Community Blog

Celebrate September by giving yoga a chance this month and experiencing the changes it can have on your mind, body, and soul!

If you’re already a fan of yoga, then I’m sure you’re well aware that today marks the official beginning of September- National Yoga Month!  The month in which awareness is spread throughout the communities regarding the many benefits yoga can have on our lives.  If you haven’t given yoga a chance yet, I highly recommend you do.  It’s quite the experience!  You’ll stretch, flex, and pose your way to a leaner, longer and healthier body.

Lucky for you, there is the amazing YogaFresh studio right down the road from us at Woodbury Park at City Centre. As described by their website:

“Our classes at YogaFresh maintain an uplifting, non-judgmental environment for students to develop their physical, mental and spiritual growth.”

They are currently offering a Free Week of unlimited classes to new yoga students and all new lower prices effective today, September 1, 2010.  Don’t worry about being a newbie either, Yoga Fresh has the perfect YogaFresh Flow class  perfect for beginners and first-timers.  Make you sure check out the YogaFresh website for details on their offers, requirements, and need-to-know yoga facts. Contact them by phone at 651.436.5906 or email at info@yoga-fresh.com.

Design your Woodbury Park apartment bedroom with peace in mind.  Give these redesign tips a try and you’ll hopefully be sleeping calmly in no time.

Laptops, desktops, iPads, iPods, blue tooths, Twitter, Facebook…sound familiar?  We live in the day and age of instant gratification technology.  We are always connected to some sort of device.  As someone who is guilty of this more than most, I can honestly say it’s time to disconnect.  No matter where you choose to ‘unplug,’ be sure that place is as calming and non-distracting as possible.  For me, it’s my bedroom.  I find that this is the place where I can enjoy the most tranquility.  If you’d like to turn your bedroom into a place of peacefulness, I’ve got a few tips to help you out.

Simplicity

When it comes to wall décor, bedding, and furnishings, just keep it simple.  Minimal patterns and clean design will ease the eyes and mind.  Try a plain white comforter, gentle tones of blue, and paper Ikea lamps to keep things relaxed.

Lighting

I prefer to decorate my room with multiple low-level lamps.  This creates enough light, but just at the right brightness.  Avoid any fluorescent or bright white lighting.  Try this Sleepy Lamp by Busso for the perfect lighting addition.

Your Spot

Hopefully, you’ve chosen the best bed your money can buy.  But when it’s not time to go to sleep, and you’re looking for a place to relax within your room, I highly recommend add a chaise or chair to the room.  People who tend to read, watch TV, or surf the web in bed commonly struggle with insomnia.  Pick out a plush piece of furniture that you can sink into and let your stress melt away.

(Image via Flickr user ryaninatl)

Tonight, come out out to King’s Wine Bar at 6:30pm to experience a unique wine tasting event hosted by Chris Osgood.

Every wine tasting event I’ve been to was bland and predictable.  A little bit of snacks, a few sips of wine here and there, some elevator music, and then a good night’s sleep.  Flip the wine tasting on it’s head tonight with a special rock-n-roll inspired wine tasting event hosted by former Suicide Commando’s singer/guitarist Chris Osgood.  He works with a company that arranges the importation of wines from France to Minnesota.  Not only is this event one of a kind, it is being hosted in Kings Wine Bar, the 2010 Citypages Wine Bar of the Year.

Space is limited for the event, so please call (612-354-7928) or stop in to make your reservation.  Cost is $25 and covers wine and small bites of food.

King’s Wine Bar
4555 Grand Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55409
612-354-7928

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Moving to a new city can be a scary and exciting event in your life.  You’re dealing with a brand new home, new neighbors, new coworkers, and all of the new emotions of feeling ‘lost’ in this new place.  Luckily for you, we live in a day and age of the Internet.  A source that puts the world at our fingertips; allowing us to get the inside scoop from the comfort of our (new) home.  Do yourself a favor and try some of these suggestions to become the king of the town before you even ‘hit it.’

Just Google it: Google, to me, is the all powerful source for everything; I probably Google something at least 50 times per day.  Put the power of Google to use for yourself and let it show you all of the events going on around you.  Whatever your interests are, simply type it in to Google and follow it with your zip code.  The results should be surprisingly overwhelming.

Foodie:            My favorite part of a new city is all of the unique cuisine available at exciting new-to-me restaurants. My two favorite sites to use for restaurant ideas are Urbanspoon.com and Yelp.com.  They will help you narrow down your choices to surely satisfy whatever it is you crave.

