Auston Woods Apartment Homes Blog

Around Charlotte, everyone is getting ready for their annual Thanksgiving feast is approaching, and the desserts are just as good as the meal. Thanksgiving dessert always means the classic array of pies. Apple, mince, pumpkin and a variety of other sweet delights bring the Thanksgiving dinner to a glorious close.

Are you doing your Thanksgiving cooking in your apartment in Charlotte, NC? Want an alternative to classic Thanksgiving pies?  Gingersnap pumpkin pie, rustic apple tart and pumpkin bread pudding are new twists on old favorites. They travel well, or they can be prepared the night before. Certainly, they will be enjoyed by friends and family.

Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnaps (about 32 cookies)
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 cups whipped topping
1 cup cold milk
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust.

In a small bowl, beat milk and pudding mixes for 1 minute. Stir in the pumpkin, pie spice, vanilla and cinnamon. Spread over cream cheese layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish with additional whipped topping if desired.
 
Rustic Caramel Apple Tart

Ingredients
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
6 teaspoons ice cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling
1-1/2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Topping
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, warmed for drizzling

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water and vanilla, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
 
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Combine the filling ingredients; spoon over pastry to within 2 inches of the edges. Fold up edges of pastry over filling, leaving center uncovered. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over filling.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Using parchment paper, slide tart onto a wire rack. Drizzle with caramel topping. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients
8 ounces crusty bread, torn into small pieces, about 5 cups
2 cups half-and-half, or half milk and half cream
3 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon sugar, optional

Preparation
Butter an 11x7-inch baking dish. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, cover the torn bread with the half-and-half; set aside.

In another bowl, combine eggs, sugars, pumpkin, cranberries, melted butter, spices, and vanilla; blend well. Pour pumpkin mixture over soaked bread and stir to blend.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until set.

Serve with a vanilla dessert sauce or brown sugar sauce, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Thanksgiving is next week, and many of us love to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. But if you live in an apartment in Charlotte, NC, you are probably a bigger fan of our area Thanksgiving parade celebration.
 
The Belk Carolinas' Carrousel Parade marches into Charlotte just in time for Thanksgiving bringing marching bands, spirited floats, beauty queens and more. Cheer on parade favorites like the Wells Fargo stagecoach and Santa's big arrival with Belk's own Belkie Bear.  Don't forget to bring canned goods for drop-off stations along the route benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.  Afterward, take a stroll to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, open on Thanksgiving for special holiday hours.

The 64th annual Belk Carolinas' Carrousel Parade is one of the largest get-togethers of Carolina residents that takes place during the year and has also been recognized by TravelMuse.com as the fourth largest Thanksgiving Parade in the United States. The parade boasts participation from both Carolinas and touches approximately half a million people from the 22 county metro area.

Beginning at 10am on Thanksgiving Day, at City Center Charlotte, the parade steps off from 10th and North Tryon and ends at the Levine Center for the Arts on South Tryon.

Happy Thanksgiving from Auston Woods Apartment Community.

Charlotte eNews

Living in an apartment in Charlotte, NC you know this town has a lot! The Carolina Renaissance Festival is still going on through November 20th. It is a medieval amusement park, an 11-stage theater, a 22-acre village marketplace, an interactive circus, arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast. This is a family adventure!

Each weekend, the Carolina Renaissance Festival has over 20 acres packed with good eats and spirits all in Huntersville, near Charlotte.  After eating and drinking, visit 11 stages of music and comedy shows, jousting, and walk the festival village with over 500 costumed characters.  

The village marketplace has over 100 shops.  Buy handmade items such as blown glass,  leather goods, and jewelry.  Some of the artisans create their wares right before your eyes!

Enjoy special Celtic performances by local guest musicians.  Wear a kilt and show off your legs and win prizes in the Knobby Knees Contest at the Haven at 1pm.

Sit back and relax or become a part of the action. The Carolina Renaissance Festival is one of the most interactive entertainment shows Charlotte has to offer. If you plan on going in costume, stop by the office at Auston Woods and let us see.

