Break from Balloons for Some Arts & Crafts

As this year’s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta floats on, there are lots of great events surrounding the festival. Among them is the touring Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival, which stops in Albuquerque at the balloon fiesta from October 4-6, and October 11-13.

Recently named the 6th best arts festival in the nation, the Rio Grand Arts & Crafts Festival stops in Balloon Fiesta park for the next 2 weeks, with an admission price of $7 for adults and free admission for children 12 and under. Among this year’s attractions are collectors’ markets, artists, and hands-on art projects for the whole family.

Some background on the Rio Grande Arts Festival, from their website:

For 25 years, the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Festival has been rounding up world-class artists and craftsmen and bringing them together under a legendary white tent in the Land of Enchantment. Taking place the first and second weekends of October, this annual Albuquerque favorite offers a taste of New Mexico and has earned its place as a cornerstone of attractions during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. 

For more information on the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival, click here.

Crawl Over to ABQ BioPark

Let’s face it - Albuquerque is in the desert. Sure, we’ve built a sprawling metropolis despite that, but the mysteries of the desert still remain.

Fortunately, if you go to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden from October 4 to November 3, you can enjoy the creepy, crawly dangers of the New Mexico desert without any actual danger. The Creeping, Crawling, and Carnivorous Show will feature some of the most interesting creatures that are part of our natural environment:

"This special show features nature's darkest and most dangerous insects, arachnids and flesh-eating plants. Get a bug's eye-view and learn how these creatures are a vital part of our environment. 

This year's show will provide a sneak peek into the Insectarium that is scheduled to open at the Botanic Garden in 2014. The new year-round exhibit will feature fascinating stories of bugs from all corners of the Earth."

This is the perfect activity to get yourself, friends, or family excited for Halloween, too! Click here for more information on the Creeping, Crawling, and Carnivorous Show.

Don’t “Squash” Squash!

It may be the beginning green chile season, but New Mexico has lots more to offer as far as local specialty produce. One lesser appreciated season dish that you can find in Albuquerque this time of year is summer squash. Delicious, versatile, and healthy, New Mexico squash can be cooked lots of different ways. It’s also a great, healthier alternative to potatoes--and you can substitute it in a lot of recipes.

The Daily Lobo had some great ideas last week that use summer squash, including squash fritters, squash hummus, and plain old grilled summer squash.

Here’s the recipe for grilled summer squash, which can be the basis of a complete meal, a side dish, or just a snack:

Grilled Summer Squash(serves 8 as a side dish)
4 medium summer squash, washed with ends removed
1-1/2 cups soy sauce
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 Tablespoons minced fresh herbs such as oregano, parsley, marjoram, sage or tarragon
(or 2 teaspoons dry herbs)
  

Blend all the marinade ingredients (everything save the squash) and set aside. Slice the squash lengthwise about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Toss in the marinade and seal in a large zipper bag. 

Refrigerate, turning occasionally for at least 20 minutes. The squash will be best if it is marinated for 45 minutes to an hour, but no longer than a few hours, as the vinegar will ruin the texture. 

 On a medium-hot grill, either gas or charcoal, cook the squash for two to three minutes and turn. Setting the squash at an angle will leave attractive grill marks and allow the squash to cook evenly. 

 The finished squash will have dark grill marks and be cooked through, but not too soft. Depending on the grill heat, three to four turns will be enough. 

 The grilled squash is good warm or cold. To avoid wasting charcoal, make a large batch of squash and grill it after all the main course dishes are done. This recipe freezes very well and will keep for months. For vegetarians, strips of grilled squash are wonderful with meat substitutes such as veggie burgers. 

To read the rest of the summer squash recipes, click here.

September Events at the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History

Here in Albuquerque, we’re lucky to have a thriving independent arts scene, as you might have seen around town in the form of Free Art Fridays. But in addition to the indie scene, we also have a great art museum here, too: The Albuquerque Museum of Art & History.

Over the coming month, the museum has lots of great exhibits and events kicking off, and we wanted to share some of them with you. (To read the museum’s full September Newsletter, click here.)

Whether you’re looking for a discounted admission ticket to see what the museum is all about, looking for a cultural experience, or photos taken right here in Albuquerque, there’s probably something happening this month that you’ll enjoy.

Among this month’s events are:

UNM Students Get into the Albuquerque Museum FreeIn partnership with Frontier/Golden Pride, the Albuquerque Museum is proud to announce that UNM students will receive FREE admission to the Museum when they show their student ID during the 2013-2014 school year. If you are a student, or have one in your family, be sure to check out all of the exciting events and exhibitions we will have at the Museum during the coming year.

Opening Soon: Vernacular Architecture of New Mexico: Photographs by Robert ChristensenSeptember 21, 2013 to March 16, 2014 In 52 stunning black and white photographs, Belen-based photographer Robert Christensen has documented in a spare composition format, spontaneously designed buildings such as gas stations, garages, barns, bars, sheds, and shops. The artist states, "While quite a few of these buildings still stand, as a genus they are fading away, along with the individualism and self-reliance that produced them. Some have been chicly remodeled at the expense of their original allure, and some have just vanished." 

