Fireside Apartments

Friday, March 16, 2012

Better Homes & Gardens Awards Best New Household Products for 2012

Posted by Larimer Associates on 9:00 AM

The votes are in! Check out the top products for 2012. Which of these have you used before? Do you think they deserve their title?

Venerable nesting magazine Better Homes & Gardens has announced the results of their consumer based Best New Products poll. We're familiar with most of the items on the list but we also found a couple of new things we're going to keep our eye out for.

Better Homes & Gardens partnered with BrandSpark International to poll consumers about their favorite new products. The products are broken down into three categories: food, health and beauty, and household. Of the household products, the following seem to be the most exciting:

• The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber with Febreze is larger than the standard Magic Eraser and includes a dissolving cleanser for removing soap scum.

• I love that manufacturers are starting the make cleaners available in smaller packaging. The Windex Mini Concentrated Refill Pouch can be poured into an old spray bottle of your own. It was also Best All Purpose Cleaner by consumers.
• We're not familiar with Purex Complete Crystals Fabric Softener but the brand was voted Best Fabric Softener. The crystals are added to the wash before the cycle starts.

Check out the full list over at Better Homes & Gardens: Best New Product Awards. The magazine has also put together a handy printable shopping list with all of the award winning items.

Vote for Colorado Springs!

Posted by Larimer Associates on 9:16 AM

Make sure to vote for Colorado Springs as one of the Best Weekend Getaways!

While you’re trying to unwind around town on the weekends, are you starting to feel a bit more crowded?

It may be that your new neighbors have read a recent travel article in U.S. News & World Report that lists Colorado Springs in its roundup of “best weekend getaways.”

Here’s some of what the article has to say: “Views of purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain make for a very photogenic weekend. Prime picture-taking real estate can be found at the top of Pikes Peak, but when you’ve seen enough, spend the rest of your weekend experiencing other truly American institutions. Sports fans should visit the Olympic Training Center, while the Air Force Academy’s flight demonstrations awe visitors of all ages. You’ll be able to tackle these three top attractions and still have some weekend time to spare.”

Readers can rate the listing, which has the Springs at No. 6, by voting yes or no on each city choice.

Springs native claims title at UFC 144

Posted by Larimer Associates on 6:37 AM

Congrats to our local champion!

Colorado Springs native Ben Henderson claimed the UFC lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 on Saturday night.

Ryan Bader survived a frightening fall onto his neck to win every round in a unanimous decision over Japanese favorite Rampage Jackson in the co-main event of the UFC's first show in Japan since 2000.

Henderson, the former WEC lightweight champion who was born in the Spriings, picked apart the smaller UFC champion with an effective all-around attack, highlighted by a vicious kick from a prone position in the second round that bloodied Edgar's nose and face.

"I wanted to use my size to my advantage," said Henderson, who now calls Federal Way, Wash., home. "Making weight is really (a struggle) for me ... so I want to make sure my opponents feel that pain when we have 25 minutes inside this octagon."

UFC 144 was held on Sunday morning for the North American pay-per-view audience, but Saitama Super Arena still was sold out for a large show from mixed martial arts' dominant promotion.

Along with the popular Jackson's loss, two major Japanese stars were beaten in front of their fans: Jake Shields earned a unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Tim Boetsch rallied after two terrible rounds to stop Yushin Okami in the third. Heavyweight Mark Hunt stopped Cheick Kongo midway through the first round, and lightweight title contender Anthony Pettis impressively stopped Joe Lauzon in the first round.

Edgar repeatedly caught Henderson's kicks and managed a handful of takedowns, but Henderson countered much of Edgar's trademark work rate with his significant size advantage.

Henderson staggered Edgar with a perfectly placed up-kick late in the second round, with his right heel connecting squarely with Edgar's head while Henderson was prone on the canvas. Edgar survived the round, but the kick left blood pouring from his nose, and the wound opened up again in the third round while Edgar's left eye closed from an earlier shot.

Henderson pressed his advantages into the fifth round, bouncing around the canvas and inciting the crowd before landing several big shots. Edgar couldn't find his way inside Henderson's defense, and Henderson landed significant strikes into the final seconds.

