Blog Posts

Perks of a Morning Routine

Liv Avenida Blog welcomes you to 2019! We’re thrilled to see what progress and growth this new year brings, and we hope you are too. Even though we’re aware that New Year’s resolutions have become somewhat laughable these days because they are most often left unachieved, we also know the big impact that simple positive changes can have on our lives. For that reason, we’re encouraging you to rethink your morning routine! Developing a steady routine each morning is one important key to a successful day. People often make it seem like you have to wake up far before 6:00 AM if you want to excel at implementing a morning routine, but it’s more sustainable to feel out what is best for your body and choose to wake up at a time that works best for you. Believe us when we say that the physical and emotional benefits of developing this daily habit are priceless! Today, we’re here to highlight some of the most noteworthy benefits you’ll enjoy as a result of reevaluating what your morning looks like. Productivity Morning routines are widely known to boost productivity, not only in the early hours, but throughout the entire day. By actively choosing what the beginning of your day looks like, you set a precedent for the rest of the day, and you’re much more likely to spend the rest of your time just as efficiently. It turns out that a little intentional action in the morning goes further than we thought! Confidence It’s true that positive self-talk including phrases like “I am an achiever” and “I love who I am” have a positive effect on self-confidence, but you’ll see a more tangible confidence boost when words are reinforced with consistent action and constructive experiences. That way, you’ll be simultaneously gaining a stronger belief that the words you are saying about yourself are true and a stronger belief in your own personal ability to accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Peace One prominent source of stress in life comes from feeling incapable of reaching goals and finishing tasks; it lowers our confidence levels, thus likely decreasing productivity as well. When you accomplish something at the beginning of the day you’ll likely have greater peace of mind, making it easier to continue reaching goals throughout the day. Feeling accomplished at the end of the day can lead to a more peace-filled evening and a better night’s sleep, which will then make the following morning feel even better than the last! Our hope for you is that you’ll be able to see some of these benefits in your own lives as you start implementing a morning routine in your Chandler, AZ apartment. Stay tuned next week for some tips on how to do so!

Recipes for New Year's Eve

If it’s your turn to host a New Year’s Eve party this year, it might feel like a lot to plan a menu of tasty snacks after all of the holidays earlier this month. That’s why on Liv Avenida Blog this week, we’re serving you a few of our most delicious appetizers and hors d’oeuvres that will go perfectly with any of your other favorite party foods. Keep reading for some of our favorites! Easy Coconut Shrimp New Year’s Eve parties are the perfect time to serve shrimp. This recipe will give you step-by-step directions so that you can serve your guests a mouth-watering batch of shrimp fried in a crispy coconut batter. Make sure you have flour, salt, pepper, eggs, bread crumbs, shredded coconut, large shrimp, and oil. Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Blue Cheese Sweet meets cheese meets bacon! There’s nothing quite as delicious as these cheese-filled dates that are then wrapped in bacon before they’re cooked. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, creamy, and savory. Spinach Puffs Anything with puff pastry is sure to be gone quickly, and these spinach puffs will definitely do the trick! Create a scrumptious filling using spinach, feta, onions, dill, garlic, and eggs. Bake this pinched between a square of pastry dough inside a muffin tin and enjoy these flaky bite-sized puffs. Blackberry Goat Cheese Crackers You can’t have a New Year’s Eve party without some fancy cheese. As it turns out, the sweetness of blackberries compliments the silky smoothness of goat cheese perfectly! Place some of each on top of a crunchy cracker to facilitate this match made in heaven. Salted Chocolate Dipped Mandarin Slices If you’re looking to add a sweet treat into the mix of all your savory appetizers, these mandarin slices are irresistible and healthy! The sweet citrus of the mandarin oranges brings out the flavor in the dark chocolate, and the sprinkled sea salt on top gives the whole thing an extra zing. What do you plan to serve this year at your New Year’s Eve party? Help inspire the rest of our Chandler, AZ apartment community by posting a link to the recipe in the comments below!

