Famed for its high quality of life, it doesn’t usually take much to persuade people this is a good place to live. But for the undecided amongst you, here are five fairly awesome reasons to live in Denver.

1. Lacrosse

Denver has not one but two lacrosse teams? What more could you want out of your weekend but the opportunity to watch some people run around with a ball in a net at the end of a stick. Lacrosse not your thing? Denver has the more mainstream sports covered too. With the Broncos, Avalanche, Rockies and Nuggets all having Denver as their home-base you're covered for football, ice hockey, baseball and basketball. 

2. The Great Outdoors

Climbing, cycling, hiking. It’s all there. Once you’ve bought the required equipment you can fill weekends relatively cheaply with a range of outdoor pursuits. Or just go outside. It’s beautiful out there. And Denver averages 300 days of sunshine every year, so you’re pretty much guaranteed good weather for your planned outdoor activities.

3. Music

The Red Rock Amphitheatre is just 20 minutes from the city. Most American music-lovers will have this geological masterpiece in their bucket-list of venues to visit, hoping to catch a concert there once in their lifetime. For dwellers of Denver apartments this is their regular music venue.

4. Beauty

If you can’t muster the energy to explore the outdoors, you can still enjoy it by simply sitting down and gazing at the surrounding beauty. From some residential blocks, like the Monaco Row Apartments you can gaze over Cherry Hills and at the Rock Mountains without ever leaving your couch.

5. No Transportation Needed

If you rent one of the many luxurious Denver apartments in Lower Downtown you can work, rest and play without needing to use transport. This compact area has ample employment opportunities and a buzzing nightlife so everything you need for fun and income is just a short walk away. But if your destination is too far for your little legs to carry you, there’s a city wide bike sharing program available through Denver B Cycle.

There are plenty more reasons to live in Denver, but we are not going to list them all - it would take far too long!

What are your favorite things about living in Denver? Share it on our Facebook. 

The etiquette rules that apply when using your apartment gym are pretty much the same as if you were going to 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc. It’s just a whole lot more important that you actually follow them.

When you go to a membership gym and you forget to mind your manners, hog a machine, or sweat over the equipment, you’re likely to make at least one gym enemy. But that’s just someone at your gym, you can walk away from that. And if you really stink up your reputation at your membership gym you can switch to another one.

Stinking up your reputation at your apartment gym will cause you a whole lot more trouble. If you want to remain ‘THE neighbor that uses the gym’ and avoid becoming ‘‘THAT neighbor that abuses the gym’ stick to these essential gym etiquette rules.

Keep the noise down

No grunting, loud cell phone conversations and certainly no cheap headphones leaking music for all to hear.

Start clean

Don’t start stinky and musty from last night’s sleep, wearing yesterday’s gym clothes. You may be in your apartment gym but you are not in your apartment, so a minimum standard of personal cleanliness is required.

Don’t hog the equipment

Most gyms have a policy poster on the wall, or guidance times on each piece of equipment. Play nicely with your neighbors by sharing the toys fairly. A good rule of thumb is 20 minutes on each machine; you can always circle back later.

Keep your distance

Being mindful of personal space is especially important when using your apartment gym. Nobody wants to share a building with a creepy dude who stands too close.

Clean up after yourself

There’s no maid. Wipe down the equipment after you’ve used it and leave the gym at least as clean as it was when you arrived.

If you can obey these simple rules you can enjoy the many benefits of your apartment gym without becoming ‘that neighbor’.

Let us know what your apartment gym pet peeves are in the comment section below. 

Tired of off-whites? Bored of stripped-back minimalism?

When it comes to apartment decor, 2015 is the year of balance and harmony. Blending space and light with the cozy comforts of home, modern style with depth and texture.

No idea where to start? No problem. We’ll show you how it’s done, with minimal DIY skills required.

1. Clutter Editing

Somewhere between an apartment bare of any personal belongings and a space crammed full of tasteless knick-knacks, lays a happy balance of a lived-in home. This balance is achieved through clutter editing. Gather your stuff in one room and begin to sort the wheat from the chaff. Display only the items that bring you joy when you look at them. And if you have too many loved and lovely accessories to tidily display at the same time, use a rotating system to switch items in and out of storage.

2. Incorporate Darker Colors

A fresh coat of white paint may leave your apartment feeling bright and breezy, but it may also seem sterile and clinical. In 2015 home decor will be going big for darker colors. Think navy blue, hunter green and rich reds. In an apartment pick a dark color scheme, and then use it sparingly, as a contrast to a broadly neutral backdrop. Just one wall in a rich, dark color can have a dramatic effect.

3. Mix N Match

Remember in the 1990s when the height of home decor sophistication was matching curtains, carpets, cushions and duvet cover. The days of uniformity are long behind us. Now's the time to mix and match! And not just colors and patterns. Style it up with designs from different eras, layers of different textures, even throw in a little industrial chic.

There you have it. Three top tips to give your apartment a fresh new look for 2015. For more 2015 apartment décor inspiration visit Pinterest.   

Christmas is over - and you've got an excess of festive wrapping paper lying around your apartment. Rather than throwing it out or letting it pile up in your drawer, here are some fun suggestions for putting it to better use.

