Blog Posts

What You’ll Need for the Perfect Picnic

Welcome back to the Liv Ahwatukee Blog. July is the perfect month to head to your favorite picnic spot near your apartment in Phoenix, AZ. Enjoy these great tips to get your picnic season underway! What You’ll Need — Picnic blanket — serving utensils — plates, cups, cutlery, napkins — tasty food — drinks — cooler — condiments & spices — Picnic basket Helpful Tip: Use this picnic packing list from Real Simple to be sure you don’t forget any picnic essentials. The Food Sandwiches have a well-deserved reputation as picnic food. Here are some tips for making, packing, and eating sandwiches: — Butter the bread before adding the filling. The butter acts as a barrier, and the bread won’t get soggy. — Pack the sandwich fillings in separate plastic bags and assemble the sandwiches on site. This allows individuals to build a custom-made sandwich. — Invest in some packets of mayo and mustard; this reduces the chance of spoilage. — Leave the sandwich partially in the wrapping while you eat it. If it drips, the wrapping will catch the drips. — Think outside the breadbox for sandwiches. Serve chicken salad with croissants, fill pitas with tuna salad, and make lettuce or tortilla wraps. On the other hand, spending some time in your fabulous apartment kitchen to make a delicious, old-fashioned, satisfying meal of fried chicken, potato salad, fruit, and dinner rolls is a great way to welcome in the warmer summer months. These foods can be packed up and taken to the park for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to take a chocolate cake for dessert. Of course, portable food is one of the key factors when preparing a picnic. You could also try something a little different: take some fresh salsa and chips for your picnic. We have a tasty salsa recipe from Allrecipes.com for you to try. Other Essentials Don’t forget the paper plates, utensils, cups, and a tablecloth! Once the food is planned, the next step is deciding where to go. If you don’t have time to prepare a picnic, simply stop at your favorite deli and pick up food to take to your favorite park. The point is to eat outdoors and enjoy time with friends and family.

Mashed Potato Heaven

To finish off our month of blog posts, we’re sharing a few sensational mashed potato creations. Last week we focused on one of our favorite sweet treats. Today we go savory! Curtis’ Stone’s Baked Mashed Potatoes with Pancetta The first recipe in our list was posted on Rachael Ray’s website. This recipe for has so much good going for it that it’s making our mouths water just thinking about it. Combined with the potatoes, pancetta, whole milk, sour cream, mascarpone cheese, and black pepper. Top it all off with parmesan cheese. Talk about yummy! Mashed Potatoes with Soft Cheese and Herbs Also from Rachael Ray’s website, this recipe calls for potatoes, Boursin garlic-and-herb soft cow’s milk cheese, milk, parsley, chives, thyme, lemon zest, and garlic. The end result looks delicious. Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions Caramelized onions are already a good idea and can be paired with so many different foods. What about mashed potatoes? This recipe is so simple to make, it only requires a few ingredients. Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes If you’re needing to plan ahead with your meals, check out this recipe. From the website: “You can prepare [these] a day or two ahead of time, refrigerate them, then bake them on the day of. It’s a great time saver, and these mashed potatoes are absolutely incredible. Creamy and buttery, with a slightly crunchy golden crust on top. These make-ahead mashed potatoes are truly heavenly.” You can do so many things with mashed potatoes: add caramelized onions, mix in different types of cheese, eat with bacon and other types of meat… We love them! What’s your favorite way to eat this classic comforting dish? We at Liv Ahwatukee Apartments would love to hear about it! Leave a comment below for residents of our Phoenix, AZ community. Thanks for reading!

Move Forward with Forgiveness

If you are harboring a grudge against someone, no matter the reason, we hope that today’s blog post will help you let go of those negative emotions. Before we share a few ideas to help you focus on forgiveness, we’d like to acknowledge that grudges are normal; it’s natural to have the urge to protect oneself, especially from further hurt or harm. What we fear are the negative effects that grudges can cause after those feelings have grown deeper. Holding onto ill feelings toward someone or something can negatively affect both physical and mental health. So before we get too far into the summer season, let’s see if there’s something positive that you can do moving forward. Here are a few tips that we think can help you let go of a grudge: Put on a different pair of shoes: Put yourself in the shoes of the person, group, or thing that helped cause or add to your pain. You can learn a lot by focusing on their point of view, trying to feel what they feel or think about how they thought when things went south. Empathy is powerful in helping you move forward. Acknowledge what you are feeling: Take time to identify the reason you are feeling the way that you are. You might decide to write down these thoughts in your journal or record them out loud. And don’t worry; no one needs to read it or listen to it but you. Allowing yourself to identify the root issue behind what you’re feeling can be a comforting move on your part, giving you the chance to process those emotions and move forward. Choose to move forward: By choosing to let go of the negative feelings, you’re making room for more positive feelings in your life. We’re not suggesting you forget about what happened, but we are suggesting that you acknowledge what happened and choose to learn from it. Mentally accepting your situation, even if tentatively, can give your mind a positive energy boost to work toward full forgiveness. Thanks for visiting the Liv Ahwatukee Blog! We hope you have a great month in Phoenix, AZ. If you have any further tips about letting go of a grudge, feel free to share with our apartment community by leaving a comment below.

