Welcome to Carrington Park Apartments in Jonesboro, GA. Your apartment will feel like your summer oasis; a staycation will always be at the top of your ideas for days off and much-needed rest. Enjoy your summer in your ideal home all the while remaining fresh and breezy. Follow our tips for surviving the Georgia heat!

Enjoy Our Outdoor Amenities

The cool and sparkling swimming pool is excellent to escape the heat in your apartment as well as a means of not overusing your air conditioner. So take a dip, and save those dollars! The fitness will help you to stay fit and relaxed when the summer heat is too strong to sit still. Or head over to the pet park and relax under some shade with your happy pet friend. 

Rental-Friendly Ways to Cool Down Your Home

It is pivotal to know how to escape the scorching heat when living in an apartment; staying fresh and avoiding the heat is essential . We recommend buying high-speed, low energy fans or even purchasing blackout curtain to ensure sun does not peep into your home, making it hotter. These are easy fixes to escape the heat, especially since permanent fixtures may not be allowed in all apartment; be sure to make use of the flex power as well.

Local Attractions That Will Help You Keep Cool

Escape reality at Escape Reality Manchester, which is close to Carrington Park. You can also relax at the Blackleach County Park. Thus, you will never run out of things to do while you are staying at Carrington Park. There is a gymnasium that the residents can make use of as well.

Enjoy your summer without breaking the bank when you live at Carrington Park Apartments. There are plenty of amenities to take advantage of while living in our beautiful community. Apartment living at Carrington Park is perfect for any weather with our top-notch amenities.

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We know Thanksgiving in Plano will be a little different this year, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it great. Sure it's 2020, so we must social distance to stay safe, but we can still celebrate. Check out these can’t miss ideas to make Thanksgiving 2020 better than ever at Carrington Park.  

Cooking Tips and Recipes

This year make sure your Thanksgiving feast gives your family and close friends something to be thankful for with these tips and recipes. Let’s face it. Thanksgiving is about the turkey, so make sure yours is moist and delicious.

Start by brining the bird. Combine 1 ½ gallons and 2 ½ cups of salt in a large container. Place the fresh or thawed Turkey (to thaw in the fridge – allow 24 hours per 4 pounds of the bird) inside and brine overnight (up to 24 hours). 

Rinse the Turkey off and pat dry before roasting. Season with pepper, salt, garlic, and a little citrus (place cut lemons inside the cavity). If you want that golden color, then baste with a light layer of butter (this can be repeated every couple of hours). Roast for roughly 15 minutes per pound and use an instant read thermometer to pull it out of the oven at 165 degrees. Cover the bird with aluminum foil and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Arts and Crafts

While the turkey is being prepped, it’s time for some fun. We all know it’s going to be hard to get out and spend time with friends and family this Thanksgiving. It’s up to you to make sure that your arts and crafts help your guests celebrate the holiday. 

Start with a gratitude wreath for your door. Grab some colored construction paper and shape them into flat cones (we recommend gold and brown), glue on wheat stalks, attach the cones to a metal wreath base and paint with gold spray paint. 

This is the season to be thankful, so why not help the family with a gratitude calendar? Start with an empty picture frame and run 5 lines of twine vertically inside the frame (gluing them in place). Then, use construction paper (we cut ours into leaf shapes). Write a note every day of November about what you are thankful for. Pin the notes to the twine with clothespins, and you will have a great DIY piece that communicates the Thanksgiving spirit!

Online Black Friday Shopping in Plano

This will be a Black Friday unlike any other. No more crazy lines or packed checkout stands. Instead, many local retailers are taking Black Friday online!  Luckily, many stores are open in Plano and will deliver as well as provide curbside pickup. This will be a Black Friday unlike any other. No more crazy lines or packed checkout stands. Instead, many local retailers are taking Black Friday online!  Luckily, many stores are open in Plano and will deliver as well as provide curbside pickup. Check out the NorthPark Center and The Shops at Park Lane. They are sure to have some great deals!

The local grocery stores are also open for your Thanksgiving needs. Deliveries are available from restaurants and markets. This is a great time to get your supplies online and orders delivered. 

Social distancing will definitely make Thanksgiving different this year, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a fun and safe holiday for everyone. Curbside and at-home delivery make it easier than ever to get the decorations, supplies, and food you will need to make Thanksgiving a hit and to make your Black Friday Shopping better than ever. Don’t be afraid to get creative with some inspiring at home crafting ideas.

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Fitness is vital to good health. But you may wonder how you can do this at home in the Carrington Park Apartments. Help is on the way. You can build a solid at-home exercise and healthy eating plan. Working out and eating right helps more than your body. Fitness and healthy eating helps improve your mental health. Here are some great tips that are sure to keep boost your health and fitness this summer. 

How to Eat Healthy At-Home

Preparation is key to eating healthy at-home. Nothing will hurt your nutrition more than trying to decide what to eat when you are hungry. The good news is that it’s simple and easy to cook healthy meals right in your apartment.

