Community Blog

Is your apartment a happy soul, full of life and movement? Is it inviting, cozy and open? Does your apartment have the personality you want it to have? It’s easy to tell just by asking yourself one simple question: Do I enjoy being here?

If you don’t, you should. And today is the day to take a step in the direction of positive change! Before you scamper off and hide claiming to hate change, let me reassure you – this change is good and it IS necessary! Why? Because loving your living space brings clarity, peace and enjoyment to life, three things you must have to reach your personal goals and be emotionally healthy.

Your first step is all about perspective. Think of your apartment as a living, breathing place that deserves your tender loving care. Once you establish that relationship and start working on it from your end, your apartment will begin to give back to you.

Here’s another question: What personality would best suit your apartment? Bold and colorful? Demur and tasteful? Soothing? Challenging? What would you love to come home to every single day? Once you’ve established what you’re looking for, you’ll have an easier time decorating your apartment to create that environment.

If you could use some Apartment Therapy , start by evaluating just ONE room in your apartment. Visualize what you want for the room and remove the items that get in the way of that vision. Trash them, donate them to Goodwill or pack them up for storage. Be tough! If there’s a negative association with an item – even if it’s really sentimental, part with it! Be brave! It’s your first step toward apartment transformation!

Create the apartment home you’ve always wanted right here at The Dakota! Take the first step today!

Mark your calendar, gals! GIRLS NIGHT OUT is coming Tuesday, September 28 to the Village Country Club!

GIRLS NIGHT OUT is designed especially for our VILLAGE LADIES! If you’re a sassy, classy Village Lady, YOU are invited to an awesome evening of music, food, drinks and prizes along with cool stuff to see and buy and so much more!

Lincoln Charities will benefit from your $2 admission ticket at the door and you’ll benefit from a night out with your best girl buds. Bring a friend and have a blast at GIRLS NIGHT OUT at the VCC the 28th.

Keep your eyes peeled for more details to come!

Sorry guys! It’s a NO testosterone zone!

Talk about stress!! Moving is tough business whether you’re relocating from across town or out of state! The stress of moving begins when you first start LOOKING for your new apartment. Then there’s the move itself with all the sorting, packing, cleaning, transporting, unpacking, arranging … it’s exhausting!

Even after you have everything put in its place in your new home, the nerves can still be on edge. Unless you’re already familiar with the Dallas area, it’s easy to feel lost. Where’s the best grocery, health food store or pharmacy? Where do your new neighbors hang out? What’s the best way to meet other Village residents?

Few of us can set aside a full week or more to move and get settled into our new apartment. Typically, we hit the ground running trying to juggle everything all at once. The first step in getting settled is to:

PACE YOURSELF. If you’re working or going to school full-time, you’ll have to accept the fact that you can’t unpack everything and put it all away instantly. It may take weeks of doing one or two boxes per evening after your work day has ended. That’s okay! Give yourself a break!

TAKE A DRIVE. Literally. Go for a nice, leisurely drive around The Village area to get visually acquainted with the great restaurants, theaters and shopping areas like NorthPark Center and The Galleria. Take your GPS and just drive for the sake of enjoyment!

TAKE A WALK: Familiarize yourself with the 2 miles of walking trails around The Village. Stroll on over to The Village Country Club and poke around. Stop in the office to tell us how the move is going or to just say, “Hi”!

GET INVOLVED: There are so many fun things going on at The Village! You’ll find Wednesday night movies, The Book Club, flag football and other sports and so much more! Keep up with the many events going on at The Village through The Village Newsletter and come back here often for events going on at The Dakota. Visit the Dakota Facebook page and write on the wall! It’s a great way to make friends out of neighbors!

CALL THE CONCIERGE: Need specific area information? Call 214-772-1700! We’ve got the skinny on just about everything!

Moving can be tough! Take it easy and try not to stress! Soon, you’ll be settled in and cozy in your new home!

Enjoy a gourmet evening out WITH PURPOSE during Restaurant Week 2010 at Ristorante Nicola through August 21st.

During Restaurant Week, guests of Ristorante Nicola will enjoy a one price 3-course meal with a portion of the proceeds from each meal going to benefit The North Texas Food Bank and the Lena Pope Home. That means that when you order the $35 meal, $7 of your purchase price will go to these charities to make a difference in Dallas.

Among the gourmet menu items, you’ll find savory Italian flat bread with zucchini and taleggio cheese, broiled mussels, pan roasted chicken scaloppini, rigatoni with eggplant and so much more!

Make your reservations today by calling 214.379.1111 or reserve your table online.

Located at 8111 Preston Road, Suite 150, you’re just minutes away from a well-deserved treat this week!

Don’t miss Target’s Zoofari Days event August 14-17, 2010. Children ages 11 and under are FREE. Kids older (like you and me) get in at half-price!

The Dallas Zoo has expanded its schedule so that you can see the training presentations and hear the zoo keepers as they talk turkey about the critters at the zoo. You’ll love the new Giants of the Savanna, home to elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, lions and more! During Zoofari Days, your kids can enjoy those crazy bouncy houses along with crafts and even a community mural on which you can add your artistic flare.

Worried about the heat?  Well, chill out at any one of the many Cool Zones throughout the park!  It’s a great way to wind up the summer.

Price: Free for children to age 11 and DZS members; $6 for ages 12 and up; $4.50 ages 65 and up. Parking is $7.

When: Saturday, August 14 through Tuesday, August 17, 2010. The Zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Dallas Zoo
650 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-35 at Marsalis)
Dallas, TX 75203-3013
214-670-6826

I’m on a DIY kick! I’ve made my own linen spray using Lavender Essential Oil, my own fabric softener AND my own glass cleaner. I’m quite impressed by the SAVINGS!  But that’s not all that’s impressed me about making my own products at home.

