Blog Posts

To Keep or Not To Keep

Getting organized is a good project for the summer months between an all-too-short spring, and a busy fall. Sometimes, simply thinking about what it will take to get your Canyon Park apartment completely organized can feel overwhelming, so weve come up with some tips to break the process down into achievable steps. So lets take a look at the first step. Make a plan. This doesnt have to be detailed, just figure out where you want to start, and an approximate order. Perhaps the easiest way to plan is to decide which room to do first, and attack the clutter in an organized, room-by-room fashion. Once you have a plan of action, you can break the tasks for each room into what can be done in fifteen or twenty minutes. That way, when you have a some spare time, even if its only fifteen or twenty minutes, you can make progress. For example, you want to start your organizational project with the bathroom, but only have twenty minutes. Devote that twenty minutes to cleaning out the a drawer or a cupboard. In the course of a few days, you can have the whole room organized. Then move on to the next room. The question arises of what to do with all the stuff. Take the opportunity while you are organizing to purge. As you sort through drawers, cupboards, closets, and rooms designate each item as keep, give away, or throw away. Throw away rejected items immediately and give yourself a time limit on getting your give away items to their intended recipient (if you cant seem to do so in a timely manner, just toss the items, you dont need the clutter, right?). For items you are keeping, determine if the current location is the best place to store it. Having a home for everything is a good strategy for removing clutter. Keep a pretty basket handy and throughout the day deposit things there that need to be returned to someone, or things that need to be put away in it (but you dont have time to do it this instant). Before you go to bed at night, return the items in the basket to their designated place. Keeping up with your Put Away Basket will result in a tidy apartment in the long run. By the end of the summer, your apartment will be organized and you will know what you have and exactly where it is what a great feeling! Next time we will take a look at what you can do with the things you wont be keeping. Stay tuned.

Summer Reading Recommendations

Everyone looks forward to something different when summer arrives. For some, its barbecues in the sun; for others, its outdoor sports, swimming, and long days. And for many, its the summer blockbusters that arrive in the theater, from superheroes to invading aliens. But the theater isnt the only place that you can find exciting adventures summer is also the perfect time to curl up in the warm sun with an action-filled book. Whether youre relaxing by the pool or on the balcony of your Canyon Park apartment, weve got some summer reading recommendations to help you out. Fantasy : The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once shes bonded to paper, that will be her only magic forever. Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic. An Excisioner a practitioner of dark, flesh magic invades the cottage and rips Thanes heart from his chest. To save her teachers life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thanes still-beating heart and reveal the very soul of the man. Dark Paranormal : The Devils Only Friend by Dan Wells John Wayne Cleaver hunts demons: they've killed his neighbors, his family, and the girl he loves, but in the end he's always won. Now he works for a secret government kill team, using his gift to hunt and kill as many monsters as he can . . . but the monsters have noticed, and the quiet game of cat and mouse is about to erupt into a full scale supernatural war. John doesn't want the life he's stuck with. He doesn't want the FBI bossing him around, he doesn't want his only friend imprisoned in a mental ward, and he doesn't want to face the terrifying cannibal who calls himself The Hunter. John doesn't want to kill people. But as the song says, you can't always get what you want. John has learned that the hard way; his clothes have the stains to prove it. When John again faces evil, he'll know what he has to do. (You can also check out the original John Cleaver trilogy beginning with I Am Not a Serial Killer .) Spy Thriller : Unforgettable by Eric James Stone Out of sight, out of mind. In the near future, a fluke of quantum mechanics renders Nat Morgan utterly forgettable. No one can remember he exists for more than a minute after he's gone. It's a useful ability for his career as a CIA agent, even if he has to keep reminding his boss that he exists. Nat's attempt to steal a quantum chip prototype is thwarted when a former FSB agent, Yelena Semyonova, attempts to steal the same technology for the Russian mob. Along with a brilliant Iranian physicist who wants to defect, Nat and Yelena must work together to stop a ruthless billionaire from finishing a quantum supercomputer that will literally control the fate of the world.

Find the Perfect Used Book in Puyallup

Do you love stories? Youre not alone. The entertainment industry puts out billions upon billions of copies of books, movies, and games every year. Some of us like to escape to new worlds and new situations, some of us want deeper insights into the minds of others, some of us want to learn about the earth and its people, and some want all of this and more. And while new media like movies and video games are wonderful, sometimes you just cant beat the written word. Written stories have been around for thousands of years, and theyre not going away any time soon. With new technology making e-books and audio books widely available like never before, no one could ever run out of stories to read. But no matter how wonderful new technology gets, sometimes you just cant beat a good, old-fashioned book. Some people like to say that books are dead and outdated, that Kindles and iPads have rendered them obsoletedont listen to those people! If they like e-books best, thats great for them. But if you still love your books in print form, you have nothing to be ashamed of. It can be a whole lot of fun to browse used book stores for hidden treasures. If you have a series of books that is missing some volumes, you may have been trying to find just the right format and edition of the missing books to make your set complete. You might not always find what youre looking for in used book stores, but youll usually find something you love anyway. If you enjoy browsing used book stores, then youre in luck weve compiled a short list of some of the best stores in and around Puyallup. None of these will take you any further than Tacoma, and all of them are worth a visit. Puyallup Bookmark 812 39th Ave SW, Puyallup Half Price Books 4027 Tacoma Mall Blvd, Tacoma Culpepper Books 2521 North Proctor Street, Tacoma Kings Books 218 St Helens Ave, Tacoma Go ahead and check out some of these great stores; besides mountains of books, youll also find book clubs and events that are well worth participating in. Next time, well share some summer reading recommendations. Have a great time!