Get Social:      With over 500 million people on Facebook, chances are you’re one of them.  The great thing about social networks, like Facebook, is that it allows you to connect with your local community in various ways.  Search out your local apartment community, find volunteer or charity events, or even use a service like Kurrently that allows you to do real-time searches for keywords.  For instance, you could search “new to Woodbury” and see who else may be a newbie.  If you do join a fan page of your local community, make sure you say Hi and participate in the discussions.

The Brett Favre saga looks to be continuing for a 20^th NFL season

“According to NFL Network, the quarterback is on a plane headed to the Twin Cities. This comes after three Vikings players, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell, went to visit Favre in Mississippi and convince him to return.”

For a player to put an organization, city, and league through the drama that Brett Favre brings, that player better be valuable.  Luckily for us Vikings fans, this season wasn’t as dramatic as 2009 and, like 2009; we end up with Favre at the offensive helm.  The future first-ballot NFL Hall-of-Famer will be needed in 2010 to push the Vikings towards another division title.

I’m curious as to what Viking’s fan’s opinions are on Favre and his off-season drama.  I wonder at what point all of the media and conflicting news stories becomes too much…just not worth the trouble.  I know the players and fans want him back, but do you think Favre is the answer to winning the Super Bowl this year?

I can tell you this, with a healthy Brett Favre running the offense they are guaranteed an extra 4-5 wins this season.  Then again, giving the history of the Favre drama, he may just retire after all.

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Not only can you flash back to the classic days of drive inns, but you’ll get prices like it’s 1965 as well.

Today only, via everyone’s favorite daily-coupon site Living Social, you can get $12 worth of food and drinks at Dari-ette Drive Inn for only $6!  Now I’m no Wall Street guru, but I’m pretty sure investing $6 to get $12 back makes a whole lot of sense.

You know what else makes sense?  Cooling off the hot summer days with Dari-ette’s famous soft-serve ice cream curbside in the comfort of your own car.  In addition to cool treats, they also offer an array of Italian sandwiches that have been served for three generations now.  Remember, this is a daily special and will expire in t-minus 14 hours from the time this blog is posted.

Take advantage of this awesome deal at Living Social today! $6 for $12 at Dari-ette Drive in.

Heading there from home?  Grab these directions from Woodbury Park to Dari-ette Drive Inn.

(Details: 2 per person limit, 1 per table per visit limit, and good for either take out or dine in.  Coupon expires 11/12/10.)

(Image via Flickr user emoeby)

A lesson on using your in-apartment cooking amenities to prepare the perfect steak.

I’ll admit it; I don’t eat steak a whole lot.  I’ll indulge in a good New York Strip or Flank steak once a month or so.  But when the day rolls around for this delicious piece of red meat, you better believe I take the preparation very seriously.  The proper utensils and seasonings are the key to the perfect steak in my book.  No matter your steak preference, I want to show you how you can perfectly cook a steak in your apartment without a grill and, more importantly, without burning the place down.

What you’ll need:

Your choice of steak

Oven

Cast Iron Pan

Salt and Pepper

Marinade (optional)

Cooking steak can be intimidating.  The intimidation factor starts when you approach the butch counter at your local meat market.  There are so many different cuts of steak available, let this guide help you pick out the perfect piece of meat.

(Tip: The more “marbling” you see in the steak, the juicier and tastier it will be.)

Once you’ve taken your meat selection home, the first thing you’ll want to do is preheat your over to 450 degrees and get out your cast iron pan.  Don’t have one, grab one here!  Put your burner on high and let the cast iron pan warm up dry (no oil or butter).

As your oven is preheating and your steak has risen to room temperature, was off the meat with warm water and pat it dry with paper towel. Once dried, sprinkle both sides with a liberal amount of salt and pepper.  I prefer kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

This next step is optional: marinade.  If you do choose to marinate it, throw your steak in a plastic bag with your favorite marinade.  I prefer to leave the steak in the bag for about an hour.  So if you choose to marinate, make sure you plan accordingly.

Once your pan is hotter than the surface of the sun, throw in some olive oil to coat the bottom.  Once coated, grab some tongs, pick up that piece of meat and lay it in.  Let it sear for 2-3 mins on the first side (Use a timer if needed).  Once the time is up, grab your tongs and sear the other side for another 2-3 minutes.  Once you’ve completed the second 2-3 mins, grab the pan with an oven mitt and throw the entire thing into the pre-heated oven.  Depending on how you like your steak cooked, leave it in for 4-6 mins.

While you wait, clean up your cooking station and practice patience.  Do Not Open the Stove While It’s Cooking!

(Tip: Use the finger test to judge how well your steak is)

Once the time is up, grab the cast iron pan out of the oven with an oven mitt and set it on top of the stove to rest.  Give it a good 10 minutes so it can reabsorb some of the juices.  While you wait, finish off your side dishes and table preparation.

