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Sometimes we need to celebrate the little things. As we enter Fall 2020, many people may not feel as if there is a reason to celebrate. However, there are a few things we can enjoy this fall, even as we social distance in our Flagstaff apartments.
4 Things To Celebrate This Fall
Cooler Temperatures
Not everyone is a fan of the summer heat. Warmer outdoor conditions often mean we sit inside with the air conditioner on. At the very least, we may not open the windows for fear of letting in the sun. The fall, however, provides an opportunity to open the window to more comfortable conditions.
Candy For Halloween
Kids love to dress up every October and walk around the neighborhood for free candy. We grownups might attend parties in cool costumes. While social distancing may put a damper on some of our holiday fun this year, we can still take this opportunity as an excuse to eat candy. Why not 'trick-or-treat' by enjoying some sweet treats on your own?
Enjoy Those Hot Drinks
Love warm drinks like hot chocolate and apple cider? Fall is the perfect time to enjoy these toasty flavors. Sure you will have the entire winter for hot drinks. However, later in the year the outdoors may get freezing cold. Right now is the perfect temperature. It is cold enough to enjoy the hot drinks, but not so cold that you are uncomfortable.
Take A Stroll In The Fresh Air
While we can't hang around people, many communities have open-air areas like parks that can still be enjoyed. In the summer, public outdoor areas are more likely to be crowded during comfortable temperatures. During the fall, you are more likely to find quiet, secluded areas where you can take a stroll and enjoy nature.
If you can't get out much to socialize this fall, why not contact us at Highland Village to discuss our available Flagstaff apartments? Find a comfortable social distancing arrangement for the right price!
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When you're traveling away from home, it's pretty common to be concerned about what's going on at home. Fortunately, with today's technology and a few old-fashioned tricks, it's easier than ever to keep track of your home's condition while you're away. Here are some quick tips and tricks to help you get started.
Keeping Plants Watered
You don't need to get a fancy watering system with this simple trick. Place a container of water next to your plant. Take a short length of cotton yarn or clothesline and soak it in the water, then place one end in the bucket and one end in the soil of your planter so that the water keeps wicking into the planter while you're away.
Check on Your Pets
Even if you've got a pet sitter, you may be worried about your four-legged friends. Check how they're doing by adding a remote camera that you can access through your Wi-Fi network. Some of these options include screens and speakers so your pet can see and hear you.
Hire a Cleaning Service
If you're going to be gone for an extended period, consider having a cleaning service come through, either regularly or just before you come home. You'll be able to relax and unwind, enjoying being home at last instead of spending time and energy cleaning up!
Consider Home Automation
Robot vacuums, lighting that comes on or turns off on a schedule, cameras, and other home automation options make it easier to keep your home the way you want it while you're away. Investigate your options at an electronics store.
When you have to travel, keeping these tips in mind will help make it easier to focus on your trip instead of what's happening at home. If you're looking for Flagstaff, AZ apartments that provide you with a great lifestyle, why not check out Highland Village? With beautiful surroundings, you'll feel like you're on vacation while at home.
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Are you looking for some simple handmade crafts you can give to friends and family this winter season? Even if you don’t consider yourself very handy, you’ll be able to do these easy crafts in your Flagstaff apartments.
3 Easy Craft Ideas
1. Mini Frames
Mini frames are about 2 inches by 2 inches. They are cute, especially when hung in sets of two or more. You can pick up unfinished wood mini frames at most craft stores. Simply use craft paint to decorate them with a solid color or with a polka-dotted pattern all over the frame. Cut a favorite photograph to size and insert into the frame. To make these mini frames even more functional, use a glue gun to adhere little mini magnets to the back, so they can be hung on the fridge. Your gift recipient will adore this thoughtful crafty gift!
