FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. I just started using the iPhone app, Playfull, again after a several months. I’d stopped using it because the rewards hadn’t been great lately, but they are back with wonderful easy to earn free things – like this pretty bowl from BIBIBOP. The concept is pretty simple, play mobile games and earn free rewards at local restaurants. The app seems to be focused on just LA for now but hopefully it will expand to other markets.
2. I was completely memorized by this video.
3. My husband and I have been doing lots of financial planning lately and he found this awesome flow chart for helping you get your footing in the personal finance world.
4. I also started taking free online classes via Khan Academy in personal finance and finance and capital markets. The courses are quick video tutorials that break down the basics of figuring out the financial side of the adult world which is comical because the site is primarily for teaching kids school subjects. Back to the basics!

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. I’ve been in Houston this week for the Grace Hopper Conference and was lucky enough to see Anita Hill speak this morning. Obviously with all of the current news going on, it was moving, emotional, and super powerful to hear her words.
2. I ended up staying at an airbnb a ways away from the conference center while in Houston because hotel prices were astronomically high. It occurred to me throughout the week, though, that I actually prefer staying that way because I did so much walking to and from the events. Not only did I up my step count (a recent struggle for me!) but it gave me a much better idea of the city’s layout, I ate at some spots I would have otherwise missed, and got lots of views that could have gone unnoticed.
3. Adventurous Kate’s Antarctica posts continue to inspire me and invoke a serious wanderlust to visit The Great South. Up this week: her guide to kayaking while on an Antarctica expedition.
4. Really loving a lot of Ali on the Run’s latest podcasts! I’m no stranger to listening to hers as soon as they come out, but some definite favs have hit the airwaves (is that what we think podcasts run on?) recently: interview with Ellen Latham, creator of Orangetheory Fitness; interview with Mary Wittenberg, former CEO of NYRR and former CEO of Virgin Sport and all around badass runner; and, the latest episode, chronicling her journey over the last 9 months of pregnancy!