Blog Posts

Desserts Perfect for the Season

Fall desserts are all about spices, pumpkins, apples, and caramel. Our Liv Avenida Blog is sharing some fall-worthy dessert recipes that will have you dreaming of them long after they are all gone. Make one of these sweet dishes in your apartment and bring it to your next Chandler, AZ holiday party. Swirled Pumpkin and Chocolate Cheesecake from Woman’s Day Chocolate, pumpkin, and cheesecake all in one? Can it get much better? This cheesecake features a double dose of chocolate for all the chocolate lovers out there who can’t get enough. What you will need: unsalted butter, chocolate wafer cookies, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, pure vanilla extract, eggs, pure pumpkin puree, and bittersweet chocolate chips. Caramel Apple Trifles from Bakers Royale A creamy twist on the classic fall caramel-covered apples in a beautiful layered dessert featuring an apple crumble, caramel mousse, and decadent caramel sauce. To make this sweet and sticky dessert you will need: heavy cream, sugar, caramel, water, unsalted butter, salt, diced fresh apples, apple chips, and crumbled granola. Sweet Potato Snickerdoodles from Country Living These sandwich cookies are made with sweet potatoes and feature a sticky caramel filling that is absolutely divine! To make them, you will need: flour, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, unsalted butter, sweet potato puree, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, eggs, and a can of dulce de leche. Caramel Apple Pecan Streusel Pie from Baked By an Introvert Combine the sweet tastes and crunchy textures of fall classics like apple and pecan in this intricate dessert. There are four steps to making this pie: pulling off the buttery, flaky crust; covering the apples in cinnamon; creating the pecan streusel topping; and topping it all with a sweet, gooey caramel sauce that will bring it together nicely. What are your favorite fall desserts? Share the recipes with us in the comments so everyone in our apartment community can benefit! Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and we wish you a safe and joyful holiday season!

On Giving Thanks

November, being the month of Thanksgiving, is also the month for remembering the importance of being grateful. Whether you’re a pro or you think you could re-dedicate yourself to being thankful, today is the perfect day to focus on gratitude. We are sharing four reasons why being grateful is important in today’s Liv Avenida Blog post. Improves Physical Health According to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences, grateful people report feeling healthier than other people and they experience fewer aches and pains. Grateful individuals are also more likely to take better care of their health by doing things like exercising often and attending regular check-ups with their doctor, which will ultimately lead to a longer life. Enhances Empathy and Reduces Aggression Robert A. Emmons, Ph. D., has conducted multiple studies on the effects of gratitude on well-being. Gratitude helps to reduce toxic emotions like anger, envy, and frustration. Research has confirmed that gratitude helps to promote happiness and reduce depression, though it still remains unknown how exactly. Promotes Better Sleep Grateful people sleep better according to a 2011 study that was published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Something as simple as taking 15 minutes to write down a few thoughts of gratitude before bed may help you sleep better and longer. Improves Relationships A grateful heart is associated with kindness, trust, and desire to improve social relationships, whether at home or in the workplace. So express appreciation and give the people in your personal and professional lives the recognition they deserve. You’ll both feel and see the difference. Take some time out to express gratitude and reap the benefits today! We hope everyone in our Chandler, AZ apartment community has an amazing November filled with thanks.

How to Make the Most of Your Storage Space

Here at Liv Avenida our residents enjoy plenty of storage space in our apartments — but is your storage space being used to full advantage? Today we have some ideas to help you do just that at your apartment here in Chandler, AZ. Take some time now to get your apartment ready for the holidays by following these tips. First, go through your things. Storage space is always a helpful amenity, but don’t just shove every extra item you have but you’re not using in there! A more effective tactic for any storage space is to only put things in there that you know you need. Prioritize by putting seldom used items up high or down low, and things you use often in the most accessible storage areas in your apartment. Take the time now to go through your things to decide what items are necessities in your life, either because they’re useful or sentimental to you. If you don’t have a very strong need for an item but you appreciate the memories associated with it, consider taking a picture of the item so you can give or throw away the actual physical item and free up space. Create an organization method that works for you. As with any storage space (like a closet), extra storage space should be easy to navigate so you can access your things when you need or want to. Consider creating a list in a notebook you won’t lose or in your phone of where things are, how they’re sorted, and what boxes specific items are in. You can organize your things according to their corresponding season, similar colors or uses for items, or any other organization method that you can easily remember. Make it easy for you and it’ll be easier to remember later! Try out furniture storage options. Sometimes no matter how well we organize or how often we purge, we accumulate things that crowd up our space. Take advantage of the dual-functionality aspect of furniture itself! For example, ottomans that open up are great for storing pillows or blankets that you may use while lounging on the couch. Bookshelves are obviously great for books, but they’re also great for displaying small trinkets or pieces of art. And you can use cabinets, wardrobes, and armoires to store scrapbooks, movies, CDs, or fragile collectibles. These all can free up space and pull the design of your home together nicely. We hope you enjoy making the most of the storage space available to you here at Liv Avenida, and that you find useful, creative ways to make your space your own. Thanks for reading!

