Blog Posts

Fall Centerpieces

Summer is ending and fall is just getting started, even though it doesn’t quite feel like it here in Hollywood, FL. Even though the weather may still be warm, you can still make your home reflect the season. To help you bring the season into your home, our Sunset Palms Blog is sharing some fall-themed centerpieces you can make with just a few items from our local craft store. Pumpkin and Gourd Centerpiece Make your own version of this brightly colored centerpiece with a fall-themed table runner, a wooden platter, some small gourds and pumpkins, and some green leaves (real or fake) to fill in the empty spaces. Succulent Pumpkin Centerpiece “With simple glue, you can create a gorgeous, modern fall centerpiece or porch decor that comes together in minutes.” These living centerpieces bring an array of colors and textures and are stunningly beautiful. All you’ll need is a pumpkin, spray adhesive, clear gel craft glue, hot glue gun with glue sticks, moss, and a variety of succulents. Pumpkin Vase Centerpiece If you want to display your favorite fall flowers in a little more of a creative medium than a classic vase, a pumpkin is a great option! Here’s what the blogger of the idea has to say about it: “A white-pumpkin shell becomes the vase for an arrangement of roses, daffodils, ranunculuses, calla lilies, tulips, and hypericum berries in fall colors -- yellows, peaches, and shades of orange. Smaller pumpkins and votive candles in orange-glass holders fill out the centerpiece.” Apple Centerpiece This lovely centerpiece featuring apples will add a pop of color to your dining table or wherever you choose to put it. What you will need: cheesecloth, leave branch garlands, pillar candles, and apples. You can use either real or fake apples, whichever you prefer. Fall Lantern Centerpiece Make this lovely centerpiece with a rustic looking lantern, a fall colored candle, and a fake twig and berry wreath. Light the candle for an added dose of warmth, just don’t forget to blow it out when you leave! Or, if you don’t want to bother with a real candle, you can use a battery operated tealight or candle instead. What is your favorite thing about Fall in Hollywood, FL? Let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks for reading our post. Have a happy fall!

Spiced Up Desserts

Fall is just around the corner, which means it is time to break out all you spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Just a small amount of spice can add an incredible amount of flavor to a dish. In this Sunset Palms Blog post we are going to share some great spice-filled desserts to get you ready for fall. Cinnamon Apple Dessert Tacos We love dessert tacos! These apple cinnamon dessert tacos practically scream fall. Enjoy the combination of the crispy tortilla shell coated in cinnamon and sugar with the warm apple pie-like filling. Mini Banana Cinnamon Cheesecakes These creamy banana mini cheesecakes feature a nutty cinnamon base and are the perfect light dessert to satisfy your sweet craving. They are made with wholesome ingredients, and they’re quite filling. Top them with coconut yogurt, cacao nibs, and banana chips for some added decadence. Cinnamon Spice Spaghetti Squash Cake Yeah, you heard right, there is squash in there. Don’t worry though you won’t even know it is there with all the delicious flavors and spices going on in this cake. Ingredients include flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground allspice, maple syrup, coconut oil, flax meal, water, and a small spaghetti squash. Glazed Cinnamon Bun Cookies Fill your kitchen with the warm and inviting scent of cinnamon when you bake these tasty cookies. For the cookies you’ll need sugar, flour, sea salt, baking powder, shortening, flax seed, water, and vanilla extract. For the filling, use shortening, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, flour, sea salt, vanilla, and vanilla extract. And for the glaze: powdered sugar and water. Without the glaze the cookies are crunchy and with the glaze they are more on the chewy side. Gingerbread Blondies These moist bars have all the flavor of a gingerbread cookie with the soft, chewy texture of a brownie! What you’ll need: flour, grated orange zest, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cloves, unsalted butter, packed brown sugar, sugar, an egg, and molasses. To make the glaze you will need powdered sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice. We hope you get the chance to make and indulge in some of these spice-filled desserts in your apartment this month! Thanks for reading our post!

Old Movie Classics

Welcome back to the Sunset Palms Blog! In our last blog post, we shared some outdoor places to visit in Hollywood, FL. This month we’re giving you a reason to stay in and keep cool in your apartment your weekend with some old movie classics to watch. These are must-see movies that will bring some nostalgia. Enjoy a movie night with friends and put on one of these great classics. Singin’ in the Rain “A spoof of the turmoil that afflicted the movie industry in the late 1920s when movies went from silent to sound. When two silent movie stars', Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, latest movie is made into a musical a chorus girl is brought in to dub Lina's speaking and singing. Don is on top of the world until Lina finds out.” Citizen Kane “ When a reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane's (Orson Welles) dying words, his investigation gradually reveals the fascinating portrait of a complex man who rose from obscurity to staggering heights. Though Kane's friend and colleague Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), and his mistress, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), shed fragments of light on Kane's life, the reporter fears he may never penetrate the mystery of the elusive man's final word, ‘Rosebud.’” Casablanca “Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country.” Roman Holiday “Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck),who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get [an] exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.” What’s your favorite old movie classic? Let us know in the comments so we can enjoy a good movie night. Thanks for reading!