Living in an apartment in Charlotte, NC, you certainly know how much this town can be. But October brings with it a special kind of fun only Halloween and Oktoberfest can bring. Auston Woods Apartments wants you to enjoy October, here are some events around town from Charlottesgotalot.com:

Running through October 30, SCarowinds unleashes more than 400 creepy creatures, zombies and beasts just in time for Halloween.  Eleven nightmarish mazes and fright zones keep you on your toes, while two live spirited shows will have you screaming your heart out.  For the wee ones, the park hosts Kids' Howl-o-Fest by day on weekends with Boo Blast activities ranging from the Mumpkin Patch to Trick-or-Treat Spots to a Foam Pit Zone.

Relax with a cold one at Charlotte's hometown brewery during Mecktober Fest at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery in October. Bands, food, and beer bring this German-style festival to life for the third annual year in South End.  Then, one of this month's hottest tickets returns to Metrolina Tradeshow Expo October 8.  Charlotte Oktoberfest taps will be flowing with more than 350 craft brewed beers from across the Southeast and around the world.

Both maddening and mesmerizing all at the same time, the Amazing Maize Maze at Historic Rural Hill sends you on an outdoor adventure in an intricate seven-acre labyrinth of corn.  This year's fitness theme is the key to the kernels of knowledge and map pieces that will guide you to the finish line.  Meanwhile, ghost tours by Carolina History & Haunts and Charlotte NC Tours guide you through Center City's supernatural sights.  New this year, Charlotte NC Tours offers haunted segway and bicycle rides.

Two festivals this weekend, what a great weekend to get out of your apartment in Charlotte, NC and enjoy the fresh air and fun of two of Charlotte’s longest running festivals.

Friday, Sep 23 from 4-9p is the 47th Festival In The Park.  The Festival in the Park brings with it good music, good art and good times. Big band music, great food, face painting and fun all by Freedom Park's lake.
 
This fun filled event is designed to promote and stimulate interest in the arts. It provides the opportunity for all to see, hear, and learn from over 150 artists and crafts people who actively demonstrate and display their art.

Nearly a thousand entertainers provide free ongoing performances at the main band shell and many stages surrounding it.

On Saturday, the 36th Annual International Festival from10:00a to 6:00p. The International Festival will be held in and around the Barnhardt Student Activity Center. UNC Charlotte’s longest running tradition attracts thousands of visitors each year to experience the sights, sounds, dances, food and cultures of the world.

Save the dates and spend some time this weekend in Charlotte walking through tents, listening to music and tasting great food from around the world while enjoying a fun atmosphere.

Alive After Five is how the city of Charlotte kick-starts the weekend. As the largest weekly happy hour and free entertainment celebration, Alive After Five provides a destination for friends to gather and unwind, while enjoying great live music, tasty beverages and a fun, casual atmosphere. With its prominent location at Piedmont Town Center, close to other great restaurants, bars and shopping, Alive After Five is the launching pad for Charlotte’s nightlife and entertainment.

The Bands play at Piedmont Town Center from 5-10pm on Wednesday nights. Official after parties will be held at Whisky River, Suite, and BlackFinn. Wristbands from Alive After Five will allow guests free entry into after the after parties.

The Band schedule for June:
June 1- Liquid Pleasure
June 8- Bad Daddies
June 15- Black and Blue

But Alive After Five has even more benefits than live, free music. All that music and fun can really make you hungry! There are $20 Dining Deals in area restaurants such as Vida Mexican, Kitchen y Cantina, BlackFinn, Enso, StrikeCity, and Libretto's. And, each restaurant offers a special dining menu.

What kind of American city is the best for small business? They're the ones that have prosperous economies, are expanding rapidly, and are densely packed with like-minded entrepreneurs. And the top two are in North Carolina.

The two markets with the nation's top scores for small-business vitality, according to a new BizJournals study, sit 140 miles apart in the Tar Heel State. IN the nation’s rankings, Charlotte is No. 2, second to Raleigh.

BizJournals used a six-part formula to analyze the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, searching for the places that are most conducive to the creation and development of small businesses.

The two North Carolina markets emerge as the clear leaders, thanks to their outstanding records in four statistical categories with a direct impact on small-business activity:

1.Population: Raleigh and Charlotte picked up a combined total of 427,000 new residents between 2002 and 2007. Charlotte grew by 17.4 percent and dwarfed the national growth rate of 4.8 percent.

