Ash and I are here with another installment of our favorite things…

1. Yes, I’ve forsaken the iPhone for a shiny new HTC Inspire 4G. While part of me is sad to have left Apple and its iOS behind, I am very excited about the flexibility and openness of my new phone’s operating system, Android.  If you’re a geek like me, the Android platform is perfect for tweaking and personalization.  The 4.3″ screen doesn’t hurt the equation, either.  It might sound huge, but it really is the perfect size. Ashley’s kind of jealous… but she won’t forsake her precious Apple-branded device.

2. Though Ashley and I have both been working crazy hours for the past couple of weeks, we’ve managed to set aside some time for some serious, and I mean serious, Mario Kart Wii competition. It’s Mario vs. Peach in a fast-paced racing battle to the finish!

3. Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale is my new favorite soft drink. I’ve been trying (that is the operative word) to get away from super-sugary sodas, but when I break down (rather often), I’ve found myself reaching for this stuff. I love green tea, and I love ginger ale.  To me, the combination is a no-brainer, and apparently Canada Dry had the same thought.

4. Sears delivered a brand new mattress to our guest bedroom Sunday afternoon (more on that later).  The delivery guys were polite and a true pleasure to work with for every bit of the 5 minutes they were in the house.  Truly great service is hard to come by, so Sears is on my favorite things list this month!

5. Despite my status as a geek/tech guy, I’m not much of an app addict.  I try to keep all of my computing devices (phones, computers, components, etc.) clean of anything that isn’t essential to how I use them.  However, Google Goggles is simply a must-have app for any iOS- or Android-wielding smartphone user.  It can take a picture of a bar code and find information on the product for you, or it can solve that pesky sudoku puzzle that you’ve been working on for hours.  Goggles serves as my “check out how cool my phone is” app, and it’s functional, too!

6. My Line 6 Pocket Pod is currently my electric guitar’s best friend.  Most of the time, I don’t really want to take the trouble to pull my amplifier out and hook everything up just to play a few notes.  Rather than doing all that, I just hook into my Pocket Pod that sits on my desk, play for a few minutes, then move on.  It doesn’t hurt that the sounds it makes are pretty decent, as well.  I’d say you could (or almost could, anyway) use it on a professional demo.

7. I’ve never had a pen I haven’t lost.  I’m just forgetful like that.  My Inka Pen solves that by putting a pen on something that I don’t go many places without: my key chain.  It’s been over a year since Ashley gave it to me as a stocking stuffer, and I haven’t lost it yet!  The other cool part about the Inka is that it’s pressurized, so you can write on vertical surfaces without having to worry about whether your pen is going to work or not.  Well worth every penny.

Just like every month, I’m now going to turn the keyboard over to Ashley…

1. It’s true… Greg is at the top of my favorite things list every month. He’s my personal “Super Hero Husband”. So as a part of my “favorite things” this month, I wanted to declare my favoritism (and thankfulness) to the Internet. He’s the best!

2. Have you seen the Flor catalogs!? Oh. My. Goodness. We absolutely love the Flor tiles, but aside from their carpet tile options, the furniture in the Flor catalog is to die for. No joke. I wish there was some sort of source guide in each catalog. Consider this my official request. If you aren’t already on their mailing list, sign up here. It’s like getting a subscription to a super stylish home magazine for f-r-e-e.

3. I’m currently loving this fabric from Dwell Studio. Truth be told, I’m loving every single fabric option from Dwell Studio. I must use this one on something in the near future; whether it be for the guest room curtains or a some sort of DIY project down the road. It contains too much graphic, geometric, modern awesomeness to go unused.

4. It’s no secret that I have a great love for Yankee Candles. Now that Spring is in the air, I’m switching from wintry seasonal scents to my tried and true Clean Cotton. It smells like fresh cotton sheets without being too overpowering.

5. On a daily basis, I use Philosophy’s Amazing Grace Body Sprtiz rather than perfume. It’s light and airy without saying, “I have perfume on!!”

6. I just finished reading Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. It’s a true story about the author and her best friend who worked as the first female floor sales pages at the famous Tiffany & Co. in New York City during the summer of 1945. It’s one of those “feel good” novels that makes you wish you lived in the 1940′s.

7. As many of you who are regular readers know, I’m an avid list maker. It’s more of a sickness, I think. There’s nothing I love more than a well-organized, thought out list… except a color-coded list.  A plethora of colored pens and markers are always around while I’m working on projects.  Everything is just more fun and easy to look at when you use great colors! And it makes doodling in the margins a bit more fun too.

That wraps up this month’s installment of our favorite things. Do you have a current favorite thing you would like to share with the class? A TV show? A phone app? A really good read? Leave a comment and let us know…