Posts Tagged ‘sponsored’

6 Nifty Apps for Homebuyers

Posted on April 3rd, 2013 at 3:54 PM

No, apps aren’t essential.  Neither are smartphones.  But you’ll be hard-pressed to argue that they’re not nifty time-savers, especially when you start using these apps while looking for your dream home.

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1. Realtor.com

Just starting out?  You’ll save space and time with this app instead of clipping, piling, and filing newspaper listings, but still be up-to-date on what’s for sale, what’s been sold, and the details of everything in between.  You can also share your favorites to get a second opinion (or five).  It’s free for iPhone, iPad, Windows, and Android.

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2. House Hunter

When it comes to comparing your finalists, it can get as simple as listing pros and cons or, in this case, a scoring system.  House Hunter costs $3.99 on iTunes, but your money will be well-spent.  Take your phone with you on a walkthrough of the house and score each feature—the living room, the windows, insulation—and get an overall score of each house, including its age, location, square footage, price, and more.

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3. Mortgage Calculator by Quicken Loans

This app deals with the nitty gritty pricing of your dream home, and comes well-equipped (for free) with five calculators to compare and assess your options.


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4. Sex Offender Search

The safety of a neighborhood should be one of the first questions any homebuyer asks.  This app—free for both iOS and Android—scours registries for sex offenders in your area and gives you access to their dossier and address.  You’ll be alerted through email if there’s new activity in your area.

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5. Around Me

For free on iTunes and Google Play, Around Me shows you the nearest bank, post office, gas station, trendy coffee shop, and more.  You’ll even know how long it’ll take you to get to these places so you can make informed decisions before you slip into your shoes.

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6. Pinterest

This app is free, addictive, and now mobile.  Find and re-pin fixer-upper ideas, home decorating themes, and DIY handyman techniques in specially assigned folders so you never miss a thing.  Pinterest is a highly visual app full of inspirations, so you can bring it with you and sigh dreamily at the new house or at the hardware store while picking up the right color paint.

About the Author:
Carmen Guzlas is a writer and manager for Movoto, where she has recently been researching Homes for Sale in San Jose, CA. Her main hobbies are making soup (daily!) and hiking with her dog.

What Will be the Main Web Design Trends of 2013?

Posted on February 21st, 2013 at 4:08 PM

Author: This article is written by Jaguar PC, the best VPS hosting service providing free-domain transfers and affordable web-hosting plans.

Website design has evolved tremendously in recent years, in reaction to changing consumer trends as well as technologies and interfaces that enable developers to produce better sites than ever before.  The way sites are evolving is similar to mobile devices. The tablet or smartphone you buy today might look out of this world, but in a few months’ time you just know it is going to be left behind and replaced by something that makes yours look like a child’s toy. On that theme, today’s modern designs are almost certain to find themselves replaced across the year.

However, there are a number of trends that we are confident will endure throughout 2013 and far beyond, possibly leading the way for the rest of the decade. We explored what modern website design looks like, and why these trends are so important.

Mobile Mania

Responsive design has become something of a buzzword in the last year or so. This has seen more businesses realign their websites or even re-launch them completely so that they are better viewed on mobile.

However, the modern way of working that developers are following is to work on a mobile site first, as for many this is becoming the most important marketing tool they have. Adding on the ‘bells and whistles’ to a desktop site is then often easier than having to slim down a complicated website for mobile, so it is a trend that makes sense for all concerned.

Common elements would typically see on a desktop site, such as sidebars, will also become more common on mobile sites, especially as screen sizes on smartphones evolve and get bigger.

Infinite Scrolling

This feature is a favourite among the social networks, and has been proven particularly popular on Twitter and Pinterest. One thing to note about this feature is that it has its fans, but also has people who think it is ridiculous. Therefore, it is important to realise that, while it is a great trend and will bring a point of difference to your website, if you don’t need it, or it doesn’t add something of value, then don’t have it for the sake of it.

Some sites exist that have implemented this feature, but as you scroll down you just keep getting the homepage recycled over and over. What is the point of that?

Minimalistic Design

The days of web pages being filled with a dozen messages screaming out to the user are over. Slicker, cleaner websites that have a lot of ‘white space’ and allow a focus to be given to the key message are becoming the norm, and soon sites that don’t look like that will see their traffic and conversions drop off dramatically.

Easy to navigate menus are the key to getting your message across, not an ugly collaboration of each of your services promoted on the home page.

What we think about websites and how we use them is set for a big change in 2013. The developers who are able to deliver these new trends will find themselves in high demand. A failure to embrace the future is not going to lead developers, designers, or businesses anywhere quickly in the year ahead.

My Favorite Weightloss Apps

Posted on February 17th, 2013 at 1:51 AM

It’s ridiculous how many fad diets that are out there. Odds are, if you are overweight and looking to lose some weight, you’ve tried the get skinny quick schemes. There are tons out there, including the paleo diet, the atkins diet, HCG diet, etc. Then there are the ones that people think will work but only harm your body like fasting and liquid diets.

