Blog Posts

Chowder, Soup, or Stew Recipes for Dinner

Fall is in full swing here in Williamsville, NY, and chances are a warm bowl of chowder, soup, or stew would certainly hit the spot! Today the StoneGate Blog has gathered up a variety of recipes to try, including one for pumpkin soup, in honor of Halloween coming up this month. Try these recipes and tips for making soup in your apartment this fall! Tips for Making Soup Sometimes your soup isn’t the right consistency. If this is the case, try these tips for How to Make and Use a Slurry to Thicken Soup . If you’re looking for a quick way to make vegetable stock, try these tips for doing it in just 10 minutes . For chicken, check out this How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock article. And meal prep with your soups by using using muffin tins to freeze single servings of soup . Chowder, Soup, and Stew In honor of Halloween, we’re sharing this recipe for Pumpkin Soup from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. Pair it with a hearty bread and perhaps a salad and lunch is served. Beef stew is a favorite for a hearty, filling meal. Tender pieces of beef paired with potatoes, carrots, and onions hit the spot. We couldn’t choose just one recipe, so we turned to Allrecipes.com for a variety of beef stew recipes to choose from. My Favorite Broccoli Cheese from Cooking Classy is a thick soup that combines broccoli and cheese in a creamy flavor delight. The recipe uses both sharp cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese, plus onions and chicken broth, to make a dish sure to make your mouth water. Corn Chowder from Chef in Training paired with golden cornbread is the perfect fill-you-up supper dish. This recipe is creamy, thick, and full of fall flavor. One reviewer, Jessica, wrote: “I recently won a soup cook-off at work with this recipe. Everyone was raving about it, so I gave them the recipe and your website.” Tomato basil soup has never been easier than this delicious version from Six Sisters’ Stuff. Cook it in a slow cooker and with a minimum effort, dinner is on the table. Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade noodles is definitely a comfort food, especially if you are feeling under-the-weather. Try this recipe from Cutestuff Cooks. It can be ready to eat in about an hour. We hope you take the opportunity to try several of these recipes this month! Let us know what your favorites are in the comments. Thanks for reading today’s post. Happy Halloween to everyone in our apartment community.

Celebrating Our Maintenance Team

Here at StoneGate Apartment Homes in Williamsville, NY, we work hard to maintain the trust and confidence of our apartment community. In September, we celebrated a big part of what makes StoneGate such an awesome place to live: our maintenance team. In today’s post we want to highlight our September Maintenance Appreciation Month celebrations to honor our dedicated, professional, hard-working maintenance team. We celebrated in September by providing gifts and prizes for our team including time-off and new swag! Of course food was a part of the celebration too, with breakfast, lunch, and snacks thrown into the mix for our team. We have an amazing maintenance team. Here are a few things about them to note: — Going above and beyond for our residents is the norm for our maintenance team. — They accept same-day work orders. — Our community benefits from the dedication and hard-work of our rock-star maintenance team. — Our team provides 24/7 emergency maintenance. Note what Carolyn S. said about our maintenance team in this review about StoneGate Apartment Homes : “I moved to Buffalo from out-of-state, and am so glad I kept looking until I found StoneGate The units are wonderful with upgrades of granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, new flooring in the kitchen and dining room, updated bathroom fixtures and countertops, etc., all adding to the feeling of a home vs. an apartment. . . . The staff is fantastic, friendly, professional and always there with a smile. . . . Wayne and Mike of the maintenance staff are nothing short of outstanding work orders are addressed in a timely manner. Snow removal is the most efficient I have ever experienced in my near 6 decades of snowy winters. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful I chose to make StoneGate my home.” We appreciative all of our residents for making StoneGate their home and letting us be a part of their lives! In our next blog we will be sharing some ideas for Halloween fun! Stay tuned. Checkout our facebook page for photos of the celebrations !

Decorate for Autumn

Fall is here, and so are we to give you some ideas for welcoming it into your lovely apartment. This month the StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog is sharing four steps for spicing up your apartment. Try out these ideas for creating an environment in your home that not only speaks of fall, but smells, looks, and feels like it as well. 1. Clean. Few things feel better than a freshly cleaned apartment, so start new this month by deep-cleaning your place. It will help you start out the month on good terms with yourself, knowing where things are and knowing that you have a handle on your life. Cleaning not only gives you that psychological comfort; it helps your guests feel welcome and comfortable, too. Plus, a clean apartment is the perfect template for your decorating! 2. Make crafts. Whether you’re making a rustic fall wreath or trying some classy crafts you’ve never tried before, things you’ve made yourself add a personal touch to your home that you can be proud of. Nothing says autumn better than a craft you’ve made or a printable you’ve found literally spelling it out for you. Have fun recreating childhood memories by making leaf crafts that show you just how much your artistic talents have grown. 3. Take advantage of fall icons’ colors, patterns, and textures. Leaves and wreaths aren’t the only things you can decorate with this month. Pumpkins (mini or large), flowers, and pine cones can make you look in sync with the rest of Williamsville’s fall celebrations. Use contrasting elements of fall decor to create to create an overall unifying feel. Using fall colors is an easy way to achieve this effect. 4. Recreate fall smells. Smell is one of the most powerful senses. It brings memories and emotions you may have forgotten about back to you, making you feel like you’re right at home. Because so many distinct smells that so many people love come along with the season you can make almost any pumpkin spice sweet or apple cinnamon potpourri to bring together a cozy home. What are your favorite ways to decorate for fall in New York? Let us know so we can try them out! Happy decorating!

