1st Lake Rental Blog

1st Lake Neighborhood Spotlight: River Ridge

River Ridge is a pretty and quaint New Orleans suburb, just minutes from downtown, located between the Mississippi River, Metairie and Kenner. Until the 1950s, the area remained largely farmland, from its origins as a sugar plantation area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today it is a popular residential location with bustling commerce and entertainment.

Clearwater Creek apartments in River Ridge

There are great educational options for children in River Ridge, including the Jefferson Parish Public Schools and many private high schools. Many excellent dining options can be found in River Ridge, like the beloved Seymour’s Restaurant and Bar, a neighborhood joint serving authentic Creole food. In addition, there are Japanese, Mexican, Seafood and BBQ options among the other restaurants in River Ridge.

There are also plenty of shopping centers, movie theaters, parks and more for residents of River Ridge to enjoy and utilize. With all this, plus extremely close proximity to New Orleans, River Ridge is an excellent location to live or relocate to.

First Lake offers more than 2,100 apartments for rent in River Ridge. These apartments are all inclusive with top notch maintenance services, elaborately landscaped grounds, glistening swimming pools, access gates, and many modern luxury interior features. See what River Ridge apartments are available today and find the perfect place to move in to in an ideal setting and location near New Orleans.

Posted in Apartment Guide, Apartment Living, New Orleans Apartments | No Comments »

Quick and Easy 10 Minute Dinner Ideas

Many people assume that you can’t make a decent, healthy meal in 10 minutes, but it can be done! Often times, after coming home from a grueling day’s work, the last thing that’s on your mind is preparing a home cooked meal. However, with the right ingredients, you can whip up something tasty and good for you in a matter of minutes. Here are three quick and easy ideas for meals to make during the week.

1. Quesadilla - Quesadillas are delicious and are surprisingly easy to make. You will just need flour or wheat tortillas, cheese and your choice of veggies, beans, chicken, steak or seafood. To prepare the meat, cook it on a skillet for the appropriate length of time with some Mexican spices like chili powder and cumin. In a different pan, heat some oil on medium heat and place your tortilla flat down. Add your cheese and other fillings on top of the tortilla. Using a spatula, fold the tortilla in half and cook on both sides until the cheese is melted and outside of the tortilla is golden.

2. Loaded Omelets – Who says you can’t have breakfast for dinner? Breakfast food can be dressed up enough to eat for dinner, just like a loaded omelet. Add a combination or a selection of grilled veggies, meat, beans and cheese to your omelet. To make it even healthier for just a couple minutes of more work, make it an egg white omelet. Serve with a simple side salad or some fruit and you’ve got one great dinner in minutes!

3. Orzo with veggies and meat – Orzo is a great small pasta that is perfect for light pasta dishes or pasta salad. Boil some orzo in salted water until al dente, and add your choice of sauteed veggies plus a meat option if you wish, like chicken. Drain the pasta and combine the hot pasta and cooked meat and veggies in a mixing bowl with parmesan, lemon juice, a little butter and salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients together and voila! A delicious dinner in record time.

Check out the New Orleans area apartments for rent from 1st Lake Properties equipped with modern, spacious kitchens to make preparing home cooked meals a delight.

Posted in Cooking Tips, Louisiana Apartments, Mississippi Apartments, New Orleans Apartments, Resident Information | No Comments »

River Ridge Apartments Throw A Memorial Day Celebration

1st Lake’s apartment communities know how to show their residents a good time. This Memorial Day, two River Ridge apartment communities held their first annual event to celebrate this American holiday.

Citrus Creek East club room

The Citrus Creek East and Citrus Creek West apartments in River Ridge held a joint Sprinkler Day for Memorial Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sprinklers were set up on the communities’ tennis court area, and both children and adults enjoyed cooling off and playing games around the sprinklers on this hot and sunny afternoon. Citrus Creek also provided smaller sprinklers for the younger children, toddlers and babies to enjoy the cool mist. The older children had fun running through the larger sprinklers, and some brought their own water blasters and other toys to play with.