First, decide on your nutritional plan. Many experts recommend a 40 protein/40 carbohydrate/20 fats macro-nutrient approach. Next, plan your meals. An easy tip is to use the size of your closed fist as a guide to the 40% portions. Each meal should have a protein (like chicken, fish, lean beef, or tofu), a carbohydrate, and a serving of healthy fats. Prepare three meals a day and a few healthy snacks, like yogurt or bananas, and you are all set.

Make sure you eat healthy snacks throughout the day because people tend to overeat when they get hungry.

Home Workouts 

The current health crisis has made working out a real challenge. Gyms are closed and most in-person classes are cancelled. The good news is that it’s easy to give yourself a challenging workout in your apartment using just your body weight and minimal equipment. Health and Fitness can be successful at home. 

Cardio and Strength-Based Workouts

Complete fitness takes both cardio and strength-based workouts, and both can easily be done at home without a gym. Walking is one of the most efficient cardio workouts around. Just pick a field, a park, or even the streets in your neighborhood and get ready for some interval walking. A good interval plan is three to one, so walk quickly for three minutes (you should be breathing hard) and then recover with a slower walk. Try to shoot for 10 intervals or a 40 minute walk. You should be burning about 10 calories per minute. You can burn 400 calories in that workout. If you do interval training, then you will also increase your resting heart rate for hours after the workout, giving you an even longer burn.

Strength-Training at Home

All you need for strength training at-home is your body weight. Start with an 8-minute warm up of calisthenics. Your warmup should be 8, one-minute long sets, of body weight exercises. During each set, work as fast as you can for 45 seconds, and rest for 15 seconds. Try this mix for a full-body workout: high knees, jumping jacks, front or rear lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, mountain climbers, up-downs, and jump squats. Once you have mastered that, then grow your strength by adding to the routine. You can do that by extending the time for each set (first to a minute and a quarter, then to a minute and a half, etc.) or adding in sets. Do a little each week, and you should see the difference.

Yoga or Pilates

If you prefer a more relaxing workout, then you can do yoga or Pilates inside or outside your apartment. All you need is a towel or a yoga mat. There are many exercises you can do including planks to build your core, down dogs to strengthen your arms and legs, and sun salutations to improve your breathing and strengthen your body. Yoga workouts can burn 160-460 calories in an hour depending upon your weight and the level of activity you are doing.

Whatever form of exercise you choose, make sure you have a bottle of water and a towel to keep you hydrated and to wipe sweat.

Improve Your Mental Health

The current state of our nation’s health crisis has increased stress, isolation, and loneliness for just about everyone. Rest assured, there are things you can do at-home to improve your mental health. Consider taking a break from the news. Try setting some limits on the news, like a certain time of day or specific days of the week, and step away from all the negativity.

Schedules Help Keep You on Track

Set and follow a schedule. Schedules help establish some certainty. Although being stuck at home or working from home can make you lose track of time, a schedule will help you remember what you need to do and when to do it. Be sure to move every day and spend at least twenty minutes in the sun. Soaking in the sun and increasing your oxygen levels through exercise have proven mental health benefits.

Stay in Touch with Family and Friends

Make a point of keeping in touch with your friends and family. Social media is fine, but nothing beats a call or a video chat to catch up and stay connected. If you can see your friends and extended family with proper social distancing, then that can lift your mood and keep you all safe. Follow these tips and you are sure to flex your mental health muscles.

Gym closures, eating-in, and social distancing are serious challenges to physical and mental health. Luckily, you can stay fit with at-home exercise and healthy eating. With a little work you can be the best version of yourself this summer.

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1.        You should note that there are different kinds of ice cream out there. Some people are deterred by eating ice cream because they have allergies or they’re simply trying to lose weight, but one can turn to a sorbet or sherbert, since these kinds of ice cream don’t have many calories or dairy. And then there’s always frozen yogurt that you can indulge in, as well.

2.       If you are more interested in staying a homebody or simply interested in making your own ice cream out of the comforts of your Plano apartments, you can! You don’t have to go out and feast in several of the ice cream spots in your neighborhood. You can simply order the ingredients from Instacart or some other online app and have the groceries shipped to your home. There, you can indulge in some creativity, either on your own, or with the help of your roommates and/or family.

3.       If you’re in the mood to venture out and you feel tired of being cooped up, you can go out for ice cream here. This is a great spot because it has generous reviews and the ice cream served is quality-good.

What do you think you will do to make the absolute most out of National Ice Cream Month? If you aren’t sure, look online to see other ways that people are celebrating it. At least make an effort once to indulge in some refreshing ice cream this very July!

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Here are some tips on how you can make use of new décor for your apartment:

1.       Change Up the Theme- It’s important to come up with a theme, or at least the ESSENCE of what you’d like your apartment to have. When you’re home, is your goal to feel relaxed, energized, or both? If you want to feel relaxed, use more earth tones, and get things like succulents and incense (if your building allows this) to feel as though you’re more grounded. If you want to feel more energized, bring in some color and use either a citrus-type or spicy kind of air diffuser so that your senses are awakened.

