Auston Chase Apartment Homes

If you live in an apartment in Ridgeland, SC March is the start of Spring, but it also means that it is time for the 27th Annual Wine and Food Festival in Hilton Head.

This March celebrate great southern chefs, fine wine and great cuisine on Hilton Head Island. In its 27 years on the Island, the Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival has grown from a small wine tasting to one of the East Coast’s largest tented wine festivals.

Festival Events
March 5 - 10, 2012 - Great Chefs of the South Wine Dinners; Check www.hiltonheadwineandfood.com for details.

Friday, March 9, 2012 - Grand Wine Tasting & Silent Auction; The Sea Pines Resort - Harbour Town Conference Center, $65 per person, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.  Admission includes a Grand Tasting souvenir wine glass and premium wine tastings.

Saturday, March 10, 2012 -  Wine & Food Festival and Auction; Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn, 12 – 3 p.m., $45 per person, advance discount tickets available for $39.99. Admission includes a souvenir wine glass and access to all of the free tastings from the domestic and international wineries, vineyards, wine distributors and more!

See more information on the Hilton Head Island Website.

If you live in an apartment in Ridgeland, SC, this is a big week. Beaufort welcomes movie buffs from around the country at the 6th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival.

The Beaufort International Film Festival grew from 500 people the first year, to 5,000 people last year.  The festival has cultivated a following across the country. Attendance has almost doubled every year since the festival began. Contestants this year come from as far away as California, Wisconsin and New York.

More than 30 filmmakers will attend this year's event, which started yesterday and runs through February 19th. Emmy-winning actor Powers Boothe will be honored with the Jean Ribaut Award for Excellence in Acting.
 
All screenings and workshops will be held at the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, Center for the Arts. Tickets are now available. Screenings will be Thursday through Saturday afternoon. An awards ceremony will be held Saturday night.
 
The Beaufort Film Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization, dedicated to providing the highest levels of entertainment and education to you from all areas of the film industry.

The festival turned a (very small) profit for the first time last year. It will cost about $30,000 to stage this year's festival, and festival coordinators hope to break even. Profits would go toward the next year's festival.

Information from ABC and Island Packet

So you have been sitting around your apartment in Ridgeland, SC trying to think of a great Valentines’ Day gift idea? Because nothing says I love you quite like a...

When it comes to Valentine's Day, gifts and surprises should come from the heart, and they should be meant for the person you love...or really like.

A necklace from a local Beaufort artist is a really wonderful idea. It is unique and pretty, just like your significant other.

Remember too, Valentine's Day doesn't have to be about spending a lot of money, or any money for that matter. You can get right to your valentine’s heart with a hand written valentine card or homemade dinner.

Here are some Valentine's Day ideas, some are sentimental and some are more materialistic. Got more ideas, add a comment.

• A handwritten card
• A mix playlist
• Dinner, out or at home
• Of course the traditional flowers or chocolate
• Breakfast, (in bed maybe)
• Take a cooking class together
• A book for private time or game for together time
• A goldfish in a bowl.
• Manicure and/or pedicure, massage gift certificates
• Jewelry, make it unique, but that does not mean expensive
• A coffee mug from a LowCountry potter, and a pound of coffee
• Boxers with hearts on them

Auston Chase has the best Super Bowl Party around. Why go anywhere else for the Super Bowl? Join us at Auston Chase! Looking for something really fun to do for the Super Bowl!

Join us for a fun night of football, Friends and Food. Don't pass up wings, good friends and a great game!

What a great week to live in an apartment in Ridgeland, SC. The South is where the best food is. And residents in the Beaufort, Hilton Head and Ridgeland area have been having a great time eating the best food around. Make sure you catch the last weekend of Restaurant week in Hilton Head.  Restaurant week in Hilton Head is an eleven day celebration of the best in southern food at hundreds of participating restaurants from January 12 through 22. You can see the menus of all the participating restaurants on the Restaurant Week Website.

From fine dining to casual dining, participating restaurants will feature special menus items, promotions and discounts. You can sample the newest restaurants in Hilton Head as well as revisit your old favorites and taste a variety of exceptional dishes being prepared by chefs.
 
Restaurant Week in Hilton Head is an exciting event that showcases the outstanding culinary scene throughout this exciting city. We hope you enjoy the most delicious week of the year in South Carolina!

