I use a lot of free software as a service applications to do everything from create and manage documents, to publish Style Sample magazine. I love free stuff, so if it looks interesting and doesn’t cost money, I’ll try it!  Here are some of my favorites:

Google Apps

You can use Google Apps to create and manage documents, develop free websites, create embeddable forms, and if you own your own domain name, manage your email. So instead of you@gmail.com, you can be you@yourdomain.com. I use the free Standard Edition to manage just about everything for the magazine ’cause it’s easy. And free.

ScreenJelly

Create screencasts quickly and easily with ScreenJelly and a microphone. It will record your screen as well as any audio, so you can create screen caps, site tours, and anything else that suits your fancy. At work, I use it to create quick video tutorials for the tech-challenged.

DimDim

DimDim provides a platform for free online conferencing, and allows you to share your screen, write on whiteboards, upload presentations, and record your audio, visual, and chat. I’ve used it to host and record training webinars, remote meetings, and brainstorming sessions. They recently changed their policy so that meetings can no longer be recorded using the freebie version, but it’s still free for up to 20 users.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud-based storage service that has saved me from the days of forgetting my USB drive. You can upload files online or save them in your downloadable drop box, which functions the same as any other folder on your hard drive–except that it’s accessible via the web. Sign up is easy, files are share-able, and it’s free for up to 2GB of storage space. If you need to manage files across multiple computers, it’s life-changing.

Teux Deux

Described as a  simple yet design-y web-based task list, Teux Deux was created by a graphic designer and allows you to add day-to-day tasks as well as long-term items to your weekly list. I like to plan my entire week at once, so it’s perfect for me.

Twaitter

Some people may find it disingenous, but it can be difficult for us easily distracted folks to remember to tweet important stuff at the appropriate time.  Enter Twaitter, a service that allows you to schedule your tweets in advance–perfect for when I know I’ll be at work and may not have remember/have time to post.

Evernote and Instapaper

I have a million ideas and a short attention span, so I often don’t remember those ideas if more than 8 seconds pass before I write them down. You can frequently find me squinching my face in a fruitless attempt to remember something I just thought about.

Thank the tech gods for Evernote and Instapaper, which allow you to bookmark pages, record inspiration, and capture ideas just about anywhere. Both tools have a handy bookmarklet for when you’re browsing the web. (I wrote about these on StyleSampleMag.com, too.)

Firebug

Firebug is a nifty Firefox add-on that I use to check under the hood of sites I like and sites I run. I wanna see your code ’cause I’m nosy that way. Firebug is invaluable for learning how websites are put together and testing to see how changes affect design and layout.

Color Scheme Designer

Another design-y tool I use is Color Scheme Designer, mostly to determine the hexadecimal values of colors for print and the web. There are a lot of color scheme generators out there (Adobe Kuler, Color Schemer, Color Wizard, etc.), but this one has a lovely, sleek interface and is just generally fun to play with.

Font Picker

Some people clearly have too many fonts installed and always seem to find more (not me, of course). Font Picker is a simple but ingenious tool that reads all of the fonts installed on your system and allows you to type in a word or headline so you can see what it looks like in all of your available fonts. Typeface geeks love stuff like this, and I’m no exception.

I figure tools like WordPress, Twitter, Gmail, and their ilk are ubiquitous enough that they need no introduction. The above are my favorites, but what would you recommend?

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Thrifted pants, shoes, and bracelets; Iceberg top; Gucci belt

Wearing my old lady pants procured on a thrifting adventure (the high-waisted carrot shape looks so friggin’ good to me right now) and sticking to the color palette:

Aren’t you proud?

You’ll like these, too:
Color Blocking
Thrift Gift 2
English Countryside

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You know how sometimes you’ll sit down to watch one of your favorite TV shows only to find out three minutes into it that it’s a rerun show? No, I don’t mean rerun as in beret-wearing What’s Happening? Rerun, I mean it turns out to be one of those “best of” recap shows that always seems to pop up during a writer’s strike/contract negotiations/general production laziness.

4. Take Flight
5. Gilded
6. Suited up

7. Bright blaze
8. Don’t play in her garden and don’t smell her flower
9. You don’t have to watch Dynasty

10. Whitewashed
11. A lovely day
12. All the world’s a stage

Consider yourself recapped. (Which, thankfully, is not nearly as violent as it sounds)

You’ll like these, too:
Casual Style: Sweat Me
Work Style: Leather Love
Fashion Math

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I found this old Boy Scout shirt when I was digging through my closet and decided I really wanted to wear it with something sparkly and girly for contrast.

Of course, a grown woman wearing a Boy Scout shirt meant the comments from the peanut gallery were in full force:

“Are you going camping? Can you pitch my tent? Did you earn your badge in (insert blatant ignorance here)?”

Sigh.

I started to wonder why I bought that shirt at the thrift store in the first place.  Nostalgia for my old Brownie days? Nah, I hated selling cookies (though eating them is still a favorite pastime).