Spooky Halloween Treats

It’s October, and Halloween is right around the corner. We’re sure you’ve got a lot of events and parties coming up here in Chandler, AZ, so we’ve put together a list of tasty treats themed for the holiday that you can make yourself in your apartment here at Liv Avenida. Give them a try and let us know in the comments which are your favorites! “Poison” Candy Apple Candy apples are a traditional fall and Halloween treat, but this version just makes them a little bit more creepy for the holiday. A little dye in the candy coating creates a creepy-looking black “poisonous” appearance to the treat. Try other dyes to create bloody or ghostly apples, too! Meringue Ghost Tartlets These little tartlets are a perfect surprise for anyone looking for a sweet treat. This Halloween dessert is made from a graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache, and egg whites to make a meringue-ghost-topped, delectable sweet. Graveyard Chocolate Cheesecake Dip This dessert dip is anything but a downer. Make the chocolate cheesecake dip in just 20 minutes. Decorate with crushed chocolate cream sandwich cookies and form the tombstones with Milano cookies or a similar cookie you can decorate for a dessert to impress everyone you share it with. Mini Mice Cakes With a little bit of care and some skill in the kitchen, these spooky mice cakes will look real enough to scare anyone! Use fondant, red velvet cake filling, white candy coating, and a mouse chocolate mold to create this eerie snack to give anyone the chills. Melted Witch Bark Everyone knows that wicked witches melt when they come in contact with water. Well, this treat is what they look like afterward! Use candy melts to create the effect. Do you have any favorite spooky treats of your own? Let us know in the comments so that everyone at The Vault at Statesboro can try them out!

Halloween Movies to Watch this Month

We hope you’re having a great start to October here in Chandler, AZ. Keep the spirit of Halloween alive all month long by watching some movies inspired by the holiday in your apartment at Liv Avenida! Today we have spooky suggestions (with descriptions from IMDb ) to put on your watch list. Beetlejuice — Comedy, Fantasy (1988) “A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.” Sleepy Hollow — Fantasy, Horror, Mystery (1999) “Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman.” The Phantom of the Opera — Drama, Musical, Romance (2004) “A young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.” Hocus Pocus — Comedy, Family, Fantasy (1993) “After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches’ reign of terror once and for all.” Teen Witch — Comedy, Family, Fantasy (1989) “High school misfit Louise, at a loss for romance, discovers magical abilities, but the teenage witch finds that she cannot conjure herself true love, so what?” Young Frankenstein — Comedy (1974) “An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that he is not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.” Practical Magic — Comedy, Drama, Fantasy (1988) The wry, comic romantic tale follows the Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian, as they struggle to use their hereditary gift for practical magic to overcome the obstacles in discovering true love. What are your favorite Halloween or scary movies to watch around this time of year? Let us know in the comments! Enjoy!

Arizona State Fair — Something for Everyone

Ready to head out from Liv Avenida for the weekend? What better place to go than the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix which is just a short drive from Chandler? Last week we highlighted some of the concerts that will be taking place at the fair this year, and this week we are sharing some of the history behind this epic annual event. Arizona State Fair History The Arizona State Fair has been in existence for over a century. The fairgrounds, established in 1905 house the Veterans Memorial Coliseum which has played host to Elvis, Pope John Paul II, President Obama, and Cher among other celebrities. The focus of the fair, a gathering place for Arizonans from around the state, is a celebration of the diversity found in Arizona. Honoring the past, celebrating what’s happening here and now, and looking forward to the future is all a part of what’s happening. This video provides a quick overview of the history of the Arizona state fair . What You Will Find at the Arizona State Fair In addition to concerts every weekend throughout the month of October, visitors will find wonderful food from a variety of vendors, multiple community stages featuring local talent, and of course competitive opportunities. As the Competitive Entries page of the website notes, “From Chalk Art to Cupcake Decoration Demonstrations, Fine Art Wood Carvings, and the photos of iconic and mesmerizing Arizona landscapes, we bring together the collective creative minds of our community. “ Be sure to visit the livestock exhibitions where you will have the opportunity to see goats, poultry, pigeons, rabbits, cattle, sheep, and swine. At the other end of the spectrum, among the featured attractions of the fair are PC Gaming World, Console Gaming World, and VR world. Choose your favorite avenue to get your game on. There will be a Retro Arcade available, and get excited to attend the Grandstand Series of Monster Truck competition. Don’t forget to plan time for the carnival! For answers about your pressing fair-related questions, check out the Arizona State Fair FAQ . It covers everything from the Code of Conduct to Lost and Found to Guest Services. Have a great time!