Blog Posts

Mini Dessert Recipes to Try this Month

Anytime is a good time to treat yourself, so this month we wanted to give you the opportunity to try out some great desserts right here in your Liv Northgate apartment in Gilbert, AZ. Today on the blog we’re featuring mini dessert recipes so you can even try a few of them and not feel too guilty about it! Mini Dessert Recipes Apple pie bites All you need for this sweet treat is some brown sugar and apple spice, chopped pecans, apples, and crescent rolls. Once you’ve sprinkled the brown sugar mixture and pecans on the crescent roll, just place an apple slice on the wide end of the crescent roll, then roll it all up and bake! Mini peanut butter cheesecakes Peanut butter and chocolate is one of the food world’s best combinations, and this recipe is sure not to disappoint. Crush some Oreos in a food processor to make the mini crusts, then whip together the ingredients for the filling. Then you just have to bake, let chill, and decorate with your favorite melted chocolate and quartered Reeses for a beautiful and decadent dessert. S’mores cookie cups S’mores are always a fun dessert to make and eat with friends, but if you don’t have the time or resources to make a campfire, try this recipe! It uses a unique chocolate chip cookie recipe with graham cracker crumbs in place of some flour, a thick chocolate ganache for the filling, and a marshmallow fluff topping. Any extra effort you put into making these cups is sure to pay off with the gooey, chocolatey heaven! Chocolate covered frozen banana and peanut butter bites For a more healthy mini treat, make use of the versatility of chocolate and peanut butter and get your fill of potassium with these treats. They’re simple enough to assemble: just cut up some bananas, top half of them with peanut butter, cover with the other bananas slices, and cover them with melted chocolate. Freeze for a few hours or overnight for a fun and delicious on-the-go snack. What are your favorite desserts to make? Let us know by leaving a comment! Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Throw an Autumn Get-Together to Celebrate Fall Equinox

September 23rd is the Autumn Equinox : when “the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s Equator – from north to south,” as TimeAndDate describes. It also explains why we call this time of year an equinox: “On the equinox, night and day are nearly exactly the same length – 12 hours – all over the world. This is the reason it’s called an ‘equinox,’ derived from Latin, meaning ‘equal night.’” The Liv Northgate Blog is here to help you celebrate this change in the seasons right in your apartment. Throw a party with friends to celebrate autumn. Make food, play games, and enjoy each other’s company. Read on for some suggestions to help you celebrate here in Gilbert, AZ! Fall Cheese Board Put out the perfect fall cheese board as a delicious snack for your guests to enjoy. Put out your choice of aged cheese — soft cheeses such as goat cheese and blue cheese work great for this. Along with these and your other favorite cheeses, add crackers, nuts, olives, grapes, figs, and whatever else you’d like to add. Arrange all the food on a platter and put it out for your guests to enjoy. Caramel Apple Bar A caramel apple bar is the perfect autumn dessert to enjoy after snacking on cheese, crackers, and fruit. Put out a variety of toppings by chopping up some chocolate chips or melting chocolate, caramel, and marshmallows for your guests to dip their apple slices in. Then they can mix and match these base flavors with extra toppings according to their preferences. We think s’mores apples, toffee caramel peanut apples, coconut chocolate apples, and apple pie are all delicious ideas. Doughnut on a String Contest This is a classic fall game that is great for anyone, even kids, to play. Put out your choice of store-bought or homemade doughnuts on a string. Tie a base string between two trees or poles and tie each strung doughnut at various spots on the base string. It can be a tasty activity or a contest of who can eat the most doughnuts in a set period of time without using their hands. Apple Bobbing This is another classic game that is fun for everyone to play. Put out a large barrel or bowl full of water. Put in a set amount of apples and see who can get the most apples out of the water using their mouth in one minute. Give out a prize for the winner such as a box of homemade doughnuts or a gift card. Put forth a little bit of extra effort to switch out the water with clean water after each use to be a little more considerate of germs! What are your favorite autumn activities and snacks? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Celebrate National Read a Book Day

Welcome back to the Liv Northgate Blog and hello September. September 6th is National Read a Book Day and we have some suggestions from Goodreads, that feature books can be read in a single day (but feel free to take longer if you’d like!). Head to your favorite bookstore or the Gilbert, Arizona library to pick up a book, then find a cozy place in your apartment and enjoy a book. Holes by Louis Sachar Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard This enlightening and amusing story illustrates the vital importance of being able to deal with unexpected change. Who Moved My Cheese? is often distributed by managers to employees as a motivational tool, but the lessons it teaches can benefit anyone, young or old, rich or poor, looking for less stress and more success in every aspect of work and life. Call of the Wild by Jack London Buck, a sturdy crossbreed canine (half St. Bernard, half Shepard), is a dog born to luxury and raised in a sheltered Californian home. But then he is kidnapped and sold to be a sled dog in the harsh and frozen Yukon Territory. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey, proving his unbreakable spirit. Here are twelve more suggestions to help you get started. Not sure you can do it? Lifehacker has the answer in their How to Read an Entire Book in a Single Day . Check it out and happy reading!