A national firm says more Americans are renting instead of buying. With mortgages being difficult to get, the decreasing home prices, and the amount of money that college graduates owe in student loans make renting a more viable option.

Renters often say renting a place to live is best for their situations. Many renters have credit issues, many don’t feel like being hampered on the weekends by maintenance tasks, and many college graduates have tens of thousands in debt in student loans.

"Right now, it's convenient for me. I just got my credit straightened out. It's going to take me another couple of years before I buy a home because I have student loans. Right now it's convenient.”

This is a national trend showing more people are moving to rental properties instead of buying a home. Renting an apartment in Ridgeland, SC is a great option for college graduates, young families and empty nesters. With no home maintenance responsibilities, renters can enjoy more of what the local Beaufort area has to offer.

Financial experts say the economic crisis created a demand for rentals. For information on renting in a beautiful apartment home in Ridgeland, SC with extensive apartment amenities, contact Auston Chase.

Many people are told when they are younger that renting is only for college graduates or people who cannot afford to buy.  Many parents hammer these ideas into their children and tell them that renting is equivalent to throwing money away every month.  Fortunately, today people are beginning to finally think for themselves and challenge these ideas.  Here are 4 reasons to pat yourself on the back for deciding to rent an apartment in Ridgeland, SC at an HHHunt Community!
 
1.  Renting can save money

At the very minimum you’ll be shelling out PITI for your home. That is:

1. Principal
2. Interest
3. Tax
4. Insurance

The PITI doesn’t include property maintenance like maintaining the yard, paint, plumbing, repairs, decorating, etc… When you rent an apartment in Ridgeland at an HHHunt community, the monthly payment is almost always quite a bit less than the PITI in your area and there are no maintenance expenses!

2. Homeowners’ tax deductions are overstated

According to research quoted by MSN, “… half of homeowners don’t get a break, because even with mortgage interest and property taxes, their total deductions do not exceed the standard federal tax deduction ($11,900 for couples and $5,450 for singles)”.

For these folks, it’s like spending $100 to save $20. They’re better off saving the difference and investing it.   Even if there is a “break” on your taxes, you typically had to spend more than you would have spent to rent to get back that $20 for every $100 spent in interest payments.

3. Renting gives you flexibility

For the up and coming young professional, you’re better off renting and saving for a few years than to buy a small condo. Who knows how fast you will outgrow it?  When you own a home, you can’t always sell it when you need to sell it at the price you want to sell it in order to accept a new employment opportunity.  If you have owned a home and don’t want the constant maintenance responsibility, renting gives you the opportunity to enjoy your weekends instead of completing that “to do” list.

4.  Our superb service teams!

Most apartment communities offer 24 hour emergency maintenance and technicians who are skilled in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.  At an HHHunt Community, our service teams take great pride in offering prompt and professional service to you.  Whether you need a light bulb changed or a new compressor for your AC unit, we are there to take care of you as fast and efficient as possible.  We are always a phone call or email away and most service requests are performed on the same day or within 24 hours!

It is the New Year, and for many in our apartments in Ridgeland, SC this is the perfect time to get a fresh start. New Year’s Resolutions and ideas to have a great year are the topics of conversation this time of year. Many have a holiday tradition that will certainly give you a leg up in the luck department.

There are a variety of foods that are believed to be lucky and to improve the odds that next year will be a great one. What is interesting is that all over the world the foods eaten on New Year’s Eve consist of the same major categories: grapes, greens, fish, pork, legumes, and cakes.

Grapes
New Year's revelers in Spain consume twelve grapes at midnight—one grape for each stroke of the clock.

Cooked Greens
Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune.

Legumes
Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind.
In Italy, it's customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils, just after midnight

In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john.
 
Pork
The custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress.
 
Fish
Cod has been a popular feast food since the Middle Ages. The Danish eat boiled cod, in Italy, baccalà, or dried salt cod, is enjoyed from Christmas through New Year's; herring is consumed at midnight in Poland and Germany; the Swedish New Year feast is usually a smorgasbord with a variety of fish dishes such as seafood salad. In Japan, herring roe is consumed for fertility, shrimp for long life, and dried sardines for a good harvest

Cakes
Round or ring-shaped baked goods have special emphasis at New Year’s.

If you are looking for a recipe to bring to a New Year’s Eve party in Ridgeland, Beaufort or Hilton Head this weekend, bring some food with luck! Happy New Year from Auston Chase Apartment Homes.

Food information from Epicurious