Apartment Blog

 Dear Mom,

Through our many years together I have come to the understanding that Halloween is a holiday that humans like to celebrate. However, I have a few bones to pick with you regarding my treatment during your festive celebrations.

First off, you enjoying baking fabulous treats for you and your guests and yet you are all selfish enough not to share with me. Why? Does my overly practiced cute face no longer have an effect on you?

Second, you begin dressing up and behaving in crazy ways that makes it hard for me to recognize you. And yet I get yelled at for barking. Am I not taught to bark at strangers or weird looking people to keep you safe?

Thirdly, while I understand your guests for these events need to have proper seating, I do not feel that ‘my chair’ is an acceptable place for their behinds. I have sniffed many of butts and can tell you there are very few I want in my space. Please direct them elsewhere for seating options.

And finally, these celebrations are about you and your friends having a good time with one another. I see no point in bringing me into the equation. That means that unnecessary outfits or costumes for me only serve to humiliate me and assist in making me the laughing stock of the entire neighborhood. Would you please cease this useless exercise?

In conclusion, I would like to be righted for all the wrong doings. I will accept five of your home baked treats, unlimited barking rights to those who look funny to me, my chair to be left for ME and of course no costumes/outfits of any kind (unless of course it’s very cold outside and I require a jacket to prevent shaking). Your cooperation on this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your son aka Bailey Bear

p.s. Happy Halloween everybody!

                                  Pic by opiummuseum

Do you ever wonder why we celebrate the holidays we celebrate? Do you ever look beyond the festivities, gifts, and laughter to understand the roots of the occasion.  Maybe you have and maybe you haven’t, but Halloween has a unique history.  History.com says that when Europeans came to America they brought their varied Halloween traditions with them.  It wasn’t as prevalent in the rigid protestant north as it was in southern colonies like Maryland.  Different European ethnic groups and American Indian traditions meshed to form the American version of Halloween.

The first festivities included “Play Parties” that celebrated harvest and people came together to dance, sing, tell stories about the dead, and tell each other’s fortunes.  Telling Ghost stories was common as well. History.com also notes that in the second half of the 19^th century America was flood with immigrants especially from Ireland, whom helped popularize Halloween nationally.

The Trick or Treat Tradition came from English and Irish Traditions, and Americans began to go from house to house asking for money or food. In the late 1800s though, there was a movement to take the witchcraft out of Halloween and make the holiday more about community get-togethers and games.  Halloween eventually lost its religious and superstitious overtones. Trick or Treating evolved over time to be an inexpensive way for the community to share the celebration. Also, in theory giving kids treats prevented them from being the victim of tricks.

Halloween is now the second biggest commercial Holiday, where Americans an estimated spend 6.9 billion dollars.  Knowing the history may just be of trivial consequence, but it will help you understand the dynamics behind such a popular holiday!

For some people Halloween means as much to them as Christmas would to another person. As such, this occasion would be deemed gift giving. I have actually received a card and flowers from a friend on Halloween because it is her favorite holiday. Regardless if you are the gift giver or receiver, here are some great Halloween gift ideas.

Get Creative! Potion labels are a cool way to personalize a bottle of your friend’s favorite drink or bottle of wine. Just add a themed label appropriate for Halloween and you’re set!  Or creating a collage scrapbook already decorated, just waiting for the photos of this year’s party to frame or bind.

Homemade goods are a unique way to show your friends, or guests at a party, that you appreciate them. Everyone loves a good homemade treat. For this holiday, why not do a candied apple or pumpkin spice bread or ghost shaped cookies. 

Tickets to a fun Halloween themed event. There are bound to be places in your city that will celebrate this spooky holiday. Why not help the Halloween enthusiast in your life celebrate by buying them a ticket. It could be a hayride, haunted house, roller coaster theme park or maybe even a special movie premier.

Provide some type of entertainment by purchasing a Halloween book or movie. If your friend is into the whole scary experience, there are plenty of Halloween movies guaranteed to spoke him or her. Check out our list of 10 Awesome Halloween Movies.

If there are other Halloween gifts you have given or received, let us know! It would be nice to see all the imaginative ideas for this holiday.