2. Employment: The entire country is endangered by the current recession.  But Charlotte had  outstanding job growth during the 2003-08 span—15.4 percent.  The U.S. gain was 5.8 percent.
3. Small-business growth: The number of small businesses grew dramatically in both markets from 2005 to 2006, the latest period covered by official statistics. Charlotte had a 4 percent rise. The national increase was 1.3 percent.

4. Small-business concentration: The typical U.S. market has 24.57 small businesses for every 1,000 residents. The North Carolina markets enjoy concentrations that are at least 10 percent bigger, with Charlotte at 27.07 per 1000.

And that's not all. Two other markets with North Carolina connections rank among the 30 best metros in the study, Greensboro and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk metro. 

The highest scores in the study went to areas that have prosperous economies, are expanding rapidly, and are densely packed with small businesses.

For more information see Portfolio.com

In less than 8 days the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race will be held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is 100 laps for $1 million. The best of the best in NASCAR go all out in the annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 21. With the unique format, short distance, no points on the line and a large sum of money to the winner, the All-Star Race regularly produces one of Charlotte's  and some of NASCAR’s most exciting moments.

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is a race open to race winners either as a driver or a car owner. In this race only winning counts and no points are rewarded regardless of finishing position. Because of this, drivers often make crazy and reckless moves not seen in other races, and crashes are frequent - it is common to see less than half the starting grid finishing at the end.

In addition, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will feature the Dierks Bentley Pre-Race Concert. The concert will be held in the infield between turns 1 and 2 at 2:30. You can also take in the Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge, a burnout contest, starting at 6:20 p.m. on the frontstretch.

2011’s All-Star Race will be one of the most anticipated events in Charlotte Motor Speedway history. It is the first Cup race featuring the world’s largest HD video board. The 80’ x 200’ HD video board will be positioned on the backstretch and lit with over nine million LED lamps.

A good apartment home staff can make the difference between an ordinary rental and a dream home. A very crucial part of the apartment-finding process is talking with the manager and office staff about the property. Most people don't realize what the manager does within an apartment home community.

A good manager and staff is one who has their resident's well-being and comfort in mind. When renting and you have a maintenance task; a stopped up toilet, a leaking sink, or your carpet needs to be re-stretched, the apartment home manager has to take care of it.
 
Before you commit to a place, talk with the on-site manager at Auston Wood Apartments and ask us some questions about our maintenance.

Ask questions and, when you tour Auston Woods, be sure to look over the general cleanliness. With our 9 foot ceilings, crown molding and various homes with sun rooms, we know you will love the floor plans, the property and the neighborhood. We are very proud of our exceptional customer service, and inviting lush landscape.
 
When you decide to live in an apartment home in the desired Charlotte area you need to know you've made the right choice about your living space. You need to know your interests are taken care of; that you won't be left stranded should there be a problem in your building or in the complex. When you find this type of satisfaction you will feel confident in making a lasting commitment and a pleasurable rental experience.

Spring is in the air and Charlotte has quite a bit to offer! Are you new to Charlotte, or do you want to explore more? There is so much to see and do. But let’s talk thrills, theatre and live music.

Carowinds is now open for weekends beginning April 2. Join Carowinds for thrill rides like the spine-tingling Intimidator, roller coasters like the Carolina Cobra, and everything in between.
 
Looking for family-friendly fun? Join the Peanuts gang beginning on April 8, at the Peanuts Showplace Theater. This is a live performance “Charlie Brown's Hoedown”, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus head over to Grandma’s house in this all-new song-filled family adventure.
 
Live Music at Carowinds. Carowinds Live, Plugged and Local: Ultimate Battle of the Bands Competition! Five finalists will be chosen to perform at Carowinds Spring Break Spectacular. A panel of local celebrity judges will vote and one band will earn the title “The Kings of Rock!" The winning group gets the ultimate VIP rock star experience.

Looking for theater in the Queen city? Best-selling blockbusters are now showing at the Knights Theatre beginning with Avenue Q, April 5 – 11. This musical comedy for grown-ups will have you rolling in the aisles. Be among the first in Charlotte to experience a performance in the sparkling new Knight Theater. The theater has become part of the new cultural district on South Tryon Street that will add a whole new dimension to the Uptown art scene.