With summer comes backyard barbecues, friend hangouts and enjoying the warm weather after a long time inside. Sure, you can hire a landscaping designer to turn your yard into an oasis, but it’s easier than you think to do it on your own with these helpful backyard oasis ideas.
Transform your backyard into a place that you go to unwind and relax after a long day at work with these 16 backyard oasis ideas.
1. Add a hammock for lounging
What’s the best part of a vacation? It’s often getting to lay down on a hammock and read your latest book or take a nap during your time off. Well, bring this to your backyard to enjoy every day.
You can tie up the hammock to trees or get a free-standing one. Make sure you place it in the shade for a cooler nap and place a mosquito candle nearby.
2. Build a sitting area around a fire pit
Summer is synonymous with backyard fires, cool evenings and, of course, s’mores. Create a nice sitting area with a few outdoor chairs and side tables. Then place a fire pit in the middle — an in-ground fire pit or a free-standing wood one. You can also build one yourself.
Since you’ll get a lot of use out of a fire pit, this backyard oasis idea will become a fixture for your outdoor experience. Just make sure you stock up on marshmallows!
3. Take a dip in a stock tank pool
Stock tank pools have become a popular choice for those without the option of having an in-ground pool. In fact, stock tanks are one of the most popular backyard oasis ideas. You can even build a small deck around them if you need a few steps to reach the top.
During your hot days of summer, you’ll be glad you have this opportunity to cool off.
4. Setup for a backyard movie night
Popcorn, lots of picnic blankets and friends — one favorite backyard oasis idea is watching a movie in the backyard. Movie nights like this are what summers are perfect for.
You can use a white sheet or inflatable screen plus a small projector to show your favorite summer flick. The best part is that you can take it down once you’re done or leave it up for a weekly movie showing with your family.
5. Fire up an outdoor kitchen
Add a grill and a pizza oven to your outdoor kitchen set up for zero clean-up inside and all of the fun outside. You can have one built or you can create a setup on your own with a few carts. A nice outdoor kitchen will encourage you to spend more time outside too and having dinner while enjoying your backyard oasis.
6. String up bistro lights to create ambiance
Sure, large motion lights could provide light on your backyard as it gets dark. But bistro lights do that plus add to the ambiance. Bistro lights are easy to set up — you can add them to a trellis, use poles across your yard to hang them or attach them to your house.
For extra savings, pick up a string of lights that’s solar-powered and goes on instantly at dusk. Or add a smart switch so you can control them from your phone.
7. Swing from your favorite tree
If you have a large oak tree providing shade in your backyard, it is the perfect fit for a backyard swing. First, confirm that the tree is healthy enough for a swing with your arborist. Then you can add a swing, hammock chair or a weaved chair to the tallest branch and spend the afternoon enjoying it. This is a backyard oasis idea you’ll relish time and time again.
8. Get a hot tub
Hot tubs have a reputation for being expensive and highly cumbersome to set up. But like everything else on the market, more options come with time. While you can still get the classic hot tub set up, you can also get a blow-up (yes, you heard it right) hot tub that looks just as fancy.
For example, there are brands that offer portable hot tubs that are easy to carry and set up. They are also more affordable if you don’t want to commit to a more significant purchase.
9. Drink up at a tiki bar
If you host a lot of get-togethers with your friends, adding a backyard bar might make things a lot more seamless. Your friends can play bartender during the party without getting things dirty inside your house.
While the most popular theme for outdoor bars is tiki, you can definitely pick whatever style you choose. Have a backyard housewarming and tell your friends to stock the bar once you finish it.
10. Create a family-friendly game area
Add games that the whole family can play instead to your list of backyard oasis ideas. Corn hole, a giant chess board or bocce are great additions to a family-friendly game area in your backyard. You can have a dedicated space for all the games or just take them out when needed.
11. Brighten up your concrete flooring
A concrete patio can quickly become a little drab. Luckily, these days there are many options to brighten up your concrete flooring. With your landlord’s permission, you can add tile to bring some color into the space. If that’s not in your budget, you can stencil the floor instead.
Creating a faux stencil pattern on the concrete brings a little more interest to the space. Depending on how complex your design is, this is an easy, weekend budget-friendly project. Here’s some inspiration.
12. Get an eye-catching fountain
With so many new meditation apps on the market, it’s hard to find an excuse to not take 10 minutes to yourself and take a moment to tune out the outside. While the app helps, creating a space for meditating outside will help you stick to this habit and enjoy it a little more.
Add an eye-catching fountain to your garden to create the oasis you are looking for. From large to small fountains, stores sell some that you can easily set up on your own. It will help you focus on your practice and create a relaxing vibe.
13. Grow a lush vegetable garden
One of the best backyard oasis ideas will help you cultivate a green thumb. Many think that a garden should only include shrubs and flowers. However, making your landscape into an edible garden can also look beautiful. Studies have shown that gardening is good for your mental health.
Add a few garden beds where the sun shines the most and surround it with a pollinator flower garden. Add a trellis or an arch for berries to climb and adorn the space. You won’t want to leave this spot as you’ll spend time tending to the garden and enjoying the fruits of your labor.
