Blog Posts

Host A Classic Movie Night

If you haven’t seen every award winning movie, you’re not alone. Getting to know more cinematic trophy winners is a great way to learn about film! It’s also a fun excuse to get some friends together for a night of classic film and memory making. Old School Hollywood is always a fun theme. Try a black and white film like Casablanca or To Kill A Mockingbird . Encourage your friends to dress up like they’re attending a red carpet festival. Dim the lights and make your own spotlights by placing flashlights in small paper bags to line the room. Having a step and repeat can be a fun backdrop for Instagram or Snapchat photos. Hang up some light colored paper and throw in some props like a feather boa or top hat. Fun crafts make great decor for your glamorous evening. Try this DIY Hollywood sign from Moon Frye. Find the tutorial right here . The site says, “Hurray for Hollywood! Nothing says [Tinseltown] better than the iconic Hollywood sign. To bring a little bit of the Hollywood Hills into your own backyard, check out our fun DIY backyard Hollywood sign craft. We had such a blast making ours!” Add a sophisticated touch with plastic champagne flutes and delectable desserts like chocolate strawberries or fancy hors d'oeuvres. Try this delicious recipe for bruschetta found here at the Garlic Diaries. The site says, “I keep my bruschetta very simple. Just a few ingredients to amp up those tomatoes and make everything taste exactly right. No need for mozzarella. No need for a fancy balsamic reduction. No need for any special tomatoes. Just simple, delicious ingredients that combine into absolute perfection.” We think you’ll enjoy an evening of film and delicious food. Don’t stress about the details too much, even though it is fun to have those little glamorous details present at your party. Thanks for reading the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog! We hope you have a great month here in Phoenix, AZ!

Super Bowl Celebrations

If you’re planning a celebration for the big game next month in your apartment or elsewhere in Phoenix, AZ, we’ve got some ideas for you. Of course, it’s about more than just the game. The food and decorations really set the scene. We like this DIY football field party table idea from A Night Owl Blog. Head to the site for pictures and a step-by-step how to! What you’ll need: Green felt (enough to cover your table surface) White duct tape White vinyl Die cutting machine or pre-cut numbers The steps: Simply cover the table surface with the green felt (I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby with 40% off coupon, with measurements for my kitchen island), and tape it down to secure. Mark off where you want the yard lines for your football field and use white duct tape to create the line. Cut yardline “numbers” out of white vinyl with your die cutting machine. If you don’t have a machine you could buy pre-cut numbers or trace and cut them out by hand. Stick the numbers down around the duct tape lines. For some delicious snacks, check out this idea for a Nacho Bar from The Magical Slow Cooker. The site says, “This nacho bar is easy to do, and people really get excited about making their own nachos. This recipe is a great idea for any party. My sister-in-law did a nacho bar for my niece’s graduation party, and they had about 100 guests! The Teenagers loved the nacho bar (well, and me too). If you are doing a giant party, it may be easier to do canned nacho cheese, warehouse stores sell giant cans of cheese! But this recipe is made with velveeta cheese, sour cream, taco sauce and milk.” We hope you love these ideas and have fun celebrating as you watch the game! Thanks for reading Liv Ahwatukee blog!

Organize Your Home

A lot of our New Year’s resolutions are all about fitness and getting into shape. But don’t let your home be forgotten! Each room of your Liv Ahwatukee apartment can be whipped back into shape, as well. After the holidays, full of traveling and celebrating, our homes can get left behind. Don’t worry, this week we’re focusing on each room of our apartment to get things clean and tidy. Your closet is probably the first place that could use some work! Go through and figure out what items you wear and what items can be given away. If you have time, get creative and create an Instagram account to sell your items! Or take items that are in good shape to a local thrift store or consignment shop. If you’re unsure if you can part with an item, put it in a different room or closet. If you don’t even attempt to get that item back into your closet within the next month, you’ll know you don’t wear it or need it! Bonus: More room in your closet means room for new purchases that you love and will wear! The kitchen comes next. Go through cupboards and drawers to get rid of items that no longer work or are broken. Match lids to storage containers. Get rid of wrappers and empty boxes. Stale or expired items should be thrown out, as well. Keep like foods together so you’ll know where things are when you look for them. Keep foods at eye level. This will help you save time and money because you’ll know exactly what is in your cupboards when you’re taking an inventory for each grocery trip. The car is sometimes forgotten, but it’s important to keep it clean and uncluttered. Head out to your car with a garbage bag and remove receipts, empty bottles or cups, and other items you don’t need. Take spare change out of your car, as well as any random clothes or miscellaneous items that somehow seem to pile up in the trunk! Organizing your apartment makes it look and feel so clean and fresh. Thanks for reading!

