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College life is hectic—the four (or more) years you spend going to school after high school can be some of the most stressful of your life. With deadlines, exams, applications and a job on the side, it can be hard to balance your insane schedule with functional, healthy living, which can easily lead to chronic fatigue and burnout. With a little bit of self-care and a thorough routine, you can prevent health setbacks, burnout, and the “freshman 15” weight gain. You can use the amenities that apartments in Flagstaff provide to do it.
College/Life Balance
The combination of long hours, stressful juggling of social, work, and school life, and lack of sleep can build up into a toxic feedback loop that hurts your health, both physically and psychologically. These tips should help you get back onto a healthy track by establishing some effective, health-positive routines.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness is all the rage right now, and that’s because it works. Sit down someplace comfortable, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. As thoughts arise, acknowledge them and then dismiss them, returning your focus to your breath. This helps reduce blood pressure, makes it easier to stay focused, and teaches you to not get distracted or overwhelmed by emotions.
Healthy Eating
It can be difficult to eat a healthy diet while you’re swamped with work, but it’s one of the most crucial things to thrive on a daily basis. Cut down on processed foods, eat less sugar and refined carbs, and meal plan so you don’t have to rely on take-out as much.
Get Enough Sleep!
Prioritize sleep now, even if it means missing out on some social stuff from time to time. You’ll be far more capable of remembering your lessons and more functional in general.
Exercise Daily
Many apartment complexes have gyms available as part of the amenities package, and you should definitely use these facilities. Daily exercise makes your brain work better, helps relieve stress, and has a huge list of other positive benefits.
Balanced life, happy life
Even making a few of these tips a priority in your life will help you handle stress. If the Flagstaff apartment community you live in is like Pine View Village, then you’ve got the community support already built in. Our fitness center is only one of many amenities that make living here a great choice, and you can see available floor plans right now on our site.
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Whether it's just the continuation of your routine or a New Year's resolution, getting fit and staying fit are admirable goals that will help improve your health and appearance. However, it's very easy to let it slide during the cold winter months. Fortunately, there are a number of options available to help you keep your groove on without getting frozen.
Kick it up a notch
Instead of stopping for the winter, why not kick your outdoor exercise routine up a level instead? By exercising just a little bit harder and pushing yourself a little more when you do get a chance to get outside, your body will produce more heat, which means that you'll not only burn more calories, you'll also up your endurance, strength, and agility as you go.
Take it indoors
Though you don't want to end up with irate neighbors due to a lot of pounding and banging from your workout, finding a section of hallway to walk in, a fitness center to work out in, or a gym near work are all great options to consider during the cold winter months. Consider taking a regular class to change up your routine or see if there are groups in your area you can meet with to help you stay motivated.
Change it up
If you love being outdoors, why not swap your hiking boots for skis, snowshoes, or other wintertime outdoor fun? Take the kids outside for a sledding excursion, get a season pass for your nearby ski resort like the Arizona Snowbowl, or get together with a group of your favorite friends to try some cross-country options.
By staying active in the winter months, you'll be able to rock that swimsuit when summer's heat comes blasting down. Looking for great Flagstaff apartments that keep you active even during the cold months? We've got a great indoor fitness center to help keep you moving whether it's during the worst heat of summer or coldest chill of winter. Contact us today to learn more about our community!
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It's natural to want to include your four-legged friends in your holiday preparations. Pets are family members too, after all. However, many of our favorite festive foods and even plants can be harmful to animals.
As you're decorating your Flagstaff, AZ apartment, baking cookies, and enjoying holiday meals, follow these tips to keep your pet safe.
Foods to Avoid Giving Fido or Fluffy
- Garlic and onions – The Allium plant species, which includes onions and garlic, are highly toxic to dogs and cats. That means no stuffing or potato dishes for your pet.
- Processed pork products – Contrary to popular belief, bacon and ham are not appropriate pet treats. They are extremely difficult for animals to digest and can cause potentially life-threatening pancreatitis.
- Bones – Though they seem like a gourmet treat for your dog, discarded bones from the turkey or ham are unsafe for dogs because they can splinter inside the stomach.
- Macadamia nuts – Nuts have a high fat content, which can cause stomach upset in pets. Macadamias are especially toxic to animals and can cause tremors, vomiting, and even paralysis.