14. Bring in a gazebo or awning
Having a little shade in the middle of summer can make all the difference in how often you’re out in your backyard oasis. You can create some shade and have a special reading nook just for you. You can add a retractable awning to the side of your home for convenience during group parties.
Or place a little gazebo far into your backyard oasis with some flower landscaping to add a little magic to the space. Gazebos come in all different sizes and colors, so you can find one that fits your style.
15. Gather your friends together around at a dining table
If you have space, adding a long dining table, paired with colorful pillows and beautiful flower arrangements, can genuinely change the vibe of your backyard oasis.
Prepare a feast for your friends and invite them to lounge in your home. Exchange stories as you reach for food and add a little music via a Bluetooth speaker — all under some bistro lights.
16. Plant an herb wall for cooking
There’s nothing better than fresh herbs available for your meals at all times. An herb wall can help you add visual interest to a blank wall in your backyard and give you that freshness that your food needs. Think fresh basil, thyme, rosemary and parsley — some of the easiest herbs to grow in your backyard oasis.
All you need is a vertical planter, soil and the herbs of your choice. If you’d like to make it yourself, here’s a quick DIY for a wood one.
Create an oasis in your backyard
No matter the size of your backyard, it has the potential to create a space for relaxation and sharing with your family. You can add a few of these backyard oasis ideas on your own while staying true to your budget. Adding a little magic to your yard is easier than you think.
Muriel Vega is an Atlanta-based journalist who writes about technology and its intersection with arts and culture. She’s worked on content for startups like Mailchimp, Patreon, Punchlist, Skillshare, Rent. and others. Muriel has also contributed to The Washington Post, Eater, DWELL, Outside Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, AIGA Eye on Design, Bitter Southerner and more.
As high interest rates and housing prices weigh down potential home buyers, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act could be on the way to help.
The proposed federal initiative would enable better affordability for home buyers by injecting $16 billion for adding more housing stock to the market and $10.1 billion for down payment assistance.
While it still needs to pass all three branches of government, it’s helpful to understand the legislation if it gets signed into law. Here’s what you need to know.
Check your home buying eligibility. Start here
What is the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act?
Introduced in 2023, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) is a bipartisan bill aiming to boost housing affordability through increased development and down payment assistance.
As it currently stands, it would devote $16 billion toward the building and rehabilitation of an estimated 400,000 homes, according to a White House statement. The proposal would also allocate $10 billion in down payment assistance and a $100 million pilot program to supplement opportunities for first-generation and/or low wealth first-time homebuyers.
Verify your home buying eligibility. Start here
“Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Our bipartisan tax credit will drive housing investments and revitalize neighborhoods … while keeping them affordable for low- and moderate-income families,” Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said in a press release. “This credit will allow individuals in these communities to build equity and wealth for their families.”
The ongoing dearth of available for-sale properties has held back the entire housing market. Coupled with the rapid mortgage rate growth from 2023, fewer borrowers can afford homeownership and fewer homeowners want to sell.
“The number of homes that are available for sale is the lowest or close to the lowest it’s ever been,” said Mortgage Bankers Association Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan. “A lot of that has been driven by the lock-in effect — many borrowers have lower mortgage rates than what’s being offered right now, so they’re just not willing to sell or list their homes.”
Has the Biden Neighborhood Homes Investment Act been passed?
As of November 2023, the Biden Neighborhood Homes Investment Act has not been passed, so the funding is not yet available.
Congress still needs to approve the proposed legislation before the President signs it into law. There is no set timeline for the act to pass. It is possible that it could be passed in the near future, but it is also possible that it could be delayed or even defeated in the process.
Other policies in the legislative pipeline
Even more federal help for borrowers could potentially be on the way as well. Similar to the NHIA, two other notable bills intended to help home buyers hang in bureaucratic limbo.
The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit would provide up to $15,000 in refundable tax credit to first-time borrowers. As long as the house isn’t sold within four years, the credit won’t need to be repaid. The second is the Downpayment Toward Equity Act. If signed into law, this would give eligible first-time home buyers a $25,000 cash grant to put toward their purchase.
Help for first-time home buyers
Buying property is a major milestone and often the largest financial decision people make.
Check your home buying options. Start here
While these proposed bills could potentially alleviate some affordability issues, plenty of helpful solutions already exist if you’re in the market to buy your first home. These come in the form of state assistance programs and special mortgages.
First-time home buyer mortgages
First-time home buyer loans are specifically designed with more favorable terms for the borrower, aimed to make homeownership more attainable.
Below is a quick rundown of these loans and their base qualifications:
Program
Minimum Credit Score
Down Payment Requirement
Other Requirements
FHA Loans
580 (with 3.5% down)
3.5%-10%
Mortgage insurance is required. Property must meet certain standards
Conventional 97
620
3%
At least one borrower must be a first-time home buyer. Private Mortgage Insurance may be required
Home Possible
660
3%
Income limits apply. Homeownership education required
HomeReady
620
3%
Income limits apply. Homeownership education required
USDA Loans
640
0%
Must be in a USDA-eligible rural area. Income limits apply
VA Loans
Varies by lender
0%
Available to veterans, active-duty service members, and certain members of the National Guard or Reserves
Broken down on a more local level, every state offers its own first-time home buyer program. These programs are customized to their markets, fitting the needs of the buyers within them.