The judges favored Henderson 49-46, 48-47 and 49-46. Edgar disagreed with the decision, saying he landed more strikes and takedowns.

"I thought I did enough to win," Edgar said. "That's what my guys told me, but those are the breaks. Congrats to Ben."

Henderson embraced his mother, Song, in the stands on his way out of the octagon.

Edgar hadn't lost since taking the lightweight title away from B.J. Penn in April 2010, fighting through injuries and winning his trilogy against Gray Maynard with a fourth-round stoppage last October.

But Henderson had won three straight UFC fights since losing to Pettis in the last fight in World Extreme Cagefighting history before the promotion was absorbed by the UFC. When Pettis couldn't get a title shot at Edgar due to injuries, Henderson slipped in front of Pettis for that shot at Edgar.

Earlier, Bader (14-2) pounded out the biggest victory of his career by spending most of the fight on top of Jackson (32-10), who missed the 205-pound weight limit by 6 pounds. Jackson, a superstar in Japan after spending several years in the Pride fighting promotion, will forfeit 20 percent of his purse.

Jackson nearly ended the fight in the second round when he picked up Bader and threw him directly onto his head and neck, bending Bader's left arm at a freakish angle. Bader was stunned but apparently unhurt, and he recovered to dominate the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

"Beating Rampage here in Japan is an amazing experience, an amazing feeling," Bader said. "I was rocked a little bit there, but I came back to my feet, and my arm is fine."

Jackson has lost three of his last five fights, and hasn't stopped an opponent since December 2008.

Upcoming events in Colorado Springs

Posted by Larimer Associates on 10:37 AM

Lots of great events coming up! Are you planning to go to any of them?

Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner

Saturday, Mar 3 5:00p
Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak Council will host a reception and dinner for all new 2011 Eagle Scouts on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Broadmore Valley Road, Colorado Springs, CO.

Trout Unlimited Membership Meeting

Tuesday, Feb 28 7:00p
Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Springs
Who: Cheyenne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Colorado Springs, CO (Members and Non-Members Welcome) What: Trout Unlimited Membership Meeting Where: Colorado Division of Wildlife Building 4255 Sint

Feb Club 2012 -- February 29,

Wednesday, Feb 29 7:00p
Colorado Springs Mall, Colorado Springs
7pm Wednesday, February 29, at Nosh, 121 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO

The Drowsy Chaperone

Friday, Feb 24 7:30p
Fountain Valley School of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Fountain Valley School will be presenting The Drowsy Chaperone on Friday, February 17 and 24, and on Saturday, February 18 and 25, at 7:30 PM with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM on February 19.

Vagina Monologues

Friday, Feb 24 7:30p
UCCS - The Lodge, Colorado Springs
Join TESSA and UCCS for the Vagina Monologues Vagina Monologues presented by UCCS portion of the proceeds benefit TESSA February 23rd 7:30pm February 24th 7:30pm and February 25th 2pm

EVER WONDER: Memories of El Paso County blizzards

Posted by Larimer Associates on 10:13 AM

Wild stories from snowstorms past, including “one of my plows ate a Volkswagen that was hidden in a drift.” What’s your strangest storm story?

Last week I tried to settle a bet about blizzards. Was Colorado’s 2003 worse than 1997's or vice versa?

The National Weather Service had recorded 7 feet of snow in the Rocky Mountains on March 18-19, 2003 and Denver area recorded almost 22 inches on Oct. 26, 1997. Denver biggie: 45.7 inches which fell over five days in December 1913. Colorado Springs record snowfall over 24 hours: 25.6 inches on March 11, 1909.

Well, I learned a whole lot about Colorado blizzards after the column came out and I’m sure there are other amazing stories out there, too.

Here’s more:

Leslie Jakeman remembered the one in 1997: “The blizzard was in Denver on Oct. 25, 1997 NOT Oct. 26, 1997. I know because my brother Greg got married in Denver on Oct. 25, 1997. It started snowing on the 24th and didn’t stop until the 26th. None of us will ever forget that day. The wedding was at the cathedral in downtown Denver. The ceremony was delayed 2 hours. The musicians, the ring bearer and many of the guests were unable to get there. There were more homeless people in attendance than invited guests. I-25 was closed for three days and we were stranded at the Sheraton Hotel in Lakewood during the Trekkie (“Star Trek”) Convention. The blizzard was a nightmare but the wedding was beautiful.”

