Cool Design, Cooler Prices

Most people moving into their first apartment need to think creatively in order to furnish it with spending wads of cash. Some options include hand-me-downs and thrift store bargains.

The easiest items to acquire when moving into your first apartment are the items no one else wants. Your parents will have furniture they are happy to donate, as will your relatives and maybe a few friends.

You can then come up with a color scheme and paint the newly acquired furniture whatever color you want. If you are painting an old dresser, make sure you replace the knobs on the drawers to give it more of your own flare. If you are lucky enough to get a sofa but the color is less than desirable, simply buy a slipcover to fit over it in the design that you want and you suddenly have a brand new sofa.

There are items that are just easy and inexpensive to purchase, like kitchen chairs and stools, lamps, area rugs and bookshelves from retailers. Watch for clearance sales. Mid-September after back-to-school sales is always a good time to shop. And watch for neighborhood garage sales, always a great source of households items.

What’s the most creative and inexpensive decorating tip you’d like to share?

Have Fun at California’s Great America

There are only a couple more months in the year when you can visit California’s Great America.

Open now only on weekends, there are more deals and events than ever before. For instance September 19 & 20 it is bring-a-friend for $15. For acknowledgement of Autism Awareness Day on September 19, a $35 ticket includes an all you can eat picnic, autism organizations support groups exhibits, a ticket to participate in a raffle, and a schedule full of non-stop events. On September 26, don’t miss the culmination of the Bay Area Band in a Battle of the Bay Area Bands.

In October, the haunt is on with the Halloween Haunt. California’s Great America completely transforms with six spine-tingling haunted mazes, four themed scare zones, one themed attraction, four head-turning live stage shows, plus all of the park rides. The freight begins Fridays and Saturdays in October from 7pm to 12am.

For the younger kids, Nick or Treat is free with part admission and the kids will be able to trick-or-treat along with Nickelodeon characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer at five designated trick-or-treat stations in Nickelodeon Central. This experience is for kids ages 12 or younger and runs from noon to 4pm.

Visit California’s Great America site for ticket information and directions.

Durham Music Festival Bigger than Ever

Organizers of the 2009 Troika music festival are no longer taking submissions for artists, and that’s probably a good thing. Why? It’s because the lineup is busting at the seams.

In 2002, the Durham Association for Downtown Arts, Inc. (DADA) decided to organize the first one-day Durham Music Festival featuring musicians and bands for Durham. The event was a success, so the following year DADA held the festival over a course of three nights at multiple venues downtown.

By 2005, the organizers wanted to include the entire Triangle area, so the festival expanded to five days and there were events in Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh. This is also when organizers changed the name to Troika Music Festival.

The Troika Music Festival will take place on Nov. 5-7. They don’t have a detailed schedule yet, but they are look for volunteers to help them with various tasks. The organizers put on a fundraiser to raise money for the festival. Local musical and visual artists applied their artistry to bowling pin then the pins were auctioned off to supporters of Troika.

Take a look at Bullbot Blog, the official blog of the Troika Musical Festival and follow Troika on Twitter.

Here is a list of performers as listed on the Troika site:Bowerbirds, Dex Romweber Duo, Birds of Avalon, The Moaners, Schooner, Future Islands, Whatever Brains, Hammer No More The Fingers, Molly Bancroft, Bellafea, EAR PWR, Caltrop, The Travesties, Lonnie Walker, The Dirty Little Heaters, The Future Kings of Nowhere [solo], The Loners, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Bronzed Chorus, Liza Kate, LA Tool & Die, Jews & Catholics, Citified, Pink Flag, The Huguenots, Grappling Hook, Maple Stave, Scientific Superstar, Veelee, Regina Hexaphone, The Dry Heathens, Rat Jackson, The Beast, Embarrassing Fruits, Max Indian, Ryan Gustafson, The Pneurotics, Ghost Cats, Beloved Binge, Tea & Tempests, Three Days in Vegas, Pistil, The ExMonkeys, Dynamite Brothers, The Desmonds, Gray Young, Brett Harris, Luego, The Tender Fruit, Wembley, Bright Young Things, All Your Science, Sea Cow, Veronique Diabolique, Mount Moriah, Birds and Arrows

There’s Still Time to Head to the Beach

North Carolina’s beaches extend more than 300 miles, offering a variety of activities, including kiteboarding, hang gliding, fishing, boating and windsurfing. And, just plain relaxing.

The Outer Banks extend along most of the N.C. coast, and just offshore rest more than  600 shipwrecks that occurred since the 16th Century, Ten lighthouses were built along the coast, and seven still stand today seven of which stand today.  The most famous of the lighthouses is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was completed in 1870.

The islands of the Outer Banks are a popular tourist spot linked by ferries and bridges. While some of the villages have a more commercialized feel with lots of  shopping, restaurants and nightlife, other towns are more isolated and quieter.

For those who love to fish, the Holden Beach Pier is the place to visit. The convergence of the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador currents create a hotspot for all types of fish, and fishermen catch anything from Wahoo to Sailfish, depending on the season.