Verify your low-down-payment loan options. Start here
Down payment assistance programs
Additionally, down payment assistance (DPA) can provide a big hand in clearing the financial hurdles to homeownership. The best part is you don’t necessarily need to be a first-time buyer to qualify for some DPA programs.
Every state has its own DPA to potentially take advantage of, found through local housing agencies, lenders, and city and state websites.
Explore your options
The housing market would get a much needed inventory boost if the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act gets passed. It would also inject more capital into down payment assistance programs for first-time home buyers.
In the meantime, those looking to buy their first home can and should still explore their loan options and see what financial assistance they may qualify for. Following a step-by-step guide for first-time home buying can also help you set expectations and get everything you need in order.
If you’re ready to begin your path to homeownership, contact a local lender today.
Time to make a move? Let us find the right mortgage for you
To the native Wintu people it was Bohem Puyuik, the “Big Rise,” and no wonder. Mt. Shasta towered above everything else, her loins delivering the natural springs and snowmelt that birthed a great river.
The Sacramento River provided such an abundance of food that the Wintu and many neighboring tribes — the Pit River, Yana, Nomlaki and others — had little to fight over. They thrived in pre-colonial times, on waters that ran silver with salmon, forests thick with game and oaks heavy with acorns.
But centuries of disease, virtual enslavement and murder wrought by European and American invaders scrambled the harmony that once reigned along the Upper Sacramento River.
Today, three tribes here are locked in a bloodless war. At issue is a proposal by one Indigenous group to expand and relocate its casino and whether the flashy new gambling hall, hotel and entertainment center would honor — or desecrate — the past.
The casino envisioned by the Redding Rancheria and its 422 members would rise nine stories on 232 acresalong Interstate 5. The rancheria — home to descendants from three historic tribes — began planning the development nearly two decades ago, envisioning a regional magnet for tourists and gamblers.
But the proposal has been buffeted by influential opponents, including the city of Redding, neighborhood groups and the billionaire next door — who happens to be the largest private landowner in America. The naysayers list a cavalcade of complaints against the new Win-River casino complex, saying it would despoil prime farmland, exacerbate traffic, increase police and fire protection costs and threaten native fish in the Sacramento River.
Those complaints have helped stall, but not kill, the project, whose fate rests almost solely in the hands of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. And now the BIA’s obscure bureaucrats have been confronted with an explosive new charge from two neighboring tribes: that construction of the casino would desecrate what the tribes say should be hallowed ground — the site of an 1846 rampage by the U.S. Cavalry that historians say probably killed hundreds of Native people.
The Sacramento River massacre has not received the attention of other atrocities of America’s westward expansion, such as the one in 1890 at Wounded Knee, S.D., where U.S. troops killed as many as 300 Lakota people. Estimates of the carnage, recorded over the decades from witness accounts and oral tradition, range from 150 to 1,000 men, women and children slaughtered along the banks of the Sacramento River.
If the higher estimates of the death toll are correct, it would rank as one of the largest single mass killings of Indigenous people in American history.
“In my heart, I find it hard to believe that there are Wintu people that are willing to build a casino on … the blood-soaked dirt of the massacre site,” Gary Rickard, chair of the Wintu Tribe of Northern California, told a state Assembly committee in August. “There are dozens of other places along the I-5 corridor and the Sacramento River.”
Redding Rancheria Chair Jack Potter Jr., himself part Wintu, called the claim that his tribe would build its casino on the massacre grounds “a slander that will not be easily forgotten.” He told state lawmakers that the real massacre site is miles away. Rancheria leaders said their opponents have manufactured the controversy for a less honorable reason: to block what would be a sparkling new competitor.
“Gaming in Indian country can be a tide that raises all of our canoes,” insisted Potter, who appeared at times to fight back tears as he spoke at the Sacramento hearing. “We should not battle against one another, in that spirit.”
Column One
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Friendships that go back decades and tribal ties of a century or more have been imperiled by the casino furor. Native people normally aligned against a hostile or indifferent U.S. government — “We’re all the children of genocide,” as one elder put it — have watched sadly as their conflicts turn inward.
It’s a dynamic that has played out before. Robbed of their ancestral lands, tribes now sometimes fight when one tries to claim new territory, often as a base for a lucrative modern endeavor: gambling.
The friction is exacerbated by the peculiar history of the Redding Rancheria — and by opponents’ eleventh-hour invocation of the Sacramento River massacre, 19 years after the rancheria began to assemble parcels for the project.
The Redding Rancheria refers to a nearly 31-acre stretch of land near the south end of Redding that the federal government bought in 1922 for “homeless Indians” who came to the area as seasonal workers for ranches and orchards. The rancheria sits in a relatively obscure location compared with the interstate-adjacent site of the proposed casino, more than three miles by car to the northeast.
In 1939, the Wintu, Pit River, Yana and other Indigenous peoples formed a rancheria government. It was recognized by the United States. But in 1958, an act of Congress “terminated” recognition of multiple California groups, including the Redding Rancheria, in an attempt to force Indians to disperse into the general population. It took a landmark 1983 court settlement to formally restore recognition of 17 rancherias, including the one in Redding.