Last Chance: Estampas de la Raza
Exhibition closes September 29Don't miss out on a chance to see Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection. The exhibition comprises more than 60 prints chronicling the Latino experience in the U.S. The exhibition covers five distinct themes: "Identity," "Struggle," "Tradition, Culture, Memory," "Icons," and "Other Voices." The exhibit features 44 artists, including John A. Hernandez, Leticia V. Huerta, Juan Miguel Ramos, Alex Rubio, Vincent Valdez, Joe Lopez, Michael Menchaca, Rolando Briseño, and Celina Hinojosa do San Antonio.

To read a more complete list of events at the Albuquerque Museum of History & Art, click here.

Get to Know The Courtyards Apartments

Here at The Courtyards Apartments, we’re pretty proud of everything we offer our residents. Sure, we’ve got one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with extensive amenities. But we also offer a great residential community and excellent service, so you can be sure that you’ll be getting the most out of your residency here.

In addition to your beautiful apartment, we also offer our residents a communal room with a big screen TV, a fitness center, a playground, free WiFi, a picnic area with a grill, and not one, but TWO refreshing swimming pools. We also have a fully equipped business center, so for your work meetings, there’s no need to rent hotel space: you can do it right here at The Courtyards

And, of course, then there’s our location, right near I-25, and just a short walk from all the restaurants and shopping on San Mateo Boulevard. (Click here to browse our interactive neighborhood map!)

For more information about The Courtyards Apartments, including a photo gallery of our units and premises, click here. And be sure to “Like” our Facebook page, Twitter feed, and our Google Plus pages for updates and promotions - we currently have a great resident referral program, so if you already live here, help us spread the word!

The Courtyards Apartments are located at:
6001 TOPKE NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109

Watch #ABQ Become the Silicon Valley of the Southwest!

Albuquerque ain’t exactly Silicon Valley, but we’re getting there! With lots of great scientific projects going on and one of the best science and natural history museums in the Southwest, our city is slowly becoming a great place for people in the technology industry to make their careers.

From September 7 to September 15, the Albuquerque Tech Fiesta will gather around technology professionals from around the state to discuss startups, new developments in the field, and more. According to the event’s director of operations, Maralyn Beck, the Albuquerque Tech Fiesta aims to bring together the industries of the future and those that historically made Albuquerque what it is today: “This was all started by the New Mexico Technology Council trying to bring together the tech community and trying to marry the Sandia labs, technical and businesses communities. It’s all of these communities that are siloed in what they’re doing.”

The event will feature 21 expert panels, keynote addresses, the Sandia Science and Technology Showcase, TedEx, and more. In addition to the New Mexico Technology Council, the week is also sponsored by the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Business First, StartUp New Mexico, and many more. To read more about the event, including how to register, click here.

Creating a Productive Home Office

It’s 2013 and more and more companies are letting their employees work from home. Making a living as an independent contractor is also becoming more common. So how in the world do these people stay productive and avoid the distractions that come with working from home?

It turns out that with the right methods of organizing and a healthy, focused mindset, that “useless” desk in your apartment can actually turn into a productive home office. Hongkiat.com had an article featuring 8 tips for creating an organized and productive home office. Among their tips are:

●    Don’t Mix Work With Personal Life: We’ll start with the most evident tip, blending work and pleasure as one. Even with the firmest intention to separate the both of them in your home office at the initial stage, the two are bound to mix since your office is in your home...Examine your home office from time to time to see how much of your workspace has been infested with distractions. Resolve to clear away your TV, game consoles, and other forms of distractions and keep them out of sight...Maintain that boundary within your home where work begins and ends. Keep this workspace as distinct from your other rooms as possible because such differentiation can have a psychological effect on how you divide work and play. 

●    Get Good Seating Support: Are you getting the seat support you need? You may not think comfort and support matter to your productivity, because who has the time to enjoy a real good work chair when engrossed with tons of work? As it turns out, that is precisely the reason why you should take note of your seating support if you are spending most of your time sitting on your chair when working...Here’s a comprehensive guide if you’re keen on getting an ergonomically designed desk chair. If you are a little tight on budget, consider purchasing a seat support for your desk chair. 

●    Simplify Processes: Have you complicated your home office and work processes so much so that it has become too overwhelming to work anymore? If so, it’s time to go back to basics – simplify...Remember that the key to an organized office is efficiency, and the more things you have around, the harder it is to keep everything in order...A typical disorganized office is when you have difficulties finding where you keep your documents. A workspace organized in too complex a manner causes may seem neat on the surface but will cause a lot of sorting or filing problems as there are too many categories....Keep things clean and minimal. When you over-organized, you will tend to procrastinate keeping your workspace neat because it’s too time-consuming and tedious. Eventually, you get clutter. This not only applies to just the physical layout of your work area; it is the same in your computer. Sort for easy access. The general rule is to keep the desktop as clear as possible with only a few files or apps that you’re working on. Maintain a minimalistic organization and a clean desk (keep ugly wires out of sight with these gadgets) so your mind won’t wander from one thing to another that easily. 

To read Hongkiat.com’s full list of tips for creating an organized, productive home office, click here. Are you Sandia Village resident who works from home? Comment on our Facebook page, and let us know how you stay productive at home!