Jim Mesite was El Paso County Emergency Program Manager during both the 1997 and 2003 storms.

“The 1997 event put almost the entire county, including most of the City of Colorado Springs, at a standstill for almost 3 days. It began overnight Friday, and turned out to be much bigger than the U.S. Weather Service anticipated. My supervisor at the time could not even reach the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) downtown, and called me to tell me, in Peaceful Valley, not to even try to get in, as they had already heard of two people buried very close to my house. (In all, 4 fatalities were directly related to the storm).

“When I finally was able to get out to relieve him there was only one lane on Marksheffel Road passable. The snow on both sides of the lane was at least 10 feet high! We got pictures later of drifts estimated to be 12 feet high completely blocking the Big R store entrance east of Falcon. Some roads out east could only be cleared and searched for stranded motorists, with a three-vehicle convoy consisting of a front-end loader in the lead to break down the drift to plowable height, the biggest plow-trucks the county had behind it, and a Humvee of soldiers from Fort Carson behind it, to search for buried cars with long poles to stick in the banks! Reports from multiple sources, including the Weather Service, were that in some areas at least 48 inches of snow had fallen, with many drifts as large as described above.

“The 2003 event was pretty bad, but the worst problems we dealt with were school busses that could not get children home from the Eastern School Districts. Most of them were stuck and taken into private homes for a day or two. The City of Colorado Springs was affected much less. In addition, most roads were able to be opened in about half the time it had taken to dig out after the 1997 storm.”

Gary Dugan, retired from CSPD and the Street Division, said the worst blizzard he remembered was actually March 1977. In a 1991 interview with The Gazette, longtime county public works director Max Rothschildtold the reporter that 1977 was indeed the worst winter he recalled, when five people died. A large number of cattle were killed and the eastern half of the county was buried under drifts.

In the interview Rothschild said, “It was the first time I ever remember driving through cliffs of snow 16 to 18 feet high” created when plows sliced through drifts hiding hundreds of abandoned cars. “One of my plows ate a Volkswagen that was hidden in a drift,” he recalled.
A major problem with this 1977 storm was the wind, 82 mph strong east of the city. Team that with 13.4 inches of snow. The storm hit hardest between Colorado Springs and Limon and there was $4 million in damage and loss.

Another reader remembered a snowstorm when it was “illegal to drive” in Colorado Springs. And then there was the storm that for a time buried a police officer in his cruiser, creating headlines from the 1960s TV sitcom, “Car 54, Where are You?”

Sweet Valentine’s Day Deals from our Downtown Partnership Members

Posted by Larimer Associates on 3:36 PM

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! If you’re still looking for “that perfect gift,” check out some of the offers below.

Antlers Hilton Hotel- 4 S. Cascade

Romance package includes chocolate covered strawberries, champagne and breakfast for 2. Call 955-5600 for reservations.

Cook Veterinary Hospital- 21 West Cimarron Street

$200 dental cleaning special throughout the month of February! Price includes full exam, IV fluids, anesthesia, blood work, and monitoring. Full mouth x-rays are 20% off. Extractions and medications are an additional cost. For information call 633-7769 or visitwww.cookveterinary.com.

Colorado Springs Philharmonic- Pikes Peak Center 190 S. Cascade Ave
A Broadway Romance on 2/11/12 at 8:00pm Patty Goble and Stephen Bogardus. Visitwww.csphilharmonic.org for information.

Cottonwood Artists' School's Tejon Street Gallery- 8 S. Tejon St.

2/14/12, 5-8pm, featuring local and regional artists with a Valentine's Day theme. Call 520-1899 for info.