Delicious Ice Cream Recipes

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a spoonful of homemade ice cream on a hot summer day. Enjoy reading about a few of our favorite ice cream recipes, including delicious creations like Cookies & Cream Nutella, Snickerdoodle, and Pistachio Cherry. Cookies & Cream Nutella If the classic combination of cookies and cream isn’t enough to put a smile on your face, try adding Nutella to the mix! You’ll need heavy whipping cream, chocolate milk, Nutella, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and Oreo cookies to make this sinfully delicious treat. Snickerdoodle Are you a fan of snickerdoodle cookies? If yes, then you’ll love this frozen alternative: snickerdoodle ice cream. This sweet treat is packed with sugar, cinnamon, and whipping cream. Simply mix all the required ingredients together, cover and chill in the refrigerator for two hours, and you’re on your way to making one of our favorite ice cream flavors! Butterbeer Harry Potter fans will love this! To make Butterbeer flavored ice cream, you’ll need butter, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, cream, egg yolks, white sugar, and one bottle of British Ale. If you’ve tasted the Butterbeer ice cream at Universal Studios, let us know how this recipe compares. Avocado Combine coconut milk, heavy cream, avocados, lime juice, and vanilla for this surprisingly flavorful dessert. “Avocado ice cream” might sound like an unusual flavor, but it sure hit all the positive notes of our taste buds. Pistachio Cherry To finish off our list of favorite ice cream recipes, we’re sharing a flavorful combination of cherries and pistachios. You’ll need the following ingredients: heavy whipping cream, unsweetened coconut milk, sugar, almond extract, cherries, and ground pistachios. Thanks for visiting the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog! Let us know what type of ice cream you love to make in your Phoenix, Arizona apartment. We hope you have a great rest of the month!

Drawing Inspiration from Photography

Welcome back to the Liv Ahwatukee Blog. In Phoenix, AZ, we’re blessed with a world of wonder and beauty. All around our apartment community are opportunities for photographs that will shine on your Instagram account. Today, we’re sharing a few of our very own inspirational photography “facts” to help you get inspired to grab your camera or smartphone, head outside of your apartment, and enjoy the outside world this season. 1. A photograph offers inspiration. It’s a moment that has been captured, one that can speak to us on a deeper level more than words can ever say. One look at an incredible picture and suddenly the age-old phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” is only true to an extent, as some photographs tend to take all words away from you and you’re left staring in awe and fascination. 2. The camera is a passport to inspiration. Every so often there’s a photograph that can transport you to another place and time. The image captures a majestic moment, one that pulls you in and sends you on an adventure of your own. 3. A photograph is a story waiting to be told, but different for everyone who reads it. You’re the author. What will your stories say? 4. Seeing a photograph is a sneak peek of the past and a look into the future. It’s a memory borrowed of a moment once created, but one that can be shared forever. It’s truly a memory never to be forgotten. 5. Some of the most powerful shots are the ones that we don’t plan. Some of them tend to surprise us more than we ever expect. Some are framed just right. 6. Each photograph you take is a stamp in your passport of life. Yours can never be too full.

How to Make Your Own Essential Oils

This week, the Liv Ahwatukee Blog is featuring tips so that you can make your own essential oils without leaving your Phoenix, AZ apartment. Essential oils can help fight colds, soothe sore muscles, alleviate pain, improve digestion, and more . If you’ve got a crockpot and distilled water, then extracting essential oils from plants is a pretty simple process. We’re taking the following instructions from DIY Natural , and while we invite you to read the entire article to learn more about essential oils and infused oils, we’re going to highlight just the parts about the process of making your own oil. Ingredients & Supplies 1. A crock pot with a lid 2. Distilled water 3. 3-4 cups of chopped fresh plant material, filling the crockpot about half full. “It’s best to use fresh plant material rather than dried. Dried herbs will still yield some oil, but fresh will result in more volume. Harvest plant material in the morning after the dew has dried. Discard any dead, diseased, or bug infested herbs.” Process 1. Place the plants in the crockpot, covering them with water. Make sure that the crockpot is less than three-fourths full. Then, put the lid on upside down. 2. Turn the crockpot on high. Once hot, turn it to low and simmer for three to four hours. 3. Turn the crockpot off. Once the plants have cooled, place the crockpot into the fridge and leave it overnight. 4. In the morning, you should notice a thin film of oil on the top. It should be hard. Be careful as you lift the essential oil, but work quickly so it doesn’t melt. 5. Place the oil into a bottle and seal it with a cap. 6. Store away from light and heat. Of course, if you’d rather purchase essential oils rather than make your own, there’s always that option! Young Living is just one of many essential oil companies with a wide variety of great oils to choose from.