Blog Posts

Treats for Your Furry Friends

Windsong Place Apartments is a pet-friendly apartment community. Last September we posted about Keeping Pets in Apartments , and this month, we want to follow that up with some ideas for treats for your pets including subscriptions, specialty treats, and homemade treats. Subscription Service BarkBox A convenient way to get toys and treats for your pup, BarkBox is a monthly subscription service that delivers to your door. Filled with “all-natural treats, chews, and our original toys,” the mission of BARK is to provide, “The best treats, the best toys, the best seat on the couch.” Based in New York (and Ohio), the company loves to bring joy to pets, and their owners. Specialty Treats & Pet Supplies Golden Tails With over two different brands to choose from, Golden Tails is likely to have the exact pet food you’re looking for, for your furry friend. A family-owned business, the shop specializes in natural, holistic, and organic foods. According to their website, they have the largest selection of natural pet foods in the Western New York area. Other places in the area to purchase pet supplies include Pet Supplies Plus and Petco. For additional options, check out this list of the Best Pet Supplies near Williamsville from Yelp. Homemade Treats Tuna & Cheddar Cat Crisps Paw-print snacks are a great way to visually complement this tasty cat crisp treat. It’s also a pretty fool-proof way to make sure you don’t accidentally eat one of these by mistake. For the tuna and cheddar cat crisps recipe, you’ll need canned tuna, an egg, vegetable oil, shredded cheddar cheese, parsley, and oat flour. You can use a small spoon to make the paw prints. You’ll find everything that you need for the recipe, along with pictures, on the Adventures in Cooking blog; just click on the link. Cheesy Dog Biscuits For those that are looking for something a little more visually traditional, these dog biscuits are right up your alley. With the help of a dog bone cookie cutter, a bit of your favorite grated cheese, flour, melted butter, and milk, you’ll be able to make these cheesy dog biscuits a reality for your furry best friend. You’ll need just about fifteen minutes to bake the biscuits. You can find the recipe details and step-by-step pictures on the Lemonade Makin’ Mama blog. We hope these tips for places to get (or make!) treats for your furry friends are helpful. Thanks for reading today’s post!

I Love My Windsong Place Apartment!

Calling all residents! This month we’re hosting a “Love My Apartment Contest” for our apartment community. It’s easy to participate — simply send a photo of your favorite space in your home to us and we will upload the photos to our Facebook page where everyone can then vote on the submissions. The winner will receive a $50 gift card! We’re excited to see all the creative spaces here at Windsong Place Apartments! How to Enter Take a photo of your favorite space in your home & send it to [email protected] . Include a note about why you love it. To vote, head to our Facebook page , click on the photos tab, open our Contest Photo Album, and comment “love” on your (one) favorite picture. Spread the word! Anyone who has liked our Facebook page can vote, so invite your friends, family, and coworkers to vote for your photo. It’s as simple as that! The contest runs from March 1st - March 29th. Remember the winner will be announced on March 30th and will receive a $50 gift card. Apartment Facelift This may be the perfect time to spruce up your apartment! Here are a few ideas to consider. Add Texture Add texture to your Windsong Place apartment home by using well-placed rugs, throw pillows, blankets, and rugs. Layering rugs on top of each other can give a room a lot of warmth and make it look more interesting. Find Your Style What’s your style? It can be difficult to know how to decorate your apartment if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Experiment! Head to your local thrift store or consignment shop to look for interesting pieces. Better Homes & Gardens has an awesome Decorating Style quiz to help you find your style. Take a look at these ideas for adding color to your apartment without painting from a post in the Luxury Apts WNY Blog. We look forward to seeing what you’ve done with your Williamsville, NY apartment!

Perks at Local Businesses Compliments of Windsong Place Apartments

Here at Windsong Place Apartments, we are always looking for ways to add perks to living here in our apartment community. In addition to our community and apartment amenities , we have a Resident Loyalty Program which provides discounts and specials from local businesses in the Williamsville, NY area. Today in our blog, we’ll highlight some of them. Local Places with Discounts/Special Offers for Windsong Place Apartments Residents Colvin Cleaners - 10% Off Dry Cleaning Colvin Cleaners provides free pick up and delivery, providing a green bag and a door hook for your convenience. Simply leave your bag outside your door for your driver (by 8:00 a.m) and your cleaned, pressed items will be returned the same week. Crunch Fitness - Discounted Membership Take advantage of this perk if you’re looking for a good fit (pun intended) for your fitness goals. The tagline at Crunch Fitness is “No Judgements” — which according to their website means, “room for everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, race, gender or fitness level.” Check it out soon. Lyft - $15 in Free Ride Credits Lyft is now offering scheduled rides which means you can schedule a Lyft ride up to seven days in advance. With Free Ride Credits, there’s no reason not to give it a try to get to where you need to go. JCC - Membership Offer Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo — Visit the website to see all of the benefits of joining the community, from cultural events to camps, and theater, there’s something for everyone. YMCA - Membership Offer The YMCA Buffalo Niagara focuses Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility. The YMCA offers clubs & activities, as well as swimming, a variety of sports programs, plus summer camps and child care services. Visit the website to learn more. Pet Wants - 20% Off Home delivery — that’s definitely a perk, and paired with premium, all-natural nutrition food products, you get the best of both. Cat food, dog food, pet treats, and pet wines are part what you can get. Take some time soon to browse their catalog and see everything they have to offer. Which of these businesses do you use? Which other places would you like us to add to our list (if we can)? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading today’s post.