Holiday Traditions to Start This Season

Many people have traditions that they do every year that help to remind them why they love being together during the holidays. What do you do when you haven’t really established any traditions? Or you’re in the mood to change things up? Now might be the time to start new traditions! At Liv Avenida Apartments, we’re here to help you choose a new holiday tradition if you’re in the market. Try out these ideas in your Chandler, AZ apartment this month! Order Takeout Oftentimes, major holidays are stressful because it is often expected that there be a festive and extravagant meal during the month of December. Since you just had Thanksgiving last month and you might be having a big dinner in a week or two, why not start a tradition to eat something fun like Chinese takeout instead? You might use this as an excuse to order your favorite dishes — maybe you’ll even splurge and get some of your favorite sides that you usually skip out on. Whatever you choose to order, you can have fun together knowing you all chose to eat something a little unconventional this year. Have a Competition Since it’s possible that you’ll be around more people this month, why not host a competition of your favorite activity? Maybe you want to create a bracket and have a table tennis tournament. You might take advantage of the occasion and play a few rounds of a card game you’re all invested in. Perhaps you’ll even have a dance-off! Whatever it is, get everyone hyped up about it so that when the time comes, everyone is ready to put all their energy and excitement into it. Start a White Elephant Exchange If it’s been a while since the last time you participated in a white elephant gift exchange, you might want to head up one of your own! Set the parameters, like whether you want everyone to buy a used item or not and a price limit. That’s basically it. Whatever rules you choose, a white elephant gift exchange adds extra fun because people are bound to be a little more invested in bringing gifts that are funny or have a story behind them. Get a New Pair of Pajamas For many people, it’s tradition to receive a new pair of pajamas this time of year. Some people prefer to order the same print for everyone in the family or group, while others want to individualize each pair according to each person’s preferences. Either way, it’s a great opportunity to get a comfy new pair of pajamas and take a group picture wearing them! Hopefully this post gave you a few new ideas for traditions you can start as soon as this year. Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

How to Prevent Driving Under the Influence

This week on Liv Avenida Blog, we’re helping you stay safe by encouraging everyone in our apartment community to observe National Impaired Driving Prevention Month! We’re sharing a few things that you can recommit to this month and throughout the upcoming new year. As you attend various celebrations serving alcohol, these tips will keep yourselves, as well as anyone else driving on Chandler, AZ roads, a little bit safer. Consider Using Another Form of Transportation Though driving probably seems like the most convenient option to get to your holiday parties, there are plenty of other options to get you where you need to go. Check public transportation routes and schedules to see if there is a bus nearby that takes you to your various destinations. If there isn’t, try using a ride service like Lyft or Uber to drive you to and from your event. It might cost you a little bit of extra time or money to use a form of transportation other than your own car, but you won’t regret it when you wake up safe in your bed the next morning. Decide on a Designated Driver If you decide that alternative forms of transportation just won’t work and you have to go by car, make sure to choose a designated driver before leaving the house. This could be inconvenient; you may have to arrange a carpool, but doing so is responsible and it will protect both your own life as well as the lives of other drivers and passengers. Choosing a driver who has opted not to drink alcohol during the festivities means you have to plan ahead. Trust us. You’ll be grateful you did. Detect and Report Drunk Drivers Because it isn’t possible for you to guarantee that all other drivers will be driving sober this month, it’s important to be able to identify drunk drivers on the road. In the case that you spot a driver who is taking too long at a stop light, making overly-wide turns, braking unnecessarily, driving with no lights at night, driving on the wrong side of the road, or getting dangerously close to cars or other objects, there’s a decent chance that they are driving under the influence. If you see a drunk driver, get out of harm’s way, pull over, and report them to 9-1-1. It would be easy to just take a different street and avoid them. However, by calling the police, you could be saving someone’s life. We hope these tips helped you to know how you can personally prevent impaired driving this holiday season. Thanks for reading, and may your holidays be responsible and safe!

