{10 best apps for bloggers}

A person's phone holds all of their deep dark secrets - and for bloggers our phone holds the key to social media and success! I always love discovering the apps that people use to edit photos or their shortcuts to sharing. I go crazy if my phone is unorganized so having apps that make my photo editing and sharing flow smoothly (and not show my anxiety-ridden self) are crucial! You would never know that an entire day of Instagram and tweeting all happened in the first hour of my day ;) Well, now you know... but sharing is caring!

Everyone has the usual Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. so I've narrowed a list down to the 10 best apps. They range from photo editing to a good ole "comes with the phone" app. I hope this helps you bloggers get more organized or just you Instagram loving gals find a new way to make those photos pop!

1 // ColorStory - I've mentioned this app before but I still can't believe how great it is at editing photos. It's the only app where you can edit the "curves" just like in Photoshop. It comes with basic editing features and then tons of free filters where you can control the amount you add on. The best part is that you can save the steps you take and create a new filter to use the next time you edit!

2 // Bitly - Since Twitter only lets you have 140 characters this app is crucial for tweeting out links! It quickly shortens the url into a "bit.ly/" link and you can easily copy and paste into a tweet, instagram, email, etc. All of your bit.ly links get saved in the app so you can go back and copy a previous shortened link if needed - you can also track how many people have clicked the bit.ly link (that's not visible in my photos right now since they were slow to load)!

3 // Diptic - You know how people always have those cute birthday collages for their friends? Or bloggers that will create an instagram with 9 photos of their past outfits for an "insta lately" post? This is the app for that. You can control the borders, frames, create curvy edges, add text, and round out corners. Photos are easily swapped in and out with an added feature to manipulate brightness, saturation and contrast.

4 // Google Drive - After I shoot with a photographer all of my photos are uploaded into Google Drive so that I can download them on to my computer. I like to use the app to access some of the high res photos for Instagram or sharing purposes. I've run out of space on my phone more times than I can count so keeping my favorite photos on here for easy access is key.

5 // PicFX - You know those pretty little white and gold dots that are on some photos? That's with this app... I really only use it for this :) you can even change how strong they show up and which side of the photo they're put on.

6 // Hootsuite - I can never remember to tweet out my post for the day or share a fun giveaway that's happening on my blog so Hootsuite helps me schedule everything in advance. A lot of the time I'll schedule my tweets right when I wake up in the morning and I'm still laying in bed. It's an easy way to make sure I'm promoting my blog and I don't have to remember to do it during the afternoon! (I also use my bit.ly links when I schedule!)

7 // Reward Style - So obviously this app is primarily for bloggers. But being able to link everything I'm wearing in a photo helps the reader out too! I've explained how it works in this post!

8 // Afterlight - Have you ever had the cutest photo but when you put it into square mode it crops off your best friend on the end or your adorable shoes? Or maybe you want your photos to fit perfectly in the Instagram square and don't want to choose the expanded horizontal/vertical size... I use Afterlight primarily for the frames. It has editing capabilities but I like taking a vertical photo and knowing it will fit (with a white border) into the perfect IG square!

9 // Bloglovin' - Confession: I rarely have time to read blogs anymore. Does that make me a bad blogger? Maybe... but when I do get the chance to glance at my phone before I lose service on the metro I love to read my favorite blogs through this app. It's puts them all at my fingertips instantly!

10 // Notes - At this rate, everyone knows how important hashtags are. Tagging a company's slogan or name can result in a like or even a coveted regram! Most people also don't want a long list of # in their photo caption. My solution is to keep a list of my "favorite" hashtags in a note and then copy and paste them into a comment on my photo immediately after posting. Some people will copy in page breaks so that you instantly see an ellipses and not any tags but I just go for it and hope that people will comment on my photo to make them hide ;)

What are your favorite apps to use? Is there one app that you can't live without? Let me know if you have any questions about how something works or a question about an app! My email is always open to you - southernanchors@gmail.com :)

Love Always,

{blankets and booties}

Fall means two things to me: colorful blanket scarves and leather or suede booties. They're perfect for sunshine, temps in the 60s and a crisp breeze in the air. I can already imagine combining some of these for a winery weekend or tailgating for a football game! Bring on the blankets and booties!!!

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Love Always,

{simple grey tee}

Photography by Kristyn

Aerie V-neck Best T ℅ // Old Navy White Jeans // Baublebar Necklace // J.Crew Chambray Shirt // Tory Burch Miller Sandals // Kate Spade Purse, old (similar)

Sometimes all you need to create an easy outfit for bowling with girlfriends is an easy tee. The rest just falls into place… A little sparkle, white pants and a chambray to throw on in case you get cold. This t-shirt has been worn on a daily basis - it's that soft. At first I thought this was just going to be a throw on and lounge shirt but it's so comfortable and I love the length that I've worn it to work under a blazer and  out to drinks with jeans and heels! It was perfect to throw on to chat with some ladies while bowling at Pinstripes (all you DC people have got to go check them out - nicest bowling lanes I've ever been to!). This will not be the last time you see this shirt so I suggest you take advantage of the buy one get one 50% off deal they have going on right now!

