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My Favourite Apps for Christmas and Beyond

Post author By Abbey
Post date August 16, 2023
1 Comment on My Favourite Apps for Christmas and Beyond

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Here’s a roundup of a couple of my favourite apps. These are a few I use especially around the holidays.

1. Santa’s Bag

Free | In-App Purchases

This is the only app on my list that is actually branded towards Christmas, but it’s a great resource for any gift giving event. Santa’s Bag is an app that helps you organize all of the details around gift giving. They’ve thought of all the details and options – you can even change the decorative Santa’s skin tone in settings if you want.

On the summary page, you can set a budget for your holiday and the menu keeps track of your progress by gifts purchased, gifts to buy, and the total over/under budget you are. It also has a time clock counting down to Christmas.

You can also view your plans organized by recipients. You can log everyone you want to get gifts for and view them as a list. After you select a recipient, you can see more detail for that specific recipient. You can list gift ideas, links, merchants used, preferences, and even set a budget for each specific gift recipient.

Another menu lets you look at all your gifts sorted however you like. I personally like to use the status option which sorts the gifts by whether they are an idea, purchased, shipped, delivered, wrapped, and gifted. They even have an option for handmade gifts and stocking stuffers!

I love this app because it helps me remember the gifts I want to get or have purchased and keep track of where I’m at with each of them, so I don’t forget anything. The best part about this app is, it’s free! There is an in app purchase available to remove advertisement banners if those bother you.

2. AnyList

Free | In-App Purchases – Subscription

Now that you know how to organize all the gifts you’re going to get, you going to need ideas on what everyone wants. The perfect app for that is AnyList. Now hear me out because you may know AnyList as a grocery app. That is exactly what it is, but due to its shared feature, it makes it the perfect app for wish list sharing. My family uses AnyList for a shared grocery list. It’s great because it updates the list in real time on everyone’s phone so we can all add and whoever is at the grocery can quickly see what is needed.

Another great use we’ve found is that everyone can make their own wishlist and share it so we can see ideas of what everyone would like for birthdays and Christmas all in one place. The app has built in categories that you can use to organize the items or you can make your own. You can also add notes and links to help would-be gift givers understand better than just the tagline might allow. We use this to link to Amazon wishlists or certain specific products or add sizing information.

The only thing is you have to make sure everyone understands that the only person who can make changes to a wishlist is the owner. Since everyone sees the changes, if you cross something off the list then it gets crossed everyone’s list and it ruins the surprise.

The base app is free which allows you to do everything I mentioned before plus add recipes and meal plan, but you can also opt to subscribe to AnyList complete which adds the ability to put pictures on items, sort by aisle in the grocery store, use AnyList on a desktop computer, import recipes, add item pricing, turn on a passcode lock, receive priority support among other features. There are options for an individual subscription or a household subscription that lets you add others’ emails to your subscription. We’ve been happy just using the free version, but some of those features in the upgrade do sound awesome. I think you’ll be happy with the app either way you choose.

3. PackTheBag

Free | Pro Version Available

Pack the Bag is another app I use year round to plan my travels both big and small. I’ve tried so many packing apps and this one is the one I come back to time after time. The app comes preloaded with lots of items you can choose to add to your packing list, but you can edit or add new ones to be more specific to your packing needs.

The items are primarily sorted by category. You can edit categories or add new ones if you like. You go down the list and choose which items you want to add to your packing list. If you fill out the dates of your travel, there’s even a shortcut that will automatically add 1 item for each day of travel. That’s great for things like underwear and socks that you use everyday. The best part about the categories is you can minimize them to allow for quicker navigation and reduce visual clutter when you’re using the app. Sometimes the same item is listed in more than one category, but the app will tell you if you’ve selected the same thing twice in different categories. I really like the suggestions already built in. They even had things I sometimes forget to include in my list when I do it from scratch. You can also add pictures and weight to each item. The app will actually total the weigh of your items as you pack them. Anything you add will stay in the list of options for any future lists you might create so taking the time to detail the items is nice for later trips to benefit from.