Crowne Plaza- 2886 S. Circle Drive

Fabulous Valentine's Dinner for 2 for $49

--Mixed Green House Salad-Choice of dressing

--Blood Orange Sorbet Intermezzo

--Mini Beef Chateaubriand with a Port Wine Demi alongside Jumbo Shrimp Scampi, Herb Roasted

Fingerling Potatoes with Smoked Paprika, fresh vegetable sauté.

--Strawberry mousse cake, dark chocolate truffles

--Bottle of house champagne (or other non alcoholic beverage)

We have overnight king bedroom, now through Valentines $89 a night. Call 540-8388 for info

Healthy Balance Massage- 711 S. Tejon St., Ste. 200

Sweetheart Offer:1 1/2 hr massage for 1 hr- $50/hr (Save $25) or 2 for $70 (one for you, one for your sweetheart or friend) Your Valentines Day massage inclues: full body massage + anti aging face mask + sea salt scrub for hands/feet ='s you feeling Renewed, Restored, Rejuvenated! Call 651-5848 or visit www.healthbalancemassage.vpweb.com.

Hunan Springs- 24 E. Kiowa St

Purchase a minimum $20 dinner for 2 and you and your sweetie will receive 2 free glasses of wine. Call 634-0800 for more info.

Jack Miller Jewelry Designers- 111. N. Tejon Suite A

SWEET thru Feb 14! 20% off (Excluding .50+ Diamonds) Call 232-8122 or visit www.jackmillerjd.com

Jack Quinn's Irish Ale House and Pub- 21 S. Tejon St.

Special prices and menu for " Dinner for two." Call Martin or Yvette 385-0766 or visit www.jackquinnspub.com

Sonterra Grill- 28B S. Tejon St.

Scarlet Snapper/ Chocolate Chile Rubbed Filet. Visit www.sonterragrill.com for full menu.

Slaytons BBQ- 28A S Tejon St.

Whiskey Peppercorn Steak/ Mahi Mahi Dijonaise. Visit www.slaytonsbbq.com for full menu.

Sparrow Hawk Cookware- 120 N. Tejon St.

Surprise your love with a Nespresso Pixie and 2 FREE espresso cups. See photos on facebook. www.facebook.com/SparrowHawkCookware

The Bank at Broadmoor- 515 S Tejon St.

Hosting a customer appreciation in honor of their 32nd Anniversary, with complimentary roses and chocolates. www.bankatbroadmoor.com

Terra Verde- 208 N. Tejon St.

15% off any one piece of jewelry purchased on Valentine's Day. Open Tuesday 10-6pm. Call 444-8261 for more info.

The Great Southwest Jewelry & Art Store- 76 S. Sierra Madre

In time for Valentine's Day- Santa Fe Artist Richard Lindsay trunk show 2/12/12. We pay the sales tax! Call 471-7772 for info.

Ultimate Superbowl food: Wings or nachos?

Posted by Larimer Associates on 2:20 PM

We’re getting close to the Super Bowl!!

For a day that’s all about the rough and tumble, you need to serve your guests something bold and flavorful, that isn’t afraid to play hard. What is your ultimate pigskin party food - wings or nachos?

CHORIZO AND PINTO BEAN NACHOS

Yield: 8 servings

1 pound Mexican chorizo, casings removed

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large bag tortilla chips

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Chopped onion, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa and chopped black olives, for garnish (optional)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In large skillet, cook chorizo, garlic and cumin until chorizo is thoroughly cooked. Drain most, but not all, of fat and add pinto beans, chili powder and salt. Cook until heated through.

2. On large ovenproof platter or cookie sheet, spread tortilla chips and top with chorizo-bean mixture. Repeat with another layer of each and top with cheese.

3. Bake until cheese is melted. If desired, serve with chopped onions, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa and olives.

Nutrition data not available.

Source: Ellyn Bouts

CHICKEN WINGS

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 level teaspoon dry mustard

2-3 pounds chicken wings

Procedure:

1. Combine first five ingredients in a pan to make a marinade, bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes.

2. Pour over cleaned chicken wings in slow cooker and cook 5-6 hours low. Alternative method: Set aside a little marinade, then steep wings in remaining marinade at least 8 hours in refrigerator; bake 1 hour on a flat pan at 350 degrees, basting with the marinade that was set aside.