Dinner & Movie Ideas for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and that means now is a great time to start planning your celebrations here in Williamsville, NY. Today, the Windsong Place Apartments Blog has ideas for places to dine and movies to watch at your apartment, to have a sweet, fun, memorable Valentine’s Day date this year, beginning with some local dining suggestions. Dining Options to Try within 5 Miles of Windsong Place Cugino’s Italian Restaurant Offering an elegant dining atmosphere, a wine bar is the hallmark of this restaurant which features “exquisite four-course entrees, housemade specialty pastas & dishes, and premier wines.” Take a look at the menu and make reservations for Valentine’s Day dinner. Hayes Seafood House Since 1877 Hayes Fish has been serving seafood to WNY residents, and with a 4.4 Star on Google Reviews, it’s not difficult to see why. You can get take out to enjoy with your movie in your apartment, or you can eat in the patio area at the restaurant. Take a look at the menu — a great option for lovers of seafood. Texas de Brazil According to their website, Texas de Brazil is “an authentic Brazilian-American ‘Churrascaria,’ or steakhouse, that combines the cuisines of Southern Brazil with the generous spirit of Texas.” In typical fashion, be prepared to indulge in a collection of seasoned cuts of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and of course Brazilian sausage. A seasonal salad bar area and traditional sides complete the experience, and don’t forget dessert. Peruse the menu and make reservations soon! Local Places with Discounts/Special Offers for Windsong Place Apartments Residents* Additionally, Windsong Place Apartments has partnered with a variety of local businesses to provide discounts for our residents. These are some of the merchants who offer food & drink, and the perks they offer our apartment community. 12 Gates Brewery - Pint Club Anchor Bar - $10 off $30 Pie O Mine / Greens - Free Salad/Pizza Core Life Eatery - Free Beverage Rocco’s - Special Discounts Romantic Movie Suggestions to Enjoy All Month The Notebook (2004) A poor and passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They soon are separated by their social differences. Midnight in Paris (2011) While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight. Somewhere in Time (1980) A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to find the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel. From a review: “The film captures the idea of a fine young man moving back among other time periods, and affirms that love is an undeniable force which goes beyond us, a force with no limit to the spiritual power, with no end to the potential of spiritual expansion.” Pride and Prejudice (2005) Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice? Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone here at Windsong Place Apartments, however you decide to spend the day! *Next time we will be highlighting additional local businesses who participate in our Resident Loyalty Program, so stay tuned to learn more about the discounts and specials that are available.

A Brief History of the Super Bowl

Monday Night Football has been around for many years, and as any follower of the sport knows, it leads to the playoffs and of course, the Super Bowl. Today, we are sharing a brief history of the event with our residents here at the Windsong Place Apartments in Williamsville, NY prior to the festivities taking place on February 4th in Minnesota. The Super Bowl is arguably “the biggest sporting event in the country.” While it is younger than the World Series, the Masters, or even the Kentucky Derby, the NFL championship game has become, “a virtual national holiday in which the life of the country comes to a full and complete stop.” Originally, the Super Bowl began as a rivalry between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), an upstart league begun in 1960 by a group of businessmen who wanted their own pro-football franchise, negotiated a merger between the two. The game was pitched as a way to determine which league was king in the meantime. The inaugural game was set for 1967, and sportswriters started to call it the “Super Bowl” — a temporary moniker which stuck. The first Super Bowl was played between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chiefs winning the televised game, which was broadcast to 65 million viewers (the largest audience ever for an American sporting event). After the merger took place, the NFL was reorganized into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) which play their season separately, the winner of each goes to the Super Bowl. Since then, the game has gained in popularity, and hype through the years to become the celebration we are familiar with today, complete with award-winning commercials, and star-studded halftime shows. This year, Super Bowl LII will take place in Minneapolis, MN and Justin Timberlake will headline the halftime show. Of course, the audience will be awaiting the commercials too! To stay up-to-date on what’s happening leading up to Super Bowl LII, keep tabs on the official NFL Super Bowl website: NFL.com where you’ll find access to scores, schedules, league news, videos, stats, and fantasy football. We hope you enjoy the big game this year! Thanks for reading today’s blog post.

Preparing for the New Year

January is a good month to take stock — a personal and financial inventory — to see where you’re at, and where you want to be in 2018. Today, the Windsong Place Blog has some tips on how to take a look at where you’ve been so you can plan on where you want to go during the coming year. Personal Take some time to write down the highlights of 2017, including your thoughts about your successes and failures. Think about and jot down some of the things you may want to accomplish in 2018. Set some goals for personal improvement in specific areas. Reflect on how you have made personal improvements and how you can maintain them as you go forward. Make appointments for the eye doctor, dentist, and with your primary care physician for an annual checkup. Knowing your health needs are taken care of can give you peace of mind as you begin a new year. Financial Review your annual budget from 2017 and note where you may need to make changes. Decide how much money to save and invest. Review your insurance coverages and determine whether anything needs to be changed, and if you want to shop for a different insurance provider. Gather together the paperwork you will need for taxes. Determine if there are major purchases you will want to make this year, or costs for travel you will need to take into account. Perhaps set up a holiday fund to contribute to monthly, so at the end of the year, you can pay cash for gifts. We hope that these tips will help you feel safe and secure here in Williamsville, NY as we head into a new year. Thanks for reading today’s post, and if you have any tips for preparing for the new year to share with our apartment community, please leave them in the comments.