With Summer finally present, cookouts are a great way to get friends and family together to enjoy the beautiful weather and relax. Here are some tips to a successful cookout that will keep guests wanting to come back for more.

Lawn Games

Lawn games are an essential addition to a successful cookout. They help to break the ice between guests who may not know each other, and can also create some great memories. Cornhole and horseshoes are fun games for all ages that you can play as teams or individually. They are also great to help pass the time while food is on the grill!

Beverages

Requesting that your guests bring their own beverages can ensure everyone has exactly what they want to drink. It can also lower the amount you’re spending and lower the chance of running out of drinks before the party is over. Remember to get plenty of ice to keep all of those beverages nice and cold in a cooler.

Music

Music always helps get the party started. Try making a playlist ahead of time, or finding the right playlist on Spotify or Pandora, to help set the tone for the evening! Pop music, or throwback songs are always a great go-to.

Don’t Light the Grill Too Late

Lighting the grill too late could mean hungry houseguests. Have the grill started just as the guests are arriving, giving them time to settle in and relax. A charcoal grill takes much more time to heat up than a gas grill does, so allow at least a 45-minute window for when you wish to start cooking.

Menu

When most people think of cookouts, they think of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Don’t be afraid to spice things up! Adding a few chicken legs with barbeque sauce to the menu is a great choice that people are sure to enjoy if they aren’t in the mood for the standard cookout foods. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Hosting a party is stressful enough without having to worry about preparing all of the food. Ask your guests to bring a few different desserts or sides for dinner. This can be helpful in time management, as well as expanding your variety of food.

Cookouts are awesome for when you want kick back, relax, and make great memories with friends and family. If you want it to be as successful as possible, try using some of these tips and see which ones work best for you!

What is an in-law apartment and exactly how would it be of use in a home? An in-law apartment is a living space separate from the main living area in a home. It typically is located in a basement, above a garage, attached onto the house, or in some instances detached, but still on the property.  These apartments typically need to include a separate entrance, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living area in order to be up to regulations.

Having in-law apartments are becoming increasingly popular. Contrary to the name, in-law apartments aren’t just for in laws.  They can be a great place for aging family members, but also for caregivers if the owners of the house want to age in place.  If a young family needs a little assistance from their family or an adult kid moved back home after college, this is also a great option. Lastly, in some cities, you may even be able to rent it out to strangers.

There are many regulations you have to follow if you want to build or create an in-law apartment, but there could be many benefits to doing so, if you could afford the costs that may be involved. The costs can be around $40,000 for spaces that you are converting, but can be much more costly ($100,000 or more) for those that aren’t attached to the main home.

Creating an in-law apartment can be beneficial to the homeowners and the surrounding community.  If renting out the in-law apartment, this can help provide a second source of income for the family.  An in-law apartment can be a great investment to add onto your home.

Your bathroom is one of the most important rooms of your house, as it’s the one room that all of your guests will see at one point or another during their visit.  It’s important to keep it looking neat and organized, but that can be a difficult task if you don’t have much space. See below for 15 storage hacks that will keep your bathroom organized and your guests impressed.

For pedestal sinks, invest in a wrap around shelf. Get a curved organizer that is tiered to get the most space possible. If this isn’t an option you’d like to invest in, you can dress your sink in a shirt and hide baskets of towels or other items behind it.

Use the inside door of your medicine cabinet. You can purchase little organizers for the back of your medicine cabinet drawer and store anything small behind it. This can include toothbrushes, nail polish, makeup, Q-tips, nail clippers, etc.
 

Install a slender picture ledge above your sink and below your mirror. You can put soap, perfume, lotion, and other necessities on this ledge, displayed neatly. This will also help to keep items off the sink itself.

Store bath toys in hollowed out step stool. This is a great hack if you have small children that can’t quite reach the sink. Store their toys in the step stool and you’re not missing using any more space than you already would have.

Install towel racks on the back of bathroom door. This is a great way for your bathroom to look clean compared to them hanging and falling off hooks.

Store your bathroom products like shoes on the curtain. If you have a ton of products you use in the shower, consider hanging a plastic shoe organizer inside of the shower curtain. This keeps it invisible when your guests use your bathroom and keeps your products organized.