- Baked goods – Xylitol, an artificial sweetener common in commercially baked sweets, has been linked to liver failure and even death in pets.
Don't be discouraged, as there are plenty of other animal-safe foods you can treat your pet to. Perfectly safe (and tasty!) options include plain cooked sweet or regular potatoes, unseasoned cooked carrots and green beans, pumpkin, and unsweetened apples or bananas.
A Note on Poisonous Plants
In addition to food, many homes display traditional red poinsettias or holly boughs during the holidays, but they are unfortunately highly toxic to pets. If ingested, dogs and cats could suffer from severe stomach issues. Feel free to decorate, but keep these plants up high or use artificial ones.
We know pets are truly like family, so we have a variety of pet-friendly Flagstaff apartments to choose from. Contact us today to see which ones are available. Happy holidays and "bone" appetit!
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Cleaning your apartment can take all day if you aren’t organized. However, a few tips and tricks can help you have a spotless home and more time to enjoy it. Now, before unexpected guests knock on the door—let’s get started!
Gather Your Supplies
Keep your cleaning supplies to the essentials to save on storage space and expense. You’ll need a multi-surface cleaning spray, paper towels, glass cleaner, a duster, a garbage bag, a sponge, a vacuum, and a Swiffer.
Start in the Living Room
Place any items that go in a different room in a container or bag. Brush the couch cushions to get rid of food, dust, and pet hair. Clean out behind the cushions and fluff the cushions. Clear off the coffee table and throw unneeded items into the garbage bag. Dust the coffee table. (Follow the same procedure for end tables.) Run the vacuum cleaner quickly; you don’t have to move the furniture every time.
Bedroom
Put your dirty clothes in the hamper. Sort them when you do laundry. Fold and put away clean clothes. Gather up all the trash and put it in the garbage bag. Make the bed for an instantly cleaner look. Tidy surfaces, such as your desk, shelves, and nightstand. You don’t need to sort through everything, but place any unwanted items in a bin to go through later. Run the vacuum quickly through your space.
Bathroom
Place dirty clothes and towels in the hamper. Next, wipe down the counters and tub with a disinfectant spray. The hardest job, that’s also the most important one, is cleaning the toilet—this is one of the areas guests view most critically, so scrub down the inside of the bowl. Cleaning the mirror is a cinch with paper towels and glass cleaner. Sweep and mop the floor for a fresh look guests will notice.
Kitchen
First, put misplaced items in the bin to be put away later. Clear the countertops and cupboards of dirty dishes or trash. Load the dishwasher or hand-wash if there are just a few items. Wipe out the empty sink and polish the countertops and appliances with the appropriate products. Swiffer the floor for fast cleanup and take out the trash.
The last step is returning items you gathered in the bin to their proper places. If you stay focused and don’t get bogged down in any room, you may even have time to do the laundry. Now, you have a beautiful apartment that you can enjoy whenever guests show up as well as a stress-free maintenance routine.
If you are curious about our available Flagstaff apartments, give a call today!
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Are you excited to decorate your new Flagstaff apartment? If so, you might want to check out these tips for how to get trendy design decor for less. Designer name brands can be pricey, but when you use these tips, you’ll find that you don’t have to pay a lot to get the looks you love.
How to Get Designer Decor for Less
Get Crafty
Often, you can upgrade low-end or antique furnishings with details and embellishments. Add fringe, buttons or sequins to throw pillows. Convert an old dresser into a mini bar station. Stain or paint the frame of an old mirror. It will look like you picked up these items at a trendy artist’s boutique, but you’ll avoid the boutique prices.
Bargain Shop Online
There are lots of places to get good bargains on trendy decor online. One of the best is on Facebook Marketplace. This is a kind of group where locals can post items they have for sale to others who live in the area, like Flagstaff. This and other online places such as Craigslist often have trendy items at less than half the cost of shopping at a boutique store.
Browse Decorating Magazines
Decorating magazines often have sections that feature top brands with beautiful pictures you can use as inspiration to decorate your apartment home. But then they’ll also have a resource listed where you can get that look for less, with the average price of the item. This is a great way to get trendy design decor for less!
Visit Estate Sales
Estate sales are different from garage sales. Estate sales are sales of the entire contents of a home. These sales are listed online, in the same places you would find garage sale listings. With an estate sale, you can browse through an entire home and pick and choose trendy decor items to bring back home with you.