The adults enjoyed the cool sprinkler mist as well, plus a cherished Louisiana summertime tradition – snoballs! Cox Communications sponsored a snoball food truck called Sno 2 Geaux for the residents during Sprinkler Day. Nothing beats this icy sweet treat during a hot summer day. The snoballs were a wonderful surprise for the children and adults alike.

The event was such a hit, that 1st Lake will bring Sprinkler Day back again for a second year in 2014. If you enjoy great residential perks like these, consider being a member of a 1st Lake apartment community. Check out the many apartments for rent in River Ridge and other great neighborhoods in the Greater New Orleans area.

Posted in Activities, Apartment Living, Events, Louisiana Apartments, New Orleans Apartments, Resident Information | No Comments »

1st Lake Properties Helps Oklahoma Tornado Victims

The team members at 1st Lake Properties are gathering their resources to help the victims of the tragic tornadoes that recently tore through Oklahoma.

Sugarmill West apartments in Kenner

It all started with an idea from the grounds maintenance technician at the Sugarmill West apartment community in Kenner, Tony Vezinat. Tony wanted to provide some help to the Oklahoma tornado victims, stating “I just wanted to give something to these people who have been through such a tragedy.  I feel blessed to have survived Hurricane Katrina and can understand their loss and suffering at this time.”

Bringing his desire to help out the people of Oklahoma to the attention of the Sugarmill West manager, they formed a company team member challenge to aid the victims. 1st Lake Properties has challenged its team members to donate to the fund that Tony started and in return, they will be able to participate in a “Wear Your Jeans To Work Day,” and of course enjoy the satisfaction of knowing their contribution goes to a very important cause. To cap it off, Tommy Cvitanovich of Drago’s Restaurant donated four gift certificates to add to a drawing for the team members who donate to the fund.

Michele Shane L’Hoste, President of 1st Lake Properties, is impressed by her generous team members. “We have been involved in several community projects, and I am always amazed at our 1^st Lake team members’ willingness to give.”

The team member challenge began on June 1 and will run through June 14. If you would like to be a part of a philanthropic community like the ones at 1st Lake Properties who look out for those in need, check out the available apartments in the New Orleans area and contact 1st Lake Properties today!

Posted in Events, New Orleans Apartments, News | No Comments »

Home Improvement Projects Using Velcro

It’s small, it’s simple, and it’s invincible – it’s velcro. This everyday material may not seem like that big of a deal, but it can actually be used for more than you would think. As an added bonus, it is very affordable and can be easily found at hardware or arts and craft stores. There are spinoff velcro products that offer even more DIY home improvement possibilities by adding a peel off adhesive to the other side, so velcro can be easily stuck and removed to affix or fasten items.

Organize – If you are having cord control issues, velcro can be the best way to easily organize loose and messy cords and cables. In addition to bundling cords, velcro can be an effective way to hold together sporting equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles.

Hanging – Velcro has powerful attachment capabilities and can be used to hang tools or household items like keys to the wall using a velcro board. It’s also a great option for hanging pictures or art securely to the walls so they stay in place.

Place holder – If you are someone who constantly misplaces household items, velcro can solve that problem in just a few seconds. Stick a piece of velcro to the end table to secure the television remote control when it’s not in use, or to the bathroom wall to place hair brushes or hair dryers.

In addition, if you have a gate without a lock that easily swings open, velcro can be a quick fix to keep it closed. As you can see, velcro can be used for many home improvement projects, so when in doubt, remember velcro!

Browse the desirable selection of New Orleans apartments for rent from 1st Lake Properties to find the perfect new apartment to move in to!

Check out this fun video on ways to fasten a tablet to a number of surfaces using velcro for ultimate convenience!

Posted in Apartment Living, Decorating Ideas, Gulf South Apartments, Louisiana Apartments, Mississippi Apartments, New Orleans Apartments | No Comments »