Blog Posts

A Book and a Warm Drink

It’s October, the holiday cheer is approaching, and we are left to slog through cold weather until springtime brings relief from wintertime dreariness. But why wait until spring? A good book and a warm drink are sure winners to brighten your evening. Today, the Willow Hill Blog will provide some ideas for warm drinks and some good reads so that you can be prepared for what will come these fall and winter seasons. Enjoy these from the comfort of your apartment in Puyallup, WA. First the books. Favorite genres vary, so this list includes a variety of genres to choose from: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Young Adult Fiction) — The setting is a dystopian society, where teenager Wade Watt lives on the fringes. When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his billions. And contest users are willing to kill to win. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Historical Fiction). A Goodreads reviewer describes the book: “January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….” Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis (Contemporary) follows Jennifer as she hikes the Appalachian Trail, and describes her adventures and the realizations she comes to during the forty-six days it takes to hike the 2,181-mile trail between Maine and Georgia. Second, warm drinks! For starters, let’s start with some basic recipes for hot cocoa and spiced cider. It doesn’t have to be snowing to enjoy these great drinks! Homemade Hot Cocoa ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup granulated sugar ? cup hot water ? tsp salt 4 cups milk (Dairy or nondairy) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix cocoa powder, sugar, water, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Boil one minute. Reduce heat to a simmer, add milk and heat through. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. (For a flavorful variation add a drop of peppermint extract.) Makes five servings. Hot Spiced Cider 8 cups fresh apple cider or apple juice 3 cinnamon sticks 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg 4 whole cloves 1 orange, cut into slices Heat the cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and orange slices in a 3-quart saucepan.Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot, stirring occasionally. Or mix ingredients in a slow cooker, heat on high until hot and then turn to warm setting. If you want to get more adventurous, check out this blog: Fifty Hot Drink Recipes to Warm You Up on a Cold Day Please feel free to share your favorite recipe or book recommendation in the comments.

Relax

We can safely say that nearly everyone is already aware of stress, whether it’s from a big project at work or school, changing relationships, a death in the family, or the holidays. While this is a time of year for fun and great food, it can also be a time of stress. Join the Willow Hill Blog as we explore different ways to reduce stress in and out of your Puyallup, WA apartment. Here’s what we discovered in our research: Start and end the day with a few minutes of quiet meditation. Take those few moments and ground yourself by connecting with the here and now. Take several deep breaths. In the morning, anticipate a positive that will happen during the day. In the evening, review what went well, and give yourself credit. Write your stress away. Keep a junk journal, a private journal where you can record all the junk that’s happening in your life and then let it go. Simply writing it down will often help you quit fretting about it, whatever it happens to be. Some people like to burn up pages from their junk journal when the situation is resolved, which can be very freeing. Collect hugs throughout your day. Touch is important, and it’s been proven to reduce anxiety and stress. If you are not a huggy-touchy person, schedule a massage, which is another great stress reliever. Turn on some tunes. Find a lullabye station to stream and let the music help you relax, or listen to nature sounds or white noise to slow down and relax before bedtime. If you're stuck in a traffic jam, try this relaxing exercise. Grab your steering wheel and clench the muscles in your fingers, arms, shoulders, and back. Do this until your muscles begin to tremble (about 45 seconds), then release. This will create a wave of relief in your upper neck and arms all the way down to your fingers. Just be sure your foot is on the brake when you let go of the wheel! What is your favorite stress-reduction technique? We would love to hear about it. Please feel free to share in the comments!

Something Sweet For Halloween

Halloween is coming and that means it’s time for something sweet! Last week, we featured a few tasty recipes from around the world. This week, we’re shared a few recipes that land on the sweeter side of life. Enjoy reading through these five delicious recipes which feature pecans as the main ingredient. The Willow Hill Blog invites you to get together with a few friends in your apartment, make a treat, and celebrate this spooky holiday like you never have before!. Peach Pecan Crisp from Sally’s Baking Addiction Dish up a bowl of this peach pecan crisp with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Our favorite part of this recipe is the topping. Make the topping with brown sugar, all-purpose flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, pecans, and butter. Butter Pecan Fudge from Growing Up Gabel You can make this butter pecan fudge in just fifteen minutes. Butter, white sugar, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, salt, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and pecans combine for a dessert that is just the right amount of sweet. Classic Pecan Snowball Cookies from Life Made Sweeter Share these classic snowball cookies with friends this month. This delicious dessert can be made with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and pecans. Pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy a plate of these cookies. Apple Pecan Fritter Bites from Great Grub, Delicious Treats We think that these apple pecan fritter bites would make the perfect breakfast. Top this treat with a glaze made of powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk. Pair this treat with a side of fruit. Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chip Granola from Chef Savvy Make coconut pecan chocolate chip granola for a tasty snack. Combine coconut oil, honey, oats, shredded unsweetened coconut, pecans, and semisweet chocolate chips to make this sweet treat. What are your favorite pecan recipes? Leave us your favorite recipes in the comments. Also, let us know about your favorite bakery in Puyallup, WA, and your favorite thing off the menu, below. Thanks for reading our post!