2. Stocked Boudoir Jars
If you really want an easy craft idea, stocked boudoir jars make a sweet gift. Pick up small, decorative jars with pretty lids at a craft store. Fill with an assortment of items that your gift recipient will be able to use, such as facial cotton pads, barrettes, bobby pins or cotton swabs. For the lids, use a glue gun to adhere a decorative, colored bead.
3. Homemade Keyboard
Your gift recipient will love this gift that keeps on giving. Pick up a slab of tree bark from your neighborhood craft store. Choose an assortment of attractive or memorable photographs and decoupage them onto the front side of the wood using decoupage glue. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use. Next, screw in two or three screw hooks to the face of the board. Your loved one will now have a central place to hang his or her keys so they never get lost again!
These three easy craft ideas make great gifts for friends or family. To find out just how inspiring Flagstaff apartments can be, please contact Highland Village Apartments today!
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Your Flagstaff apartments are already set up with gorgeous views and modern conveniences. Why not put the icing on the cake and make your apartment home smell as lovely as it looks? You could buy a commercial air freshener, of course, but it’s definitely worth it to try using essential oils instead. Essential oils smell wonderful. However, some say they also can have benefits for your mood. For the ideas below, try using essential oils in scents like lavender, vetiver, citrus and other scents that appeal personally to you. Here are two ways to scent your apartment home with essential oils.
Ways to Scent Your Apartment Home With Essential Oils
Sew Drawer Sachets
Drawer sachets are simply tiny little pockets of sheer cloth that sit inside your drawers. When you open the drawer, you are greeted with a waft of pleasing scent. You can sew drawer sachets from almost any sheer cloth. If you have an antique linen handkerchief, that works well, too. First, to make the “filling,” you’ll need essential oil and some crushed and dried leaves, such as lavender or chamomile. Put the leaves in a bowl and drop in a few droplets of essential oil. Toss gently with your fingertips. Place this into the center of your cloth. Fold into a square or rectangle and sew together. If you don’t know how to sew or prefer not to, you can make a little ball of the sachet and secure it with a rubber band. Cover the band with a pretty ribbon and tie a bow.
Make a DIY Room Spray
With this DIY room spray, you can quickly make any room in your Flagstaff apartments smell fresh and clean. To do it, all you need is a small spray bottle. You can find these at discount stores and grocery stores. Fill your spray bottle almost to the top with distilled water. Add a few drops of essential oil and shake. Smell it to see if it’s strong enough for your liking. If not, just add a few more drops, one at a time. Remember, essential oils are potent, so less is more. Now you have an instant room spray for your apartment home!
If you’d like to see available floor plans in Flagstaff apartments, please contact us. We’re here to help!
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With fall starting soon, now is the time to start planning your end-of-summer gathering. When you want to have some friends over to celebrate summer one last time, keep the following tips in mind.
How to Host an End of Summer Gathering
Choose a Theme
Picking a theme makes it more fun to decorate and plan your menu. Consider a tropical theme, ocean theme or nautical theme to pay tribute to the season. You can also go with an all-white theme as a nod to not wearing white after Labor Day. When you choose your theme, you can then look for decorations, select music and create a menu that ties in with it.
Plan Your Menu
For your final summer bash, go with foods that are associated with the season. You can make burgers and hot dogs in your apartment on an indoor grill and serve them with potato salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad and other seasonal side dishes. For appetizers, consider setting out a tray of tropical fruit that’s in season. For dessert, choose no-bake options, so you won’t have to heat up your apartment by turning on the oven.
Select the Music
Having music playing in the background at your gathering can set the right mood and keep guests entertained. Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t play it too loud, so you won’t disturb your neighbors. For an end-of-summer gathering, choose classic summer tunes from your favorite decade, or go with a playlist filled with beach songs.
Set Up Decorations
Your decorations will ultimately depend on your theme. You don’t have to do overdo it with decorations all over your place, but you should consider putting up a few here and there, such as strings of palm tree lights or other seasonal lights.