When it comes to homemade household cleaners, nothing could be easier or CHEAPER than making your own. Thus far, my own homemade concoctions have worked every bit as well as any with a fancy name on the label.  I’ve kicked some Mr. Clean buttock … that’s all I’m sayin’!

Having enjoyed several weeks of great success in the household cleaner department, I’m moving on the homemade beauty products! Last night I used the Lavender Essential oil I purchased for linen spray to add fragrance to Epsom Salts creating a lovely bath soak.  Oh me!  It smells like a wonderful field of flowers in my bathroom. I’ve put the salts in a glass jar and results are beautiful, fragrant and healthy, too!  And in comparison to name brand bath salts, I saved some serious coinage, my friend!  I soaked ’til wrinkled like a prune and sipped a glass of wine in celebration of my bath salts prowess. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

From homemade toothpaste to deodorant, you can amaze yourself with  these cool recipes for HOMEMADE BEAUTY PRODUCTS.  If you find one you really love, come back here and leave a comment!

Are you totally TICKED OFF? Are you BENT OUT OF SHAPE, P.O’d or downright red-faced ANGRY?! Then it’s time to give ANGER MANAGEMENT THE BOOT at the annual FIGHT NIGHT 2010 at The Village Country Club!

Let’s face it, sometimes the only therapy you need is to punch someone’s lights out! If you’re mad at your bone-headed EX, if your boss is such a jerk you can hardly stand it or if you’re mad as a hornet with your freaky roommate, then EMAIL your gripes TODAY to p1@theticket.com and get ready to come out swingin’!

The rules are:
Fighters must be between the ages of 18 and 35 (no exceptions)

Fighters must be within 10 lbs of the opponent

You have until AUGUST 26TH to get REALLY CHAPPED!

WHEN: August 26, beginning at 5pm

WHERE: The Village Country Club. Park at the Dallas Children’s Theater for free and take the P1 Shuttle

COST: No cover for Village Residents

MORE INFO: Theticket.com

Enjoy the Dallas Arboretum for just a Dollar through August

Everyone pays just ONE DOLLAR during Dollar Days at the Dallas Arboretum!

Throughout August, you and your crew can enjoy AUGUST DOLLAR DAYS by paying just one dollar for admission to the gardens but that’s not all! As an honored Dollar Days guest, enjoy the cool items on sale for just a dollar at the Hoffman Family Gift Store. Then wet your whistle at the Lula Mae Slaughter Dining Terrace with crisp, fresh brewed iced tea for … you guessed it … ONE GEORGE WASHINGTON!

Enjoy all the wonders of the Garden as you cool off with a walk through the misters of Palmer Fern Dell.  Set yourself free with a good roll down the Martin Rutchik Concert Lawn behind the Camp House or travel back in time in Texas Pioneer Adventure!  If you’re interested in some super-sleuthing, discover the hidden animal sculptures of Lay Ornamental Garden and then go swap howdies with the fish in the Koi Pond!  There’s an adventure around every corner!

There’s always something great going on at the Arboretum! Check out the CALENDAR of events and play your day in August.

The new ladies of the Savanna – lovingly referred to as the “Golden Girls” – have set up their home at the Dallas Zoo. Mamma, Stumpy, Jenny, Gypsy, Kamba, and Congo took up residence in May and true to the elephant form, have gracefully and playfully investigated the Savanna deeming it worthy to call home.

“Elephants, are naturally social, intelligent animals,” said the Executive Director of the Dallas Zoo and The Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park. “They have strong personalities, they’re older elephants, but very active. That’s why we call them our ‘Golden Girls.’ We spent a lot of time and effort creating a natural habitat to let elephants be elephants.”

The Dallas Zoo, the largest zoological habitat in Texas, has gone to great lengths to create a physically and mentally stimulating environment for the older elephants. “The design is based on field research,” says Lynn Kramer, DVM and Deputy Director for Animal Conservation and Science.  “In the wild, elephants move around a lot because they are looking for food, water and entertainment. We created an activity-based, multi-species habitat with the same incentives to encourage them to travel throughout the entire space.”

And travel they do! Zoologists and staff of the Dallas Zoo have come to know Jenny, the 34 year old, as vocal and playful as she explores the grounds while 28 year old Gypsy tends to instigate mischief where ever she goes.  Mamma, known as the ‘old soul’ in the Savanna, is curious and tidy navigating her way around the habitat AND around the confident and independent 52 year old Stumpy.  Congo and Kamba, both in their early 30’s, enjoy munching on bamboo, exploring their surroundings and like any true girly-girl … a good pedicure.

The Elephant Watering Hole is a great place for guests to interact with the African elephants.  The Savanna provides stimulation through activity stations where the girls can wade in the water, rub up against trees for fruit or for a nice scratch and mix and mingle with other animals at social gatherings like they would in the wild.

The beautiful Simmons Observation Deck offers guests of the zoo the best possible view of the animals as they roam, play and socialize. Visit the zoo soon to see the Golden Girls in action. Take some great photos of them to enter  in the 8th annual Dallas Zoo Photography contest or just enjoy a leisurely day with beasts of the wild. You’re less than a 30 minute drive south [DIRECTIONS] from a date with the Golden Girls!

photo by flickr’s alex.coles

Pool party starting at 11

Don’t miss the GROWN UPS ONLY POOL PARTY SATURDAY!

Don’t miss the Village Country Club RELAPSE POOL PARTY! For a night of cool atmosphere, poolside drinks, food and music, head on down to the VCC this Saturday July 24th.  There will be some fantastic give-aways and volleyball all starting at 11am!

There’s no cover charge. 21 years and older only for this party! Sometimes, the big kids gotta play!

Next Page »