It’s a lot of fun to decorate our Flagstaff apartments. For more inspiration or to learn more about life in Pine Village, please get in touch with us!
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Apartment décor is a fun thing to plan. Whether it’s your first apartment or you’re an experienced apartment dweller, you’ll find that these décor solutions that serve double duty as clearly disguised storage can help fit so much more living into your space. These are some outstanding solutions to consider.
Mirrored Jewelry Cabinets
These clever storage solutions offer a way to store your favorite jewelry items without taking up much floor or shelf space at all. In fact, some varieties allow you to mount the cabinet on your wall, reducing the floor space required to the lovely number of “0.” You will find options available in a variety of wood finishes and can even paint them to match your walls, so they take up very little “visual” real estate in your apartment too.
Storage Ottomans
These are sure to become fast favorites in your apartment. Not only do they offer clever storage for board games, blankets, coasters, pillows and other essentials, but they also provide clever seating solutions when you have unexpected guests. Some varieties have added benefits that make them well worth the investment, such as converting into tabletop surfaces when you want to take your meals in front of the television or serving as a clean, comfortable space to work when you bring your work home with you.
Sofas With Pull-Out Drawers
Sofa makers are getting creative when it comes to features these days. Many of them now come with cleverly concealed charging stations for mobile devices. Some of them even offer drawers beneath where you can store all manner of blankets, pillows and other living room essentials.
It isn’t difficult at all to find furniture and décor items that pull double duty when it comes to clever storage solution. Contact us today for help in finding the perfect Flagstaff apartment where you can try out these innovative solutions for yourself.
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Living in a cluttered and disorganized apartment can be stressful and frustrating, especially when it’s hard to locate items you need. Taking time to get your apartment in order can ease your mind and create a more peaceful living environment. Keep these clever storage and organization tips in mind for your home.
Organizing and Storage Tips
Invest in Double-Duty Furniture
Some furniture items can be used for multiple purposes, including storage. Look for an ottoman that doubles as a storage chest, or consider getting a bed with pull-out drawers underneath for bedding or clothing. These pieces of furniture provide you with inconspicuous, out-of-the-way places to organize and store items in your home.
Put Empty Boxes to Use
Empty shoeboxes, wine boxes and other smaller boxes offer great ways to keep items in your closet, dresser drawers or kitchen drawers organized. Place the items you want to organize in these boxes, then arrange the boxes inside these areas of your home. The boxes keep items from becoming jumbled together and creating a mess.
Use the Backs of Doors
Place over-the-door organizers on closet, bedroom and bathroom doors to make use of these potential storage areas. You can hang towels, scarves, belts and other items on these organizers without having them take up much space at all in your home. This is an ideal option if you aren’t able to put holes in your walls and doors in order to install hooks.
Organize Vertically
Instead of getting a long, low bookcase, get a tall, narrow one for organizing books, knick knacks and other items. Taller bookcases take up less wall space while still offering plenty of shelf space for storage. For items that aren’t easy to stack, get decorative open baskets to keep on your bookcase shelves.
Our community offers large executive studio apartments or 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom rent-by-room apartments for off-campus housing near Northern Arizona University. Contact us for more information on our apartments in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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Summer heat presents a real challenge in terms of health and fitness. That’s why we're offering some tips we hope our Pine View Village community members in Flagstaff, Arizona, can find useful.
Innovative Ways to Stay Hydrated
Perhaps the single greatest impediment to exercise during the dog days of summer is keeping H20 levels optimum. Heat and exertion equal the loss of bodily fluids, i.e., sweat. But bottled water gets boring after consuming a few dozen. While the body needs water for healthy functioning, the mind craves something more.
Consider stopping for a quick slushy at your favorite convenience store before a brisk walk, jog, run or hitting the local fitness center. Granted, these drinks have a few calories. The famous 8-ounce Blue Raspberry Slush Puppy reportedly contains 119 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates. Calories well spent after a gazillion bottles of water! Other options include apple juice—or your favorite healthy beverage—over ice in a sealed Yeti or long-chill container.