The result is that there are Redding Rancheria members with Wintu blood, like Potter, 52, who firmly support the casino, while other Wintu descendants who are not descended from the original rancheria families, like Rickard, 78, adamantly oppose it. Rickard grew up with Jack Potter Sr. and has known his son since he was a boy.
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Cordiality prevails, at least outwardly, when Rickard and Potter meet today. But the bad blood between their groups has become fierce, exacerbated by the yawning wealth disparity between the rancheria and the Northern Wintu.
Rancheria members have thrived largely because of the success of their existing Win-River Resort & Casino, which operates 550 slot machines, a dozen table games, an 84-room hotel and an RV park.
The complex is the biggest income producer for the rancheria, which also owns a Hilton Garden Inn and a marijuana dispensary in Shasta County. Sources familiar with the tribe said each enrolled member receives a monthly “per capita” payment of at least $4,000 and perhaps as high as $6,000.
The rancheria’s chief executive, Pitt River descendant Tracy Edwards, 54, declined to discuss the amount of the payments.
That income, along with health clinics and other benefits, makes the Redding Rancheria members the envy of Indigenous groups with comparatively paltry assets. Rickard’s Northern Wintu claims roughly 560 certified members, but like many groups across America, the tribe has been laboring for years and still has not received formal recognition from the U.S. government. That means the tribe can’t put land into trust, a prerequisite to casino development and also a shield against federal, state and local taxes.
“We don’t have the resources in order to obtain the things we need,” said Shawna Garcia, the Northern Wintu’s cultural resources administrator. “We don’t have the revenue to assist our members with things like college, housing and other assistance.”
Historians and ethnographers say the Wintu were the predominant tribe around the site proposed for the casino complex, an expanse of meadow and scrubland that locals dub the Strawberry Fields because of its agricultural history. And Rickard questioned why the “pure-blood Wintu people” he represents have been left to struggle, while the rancheria — representing an amalgamation of tribal groups — stands poised to create an even bigger cash cow with its new casino.
Rancheria leaders like Edwards, a UC Davis-trained lawyer, have emphasized how the tribal group has supported Native and non-Native people, both as one of the largest employers in Shasta County and through its charitable foundation.
In just one year, 2018, the rancheria said it gave more than $1.2 million to community organizations, helping serve the homeless and victims of the Carr fire. During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rancheria donated $5,000 each to 60 businesses struggling to stay afloat.
At a cost of $150 million, the rancheria’s new casino would feature 1,200 slot machines — more than double the number at its current casino — and with 250 rooms, the new casino hotel would be more than triple the size of the existing hotel. The tribal group has pledged to close its current Win-River casino when the new one opens.
The rancheria’s outsized community presence has created substantial goodwill around Redding, but a portion of residents have stepped forward — via petitions and ballot measures — to express disdain for large developments they feel could harm the rural character of their community.
Among the more powerful opponents is Archie Aldis “Red” Emmerson, president of logging giant Sierra Pacific Industries, whose sprawling estate looms along the Sacramento River, just south of the casino site.
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In 2020, an Emmerson-allied company purchased property from the city of Redding that included a portion of a road that would be the north entry to the casino site and created an easement that would have barred access to the rancheria land for all but agricultural purposes. The easement effectively would have thwarted the casino by blocking vehicle access to the development.
But in 2022, a Shasta County Superior Court judge voided the deal, saying that in selling the land (for just $3,000 to the billionaire) the city had violated its “own processes, procedures and the relevant law.” The ruling nullified the easement, preserving the rancheria’s unrestricted access to the property.
The Redding City Council and neighboring homeowners have maintained their opposition to the project for years, while a new conservative majority on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors recently reversed the county’s earlier objections. The supervisors supported the casino, despite admonitions from the sheriff, fire chief and county counsel that the agreement with the rancheria did not provide sufficient compensation to cover the increased costs of serving the big development.
The rancheria agreed to make one-time payments totaling $3.6 million to support Shasta County, the Sheriff’s Department and fire and emergency services. That initial infusion would be supplemented by recurring payments: $1,000 for each police service call and $10,000 for each fire/emergency service call.
No issue has unsettled intra-tribal relations, though, like the debate flowing out of the terrible events along the Sacramento River 177 years ago.
Oral histories of the Wintu and neighboring tribes recall how Native families and elders had gathered along the river known as the Big Water each year in early April for the spring salmon run. Traditionally, the season signaled rebirth.
But Capt. John C. Fremont had other ideas.
Fremont diverted his men from their ordered assignment: completing land surveys in the Rocky Mountains. The Americans instead went adventuring to California, where, in the spring of 1846, they responded to sketchy claims from settlers that they were endangered.
About 70 buckskin-clad white men set upon the Native people, the locals far outgunned by the invaders, each toting a Hawken rifle, two pistols and a butcher knife, according to UCLA historian Benjamin Madley‘s detailed account of the massacre.
The horsemen completed their grisly work with such evident pride that legendary frontiersman Kit Carson later bragged that the coordinated assault had been “a perfect butchery.”
