Posts about Apartment Life

Cauldron Cakes and Other Halloween-Perfect Harry Potter Treats

One of our favorite characters is Harry Potter. While we could fill blog post on blog post with reasons why we love him, we’d rather focus our attention on things that will benefit residents of our Arrive on University Apartments in Dallas, Texas. That being said, we think that we can combine the two in this months blog post: Harry Potter and our Residents. This month, we’re focusing on a few magical recipes that you can make in your apartment, as inspired by the Harry Potter universe. We’ve searched far and wide on the internet to find these delicious recipes based off of the infamous Harry Potter book series. Harry Potter Butterbeer Pancakes by Sugar & Soul Co If you haven’t made it over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida or California, you’re missing out on a delicious mouthful of butterscotch, caramel, and vanilla. Thankfully, this recipe has it all and then some. Some of the ingredients are butterscotch chips, ricotta cheese, caramel coffee creamer, heavy cream, and butterscotch instant pudding powder. Do we hear sugar overload? Treacle Tart with Brown Butter, Rosemary and Lemon by The Sugar Hit This is one of Harry Potter’s favorite desserts, so why not make it one of your own? It looks great! Madam Pomfrey’s Pumpkin Juice Smoothie by Gringalicious According to the creator of this recipe, this is “a fun and sneaky way to get some nutrition into the kids in between all of the sugary stuff.” This recipe takes about 15-minutes to prepare and 15-minutes to make. Add together a carrot, apple, banana, orange, a half-cup of pumpkin puree, coconut milk, and more. Double Double Chocolate Cauldron Cakes by Bakingdom “They’re rich and super chocolatey, and just super stinking cute to boot! If you’re a chocolate lover these are for you, and if you’re a Harry Potter lover, then you can’t pass these up. Plus, everyone will thank you for making them! Enjoy!” Harry Potter Polyjuice Potion by I Knead to Eat Ah, yes. The incredibly difficult potion that transforms your appearance into another person for a short amount of time. Sadly, this recipe won’t magically change your appearance, but it will taste better than the one in the books! This recipe is absolutely perfect for when you’re craving something sweet. It’s vibrant green, takes four ingredients, and tastes like magic. That’s the whole point, right? Want to make more magically-inspired treats from the world of Harry Potter? You too can make chocolate frogs and acid pops. Just check out these recipes and more by Pastry Affair!

Why We Love to Play Pandemic Legacy Season 1

Welcome back to our Arrive on University blog! Today, we’re highlighting one of our favorite board games of all time — Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. Learn what we love about it and why we consider it the only game you’ll need to play for the rest of the summer in today’s blog post. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 — The Board Game of the Season Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 is a thrilling board game where players work together to avert global disaster. Like its predecessor, Pandemic, players take turns curing and eradicating diseases before the world turns to chaos. What makes Pandemic Legacy even better than the original game is a continuing storyline that evolves each time the game is played. But unlike its predecessor, Pandemic Legacy is a board game that can only be played one time all the way through. Why on Earth would you buy a game that can’t be played through more than once? We asked this question before we played it. Turns out, it’s completely worth it. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 begins as a simple “defeat the virus” sort of game, but that’s about to change. Pandemic Legacy takes place over the period of a year — the first game takes place in January, the second February...so on until you reach December. Each month can be played twice (so if you lost the first game of January, you get to play it again. Then, despite winning or losing the second time, you move on to the next month). Technically, you’ll play individual games of Pandemic Legacy up to 24 times (that’s two games for each month of the campaign), but you’ll only play through the entire game once. This is because each game you play — the choices you make and things that happen — bring about consequences for the following games. This was the first board game where we actually were required to rip up cards, place stickers on the board, change rules in the rulebook...actions that you don’t normally see happening in a board game. Each action you’re required to do and each choice you make adds to a rich narrative as you play from month to month in the game. Sure, you could buy a new copy of Pandemic Legacy and play it all over again, but you’ll know what to expect. You won’t be surprised by things that happen in the narrative. Playing this same game through a second time will be far less rewarding as the first time through. Good thing there’s Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 to look forward to once you complete the game. If you regularly host game night in your apartment or have a group of friends in Dallas, TX who you play games with, consider playing Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. Just be sure that once you and your group of friends commit to playing this game, you plan to play each following game together on a regular basis until it’s done.

Make a Sweet Treat in June

Welcome back to the Arrive on University blog. We’re excited to share a new twist on a classic treat. Even if you’re not an expert baker, we’ve got some treat ideas that anyone can make. Baking is an activity that results in the best finished product! Take some time out of your day and try one of these yummy recipes. Your Dallas, Texas kitchen is the perfect place to whip up something delicious. Remember those little desserts you used to tuck into your lunch box? Today we’re revisiting those! We love the classic Rice Krispie Treat, of course, but this new twist is a must for us. At Sweet C Designs, they traded the rice cereal for Lucky Charms in their Homemade Lucky Charms Treat recipe. INGREDIENTS 3 cups marshmallows (if using jumbo, make them heaping cups) 4 cups Lucky Charms ¼ cup butter, salted INSTRUCTIONS In a large pot, add butter and begin to melt on medium. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until mallows melt. You may see slight browning- if your mallows aren't fully melted as the sugar browns, pull them off the stove and continue stirring. They should melt from the heat. Add lucky charms to a pan and stir well to combine. Pour mixture into well-greased casserole dish and let cool. When set, cut and enjoy! Another treat we all love is that typical chocolate chip cookie! This one is a little thicker and chewier than something you may be used to. We think it will slowly become one of your favorites. The recipe comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction . They are described as “An easy, no-mixer required recipe for super chewy, soft, and perfect chocolate chip cookies.” We hope you love these sweet treat recipes. Share your favorite treat to make in your apartment by leaving a comment below.

