February Edition
Welcome 2022 with the SWELL Living Newsletter!
Inspirational Quote of the Month
“Though, February is short, it is filled with lots of love and sweet surprises.”
Valentine’s Day and roses are usually what comes to mind when we think of February, but we wanted to make sure that you didn’t forget Groundhog Day…
Turns out, there are lots of things to celebrate about February in Wilmington…don’t stop reading to find them all out!
This month’s edition of SWELL Living has:
• Fun Fact: Leap Year!
Homeowner tips
SWELL Streaming
Exciting Area Events!
Garden Prep
Romantalcohol drinks!
Cirque Mechanics
Spend a fanciful evening watching incredible acrobatic feats like a contortionist performing on a turntable powered by unicyclists. Thrilling international audiences for over a decade, Cirque Mechanics has been combining comedy, original contraptions, and high-level Circus acrobatics for a fun-filled evening.
Black Violin
Black Violin is led by classically trained string players Wil B. (viola) and Kev Marcus (violin). Joining them onstage are DJ SPS & drummer Nat Stokes.
The band uses their unique blend of classical & hip-hop music, often described as “classical boom," to overcome stereotypes & encourage people of all ages, races, & economic backgrounds to join together to break down cultural barriers.
Brett Dennen
Enjoy an uplifting evening with Brett Dennen, a world-renowned artist, folk singer/songwriter, and environmentalist who has used his music and art to inspire good actions to create change in the world.
Brett continues to create music and visual art to spread love, hope, and inspiration to help make the world a little better and brighter.
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February is the time to plan!
It’s still too cold for lots of outdoor planting, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared for the warm weather.
Buy Seeds Early
Now is the perfect time to start ordering your seeds! If possible, try to get only organic seeds for a healthier crop.
Now is the time to plan what you'll want to grow and how much of it.
https://www.trueleafmarket.com/
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
https://www.victoryseeds.com/
Map Out Your Garden
Don’t know where to start?
Plant Fall Bulbs
Good news!
If you forgot to plant your bulbs in the fall, then it’s not too late. As long as the ground is still cold, it's not too late to plant your fall bulbs!
Just cause these drinks are pink doesn’t mean they still won’t fill you with delicious liquid courage ;)
If there’s a fella or gal out there this Valentine’s Day for you, be sure to impress them with these cocktails.
Have a SWELL V-day!
Love Potion #9
1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz creme de cacao liqueur
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup ice
You’re going to need a blender for this one, but it’s worth it!
Garnish with a strawberry, and enjoy!
It might not be magic, but it is soooo good ;)
2. Sweetheart Cocktail
1 oz vodka/gin
1 oz rose liqueur
1 3/4 oz cranberry juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
Combine in shaker, add ice and shake, and enjoy!
Garnish with a cherry or chocolate.
If you like cosmos, then you’re going to love this rendition with delicious rose liqueur.
3. Kir Royale
1 part Creme de Cassis
9 parts sparkling wine (chilled)
Build and serve in flute or coupe!
Garnish with berries, pomegranate seeds, a cherry, or all three!
The Kir Royale is the ultimate champagne cocktail – simple, sleek, sophisticated, and scrumptious!
We hope you get the chance to share these with someone special this Valentine’s Day :)
Did you know February gets the most amount of snow in the U.S?
Which is good timing to snuggle with that special someone on Valentine’s Day!
Also, on February 29th of a leap year, women often take the lead and are the ones to propose. This is a long tradition. Would you wait for a leap year though to ask the person of your dreams to get married though?
Amy Adams and Mathew Goode even made a movie about it…
Selling a home doesn’t have to be hard.
We believe selling a home should be simple, easy, and even a little fun too.
Make your next move a smooth one and move confidently with SWELL!
We also offer industry leading rates for home-sellers. Many firms charge as much as 3% of the sales price to sell your home. The most we ever charge is 2.5% and for qualified clients, we only charge 2%! To save thousands of dollars as well as time and energy, click the button below.
Home Owning In February…
Tips, tricks, and things to be aware of, courtesy of:
SWELL home-owners
Did You Know?
The #2 cause of house fires is from a dirty dryer vent?
Gross, right?
