Blog Posts

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.

Flamin’ Hot Ice Cream and More Exciting Creations

When we heard that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Ice Cream was a thing, we couldn’t believe it — and do you blame us? Honestly, we never really imagined combining Flamin’ Hot Cheetos with any type of dessert. Whatsoever. Sure, we’re all for those sweet-and-spicy, hot-and-cold combinations, but we never pictured Cheetos being a big component of any dish. Perhaps we were wrong to ignore it for so long. Here are a few recipes that just might surprise you! Make them today in your Liv Ahwatukee apartment! Cheesecake This is a pretty simple Hot Cheetos cheesecake recipe . You’ll need graham cracker crumbs, hot sauce, melted butter, sugar, cream cheese, cornstarch, lime zest, eggs, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Click the above link for the full instructions. Macarons This recipe comes from kara’s couture cakes . Here’s what the creator has to say about the recipe: “Oh yes, I went there! These savory, spicy, sweet, not-so-classic French macarons are digging the Flamin' Hot Cheetos craze! Nope. They wouldn't be my first choice either, but I gotta say... They are AWESOME!” For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients: powdered sugar, almond flour, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, white chocolate, and heavy cream. Ice Cream Here’s the ultimate test: a recipe for something that’s supposed to be cold, and something known for its hot flavor — combined for one ultimate experience. Hot Cheetos ice cream is not something we would’ve imagined people actually ate, so you can imagine our surprise (and somewhat excitement) to learn that this recipe actually exists. Click the above link for full instructions. We hope you enjoy making these fun treats in your Cambridge, MA apartment. Before we leave you, here’s a fun fact about the history of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos : Richard Montañez, a one-time-janitor at Frito-Lay, dusted some Cheetos with his own homemade chili powder. After sharing them with his friends and coworkers, his life took a turn that he never expected. What can we take away from this? We think that Richard’s story of success is a great example for us to not be afraid to try new things. Okay, so maybe making Flamin’ Hot Cheetos ice cream won’t boost your career, but something else might. We hope this blog post (specifically these recipes) inspire you to continue to try new things in 2019. You never know what might happen. Thanks for reading! We hope you have a great month in Phoenix, AZ!

Inspirational Quotes to Live By

At Liv Ahwatukee, we think that everyone should have a mantra, meaning “a motivating chant, like the ‘I think I can, I think I can’ you repeat over and over to yourself on the last stretch of every marathon you run” ( vocabulary.com ). Many of us repeat our mantras in our apartments or at work. Often, they inspire us to live a better life, to make good choices, and to motivate our day-to-day lives here in Phoenix, AZ. Enjoy reading these quotes and see if any of them can be added to your list of mantras. “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” — Marthe Troly-Curtin, Phrynette Married “If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” — Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator “A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.” — Helen Keller, The Simplest Way to be Happy “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You “Anything worth dying for is certainly worth living for.” — Joseph Heller, Catch-22 “The only limits for tomorrow are the doubts we have today.” — Pittacus Lore, The Power of Six “If you’re making mistakes, it means you’re out there doing something.” — Neil Gaiman, Make Good Art “You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.” — Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Do you have any favorite quotes to add to this list? Share them in the comments, as well as any other life mantras that you live by. We hope that this month is filled with inspiration and motivation!