While you’re packing, you can turn on a filter that only shows unpacked items. Again, reducing visual clutter so you can see quickly what is still left to find. You can also turn it off to see everything or see just packed items.

The app is free and so useful as is, but as most free apps are there is an option to upgrade to Pack the Bag Pro. It is sold as a separate app which costs $3 in the app store.

4. Splitwise

Free | In-app Purchase – Subscription

If you are doing any traveling or perhaps going in on a group gift, this app could help you a lot. This app takes any purchases and splits them as you want. You can do one time purchases and assign who is involved, or you can make a group and add multiple purchases from multiple people in the group.

As I mentioned before, you can have the app split it equally, but you can also choose other ways to split the payments as well making it really flexible. You can also choose whether you want traditional paybacks or you can choose to simplify payments. When you select this option, the app does the math to have everyone just do 1 payment instead of several redundant ones. So for example if Susan pays for something for herself, Bob, and Jeff and it cost $90; then Jeff pays $120 for the group. Instead of Jeff paying Susan $30, then Susan paying Jeff $40; the app would just tell Susan to pay Jeff $10. That’s a simple example, the app will take even more complicated scenarios and just tell everyone what they owe and to who – it’s awesome!

Something I don’t love about this app, it requires you to put in the participants email instead of allowing just names. It confuses people sometimes and not everyone wants to download the app. Now they don’t have to, but it does still email them. I do wish there was a way to track on your own without adding emails especially when I’m just trying to track for myself or I know that others don’t want the app. It’s a really good app other than that. Plus, if everyone downloads the app, then anyone can add their own expenses in real time.

Splitwise also integrates with PayPal and Venmo so the participants can link straight from the app to make a payment. Then the app updates automatically that a payment was made and updates the status to settled. You can also mark payments manually if you choose to settle up in a different way than the integrated options.

I use this app with my friends and family frequently for group trips, splitting food costs, or going in on annual costs.

The app is free, but does have a Pro option done as a subscription for $3/month or $30/year. Pro allows you to scan receipts, go ad-free, currency conversion, itemize expenses, plus other features.

5. RecipeBox

Free | Optional Free Account

I definitely use this app more than just around Christmas, but I tend to be home, ready, and able to make all of my favourite foods in December.

I used to use a different recipe app before they went subscription only. That sparked me to find a great option in RecipeBox. The coolest feature is that it has a Focus Mode that will keep your phone from going to sleep for an hour while you remain in the app. This is great especially when your hands are covered in whatever you are baking and you want to review the instructions or measurements. It takes the most annoying part of digital recipe books and solves it!

You can categorize your recipes by categories, but also mark some as favourites to get back to quickly. You can add notes and urls in addition to the traditional things you expect to find in a recipe.

The app also has a Discover function where you can scroll through recipes or search for inspiration. There’s also a Shopping List and Meal Plan function in this app too so you have options.

I know I already said what the coolest feature is, so I’ll just call this the other coolest feature. You can import recipes directly from websites using your computer. and maybe the other other best part…the app is Free! No in-app purchases or subscriptions, you just have to make a free account if you want to use it across multiple devices or use the import feature.

6. The Vault

Free | In-app Purchases

Finally, I had to add this app because it is just one of the all time best apps, and it always blows peoples’ minds when I introduce it to them. The Vault is an encrypted, secure app that allows you to store valuable information such as passwords or important information. It also allows you to include pictures. It is pretty free form, but it also allows you to search through the app for test to find what you’re looking for quickly.

I store all of my passwords in The Vault. I am able to sort it into categories. For example, I have a category for my blog where I keep the important information for the accounts used to run More Like Guidelines, and less secure information like the specific color codes used for my logo. I also have a category for my wallet. I put pictures of each of my cards in there along with the credentials to login to their apps. That way, if I ever lose my wallet then I have a list of all the cards I need to pause, and I have the phone numbers I’ll need to call. I also have the numbers typed out which helps for online shopping when I don’t want to go get my wallet and it lets me copy and paste.