Line Your Drawers

Lining the drawers is probably one of those things that your parents did for you, but now that you live in your own apartment, you've never thought to do yourself. This is your chance to be a grownup - use your leftover Christmas paper to line them!

Shred it Up

Maybe you've been given a nice set of dinner plates as a combined Christmas and housewarming present? Keep them, or any other fragile item that you plan to store in a box safe by covering it with shredded paper. If you've got leftover Christmas wrapping paper, it's highly unlikely that you'll be using it again during the year - so it's perfect to use as a box stuffer. Waste not, want not!

Frame It

Did someone give you a gift with rather striking wrapping paper this year? Assuming you didn't tear it to pieces or scrunch it up, cut a square of it out and place in a photo frame. When Christmas rolls around next year, you'll have a quirky piece of festive art to display.

Save the Scraps for Next Year

There will be countless opportunities to use your leftover Christmas wrapping paper next year - no matter how small a piece it is. For example, cut out thick strips of paper and attach to create a loop - you've just made festive napkin rings! Alternatively, you can use festive paper to decorate old vases or candle holders and give them that festive feeling. Or, make your own personalized Christmas cards next year using this year's scraps - your cards will be beautiful and 100 per cent unique!

If you're on a budget this Christmas, one of these easiest ways to save money is by cutting the costs on the wrapping of your gifts. There are plenty of ways to wrap your gifts beautifully and uniquely by yourself - so why not invite a few of your craftiest friends over to your apartment and host a DIY gift-wrapping night?

Download Your Wrapping Paper

We've all been there - it's Christmas Day, we're unwrapping gifts with the family, and we all get a laugh when several members obviously purchased their wrapping paper from the same shop... every gift looks identical. So give your gifts a more personal touch this year by downloading and printing your own paper. The beauty of this is that, aside from it costing merely the price of printer ink, there are endless designs to choose from. For example, check out these Christmas trees, stripes, tartan and confetti options for inspiration.

Make Your Own Gift Tags

Just like the wrapping paper, you can also create and print your own personalized gift tags to attach to your gift. If you're a bit handy with design programs such as Photoshop or InDesign, you can design and create your own tags from scratch, or alternatively, you can find plenty of free and downloadable tags, such as these.

Add a Festive Pom Pom

Pom poms are sweet additions to your gifts, and they're much easier to make than they look. All you need is some wool in Christmas colors, then simply wrap the wool around a fork. Once you've achieved the thickness you desire of your pom pom, begin to thread the wool through the gaps in the fork, and tie it off around the middle of the ball you've made. Then, cut the edges of the wool, fluff them out and attach to your gift to create a unique and festive tag that the recipient is bound to love.

So you've recently entered the workforce and are enjoying regular paychecks. You've worked out how much you can comfortably afford to spend on rent, and you've set aside a budget for clothes, socializing, etc. So where is all your money going?

The simple answer to this is food. Now that you're in the workforce earning steady money, it can be appealing to treat yourself to lunch every day. But even if this is just a simple sandwich, all this money spent will add up and leave you with little to spare in your bank account. So here are a few tips to cook at home, save some money and still have an interesting lunch.

Everybody Loves Leftovers

What's better than eating an amazing dinner at home? Bringing in the leftovers to work the next day for lunch of course! We can't quite put our finger on it, but there's just something about leftover dinner that makes the food taste that much more amazing. So whenever you're cooking dinner for yourself or your roommate, make a little bit more than needed and put away a container of it for tomorrow.

Share the Work

If you're living with a roommate, take it in turns to do the cooking. As well as saving money on lunch the next day, you'll also mix things up by combining two different cooking styles. However, this idea only works if your roommate actually can cook... you don't want to be living off frozen pizza every second night!

Eat More Vegetables

Once you're buying groceries with your own money, one of the biggest costs you'll notice is meat. Whether its beef, chicken, lamb or fish, meat is going to be one of your biggest expenses when cooking. And while it's a nice addition to your meal, you need to ask yourself - is it really necessary? One of the easiest ways to cut down on the cost of cooking is to replace meat with more vegetables. Alternatively, eggs or cheese can also be added to your meal to make it more interesting. You don't need to cut out the things you love completely, but by simply making them more of a treat than a staple item, you'll save yourself substantial money by cooking at home.

Seabrook at Bear Brand is a collection of rental apartments and townhomes, owned and managed by Shea Properties, located in Dana Point, CA. The community offers a distinctive residential feel, close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and convenient options for shopping, dining and entertainment at the next door Ocean Ranch Village shopping center.

In summer of 2015, Seabrook will debut a completely new leasing office, recreation center and resort-style pool, spa, adding to the myriad of reasons to call Seabrook at Bear Brand home.

A California Coastal / Beach-Chic structure, offering two levels of office, recreation and amazing facilities is under construction. We're talking resident lounge with all the bells and whistles, a fitness center that overlooks a brand new resort-style pool and spa as well as a lower level gaming room with bar, poker tables, air hockey and billiards table.

And to round out the amenities, a deck off the game room will feature an outdoor fire pit and seating area -- perfect for a glass of wine while the kids (or those that act like them) play inside.

The design will be high-end and distinctively Beach-Chic, ensuring the spaces complement the ocean-close setting and luxurious South Orange County Lifestyle afforded at Seabrook at Bear Brand. 

Stay connected to Seabrook on Facebook and receive updates on our progress.