Posts about Apartment Life

Ideas for Houseplant Appreciation Day

Being in nature can put you in a calm and relaxed mood. Bring that feeling indoors by incorporating greenery into your home decor! In this post, the Arrive West End Blog is sharing some tips on keeping plants indoors with residents of our Dallas, TX apartments. Plus we have some local places, with information from their respective websites, where you can get plants in honor of Houseplant Appreciation Day on Wednesday, January 10. So check out Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse, Redenta's Garden Shop, and Ruibal's Plants of Texas. Read on to learn more about these shops in today's blog post. Houseplant Suggestions These are some plants you may want to consider for your apartment: Arabian Jasmine This beautiful plant not only thrives in conditions abundant in humidity and light, but it’s also useful if you drink jasmine tea. Better Homes and Gardens points out that their starry, pure white flowers also produce a soft fragrance to grace your apartment. Plant this indoors near a window or on the patio in a spot where it can be protected from drafts. Water and feed it regularly. Potted Blue Spruce Whether you want to raise this Colorado blue spruce into a mini winter holiday tree or you simply like the look of it, add this to your balcony to let it get full sunlight, and put a sponge over the drainage hole to keep in the moisture. Pothos This iconic plant is great to keep indoors. It’s easy to care for, and it does well in a range of environments — the color of the leaves do dim if left in low light — and even in nutrient-rich or poor soils. Plant it in a hanging basket or use as a climbing plant on your balcony. Just trim the stems back a little once they get too long. They can grow up to eight feet or longer! Caring For Plants Some plants can be easier to take care of than others. It’s important to learn about the plants you have and determine what they need to stay alive and healthy. Determine how much water and sunlight they need and what type of soil to use when potting them. Having that information can save your plants. You can also find some general indicators about what your plant needs based on its appearance. Local Merchants Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse — About 11 minutes from Arrive West End Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse is the largest wholesale provider of indoor and patio plants, orchids, bromeliads, poinsettias, and Easter lilies in Texas! Take a look around. You won't find anything else like Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse. Redenta's Garden Shop — About 14 minutes from Arrive West End The mission of the shops is to provide a wide and unique assortment of plants, concentrating on perennials, herbs and old roses as well as a selection of hard-to-find annuals, shrubs and trees, especially native and well-adapted plants. Redenta’s is committed to a natural and sustainable approach to gardening and is 100% organic offering soil amendments and organic solutions to common garden problems. Ruth has also searched the world for unique garden accents and gifts. Ruibal's Plants of Texas — About a 7-minute drive from Arrive West End. Houseplant Appreciation Day is coming up on Wednesday, January 10. Make plans now to be a part of the fun! From locally grown bedding plants and perennials to pottery, statuary, planting services, deliveries and now even produce, we’re here to help. How do you plan on celebrating Houseplant Appreciation Day? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Hosting Holiday Guests at Your Arrive West Apartment

If you are staying home at your Arrive West End apartment for the holidays this year, chances are you may be hosting some overnight guests. To help you out, we’ve pulled together some tips for hosting guests at your home in Dallas, Texas. Warm Welcome Beginning with a warm welcome sets the tone for your guest’s entire visit, and it’s easy to accomplish. Something as simple as fresh flowers, chocolates, or a fruit basket sends a message that you are glad to be hosting family and friends. Take some time to put together a welcome basket and include things like a flashlight, snacks, water bottles, your guest WiFi password, a portable charging stick, mints, and travel-sized toiletries. Comfy Bed Whether you have a dedicated guest room, a pull-out sofa sleeper, or an air mattress, make your guest’s bed as comfortable as possible. A memory-foam mattress pad can go a long way in helping out in this endeavor. Spring for luxurious cotton sheets with a high thread count to help provide a good night’s sleep. Make sure an extra blanket is easily accessible in case your guest takes a chill. Privacy Clear out a drawer or a cupboard so your guest will have a place for their things; even a hook over a door can provide a place to hang things up. Let your guests know what time you are typically up and about, especially if they will be on an air mattress in the living room. Let them know if it’s okay to use a bedroom for changing in (much easier than in a bathroom), and let them know it’s fine for them to follow their own schedule. Holiday Extras Because it’s the holidays, you may have to do a few extra things, like have an extra stocking or two ready just in case they forgot to bring theirs. Prepare in advance to include some of their holiday traditions into your celebration. For example, do they eat a special dish to celebrate? Invite them to make it, or get the recipe and add it to your menu. Little things mean a lot, and with some advance preparation, your guests’ trip to Dallas will be one of the most memorable ever. Be sure to include some downtime for both you, and your guests — don’t feel like you need to entertain them 24/7; they likely need some alone time too. Please share your ideas about hosting guests in the comments. How do you make them feel at home? We want to wish everyone in our apartment community happy holidays. Thanks for reading our blog!

Putting the Thanks in Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming to Dallas, Texas this month, and that means in addition to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, our minds turn to giving thanks. This month, the Arrive West Blog has some tips for giving thanks in a variety of ways, to members of our apartment community, co-workers, family, and friends; we’ve got ideas! Send a Thank-You Note Buy a box of thank you notes to keep on your desk. When someone does something especially nice take a few minutes to write them a note. Yes, you could send an email or a thank- you meme, but there’s something special about receiving a handwritten note. To the recipient it means, someone took the time to think of me personally, and that’s a good thing to share. If you’re not sure about how to go about writing a thank you note, Hallmark shares this guidance: How to Write a Thank-you Note Keep a Gratitude Journal Buy or make a gratitude journal. Every day, take a few minutes to make note of three things you are grateful for in your life. They can be big or small, the point is to seek out and write down what you’re grateful for, then when life is getting you down, you can go back and read them for a lift. If you’ve got kids, help them create their own gratitude journal. The Happy Housewife has some easy-to-follow directions: Gratitude Journals for Kids . Make a Daily Gratitude Post for a Month on Social Media Chances are social media is a daily part of your life. Harness that habit and use it to promote gratitude. During the day, post at least one thing you are grateful for and why. Not only will you be releasing happy feel-good endorphins for yourself, you will also be brightening others’ day too. Share Something You Are Grateful For with Your Partner, Spouse, or Family At the end of the day, perhaps around the dinner table, share what you liked about your day, what you learned, and what you are thankful for. It’s a great way to connect and to acknowledge the good that happens every day. Pay It Forward Here in Dallas, despite life’s challenges, we’ve been blessed by family, friends, members of our apartment community, and even complete strangers. Somehow, being blessed by other makes us want to “pay it forward.” Make it a point to “pay it forward” each day. We love this list of 60 Selfless Ways to Pay It Forward . Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in our apartment community. We hope this month we can all put the “thanks” in Thanksgiving!