Now I’ve mentioned a lot of really sensitive information being typed into the app, but of course they have a great solution for that as well. The app has built in features so that when you type something next to something like password, it will block it out with green dots so if someone is looking over your shoulder it isn’t immediately visible. You can slide your finger over it to reveal what is hidden. Same thing with credit card numbers and other data.

One other little pro tip I would give for this app. If you have an account that is associated with your address or phone number, type that into that account’s page. That way if one of those things ever changes, you can just type your address into the search and it will show all of the accounts that need to be updated to the new information.

The app is free, but does have several in-app purchases for some of their more advanced features.

These are some of my favourite apps that I like to use. I hope you find them helpful or maybe they’ll inspire you to go find a new favourite app of your own because, after-all, these are More Like Guidelines anyway.

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Tags adulting, Christmas, Finance, Free Download, Getting Your Finances in Order in Your 20's, gift list, grocery list, Organization, packing, Recipe Book, recipes, technology, Travel

Food

My Favourite Homemade Pizza

Post author By Abbey
Post date February 10, 2022
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My favourite food by far is pizza. However, it can be an expensive habit when you’re young and on a budget. When I moved to Atlanta, I was searching for a great recipe to replace one of my favourite pizza places and save some cash.

The biggest change you can make to a pizza is the crust. Finding a good crust was the biggest challenge. I found some good options along the way, but this is my go-to now.

I really like this crust because it stretches and gets thin easily. That was actually one of my biggest struggles when looking for a good crust. So many doughs were too sticky or would tear too easily so it was impossible to get the kind of crust I was trying to emulate. There are so many crust varieties, and I know people have very strong opinions on them. The way I make this crust is to copy Ohio pizza, which is a thin crust, similar to Donatos if you’re familiar with that chain.

Ok first things first, what do we need. I’ve adjusted this down to make 1 large thin crust pizza for 1 – 2 people. If you want to make more, it is easy to scale up.

Supplies

Mixing bowl or stand mixer
Spatulas
Measuring Cups and spoons
Pizza stone
Pizza peel or cookie sheet
Parchment Paper
Rolling Pin
Rolling Mat (highly suggested not required)

Ingredients

1 cup Flour
³/₄ tsp Yeast
¹/₂tsp Salt
¹/₂tsp Baking Powder
1 ¹/₂ tsp Oregano
1 ¹/₂ tsp Minced Garlic
1 ¹/₂ Olive Oil
3 oz. (6 Tbsp) Warm Water

Steps

Somethings you may notice are odd about this recipe. First you’ll see yeast, but no sugar. This recipe breaks some yeast bread rules, but bear with me. Rules are meant to be broken so we’ll just consider them guidelines.

One thing that makes this easy, first step throw all the ingredients into your mixing bowl in order.
Combine ingredients. If you aren’t using a stand mixer, I find it easiest to use a spatula to combine all the ingredients. Combine until it becomes a ball. Continue to work and knead it for 2-3 minutes. If the dough isn’t coming together or is too dry, add a little more water. If it is too sticky, add a little flour.
Drizzle some olive oil over the dough ball and on the sides of the bowl. Roll the ball so that all sides are coated and won’t stick to the bowl during the rise.
Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place until doubled. Cover the bowl with Glad Press ‘n’ Seal or saran wrap. A damp towel works too, but not as well. I’ve found that you get a much better rise with a good seal like Press ‘n’ Seal gives.
Spread your rolling mat onto the counter or sprinkle some flour if not using a mat. If you can get the parchment paper to stay in place, you could also try rolling on that.
Roll the dough as thin as you can or like. Be sure to vary the direction to push the dough into a round shape. It probably won’t be a perfect circle, but if that’s important to you roll is past your max size then cut to shape.
Transfer dough to parchment paper before dressing.

