Blog Posts

Pool Safety Principles to Live By

One of the many apartment community amenities residents at Liv Avenida appreciate is access to our saltwater heated pools and spas. Cooling down with a dip in the pool is a necessity here in Chandler, AZ, so today we wanted to remind you of some important pool safety tips to remember all year long. Protect your skin. Getting a tan is one appealing aspect of the summer sun, but beware of the risks of sun damage ! Take care of your skin and apply sunscreen before you head out into the heat. Especially if you’re easily susceptible to sunburns, you might even want to apply sunscreen periodically throughout the day if you’re going to be spending long amounts of time at the pool. Read the Huffington Post’s five reasons you should always wear sunscreen if you need extra convincing. Stay aware of small dangers. Lounging in the pool is fun and relaxing, so help it stay that way for you and others by practicing proper etiquette and being mindful of your surroundings. Going to the pool may be second nature to you, but remain aware of how things could go wrong so you can continue having a successful experience at the swimming pool. So remember to walk when you’re in the pool area, and never run. Stay away from jets, suction outlets, and drains so clothing or hair doesn’t get caught in them. These and other small actions will all contribute to a successful trip to the pool. Educate yourself. If you don’t know how to swim, there’s no time like the present to learn! Even learning the basics can help you feel confident at all times at the pool. The same goes for performing CPR or planning how you may react in case of another emergency. You may not need to do anything life-saving, but having the knowledge of how to do so in case you or someone else gets caught in a tough situation can help you swim smart and confident. We hope you have a great time at our pools this month and on! Share your favorite swimming pool games with the rest of us by leaving a comment. Thanks for reading!

Organize Your Closet

Here at Liv Avenida you have many great amenities . One invaluable one is a spacious walk-in closet. Make the most of it this season by cleaning it out! Now is a great time of the year to go through your closet in your Liv Avenida apartment. This week’s blog has some tips to help you go through the process stress-free. Set the tone with a great playlist. Music can have strong effects on your emotions, so if you’re not feeling motivated to go through your clothes and clean out your closet, put on music that you love. Pop Sugar has a great cleaning playlist that will make chores seem like a breeze . We also think now is the perfect opportunity listen to cleaning-themed (or titled) songs, like “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” by Eminem, “Come Clean” by Hilary Duff, and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. Go through your closet. One easy way to get through everything it is to just take it all out first. Then you can wipe down your shelves and have a clean slate to start back up again with. This will also help you get rid of trash and old or ripped items as you see them. If you prefer to go through your closet in small, manageable bunches, go shelf by shelf or by type of items in your closet so you can stay organized as you put it all back together. An important thing to remember throughout the whole process is to make separate piles of items you want to keep and which you want to get rid of. Consider donating or even selling your lightly used items that are still in good shape. Come up with an organizing method. There are a lot of things you can do to make space in your closet and to make it easier for you to navigate it throughout the year. Tip Hero offers some super valuable genius closet organizing hacks that can help you for things like shoes, socks, and scarves. For the rest of your stuff, organize your stuff by how you think you’ll use it in the future, whether that’s by type or color of clothing. What are your best tips for cleaning out your closet? Fill us in on them by leaving a comment. Good luck!

Breakfast Ideas

In March we offered you some pie recipes for Pi Day, but you’ve still got to eat nutritious foods every day! Start your day off right in your apartment or on your way out into Chandler, AZ by eating a healthy, filling, and delicious breakfast by trying one of the ideas in this week’s Liv Avenida Blog. Mini breakfast biscuit sandwiches This recipe for cheddar and green onion biscuit sandwiches looks absolutely divine! If you have time one evening or weekend morning, you can make the biscuits yourself with the recipe provided, or you can skip that step and buy some biscuits, biscuit dough, or English muffins to sandwich the sunny-side up eggs and avocado combo. Brown sugar banana French toast casserole This make-ahead casserole makes use of the delectable, sweet and salty flavors in the brown sugar caramel sauce, sliced bananas, and a brown sugar crumble topping. All you have to do is assemble it all the night before you’re planning on eating it and bake it in the morning, so you won’t even have to change your morning routine too much to fit it into your morning meal time. Maple pecan quinoa breakfast bowl Amp up your normal bowl of oatmeal by adding some quinoa to it, mixing some coconut flour and water to it, and topping it with pecans and maple syrup for a warm, sweet, dish to wake you up and get you ready for the day. We love the extra crunchy texture the pecans add to the smooth and creamy oatmeal. Italian baked eggs At just a five minute prep time and ten minute cook time, this recipe will have you never skipping breakfast again. And it’s super easy, too, especially if you have a small dish for baking (the author uses two 10-ounce ramekins): all you have to do is throw marinara sauce into the dish, top them with eggs, milk, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Then bake and help yourself! We love the suggestion of dipping bread in it, too! What are your favorite ways to step up your breakfast game? Share your idea with us in the comments. Enjoy!

