have to get the perfect picture (ugh I know, I hate that I get caught up in “do it for the Insta,” too). That said, I’ve tried to strike a balance between just living and putting more effort into blogging. It’s always a process.

Thankfully for all us bloggers out there, there are lots of apps/tools that make this whole “being a blogger” thing easier so our entire life isn’t consumed by blank WordPress templates & the never-ending blackhole of Pinterest (unless you want that, then you do you). Here are some of my favorite apps that making blogging a little easier.

other blogger necessities

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The Best Healthy Ice Cream Brands to Try

August 1, 2017July 31, 201712 Comments

*Hi there! Super excited to have a guest post~ here on Ampersand. Just like how I love sharing cool new things with you, I love when people share awesome ideas/tips/events with me! Meet my friend & roomie, Haley–ice cream enthusiast & fan of Ampersand. Y’all can follow her on Insta here.

Haley is a financial public relations professional living in Philly. Outside of work, you’ll find her running, spinning, doing yoga or loungin’ in the sun with a good book.

It’s the middle of summer, and nothing’s better than a nice, cold ice cream. A few times during the summer I’ll actually just have ice cream for dinner and call it a day (because I’m an adult and I can do whatever I want). However, I really do try to stick to a healthy diet so my ice cream indulgences are minimal, but there’s been a surge of healthy ice cream options so I decided I would try some of the different brands and flavors. I was super excited when Kasia asked me to write a review for the blog! Here are some of my favorites & my honest thoughts about them.

healthy & delicious

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Finding Your Simple Joys

July 27, 2017July 28, 201715 Comments

A couple months ago, I was talking to a friend about random things that made us happy. I’m not sure how it came up, but we went back and forth for a while listing out the things that brought us joy. Funny enough, the things we thought of weren’t big–on the contrary, they were very small, ordinary things that made us happy for no apparent reason. We began labeling them “simple joys,” and whenever we stumbled upon another one, we added it to our mental lists (or in my case, a Note on my phone because I can’t remember anything if I don’t write it down. Fact.) Since then, I’ve asked a number of people what their “simple joys” are just because it’s fun/a good conversation starter, plus I find you can learn a lot about a person from the small things that bring them joy.

Sim•ple joy /ˈsimpəl/ / joi/, noun: an object, feeling or experience that intrinsically brings you happiness, its mere existence in your life creates joy without ties to consequence or additional outcomes

^like high buns & sunsets

Simple Joys are not overarching, “big picture” items that bring you happiness. For example, hanging out with friends/significant other, graduating from college, landing your dream job will obviously make you very happy, but they’re not categorized as Simple Joys. Simple Joys are the familiar, mundane and very specific things that you experience in your everyday life. They don’t take years to achieve or require a certain set of circumstances to work out–they just exist and bring you happiness.

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