Truth bomb—I  really could have done without posting this week. Talking about what I’m thankful for here on the blog is slightly awkward. Having a blog that’s in a specific(ish) niche, it’s hard to step away from what you typically chat about. Of course, doing a Thanksgiving-style design roundup could have been the option of choice but I do enjoy reflecting on the things I’m grateful for. While I often send thank you cards, emails, and texts to people who I feel grateful to have in my life, it’s nice to have a holiday where most people are talking about it. I won’t get too deep into my thoughts so I’ll share some fun things I’ve been thankful for this year.
- Feedly – After hearing the demise of Google Reader, I was in a tiny panic that I wouldn’t be able to find a service that could handle the size of my feeds. Even though it was a glitchy transformation, Feedly has been extremely helpful and it’s a great product.
- Joy the Baker Podcast – Thanks to Melissa, I’m sort of spending way too much time listening in on this podcast. Mainly because the podcast between Joy and Tracy, completely reminds me of the weekly coffee chats I have with Melissa where we say too many insane things about design, blogging, and living the life.
- Mailchimp – I’ve been grateful for Mailchimp for a while but as I’ve launched my first newsletter, it’s been great having an easy to use service to send out my thoughts.
- Cloud.typography – I really didn’t want to move my domain without utilizing my favorite Hoefler & Frere-Jones fonts as webfonts. It’s been great being able to use them here and it keeps my branding consistent.
- Evernote – I spent years running away from Evernote but now I see the appreciation for it. It’s been awesome having my random thoughts in one place.
- Dribbble – I hear a lot of thoughts about Dribbble but as a designer, it’s been great to have a place to share what I’m working on when I can’t overwhelm you on the blog.
- Tweetdeck – Tweetdeck is how I connect with everyone via Twitter everyday. I’ve been using it since its release and I absolutely love the Chrome app. It’s fantastic.
- Unsplash & Death to The Stock Photo – These services have introduced a new way to check out stock photos and it’s been wonderful for my blogging life. I don’t always have the time to take photos for my posts so having resources is great.
- Creative Market – Creative Market is a fantastic marketplace to to support independent artists and also find some great resources.
- The Great Discontent – TGD is my inspiration for a lot of the things I get to share here on the blog. I really enjoy their interviews which inspired my Ask A Freelancer series.
I have lots of other fun tools I utilize but this year, these have been the ones that have really helped me build Studio 404 into what it is today. What’s on your blogger’s gratitude list?
Photo Credit: Me!
Half of these tools I swear by (check evernote, tweetdeck), off to check out the rest. It’s really impossible to catch up with everything that’s going on the internet without the help of some apps! xoxo
Totally! It’s so hard to keep up these days, even with apps. There aren’t enough hours in the day.
It so awesome that you shared those links. There are so many sites that really solve our hands, and there are a couple that i didn’t know and i’m about to check! thanks girl!
Thank you dear! You’re the best!
So many great links all in one place! I love Death to The Stock Photo. And I absolutely love scouring Dribble for inspiration. Hoping to get an invite sometime soon!! Thanks for sharing!
I’ll keep being on the lookout for an Dribbble invites that might come my way. Thank you Danielle!
I LOVE Joy the Baker! You have to try her pistachio, chocolate, and smoked sea salt cookies (they are amazing)!
I’ll go pin that right now. She’s so funny!
I love Tweetdeck since it lets me see what’s going on Twitter, through lists, my home feed and more. The lists option in Twitter is super handy since it helps me organize who I’m following.
I love Feedly as well since it’s such a great replacement for Google Reader. I recently added it on my phone and it’s probably the most used app on it. I refresh it throughout the day so I can minimize how much time I spend catching up on blogs (I use Feedly when I’m waiting in line, etc.)
While Google Keep is mainly an app (I think there is an online version of it though), I find it really helpful when I’m taking notes down since there’s a reminder option. Super handy for when blogging inspiration strikes when I’m on the go!
Feedly is the best to use while waiting! It keeps my occupied for sure. The app is so well done. I’ve been looking at Google Keep since it’s been on my phone but I’ve never looked at it. I’ll have to take a look.
Thank you for sharing your tools, lady. I’ve already opened all windows with the links/services that were unfamiliar to me. =)
Can’t wait to sign up for your newsletter!!!
Thanks Kelly! The newsletter is live so feel free to sign up by clicking the Newsletter tab above 🙂
Love this post! It’s so nice to hear about your experiences with all of these fabulous programs and apps 🙂 Rock on, girl!
Rhiannon, thank you for stopping by!
I’m bookmarking this, awesome shares!
Thank you Katie!
Thanks so much for sharing these links! I love using Creative Market and am always so inspired by the interviews on TGD! Haven’t heard the podcasts before, definitely checking those out. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend, Angel! <3
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Tana!
I love November because I get to read so many posts about what bloggers are grateful for! Your list happens to be a great resource tool as well, thanks for sharing it. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
http://www.melindadiorio.com
Thank you for stopping by Melinda! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Your list looks very similar to mine! I love, love, love Evernote! I actually use it create and organize my blog posts. Creative Market is awesome too. The only thing I would add is Hootsuite, it’s very similar to Tweetdeck, and Square Space, it was a website lifesaver for me!
I loved Hootsuite years ago but I’m not 100% in love with the interface. SO shallow! But it’s a great product.
Great list. I am a huge fan of TweetDeck and Feedly. Helps me stay connected with other bloggers. Also loving that you have been listening to Joy the Baker! Totes maj! Haha! 🙂