Blog Posts

Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory Botanic Gardens

The Lenore Blog is featuring the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens in this post. The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens have been an institution here in Baltimore, MD since 1888. Explore these beautiful gardens before June is through. The conservatory at the Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens is “the second-oldest steel framed-and-glass building still in use in the United States.” Make an effort to explore the beautiful greenhouses at the gardens this month. We know you’ll love the Mediterranean, Tropical, Desert, and Orchid greenhouses. The Palm House is our favorite greenhouse at the gardens. The Rawlings website states , “ The Palm House grants the visitor an opportunity to return to the Victorian era, the period named for Queen Victoria, an English monarch who ruled from 1837-1901. Victorians intensely pursued engineering, exploring and collecting. These fascinations culminated in the construction of great iron, glass, and wooden buildings to showcase plants collected from worldwide expeditions. Though most Victorian parlors included plants, most homes could not accommodate the larger species, thus the popularity of the public conservatories for exhibiting palms and other large plants that require a tropical environment.” We think that exploring any one of these gardens would make for a fantastic day. If you’d like a little more sun, stroll through their Outdoor Gardens. The Outdoor Gardens are a fantastic way to enjoy the fresh air, see some of the best plants in the area, and enjoy the blue skies this June! Interested in learning more about plants? The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory offers classes and tours . Take a class to learn more about how to cultivate your green thumb. Tours provide another opportunity to ask about your plants and how to care for them. Visitors at the Botanic Gardens are expected to follow certain etiquette rules. You can find those rules here . Have you ever visited the Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens? What was your favorite garden? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post! We hope that you have a great month here in Baltimore, MD!

Head Out On the Road

In this post, The Lenore Blog is featuring road trip destinations, budget tips, and more to help you out on your next road trip. Head out sometime this summer for an epic road trip with friends. We hope that you get the chance to get out of Baltimore, MD before the summer is through. Destinations Visit Maryland has a list of various scenic byways for you to explore this month. We think that the Chesapeake Country route sounds fantastic. Visit Maryland writes , “I t is said that life in "Chesapeake Country" flows gently with the tide of North America's largest estuary and its tributaries. Take your time experiencing the special beauty of this tidewater region with its pristine waterways and vibrant historic waterfront villages. This gorgeous route takes you 419 miles from Chesapeake City to Crisfield.” Another great sight to visit is Spocott Windmill. Visit Maryland says , “Master boatbuilder Jim Richardson built this operational windmill in 1972 to replace one blown down in an 1888 blizzard, incorporating the original millstone and steps which had been preserved. Three other historic buildings including a colonial cottage and schoolhouse were moved to recreate a 19th century village around the mill.” Learn more about this amazing sight here . Budget Once you’ve decided where you’ll be heading, it’s time to settle on a budget. If you’d like to go on a longer, more extravagant trip, start saving for it now. Take into account how many days you’ll have to take off work, gas money, food money, and the money you’ll need for lodging and souvenirs. Make a list of expected expenses and try to stick to your budget while you’re on your trip. Bring along a cooler of food from home to prevent spending too much money on fast food or gas station junk food. Forbes has an article on 12 Free Apps To Track Your Spending . Company Remember to bring along at least one other driver! The other driver can take over when you’re feeling tired and will make for good company if the road is long. Try one of these road trip games or invent your own game while you’re out on the road. Make a road trip playlist and sing along with it while you’re out on the road. There are plenty of ways to have fun while you’re on your trip! Do you have any road trip tips for us? Leave your advice in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Read A Book This Month

This month The Lenore Blog is featuring a few of our favorite books for you to enjoy. We are also highlighting the local library system. We hope that you get the chance to head out of your Baltimore, MD apartment this month to check out a book at your local library! The Baltimore County Library system is a great place to find and check out books. One of our favorite features of the Baltimore County Public Library is their digital library. Don’t have time to check out a book in person? Read your books and magazines online. Their digital library also allows you to listen to audiobooks and watch digital movies anywhere and everywhere. You can find more about the materials you can check out from the digital library online. You can find more about different branches of the library, checking out books, and library services on the library’s official website . We would be remiss without mentioning that one of our favorite authors, Edgar Allan Poe, lived and was buried in Baltimore, MD. You can learn more about Edgar Allan Poe’s life in Baltimore by visiting the Poe Baltimore website . Take the chance to visit the Edgar Allen Poe House Museum this month. This national landmark is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon here in Baltimore, MD. The website says , “Exhibits tell the story of Edgar Allan Poe’s life and death in Baltimore and significant artifacts such as Edgar’s portable writing desk and chair, and a telescope, china and glassware used by Edgar when living with the Allan family in Richmond, Virginia.” We have two book recommendations for you this month: Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe “In Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems fans may indulge in all of Poe's most imaginative short-stories, including The Fall of the House of Usher , The Murders in Rue Morgue , The Tell-Tale Heart , Ligeia and Ms. In a Bottle . His complete early and miscellaneous poetic masterpieces are here also, including The Raven , Ulalume , Annabel Lee , Tamerlane , as well as select reviews and narratives.” Middlemarch by George Eliot “George Eliot’s novel, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life , explores a fictional nineteenth-century Midlands town in the midst of modern changes. The proposed Reform Bill promises political change; the building of railroads alters both the physical and cultural landscape; new scientific approaches to medicine incite public division; and scandal lurks behind respectability. The quiet drama of ordinary lives and flawed choices are played out in the complexly portrayed central characters of the novel—the idealistic Dorothea Brooke; the ambitious Dr. Lydgate; the spendthrift Fred Vincy; and the steadfast Mary Garth. The appearance of two outsiders further disrupts the town’s equilibrium—Will Ladislaw, the spirited nephew of Dorothea’s husband, the Rev. Edward Casaubon, and the sinister John Raffles, who threatens to expose the hidden past of one of the town’s elite. Middlemarch displays George Eliot’s clear-eyed yet humane understanding of characters caught up in the mysterious unfolding of self-knowledge.” Do you have any book recommendations for us? Leave a book review in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Spring Cleaning