Mandy Patinkin in Concert near Puyallup

Who here hasnt seen the movie The Princess Bride ? Probably not many of you its a widely-loved classic for good reason, and possibly the most oft-quoted movie since Monty Python and the Holy Grail . And the most-quoted of the many quotes from the movie is Inigo Montoyas ritualistic repetition: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. Todays post is not actually about The Princess Bride (though everyone is welcome to go watch the movie once theyre done reading this post), but is about Inigo Montoya or rather the actor who played him, Mandy Patinkin. Why? Because Mandy Patinkin is coming to nearby Tacoma this month for an evening concert performance. Thats right; it turns out that the man behind Inigo Montoya, known for movies like Yentl and Dick Tracy and for television shows like Chicago Hope and Homeland , is also a Tony-winning Broadway legend. Heres the description of the performer and his upcoming event from the event website: Mandy Patinkin in Concert presents the acclaimed actor/singer/storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer. "Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping," raves The New Yorker , and that's exactly what he does in this powerful, passionate evening of popular song. From Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim, from Cole Porter to Harry Chapin, Mandy Patinkin takes you on a dazzling musical journey you'll never forget. ...revered as a bonafide Broadway legend for the roles he created in Evita, The Secret Garden and Sunday in the Park with George now presenting a dazzling evening of story and song. Mandy Patinkin in Concert is coming up on Friday, June 24th at 7:30 pm. It will take place at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma, about half an hour from Canyon Park apartments in Puyallup. Tickets range in price from $39 to $110. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the event website here .

Meeker Days Festival in Puyallup

With Puyallups proximity to Tacoma and Seattle, theres no shortage of interesting events and things to do in the area. But every now and then, its nice to have something going on a little closer to home that you can go to without a long drive. This month, the Meeker Days Festival has you covered, not far from our apartments at Canyon Park. Heres the event description from the Puyallup Main Street Association website: Festival Mission Statement The Puyallup Meeker Days Festival is a community celebration dedicated to promoting historical, educational and cultural interaction, while fostering a sense of civic involvement through the establishment of active business partnerships and citizen participation. Event Overview The Meeker Days Festival originated in 1939 as a small arts and crafts festival located in Pioneer Park. It has since grown to be Pierce Countys largest street festival encompassing a 15 block radius in the heart of historic downtown Puyallup. Meeker Days is a 3-day long festival that takes place the third weekend in June. The festival features four entertainment stages including a kid-friendly stage; over 200 craft and commercial vendors; two food courts; kids activities such as, inflatable rides and educational exhibits; beer garden, antique tractor display and pull races; classic car shows and the ever popular Farmers Market! The Festival brings in crowds from all over Washington, vendors and consumers alike, to get involved in the first festival of the season! This year, Meeker Days begins on Friday the 17th at noon and runs through Sunday the 19th at five oclock. Events not mentioned above include an annual battle of the bands, the Downtown Gets Down street dance, and the Lil Miss Meeker Pageant. You can check out event information here for more details. We hope you have a good time!

The Best Indoor Gardening Supply Spots Near Puyallup

May boasts more than a handful of spring-centric events and occasions, including the fact that this month is both National Public Gardens Month and Gardens for Wildlife Month. The area around Puyallup is home to plenty of public gardens to discover and connect with, as well as woodsy and majestic outdoor areas but what do you do when you want to bring that back with you to your apartment? Below, we highlight places you can bring home some lovely apartment-friendly plants for residents of our Canyon Park apartments. Downtown Dirt For those that are looking for an urban-minded place to find houseplants that work with your apartment, theres really no better place to start than Tacomas Downtown Dirt. Part of a blooming section of town on St Helens Ave, the help here has answers for just about any question youll bring their way. Theyll help you know whats kosher with pets, what will help purify the air in your apartment, and more. You can find more information about them over here . Garden Sphere Tacomas Garden Sphere is a magical place thats committed to all things organic. Though growing bigger vegetables is usually more conducive outdoors, youd be surprised what you can get above soil in a pot in your apartment. And the staff here will have great ideas about what will and wont work at home. Theyve also got plenty of info and supplies for keeping things green and doing away with any chemicals you dont want in your herbs or on your flowers. You can read more about them over here . Tacomas Home Depot Locations Though supporting mom-and-pop nurseries and garden supply shops is always wonderful, Home Depot usually has lots of smaller-sized plants and garden supplies that were made for apartment life. You can explore the selection of houseplants that Home Depot has to offer over here , along with any gardening supplies for those with community garden plots nearby. Tacoma has two locations for Home Depot, which you can find on their website.