With the holidays so near, I know everyone is searching for the perfect holiday treat to make! ForRent.com wants to provide you with our holiday recipe tips. The first six are regarding essential holiday pantry items and the remaining six are holiday treat recipes!

6 Essential Holiday Pantry Items:

• Chocolate Morsels
• Pam Cooking Spray
• Vanilla Extract
• Holiday Candy
• Sprinkles/Food Coloring
• Cookie Cutters

During our annual Marketing Department treat exchange, here were six of our favorite treats that were brought. You’ll see that some of them require one of the essential holiday pantry items mentioned previously!

                
SALTINE TOFFEE BARS

Ingredients:

• - unsalted Saltine Crackers (not premium-too thick)
• - 1 stick butter
• - ¾ cup sugar
• - 12 oz bag chocolate chips
• - sliced almonds, optional
• - powdered sugar, optional
• - “Pam” cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees.  Line a 9 X 11 jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam.  Place saltines, edge to edge, over the bottom of the pan.  Melt butter, add sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil about 3 minutes to dissolve sugar.  Spoon (not pour) over the saltines and then settle the saltines and bake for about 5 minutes.  The saltines will look like they are floating.  Turn off the oven and remove saltines.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and return to oven until they are melted then add almonds if desired.  Cool a bit then cut (but do not try to separate- too runny still) and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.  Refrigerate until hard then break into pieces, removing foil from the back of the crackers.

Peppermint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (16.5 ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Decorating suggestion: crushed candy canes or peppermint candies; white, red and green sprinkles; or red and green decorating sugar
Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, and a ½ ounce cookie scoop

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, knead together the cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough. Knead together any scraps of dough and roll out again. Continue to cut out pastry circles until there are 24 pieces in total. Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Reserve 1 parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, place the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of 12 of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until the filling has set, about 25 minutes.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the vegetable oil in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container.

Christmas Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Cake Mix Funfetti
Duncan Hines Classic Vanilla Frosting
Eggs
Vegetable Oil
Baking Cups
Directions:
Follow directions on the box for cooking cup cakes. After cup cakes have cooled, put vanilla frosting on the cup cakes. For extra decoration, you can use holiday colored sprinkles!

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:
12 oz bag of White Chocolate Morsels
12 oz bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
8 regular sized Candy Canes

Directions:
Lightly grease a large cookie sheet. Break up candy canes into one inch pieces and put into a sturdy plastic bag. Crush candy canes inside the bag until they are in very small pieces. Next, put the semi-sweet chocolate morsels into a bowl and put in the microwave for 1 minute; stir in 15 second increments until it is completely melted. Pour melted chocolate on the cookie sheet and spread to make a thing layer. Put the white chocolate morsels in a bowl and repeat microwave cycle (while white chocolate is in the microwave, put baking sheet of semi-sweet chocolate in refrigerator for cooling). Once melted, stir in ½ of the candy cane pieces and spread on top of semi-sweet chocolate layer. Top with the remaining pieces of candy cane; be sure to lightly press into the chocolate layer to secure. Cool in refrigerator until hard and then break into pieces!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE KISS COOKIES 
Ingredients:
1 c. butter
2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. granular sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. pkg. chocolate kiss candyDirections:

Combine butter, peanut butter and sugars; blend until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; blend. Mix flour, salt and soda, add to cream mixture; stir well. Roll dough into quarter size balls. Roll ball in bowl of sugar. Bake dough at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, take out, place chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Bake an additional 2 minutes.

M&M Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
Bag of Holiday Colored M&Ms (could be the regular kind or the mint flavored!)

Directions:
Cut the sugar cookie dough into slices for the appropriate sized cookies (you could also roll into whatever size you choose). Put on greased baking sheet and lightly press to flatten the dough. Place M&Ms on top of the cookies and bake accordingly. Wait for the cookies to cool before taking them off the baking sheet.

Happy Cooking!

Re-gifting….YAY or NAY?? While some find this concept absolutely repulsive, others find this completely acceptable. If you find this option, re-gifting, ‘okay’ then you might want to check out these tips before doing so! Believe it or not, even re-gifting has rules…..