Believe it or not, the best way to lose weight is to eat healthy and exercise. Cut out all that is bad for you and eat low carb foods, low calorie snacks, and rationed meals. Last year, I lost 60lbs by doing just that. I ate 3 meals and 2 small snacks a day and used a cardio workout DVD to help get me into shape. What helped me stay on track the most was being able to log my caloric intake and calories burnt through workouts. So, I’m going to discuss the top weightloss apps that helped me.

1. MyFitnessPal

This was the most helpful because I could track my calorie intake for the day, calories burned, and scan barcodes to quick logging. This was most helpful to input my weightloss and look at a graph of the pounds lost for a week, month and 3 months. I used this one the most. It also has a bit of a social network on the app and online to connect with others. It also outputs whether or not you have logged in and for how long to help your fellow losers encourage you to keep going.

 2. TargetWeight (iOS Only)

This app allows you to enter your weight and goal weight. It’s mostly a BMI calculator but this is on my top weightloss apps list because, simply, it’s an amazing motivator. It also shows you in a graph the fluctuations and loss in weight but what was most important was the little red bubble that showed me how far from my goal weight I was. I loved to watch the number go down and for this reason, I kept it on my home screen to keep me motivated.

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3. Tumblr

Believe it or not, it was a great help. I signed in to the app using only my weightloss “blog”‘s username and followed many weightloss tumblrs. Each day, I’d log in to find many inspirational posts from others trying to lose weight and even made some of my own. It was nice to be a part of a community where I didn’t feel ‘different’.

The point is, losing weight is no easy task. It takes work, determination and motivation. You didn’t put that weight on over night and you certainly won’t lose it over night. The trick is to eat right, drink tons of water, and work out.

 

My V day Wishlist courtesy of EdenFantasys

Posted on February 11th, 2013 at 10:20 PM

Can you believe that Valentine’s Day is this Thursday? It has kind of snuck up on me. Thankfully, there is still time to order from EdenFantasys with their awesome shipping options.

EdenFantasys offers many Valentine’s day gifts and deals on their site.  There is something for everyone if you’re looking to spice up your Valentine’s day. If you’re not sure what to get, take a look at my V day wishlist and maybe you’ll get into the spirit of the most romantic holiday of the year.

Seduction Holiday Edition Vibrator
Price: $29.99

This cute vibrator already looks to be gift wrapped. It can be the perfect gift for the one in your life. It claims to be powerful and waterproof which will make it go wonderfully with the next item on the list.

The Perfect Gift Diamond Princess sensual kit
Price: $32.99

If this doesn’t set the mood, nothing will. Rose petals and tea light candles certainly make for a romantic evening. Light the candles, and sprinkle the rose petals over the bed and enjoy your night of pure bliss.

Sweet Heart Chocolate Box
Price: $34.99

If you like chocolate, you’re going to love this box set. It comes with massage creme, body paint, and honey dust, just to name a few, in a scrumptious chocolate flavor. Both your and your love with enjoy the scent and taste of this sensual kit.

Sex toys - EdenFantasys adult toys store

There’s still time to order in time for Valentine’s day. For orders of $90+ you can get free UPS 2nd Day shipping and orders of $120+ gets you free UPS Next Day.

From now until the 15th you can use the following promotions to save on your order.

Don’t forget to check out their Deals & Promotions page to find even more deals happening daily and always remember to grab your free gift.

I was provided with an EdenFantasys Gift Card in exchange for this post. All opinions, thoughts, and ideas are 100% my own.

House Hunting

Posted on December 11th, 2012 at 12:22 AM

With the advancement of technology, even in recent years, people use the internet more for things that the internet isn’t technically required for. For instance, if you want to buy a house, no one goes to the news paper or a realty company directly to find listings. House hunting can be as simple as typing, “real estate sunset beach nc“, and BAM! A million listings fill your screen.

No one has to do it the old-fashioned way anymore. For some people, they find the new way much easier and convenient. And it is. You don’t have to be bothered to TALK to anyone until you are sure.

For the past few months, we have been house hunting on and off. Our goal is to have a house big enough for the 7 of us (plus Bobby1) and 8 animals. I told my mom that I don’t care as long as we have a well fenced-in yard and TWO bathrooms. My mom is looking at one now and as long as we can get the down payment in the bank and hold it for 2 months, my brother can get approved for the loan.

It would be a dream come true for my family to own our own home. Andrew and I don’t plan on living there forever. Just long enough to get on our feet. My mom needs it the most because the kids need a stable, secure home to grow up in.

In the past few weeks, I’ve seen many of my twitter friends post about house hunting or buying a house. I know it has to be an exciting feeling to buy a house. I can’t wait to experience it with my family.

If you own your own home or haven’t bought one yet, did/will you use a realty company or shop around on the internet?

  1. The younger kids’ father. ↩