The massacre marked the beginning of “a transitional period between the Hispanic tradition of assimilating and exploiting Indigenous peoples and the Anglo-American pattern of killing or removing them,” according to Madley’s “An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe.”
Fremont (later a U.S. senator from California and a Republican presidential candidate) would say that his party attacked the natives because of reports of an “imminent attack” upon settlers. But the “battle” was one-sided, with the federal troops suffering no known casualties. Afterward, according to Madley’s account, Fremont’s men feasted on the Native people’s larder of fresh salmon.
In the nearly two centuries since, the tragedy would be more forgotten than remembered. There is no historical marker around Redding noting the event.
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The Wintu people believed to have been the principal victims have preserved memories of the mass killing in their oral history. But no ceremony marks the atrocity. And at the Wintu cultural resource center in Shasta Lake City, a wall-size timeline of the group’s history makes no mention of the 1846 bloodshed.
There’s also the now-pressing question — pushed to the fore by the casino feud — about precisely where the massacre occurred. The Northern Wintu and another outspoken opponent, the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, insist that the Strawberry Fields property was a key location in the atrocity.
The Paskenta commissioned a study by a retired anthropologist from Cal State Sacramento that drew on research from the late 1800s by a linguist from the Smithsonian Institution who, in turn, got much of his information from a Wintu elder who survived the massacre. The report, by Dorothea Theodoratus and a colleague, said that the “center” of the massacre was “opposite the mouth of Clear Creek” in the Sacramento River, a point roughly two miles south of the proposed casino location.
But other accounts from participants and witnesses said Fremont’s soldiers chased down victims after the initial assault, leaving the exact range of the bloodshed unknown. The Theodoratus report says that six villages, including two on the proposed casino property, were so thoroughly intermingled that all “would have had some direct involvement with that massacre.”
Andrew Alejandre, chair of the Paskenta Band, told the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee in August that his tribe is seeking to have the state and federal governments designate the Strawberry Fields a sacred site, off-limits to development. Alejandre, 35, said his tribe vehemently opposes building a casino “on top of men, women, children and elders. The spirit of these ancestors … Let them rest!”
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In rebuttal, Potter and rancheria CEO Edwards note that during the many years that they and others have pursued developments in the region, the rival tribes never mentioned the massacre. Divisive fights over a proposed auto mall and a sports complex (both scrapped) came and went without any discussion about desecration of a mass grave site.
“I would never disrespect the remains of my ancestors,” Potter said.
Fifty miles south of Redding in rural Corning, the 288-member Paskenta Band opened the Rolling Hills Casino and Resort two decades ago. The luxe gaming hall is just one part of an economic surge by the tribe, which has also opened an equestrian complex, an 18–hole golf course, a 1,400-acre gun and hunting center and a 3,000-person amphitheater, where Snoop Dogg performed in May.
Potter charged that the fight over the historic massacre is really a ploy by the flourishing Paskenta to squelch the Redding Rancheria’s hopes for a shimmering destination casino “because of the mistaken belief that it … will cut into the profits of their gaming facilities.”
Paskenta’s Alejandre, a designer who once ran a clothing company, denied that is the case.
While representatives for the Paskenta and Northern Wintu tribes bashed the casino proposal at the August hearing, representatives of at least eightother California tribes argued in support of the Redding Rancheria. One said the Redding group had proved itself a good steward of cultural resources.
Another speaker at the hearing was Miranda Edwards, the 28-year-old daughter of the rancheria CEO. The Stanford-educated Edwards and her mother spoke about the importance of moving the tribal group forward for the “Seventh Generation,” future descendants whose livelihoods must be planned for today.
“We work hard every day to provide for this rural community and make it the best that we can for everyone that lives there,” Miranda Edwards told legislators. “It’s disheartening to hear from those that choose not to see that. But it will not stop our work.”
Potter, the rancheria’s chairman, had a sardonic take on the dispute.
“We always talk about crabs in a pot,” Potter said. “We are like all these crabs, stuck in a pot. When one tries to get out of the pot, all the others reach up and pull him back in.”
Will arguments about the Sacramento River massacre sway the final outcome of the Redding Rancheria’s casino quest? A BIA spokesman said only that “these issues are under review.” Nearly two centuries after representatives of the U.S. military decimated a civilization here, the federal government still retains ultimate authority over the fate of Native people.
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Some breakups happen for the pettiest reasons. While some might be partially reasonable but a little out-there, others are just straight up crazy and impossible—well, lots can happen when you’re in a relationship.
Here are some of the 17 pettiest reasons people in relationships break up!
1. Cheating in a Dream
One person said, “Your SO had a nightmare you cheated on them, and because of the dream, they break up with you.”
Somebody else replied with a similar story about their friendship, “Not related to a boyfriend, but my best friend at the time had a dream I killed her. She called me to tell me she’s not comfortable seeing me until she’s ready.
“I was going through a hard day, and after she called me and our conversation ended, I broke down crying. Like, what the f- life? That was so random and stung so much, I felt like a criminal. We got back to our friendship in a couple of days, but it ended officially 5 years later.”
Then the third added, “Oh, I remember my parents having a huge fight because of this. My mom was REALLY upset at my dad for like 2 days before he finally just blew up about it. This was ages ago. They have been married more or less happily for 42 years, and this kind of stuff still happens. Perpetually 19 is what I sometimes say.”