If you decide to have your gathering outside instead, our community has outdoor grills, a picnic gazebo and a fire pit. Contact us to learn more about our apartments in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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Have company coming over? Planning on inviting a date in? Just realized your parents are due for a visit?
Or maybe you just want your apartment look better for your own sake.
No matter the reason, cleaning up your apartment in a jiffy is easier than you may think. Just do these things right now and your space will look instantly cleaner and neater:
1. Start with a garbage bag.
You’ve got to have your supplies first. Start with a huge garbage bag.
If your place is really a mess, you might want to wear gloves for this too. Now, go around your entire apartment and instantly throw away everything that’s garbage.
2. Tackle the dishes.
Chances are, your sink is full of dirty dishes. Tackle these next.
3. Put away dirty clothes.
Chances are also good that your floor and various surfaces have dirty clothes on them. Clean these up simply by putting them in the hamper.
4. Straighten.
This one’s pretty straightforward. Walk around your apartment and straighten things like chairs, curtains, pillows and other furniture.
5. Dust, then vacuum.
Next, dust all free services, then vacuum. When cleaning, you always need to work from top to bottom.
6. Make your bed.
Making your bed is an instant refresh and will immediately make your space look neater.
7. Really short on time? Grab a box.
Lastly, if time is truly of the essence and you have just minutes to get your house in order, grab a large cardboard box or plastic bin and throw in everything that you can’t find a place for. Unfortunately, this will have to be dealt with later.
Of course, you can’t have a neat looking apartment if the actual foundation and rooms of your building aren’t up to snuff. Still looking for a place in Flagstaff, Arizona? Give us a call to see which of our Flagstaff apartments are still available!
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]]>The post Beacons of Hope in the Midst of Despair: A Local Hurricane Harvey Relief Story appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.
]]>We walk through the rooms of a storm soaked apartment in Houston, Texas, as Mary, a twenty-plus-year resident of Nob Hill Apartments, points out the items she hopes she can keep, but we can clearly see are lost. The safety masks covering our mouths and noses do nothing to block the rank smell of stagnant flood water and growing mold. The air in the apartment is warm and humid, the air outside buzzing with mosquitos preying on the exposed skin of anyone walking through the community working to salvage what they can from the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Even with the flood waters receded, we feel the sense of loss that weighs heavy as a storm cloud over the apartment community we’ve come to serve.
We try to prepare Mary for the worst—the disheartening fact that most of her worldly possessions must be declared casualties of the hurricane’s destructive force. But Mary’s determination outweighs our own, and pushes us in a new direction. Where we strive to prepare her for despair, she insists upon building us up with hope. And as we tell her we will help her as best we can, she leaves us with these words: “When I was a child, my teacher told me that the good deeds you do are added as stars to your crown in heaven. Your crowns are going to be full of all the stars in the heavens.”
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Our group of volunteers left Arizona in the early hours of September 6 to make our way to Houston. Our team was made up of multifamily housing team members from Bella Investment Group in Flagstaff, AZ, who had committed to partner with Apartment Life, an organization that places CARES Teams within apartment communities to “look for ways to love their neighbors as themselves.” We have often seen the outpouring of love CARES Teams deliver to the residents of our Bella communities—now was our chance to take the CARES mission upon ourselves and make a difference in the lives of those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
After spending Wednesday evening assembling and loading U-Haul trucks with Resident Recovery Kits, we headed into the community on Thursday to see where we could help. As we approached Nob Hill Apartments, a 1300+ unit apartment community situated on Brays Bayou in the Meyerland suburb, we saw streets lined with debris and abandoned furniture, clothing, toys, even cars—all casualties of the surging flood waters. Nob Hill is where we met Mary, along with dozens of other residents who were packing up what they could to leave the community many of them called home. We expected the despair in the faces of the people of the community to match the destruction we saw in the streets. But where we expected despair, we saw hope.
