Apartment Blog

Thinking about throwing a holiday get-together? ‘Tis the season for elusive, ugly and tacky Christmas sweater parties!  Tacky sweater parties are a perfect theme for a fun yet festive party. Follow these tips to throw a successful tacky Christmas sweater party this holiday that is cost effective.

1. Send Invitations: Send out an evite to all of your guests and have the image be a picture of you or your grandparents in their favorite holiday sweater. Be sure to provide all of the details (especially the fun ones like the games and prizes included).

2. Find the Best Tacky Christmas Sweater: The best part of the party is OBVIOUSLY the sweater. Here are some ideas on places to find these fabulous outdated fashion statements: Garage Sales, Family Members (aka. Grandma and Grandpa) and Thrift Stores.

3. Don’t Forget Accessories: Accessories can often times make the tacky sweater that much tackier! Go to your local drug store and look for lighted pins, reindeer antlers, Santa hats, tinsel and more!

4. Make a Centerpiece: Creating a neat centerpiece that can actually be devoured is ideal. Make a ginger bread house with candy and icing to use as a centerpiece for the food table. Something tells me that this will be eaten after tip #9.

5. Provide an Award: Have a trophy personalized that says “Tackiest Sweater Award 2008″. After all of the guests have arrived, simply have them write on a piece of paper who they think should win and then count up the votes.

6. Food: Select a potluck style that will work best for you and your guests. For example: (1) appetizers only, (2) bring your favorite dish, (3) assign each guest to bring an appetizer, main dish, or dessert, or (4) as the host, you will provide the main dish (a turkey, ham, etc.) Try and coordinate this in advance so you don’t have duplicate dishes.

7. Beverages: There are a variety of factors to consider when selecting your beverages for your party. It’s important to have something available for everyone’s likes and dislikes. Be sure to have a variety of mixers on hand as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Having a pre-made themed beverage also saves time and money while still being festive.

8. Keep the Bathroom Line Entertained: All those beverages can certainly call for a long line at the restroom. Decorate your bathroom door with wrapping paper, ribbon and a bow and have people sign the door and write a message on the wrapping paper. The messages are bound to be great conversation starters and ice breakers.

9. Play Games: Set up a scavenger hunt with two teams. Create a checklist of all the items to provide to each team. Each team is then responsible for taking a picture of each checklist item as proof. Here are some checklist ideas: Find a street name that has a Christmas theme, take a picture with your team in your sweaters in a 7-11, sing a Christmas carol to a stranger as team, Find a Santa and sit on his lap, kiss someone under a mistletoe, find something showing one of the 12 days of Christmas etc…) This is absolutely hilarious.

10. Give Prizes: The winning team of the scavenger hunt or games that you play can receive prizes. Some good prize ideas are DVD’s, gift cards, candles, books etc… Wrap them up and put them under your tree. You could always go the gag gift route as well.

Best of luck with planning your next Tacky Christmas Sweater Party. Do you own a festive sweater that makes your friends laugh/cringe? Send it my way, and it may appear on our blog. (Please include your name, city and a brief description of the photo.)  

I just read this fantastic article called ‘Tips for an Energy-Efficient Apartment’ located at Healthgoods.com and let me just say ‘wow!’ There are some really great tips for making your apartment more energy efficient that I had never even heard of or considered. Especially given the time of year and the fact that the cooler temperatures are forcing us to change our habits, I think we could all use a little brush up so we aren’t overusing what we don’t need to and be able to save a little money. While most of it is out of our control given that we are living in an apartment and landlords/management companies are responsible for the building condition, heating systems and major appliances, there is still quite a bit we can do on our own!

Heating:

• Set your thermostat between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3-20 degrees Centigrade) during the day and 60 degrees F (15.6 degrees C) before going to bed. Most people won’t be at risk of hypothermia if temperatures are less than 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but if you’re uncertain consult your doctor.
• Be sure and keep your radiators clean. Dirt and dust can block the heat output.
• Arrange furniture so they are not blocking vents, radiators or baseboard heaters as this hinders the amount of heat distributed. If you find you are unable to move something, then look into getting an air deflector. This device attaches over the vent and allows you to direct where the air is going.
• The most well known thing I’ve heard regarding windows is caulking to decrease the heat loss. But did you know that for greater savings, you could invest in insulated curtains?! Never even heard of them!
• An obvious solution would be to remember that you can dress warmer to eliminate turning up the heat. If you’re feeling chilly, put on a sweater or socks. You’ll save big $$ in the end!
• And if anyone is from Virginia you can attest that our temperatures go all over the place. One day it’ll be freezing and raining, the next will be sunny and in the 70’s. If this is true where you live, consider turning on the ceiling fan or using the window next time it’s a nice day.