2. Sports Rivalries
“Sports rivalries. That’s definitely happened, which is hilarious,” said one.
“I put sports rivalries on the hot crazy scale. You gotta be crazy to be a fan of the Jets,” replied another.
“It happened to me. She was a Raiders fan, I was a Broncos fan. She dumped me in preseason,” added the third.
3. She Didn’t Want Dessert but Ate Half of My Pie
One user stated, “She said she didn’t want dessert but then ate half my slice of pie.”
Another one replied, “Oh, I hate when a partner does that. Grew up with three siblings. Mine is mine. Order your own.”
Then the third added in agreement, “This is a legit reason to break up. I do this all the time. I would prefer to cut ties right away if it is not acceptable!”
4. She Eats Her Peas One at a Time
Somebody shared, “She eats her peas one at a time.”
Somebody else added, “Read this to my husband. He said, ‘That is NOT a stupid reason. That would be f- annoying as s-.’ Lmao.”
5. Her Ex Didn’t Like Me
“I had a girl leave me after a week because her ex boyfriend didn’t like me. I gladly went home after hearing that,” shared somebody.
“I had a date cancel because of this. He showed my picture to his ex girlfriend and she said I was too blonde(?) for him. Whatever that means. Maybe she thought I would be dumb? We both dodged bullets,” replied another with a similar experience.
6. Not Replying Fast Enough
Somebody said, “Not replying to a text message quickly enough.”
The second person replied, “The iPhone f- people’s minds up when they let them see that ‘read’ under your message though. ‘He read it like 3 minutes ago, what is he doing that he can’t message me back OMG is he with someone else?’”
“Yeah, read receipts stole something from us as a society,” agreed the third.
7. I Didn’t Give Him My Cheese Puffs
“In fourth grade my bf Justin was demanding I share my cheese puffs. I jokingly said no. He got serious and said do it or I’ll break up with you. I made sure I only ate half and threw the other half away out of pure spite,” shared one user.
“Power move!” replied the second person.
“I hope to god any future kids I have have that f- attitude when dating. That’s a boss f- move right there,” added another.
8. I Wore Too Many Hats
“My ex wife in her divorce paperwork cited one of the reasons as ‘…he also wore too many hats.’ Like literally, I like to wear hats and she hated that,” stated somebody.
“But are you wearing one hat at a time or are you wearing a lot of hats at once?” asked somebody.
“I mean, to be fair, I own about 400 hats (mostly baseball caps) but wearing more than one at a time? I’m not that crazy,” replied the original commenter.
9. Didn’t Match a Racial Stereotype
One person shared, “Guy once broke up with me because I am not enough of a racial stereotype.”
The second person replied, “This s- [is] real!”
Then the original commenter replied, “Apparently, I did not fit his perception of a white European.”
10. He Was Obsessed With Julia Roberts
“One time I broke up with someone because they were obsessed with Julia Roberts and I just thought she was meh, every time we hung out, it was Julia Roberts this, Julia Roberts that. Sheeeeeeeesh,” shared one.
“Same with my ex but with Pamela Anderson. And he says that he’s a big Pamela Anderson fan but he couldn’t name another movie she was in besides Baywatch which makes me wonder if he’s only into her because of her big jiggly [chest],” replied the second person.
11. He Took the Wrong Turn and Argued About It
Somebody stated, “I seriously considered calling off my wedding because he took the wrong exit off the highway. When I got irritated and pointed it out (we were in a rush), he got angry with me and claimed that a city street with stop signs every block was faster than the literal f- highway going the same route.
“But it was just a symptom of the greater problem—he absolutely had to be the smartest person in the room, even if he had to lie or gaslight in order to make it happen.
“So yes, even though it would be ridiculous to call off a wedding the day before over a navigation mishap, I would have been better off (ignoring my gut cost me thousands in divorce fees, stolen cash, and therapy bills).”
“Preach girl,” said another.
12. Her Pinky Toenail Is Too Weird
“When I was dating in the nineties an acquaintance of mine broke up with a girl because ‘her pinky toenail is weird,’” shared somebody.
“My husband is weirded out with my toe nails, especially my pinky toenail. I have basically no toenails and my fingernails are very small. I get it though, it is weird to look at a person’s feet and just see dots of nails haha,” added another.
13. I’m Not Korean
One person said, “My first boyfriend, I had a crush on since 8th grade. He asked me out at the end of my junior year. We dated a year before he told me he couldn’t date me because I’m not Korean.”
The second person replied, “That ended a relationship of mine but the other way. His family was [very biased] against anyone not Korean. They never accepted me, so I backed out.”
Finally, the third added another relatively similar story, “When I lived in Vegas, My gf had an Ethiopian gf. She would only date other Ethiopian men. She was stunning, worked as a high roller dealer in Vegas and African American NBA players would ask her out and she just completely shoot them down.”
14. Because of My Horoscope Sign
“A girl I had a genuine connection with one time ghosted me because of my horoscope sign. And let me tell you, that s- hurt!!! It didn’t help that this was the first girl I ever had a genuine connection with. I was in a dark place in my life and she would check on me to make sure I was ok.
