Blog Posts

National Museum Day

In honor of National Museum Day on Saturday, May 18th, Nantucket Gate Blog is designating this week’s post to three of our favorite museums, right here in Tacoma, WA! Maybe you have been to them already, or maybe it’s the first time you realized that one of these museums existed. Either way, between special temporary exhibits and vast collections, museums always have something to offer that will enrich your life. This Saturday, or any other day this month, consider spending the afternoon at one of the following places: Washington State History Museum How familiar are you with the stories that shape how the state of Washington came to be? Thanks to the Washington State History Museum, you have a chance to relive some of the most significant moments from Washington’s past in an educational and entertaining way. Learn more about how this beautiful state has influenced the world through a combination of artifacts, traveling exhibits, and collections from the Historical Society. Tacoma Art Museum If you haven’t yet been to the Tacoma Art Museum, now is the perfect time to make the trip. Specializing in art collections from Northwest artists, this museum spotlights local history and talent through stunning visual art from all mediums. Check out the daily schedule to find out when you can have a guided tour through the museum to see the most significant works it has to offer. If you can’t make it on National Museum Day this year, consider going on a Thursday evening when admission is free! Children’s Museum of Tacoma For anyone looking for activities to do with children this National Museum Day, don’t forget about the Children’s Museum of Tacoma. One of the founding principles of this establishment is play; according to their website, they believe that “play is the elemental component of children’s learning.” Each area of the museum features age-appropriate “playscapes” to help children develop in virtually all areas of life, including social and emotional skills, fine and gross motor development, and creativity. While this museum may seem appealing for even a group of adults, they can only enter if they bring children with them! Which local museum do you plan to visit this month? Share your suggestions with our apartment community in the comments below!

DIY Dog Treats for National Pet Month

May is here, which brings with it better weather to enjoy the great outdoors. Because it is National Pet Month, we are sharing DIY treats for dogs. There’s no better time to show your faithful canine some extra love, right? Making some homemade treats can be a great way to show them how special they are to you. Below, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite dog treat recipes for residents of our Nantucket Gate apartments. Sweet Potato Skins Sweet potato anything is usually a healthier substitute for starchy potatoes, so it makes sense that this would be good for your pets. Low in calories and without any byproducts or unknown ingredients, this is a simple treat that your pup will gobble up in no time. All you’ll need is one sweet potato, cut into small strips, and about twenty-five minutes to dry each side on a cookie sheet in the oven. Store in an airtight container and they’ll keep for about a week. 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. X & O Treats Last but not least are these more sweet-focused treats. Because dogs can’t have chocolate, utilizing yogurt and carob in this recipe is the perfect alternative to give them the joy of luxurious taste. With some X & O cookie cutters in hand, and a bit of honey, molasses, olive oil, cinnamon, and whole wheat flour, you’ll have these whipped up in no time. They take about ten to fifteen minutes to bake. We hope you have enjoyed our focus on pets this month! Take some time to get out and about at a nearby Tacoma, WA park this month with your pet. Thanks for reading today’s post.

National Pecan Month

Nantucket Gate Blog is featuring a few easy recipes for National Pecan Month; we hope that you get the chance to make one of these treats before the month is through. Head to your local bakery for a pecan pie if baking in your Tacoma, WA apartment isn’t quite for you. Brown Sugar Pecan Pie Cheesecake from I Wash You Dry This brown sugar pecan pie cheesecake is one of our favorite desserts of all time. Graham crackers, brown sugar, pecans, and melted butter make the perfect pecan crust. The creamy filling, made with cream cheese, sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs, is heavenly. Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake Roll from Crazy for Crust This chocolate caramel turtle cake roll is an amazing National Pecan Month dessert. This recipe, made with cake mix, is easy to throw together and doesn’t take too long to make. The pecan frosting is made with heavy whipping cream, chocolate chips, corn syrup, vanilla, and chopped toasted pecans. Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns from Chocolate with Grace These caramel pecan sticky buns combine delicious dough, cinnamon filling, and a sugary pecan topping for a treat you’ll love. Our favorite part of this recipe is the pecan topping. Throw together the pecan topping using brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and chopped pecans. Chocolate Pecan Pie from Handle the Heat This chocolate pecan pie is a step up from the traditional pecan pie. Throw together your own pie crust or head to the store for a pre-made pie crust. Pecan halves, semisweet chocolate chips, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, bourbon, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt combine for a filling that is just the right amount of sweet. We know that you’ll love sharing a chocolate pecan pie with friends for National Pecan Month this year. Apple Pecan Fritter Bites from Great Grub, Delicious Treats These apple pecan fritter bites are the perfect breakfast for National Pecan Day on April 14th. Make this treat with flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, warm water, almond milk, apples, pecans, and vegetable oil. Top it all off with a delicious, sugary glaze made with powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk. What’s your favorite pecan recipe? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Fun and Festive Ideas for Decorating Eggs

