This past December, my parents gave me the best holiday gift I could’ve asked for. The only catch? Wait until spring 2011 and it’s mine. Well, the long-awaited time has come my friends. I will soon be the proud owner of an iPad 2.

Today, Apple made the BIG announcement.

It’s slimmer, has a front and rear camera, maintains 10+ hours of battery life, comes in white and will be available… wait for it… wait for it… the DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! This is a pretty darn good start to March, if you ask me. I’ll take a white one with the turquoise smart cover, please.

Mashable has been live blogging throughout the day with updates regarding the news. Here’s more on the features that the new version will offer.

This will be my first e-reader of sorts and I’m thrilled to add another gadget to my Apple repertoire. I’m looking forward to using the iPad 2 to take notes during meetings, talk via FaceTime with friends and family, read books and use as a computer when I travel. And being only 1.3 lbs, it will fit in my purse or carry-on perfectly.

Do you have an iPad? Do you plan to purchase the iPad 2? Are you as excited as I am?!

This afternoon, I invite you to head on over to the FMJ Blog to take a gander at my latest post on books vs. e-Readers.

–> The Beloved Bookstore

As always, your thoughts, opinions and comments are always welcome. Happy reading, friends.

Hello my dearest readers!

First of all, I must apologize for not posting last week’s Mid-week Mumbles. Due to work overload in Georgia, lack of sleep and a crazy mess of an apartment upon my return (I’ll spare you the details), I didn’t have a chance to breathe, let alone create last week’s issue in time. Trust me, I was just as disappointed as you were. Forgive me?

To make it up to you, this week’s Mid-week Mumbles features some great stuff I’m sure you’ll love.

[Insert happy dance here.]

Between fall additions to my wardrobe, Halloween costumes, new tech gadgets, pushy salespeople, my new and improved at-home “desk space,” the feeling of relief and more, I had a tough time narrowing down what to chat about this week. So in no particular order, here are this week’s five!

New iPod Nano

I’m an Apple gal (as evidenced both here and here). And now, I am the proud owner of this adorable new iPod Nano in GREEN! Cute, huh?! I love “just-because” presents. Thanks boyfriend.

Halloween 2010

Clearly no post the week after Halloween would be complete without mention of costumes. This year, boyfriend and I were tourists. Zink oxide, maps, fanny packs, visors, Hawaiian shirts… the works. It was a hit! What did you dress up as this year?

I love me some shopping.

Let’s face it—I love to shop. That being said, sometimes I have a hard time dealing with salespeople. I recently visited a shoe store in the hopes of finding some comfortable black flats for an upcoming work event, as I knew I would be on my feet for days. So did I need her to bring out brown three-inch heeled boots? Or did I want to try studded purple suede flats instead? Umm no thanks, lady.

JUST BRING ME THE BLACK FLATS. K thanks, bye.

Turkey day

Now that Halloween has passed, it’s time to look forward to turkey, stuffing and pecan pie. Who’s with me?! Thanksgiving is going to be here before we know it and I make these every year. No Thanksgiving is complete without buttery goodness courtesy of Paula Deen, right? My tummy is already rumbling!

Hooray for new blogger friends!

Last week, I began e-mailing back and forth with this gal and let me tell you, she’s hilarious and super duper swell. And if you aren’t following her on Twitter, you should be. I’m hoping to collaborate with this feisty little lady on a possible (I repeat–maybe, not set in stone yet… again, possible) blog redesign in the near future and will keep you posted. Yay for new blogger friends!

What are you mumbling about this week?

- L

Clearly if you are a Mac lover, the next thing to get is the iPhone. Well folks, mission accomplished. While at first I didn’t have much of a preference between getting an iPhone or a Blackberry, that soon changed after I had the chance to play with an iPhone in the Apple store not too long ago. It’s almost as if you don’t even need a computer. You can have it all in your pocket.

I’m now entering day 3 of my iPhone ownership and let me tell you just how cool it is. It’s VERY cool. You’re probably reading this and thinking “duh, this isn’t anything new” or “I’ve had my iPhone for years now.” If you are one of those people, you probably went through this exact same excitement when you first heard about or got your hands on one of these Apple gadgets too, right? That’s what I thought.

And don’t forget the crazy amount of accoutrements that line the walls of the Apple store. There really is an iPhone accessory for every personality type! I will spare you any more details on my newfound iPhone obsession but will leave you with this… Thank you, Apple. Thank you.

- L

I must admit that I haven’t always been a huge fan of Apples. In fact, I am a PC gal. Yep, it’s true. For give or take 15 years, all I have known is the PC and Windows (which despite all the new versions really and truly stays the same… boring). So when my ThinkPad went nuts and started to take 30 minutes just to open Internet Explorer, I realized it was time to move on… And then I was hooked on Apples. Mac that is.

Yep, I’m pretty much obsessed with my cute little MacBook. PCs simply don’t compare. See I learned more about Macs in college when I studied in the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. The photo and video editing features pretty much ruled my sophomore and junior years. But besides those aspects, it’s just so fun!

By now we’ve all heard about the ridiculous amount of applications available through Mac, right? Well let me be the first to tell you that they are in fact, amazing. Not only do they entertain to the umpteenth degree, but they also are quite useful. Let’s say for instance I need to look up a movie time. Piece of cake – they have an app for that. Or let’s say I want to see how many calories I burned in my workout. Done. How about a word of the day? Health tip of the day? Easy recipes? Style tips? Online shopping? Done and done. I’m telling you, this adorable silver machine sitting on my lap right this second might be the very best thing I’ve ever owned.

You know what they say: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, I’m pretty sure this Apple is probably what that saying is all about. Move over PC. I’ve turned Mac and there’s no going back. I’m an Apple gal now.

- L