Blog Posts

Spring Desserts

The St. James Place Blog is happy to welcome spring! We are featuring five of our favorite spring dessert recipes for you to enjoy at your Memorial Day picnic or dinner party. Visit your favorite bakery in Milwaukee, WI if you’d rather buy your sweets. Cannoli Poke Cake from Life, Love and Sugar White cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, cinnamon, mini chocolate chips, and powdered sugar make for a treat that will have your guests begging for another slice. No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Pie from Art and the Kitchen This no-bake strawberry cheesecake pie is a creamy and delicious treat. Combine jello, sugar, and cream cheese to make the sugary filling. You can make the crust with graham crackers and fresh strawberries. Lemon Bundt Cake from Love from the Oven This lemon bundt cake can be made with lemon cake mix, sour cream, instant lemon pudding mix, oil, eggs, warm water, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Top it all off with cream cheese frosting flavored with lemon extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Pinch of Yum Nothing says “spring” like carrot cake. Carrot cake cupcakes can be made with fresh carrots from your local farmer’s market. Make the cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. This is the perfect dessert to bring to your Memorial Day picnic. Mint Chocolate Mousse Cookies & Cream Parfaits from The Kitchen McCabe Chilled heavy cream, egg yolks, salt, sugar, vanilla, bittersweet chocolate chips, sugar, peppermint oil (or extract), mint chocolate cookies, and mint leaves combine for a delicious spring dessert. Make your own whipped cream for an even sweeter treat. Leave us your favorite spring dessert recipe in the comments. Thanks for reading our post! We hope that you have a great month here in Milwaukee, WI.

Organize Your Time

The St. James Place Blog has a few tips and tricks to help you get your schedule in order. We have the tips and tricks you need to keep your mind sane as you manage your time throughout the month. We hope that you have a great April here in Milwaukee, WI! Take stock of your days (and weeks!) First, figure out what you need to do each day of the week. Write down how much time you typically spend doing different activities. Record your actual schedule every day for a week before you attempt to organize your future schedule. How do you spend your time? How could that time be spent more efficiently? Which activities are necessary each week? Which activities can you put on the back burner? Rearrange your schedule to better fit your goals and responsibilities. It is important to prioritize each item on your weekly to-do list. Always do the most important items first, keeping deadlines and dates in mind. Nix anything that is non-essential. Also, remember to schedule out blocks of time to work on your goals and dreams. It’s important to keep moving forward, even as you manage your schedule to work on the essentials. Pick the right planner Once you’ve figured out the general scope and shape of your schedule, pick a planner that works for you. Many people use a calendar for the big events of the week and month and use an individual planner for the day to day. We like this large reusable one-month wall calendar from SwiftGlimpse on Amazon. Target has a wonderful selection of calendars and planners to choose from, as well. Make time for fun As you schedule your day-to-day work, it’s important to make some time in your schedule for fun. Get out of your Milwaukee, WI apartment this month for some fun. Explore Milwaukee this month. Try something new. Make a goal to do at least one new or exciting thing each week. Do you have any time management tips for us? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

The Domes at Mitchell Park

This month the St. James Place Blog is featuring The Domes at the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory. The Domes are a great place to spend an afternoon or a weekend here in Milwaukee. Spend the day exploring their desert, tropical, or floral show dome. We hope that you find the time to take a tour of one of The Domes sometime this month. The Domes features three environments for plants to thrive in, giving guests the opportunity to enjoy the sight of tropical and desert plants anytime of year. The Desert Dome features plants from deserts all around the world. You can find out more about the Desert Dome here and here . The Tropical Dome offers guests the chance to explore a tropical rainforest. The Tropical Dome includes plants like banana, cocoa, coffee, star fruit, black pepper, mahogany, and curare. The Tropical Dome is a great place to escape to after a stressful week. You can learn more about the Tropical Dome here and here . The Floral Show Dome holds themed shows featuring plants selected for their relevance to the current theme. Show can last anywhere from six to fourteen weeks. Find more about the Floral Show Dome here and here . The current show at The Domes is “The Great Train Robbery Train Show at The Domes.” Find out more about the show, and other events at the Domes, here . Other events coming to The Domes include the Spring Equinox celebration at The Domes and the Milwaukee County Winter Farmer’s Market. Take advantage of the many events held at The Domes by attending an event this month! Admission to The Dome ranges from five to seven dollars. Groups of over twenty get a discounted fee, and Friend of The Domes members get into the gardens for free. You can find out more about becoming a Friend of The Domes, and benefits you get from becoming a Friend of The Domes, here . Have you ever been to The Domes? What was your favorite Dome? What should we see the next time we’re there? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Valentines Day at Home