May Events in Chandler

Enjoy all Chandler, AZ has to offer outside of your luxury apartment at Liv Avenida by going to a fun event this month. Today’s blog has the rundown of some of the month’s best ones! Un-American: Japanese Internment in Our Backyard February 7 - Summer 2017 This exhibit at the Chandler Museum will be available for a few more months, but now is a great time to visit, especially if your summer is full of other travel and vacation plans! Learn more about the effects of the Pearl Harbor attack by experiencing “the photos and stories of those who were forced to leave behind almost everything they owned to live in stark conditions in the middle of the desert.” Downtown Chandler Art Walk May 19, 2017 from 6 pm to 9:30 pm Every third Friday of each month you can enjoy local art for free, right in downtown Chandler at the Art Walk. Check out some of the area’s best artists and their work, which can include oil paintings, photographs, finely crafted jewelry, and more. Come prepared to fall in love with a piece and take it home with you, too! Most of the artwork will be available for purchase. You can also enjoy live music and artist demonstrations for their work in pottery, painting, pastel portraiture, and high style contemporary floral design. You can also view more artwork in the independently owned galleries and retail shops in the area, or you can treat yourself to dinner at one of the various restaurants downtown for a great finish to a memorable night. Waterworks: Fragments 2017 March 24 through May 20 Celebrate International Museum Day on the 18th or any other day this month before this exhibit ends by checking out the artwork “in water-based media by the Waterwork Artists, a group of highly creative and accomplished artists” who are displaying their work at Vision Gallery. Experience water-based art in innovative ways: the artists “have created an exhibition of new works that transcend traditional watercolor methodology and composition.” What events are you most excited to attend this month? Let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks for reading. Have fun!

Tips for Planning a Trip

Last month we talked about how to give yourself a stay-cation, but we’re on the brink of summer here in Chandler, AZ, so if you’re hoping to get out of your Liv Avenida apartment and travel this summer, read this week’s blog for tips for doing so successfully. Plan your agenda. There’s no time like the present to figure out what your adventures are going to entail! Take the time now to decide where you want to go, what you want to do, and what you want to eat on your trip. Trips are great for spontaneity, but having a general agenda for your days is a good way to help you make the most of your time away from home. So map out your daily plans and meals. This will help you save money and stress of trying to find something last minute, so research online. You can find a lot of great places through Google Reviews, Trip Advisor, or Yelp. Pack your suitcase and your car. What you pack (and how much of it) definitely varies based on where you’re going, what you’re doing, and how long you’re away, so start by making your own list of what you need. Think of anything you might use on your trip that you won’t normally use, like camping, hiking, or swimming gear. Once you’ve covered those bases, go through the items, clothes, and personal hygiene items you use every day that you can’t go without. Then you can check out others’ ideas online to see if you’re missing anything important. We think Traveler Savvy’s road trip packing list is a great resource you can use for ensuring you have your travel essentials. Don’t forget emergency items for your car or backpack, water bottles, snacks , emergency phone numbers, and a wall and car charger for your mobile device. Decide how you’ll get around. If you’re taking a road trip, your mode of transportation will, of course, be your car. But if you’re flying, communicate with anyone you’re staying with to figure out if they can pick you up from the airport. If you’re not staying with anyone who can get you, research the city you’re visiting for the most common mode of transportation. Then you can see schedules and how to get tickets for them. Of course, most cities have taxis and Uber, so remember those can work in a pinch. Doing all of these things ahead of time will help you orient yourself around the new city and enjoy your time there. What are your best tips for planning a trip? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment. We hope you have happy and safe travels all year long!

Home Scents

One of the first things you notice when you step into a home is the smells in it. Considering how smell is one of the more powerful senses, presenting yourself and your guests with pleasing and appropriate aromas is an important task. Make your home feel and smell welcoming by trying these ideas for home scents in your apartment here at Liv Avenida in Chandler, AZ. Clean. A few weeks ago we mentioned that cleaning your apartment can help you relax for a break. Keeping it clean is also important for getting rid of bad smells so good ones can come in! So put dirty clothes in laundry baskets away from living areas, get rid of old food, vacuum or sweep, and mop floors. Open your windows while you’re at it so you can encourage the fresh air to remove stale scents. Light a scented candle. This is one of the easiest and most common ways to bring sweet smells to your home. All you need to do is find a smell you love, buy the candle, and light it! If you want some ideas for new scented candles, check out CandleJunkies’ suggestions for the best smelling candles under $30 . Candles are also great for changing the mood of a room, especially for making a setting more intimate. So when choosing your scent, consider how it may affect the experience you or your guests will have in the room the candle will go in. Try a diffuser. If you’ve never tried one before, this could revolutionize the way you keep your apartment smelling sweet all day long. These are great because you can set them up once and forget about them until you need to refill them. You can use diffusers for different purposes, so research the various diffuser methods and find one that works for what you want to get out of it. Then you can buy all types of diffusers online once you find something that works for you. What are your favorite home scents and ways to get your home smelling fresh and clean? Share your ideas in the comments!