2.       Add Your Personal Touch- People underestimate the power of little accessories in your home that can truly give it some character. If you’re drawing a blank on this one, think about getting the following things: a wall clock, a movie poster, a record player, a decorative candle, pillows for your couch, and more if you go to the home section of Amazon.com. It’s very important that you do all your shopping online!

3.       Add Some New Furniture- Right now is a great time to shop for new furniture online or on different apps, like OfferUp, where people are trying to get rid of quality things in order to get more money. Add a new chair or desk to your apartment in order to accentuate the new vibe you’re going for.

That wraps it up in terms of tips for new décor for your Plano apartments. If you have any tips, please share in the comments below.

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Go to a Haunted House

Nothing screams Halloween quite like a haunted house. See if there are any going on near you and invite some friends with you to go check it out. Most of them are open on Halloween and the large scale ones, such as theme park haunts, tend to be quieter on the 31st. 

Have a Bake-Off

If you want to get creative on Halloween while indulging on sweets, have a bake-off! Invite some friends over and see who can make the best pumpkin-spice masterpiece. Get creative with some fun, fall-recipes like pumpkin spice donuts, cheesecake, cupcakes, and anything else you can possibly think of. After, you can enjoy all of the treats you made and be your own judge. 

Have a Costume Party

Although you are no longer trick-or-treating, that doesn’t mean you can’t still dress-up. Host a costume party and encourage everyone to dress up. Chances are, your friends miss it too and will be thankful for the opportunity to break out a costume. 

Hand Out Candy

Do you remember the thrill and excitement of trick-or-treating as a kid? Help the next generation enjoy this experience by handing out candy. Grab a bowl of treats and a seat by the door. When kids come by, give them a treat or show them a trick. Think about what you would have liked to see when you were their age. 

Have a Movie Marathon

Don’t feel like leaving your house this Halloween? Then stay in and have a movie marathon. Choose some classic horror movies, invite some friends over, grab some snacks, and let the fun begin! 

Now that you have some ideas on fun things to do for Halloween, start planning! Whether you decide to check out a haunted house or stay home to watch scary movies, enjoy your night and stay safe! 

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1.        Gardenia

2.        Lavender

3.        Scented Geraniums

4.        Indoor Citrus

5.        Orchids
 

Which of the flowers appeals the most to you? Which is the most available and convenient for you to purchase? You could probably score some of these flowers at one of Plano’s small markets or farmer’s markets.

The thing about getting flowers for your apartment is that they add an accent in the mood and the overall vibe that you’re going for. This is a great opportunity for you to get creative. For instance, if you want something soothing and relaxing, opt for lavender or gardenia. If you want something that’s going to be a bit more stimulating because perhaps you work from home, then try something citrus-like.

What sort of fragrances do you feel your apartment needs? Before you purchase flowers and leave them out, be sure your roommates (if you have any) are okay with them and don’t have any bad allergies and just a general aversion towards them.

The beauty of living in Plano is that you get to customize it how you want to truly make it feel like a home. How will you make the most out of your Plano apartments so that they truly feel like an oasis for you to recharge and be the best version of yourself that you possibly can.

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Summer Movie Series

Gather the whole family together and take in a fun movie screening. The Shops At Willow Bend are opening up their doors to the Plano community every other week this summer for a family-friendly movie screening. All you need to bring is yourself and a friend. Popcorn is provided while supplies last and food is available for purchase. To learn more and see the movie schedule, click here.

Downtown Plano Art & Wine Walk

We’re in the swing of this year’s art and wine walk season and it’s only getting better. The next event is July 11, followed by August 8. Purchase your ticket to attend and receive free wine tastings from local vendors. The art and wine walk is always a great time, we hope to see you there. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.

Summer of ‘69

Want to relive the days you thought were long past? You can at the Summer of ‘69; a night of amazing music and great times. A Bryan Adams tribute band takes the stage at Legacy Hall on Saturday, July 20. If you haven’t been, Legacy Hall is a premier European-style beer hall and entertainment center. We hope to see you there!

Now you have no excuse not to take advantage of summer! Are you planning on attending any fun summer events in Plano? Let us know in the comments!

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You Can Always go Downtown

Though Downtown Plano is home to a vibrant arts community, it wasn’t always that way. Not long ago, Downtown Plano was a neglected patch of retail space, almost forgotten by the residential development happening around it. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Downtown Plano started its evolution into a fun, thriving district. In 2007, downtown merchants came together to organize a nonprofit that is preserving the arts, culture, and history of Downtown Plano. We love to spend the weekend downtown. One of our favorites is ZaLat Pizza. They make their dough and pizza sauce in house and use only the freshest ingredients. If you want something European, check out Jorg’s Cafe Vienna; they serve German and Austrian food in a cozy, old-world style restaurant.

Nature is Calling, Don’t Let it Go to Voicemail

Now is the best time to get out and get into the wilderness. Even if that wilderness is just a beautiful park or preserves in Plano. The beauty of these places is that they’re accessible for anyone! Take your grandmother or grandchild, they suit any age range. One of the best places to escape city life is the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. This park has walking paths, hiking trails, a playground, and so much more. Go and get lost for a few hours!

To you, what makes Plano a great place to live? Drop a comment and let us know!

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