Holiday Events Near Chandler, AZ

The Liv Avenida Blog welcomes you to the month of December! The holidays bring a variety of festivities like seasonal foods, time spent with loved ones, and annual events. If you’re looking for something to do near your Chandler, AZ apartment to bring on the holiday cheer this year, you’re in luck, because today we are bringing you a couple of events you won’t want to miss. Keep reading to find out about a holiday-themed activity near you! 12k’s of Christmas Annual Run For those who enjoy running for fun or competitively, you won’t want to miss this run! It’s an annual 12k held nearby in Gilbert that has been held for the past ten years. A portion of the proceeds goes to help local animals through organizations like Maricopa County Animal Care and Control and The Arizona Pet Project. This fun run is a way to join with others in a spirit of the holidays, and to help out your community at the same time. You can even dress up in a holiday-themed costume to do it if you want! Christkindlmarket Holiday markets have been an annual tradition in Germany since as early as 1384. Luckily, you won’t have to travel across the world to experience one because the Arizona Center for Germanic Culture is hosting one less than an hour away in Cave Creek! Spend the afternoon browsing through this open-air market with vendors who sell handicrafts and holiday decorations, as well as traditional holiday market foods like bratwurst and hot cider. Don’t miss this year’s market on December 8th and 9th! A Christmas Carol Watch Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday tale come to life on stage at the Hale Centre Theater! Follow the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the king of all misers, as he is taken on an unexpected journey on the night of Christmas Eve through seasons past, present, and future to learn about love, kindness, and the true magic of the holidays. Catch this production through December 24th this season! Thanks for reading our post today! May your holiday season be filled with excitement and exciting events.

Recipes for Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you’re probably wondering what to do with all the leftovers. If you’re tired of feeling obligated to relive the same meal for the week following the big feast, you might consider using the leftovers in a fun new dish! This week’s Liv Avenida Blog is serving you some of our favorites from Food Network’s list of best Thanksgiving leftover recipes . Grilled Turkey, Brie, and Apple Butter Sandwich with Arugula While you may be used to leftover turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving, we’re sure you have never had one quite like this. Adding flavors to your sandwich that weren’t a part of your dinner like soft brie cheese and spicy Arugula leaf will keep things tasting new and fresh. For these sandwiches, you will need rye bread, unsalted butter, apple butter, turkey, brie cheese, and arugula. Eggs in Purgatory Since microwaved mashed potatoes never taste quite as good as the first time around, try using them in a different way this year. These potato pancakes, atop a warmed marinara sauce, topped with a fried egg, and sprinkled with grated parmesan, are sure to get you excited about leftovers again. Vegetable Samosas Put your leftover green beans to good use by adding them to these vegetable samosas! Using leftover mashed potatoes, leftover cook vegetables, frozen peas, curry powder, cilantro, mint, ginger, salt, cayenne pepper, and puff pastry, turn what was left of your feast into delicious triangular dinner pastries! You may even try mixing yogurt with cranberry sauce for a delicious dipping sauce. Day-After Dip Did your Thanksgiving dinner leave you feeling stuffed, even the next day? Make this simple snack using your leftover sweet potatoes. Put them in a food processor with white beans, olive oil, grated parmesan, salt, and pepper, and top with toasted nuts. If you place this dip next to crackers, it is sure to be gobbled up quickly! Waffled Leftover Thanksgiving Brunch Brunch is the perfect time for a post-Thanksgiving meal. Transform leftover stuffing into crispy waffles by adding eggs and chopped parsley! Serve these waffles next to a slice of turkey and some warm gravy. Try these dishes and more in your Chandler, AZ apartment this year and your Thanksgiving leftovers will be gone before you know it! Did you find another favorite recipe from Food Network’s list? Share what made in the comments below. Thanks for reading!