Fall-Themed Movies

Welcome back to the StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog. What do boarding school, rockets, and football have in common? These images are some prominent ones in movies with a fall theme or setting. What better month than September to welcome autumn to Williamsville, NY with a movie that fits the cooler weather and changing leaves? Invite some friends to your apartment soon and catch one of these compelling dramas. Dead Poets Society Find prep school and uniforms and autumnal scenery in Delaware in this classic. This inspiring movie is a great way to connect with the majestic surroundings of fall. It hones in on an unconventional teacher that helps his class connect with what they’re learning outside of their textbooks. Robin Williams gives an outstanding lesson in bringing what we learn to life. This is also a great way to look back on his emotionally moving career. Rudy Football is a fall classic, and this story is another moving one. Notre Dame’s campus and football team are at the focus of this story as our main character Rudy (played by Sean Astin) tries his best to overcome the academic, financial, and physical limitations that would keep him from playing the game he loves for the school of his dreams. You can’t get a more satisfying ending than this one. October Sky East Tennessee’s fall colors help tell the story of a group of boys’ journey to build a rocket — and what one of them will do to escape a life of working the local coal mines. After being inspired by a satellite in the sky, this movie follows the struggles and odds that work against the par for the course in this rural town. And it just goes to show what it means to stick with your dreams. If none of these suggested movies appeals to you, check out our Book and DVD Lending Library and find something to enjoy this week at your Stonegate Apartment Home. Thanks for reading today’s post!

Web Resources for Seniors

Summer is nearly over here in Williamsville, NY and that means different things to different people; for some, it means heading back to work, for others it means that it’s time to start making plans for the holidays, and for everyone else it’s life as usual. Whatever your situation may be, the StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog has gathered up some online resources that members of our apartment community may find interesting. Arts The Louvre Whether or not you’ve been, are planning a trip, or will never get there doesn’t mean you can’t peruse and learn about the artwork, sculptures, and other artifacts housed in the Louvre. Visit this website and create your personal space, and then explore the site with all its wealth of information. Closer to home, plan a trip to visit The Met this summer or fall; check here to see the upcoming exhibits . Be sure to plan on dining at The Met , seeing as there are a variety of options available at all three locations. Food Epicurious “There are numerous sites about food on the Web, Epicurious is among the best known. The site boasts 7,500 recipes, and advice on drinks to go with them. Epicurious also has a database of 1001 chef's tips, like how to keep pasta moist when you reheat it. You can also find reviews of the latest cookbooks. And if you've had enough of eating at home - there's a travel section.”* Finance & Law The Social Security Administration This site is the place to go for information on benefits and who qualifies for them. You can find out how much you have paid into Social Security and estimate your future benefits. You'll also find useful guidelines on frequently asked questions - such as how to replace your social security card. There's also a useful page of links to other government sites, including the IRS. SeniorLaw “SeniorLaw is another of those home-made sites that presents some serious information with a light hand. New York based lawyer David Goldfarb, 50, puts the site together to make general information about Elder Law available to seniors, their families and attorneys. You'll find information on Medicare, Medicaid, estate planning, trusts and the rights of the elderly and disabled.”* Travel ElderTreks - Small Group Exotic Adventures “For the more adventurous, the Canadian company Eldertreks offers 50+ travelers trips to Asia, South America and other destinations. Trips are given an activity rating and you can click on a country name to get a paragraph of exquisite itinerary details such as ‘From the Grand Palace to the River Kwai; on jungle rafts or elephants.’ The site includes trip journals giving an interesting idea of what you might expect on such a journey, and, of course, information on how to book. This site is worth a visit even if you've no intention of riding an elephant.”* What are some of your favorite websites? Feel free to share in the comments so we can all check them out. * Information from My Retirement Dreams

Summer Reading Ideas

Getting lost in a book is the perfect way to spend a free weekend or two this summer, and instead of recommending specific books for members of our apartment community here at StoneGate Apartment Homes, we have opted to provide a variety of genres and lists to choose from. We invite everyone to commit to reading at least two or three books this summer from one of these suggestions. 1. A book that’s won an award . So you can see what all the hype is about and expose yourself to great writing and storytelling. 2. A coming-of-age book . We’ve all gone through it, but everyone’s experiences are different and valuable. 3. Something recommended by a librarian . Who better to get recommendations from than someone whose job it is to know books? 4. A memoir . There’s something about reading someone’s real struggles and triumphs that can help you deal with your own. 5. A book with a child narrator . Learn from the innocents — they often see things we miss. 6. An immigrant story . To educate yourself on and gain sympathy for some of the realities of the immigrant experience. 7. A self-help book . Take pride in wanting to improve yourself! 8. A sports book . Whether or not you like to watch sports, it could teach you valuable lessons about teamwork and perseverance. 9. A fairy tale book . Experience a whole new world in ways that only these fantastical books can give you. 10. A graphic novel . Whether you’re new to this genre or a diehard fan, you can find a huge variety of books, complete with speech bubbles and great visuals, that will thrill you. And a bonus genre — read a book about the history of New York, or the Williamsville area in particular, or a book that is set in the Buffalo area . What’s your favorite genre for summer reading? What was the best book you’ve already read this summer? Let us know in the comments!