How to Organize Your Documents

We live in a paperless world, but there are still plenty of stacks of papers that can easily crowd our desktops, drawers, filing cabinets, and our peace of mind. Organize all your documents so you can better prepare yourself for a successful, well-rounded life by trying out some of these tips in today’s Liv Northgate Blog. First, reduce and simplify. If you’re like many of us, odds are you probably have folders and stacks of mail full of documents that you probably don’t need to keep. Some of them may even still be around after years! Tackle these papers first by checking out your most recent papers and going through them with the mindset of organizing by need. Documents related to taxes, insurance, and other important things should be kept, but some you don’t even need. Keep a shredder and recycling bin handy so it’s easy to immediately get rid of the old and unimportant papers. Depending on your habits and the number of papers you need to go through, getting rid of everything that it is unnecessary to keep may take a while. Focus on one small step at a time and give yourself a timeline so you have something to work toward. Organize by category. Once you’ve purged all the unnecessary papers, sort according to a system that works for you. One idea, used by many people, is to organize by category: financial documents can be filed together and organized by year, while documents pertaining to your identity (including your birth certificate, social security card, and passport) can stay together. If there are multiple people in your household, keep this organization method consistent for everyone by designating a folder for each person within the categories. Take photos. Of course, sometimes there are documents you want or know you should keep but that you don’t necessarily need to have a physical copy of — for example, crafts, hand-drawn photos, letters, or certificates. If you have a smartphone, camera, or even access to a scanner, take a photo so you can have an electronic backup. Then connect your photos to an online storage space like Google Drive so they can stay safe even if your phone breaks. Whatever your specific organization method, the key is to give each paper a home. If you need to make yourself a guide for finding these documents later, create one on your phone or in a trusted notebook. All of these efforts will definitely help you feel more on top of your life. Here’s to being more organized and less overwhelmed with paperwork right here in Gilbert, AZ! Good luck!

Express Your Creativity

In today’s post, the Liv Northgate Blog is featuring a few tips to help you build and express your creativity this month. We hope that you have an August full of creative ideas and unique discoveries here in Gilbert, AZ. Try something new. One way to increase your creativity is to expand your experiences. Take a class at a community center here in Gilbert, take a trip, read a book, start painting, or begin writing your novel. Be open to new experiences. Don’t turn down an experience just because you think you “might not” like it. Go ahead and try it — you never know what will spark your next brilliant idea. Meet new people. Get to know your neighbors, strike up a conversation with a coworker, or take a cooking class with strangers. Talk to the person standing next to you at the grocery store or chit chat with your local librarian. The people around you may inspire you in surprising ways. Get out of the apartment. A short road trip out of town can do a great deal to inspire and uplift you. Exploring different parks, restaurants, and stores in Gilbert can be a great way to experience new things. Discover something new and be inspired by heading out of your apartment this month. Brainstorm with others. One of the easiest ways to develop your creative ideas is to share them with others. Refine your creative goals by brainstorming with a group of like-minded individuals, or get a fresh perspective by sharing your ideas with someone who disagrees with you. Take a class (or two). Creative ideas can come from anywhere. Take every opportunity to learn new things. Read books, take classes, or develop a new skill. If you’re a painter, consider taking up sculpture or mechanics. If you’re a mechanic, consider taking up writing or sculpture. Your next brilliant idea could be inspired by your yoga class or your reading seminar. How do you express your creativity? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Pet Care and Grooming

Liv Northgate Apartments is pleased to provide our residents with a bark park here in our apartment community. We also offer activities catering to our pets and their owners. We appreciate the time and effort that goes into caring for your pets. Today we’re sharing some tips for grooming your pet and a few resources for pet care in Gilbert, AZ. Cleaning and Grooming Your Pet Grooming Routines It is important to create a routine when it comes to grooming your pet. Keeping things the same each time will help your pet learn what to expect. To begin, brush your dog several times a week for a few minutes at a time, slowly working up to brushing out sensitive areas. Work up to being able to completely brush out your dog’s coat in a single sitting. Be sure to brush the fur out before you bathe your pet. Brushing removes loose dirt, burs, and tangles. Bathing your dog before you brush simply makes a bigger mess. Take the time to get the first layer taken care of with a good brushing session. What type of brush you use is a matter of personal preference, as well as what works best for the type of dog you have — short hair vs long hair, for example. Homemade Pet Shampoo Use a high-quality shampoo to wash your pet. Less expensive brands often have harsh ingredients. We also found homemade shampoos you may want to try. Homemade Oatmeal Shampoo This shampoo is specifically for relieving your pet’s dry, itchy skin. You just need oatmeal, baking soda, and warm water to make it. Get your pet wet, lather them up with this shampoo, let the shampoo sit for five minutes, rinse off, and dry your furry friend. The baking soda absorbs odors while the oatmeal soothes and moisturizes your pet’s skin. Homemade Pet Shampoo with Essential Oils The essential oils in this homemade pet shampoo will help to keep your pet’s coat shiny and smelling great! What you will need: water, aloe vera gel, castile soap, and peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, and rosemary essential oils. The lavender essential oil also helps repel fleas! Pet Grooming, Training & Supply Resources BarkBox A convenient way to get toys and treats for your pup, BarkBox is a monthly subscription service that delivers to your door. Filled with “all-natural treats, chews, and our original toys,” the mission of BARK is to provide “The best treats, the best toys, the best seat on the couch.” Based in New York (and Ohio), the company loves to bring joy to pets and their owners. Petsmart Pet grooming, training, and veterinary services are all available at Petsmart stores, along with a large selection of pet care items, pet food, and more.