Holden Beach is regarded as one of the top 10 beaches in the nation, and is a nesting spot for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. This protected species begins nesting on the beach at night in mid May and continues to nest thru August, sometimes into September. The babies start hatching in July, usually continuing into October. The annual Festival by the Sea is held there each October.  Oysters, in season, are cooked over a wood fire and there are many other types of cuisines served – from Italian sausages and funnel cakes to shrimp bog and barbeque.

Have you been to any of the North Carolina beaches?  Tell us where you went and what you enjoyed most.

Click here for more detailed information regarding the North Carolina and Outer Banks beaches.

Welcome The Verge

Welcome to your new virtual gathering place, a community blog for the residents of The Verge.

Looking to connect with your neighbors? Do it here.
Looking for ideas for a weekend getaway? Find it here.
Looking for the latest about what’s going on in our community? It’s all here.

Every day you will find something new on The Verge community blog. It will be a must-visit stop every day on your digital cruising.

We plan to focus on what you care about: tips to make the most of your community and your apartment lifestyle, great places to go around town, wonderful weekend getaways, how to live a healthy and fit lifestyle, food and dining suggestions, updates from the management team, and much more!

We’d love for you to jump right in and contribute! Got an opinion on something in the blog? Just click on “Leave a Comment” and share your thoughts — we can’t wait to hear from you.

Join the conversation!

Light It Up with Fluorescent Bulbs

You keep hearing the term “Go Green” all over the news, in magazines and on billboards but just how do you do that?

You can actually do something very simple to get started on the “Going Green” path: simply purchase compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

CFL bulbs are those funny-looking bulbs with swirls of glass tubing, lit with argon gas and mercury vapor. They are slightly more expensive than traditional incandescent light bulbs, but they pay for themselves in six months and can last 10 times longer than the incandescent light bulbs you’re using now.

That means if you have a light fixture you use quite a bit and find yourself changing the light bulb in it every six months, using a CFL bulb means you won’t change that bulb again for five years. The higher the wattage of a CFL bulb, the longer the bulb will be, with more fluorescent glass spirals. That means a 40 watt CFL bulb is smaller than a 100 watt CFL. You can even purchase CFL bulbs for recessed lighting.

And since CFL bulbs use less energy, you will eventually notice a dip in your energy bills in the coming months and years.

No need to replace your incandescent bulbs all at once; that would be quite an expense. As your incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with CFL bulbs. Don’t forget that since each CFL bulb utilizes a small amount of mercury, you can’t just throw away a burned-out CFL bulb, it must be recycled. Many recycling locations will take your used CFL bulbs at no cost or give you a discount on future CFL bulb purchases.

Does Asparagus Help Fight Cancer?

The National Cancer Institute says asparagus is the food highest in levels of glutathione, an important anti-carcinogen. It is also rich in two cancer-blocking vitamins (A and C) as well as the mineral selenium.

These three nutrients have been singled out in several studies as fierce cancer fighters. A 5.3 ounce serving (only 20 calories!) provides 60 percent of the recommended daily allowance for folacin which is necessary for blood cell formation, growth and prevention of liver disease.

Folacin has been shown to play a significant role in the prevention of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, that cause paralysis and death in 2,500 babies each year. It is also an excellent source of potassium, fiber, thiamin, vitamin B6, and is one of the richest sources of rutin, a compound which strengthens capillary walls.

Asparagus can be roasted, grilled, steamed, boiled, sautéed, puréed, and eaten raw. Here’s a recipe to get you started:

Grilled Asparagus

2 pounds asparagus, tough ends snapped off

2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter

Garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (you can also use fresh garlic instead of garlic salt if you prefer)

1. Preheat grill. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil in 13×9 dish, season with garlic salt and pepper, toss gently to coat and spread in a single layer on the grill.

2. Roast the asparagus 8 to 10 minutes or until just tender, turning ever so carefully every couple minutes.

Tips on Fighting Allergens

Pet owners, either at home or when they visit friends, may have animal dander on their clothes. When they visit they can leave that dander behind on upholstered furniture.
Solution: vacuum couches and padded chairs with a HEPA filter, which traps tiny particles so they can’t escape the dust bag.

In the bedroom, dust collects on books and other items on shelves, including photographs and mementos.
Solution: Keep shelves of all kinds away from the bed and place trinkets behind glass doors so they can’t collect dust.

Bed pillows contain dust mites from body warmth and humidity, no matter the type of stuffing.
Solution: Purchase new pillows annually or use allergy-proof pillow covers that are washed once or twice a month in hot water.

Dust mites and mold thrive in the trapped moisture in a bath mat.
Solution: Purchase a washable mat and clean it weekly as well as hanging it up to dry after each use. If possible open a window or run a fan.

Moisture, crumbs and spills can build up in the crevices of the refrigerator door and encourage mold to grow there.
Solution: Wipe the seal with a mixture of mold-zapping bleach and water weekly; use a cotton swab to get into the grooves to clean thoroughly.

Steam from pots and pans can settle in walls, ceilings, cupboard doors, upper shelves and areas behind large appliances causing mold to build up.
Solution: Run the exhaust fan to vent cooking steam and if mold does appear, eliminate it with a solution of bleach and water.

Do you know of any other tips to help keep allergens at bay?