Best of Apartment Living In The Fall

(Image courtesy of Nesster)

Though we love apartment living year round,  (and who wouldn't?) we have to admit that the fall offers some unique apartment opportunities that are difficult to get a grasp on. Don't believe us? Keep reading for just a taste of the seasonal fun that awaits you in your San Diego apartment!

Great Company:

One of the great aspects of living in an apartment is the opportunity to reside with other people. Whether your roommate is your best friend or you randomly get paired with another person, the opportunity presents itself to become extremely close with the person living under the same roof. Having a roommate during the fall season is ideal. Whether you want to have some company to watch the big football game or the premier of the top new television shows, having additional company is definitely an added benefit as the weather starts to drop.

Coziness:

Having a home too big is a thing of the past. Walking into an apartment that is the perfect size is an ideal situation. An apartment offers a comfortable setting where you know that you’re not overpaying. Stacy Keibler had a famous quote where she said, “When I'm home, I like a cozy, comfortable, calming space.” An apartment offers top amenities at amazing locations for a reasonable price. A smaller home results in more social interaction among the members living in the same apartment. During the fall season there is a “coziness” element of living in an apartment community that can’t be matched.

Sense of Community:

Being able to constantly make updates on social networks provides rental communities with a way to better connect with their community. The fall is a time where apartment communities hold costume contests, pumpkin carving competitions and trick or treat festivities. Living in a rental community provides residents with the comfort of living in a tight-nit community. Autumn is a time when people seem to really connect with one another. It is easier than ever to follow updates from your apartment via social networks. Seeing pictures of cute kids in costumes or a couple with an amazing pumpkin decoration will bring a smile to the faces of all residents and allow for you to appreciate the sense of community at your apartment.

Flexibility:

Living in an apartment allows for less cleaning, less maintaining and mental freedom. This results in the freeing up of your schedule to pursue the things in life that really matter – whatever you want that to be. The fall is a time where you should be making pumpkin pie in your kitchen or cozying up on the couch with a warm blanket watching the game or your favorite television show. There are beautiful nature trails where you can see the changing leaves or Halloween parties to attend with fall seasoned beverages and pecan pie. Apartment living certainly provides residents with more time to enjoy the things that really matter in their life.

If you are living in an apartment with a close friend this autumn, take a moment to reflect on this memorable time in your life. It is a great time to appreciate the flexibility that you have, the sense of community by surrounded neighbors and the cozy feeling in your apartment with great company. There are many reasons to love the fall season. Living in an apartment is just one of them.

Fall Is In The Air

(Image courtesy of tibbygirl)

Okay, so maybe Fall isn't here quite yet, and we're sure there won't be many changes in the weather when it arrives, but that doesn't mean that you have to miss out on all the great activities the time of year has to offer!

Writer, Courtney Lochner, from renters.apartments.com has a few Fall-themed party ideas that are sure to get you in the mood for some spooky fun. Keep reading to get inspired. 

1. Pumpkin Caricatures.

This one is so fun and easy. Ensure you have a small pumpkin for each of your guests. Have your guests write down their name on a piece of paper. Put the names in a basket and have guests draw a name (ensuring they haven't gotten their own). Next provide colored permanent markers and instruct your guests to draw a caricature of the name they've drawn, onto the pumpkin. When finished, have fun as you all guess who is who! At the end of the night, each guests gets to bring home his pumpkin head.

2. Pumpkin Beer Tasting.

Stock up on pumpkin flavored beers and provide tasting cards for your guests to rate the beers. You can do blind tastings or regular tastings. The point is to try many different kinds, spark conversation, and find a new favorite! Great pumpkin ales to pick up:
Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale by Cigar City Brewing
Kuhnhenn All Hallows Eve
Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale by Stevens Point Brewing
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Ale
Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head Brewing
Night Owl Pumpkin Ale by Elysian
Finally - check out what your local microbreweries offer!

