Homestyler

** This post is brought to you by Joan Robinson **

Looking to Renovate? Know Exactly What You’re Doing with Homestyler
Every home renovator knows the struggle of staring at a room and having a head full of ideas, but being too fearful to try any of them out. After all, it’s easy to feel discouraged when you spend hours moving the couch to the other side of the room and rearranging your shelves to install the new piece of furniture you’ve just bought, only to realize that the room just doesn’t work. When we unnecessarily spend our hard-earned money and make such a huge effort to get things done, only to put things back the way they were, it can deal a serious blow to our inner renovators.

Luckily, this scenario should happen less, what with many app developers now coming up with great tools that home renovators can use. Last year, Reuters said that Americans spent $130 billion on home remodeling projects, the highest amount since 2007, and at the moment, apps have been found to help ease the financial burdens of home remodeling. Gaming Realms, the owners and operators of Free Bingo Hunter, have said that growth in mobile internet is among the strongest trends in the internet landscape to date, and app developers have begun creating apps to aid any and all problems consumers may face. This is great news for home renovators, as it is thanks to this that the free app Homestyler was born.

 

Available on both iOS and Android, Homestyler eliminates the guesswork from renovations by allowing users to snap a photo of the room they wish to renovate, and freely experiment with placing 3D renders of the products onto the rooms, and even hanging light fixtures from the ceiling. Products found in the app are branded so you can easily find the ones you want to purchase, after seeing how well they work with the rest of your décor. The app also comes with a built-in design stream, which gives you easy access to inspiring décor ideas from the world’s top interior designers, as well as other users of Homestyler.

What’s more, should you feel the need to contact a professional for help, the app has listings for some great designers in the area, as well as copies of their portfolios so you know exactly what you’re getting into. It’s an app that could certainly evolve to become a home renovator’s best friend – and it’s completely free. Obvious gripes, of course, are that there need to be more products included within the app, because more choices are always better, but as it stands, the app is a great starting point to let your creativity shine.

FTC Disclaimer: Links in this post may be affiliate or sponsored links so I may make a commission from links I recommend.

Casual

It's been back to a full work week but not without a little bit of hiccups.  Lucas must have caught a bug from last weekend so I worked from home Monday so he would feel comfortable.  Being a working mom is no joke but it is always the worst when your child is sick.  I think this is when my working mommy guilt comes swinging back at me since all I want to do is be there for him.  Oh vey.  I'm waiting for someone to assure me that things get easier because...well, it doesn't feel like it.  See, sometimes I get deep here on Dainty and Decadent.  Welcome.

Sweater: J.Crew Factory  /  Shirt: Banana Republic  {Similar}  /  Skirt: Loft  /  Shoes: J.Crew Factory  /  Bag: Tory Burch  /  Necklace: Swoozies

Disney World Toddler Edition

My husband and I are calling 2015 the year of Mickey because we decided to purchase annual season passes!  Growing up in Florida, I frequented Disney World quite a bit but coming back to this place that I love so much with Lucas was one magical experience.  

We took our first Disney vacation this past weekend and the three of us had the best time!  We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside resort and really enjoyed it.  Luckily, this weekend was a low crowd season so the lines were only about 10-15 minutes long.  This was key since Lucas isn't at the age where he can understand that he needed to be patient.  We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.  Our days were jam packed but Lucas kept up and even took long naps in his stroller.  It was actually nice to go through each of the countries at the World Showcase in Epcot during one of Lucas' naps which is not something we did before.  

I know this isn't a typical post for me but we had such a great time that I wanted to share in case anyone else was thinking about taking their toddler to a theme park.  I highly recommend it!  It takes a little bit of planning but totally worth it!  Until next time Disney!

Personal Style

There's something about polka dots and stripes that always draws me in.  I recently did a closet cleaning extravaganza and had the intent to get rid of anything that I didn't love and in doing so, realized that I have a crap ton of the same stuff: stripes, polka dots, and chambray.  Now, in rebuilding a bit my closet, I hope to find a new style I love without compromising my own personal style.  

I've read a lot of other bloggers writing about the way personal style blogging has changed.  I admit that when I first starting blogging, I thought more about what others would find interesting for me to wear and tailored my own style based on what was popular.  I started this blog to share my personal style and to be inspired so when I found myself considering what was popular over what I liked, I started to not like blogging as much.  As cliche as this is about to sound, as soon as I began growing my pregnancy belly and when Lucas was born, I embraced my own likes and dislikes regardless if others were wearing it.  Now, I'm not saying I'm some sort of innovator as I think my style is pretty safe and simple, I love it and that's what's important.  I don't think I will ever quit my career to blog full-time (I worked pretty darn hard to get where I am!) but I'm having fun sharing these pictures of my clothes for the time being...as silly as that may sound.  Rant OVER :-)

Sweater: Target  /  Dress: Old Navy  /  Shoes: Anne Klein {Similar}  /  Bag: Tory Burch  /  Necklace: Tiffanys

Uh ohs

Does anyone else ever think that wearing navy and black together feels like an uh oh?  I mostly do but because the blue was a little brighter than the dark slacks, I felt it was okay.  I've also uh oh'ed on my resolution to blog more but with good excuse.  It's trial week and mostly January is general going to be pretty chaotic but I'm trying to keep up with my resolutions.  Please tell me I'm not the only one slacking on resolutions...

Shirt: Loft  /  Pants: Old Navy  /  Shoes: Sole Society  /  Bag: Tory Burch  /  Jewelry: Tiffany's Necklace, Kendra Scott Earrings

Mad Mad Monday

I wear your grandad's clothes...for those of you who recognize this, know that I had the song stuck in my head for a solid 4 hours.  Happy New Year's!  For the first day back in the office since the holidays, I stuck to comfortable attire since I knew that it would be a Mad Mad Monday.  I looked down at my outfit at some point in the day and I thought I looked kind of like a grandpa if grandpas shop of Loft, etc.  Oh well.  

One of resolutions this year was to make an extra effort to look nice in the morning which will help my other resolution which is to blog more.  I still make resolutions and instead of the ole "lose weight" resolution that I always had, I thought I'd be more specific this year which resulted in 7 resolutions.  SEVEN.  Let's hope I live up to them but I have a feeling 2015 is going to be a great year!

Cardigan: Lacoste {Similar}  /  Shirt: Loft   /  Pants: Old Navy  /  Shoes: Sole Society  /  Bag: Tory Burch