Write a Poem in May

Welcome back to the Arrive on University Blog. This month, we’re inviting apartment residents to embrace their creative side and one of the ways we’re doing that is by writing poems. Poems are great tools you can use to spark creativity and inspiration. Whether you’re taking it easy in your Dallas, Texas apartment or just want to have a little creative fun, writing poems is a great activity for every situation. This month, we’re focusing on an online poem generator . After clicking on the previous link, select the style of poem you’d like to create. Then, fill in the blanks. It’s that simple. Here are a few poems we created using the poem generator: Pool - A Haiku by The Blog Sunshiny summer when a larger, large pool sings in spite of the work The Shiny And Sharp Keys A Poem by The Blog Whose keys are those? I think I know. Its owner is quite happy though. Full of joy like a vivid rainbow, I watch him laugh. I cry hello. He gives his keys a shake, And laughs until his belly aches. The only other sound's the break, Of distant waves and birds awake. The keys are shiny, sharp and deep, But he has promises to keep, After cake and lots of sleep. Sweet dreams come to him cheap. He rises from his gentle bed, With thoughts of kittens in his head, He eats his jam with lots of bread. Ready for the day ahead. With thanks to the poet, Robert Frost, for the underlying structure. Bacon Free verse by The Blog One afternoon I said to myself, "Why isn't the fatback more sour?" Does the fatback make you shiver? does it? I cannot help but stop and look at the savory meatloaf. A meatloaf is mouth-watering. a meatloaf is unsavoury, a meatloaf is tasty, however. When I think of croutons, I see a crust. Do croutons make you shiver? do they? Bacon is, in its way, the marshmallow of national leader. Does the bacon make you shiver? does it? Every generated blog that we’ve played around with has not made the most sense, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had fun working on them. Share your favorite poems with us by leaving a comment below. We hope you have a great month of May!

Movie Time in Your Apartment

This month, invite a few friends over to your apartment in Dallas, Texas and watch one of these great movies from last year. Some people might argue that there’s no better way to relax than to sit back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy a movie, or six. Battle of the Sexes “In the wake of the sexual revolution and the rise of the women’s movement, the 1973 tennis match between women’s World #1 Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-men’s-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the BATTLE OF THE SEXES and became one of the most watched televised sports events of all time, reaching 90 million viewers around the world.” Kingsman 2 “Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to the Kingsman — an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded.” Stronger “A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.” IT “When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.” The Lego Ninjago Movie “Six young ninjas Lloyd, Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane and Nya are tasked with defending their island home, called Ninjago. By night, they're gifted warriors, using their skills and awesome fleet of vehicles to fight villains and monsters. By day, they're ordinary teens struggling against their greatest enemy: high school.” American Assassin “AMERICAN ASSASSIN follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien), a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War.” Let us know in the comments the movies that you’ll be watching in your Arrive on University apartment.

Get the Most out of Your Apartment's Space

Understanding how to utilize the space in your apartment can be difficult, and many people don’t even know where to start. We want you to get the most out of your living space here at Arrive on University in Dallas, Texas. Our floor plans run from the mid-700s to over 1,000 square feet. See if one of these storage hacks works for you! Buy folding furniture. Chairs, beds, and even tables are available as foldable furniture. These function great and take up little space when put away. Ask, “Do I need this?” Is there anything in your apartment that you haven’t used in over a year? Think critically about the items that you own and entertain the possibility that you don’t need to keep it around. Odds are, if you haven’t used it in years, you probably won’t in years to come, so get rid of it. Work your way upwards. Square footage extends from wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. Get the most out of this space by using taller shelves. You can also try to stack shorter shelves on top of each other. If you’ve got the right shelves, you’d be surprised how much space can open up! Create different “zones” in your apartment. Organizing your living space into zones — where you eat, relax, play — can make a room feel new and larger. Keep items in their correct zone and you’ll be sure to see a difference. Make a spot for tiny items. Do you have a drawer filled with small possessions? Things like jewelry can clutter a drawer. Find a box or make something to house your small possessions. Then, use the drawer for something larger. Store your bed sheets under your mattress. Instead of taking up precious shelving space, place your folded bed sheets under the foot of your mattress. You won’t see or feel them, and you’ll have more room on your shelves. Hang your laundry bag. Switch out that laundry basket with a bag that you can hang on the back of your bedroom door. Get the most out of the space in your apartment by trying out a few of these space-saving tips! Did you find one that works for you? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!