It Might Be Time To Check a Few Things…
•Dryer Vent
Having the buildup of lint, dog hair, and gum wrappers you left in your pocket cleaned from your dryer vent at least once a year is essential to keeping your dryer working efficiently and preventing a potential dryer fire.
In winter, snow can block the exterior vent, so take a walk outside your home to inspect the vent and remove snow or debris if needed.
•Speaking of fires…
When was the last time you checked your fire extinguisher? Are you wondering where it even is right now…do you actually have one?
If you have one, check it! If you don’t, go out and get one!
•Refrigerator Posterior
When coils are dirty with dust or pet hair, the refrigeration process is hindered, which can prevent the appliance from cooling properly and efficiently.
The coils are either at the bottom or behind the fridge, go ahead and give them a good vacuum!
Discover New TV, Movies, Music, & More
Ty covers the TV & Movie recommendations, here are his picks this month:
For a steamy victorian drama: Bridgerton
The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society. Inspired by Julia Quinn's bestselling novels.
Fun fact, season 2 comes out March 25th! Now is the perfect time to discover this series or refresh for the second season!
Starring: Adjoa Andoh, Julie Andrews, Lorraine Ashbourne
Available on Netflix.
For fantastic fantasy: The Wheel of Time
The lives of five young villagers change forever when a strange and powerful woman arrives, claiming one of them is the child of an ancient prophecy with the power to tip the balance between Light and Dark forever. They must choose whether to trust this stranger – and each other – with the fate of the world before the Dark One breaks out of His prison, and the Last Battle begins.
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, & Madeleine Madden
Available on Amazon Prime.
A Lovely Valentine’s Day movie: Finding You
After an ill-fated audition, Finley Sinclair travels to a coastal village in Ireland to begin a semester studying abroad. There she meets heartthrob movie star Beckett Rush. They begin an unlikely romance, but when forces surrounding Beckett's stardom threaten to crush their dreams, Finley must decide what she will risk for love.
Starring: Rose Reid, Jedidiah Goodacre, and Katherine McNamara
Available on Amazon Prime.
Music on Repeat: Anthony's Monthly Picks for Featured Tunes
Muse - Won’t Stand Down - UK Rock legends Muse have returned with their first fresh material in four years with the single track Won’t Stand Down, and as a long-time-fan, I’m… whelmed. Not underwhelmed, certainly, but not as overwhelmed and excited as I was about their 2018 album Simulation Theory. That said, the power trio from Devon has been rocking hard and melting faces since 1999, and the Exogenesis Symphony that wraps their album The Resistance is one of my favorite modern rock pieces of all time. Give the new single a listen and decide for yourself where Won’t Stand Down fits in the Muse pantheon, and let me know what you think!
The Weeknd - Dawn FM - For a fun change, and given my “whelmed” status after the new Muse release, here’s an artist that I’ve often held back on, and now I’m solidly convinced that Abel Tesfaye (better known as The Weeknd) is a pop-genius. After mocking him for years for getting a Kid’s Choice Award for a song about cocaine (Can’t Feel My Face), The Weeknd smacked me clear across the face with this latest album. Dawn FM is a story album, conceptualized around listening to a retro-pop radio station in Purgatory, and is a masterpiece. This is easily the most thoughtful, melodic, and personal work of his career, and for the first time in his career focused on lyrics about death and debauchery, he finally sounds a little afraid of it. It’s deeply personal, enlightened yet depressed, but ignore the lyrics and turn up the beats and you’ll find layers on layers of nostalgia for 80’s synth pop and R&B. It’s fun, mature, and thoughtful - and is giving me reasons to dig into his other work that I’ve since written off as shallow. I’m jumping in feet-first, and hope you check it out too!
BONUS! - Neil Young & Crazy Horse dropped a new album called Barn. NPR’s Fresh Air shared a great review, check it out here.
For the love of Podcasts: Marisa’s favorite this month
The Kitchen Sisters: Stories from the b-side of history. Lost recordings, hidden worlds, people possessed by a sound, a vision, a mission. The episodes tell deeply layered stories, lush with interviews, field recordings and music.
Have you ever thought about why there’s so many Vietnamese nail shops? Or why they call it a French manicure?
These odd questions and more are all answered in the Kitchen Sisters Podcast.
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