The Lenore Blog has a few tips to help you with your spring cleaning this month. Keep your Lenore apartment feeling fresh and clean by going through every room of your Baltimore, MD home. Donate anything that you haven’t used in awhile, clean your oven, and rearrange your furniture. Give your apartment a makeover for the spring! Spring cleaning can be a pain, but cleaning your apartment room by room over a long period of time will make it somewhat more bearable. Spend several hours each week cleaning one room of your apartment. Spread out your cleaning, and by April your apartment will be spick and span. To make your cleaning easier, we have “cleaning checklists” for three rooms of your house: your kitchen, your bedroom, and your bathroom. Kitchen: -Go through your plates, pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils. Is anything damaged? What items could you throw away? Set aside items to throw away, donate, or replace. -Organize your pantry. Go through your spice cabinet, check canned foods for expiration dates, and make sure that your stocked on basics like sugar and flour. Empty out your pantry and clean any spills that might have happened (unbeknownst to you) throughout the year. -CLEAN! Clean your dishwasher, your oven, your floors, your microwave, and more. You can find some awesome tips on cleaning stainless steel appliances here . Bedroom: -Go through your clothes. When was the last time you wore that shirt? Let go of anything you haven’t worn in the last six months. Cleaning out your closet is a great way to open up extra storage space in your Lenore apartment. -Wash your sheets, wipe down the walls, and clean floors. Give the windows (and the window sills!) a thorough going over. -Go through drawers and organize any loose papers or mementos you may have collected over the year. Bathroom: -Clean out your cabinets. Throw out any empty containers, expired products, and products you know you’ll never use (hotel shampoos and conditioners, for example). Organize your remaining products. -Clean your shower, sink, toilet, and flours. Get rid of hard water stains by using this article from Maid Brigade®. We hope that you’ve enjoyed our post and that you have a wonderful month here in Baltimore, MD! You can find a spring cleaning checklist from Martha Stewart here and a checklist from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking here . Do you have any spring cleaning tips for us? Leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Host a Movie Night

Gather your friends and neighbors together, pop some popcorn, fill up on soft drinks, and settle down on the couch for a good old fashioned movie night! In this post, the Lenore Blog is featuring a few movies, snacks, and decorations to help you throw your next movie night. Take a break this weekend and stay in from the cold by watching one of your favorite movies. Decorations Recreate the ambiance of a classic theater in your Lenore apartment by stringing twinkle lights up, creating your own “Now Playing” sign, and hanging classic movie posters up on the wall. There are plenty of ways to add a bit of glamour to your living room. Roll out your own red carpet for your guests to arrive on and dress up for your movie night. If you want to do something a little more casual, make your own blanket fort with friends. Snacks Make these marshmallow popcorn balls from Chef in Training for your movie night. You’ll love how sweet this movie treat is. We also really like this cinnamon toast popcorn from Two Sisters Crafting . Set up an italian soda bar, set up a candy concessions station, and make sliders for your guests to enjoy before the movie. Movie Recommendations An American in Paris (1951) A down-on-his-luck American painter, Jerry (Gene Kelly), falls in love with a beautiful French girl, Lise (Leslie Caron), while living in Paris in the 1950s. Jerry sings and dances his way into love while competing with the sophisticated Henri (Georges Guetary) for Lise’s affections. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) are young and in love in Cherbourg, a French town by the sea. When Guy is sent off to fight in the Algerian War, Genevieve must decide whether she will wait for Guy or marry the rich Roland Cassard (Marc Michel), a kind jeweler who offers to give Genevieve and her mother all they need to live a comfortable life. La La Land (2016) Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress who regularly ditches her waitressing job to attend heart-crushing auditions. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz pianist who dreams of opening his own club. Mia and Sebastian must find the balance between ambition and love as they strive to make their dreams come true. Do you have any movie night tips for us? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Calligraphy and Letter Writing

Letter Writing Week is the second week of January, and the Lenore Blog is featuring calligraphy and letter writing tips to help you celebrate! Calligraphy is a fun and relaxing hobby, but it can be a little confusing to start. We are including resources to help you pick up this hobby with ease. We are also featuring a few tips for writing letters and postcards to friends. Calligraphy is an ancient art form, not just a current trend. Discover calligraphy by taking a class or two this month. Calligraphy.org offers classes in Modern and Brush calligraphy . Modern calligraphy is typically taken as the beginner class. The Modern class helps students get acclimated to basic calligraphy tools by learning how to manage a pointed pen. The Brush class is for more advanced calligraphy students. The Brush class can help you learn how to hone your calligraphy skills. After the Brush class, you will be able to write calligraphy using ordinary markers and pens. You can find a calligraphy supply guide here . Celebrate Letter Writing Week by writing letters to everyone you love. Pick a couple of postcards up at a local store here in Lenore, MD, or buy some old fashioned stationery online. Make sure that your letter is personal, short, and be sure to include a couple of printed pictures with your letter! Make your own postcards by writing on the backs of your favorite pictures from 2016 and sending them to the people you care about. For those who aren’t very interested in writing letters, sending voice recordings or video blogs (otherwise known as “vlogs”) is a great way to keep in contact with friends. There are plenty of ways to connect with others — find the way that works best for you and celebrate it this month. Are you planning on celebrating National Letter Writing Week? Do you enjoy sending letters? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading! We hope you have a wonderful January.