Time Your Outdoor Exercise
Sunrise in Arizona runs in the first quarter of 5 a.m. during June. That may seem way too early to get up and invigorate the body. But early morning walks, jogs, yoga and other forms of cardio may be best suited for sunrise. That’s because you can enjoy a more quiet environment and heightened mindfulness with fewer distractions. Early morning exercise can also help improve mental and physical well-being. The alternative is having to endure the blazing hot sun and additional noise.
Consider a Water Sport
Competitive swimming, water polo and river rafting are excellent ways to get the blood flowing. Swimming is said to work every muscle in the body and improve cardio health as well. Rafting is exhilarating. If you aren't interested in rafting or joining a formal sports organization, an evening dip in the pool works wonders. Consider counting your laps the way a Fitbit counts steps.
Avoid Sustained Training Sessions
The hot summer sun taxes the body’s water retention at a high rate. Continuous, rigorous effort can cause quick dehydration, cramping and generally unsafe health conditions. It’s okay to do shorter exercise sessions over the summer months. Consider having one 30-minute session in the morning and another after the day cools off a bit. Remember, play it safe.
We hope our Pine View Village community members find these summer health and fitness tips useful. If you or a friend would like more information about our Flagstaff apartments, call us today.
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Whether it's a holiday or just a regular weekend, there's no better way to enjoy some downtime with friends than to get together for a barbecue. And while we're all familiar with the format of the usual barbecue, which is definitely great on its own, by adding a few special touches you can host a barbecue that's truly spectacular.
How to Host a Barbecue That Will Amaze Your Friends
- Stick With the Classics, but Add a Twist. You don't have to be a culinary-school-trained master-chef to pull off a really special barbecue spread. Instead, stick with the classics that happen to be your favorite food, whether it's burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw or fresh corn. But whatever you choose for your menu, go the extra mile by choosing recipes that add that extra something to the old standbys. That might mean offering lamb and feta burgers, or swapping out ballpark franks for some quality sausages. Dress up corn based on Mexican street style food and re-think coleslaw. Whatever you feel like making, there's a version out there that won't take a lot of additional work but will be a whole lot more impressive than just the usual.
- Keep It Simple With a Punch Bowl. Barbecues and hot weather go hand in hand, which means your guests will be getting thirsty. The last thing you want to concern yourself with is making sure every guest has what they need to drink all day. Instead, pick one or two signature drinks and mix up a large batch for a punch bowl. Be sure to add plenty of ice and an appropriate garnish such as lemon slices or mint leaves to keep it looking pretty. Everyone enjoys a cooling glass of mint lemonade on a hot day.
- Don't Forget the Games. Yeah, it's fun to just hang out with your friends enjoying great food, but kick up the entertainment factor by being prepared with some fun outdoor games. Some great options include Twister, corn hole, bocce and Frisbee.
Our Flagstaff apartments are the perfect spot for hosting a barbecue. Our building is equipped with outdoor grills as well as picnic areas that create the ideal spot to host a get-together. To learn more about why our residents love living at Pine View Village so much, get in touch.
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Starting off the day with a good breakfast will give you the energy you need to handle your to-do list without feeling stressed out. Here are some of the best energizing breakfast ideas for your consideration.
Eggs
Eggs are rich in protein, Vitamin A, zinc and a host of other nutrients. You can boil them, scramble them, make an omelet. The options are nearly endless!
Oats
Oats can be cooked, eaten raw in granola or used as a flour substitute to make pancakes or crepes. They pack a great nutritional punch and leave you feeling satisfied so you aren't tempted to grab a junk food snack on the go.
Fruit
Fruit is rich in the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy and energized. Thankfully, there are so many fruits to pick from that just about anyone can find at least a few that he or she likes. You can eat a piece of fruit with your breakfast, chop up fruit to make a fruit salad, add some cut fruit to a bowl or yogurt or blend up a fruit smoothie.
Whole Grain Bread
Whole grain bread not only tastes great but gives you the boost you need to start the day off on the right foot. Eat a few slices of whole wheat bread with eggs, tuna, cheese, ham or any other topping of your choice.
Yogurt
Yogurt is rich in protein, calcium and more. Additionally, it's an easy breakfast as it does not need to be cooked. Choose a brand that does not have added sugar and eat it together with granola, fruit, nuts and/or seeds.
Pine View Village Apartment Homes in Flagstaff, Arizona makes it easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We also offer an array of convenient, time-saving services. Get in touch with us at your convenience to find out more about our location, floor plans and prices.
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