Rolled out pizza dough on a blue rolling mat

Print Recipe

Garlic & Oregano Pizza Crust

A nice workable dough to make a wonderful thin crust pizza crust.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Rise Time30

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bread, Crust, Pizza

Servings: 1 Large Pizza Crust

Calories: 524kcal

Cost: $3

Equipment

1 Mixing Bowl
1 Spatula or stand mixer
1 Plastic Wrap
1 Pizza Stone Highly Suggested but not Required

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp instant yeast
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ Tbsp oregano
½ Tbsp minced garlic
½ Tbsp olive oil
3 fl oz warm water or 6 Tbs

Instructions

Mix all ingredient in order to mixing bowl.
Mix until ingredients come together in a ball. Add more flour if too sticky, and more water if too dry.
Knead in the bowl for 2-3 minutes.
Add some oil to the sides of the bowl and roll the dough so each side is coated.
Let rise for 30 min. until doubled in size.
Roll dough out into a circular shape rolling until as thin as possible. Cut to size if too big for your pizza stone or baking sheet.
Move the dough to parchment paper before adding toppings.
Preheat the oven to 425°F with pizza stone inserted.
Sauce and add toppings as desired.
Cook for 13-15 min. or until crust is golden and crisp.

Notes

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	539
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8.6g	11%
Saturated Fat 1.3g	6%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 1173mg	51%
Total Carbohydrate 100.6g	37%
Dietary Fiber 5.1g	18%
Total Sugars 0.5g
Protein 14.6g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 175mg	13%
Iron 8mg	42%
Potassium 502mg	11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Sauce

This is my favourite pizza sauce. Of course, you can always use store bought, but I never liked the flavour. Turns out that was one of the reasons I didn’t like homemade pizza for so long.

This recipe, however, is so simple. It also is a pretty good copy of the sauce my favourite chain uses. I use this sauce regardless of the type of pizza I’m making.

Supplies

Jar or container
Spatula
Measuring Spoons

Ingredients

6 oz. can of tomato paste
¹/₂ tsp Basil
¹/₂ tsp Salt
³/₄ tsp Sugar
⁹/₁₀ Can of Water

Steps

This is one of the easiest recipes ever.

Take an empty jar. I reuse old sauce jars I’ve collected from my parents, but if you have mason jars or even pickle jars would work (after you clean them out, of course).
Scoop out the tomato paste into the jar. I have a spatula I love for this, plus it came from the Dollar Tree so win-win! It is the perfect thinness to fit in the can, plus it is double sided so you can use it for the dough too.
Take the empty can and fill it ⁹/₁₀full of water, and add to the jar.
Add the other ingredients.
Replace the lid, and shake well to combine all ingredients.
Let sit in the fridge for 3 days for optimal flavour saturation. Although, I’ve used it immediately too and it still works, but not quite as good.

Red Sauce in a jar sitting on a wooden surface

Print Recipe

Pizza Sauce

A simple excellent pizza sauce

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pizza, Sauce

Servings: 1 jar

Cost: $1

Equipment

1 Jar
1 Spatula

Ingredients

6 oz can tomato paste
9/10 can water use the tomato paste can
½ tsp basil
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp sugar

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients into the jar. Use the can from the tomato paste to measure the water. Fill to about 9/10 to the top of the can.
Replace the lid and shake to mix all ingredients.
Store in fridge until ready to use. Let sit for at least 3 days for optimal flavor, but can use immediately if needed.

Baking the pizza

After you’ve moved the dough to parchment paper. You can sauce it to taste, and add cheese and toppings. I have found that it is actually better to use provolone cheese instead of the typical mozzarella. Give it a try!

I also suggest after you add all of your toppings to add a sprinkle of grated parmesan or Italian cheese and oregano. It really takes it to the next notch of making it taste boughten.

Bake at 425°F for 13 – 15 minutes until the crust is golden and crisp. I find the best time to warm up the oven is after the dough rise. Make sure your pizza stone is in the oven before you turn it on so it warms up with the rest of the oven. I highly recommend a pizza stone. I use it for my breads as well.