One of the first young men we spoke to assured us that he had not been hit “too bad” by Harvey’s destructive power. “For me, it wasn’t as bad as for other folks,” he told us as we walked through one section of Nob Hill. “Other people got it much worse.” I learned later that for him, “not too bad” meant he “only” lost his car and about half of the possessions in his apartment. He counted himself lucky, despite his losses, and assured us that now that he knew we were there, he would help us find people who needed more help than he did. And he was true to his word. He eagerly came to us with the names and addresses of neighbors who could “really use your help,” and seemed overjoyed to be what he considered a “small part” of our work. The misery we expected seemed to have receded with the flood waters, and in its place love, humanity, and hope had blossomed.
For the CARES team in Houston, the Relief Kits and resources they handed out seemed like only a “drop in the bucket” of the recovery that needed to be done in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. An office team member, who had been pulled from a different property to assist at Nob Hill, described her efforts of pointing residents toward resources and gathering contact information from those who needed to move as “a drop in the bucket” compared to what she felt the people around her needed and the losses she knew they had endured. Even as we gave resources, monies, and hugs to those we met, we began to say that we knew it was only “a drop in the bucket” for those who had lost so much so quickly.
Yet the enduring power of hope outshined our perspective. The more people we met, the more we got the sense that in creating for themselves a sense of normalcy even among lost possessions, abandoned homes, and more, the residents of this community were finding something beyond the despair we saw on the news. Make no mistake—there remains much to be done to restore what has been lost in these communities devastated by the storms. But even beyond the knowledge of loss is the hope of helping hands. We saw donations from across the country pooled together to fan the flames of this hope. We witnessed police cars lining the streets from around the country to lend aid and relief to first responders who had not yet even had the chance to assess and accept their personal losses. We saw barbecue fundraisers and Red Cross vans delivering lunches and dinners on a daily basis where they were needed most. We saw neighbor reaching out to neighbor to lighten each other’s loads. And we saw tears of sorrow become tears of joy as people heard how far folks had come to help.
“To help me?” one woman said to me, stepping back in shock from a tight hug when I told her we had flown in from Arizona. “Y’all came all this way just to help me?”
“We know it’s just a drop in the bucket,” I found myself saying, but she cut me off.
“A drop in the bucket?” she gasped, clasping my hands in her own. “Child, it’s the whole ocean!”
I left Houston with news of the impending impact of Hurricane Irma ringing in the background on every television set we passed from our hotel lobby to the airport terminal. In the shadows of yet another destructive storm, it’s hard to ignore that there remains so much need along the Gulf Coast as residents there work to rebuild. Hurricane Harvey’s impact will be felt in this area for months, if not years, to come.
But even in the shadows of these destructive storms crashing upon our shores and cities, we see the silver linings illuminated by the selfless acts of people who keep their heads held high, their spirits lifted, and the hopes of their communities blazing against the dark times ahead. We can all be a part of bringing hope to these communities. Apartment Life continues to raise funds for relief efforts for both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. The Red Cross continues to step up their efforts to prepare and provide relief. Countless other organizations are out there, waiting for each of us to step up and impact lives by being beacons of hope in the midst of despair.
Please join us in supporting the ongoing relief efforts, and make your own "drop in the bucket" contribution to those impacted by this year's hurricane storms:
Donations for Apartment Life Harvey Relief Kits: https://tiny.cc/alharvey
Donations for Apartment Life Irma Relief Kits: https://tiny.cc/alirma
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Here at Highland Village, we're proud to be part of the Flagstaff community … and that means giving back when and where we can! This month, our team is proud to give back to the Coconino Humane Association with a day of volunteering!
The Coconino Humane Association works to provide shelter and aid for the "unwanted, abandoned, and mistreated" animals of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona. We love their statement of pride in being "a voice for dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals in Coconino County!" Following the CHA on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is enough to show anyone just how much they care about our animals. By hosting events, providing training, and posting pictures of adoptable and lost animals, they help to "speak for those who cannot speak for themselves."