1. Hold onto the gift a full season or holiday, this way enough time passes that it may be forgotten by others
2. Give it to someone in another social circle, for example if Grandma gives you your thousandth trinket make sure to steer clear of family and pass it on to a co-worker or friend
3. Make the most of White Elephant opportunities- half of the gifts given are gags anyway so use the game as an opportunity to unload unwanted items
4. DONATE them at the holidays- those angel trees never share about the person’s interest or hobbies, so you’re safe dropping off something “random”, just make sure it serves as a little extra in their bag and not the primary gift
5. Embellish it- feel like it was shafty when you got it?  Then add something to it like a gift card or bow to make it worthwhile…then pass it on!
6. Consignment shop here you come- this is mostly limited to clothing and accessories, but if your special gift fits the bill then take it in and see what you can make!  Note: this mainly benefits you and the store, but shouldn’t the gift have benefited you initially?  I see no crime here.
7. Door prize!  Ever throw parties like ornament decorating, holiday book club, wine tasting, or Bunco???  Why not giveaway a nice little treat to the first person in the door?
8. Is Secret Santa going on at work?  Make sure you sign up to participate and empty out your stack of “desirable” gifts to that special name you drew.  The plus to this is, you make space in your closet and seem generous at the same time!
9. Obligation gifts…we all know what these are!  Next time someone unexpectedly gives you a gift during the holidays, be prepared.  Have your gift wrapped and ready, they’ll appreciate you thought of them as well and it saves you from spending money on people who didn’t make your shopping list the first or second time around.
10. Knock, knock- The holidays are the perfect time to build a relationship with your neighbors.  They will appreciate the gesture and hopefully will remember it the next time you ask them to keep an eye on your apartment when you’re away!
11. And they didn’t even see it coming!!!  Take time to re-gift presents to people who wouldn’t expect anything in the first place.  Your mailman, maintenance staff, kid’s bus driver, office receptionist, and security guards work hard everyday- give them a little something to show that you notice!
12. Lend a helping hand.  Have you ever been to something where a person forgot to bring a gift or was unaware they needed one?  Save them from shame and let them use yours.

A time honored tradition in my home was an advent calendar used to count down the days until Christmas. The specific one in my house had 25 boxes with little gift ornaments. Each day my brother and I would open up the little box with a surprise ornament in it and hang it on the tree. It was something I looked forward to everyday. But an advent calendar isn’t limited to Christmas; it really can be used for different holidays such as solstice, Hanukkah, etc.

So in keeping with childhood memories for me, I searched for ways to incorporate this craft for kids during the holidays. eHow.com actually had a really cute one, which I thought I’d share……

For this craft you’ll need a large piece of cardboard, scissors, popsicle (craft) sticks, acrylic paints, paint brushes, brads, glue (hot or liquid white will due), a variety of small boxes, and of course, items to decorate the boxes with: ribbon, rope, etc.

Step1

Gather all materials and find a large surface to assemble the calendar. Make sure it is next to an outlet if you are using a hot glue gun. The number of small boxes you need will depend on the number of days you are counting down to your holiday event!

Step2

Lay out your cardboard and arrange boxes into a wreath (ring) shape on it. Remember to place them far enough apart that you will be able to easily remove their lids. Trace a circle around the outside of all the boxes. Trace another circle around the inside of all the boxes. Clear the boxes off the cardboard. You should be left with the outline of a wreath (ring). Cut out this shape with scissors or a craft knife. It is your base.

Step3

Glue the popsicle sticks to the back of the cardboard ring. These will give it extra stability when the boxes are filled with treats. Let the glue dry before going on to next step.

Step4

This is the fun part! Paint the calendar base (cardboard ring) and boxes as desired. Use seasonal colors, images, and don’t forget to number the boxes!

Step5

Glue your boxes onto the painted cardboard ring. Keep in mind to place each far enough apart for the lids to come off easily. If you are using brads, now is the time to poke a hole (with scissors) through the box bases and cardboard base to insert the brads. This helps the boxes stay put if the glue fails. Let the glue dry before moving on to the next step.

Step6

Decide where to put your calendar. It can go on any surface as it is, or you can add a festive ribbon or rope and hang it from your wall.

I hope you and your child/children enjoy creating this holiday craft. Spending time with family is what the holidays are all about. Why not make some great memories in the process!