To transfer the dressed pizza to the oven takes a bit of a learning curve. Using the parchment paper has made all the difference for me. Use a pizza peel or a thin cookie sheet. I actually bought the pizza pan from the dollar tree for this purpose. Since it is so cheap, it makes me not worried about cutting the pizza on it too.

So, take your transfer tray and line it up with the end of the pizza at the edge of your prep surface. Take the corner of the parchment paper and slide it over to the transfer tray.

Once it is on the tray, you can open the oven and slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. The paper should make it slide slowly and smoothly.

To take the pizza out again, just do the same thing in reverse. It is easier on the way out since the crust will be crisper and everything melded into one.

Cut and enjoy!

Pizza is a personal preference, there are no rules. These are more like guidelines anyway.

Garlic Oregano Pizza Crust Recipe Holes on Left Download

Garlic Oregano Pizza Crust Recipe Holes on Right Download

Pizza Sauce on Left Download

Pizza Sauce on Right Download

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Tags adulting, Food, Free Download, Recipe, Recipe Book

Food

Simple Grilled Chicken

A basic skill everyone should know is to cook a basic grilled chicken breast.

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A great staple meal is a grilled chicken. It can be paired with so many other things and is surprisingly easy to make well.

You can keep some frozen chicken breasts in your freezer to make a cheap meal available at any time. This also works with raw chicken too, so whichever you have available.

Grab a pan with a lid or you can also use a lid slightly smaller than the pan. It’s important to use a combination that allows you to have a seal when the lid is on. This helps cook the chicken thoroughly while making sure it doesn’t dry out.

Then drizzle some olive oil onto the center of the pan. This is to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan and also adds a little healthy fat and flavour.

Then you just set the chicken on the oil. I also drizzle just a little olive oil on the top of the chicken. This helps keep the seasoning on and a little oil for when you flip it.

Having a clear lid has been great for seeing how the cooking is coming along without breaking the seal.

Speaking of seasoning, this is also very simple. Just a little bit of salt and pepper, and the part that really makes it good, rosemary. Sprinkle a little bit of rosemary on there and it takes the chicken to the next notch.

Once you’re used to the basics, you’ll be able to experiment with other flavors you might want to try. I once added a slice of lemon to a dish with multiple servings. While I liked the flavour, it didn’t pair correctly with the rest of the elements of the meal.

After you dress your chicken, put that lid we talked about on. Turn the stove onto medium heat and don’t pick up the lid. The seal really is what keeps the chicken from drying out, so the less you lift it, the better. Just let it cook for a few minutes. You’ll probably hear the sizzling and see some steam. Basically, just listen and trust your gut, but try not to lift the lid more than once. When the first side is cooked well, flip it and replace the lid. I have found that it is easier to flip chicken by using tongs instead of a spatula.

You know it’s done when the center is cooked thoroughly. I cut into the center just a little bit before taking it off the skillet. As long as it’s not pink you’ll be ok. If you see pink, it’s not done and you could get sick by eating it. To check without cutting your chicken, use a meat thermometer. It should read at least 165°.

Find what works for you, these are more like guidelines anyway.

Grilled Chicken Recipe Page Holes on the Left Download

Grilled Chicken Recipe Page Holes on the Right Download

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Tags adulting, Basics, Food, Recipe, Recipe Book

Food

DIY Recipe Book

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I made a little recipe template for my brother and thought I’d share it with you. It’s really simple. I’m including 2 different copies though, 1 with room for hole punches on the right side, and 1 on the left.

Blank-Recipe-Pages-Holes-on-Left Download

Blank-Recipe-Pages-Holes-on-Right Download

I made them to fit an A5 page. That’s about the size of a day planner or a small binder. Either would be great choices for your book.

I’m also including these with each of the recipes I post already filled out and ready for you. They will also have the Holes on Right/Left option so you can do front and back if you want or just one side. Your choice.

If you’re looking for a little bit of inspiration, I found an adorable recipe book at Marshall’s for only a couple bucks. I bought it for my cousin for her birthday and she loved it as well. I almost bought it for myself even though I already bought a Cookbook from Goodwill.