“Then one day, she reveals that she’s always had feelings for me. She completely erased every negative emotion in my body until the day she ghosted me. Then I was in a deeper hole than where I was before.
“This was years ago and while I’m completely over it, I have never met another woman who I’ve felt as strong as connection as I did with her. But I’m glad I went through what I did because it helped me develop a sense of self worth and confidence,” shared somebody.
15. She Didn’t Like Monty Python and the Holy Grail
“She didn’t find Monty Python and the Holy Grail humorous at all,” one user stated
“Valid. Hope your heart only got a scratch when she coconutted away. Although, you could say you broke up because her mother was a hamster, and her father smelt of elderberries,” replied another.
16. Because I Don’t Like Marvel Movies
Somebody said, “I had a girl breakup with me because I didn’t like Marvel movies. I watched a few with her just because I liked spending time with her. I think she noticed that I was kind of not keeping up well when she was nerding out over some stuff and then asked me straight up if I’m even into all of it. I told her it really isn’t something I’m into, but I love that she is and I just like spending time with her.
“That was not enough for her. She felt sort of betrayed like I was pretending to like something just to placate her. Maybe she was right, but I didn’t really have any bad intentions other than I liked seeing her happy.
“She insisted we watch a movie that I like. So I put on one of my favorite indy comedies (The Puffy Chair) and she hated it. It’s a very typical type of movie that I like. We didn’t even get through it. She kept complaining about how boring it was. The next night, she broke up with me over text. Maybe I should have started with Lost in Translation?”
17. My Hair Is Longer Than Theirs
“I had a few women break up with me or ghost me because my hair was longer and more well maintained than theirs. Said it was really feminine but wasn’t complaining when they were pulling it while I went down on them haha,” said one user.
“I’m a dude with long hair and it legitimately [makes women angry] that my hair always looks perfect right out of bed,” added another.
How did you find our list? Do you have similar experiences with your exes? Let us know in the comments!
And if you want more content like this, simply hit the thumbs-up button and share it with your friends and family.
Source: Reddit
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Top 10 builder now offering model home tours at Maggy’s Ridge Estates, selling from the mid $200s
LAFAYETTE, La., Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Century Communities, Inc.—a top 10 national homebuilder, industry leader in online home sales, and the highest-ranked homebuilder on Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2023—is excited to announce the debut of Century Complete’s new model home at Maggy’s Ridge Estates in Sulphur, showcasing the community’s single-story Douglas floor plan. Maggy’s Ridge Estates boasts a prime location with convenient proximity to cultural hotspots and business hubs in the Lake Charles area—with quick access to McNeese State University, outdoor recreation and more. The location also comes with a desirable Flood Zone X rating, meaning a lower risk of flooding and thus lower insurance rates compared to higher-risk zones.
Available through Century Complete’s streamlined online homebuying process, the community is now selling an inspired lineup of single-story floor plans on wide homesites from the mid $200s—with each plan offering a versatile open-concept layout with exceptional included features, such as brick exteriors, stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops, and white cabinets. Buyers will also appreciate an inviting covered patio on each plan for a seamless flow between outdoor and indoor living spaces.
Learn more & view available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/MaggysRidgeEstates.
“We’re excited for area homebuyers and real estate agents to come tour our beautiful new Douglas model at Maggy’s Ridge Estates,” said Greg Huff, president of Century Complete. “Offering generous homesites, this community provides the opportunity to be the first to live in a quality-built new home at an affordable price, which is why we anticipate these homes to sell quickly.”
Wednesday, December 6: Homebuyer Webinar With Dinner at Maggy’s Ridge Estates
Homebuyers are invited to attend a special event at the community’s model home to enjoy complimentary dinner and watch a webinar livestream with information about home financing options with affiliate lender, Inspire Home Loans®!
MORE ABOUT MAGGY’S RIDGE ESTATES Now selling from the mid $200s
Conveniently situated near I-10 W/US-90 in Calcasieu Parish, Maggy’s Ridge Estates boasts a desirable location with easy access to restaurants, shopping, entertainment, museums and year-round community events. Exuding small-town charm, Sulphur offers a slower pace of life and an abundance of recreational opportunities, including recreation at nearby Lake Charles, the Creole Nature Trail, and more.
Three single-story floor plans
Three-sided brick exteriors
Up to 4 bedrooms, up to 3 bathrooms, 2-bay garages
Covered patios (per floor plan)
1,684 to 2,020 square feet
Model Home Address: 4987 Carlyss Drive Sulphur, LA 70665 337.210.2050
OTHER AREA COMMUNITIES
Maggy’s Ridge | Sulphur Now selling from the low $200s
Adjacent to Maggy’s Ridge Estates
2 single-story floor plans
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-bay garages
1,684 to 1,773 square feet
Learn more & view available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/MaggysRidge.
Mills Terrace | Scott Now selling from the low $200s
2 single-story floor plans
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-bay garages
1,684 to 1,773 square feet
Learn more and view available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/MillsTerrace.
Timberstone Estates | New Iberia Now selling from the low $200s
3 single-story floor plans
Up 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-bay garages
1,416 to 1773 square feet
Learn more and view available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/TimberstoneEstates.