Explore Hollywood, FL

Hollywood, FL has all kinds of fun activities to do and places to explore near Sunset Palms. It’s the perfect time of year to go to Hollywood Beach, cruise the boardwalk, visit a park, or go on an outdoor adventure with Wild Lime Adventures. Here on the blog, we have a list of some of these places to visit this month. Bring your friends and family and enjoy all that Hollywood, FL has to offer. Wild Lime Adventures Wild Lime Adventures is a company that offers a variety of adventures in southern Florida. You can participate in a Friday Night Beach Crawl, Airboat Ride, Everglades Adventure, a Swamp Walk, and more. Choose your adventure, bring along friends, and enjoy seeing Florida from a different perspective. Here’s a little bit about the company: “Wild Lime Adventures is an eco-tour and cultural tour company, providing round-trip day-tours from anywhere in South Florida to places like the Florida Keys, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Fakahatchee Strand State Park (and other destinations).” ArtsPark at Young Circle The ArtsPark at Young Circle is a great place to enjoy with kids, family, or friends. Visit the park for their food trucks on Monday nights, Funtastic Fridays with a movie night, art classes, live music, or to just take a walk around the park. The park is about a 30-minute drive from the Sunset Palms apartment community. Hollywood Boardwalk and Bike Rentals Enjoy the beautiful boardwalk and beach in Hollywood. You can find all kinds of fun things to do here. Enjoy one of over 50 restaurant options, visit a boutique or shop, take a walk, or enjoy a bike ride. You can rent bikes from a variety of locations near the beach. It’s a perfect evening activity to enjoy with friends. Where’s your favorite place to visit in Hollywood, FL? Let us know in the comments so we can all enjoy what the city has to offer. Thanks for reading!

Home Storage Tips

It can be easy for your apartment home to become cluttered and unorganized without a good storage system. This is why the Sunset Palms Blog brings you some tips on how to keep your home organized through good storage ideas. We’re going to bring you some tips for your kitchen, fridge, and bathroom. We hope you get a chance to use some of these ideas this month in Hollywood, FL. Kitchen One great idea for keeping your cupboards organized is to use glass mason jars for your baking ingredients or any kind of glass jar. Use these for flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and more. Cupboards can not only get cluttered with food, but also with large pots and pans. Use racks that will divide up the cupboards and keeps pans from sliding and falling over. You could also use this cookware organizer that will hold your pans. If you feel like you’re short on space, use a bar cart to hold produce, pots, or anything else that doesn’t have a home. It’s a simple solution to a tricky problem. Fridge The fridge is not always a fun thing to clean out, but we know how important it is when it starts to get smelly. One way to avoid this is to use shelf liners for easier cleaning. That way you can clean spills in a minute’s time. For better organization in the fridge, use storage bins to keep items organized. For example, use one bin for string cheese and yogurt and another bin for chopped fruits and vegetables. This idea is also great for a quick, healthy snack or for easy lunch packing. Bathroom The bathroom can be difficult to keep organized especially if you own lots of hair products, lotions, soaps, etc. Using the space under the sink can be a great place to store these items, but it can get easily get messy. Living Locurto has some tips to help organize that space. Use baskets and small shelving units in order to add extra space. For hair tools, use a holder that can be attached to the inside of a cupboard. You can find cabinet organizers at most home stores to hold towels or baskets. Find one that fits your space. Use baskets to store any other loose items. You can also utilize the space above the toilet for a great storage option. A standing space saver can hold toilet paper, towels, etc. It can also be the perfect spot to add some fun decor to decorate your bathroom. Try out a humidity-loving plant such as an aloe vera plant, bamboo, or fern. What tips do you have for keeping your home organized and uncluttered? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Summer Water Games

It’s July and that might mean you’re going to need some water games to help cool you off. Sunset Palms Blog brings you some suggested games to play this month here in Hollywood, FL. These games are great for all ages and perfect for a family reunion, weekend afternoon activity, or compliment to a summer BBQ with friends at our apartment community. We hope you get to try these games out this month! DIY Slip and Slide Slip and slides are great to have for a family reunion for everyone to try out. We have a great DIY project for the perfect slip and slide . To make this, you’ll need 3M Plastic Roll, 8 pool noodles, gorilla double sided tape, a sprinkler, a 2x4, and metal stakes. The noodles serve as bumpers on the edges of the slide and a good way to keep the water on the plastic. The 2x4 will help to keep the slide from ripping or getting pulled up as people run and slide. Stay safe and have a good time! Water Balloon Fight Water balloon fights are a classic water game and a great addition to any summer BBQ with friends. Fill up dozens of water balloons and you’re all set! You can play dodgeball, have a plain ol’ fight, or even have a water balloon toss or relay . Water balloons are cheap and create fun for hours. Shark and Minnows Thankfully Sunset Palms has a pool to help you stay cool this summer. Sharks and minnows is a classic pool game that’s fun for all ages. This is essentially a game of tag. The game starts with a single shark who lurks in the middle (or one end) of the pool. The other swimmers are the minnows and begin the game at the other end of the pool. To begin the game, the shark yells, “Minnows in!” and the minnows dive or jump into the pool and try to swim to the other side without getting tagged by the shark. However, every minnow who does get tagged joins the shark’s team and helps tag other minnows. The last minnow to become tagged becomes the first shark the next time around. Sponge Ball Dodgeball These sponge balls are a fun alternative to using water balloons for dodgeball or a water fight. It also doesn’t require cleanup or time to fill up lots of balloons. To make these sponge balls, you’ll need lots of sponges, scissors, and rubber bands. Cut the sponges into 4 long strips. Gather 8 strips and tie them together using a rubber band. It’s simple and they become a game you can keep for years to come. What are your favorite summer water games? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!