Coconino Humane offers numerous opportunities for volunteers to serve the Flagstaff community's animals! Some opportunities include helping to provide animal care, socializing animals, supporting offsite adoption events, and much more! We're excited to work with them to do our part for the precious furry friends we all love!
The Coconino Humane Association could always use more volunteers! To learn how you can help, visit their Volunteer Page! We'd love for you to join us in making a "paw"-sitive difference right here in Flagstaff!
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Spring wakes us up to new possibilities and what better way to toast those new chances than with a healthy smoothie? These colorful concoctions are beloved for providing vitamins, fiber, and nutrients to the drinker, without having to down piece after piece of fruit. If you're looking for the best spring fruit smoothies, then check out these recipes and get to sipping!
Blueberry Blast
Blueberries are notoriously known for being a spring fruit, so use up your extra ones this season in a blender. Try this simple recipe for a blast in the morning, and get your day started off right. Or combine them with other members of the berry family to switch it up a little bit, and add more dimension to your drink.
Grapefruit Gardens
Grapefruit is not known for being the best fruit to eat on its own, but the color and health benefits are undeniably attractive. Get your shot of pink with a grapefruit smoothie combined with kiwis (another spring fruit.) Apples are also excellent to sweeten up your grapefruit. Even though they're a fall fruit, you can probably get away with it just this once. Or celebrate spring's favorite color this year by adding some spinach for a grapefruit green smoothie.
Apricot Animation
Bring your apricots to life this year with a little help from the strawberry. This smoothie is a jolt of energy when you're wondering how Monday arrived so quickly. Grab this on the go or do it up right with a fun glass, garnish and straw. These little touches can make your smoothies even more enjoyable.
The apartments in Flagstaff are a great place to try new recipes and make them your own. If you're looking for the right kitchen to test out your next smoothie, check out Highland Village Apartments to see what we have to offer. Call us today to find out more about our available apartments!
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If you’re anything like us, your bracket for March Madness is all but destroyed … if not already a totally lost cause. So, what should you do with your bracket now that you won’t be winning your office pot? We’ve got some ideas.
1. Write a Strongly Worded Letter
Your team’s done let you down, man. Somebody needs to hear about it. So flip that bracket over and write a strongly worded letter with its abysmal remains. We recommend writing the head coach, or your favorite player. Actually, you know what? Bad idea … Let’s face it, you may be disappointed but it’s nothing compared to the actual players. So have a little compassion, and instead send your expressions of bracket-busted grief to your roommate. Or your mom. Maybe even your apartment leasing office? We’re not promising a response, but at least you put it out there. Which is more than we can say for your team.
2. Rewrite Your Bucket List
It’s time to start living your own life again. So what if all your dreams of perfect bracket glory went down in a ball of flames after round one? The world is still out there! You can still do something amazing! Write out that bucket list! Make it all the things you would have done with your bracket winnings … Or maybe all the things your bracket loss makes you want to do. Like eat an elite eight pack of ice cream. Or take a road trip down the mountain long enough to have a long hard think about how your bracket went so wrong. Or learn to perfect your free throw percentage and three-point shot…
3. Use It to Fix a Wobbly Table
Come on … what else is it good for? Your bracket is busted. That doesn’t mean your table has to be busted, too. Create some good out of this disaster.
4. Find Love
If Villanova can lose, anything can happen, right? Flip your bracket over and write a letter to the guy or gal of your dreams. What else have you got to lose? Keep the letter simple, and maybe let it rock some thinly veiled NCAA puns. We’re talking: “Do you like me? Yes or ‘Nova?”
5. Recycle It
Your bracket is dead. But the earth is still spinning. Help keep it that way by recycling it. Technically all the above options are ways of recycling your bracket sheet. You can love both basketball and the environment. Don’t take this year’s tourney disappointment out on Mother Earth, bro. Keep it classy and save a tree.
What's your plan for your bracket now that it's busted? Or are you a lucky one who's bracket is still going strong? Let us know!
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