If you are a busy person, like a lot of us, you may not have a lot of time to plan meals far in advance or make an elaborate dinner after a long day at work. But you can make sure you have your kitchen stocked with certain ingredients that work well with just about anything and are easy to create whole meals out of. Here are some ideas for essential groceries to have in your kitchen and what you could make out of them.
Avocado – This naturally fatty and delicious fruit has a meaty texture that can instantly make a simple dish more substantial. Throw sliced avocado into a salad, spread on a piece of toast with a fried egg, or grill it or roast it, stuffed with your favorite fixings.
Eggs – Eggs are another essential food that can easily be built upon or added to, or just eaten by itself, that works for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Make an omelet or frittata with your choice of veggies, an egg salad sandwich, baked eggs with cream and herbs and a side of potatoes, or add a boiled egg to a salad.
Sweet Potato – This cousin of the potato is sweeter and healthier, and works well as a side or as a main dish. Stuff sweet potatoes with geens or grains, sauté it with kale, make a soup with it, put it inside a wrap, or make a casserole with it.
Greens – You can add practically any food to your choice of lettuce or hearty green to make a delicious, healthy meal. Make a salad with greens and fruit or vegetables, nuts and cheese; make collard greens with bacon or sausage; serve fish or pasta over a bed of spinach, add greens to a vegetable stir fry or anything you can think of!
Grains – Grains are another excellent base for a hearty meal. Use rice, cous cous, barley, farrow or grits and cook with your preference of produce to make several meals out of.
Beans – Beans are a great source of protein that can be used in a number of different dishes, including chili, soup, red beans and rice, black beans with plantains, a vinegary bean salad and bean burritos.
Check out more 1st Lake blog posts for more cooking tips and recipe ideas!
If you need someone to share your apartment with, the roommate search should not be taken lightly, especially if you don’t know the person moving in. No one wants to be stuck with the messy, loud, annoying or the dreaded crazy, maniacal roommate.
The best way to ensure you make the perfect match based on your compatibility and satisfaction with a new potential roommate is to conduct an in-person interview, just like you would do if you were hiring someone for a job.
In addition, it’s always good to take an extra step and check references of past landlords or roommates to be really sure about the person you decide to live with. Use the following roommate interview checklist and compare with your own answers, preferences and the policies at your apartment community to find someone you can live in harmony with. Happy hunting!
What is your job? How long have you been there?
Do you have experience living with roommates? What did you like/dislike about that dynamic?
Why are you leaving your current apartment?
How much are you currently paying for rent?
Are you prepared to split utility bills and shared expenses like toilet paper, garbage bags, detergent, etc.?
Are you willing to clean common areas like the living room, kitchen and bathroom on a regular basis?
Are you a smoker or drug user?
Do you have any pets?
What’s your schedule like?
Do you plan on having company over often?
Do you have a significant other who will be spending the night and how do you feel about that from your perspective?
Do you have any serious illnesses or allergies I should know about?
What is your design aesthetic? How much of your own furniture or decorations will you be bringing to the apartment?
There’s a lot of fun things going on in the New Orleans area for New Year’s Eve, but sometimes the best way to spend it is to throw a party at home. To be sure your party is fun and festive, we’ve got some pro tips for throwing an awesome New Year’s Eve party at home.
Party Punch – One of the first things that a party needs to be guaranteed awesome is some delicious party punch. Food and Wine Magazine has some exciting and creative punch recipes with unique combinations like rosemary, cucumber and Vinho Verde or apricot liqueur with basil and bitters. Impress your guests with these unusual and refined party punches!
Countdown – If you can’t be in Time Square to watch the famous ball drop on New Year’s Eve, you can still have it on your TV as a background at your apartment party! Pick out or create a great music playlist or station of fun party songs to play at the party. Leave the Times Square action on silent in the background, then when it comes time for the countdown, turn off the music and on the TV, and then back to the music again after the clock strokes midnight!
Decorations – There are endless possibilities for party decorations and to put your own personal creative touch on them, consider making them yourself! Options for DIY party decorations are cheap and plentiful, from a tissue garland, to a paper fork placeholder, handmade signs, cupcake liner garlands and much more. Check out some of these ideas from babble.com
New Orleans is one of the best cities in the world to spend New Year’s Eve. There is something to do for everyone, no matter your age or activity preference.
Besides these special events, all of New Orleans’ best restaurants and lounges will be open for New Year’s Eve dining and entertainment. And you can always celebrate at home to ring in the new year!
Zoo Year’s Eve – Ring in the New Year with the whole family at Zoo Year’s Eve at the Audubon Zoo! From 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. there will be music, games and prizes. Plus, there’s a countdown to noon with party hats and noise makers.
Non-alcoholic drinks are provided by Pepsi for toasting and a sing along of “Auld Lang Syne.” Following will be live music by the Imagination Movers. Admission is free for Audubon Zoo members or comes with regular Zoo admission.
Fleur de Lis Drop – Come out for the annual Crescent City Countdown and see the fleur de lis drop at the Jax Brewery. Right after the fleur de lis drop, you can enjoy the grand Symphony in the Sky fireworks.
Leading up to the midnight celebration, Jackson Square will hold a party of its own with live music from 9:00 – 11:40 p.m.
Music – It wouldn’t be a New Orleans celebration without some amazing live music. And you can expect some of the best New Orleans has to offer on New Year’s Eve.
Local funk favorites Galactic will return to Tipitina’s for their annual New Year’s Eve show. And energetic young rockers The Revivalists will be performing at the beautiful newly renovated Civic Theatre. Start the New Year off with some great live music!
If you’re a resident of 1st Lake’s apartments in Kenner, Metairie or River Ridge, you’re right next door to these awesome New Year’s Eve celebrations!
The time is upon us to begin the process of acquiring Christmas gifts for friends and families and decorations for holiday parties. While everyone is in a mad dash to purchase the hot new item on the market, you could ditch the department store and get supplies to make your presents. Not the crafty type? Not to worry – these DIY projects are simple and basic enough for the least creatively inclined among us. This year, save money and make your own Christmas cheer both you and the recipient can be proud of!
Ornaments – Everyone loves ornaments, and what better time to give them than Christmas? Put your own personal touch on Christmas ornaments this year by customizing them yourself. Start with buying plain glass ornaments and fill them with the contents of your choice and voila – you’ve created a personalized Christmas ornament in minutes! Some ideas for fillings are a small photograph, fortune cookie fortunes, tinsel, confetti or anything you can think of that will squeeze into the opening.
Luminary Centerpiece – This project can be used both for gifts or decorations to keep for your apartment. These luminaries can be customized for the holidays or any time of year, so keep this idea in mind for future occasions. There are three simple steps: 1) Find an image you love and print it on acetate projector paper, 2) attach the acetate to a piece of colored construction paper of your choosing that’s the same size, 3) wrap the paper around a glass canister. Then all you need to do is place your candle in the canister and you have a beautiful, unique centerpiece.
1st Lake Properties | P. O. Box 73709 | Metairie, LA 70033 | info@1stlake.com
