Five Quick, Space-Saving Tips for Your Albuquerque Apartmen

If you’re new to apartment living, first of all, congratulations on making a practical intelligent decision. Now, we know it can be a tough adjustment especially if you’ve lived in larger houses your whole life - but one of the great joys of apartment living is being able to make the best use of the space that you have.

Not only will your apartment feel bigger to you, your family, or roommates -  you’ll also get that great sense of satisfaction from making the most of your resources.

Over at ApartmentTherapy.com, Judy Ross shared five simple tricks she uses to make small spaces feel larger:

1. White Walls: It's basic, but it's still true. White walls tend to make small spaces feel larger. 

2. Built-ins: Building in storage options to your furniture reduces the appearance of clutter (and gives you the gift of clean surfaces to come home to!). 

3. Deep Shelves: Deep bookshelves allow you to store things behind the front row of books. Things like wine. Or money. Or... more books. 

4. Accentuate Height Where Possible: Building bookshelves and closets all the way to the ceiling gives your home a feeling of being bigger than it is (you can also try hanging curtains from floor to ceiling to get some extra length). 

5. Lighting: Lots of lamps tend to create clutter, which make already small spaces feel crowded. Consider looking into lighting elements which cast light upward and which don't make your space busier than it already is!

Do you have your own tricks when it comes to making tiny spaces feel bigger. Head on over to our Facebook page and share your ideas with your fellow residents!

Find the Creature in You for a Trick-or-Treat Alternative

Looking for an alternative to trick-or-treating in Albuquerque this year? You’re in luck! This Halloween, consider checking out the ABQ BioPark Zoo’s 25th annual “Zoo Boo” event.

Celebrate animals and Halloween by dressing your family up and heading over to the zoo for a full day of fun and games. Don’t want to dress up but still want to help? The event is also seeking volunteers ages 18 and older - call (505) 848-7172 for more information.

Public transportation to the event is available:

●       Free park-and-ride is available from the Aquarium & Botanic Garden, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

●       Take the bus:

1.     The Rapid Ride stop at the Main Library is about 14 blocks from the Zoo.

2.     The Route 66 bus stop at Central and 10th is an 8 block walk.

3.     The Rt. 53 bus stops just 1 block from the Zoo entrance

And here’s the official event description, from the City of Albuquerque’s website:

It's time for Zoo Boo! We're celebrating 25 years of safe Halloween fun this year with games, Haunted Habitats, costumes and, of course, candy! Trick-or-treat from dozens of sponsoring businesses and civic organizations at tables throughout the Zoo.

Use #ZooBoo25 to show us your costumes, share photos of the event and tell us what you enjoy best about the event on Twitter.

Supporting Native American Businesses Isn’t History

The Albuquerque area is steeped in Native American History. In fact, just last week, the

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center was named the “Tribal Destination of the Year” at this year’s American Indian Tourism Conference.

Our region has historically been home to several groups of Native Americans, including the “Sandia Man” and later, the ancient Anasazi Indians, who were known for their huge apartment-style buildings, constructed out of stone and adobe. In fact, most of New Mexico’s 19 pueblos are still within an hour’s drive of the city.

But Albuquerque’s connection to Native Americans isn’t just history - The Regional Development Corporation, in partnership with the Los Alamos Laboratory, Los Alamos National Security, and the New Mexico Indian Affair Department are offering venture capital to local businesses owned by Native Americans.

Request for Proposals for the 

NATIVE AMERICAN VENTURE ACCELERATION FUNDBACKGROUND 

The Regional Development Corporation in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Security, LLC and the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department seeks to further the development of tribally held businesses in Northern New Mexico as a way of creating jobs and diversifying the economy.  

OPPORTUNITY 

Purpose:  The Native American Venture Acceleration Fund will make awards to tribally owned companies for critical technical services that lead to increased revenues and employment for the company.  Awards will be made on a competitive basis and are intended to provide services to tribal business entities that will allow the company to diversify revenue, leverage other investments, create new jobs and have systems in place that lead to growth.  

Award Size:  Up to $30,000. 

Eligible Applicants: 

Native American owned business enterprises in which a tribe or tribal member has at least a 51% share or stake.  

A tribal member or corporation of the Pueblos from Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Santa Clara, Pojoaque, Taos, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Cochiti or Jemez.
Company must be located in the counties of Sandoval, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, San Miguel, Mora, Rio Arriba or Taos.  

Entities which have been awarded in the past are eligible to apply again as long as the company successfully completed prior awards. 