Wine racks = Towel Holders. If you like rolling your towels, the way you see hotels, this hack may be for you. Roll your towels and place them in a wine rack for an interesting look on the wall.

Put shelves above your toilet. This is a great way to utilize typically unused space.  Store toilet paper, decorations, and other products here.

Install an extra shower rod. You can store your items hanging off the top in little organizers.

Use mason jar storage. Having several boxes around your bathroom can look messy and disorganized. Use mason jars to store cotton balls, Q-tips, and other items instead.

Build drawers in the wasted space between studs in the wall. This can save you a lot of extra space; however, you may want someone experienced to help you build and install this for you.

Fireplaces are a touch to any home and can be of various uses. If it’s nighttime and cold, you may have a fire and huddle around it for warmth. If it’s warm outside, you can sit around an outdoor fireplace or fire pit and roast marshmallows. Either way, having a fireplace is an in demand amenity that can liven up your home.  For the purpose of this blog post, we are going to focus on the differences between indoor gas, wood, and electric fireplaces.

Wood Fireplaces
Wood fireplaces are charming and traditional. It’s the oldest option for fireplaces and is typically what people think of when it comes to fireplaces. A wood-burning fireplace has the appeal look, sound, and smell that the other options don’t have. However, they are also more maintenance. The pros and cons are listed below.

Pros

• Excellent ambiance
• It provides heat and light should electricity go out
• You can choose what type of fire is burned

Cons

• Can be quite expensive to install
• High maintenance (you need to buy and/or chop your own wood)
• Can spit out burning embers – (screens are encouraged for safety reasons)
• May lose more heat than what they produce

Gas Fireplaces
Gas fireplaces are becoming increasingly more popular in recent years.  This option doesn’t contain a lot of maintenance compared to wood fireplaces. They are an excellent choice for those that live more fast paced lives, as it’s quick to start up a fire (just a touch of a button!)  

Pros

• You can almost instantly start a fire
• Maintenance is minimal
• You can use your gas fireplace to keep warm even if the electricity goes out
• They don’t require chimneys
• The flame is behind glass

Cons

• Installing gas fireplaces can be expensive
• Ceramic logs are generally used and the ambiance, sound, and look isn’t as good as with a wood fireplace

Electric Fireplaces
Electric fireplaces emerged as a result of our world becoming more digitalized. An electric fireplace is an image of a fire being displayed. It’s the safest option, but while it still gives off heat, it’s the only option that shows a fake fire.

Pros

• The least expensive of the three
• Easy to install and use (just plug it in!)
• Portable
• Ideal for tight spaces

Cons

• The fire isn’t real
• They won’t work during a power outage
• Style options are limited
• Essentially a space heater with slightly more ambiance

Having a fireplace is a great amenity to have that adds style to any home. Each style – wood, gas, or electric – has pros and cons depending upon what you are exactly looking for. This amenity is great to have on cool nights and can provide more value to your home.

By Day: Gerry joined Norcom in December of 2015 as the Director of Compliance. Soon after, in May 2016, he was promoted to General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. The only consistent thing with his day-to-day life at the office is enjoying a morning coffee. He works with most departments on a weekly basis; however, he works closest with the Closing, Processing, and Compliance departments. When asked about what he enjoys most about working for Norcom, he replied, “I’m constantly learning, continually challenged, and always feel like I am an integral part of a growing and ever-changing company.”

By Night: During the week, Gerry’s nights are usually pretty hectic. He is often seen supporting his kids at soccer or baseball when they have practices or games. When no events are going on, he runs any errands he didn’t get to over the weekend before coming home just in time to say goodnight to his wife (she goes to bed on the early side since she works on the Mike & Mike show for ESPN and needs to be there at 5am!) He will spend some time talking to his kids about whatever their current obsession is (currently WWE) before squeezing in some time to train for one of his running or triathlon races.  Gerry doesn’t have much free time, but when he does get some, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, being active outside – biking, running, swimming, and eating and drinking.  The most important people in his life are his immediate family. He states, “They make sure I don’t completely go off the deep end, most of the time.”  Gerry’s nights, like the day, are often very busy and hectic. At the end of each day he is exhausted and looks forward to sleeping.  He says, “It’s a crazy life, but I love it.”