Recipes from Around the World

When done well, one taste of something delicious can transport you from your apartment to a destination around the world. Talk about a cheap passport! This month, the Willow Hill Blog invites you on a culinary adventure. Join us today as we leave Puyallup, WA to visit Italy, India, Greece, Germany, and a few countries in the Middle East. “It takes a little work, but it is worth it,” says the creator of what has been claimed to be the World’s Best Lasagna . With one pound of sweet Italian sausage, crushed garlic, minced onion, lean ground beef, tomato paste, dried basil leaves, and a slew of other ingredients, this recipe is a definite winner. Yes, it takes over three hours until it’s ready for eating, but believe us when we say that it’s well worth the wait! If you’re looking for a classic recipe that will put a smile on your face and a craving for more in your stomach, try this Indian recipe for Butter Chicken . “Marinated overnight, the chicken is roasted and cooked in tomato puree, cream, and masalas” — sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Heading to Greece, there’s no better passport than a bite of moussaka , a Greek dish made with ground lamb, eggplant, tomatoes, and cheese. With nearly thirty ingredients listed for this recipe, your next trip to the supermarket will be a big one. Rest assured, the instructions to make this great dish are very straightforward and, as always, worth it. For many people, one taste of homemade pot roast is a quick trip home. Well, feel right at home in Germany with Sauerbraten , a German pot roast. While there aren’t many ingredients, this recipe takes a lot of time marinating and cooking. The end result is what some people would call the perfect meal. We recommend paying attention to some of the reviews following the recipe, as some people have made some alterations to make this recipe even better. For our final recipe of the day, we’re heading to the Middle East. Baklava is tedious to make, but if done right ends up both looking and tasting great! With crisp-flaky layers and a gooey-sticky filling, this sweet treat is one that you’ll make you smile after each bite. We hope you enjoy a culinary adventure with these amazing recipes that take you around the world! Don’t let us stop you from adventuring to other countries. What international recipes are your favorites? Thanks for reading today’s post.

Five Genius High-Speed Photography Tips

High-speed photography can capture a moment that the human eye can’t possibly see. If you’ve ever wanted to see the impact of a bullet as it passes through glass, the unseen details of the bursting of a water balloon, or even the touch of food coloring to water as it spreads, then you’ll want to try out a few of today’s tips. While high-speed photography will impress pretty much everyone, it’s actually not too hard to get right. Our Willow Hill Blog is sharing five high-speed photography tips you need to know if you want to take some pretty amazing shots. Whether inside or outside of your Puyallup, Washington apartment, invite some friends over to capture a few unforgettable moments. Keep it Dark When it comes to getting that high-speed photography shot just right, the darker the room is the better. You might be surprised how much clearer the shots come out as you use the flash in this setting. If there is any other source of light in the room, be aware that it can affect the resulting photograph with unwanted blurring. So to keep it simple, keep it dark. Shutter Speed Choosing too slow of a shutter speed will make it difficult for your camera to keep up with the motion of whatever it is you’re trying to capture. Actually, much of the difficulty that people face when taking these shots is blurry images—their shutter speed is probably set too low. Depending on your subject, you’ll want to choose a shutter speed that matches its motion. When practicing high-speed photography, take a few pictures and then try adjusting the shutter speed to see if you get better results. Use the Flash One of the best ways to begin exploring the different possibilities of high-speed photography is using the flash on your camera. Being a great alternative to shutter speeds, using a low power of flash can stop almost any object. But keep this in mind: low is for faster objects and high is for slower objects. Try the Zoom Method This can be a pretty effective method when working with high-speed photography. For this method, start with a slower shutter speed. Keeping the camera level, begin to zoom and then hold down the button to open the shutter. Zoom during the entire shot. Try playing around with different shutter speeds. Once you feel comfortable with this, try it with a moving vehicle. The added zoom gives an extra feeling of motion in the final shot, and we’ve seen some pretty fantastic photos come out of it. Use a Shallow Depth of Field Setting the lens of your camera to its widest aperture can leave a great effect on high-speed photography. If this is something that you’re seriously considering getting into, it’d be worth an investment in a lens that opens to f2.8. Choosing a wide aperture creates a shallow depth of field, putting the focus on the subject while blurring the background. Have you taken some cool high-speed photos? Share your experience in the comments below. Thanks for reading today’s post!

Five Hot Tub Safety Tips You Should Know

At Willow Hill, we want you to enjoy all of the amenities that we offer, including our hot tub. Relaxing in a hot tub is a fun, quick escape from the day-to-day grind; it can, however, be dangerous if the correct safety measures aren’t taken. In today’s blog post, we’re sharing five safety tips that all of our residents should know. Having fun is about more than a good experience—it’s about being safe. It might be common sense, but going into the hot tub with an open wound is a definite no-go. The hot water is the perfect environment for spreading infection, which can affect everyone else in the water. If you have rashes or other injuries it’s best to speak with your doctor before getting into the hot water. It’s also sensible to always go into a hot tub with another person. Not only is sitting in the hot water more fun when you’re with another person, but it ensures both people’s safety. If you’ve been drinking alcohol or taking prescription drugs, the hot water can amplify some of the effects that you’ve been feeling. While you’ve probably seen many movie scenes with people drinking while relaxing in a hot tub, it’s actually not a very smart thing to do. The best thing to do is wait for the different substances to pass through your system. You can also check with a doctor to see if taking a certain prescription should be avoided whilst enjoying the hot tub going experience. Of course, this next tip is a no brainer: don’t jump or dive into the hot tub! Our hot tub is three-and-a-half feet deep; not only is it pretty shallow like many hot tubs, but it’s also not very wide. Jumping and diving into a hot tub is not very safe or smart. It’s also often slippery on the walkway around the outside of the hot tub, so jumping could easily result in an accident. Our last hot tub safety tip is directed at people with children. Do not let children use the hot tub alone, and do not leave them unattended. Hot tubs are dangerous for young children; they can easily drown and get overheated. If you need to leave and your children are sitting in the hot tub, bring them with you. It’s also a great idea if you’re watching your children while they’re sitting in the hot tub to keep a phone nearby in case of an emergency. It’s also a great idea to learn CPR if you don’t already know how to perform it. We hope you enjoy sitting in the hot tub just outside of your Puyallup, Washington apartment. If you have anything to add to this list, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!