Hello from Nantucket Gate Blog! Because Easter is coming up quickly, we thought we’d share some egg decorating ideas to get you excited for this fun spring holiday. In this post, you will find several different ideas for how to decorate eggs in a way that is impressive and original. Invite some friends over to your apartment to decorate and dye eggs together. Try out one of these techniques or ideas! Bunny Easter Eggs from Bitte Turn plain hard-boiled eggs into adorable little bunnies! All you will need is hard-boiled eggs, an egg coloring kit, and black and pink crayons or colored pencils. Dip the bottom half of the egg into the dye to be the clothing. Use the crayons or colored pencils to draw in the details on the clothes and the bunny’s face, ears, eyes, and nose. Glitter Easter Eggs from The Girl Inspired Glamorize your eggs by adding some glitter to make them sparkle. You will need glitter, white glue, toothpicks, washi tape, a small bowl, eggs, and a poking device. Set your shimmering Easter eggs out in a bowl and dazzle any guests that visit your apartment. Watercolor Eggs from Craftberry Bush Use watercolor paint, a paintbrush, a little creativity, and some talent to decorate your plain white hard-boiled eggs and transform them into something extraordinary! These floral-themed eggs are just one idea. Calligraphy Eggs from Oh Happy Day For this fun idea, you will need tattoo paper, scissors, hard-boiled eggs, a small bowl, water, and a paper towel. Download the text template and print it onto your temporary tattoo paper. You will love the adorable eggs with written messages on them. Marbled Eggs from Alice & Lois For this fun decorating idea, you will need a plastic container, water, nail polish, rubber gloves, and a stirring stick. Add a few drops of nail polish to the container filled with water and lightly stir to create a marbled look. Dip the egg under the water and swirl. Remove the egg and let it dry. The result should be a cool marbled pattern on the egg. Which of these ideas are you most excited to try? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful holiday here in Tacoma, WA!

Local Wild Edible Plans for International Plant Appreciation Day

This year, Saturday, April 13th is International Plant Appreciation day; Nantucket Gate Blog wants to help you observe this day by introducing you to different edible plants near your Tacoma, WA apartment. Between berries, mushrooms, and other leafy plants, the Pacific Northwest is home to hundreds of plants that are perfectly safe to eat! Some taste good and are fun to eat while others are rich in vitamins and nutrients but may not be as enjoyable to snack on. Take a minute today to learn about the following edible plants near you: Blackberries Are you a blackberry fan? If so, then you live in the right place, because you can find them growing virtually anywhere in this region. The most common blackberry plant isn’t native to the region, but ever since it was introduced, it grows like a weed, producing sweet juicy fruit every August and September. If you’re looking for a wild berry, it turns out there is also a trailing wild mountain blackberry, but you’ll likely have to travel further north toward Skagit Valley to find some. Come late summer, make sure to find a u-pick berry farm near you ! Wild Mint While it’s true that potted mint plants will survive almost anywhere — and will produce a ton of leaves — wild mint plants of the Pacific Northwest are fairly common, and they will give you a slightly different taste than your average domesticated mint plant. Before your next trip to spend time in nature, take a minute to look at a few pictures of wild mint so you can identify the plants and try them out! Wild Mushrooms For anyone interested in picking up a hobby in mushroom hunting, the PNW is a great place to start! From the Keng Bolete (cepe) to the cauliflower mushroom to the lobster mushroom, you’ll have plenty of species to discover. Remember when hunting for mushrooms, it’s vital to not only identify the appearance of the mushroom, but also all of the known characteristics, because a poisonous mushroom could be deadly. While it’s best to go with someone who has experience with mushrooms, this guide to wild edible mushrooms is a great resource. What other wild edible plants have you found in the area? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Increase Your Focus

Welcome to the second quarter of 2019 from Nantucket Gate Blog! Whether you work full time, study all day, or something in between, chances are it takes a lot of energy and focus to do what you do. If you’re anything like us, though, we suspect it gets pretty hard not to get distracted whether you’re studying in your apartment or at work all day! This week, we’re here to bring you a simple guide on how to stay focused. Try out these ideas in your Tacoma, WA workplace, or wherever else you might be. Remove Distractions In our day and age, it’s no question that we are constantly surrounded by multiple electronic devices. Chances are, you’re around a phone and a computer that are constantly alerting you of emails, text messages, social media notifications, news articles, and more. Each time we move away from whatever task we’re working on to respond to these, our focus is interrupted, and it then takes time to get back in the zone. Since you likely don’t need to respond to all of these distractions the exact moment they come, consider finding ways to remove them for the majority of your work or school day. Put your phone on do not disturb mode; turn off notification on your emails; sign out of social media accounts on your computer. Because it’s impossible to focus all the time, set break times throughout the day when you will intentionally check your messages or spend a few minutes on social media. Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks Do you find yourself spending an unnecessary amount of time responding to emails or setting up meetings? While it’s true that these things need to happen at some point, they likely don’t take priority to more significant projects or tasks you’re working on. Instead of building your day around trivial tasks, spend the majority of your time and energy on your most important tasks, and the simple responsibilities will fit in the cracks. Schedule Time for Intense Focus Lastly, just as you would schedule time for important meetings or appointments, it’s a great idea to schedule time each day to focus as intensely as possible. Of course, we’d all like to stay focused all of the time so that we can get more done, but we’re only human. By choosing a specific time or two throughout the day to remove absolutely all distractions and put all your energy into the task at hand, you will more easily be able to create the proper headspace to accomplish what you want to. You’ll be surprised how much you get done during these times, too! Thanks for reading our post today. We hope you can focus this week and achieve all your goals.