Award Uses:
Awards may be used to procure specialized services for the company which will lead to increased revenues and employees.  For example, a company may need to develop a website to increase sales or may need a consultant to help select, install and train their staff on specialized accounting software required for federal government contracting.  The RDC will work with the providers agreed upon by the grantees such as accountants, business consultants, marketing experts or others to provide the services a tribal company needs.  Cash awards will not be made directly to awardees.   

Deadline: Proposals must be received no later than 5pm, October 25, 2013. 

To read the full request for proposals and get more information about the program, click here.

Fall Doesn’t Always Mean the End of Farmers Markets

In lots of cities, Farmers Markets tend to end in early fall. But here in Albuquerque, with our relatively mild winters, we can enjoy lots of great fresh, local food all year around - or for most of the year, at least.

If you’ve never been to a local farmers market, this is a great time to try one out and take advantage of the smaller crowds. Shopping at a farmers market is a lot different than shopping at a traditional grocery store. You’ll never know what you might find at a Farmers Market, so it may be best not to bring a list, and to create meals around what you found rather than the other way around. Also, the freshest items tend to sell early in the day, so if you hit any of these locations, do it in the morning, if possible. If you can’t make it until later, you may actually be able to ask for reduced prices!

Last week, the New Mexico Tourism Department wrote about a number of local farmers markets in the ABQ Journal, including the Albuquerque Downtown Growers’ Market, which has a special extended season this year, until November 2:

“Get Your Picks On Route 66” at the Albuquerque Downtown Growers’ Market. Located in the heart of downtown at 8th & Central Avenue, the Growers’ Market is open Saturday mornings, starting mid May, and runs through October. Give yourself plenty of time to shop amongst the 40+ vendors. www.downtowngrowers.com 

 ​Starting Saturday, November 9th, we are moving across the street to the space behind Java Joe's & Firenze Pizzeria for our WINTER MARKET!  Our regular season in Robinson Park is ending Nov 2nd, just in time for Parks & Rec to begin the restoration on the park (which will be complete in time for us to return in May 2014).  Our Winter Market will run every Saturday, 10am-2pm, Nov 9-Dec 21.  That's 7 weeks!  We're going to take a break in January, and hopefully kick Market off again in February.  We're working toward a completely year-round Market!  It's exciting!  And it will take some time for it to grow and settle in, so please stay tuned for more news!  

 The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is New Mexico’s largest, with over 150 active vendors. In 2002, the Market began operating year-round in order to meet the ever-growing demand for fresh, local produce. Located in the Farmers’ Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta at Guadalupe, the Market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. in winter, and Saturdays & Tuesdays, 7 a.m. – 12 p.m. in summer (beginning in May). Don’t forget to check out the marvelous arts and crafts at the Railyard Artisan Market at the Market Pavilion on Sundays from 10 a.m. – 4p.m. www.santafefarmersmarket.com 

 The Red Willow Growers’ Market at Taos Pueblo is another New Mexico market that operates year-round. Red Willow heats its two greenhouses using an innovative biomass heating system. It is open to the public on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. All of the produce sold is grown at Taos Pueblo without pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals. The summer market, which started in 2007 with three vendors, now has 20 vendors; the winter market has about seven growers.  

To read the complete article in ABQ Journal, click here.

Bike the Bosque for a Fall Adventure

Just because those hot, summer days might be gone, it doesn’t mean you can’t get in some full days outdoors, enjoying the fantastic natural beauty of Albuquerque and get some exercise.

From October 10 to 13, you can experience one of the area’s most spectacular trails and get the most out of it with a guided bicycle tour! The BikeSmith bike shop has organized some trips to the Paseo del Bosque trail. With lots of fun stops along the way, a delicious meal, a tour of Old Town Farm, and a bike rental and accessories included, the Bosque trail is known as one of the region’s best bike rides:

Recognized as one of the best bike rides in the west, the Paseo del Bosque trail runs 16 miles through the heart of the city along the Rio Grande’s beautiful cottonwood forest. The trail is a 5 minute bike ride from The BikeSmith store via The BikeSmith & Old Town Farm Bike Path. Proceeding south on the trail from our point of access takes you to Tingley Beach, Rio Grande Botanic Garden, Albuquerque Aquarium and the Rio Grande Zoo. The northern route takes you by the Rio Grande Nature Preserve and provides beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains and Rio Grande River.
 Biking Package Includes:- Fully Equipped Fuji Hybrid or Comfort Bike
- The BikeSmith Bosque Trail Guide
- Gourmet meal at Old Town Farm – (includes soup, mini quiches & beverage). Other items available for an additional charge.
- Old Town Farm Tour 

For more information about the Bosque Biking Adventure, click here. And for more on BikeSmith, including their location and hours, click here.