PSP → LAX → SFO.

A year ago today I drove from Palm Springs to LA, then got up the next day and drove to San Francisco. All alone, in the tiny rental car pictured below, it was fantastic. I took notes and intended to blog some of my two-week vacation, but it never happened. Now that I'm trapped in snowy Chicago, suffering from the grad school blues, I thought I'd reflect… on sunnier times.

It's no secret, I have mad love for California and it's a struggle not to visit every year. Highlights from this trip include: great modern architecture, an open road, sunshine, the beach, and amazing friends along the way. #iwanttogotothere

filtered.

I'm a bit of an Instagram addict, so this poster made me smile and say "aha". Read more about how 1000memories broke down each filter here. 

And my love for instagram continues…

instafav.

Instagram, the hipster photo filter app, has been out for a while, but it's still one of my favorites. Within a matter of seconds you can post vintage-inspired pics directly to your Twitter/Facebook/Fickr. The app itself has also become a way to interact with other iPhone users, forming it's own social network of sorts. The interface is beautifully designed, setting the standard for add-ons to follow. Below are a few of my favorite ways to view Instagram data.

Instagrid is a web-based gallery that allows you to see all of a users pictures. Here's my feed, as you can see Milo is my main subject!

Carousel is a desktop app that allows you to view your feed, most popular pics, and your own post history, as well as followers and comments. Hello, beautiful.

There is also Instabam — nothing fancy about the design, but it shows me photos posted nearby my current location, that being home, I'm seeing some familiar faces and coming across pics of all my favorite local eats!