You can fashion a cookbook yourself, or you might find a cute one like this. If you do buy one, make sure to scan some good copies of blank pages so you can print more later.

Make it your own. Personally, I love the dividers on these. So helpful.

I don’t really know how I feel about the stickers….to each their own. I never end up using stickers because I don’t want to waste them.

Some Ideas for DIY a recipe book

I prefer something that lets you add, remove, and rearrange whenever you want. If you want something more permanent, do that.

While aesthetic can be important, make sure to focus on function over fashion. Yes, it will be great if you love to display it and that helps you use it, but if the base you pick doesn’t stay open on its own or the fonts are hard to read, you will never use the book. It will just be a decoration piece. Let’s make it both.

Make sure you know what size paper the base takes before you decide on yours. You don’t want to get a base that takes an unusual size of paper that you’ll never be able to refill. Doing a quick Amazon search will give you a solid idea for how available and expensive sizes are. A5 (half-sized) is fairly standard while letter sized is probably the easiest to obtain.

1. The Starter: Pick the base you like the best.

The simplest base would be a regular, plain binder. You can pick these up anywhere you can get office supplies. There are even half size binders so you can have something smaller than letter size.

You can also find all kinds of designs and styles of binder, especially in full size.

Another option would be getting a day planner base. You can also find many of these in several styles. They can get more expensive if you’re not careful, especially if you’re buying from Office Depot or Staples. I have found some attractive and decently priced day planner bases an Amazon.

I bought this A5 or half-size journal cover for my day planner. It’s under $15 and really nice. I’ve had it for over a couple years now, and it has held up just fine.

As of Sept. 2020, my planner is unavailable. Here are a couple other ideas I’ve purchased for friends and family as gifts. The black one has a USB hidden in the clasp which could be a cool place to save your recipes digitally.

One more idea for a recipe book is an actual recipe book. There are several recipe books that are formatted in a binder so you could add more recipes to them. This option isn’t necessarily as cute as some of the other options, but it jump starts your book which is great if you don’t have many recipes of your own yet. This is what I’m working with right now and some recipe apps. A possible difficulty with this: the page sizes might not be a standard size so you will have some trial and error to find the right size or your pages will be different sizes than the book pages. I found a ring-bound recipe book at Goodwill that was just like new. It was very similar to this one except it was all kinds of recipes, not just baking. This baking book, however, is one we had in our house growing up and it has some of my favourite recipes.

There are also some very different options. I believe OfficeDepot has a journal system that lets you do whatever you want with pages and connect them with just a series of clips. It’s similar to a binder, but more personalized? Basically, just do a little research. If you have an idea for how you want it to be put together, it’s probably out there or available for you to make.

2. The Meat: Pick how the recipes will look

Like I mentioned before, you can use the simple format I provided at the beginning of the article, you can make your own, or find another download that suits your purpose.

Either way, make sure it has all the basic elements of a recipe (ingredients, directions, cook time etc.) and anything else you like to include. (Personal notes, decorations)

Feel free to browse recipes online, in old books, or even what you may have written by hand to get inspiration for what you want to include in your recipe book.

3. The Toppings: Extras to make the Book more Accessible or Appealing

You can get yourself some little dividers on Amazon or cut them yourself from scrapbook paper if you want.

I got these (left) for under $10 for my day planner. They’d work great for a half-size binder. They are A5 size so be aware of that. This (right) is the paper I use to print my own planner pages, and they would work great for making your own recipe pages.

Adding information to the inside covers of your base or on your dividers can make for some better function and could be really cute too.

Some bookmarks could also be helpful for getting to those recipes you use all the time. Think non-traditional, some of my favourite things to use as bookmarks are paperclips. Maybe this is why they have all those fancy, shaped paperclips.

Don’t forget to just keep adding and cooking. It’s only as useful as you make it. Have fun with it and remember these are more like guidelines anyway.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. All opinions and recommendations are my own regardless.

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Tags DIY, Food, Free Download, Recipe Book