In this post, the St. James Place Blog has a few suggestions to help you celebrate your Valentine’s day at home. Many people celebrate Valentine’s day by going out to eat at restaurants, attending elaborate parties, or visiting their local movie theater to watch a romantic comedy or drama. Save yourself the two hour wait for a table by spending your Valentine’s day at home. We have a couple of ideas to help you escape the crowds for a peaceful February 14th. Spa night Make the most of your Valentine’s day at home by hosting your own spa night! Face masks are an easy way to freshen up your skin and relax after a long day. Use these DIY face mask recipes for your spa night — chances are, most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen. Dinner Make your Valentine’s day at home casual with slow cooker cilantro lime chicken tacos from Belle of the Kitchen . Belle of the Kitchen recommends “adding on your favorite toppings. I like to use shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, cheese, sour cream, and even a drizzle of ranch dressing.” Find out how to make this delicious treat by following the link. Once you’re done with dinner, try making these Cookie Dough Brownies from Dinner, then Dessert for dessert. Movies Skip the crowds at the movie theater by watching your favorite chick flick in your St. James apartment on Valentine’s day. We have a couple of movie recommendations that we think you’d love. Legally Blonde (2004) Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is heartbroken when her college boyfriend dumps her to go to Harvard Law School. She, in an effort to win him back, applies to Harvard. Elle must overcome her classmates’ negative perceptions of her as a “dumb blonde” as she strives to become a first rate lawyer. Roman Holiday (1953) Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) escapes her country’s embassy to spend a whimsical day exploring Rome. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with American reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). What are your plans for Valentine’s day? Let us know about the best places to celebrate Valentine’s day in Milwaukee, WI in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Stews and Soups

In this post, the St. James Place Blog is featuring several winter soup recipes to help you keep warm and well fed this winter. We hope that you find at least one recipe on this list to make this month. It’s the season for soups, so stay warm in Milwaukee, WI with a bowl of soup or stew on a cold winter’s night. The Best Mushroom Soup from Will Cook for Smiles This recipe takes awhile to cook, but the end result is really worth it! You’ll love the blend of mushrooms and spices in this comforting winter dish. Chocolate Soup with Croissant Croutons from Sugar Hero Try this chocolate soup with croissant croutons for a winter dessert. This decadent treat is best served on a special occasion. This dessert is the epitome of winter comfort food, complete with a dreamy whipped cream and crunchy cinnamon croissant croutons. Homemade Egg Drop Soup from Gimme Some Oven This soup serves as a great appetizer or main dish for any meal. We recommend bringing this dish to your next winter potluck with friends. Your friends will love it, and they won’t be able to believe that you made it yourself! Slow Cooker Sour Cream Potato Bacon Soup from 365 Days of Slow Cooking Prepare this slow cooker sour cream potato bacon soup before work, leave it in the slow cooker all day, and enjoy it as soon as you get home! This is the perfect soup to make when you’re strapped for time; the prep only takes about fifteen minutes, and you can serve it up the minute you arrive at your St. James Place apartment. Turkey & Wild Rice Soup from Lively Table This recipe is perfect for when you have some leftover turkey around. Use turkey, olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, cracked black pepper, salt, wild rice, broth, and greek yogurt to make this comforting winter treat. Upgrade your sick day soup by swapping out the chicken noodle soup for a delicious bowl of turkey and wild rice soup. Do you have any soup recipes for us? Leave your best recipe in the comments, and we’ll check it out. Thanks for reading!

New Years Resolutions Apps

This month the St. James Place Blog is featuring several apps to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions this year. Whatever your resolutions is — whether it's to eat healthier, manage your budget, or organize your time — we’ve got an app to help you achieve your goals. Read More If your resolution is to read more in the coming year, You-Log Reading can help you out. You-Log Reading tracks the books you’ve been reading, how long you’ve read, how many pages you read each day, and even lets you take notes. It’s an easy way to keep track of your progress as you tackle your reading goal this year. Run Your First Race Couch to 5k is an awesome way to start training for your first list. This app allows you to make your own workout plan, syncs with your playlists, and tracks how far you’ve run. You even get your own “virtual coach” to help inspire you when the running gets tough. It also tracks your pace, so you’ll know just how fast you’ve run each day. Make Healthier Choices Weight Loss Coach by Fooducate is a great way to start eating healthier. It helps you track just how much you eat each day, gives food a “nutrition grade” (letting you see just how healthy that microwaveable rice or packaged salmon is), and connects you to a community of other people who are trying to eat healthier. Manage Your Budget Need to save up so that you can finally take that dream vacation to Barcelona? Mint can help you out. Mint helps you organize your financial life so that you can dream up a realistic budget and save for your next weekend on the beach. Mint also gives you a free credit score and tracks your investments. Organize Your Time Things is a pricier app, but it’s proved to be a great way to manage your to-do lists. Forbes says this about the app: “ The Apple program (Things, now on version 2) is one of the great tools for actually getting things done. It breaks down even the most daunting tasks into achievable, bite-size chunks and brings list-making into the Internet era. To use the program on your phone, iPad or computer, just type in everything you need to do, whether a single chore, like clearing out a closet, or such weekly projects as taking out the recycling. You can put a time limit on when tasks need to be completed and group many individual jobs into larger projects or categories like family and work. Every day, Things presents you with a checklist so you don’t forget anything. (You can print or share this digitally.)” Do you have any great apps for us to use? Do you know of any great New Year’s events in the Milwaukee area? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!