Blog Posts

The Importance of Understanding Depression

Welcome back to the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog. Today we’re reaching out to residents living in our Phoenix, AZ apartment community with a post about depression. While some people are enjoying the onset of spring, some people are struggling with depression. If you know — or think you might know — someone who deals with depression, it can be beneficial to try to understand what it’s like for them. We decided to turn to Reddit , an online community where people can post content such as links, text posts, and images. The more popular the comments in the post, the more points they receive. We found a Reddit thread where people have written about how to help someone understand what depression is like. If you have advice you’d like to share, please leave a comment below for our residents. Here are two of the most popular comments from the thread about understanding depression: “I always described it like cancer. You might get diagnosed when you're younger, but you can probably catch it early enough and fight it off. And you're safe for a while, but you know the possibility is there that it will return. Also, now that you know it's in your genes, you worry for your family. Your children. Maybe you decide not to have kids if you're young enough. This could be an easy decision or an excruciating one. But you have to make it.” “Imagine living in a cardboard box on the street, in the rain, starving to death...and being okay with that. That's how it often makes me feel. Like I have no motivation, total apathy and I just want to melt into the floor.” Taking the time to learn about depression and trying to understand what people are feeling is a great way to show mindfulness to people who face depression on a daily basis. You may even begin to understand why winter is not fulfilling for every person that you care about. Then let that understanding translate into empathy, kindness, and allyship throughout the entire year. Do you have any advice to offer? Share in the comments below.

What we can Learn from Bilbo Baggins

For many of us, our lives are not unlike the character Bilbo Baggins, sitting comfortable and safe within the walls of our apartment home, safe like in the Shire in Middle Earth as written by author J.R.R. Tolkien. Like this hobbit before his grand adventure, many of us are comfortable: we take afternoon drinks when we like, we stroll outside when we like, and we’ll get around to adventuring when we feel up to it. But life, as The Hobbit teaches us, is filled with unexpected adventures around corners that are often considered calm. Today the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog invites you to consider your life as an adventure, one that’s filled with bad or unfortunate experiences (losing luggage, experiencing a broken heart, etc.) and good adventures (falling in love, traveling the world, etc.) to even things out. In today’s post, we share a few lessons learned from one hobbit to us, lessons that can help even the weakest person on their greatest adventure. Friendship is Important One of the strongest and most often repeated themes in The Hobbit is friendship. During Bilbo’s daring adventure, he is often surrounded by companions. Without these individuals, there were times when Bilbo could have died. In our lives, it is important to remember who our friends are and to stay true to them as they are to us. You may not need them now, but who knows when a mountain troll will come knocking on your door? Appearances can be Deceiving Bilbo was not the largest of hobbits, nor was he the most intimidating. Even when faced with great odds, he did not appear to be a threat. There were times when Gandalf was sure to think he could not be successful. Despite all this, Bilbo achieved what he set out to do because he kept moving forward. No matter the size of the adventure or the number of monsters that come barging through the hallways of life, remember that the physical size or appearance of a person is no measure of their heart, passion, and will to achieve victory. Opportunity may come Knocking We’re not always looking for adventure. Sometimes the opportunity comes at a most unexpected time. Remember to take chances in life. Have the courage to say “yes” and go on an adventure for yourself when the chance arrives. Whether your adventures happen in Phoenix, Arizona or somewhere else, we wish the best for you. Share your own lessons by leaving comments about your adventures below. We’d love to read about them!

Reddit Movie Recommendations

Welcome back to the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog! Sometimes you just need a moment (or a few hours) to let your mind relax. One of our favorite ways to do that? Movie night! Today we thought it’d be fun to dive into the world of online communities and see what the users of Reddit have to say about what to watch. If you don’t already know, Reddit is a website where people can post content such as links, text posts, and images, which people can comment and vote on. The more popular the comments in the post, the more points they receive. In thinking of all the upcoming movie nights you’ll probably hold in your Phoenix, AZ apartment, we found a great Reddit thread about movies people thought were going to be good but then ended up being amazing. So, without further adieu, here are the movies that received over 1,000 points from that thread: Over 2,000 Points How to Train Your Dragon Galaxy Quest Over 1,500 Points In Bruges Tucker and Dale vs Evil Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 21 Jump Street Shaun of the Dead Ip Man Stardust Zombieland Over 1,000 Points Stranger Than Fiction Fantastic Mr. Fox Groundhog Day Lucky Number Slevin The Prestige Scott Pilgrim vs. the World District 9 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Despicable Me Sunshine Wall-E Drive The Avengers Visit IMDB for descriptions and ratings of the above films. If you’re planning a movie night in your apartment, you’ll want to prepare by choosing snacks. Food Network has a lot of movie night food recommendations, but we love this list probably most of all: “Mini Movie Night Foods.” Check out their menu: Mini Lasagnas with Sweet Corn and Mascarpone Mini Sandwich Buffet: Mini Grilled Cheese and Tomato, Mini Rachael’s and Mini Spicy Patty Melts Mini Antipasto Calzones Mini Meatballs with Raspberry-Balsamic Barbeque Sauce Mini Espresso Cakes with Peanut Butter Frosting Do you have a list of movies that surprised you by how good they were? What about some delicious movie night snack recommendations? If so, share in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Three Exciting Games to Enhance your Game Night Experience