Celebrate National Fun at Work Day with these Movies

January 28th is National Fun at Work Day. Although going to work isn’t usually everyone’s idea of fun, we’re celebrating it by watching one of these workplace-related movies. (In your apartment or another place in Phoenix, after work, of course!) Read on for their summaries, from IMDb.com. The Devil Wears Prada — Though not all about having “fun” at work, many of us can relate to having a difficult boss or coworker. In New York, the simple, naive, just-graduated-in-journalism Andrea Sachs is hired to work as the second assistant of the powerful and sophisticated Miranda Priestly, the ruthless and merciless executive of the Runway fashion magazine. Andrea dreams to become a journalist and faces the opportunity as a temporary professional challenge. The first assistant Emily advises Andrea about the behavior and preferences of their cruel boss, and the stylist Nigel helps Andrea to dress more adequately for the environment. Andrea changes her attitude and behavior, affecting her private life and the relationship with her boyfriend Nate, her family and friends. In the end, Andrea learns that life is made of choices. Office Space — In this 1999 flick, three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss. The main character, Peter Gibbons, thanks to a hypnotic suggestion, decides not to go to work at the same time his company is laying people off. When layoffs affect his two best friends, they conspire to plant a virus that will embezzle money from the company into their account. Working Girl — Tess McGill is a frustrated secretary, struggling to forge ahead in the world of big business in New York. She gets her chance when her boss breaks her leg on a skiing holiday. McGill takes advantage of her absence to push ahead with her career. She teams up with investment broker Jack Trainer to work on a big deal. The situation is complicated after the return of her boss. We hope you enjoy these films and find some ways to have fun at work! Let us know if you have any other movies we should watch. Thanks for reading the Liv Ahwatukee blog!

What To Eat After a Workout

Last month we talked about some tips for making New Year’s resolutions. If your goal is weight loss this year, we want to help you along your journey. Setting goals for yourself is the perfect place to start. That way you can measure your progress, whether you’re in or outside of your Liv Ahwatukee apartment in Phoenix or not, and have benchmarks to know just how you’re doing along the way. When working out, it is important to keep track of what you’re putting in your body. This list from Ambitious Kitchen has some great ideas of what to eat after a workout: Apple and peanut butter. Because apples are the best snack. They provide energy, fiber and a sweet crunch. Slather on a tablespoon of peanut butter and you’ve got yourself a great snack. Trail mix/granola. Granola is wonderful because it provides healthy fats, carbs (from the oats) fiber and a good source protein. Try my Superfood Coconut Oil Granola mixed with 1/2 cup of greek yogurt. Veggie omelet. You truly can’t go wrong with eggs. I love 1 egg and 2 egg whites mixed with a variety of veggies. Greek yogurt with fruit. If you’re going to eat greek yogurt, aim for an organic version. And you don’t always have to go for fat-free! Try a low-fat greek yogurt with fresh berries or banana. Cheese and crackers. I’m not an intense cheese lover like some people I know, but if you are then this is a great time to get your cheese fix in! Eat an ounce of cheese with a few whole grain crackers. Protein shake or fruit smoothie. I usually make a smoothie with a scoop of protein powder, fresh fruit, a little nut butter and almond milk. Peanut butter and banana toast. OH HECK YES. Probably one of my go-to post workout snacks because … NUT BUTTER, duh. Opt for 1 slice of whole grain toast, 1 tablespoon of nut butter and half a banana. We hope you enjoy these delicious snacks and find just what works for you. Good luck!

New Year, New You

Take some time this month to set all your goals for 2017. January is the time for resolutions and making a change. Time to clean out your space and all the junk in your life you just don’t have time for. Adopt some of the principles in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up . The book mentions “Start by discarding. Then organize your space, thoroughly, completely, in one go.” With principles about cleaning and decluttering, this book will help you go through your things and decide just what you need or do not. Four questions the author suggests you ask yourself while cleaning are — Does it spark joy? Is it necessary? Does it work? Does it have a designated place to live? Answering these questions will help you filter through things you just don’t need. Declutter your mind by eating nutritious meals, drinking water, and exercising. Doing these things will help you think clearly and accomplish your daily responsibilities without feeling sluggish. If hitting your local yoga studio for a super sweaty workout, try some of these easy moves at home . A great way to feel more in control and less stressed in your life is learning to say no. This isn’t necessarily refusing to do things for others, but it’s about taking inventory about all you have going on in your life. Some tips from Fluent Land helped us understand this concept a little better. Lauren Conrad gives some great advice regarding this subject. She says, “Just know your boundaries. Like you can say, Listen, I would love to take on this project, or I would love to get involved with this, but I just simply don’t have the time right now. And that time includes scheduled time for yourself.” We hope you’re able to declutter your space a little bit this season. These tips should have helped you get thinking about just what areas of your life can use a little sprucing up! Thanks for reading Liv Ahwatukee. We hope you have a great week here in Phoenix, AZ.