3. Ghosts in the Graveyard.

Tap into your childhood by playing ghosts in the graveyard. Okay, chances are you don't have a huge yard but get your party to walk on down to the local park come nightfall. Choose a place for safety, say the swing set. Next choose a one hunter who will count to sixty while the rest of the guests hide. The hunter must go on a search for the "ghosts in the graveyard." If the hunter spots a ghost, the ghost must chase the hunter back to safety and if he/she catches him/her before making it to safety, the roles are reversed. You'll be amazed what kind of adrenaline this game can conjure! And bonus--it's a workout!

Cook Smarter, Not Harder

(Image courtesy of Jeff Kubina)

For some apartment dwellers there's something relaxing about coming home after a long day and taking the time to cook dinner. Unwinding only gets better when you have the opportunity to savor the smells mingling in your kitchen and a take a few moments to prepare your meal. 

As relaxing as it can sometimes be, cooking can be a chore. When space and time are limited, preparing a meal can quickly turn from a relaxing treat to another obstacle in your day.Writer Mikaela Cowles, from renters.apartments.com, understands the balancing act that is cooking dinner and she offers a few suggestions to keep your cooking agenda as smooth as possible. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Bake Ahead

Typically, the small kitchen dilemma is particularly challenging when you’re hosting a dinner party. If your menu involves any sort of baked good, such as dinner rolls or cornbread, it’s best to bake them ahead of time. This might mean you bake them the evening before or the morning of.

2. Make Ahead

In addition to pre-baking your yummy goodies, I also love to utilize make-ahead dishes. These are the kinds of dishes that are best enjoyed after marinating. For example, broccoli salad, black bean and corn salad, and coleslaw are 10 times better after they have sat for at least a few hours. In addition, most bruschetta toppings are better when they’ve had a chance to sit, making them a great appetizer.

Note: This is currently my favorite black bean and corn salad. It can be served warm or cold. It makes a great salad, unique salsa and fantastic quesadilla filling.

3. Prep Everything in Advance

Before you start cooking, prep. Chop all your veggies, meat, fruit and herbs. Anything that needs to be cut, sliced or otherwise altered should be done before you start cooking.

4. Pre-Cooking Cleanup

Once you’ve prepped all your ingredients, clean up everything you can. Dirty dishes can hog a lot of your precious space.

5. One-Pot Wonders

My last piece of “small kitchen wisdom” is to not avoid the one-pot wonders. When I first started cooking, I though every meal needed to be a multi-dish extravaganza. But, there’s a lot to be said for the one-pot dishes that are packed with flavors and textures.

Cure The Smart Phone Hangover

(Image courtesy of Kārlis Dambrāns)

How often do you find yourself tossing and turning at night before you finally drift off? If you're like us, often during those long late-night hours of sleeplessness you pick up your phone to surf the internet.

Though it may be an easy way to calm your mind, we bet you wouldn't believe that spending time on your smartphone late at night may actually be the reason that you're having trouble falling asleep. Writer, Elizabeth Giorgi, from Apartment Therapy breaks down exactly how smartphones interrupt your sleep. Keep reading to find out why you can fall asleep faster and sleep deeper without your smartphone. 

Smarphone hangovers are the new thing in science. Last week I wrote a post about why I wasn't using my smart phone as an alarm anymore and it caused quite an uproar. Researchers at Michigan State University have found that late night use of smartphones (which may include using them before bed) have been scientifically proven to prevent easy sleep.

Here's what researchers at Michigan State University told the Telegraph about their research:
"Smartphones are almost perfectly designed to disrupt sleep," said Russell Johnson, MSU assistant professor of management. "Because they keep us mentally engaged late into the evening, they make it hard to detach from work so we can relax and fall asleep. ... The night-time use of smartphones appears to have both psychological and physiological effects on people's ability to sleep and on sleep's essential recovery functions."

The cause? The blue light the phone screen emits. I've found many of their observations to be true, despite trying a few other measures first, including using the sleep function on my phone for a while.

Further results will be posted in the Journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes soon, but I wonder if anyone out there would agree that they experience a "smartphone hangover" from time to time too?