Stay tuned. We’ll be posting Part II soon! What tips should you look out for?? How to be more energy efficient with your lighting!

I’ve always been fascinated by claddagh rings. I’ve seen them all over jewelry stores and a friend of mine from high school had one. So I decided to do a little research and let everyone, who didn’t already know, what it’s true meaning is!

This traditional Irish ring is a symbol of love, friendship and loyalty. It originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the walls of Galway. The designs of the ring give you its meaning: the heart symbolizes love, the hands represent friendship and the crown signifies loyalty.

Depending on how the claddagh ring is worn on the hand usually tells the wearer’s romantic availability, or lack thereof. When worn on the right hand with the heart facing out, the person is still searching for love. When worn on the right hand with the heart facing in, he or she is in a relationship or ‘someone has captured their heart’. When the claddagh ring is worn on the left hand ring finger, facing outward, it indicates the wearer is engaged, and when the ring is worn on the left hand, facing in, it generally means the person is married.

The claddagh ring is recognized worldwide and many people of Irish and non-Irish descent wear it. It is used as both a cultural symbol and as an engagement/wedding ring. What I found amazing was that there are many legends of how this ring came about, including gifts from the heavens for doing charity work and unforgettable love. However it came to be, this ring is truly valuable to the Irish culture and indeed signifies the cherished qualities of love: heart, friendship and loyalty.

Source: thecharmingtouch.com

ForRent.com would like to bestow a wish on all our friends with the following Irish Blessing this Saint Patrick’s Day!

Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.

Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

Source: corsinet.com & ireland-information.com

It’s no secret that rents are skyrocketing all over
the United
States. People are constantly looking at ways
to save money as the cost of living increases. One thought I find extremely interesting
is that couples are now ‘shacking’ up to save some money!!

According to the Census Bureau’s latest research,
there were an estimated 6.02 million unmarried-partner households in the
U.S. in 2006! Forbes.com researched these cities by
collecting data for 40 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas for five
different categories: marriages per 1,000 people, divorces per 1,000 people,
starter-home affordability, income disparity and availability of couples or
family counseling.

The round-up of the best cities for couples
were:

1. Dallas

2. Houston

3. Minneapolis

4. Denver

5. Austin, Texas

This is interesting news on Valentine’s Day!! We’ve
posted numerous blogs about the benefits of having a roommate, so why not
make that roommate your sweetheart!

For more information about how these cities were
selected, visit Forbes.com or Realestate.msn.

Okay, so we’ve posted a lot of ‘lovey, dovey’ blogs pertaining to Valentine’s Day. And truth be told I wasn’t even going to blog about this, but I go to check my email this morning and saw this article! It must be shared with everyone! It’s about revenge Valentine’s gifts. So let’s say you and your sweetheart just recently broke up, right before Valentine’s Day, and you want to send him/her a little reminder that you’re still mad about it! Well on Asylum.com, you can. This website offers you many little trinkets to send depending on the level of revenge you’d like to get!

Scrolling through their gallery I saw so many things that almost make me wish I had an ex to send them to! Like the severed middle finger. Instead of actually flipping off your ex, you can now send him/her one in the mail! An authentic voodoo kit to put a curse on your enemy or a mailed stinky dead fish (guaranteed to be extremely offensive) is also available! There are also ‘bitter hearts’ which are like conversation hearts traditional of Valentine’s Day, but with the words ‘dumped, despair and dysfunctional’ written on them instead. And lastly, a mixed CD of the most annoying sounds!

Even if you don’t have an ex you’d like to send a revengeful gift to, just seeing all the possibilities you could send has to make you laugh a little!! And put a little smile on your face this Valentine’s Day!!

DISCLAIMER: FORRENT.COM DOES NOT ADVOCATE THE ACT OF BEING REVENGEFUL IN ANY WAY. WE CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN UPON SOMEONE AS THIS BLOG IS SIMPLY POSTED FOR INFORMATIVE PURPOSES.