If you’re a regular visitor of our the Liv Ahwatukee Apartments Blog, you’ll know that we love writing about board games. We love writing about board games almost as much as we like playing them — not just because they’re fun, but because they bring people together. This month, we’re encouraging residents of our Phoenix, AZ community to invite a few friends over to play something exciting. Here are three exciting board games that will make your next game night experience the best one yet! Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game If you’re into the whole “zombie-craze,” then this game is perfect for you. Dead of Winter can be considered the closest version of a Walking Dead board game. You and your friends will take on the role of survivors living in a weakened colony where humanity is haunted by flesh-craving creatures. Work together (or secretly against each other) to obtain important objects, protect the colony, and fight off the dead. For two to five players. Captain Sonar We like to call this game “Battleship on Steroids!” Why? Captain Sonar takes the classic Battleship game and turns it into a real-time team battle for domination. For up to eight players, you and your teammates will control a submarine. Hurry and locate the enemy sub before they blow you out of the water! Just remember, communication is key! For two to eight players. T.I.M.E Stories This is one of our favorite board games of all time. In T.I.M.E Stories, players act as time travelers who are trying to prevent temporal faults in the universe. Take on the roles of different people from the early 1900s and medieval times as you travel back in time to save the world from an ever-growing force of darkness. For two to four players. Find out more about these great games by visiting boardgamegeek.com .

Our Favorite Bubble Bath Recipe

When was the last time you slipped into a bubble bath? If you can’t remember, then it has been too long! Today we’ll be sharing one of our favorite bubble bath recipes for you to enjoy in your Phoenix, AZ home. Run the hot water and slip into a relaxing afternoon here at Liv Ahwatukee Apartments! Honey & Vanilla Bubble Bath One of our favorite bubble bath recipes is made with honey and vanilla. The key to getting this bubble bath just right is the egg white. We know what you must be thinking: honey, eggs, vanilla — who’s cooking what? This recipe smells great, is simple to make, and is a great place to begin if it’s your first time making a bubble bath. Hello Glow shared a great recipe with these ingredients. All you’ll need is ½ cup of light almond oil, ¼ cup of honey, ½ cup of mild liquid or body soap, 1 egg white, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Simply combine the ingredients together and then pour ¼ to ½ cup under running water. Keep the rest in the refrigerator for your next soaking. Here’s what Stephanie Gerber at Hello Glow had to say about this recipe: “My first attempt at making bubble bath a couple of years ago was a total bomb. The secret is the egg white! It helps create bigger bubbles that last longer. But you still won’t get huge bubbles. Agitate the water to activate the soap and enjoy.” Whilst relaxing, add some more fun to your bath by bringing candles into the picture. We recommend looking for flameless tea lights, which flicker like a real flame without actually burning anything. When relaxing, it’s best to be safe — you don’t want to be worrying about open flames, especially if you have a lot of them. Making your own bubble bath will turn bath time into something even more special (and who doesn’t want that?). A homemade bubble bath is more than a great thing for you— it’s also a great gift to give away for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and other celebrations. Thanks for reading. We hope you have a great month!

Dungeons & Dragons Attributes in Real Life

Welcome back to the Liv Ahwatukee Blog! To finish off our Dungeons & Dragons-themed month, we’d like to discuss “attributes.” Dungeons & Dragons uses the following six attributes: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each attribute/ability has a score which defines the magnitude of each attribute. Modifiers affect the scores of the attributes, whether adding to or subtracting from the initial number… Okay, so maybe that’s a lot to take in. Just bear with us. We found an interesting Reddit thread about relating the attributes used in Dungeons & Dragons to real life . Here’s just a small part of what someone shared. The numbers to the left are the score (the numbers in parenthesis are modifiers): Wisdom 1 (–5): Seemingly incapable of thought, barely aware 2-3 (–4): Rarely notices important or prominent items, people, or occurrences 4-5 (–3): Seemingly incapable of forethought 6-7 (–2): Often fails to exert common sense 8-9 (–1): Forgets or opts not to consider options before taking action 10-11 (0): Makes reasoned decisions most of the time 12-13 (1): Able to tell when a person is upset 14-15 (2): Can get hunches about a situation that doesn’t feel right 16-17 (3): Reads people and situations fairly well 18-19 (4): Often used as a source of wisdom or decider of actions 20-21 (5): Reads people and situations very well, almost unconsciously 22-23 (6): Can tell minute differences among many situations 24-25 (7): Nearly prescient, able to reason far beyond logic Here is this week’s quest: Apply one of the attributes to yourself (particularly one you’re not the best at) and give it a score that you think fits. Feel free to look at the above link to scroll through and find what a person on Reddit outlined, or do it on your own! The next time you leave your apartment, keep your attributes and attached scores in mind. What modifiers do you have in your life that end up affecting your overall score for that attribute? Perhaps you’re rather charismatic except when in stressful situations at work. As you go about your days in Phoenix, AZ, or wherever you are located, think of ways you can improve on your scores. Good luck!