PS. yes, technically I shot this look before Labor Day but no, I will not be putting my white jeans away. Rules were meant to be broken ;)

Love Always,

{warm like a summer sunset}

There have been a couple of times this summer where I've gotten cold and wished I had a sweater…

Photography by Emily Smalling

Marie Oliver Silk Drape Cardi ℅ (on sale for $68) // J.Crew Linen V-Neck T-Shirt // Old Navy White Jeans // Elaine Turner Cork Heels // GloMinerals Lipstick in "Bloom" ℅ // Olive+Piper Double Pearl Earrings, sold out (similar)

With Labor Day approaching quickly I'm wearing as much white as possible… Okay, that's a blatant lie. I wear white all the time and I never let rules like silly Labor Day stop me from wearing white. (Just wait until I'm a bride - I might as well invest in a lifetime supply of bleach because I L-O-V-E wearing white!)

I have a weird tendency to get super hot or really cold in the summer. It's caused me to always carry a sweater no matter what so that I'm always prepared. One of my favorite things to do is wear neutrals and then have a really brightly colored accessory. Normally, that's jewelry in my case. Recently, I've tried to mix things up a bit by finding pieces that can help me transition some color into Fall… I normally wear a lot of black (remember my New Year's Resolution?). I love how I can scrunch these sleeves up easily and toss it in my bag. It's light weight enough so that I don't feel like I'm getting sweaty in the Summer humidity. It's safe to say that everything Marie Oliver creates is luscious and full of life - I can't get enough and am excited to see what goodies they come out with for Fall! These colors remind me of a summer sunset so I hope that their new collection has rich colors that evoke the reds and oranges of Fall - swoon!

Love Always,

{pink pom-poms and pleats}

Pink pom-poms and pleats. Say that five times fast!

Photography by Emily Smalling

ASOS Dress (sold out) via Dressometry ℅ // Accessory Concierge Pom-Pom Necklaces // Steve Madden Heels // Rebecca Minkoff Clutch (pink version) // MAC Lipstick in "Impassioned"

My favorite dresses through Dressometry that are similar to my pleated ASOS one: Shoptiques Pink Bow Dress, Revolve Cross Back Dress, Urban Outfitters Trapeze Dress, and this Shopbop BCBG Mini Dress.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to share this website with y'all… especially because the fact that this dress is sold out makes Dressometry come in handy even more!

Here's how it works - You're looking for a particular dress. Say you want it to be short with a bit of fit and flare and you love the color pink. So you come up with this result! Dressometry gives you the closest match and then you can scroll down and see a ton of other dresses that mach your criteria! My favorite part is that you can change the level of conservativeness, the formality and the price. That's all on the right hand side of your first search result. Dressometry allows you to search for your favorite style + color dress combo over multiple websites. Yep, it searches from Free People to Lulu*s to Tobi to Revolve to ASOS to Forever 21 (okay… you get the idea). It makes finding the perfect dress so much easier. Once you find your dress you click on the image and it takes you to the retailers page so you can purchase it there! It's kind of like google for dresses… I'm obsessed. The one issue I have is that they don't tell you if it's available in your size or not. But fear not! I talked with the girls at Dressometry and that is in the works! Woot woot!

More exciting news - Dressometry also offers a shoe browsing page!!! I can't tell you how handy this is gonna be for all you brides and bridesmaids… Having someone tell you that you have to wear a blush pink peep-toe heel doesn't narrow your search down. It only broadens it more! Now you can search for that and stay in your budget while browsing in your pajamas with a glass of wine :)

Love Always,

{lace white romper}

This was outside our hotel in Charleston - the Belmond Charleston Place Hotel! I loved that the fountain had horses just like all of the carriages that took people on tours around the city.

Photography by Alicia Tenise

Target Romper // Lulu*s Pink heels, similar with all sizes // Love's Affect Necklace and Bracelets ℅ // Gold Stud Earrings // Rebecca Minkoff Clutch (pink option) // BITE Lipstick in "Palomino"

This is my last look from the Southern Blog Society Conference in Charleston!! I've dragged these outfit posts out so that I felt like I was still there… I truly had that much fun :)

I say this about a lot of outfits but I seriously loved this look. When I woke up Sunday morning I was beyond grateful to have something comfy to put on to enjoy a farewell breakfast with all the bloggers! I decided to spice up the look with hot pink heels and colorful accessories in pretty colored stones. I've worn these Love's Affect bracelets on multiple occasions because they're so much fun to stack up and mix with other bracelets. I love how soft the colors are and that they each have a unique element to the design. Paired with my mint clutch it was a match made in heaven!

Now my hair (because I know I'm going to get questions haha) I basically did two twist braids on either side and then pinned them on top of my head to form a crown. I decided to twist them instead of your typical braid to try and be a bit different - braids were definitely a thing amongst the girls in the Charleston humidity. If you want to see a tutorial let me know and I can try to put one together :) It's really easy and is my go-to on days when my hair isn't listening or I'm trying to extend a blow-out!

Love Always,