Trick or Treat! Halloween is a few days away and we know most people are in a panic to create a last-minute costume. No matter your level of creativity, we’ve made a list of a few easy costume ideas for all ages and even a few suggestions for pets. Read below for some creative (and easy) Halloween costume suggestions!

Costume: Gumball Machine

What you’ll need:

Multicolor pom poms

A black/white top

Red skirt/pants (the gumball machine)

Black felt (the 25-cent coin slot)

Glue gun and sticks

Steps: Hot glue the pom poms to the shirt to create the “gumball” portion. Use the felt to cut out and create the 25-cent slot. Glue the “money slot” on the red skirt/pants to create the “machine/stand” portion.

Costume: Harry Potter

What you’ll need:

Red and gold striped scarf

Black, round, glasses

Red face paint

Black robe

Steps: Draw a lightening bolt shaped scar on forehead. Throw on the robes, scarf, and glasses, and poof! You’re a Hogwarts legend.

Costume: Holy Guacamole

What you’ll need:

Green t-shirt

Printed photos of avocados

Angel wings

Halo

Steps: Glue printed photos of avocados to a green shirt. Add angel attire and now you’re the puniest person at the party.

Costume: Bunch of Grapes

What you’ll need:

Black t-shirt

Black pants

A pack of purple balloons

Tape or hot glue

Steps: Tape or glue inflated purple balloons to your neutral under clothes. For an added detail, wear a green beanie to create a grape stem.

The anti-costume: Error 404

Steps: Find a local t-shirt screen printer or draw on a t-shirt “Error 404 Costume Not Found.” This is a snarky and minimal effort costume for even the most last minute of decisions.

Owner/Pet costume: Vendor and Hotdog

What you’ll need:

Red apron

White shirt

Chef hat

Doggie hotdog costume

Owner/Pet costume: Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

What you’ll need:

Red fabric/hood

A basket of goodies

If your pup’s ears aren’t ferocious enough, add large black fluffy ears to mimic a wolf.

We hope our suggestions sparked your imagination and that you can pull together an easy and creative Halloween costume. Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

The post Creative Halloween Costumes for All Ages appeared first on Bradford Place Blog.

Financial

The biggest benefit of renting instead of owning is the financial aspect of renting. The fact is that rent is generally cheaper than a mortgage. In addition to an overall lower monthly payment, upkeep and utilities are lower due to less square footage.

Maintenance

When renting, maintenance is taken care of, making this a financial benefit and a timesaver. No worrying about watering the lawn or shoveling snow and no stress over a clogged sink or broken air conditioner. Fixing these items in an apartment is easy, because it’s someone else’s problem!

Community

A sense of community is an underrated benefit to apartment living and being steps away from neighbors can provide an excellent atmosphere for creating life-long connections. Some complexes even regularly host resident events to encourage community engagement.

Amenities

Unlike houses, apartment complexes are often built with amenities on-site such as clubhouses, pools, and fitness centers. Some apartment communities offer discounts to local gyms, shops, and restaurants as an added resident perks program.

Size and Style

Apartment units are built for convenience. Often, apartments are spacious but not overly large. They are built to be functional while the personal touches and décor are in your hands.

Short-term

When looking for short-term living options, renting is by far the superior option. Buying a house is a much longer time commitment and is a major life decision. Whether you are working on your credit score, saving up funds, or slowly preparing for the responsibility of owning a home, an apartment is the best option in the meantime.

Savings

Renting is the perfect time to invest in a long-term future. While spending less on your living arrangements, this is an ideal time to save extra earnings.

Lower Responsibility

Homeownership comes with stresses and responsibilities that you can avoid entirely if you rent. Homeowners must deal with up-keep, unexpected damages and replacements far more than a renter would.

Accessibility

One of the major perks of apartment home living is the convenient proximity to everything you need. Apartments are much more likely to be located in communities that offer shopping, restaurants, art galleries, parks and more as opposed to a house that is tucked away in a neighborhood.

Convenience, cost, and safety are just a few of the unbeatable perks of choosing to rent an apartment home instead of owning a house. When considering the options, we hope that you can find a place you are proud to call home. 

The post Benefits of Renting vs. Buying appeared first on Bradford Place Blog.

If you want your own Christmas tree…the beautiful thing about living in a smaller space is that less is more, so you don’t need to break the bank on a 12-ft. monster-size tree. Instead, find a tree that fits your space. It’s easier to set up and tear down so you have more time to decorate other areas of your home.

Looking for a classy but subtle look? Add white and gold accents around your home. A new set of accent towels for the kitchen and bathrooms, soap dishes, or picture frames are good places to start. You could also buy large apothecary jars or another kind of clear container and fill with whatever goes best with your home’s look. Need inspiration? Think tinsel, ornaments, garland, string lights, gold accents, pinecones, or faux snow.

You may not have the opportunity to go full blown Griswald Family Christmas on decorations for the outside of your apartment home, but that just gives you more opportunity to bring the outside, in. Hang string lights on your walls and at night you’ll have extra ambiance for the season. You could also hang holiday wreaths on the inside of your doors so you can enjoy the greenery and liven up your everyday décor.

Want to hang stockings but don’t have a fireplace? No problem. You could hang the stockings from a wall coat rack, a curtain rod, a stair railing, or even just on an open wall!

We hope this helped spark some new ideas for decorating your holiday apartment home and during this holiday season; we hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy, and healthy.

 We wish you a very Happy Holidays!

The post Celebrating the Winter Holidays in your Apartment Home appeared first on Bradford Place Blog.

Get creative and make use of every square foot of your home’s counter and floor space. Depending on how many people you plan to host, strategically planning ahead of time and re-arranging your home will allow you to live out the “more the merrier” lifestyle.

1. Hang string lights and decorations rather than focusing on an elaborate center piece. By freeing up your table and counter top space, you can serve more food and drinks while keeping festive. Hint: Hang a festive Autumn wreath inside your home as a simple way to set the tone for the season.
2. Instead of worrying about ironing a table cloth that will inevitably get dirty, buy craft or butchers paper and decorate however you choose. Great for kids and adult doodlers, plus you can use this to label any food that’s sensitive for dietary restrictions.
3. Seems simple, but try to prepare as many meals ahead of time as possible. It also doesn’t hurt to require guests to bring their own side dishes while you’re in charge of the main course. Once guests arrive, you won’t want to be running around still cooking pies!
4. Clear your floor space and designate an area for guest’s personal items. If furniture can be moved to your bedroom, clear it out so you can have optimal space for entertaining.

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