Inspired by Michael Jackson and his apparent love for elaborate patches? Perhaps.

Flashing back to 1989 and one of the best movies of that era? Definitely!

Does anyone else remember Shelley Long and a pre-Rilo Kiley Jenny Lewis in Troop Beverly Hills? God, I loved that movie! Give me a Scout shirt and a few merit badges and I’m ready to throw on a Tina Turner wig and sing “It’s Cookie Time!”

Do your childhood memories ever influence your fashion choices?

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I’m not really a math person. As a left-brained creative type, reading, spelling, and language have always been my favorite subjects. However, due to my anal-retentive control freak tendencies and a maniacal need for organization, I do appreciate formulas–as long as they don’t involve numbers.

This translates to my wardrobe accordingly: I like coming up with easy-to-understand combinations–recipes, if you will–for putting clothes together. For instance, trousers + fitted tee + blazer, or this pencil skirt + print blouse + cardigan + boots combo. It makes it simple to get dressed, but still leaves room to have fun with accessories (woo-hoo!) for interest.

Fashion Math really comes in handy when I’m deciding what to wear to work in the morning, especially since mai brane duz not wurk rite before 9am. Today’s equation was inspired by BOY by Band of Outsiders, and is really easy to pull off:

As with real equations, you can use different variables and get the same answer–in this case, the answer is looking good! Another plus (get it? Plus?) is that you probably already have most of these items in your closet, and if not, it’s easy to find inexpensive substitutes:

Left column: Shirt, American Apparel; Blazer, Urban Outfitters; Chinos, J. Crew; Shoes, Net-a-Porter Middle column: Shirt, Old Navy; Blazer, Pixie Market; Chinos, Bluefly; Heels, Steve Madden Right column: Shirt La Garconne; Blazer, asos; Chinos, Urban Outfitters; Heels, Zappos

How do you get dressed? Do you have a process or do you just throw caution to the wind every day?

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Screenprinted tee, Urban Outfitters; skirt, Warehouse; cardigan, The Limited; boots, Century 21; feather earrings, Anthropologie; belt, vintage.

I’m not usually a floral print type of girl–give me blacks and grays any day–but I guess the combination of rainy April weather and warm temperatures is making me feel more princess than witch.

Has the impending spring season had an impact on your style?

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Perhaps inspired by the Comme des Garcons/Like the Boys post from last week, I felt the urge to express my masculine side, which, much like my feminine side, involves scowling arrogantly, greedily stuffing junk food down my throat, and telling other people what to do.

Trousers, J. Crew; oxford shirt, vest, and suspenders, thrifted; shoes, Charles David; Porkpie hat, Hats in the Belfry; Watch, Timex

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Sometimes I want to be like the boys. No, not in the smelly-feet-raggedy-drawers-don’t-clean-up-after-yourself way. I mean in the important way: wardrobe wise, of course. It’s not a new idea: women have been “borrowing” men’s clothing for years to great effect: Think of silver screen stars Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn draping themselves in men’s suiting, the iconic movie wardrobe of Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, and the laid-back glamour of Yves St. Laurent’s le smoking. Even the boys themselves provide inspiration (’bout time): at the top of my mind are the smooth operators of the Rat Pack and Wall Street‘s unabashedly power hungry Gordon Gekko. A dash of menswear-inspired tailoring (because tailoring is crucial) looks professional, adds contrast to more feminine pieces, and can be especially fun to wear when assuming a character. Key pieces include oxford shirts, tailored trousers, and men’s accessories:

1. Boy’s shirt, Old Navy 2. Silk tie, Krimson by Kwame 3. Trousers, Victoria’s Secret 4. Boy’s blazer, Ralph Lauren 5. Raffia fedora, Hats in the Belfry

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I’m usually more of a purple person (thanks, Prince), but for some reason bright blue seems really fresh to me right now. Maybe it’s because warmer weather is coming and blue reminds me of the sky and sea. Maybe it’s because blue contrasts so nicely with all the gray/black/taupe in my wardrobe (really, who needs six gray cardigans?). Maybe it’s because I’ve been craving some of that good ol’ blue Smurf ice cream from Kings Island.

Yeah, that’s it. It must be the ice cream.

No matter the source of inspiration, my wardrobe as of late has been affected:

Print blouse, Anthropologie; blue t-shirt, H&M; blue belt, vintage

I feel like I need more, though (what else is new?). A dress, some shoes, maybe a scarf…

1. American Apparel dress  2. L.A.M.B scarf, Shopbop 3. RicRac tank, Anthropologie 4. Heels, Steve Madden

Apparently, I’m deep into this blue crush. What are you really feeling right now?

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This jumpsuit was yet another goodie I dug out of the trunk of my car. I want to sew some sparkly Michael Jackson-inspired patches on this sucker so badly. Just call me Maverick!

Vintage jumpsuit and clutch, army surplus belt, Giuseppe Zanotti heels, Claire’s earrings.

*Posts will be a little light this week since I’ll be working on the magazine. Cross your fingers for me!

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