Congratulations, you’ve just cooked a perfect piece of meat in the comfort of your own Woodbury Park at City Centre apartment.  Don’t thank me though, you did all the work!  If you’ve followed these steps, leave a comment below with how things turned out.

(Image via Flickr user Another Pint Please..)

Old Clocks Make GREAT Decorator Items

A visit to my friend’s apartment not long ago left me feeling truly INSPIRED!  I’ve always thought her creative but her use of TIME to decorate her apartment left me speechless.

Her living area was studded with wall clocks.  Large, small, old, new … clocks of all types bejeweled her wall in a lovely pattern, each with its own style and grace.  The other thing I notice, although it took a little bit of time before I caught on, each clock’s hands were set to a different time and yet not one was actually running.

She explained to me that she’d set the hands on each clock to represent a significant time in her life.   The big clock that served as the centerpiece was set at the hour in which she was born.  There was a clock set for the hour of her wedding, one for the hour she graduated and so forth all the way up to the most recent event.  She’d even used one clock to represent the tragic hour the first plane struck the WTC on 9/11.  Such a touching tribute to the lives lost that day.

We talked for some time about her decorating idea and her many shopping trips to local thrift stores and garage sales to find the clocks.  She even asked friends and family for any  old wall clock they might have lying around.  It didn’t have to keep time or even be in good shape.  It just had to appeal to her and fit with what she was trying to accomplish.

When all was said and done, she had over 35 wall clocks but had spent less than $100 on the entire project.  All she had to do was polish a few, set the hands and hang them up.

There are MANY unique ways to decorate without spending a boat load of money.  The important thing is to decorate in ways that mean something to YOU.

Last summer at this time, I was rockin’ in the fitness department.  Between using  P90X smack-dab in the center of my apartment living room and visiting the Woodbury Fitness Center, I was feeling great!  Then I hit a plateau -  a wall – I fell off the wagon … whatever you want to call it. I HIT THE SKIDS.

By the time the holidays hit last year,  I began to FEEL the slowly increasing weight gain and the lethargy that accompanies it.  Fast-forward to now and I have to admit it:  I’ve lost the ALL the ground that I had gained.

Back in the day (never mind how long precisely) I was a runner.  A good jog in the morning or after work suited me perfectly.  The benefits were outrageous! Not only did my energy level shoot right up, but the flab shook right off and I never had to worry about what I ate. EVER.

For that reason, I’m going to start POWER WALKING around our complex.  Sadly, though … I’ll need to revert back to considering myself a BEGINNER.  But that’s okay! It’s the healthy way to go! So, for those of you who are like me  -  just starting out -  check out these tips for beginners  at the running/power walking game:

Tip ONE:  Talk to your doctor

“THEY” say it all the time:  Consult your physician before you begin any fitness routine. We hear this advice so much, we tend to dismiss it without much thought. But the fact is,  your doctor can help you with the best fitness plan for you. Before you dive in, give your doctor a few minutes of your time the consider what’s best for you.

Tip TWO:  Loosen the death-grip on the George Washingtons

Quality running shoes and running socks make all the difference in the quality of your run/walk.  Running SOCKS can be a bit pricey but are worth every penny. Try them and see.

Tip THREE: Start slow with a brisk walk

If you’re pulling yourself out of the fitness rut like me, it’s important NOT to try to pick up where you left off.  I used to run up to 6 miles a day. If I were to do that now, I WOULD GET HURT and so will you if that’s not been your routine.  Give yourself permission to start slowly and enjoy the scenery. In time, we’ll both build back up to where we were.

Tip FOUR:  Get a buddy

It’s a great safety measure to walk/run with a friend. But you’ll also enjoy the challenge and accountability that comes with running WITH someone.

These are just a few PRACTICAL TIPS for beginner joggers. How about YOU? What are your tips?

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

While you’re busy enjoying the many performances and events of Minnesota Fringe, try out MATCH GAME MINNESOTA for some truly INTERACTIVE fun!

MATCH GAME MINNESOTA is an improvisational game show filled with madness and mayhem as audience members match wits with Minnesota comedians to win! Panelists pose fill-in-the-blank questions that comedians and guests alike will answer. You’ll laugh ‘til you double over at the quick wit found in Match Game.

Trek on over just 30 minutes west to the Gremlin Theatre in St Paul for your chance to play MATCH GAME and win!

SHOW TIMES are:

Friday 8/6 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 8/7 – 5:30 p.m.
Sunday 8/8 – 10:00 p.m.
Thursday 8/12 – 5:30 p.m.
Sunday 8/15 – 4:00 p.m.

Image by 92YTribeca via Flickr

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