Copper Oaks | Baton Rouge Now selling from the mid $200s
2 single-story plans, 2 two-story plans
4 bedrooms, up to 3 bathrooms, 2-bay garages
1,684 to 2,014 square feet
Learn more and view available homes at www.CenturyCommunities.com/CopperOaks.
VISIT OUR LOUISIANA SALES STUDIO IN BROUSSARD! While our industry-leading online homebuying process allows you to buy on your terms—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year—we also offer in-person assistance from local experts at our sales studio.
481 Albertson Parkway, Suite 2 Broussard, LA 70518 337.210.2050
DISCOVER THE FREEDOM OF ONLINE HOMEBUYING: Century Complete is proud to feature its industry-first online homebuying experience on all available homes in Louisiana.
How it works:
Shop homes at CenturyCommunities.com
Click “Buy Now” on any available home
Fill out a quick Buy Online form
Electronically submit an initial earnest money deposit
Electronically sign a purchase contract via DocuSign®
Learn more about the Buy Online experience at www.CenturyCommunities.com/online-homebuying.
About Century Communities Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CCS) is one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, an industry leader in online home sales, and the highest-ranked homebuilder on Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2023. Through its Century Communities and Century Complete brands, Century’s mission is to build attractive, high-quality homes at affordable prices to provide its valued customers with A HOME FOR EVERY DREAM®. Century is engaged in all aspects of homebuilding — including the acquisition, entitlement and development of land, along with the construction, innovative marketing and sale of quality homes designed to appeal to a wide range of homebuyers. The Company operates in 18 states and over 45 markets across the U.S., and also offers title, insurance and lending services in select markets through its Parkway Title, IHL Home Insurance Agency, and Inspire Home Loans subsidiaries. To learn more about Century Communities, please visit www.centurycommunities.com.
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When architect Simon Storey’s clients took him to a steep lot of undeveloped land for sale in Silver Lake, he advised them to pass. Storey’s firm, Anonymous Architects, is used to building on difficult sites, but he knew this particular lot would be especially challenging.
“It’s more difficult and more time-consuming,” says Storey.
The lot lingered on the market for a few years and then the asking price dropped. That’s when Storey and his wife, Jen Holmes, decided they were willing to take on the difficult ground-up construction.
Sloped lots typically require excavation and complicated and costly foundations, and have issues ranging from erosion to drainage to landscaping. It’s not for the faint of heart.
“It’s such a huge pain. But I proved myself right: It wasn’t easy,” he says.
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Storey and Holmes bought the 2,900-square-foot lot in 2017 for $92,000 and started to plan their home. The land was not just steep — a grade of 33% — but also long and narrow. (For comparison, the steepest street in Los Angeles, Eldred Street in Highland Park, has the same slope.) The couple bought the land from entrepreneur Judd Schoenholtz, who bought the lot in a trust sale. Ironically, Schoenholtz was considering how to build on it and had looked at some of Storey’s other houses for inspiration. “Simon is probably the only one who could figure it out,” he says with a laugh.
Working within the constraints of a narrow lot was familiar to Storey, who had previously built his own home in Echo Park, a compact but elegant structure whose 960 square feet exceeded the 780-foot-lot it was built on.
Storey’s previous home, dubbed Eel’s Nest after the slender homes typical of dense neighborhoods in Japan, was a study in efficient urban living. He found ways to enlarge the space, just 15 feet wide, through the clever use of windows and skylights, high ceilings and a floating staircase that did double duty as a light well.
Storey and Holmes wanted to take the best parts of Eel’s Nest and the lessons learned from living in that space for more than a decade and apply them to this new project, which they called the Box. Once again the constraints of the lot dictated the design. “We had no choice but to go right up to maximum width and stick with it for the entire building,” explains Storey.
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The result is a long building that spans just 18 feet across and 100 feet long. Yet adding just three more feet than their previous house makes a dramatic difference. “Every inch makes an outsize difference. I don’t think of it as being a narrow building,” says Storey.
Storey wanted the house to be as utilitarian as possible. He chose a corrugated cement panel typically used for farming and industrial buildings in Europe as a siding material above the two-story concrete base.
With the structure built three feet from the property line, the couple were constrained by city code in the amount of windows allowed on the side of the building. As a result, the windows are arranged in a horizontal expanse, providing panoramic views of the hills in Silver Lake and Echo Park.
The entrance to the house is set back another five feet, allowing double-height windows that span two stories, bringing in more light. The floating staircase from Eel’s Nest makes another appearance in the Box, across from the entrance. A narrow walkway on the top floor connects the front and back of the house but allows light to filter in on both sides to the floor below. The skylight in Eel’s Nest also reappears in the Box, bringing more light into the shower in the primary bathroom.
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With a workshop sitting between the ground-floor garage and the two main stories of the house, Storey and Holmes were able to construct all of the cabinetry, millwork and even features like their stair treads on-site. “Anything made of wood we built ourselves,” says Storey.
Holmes, who works in development at LACMA but was an art student in college, found her sculpting skills came in handy. “I knew how to weld but didn’t do it for 20 years,” explains Holmes, who took a half-day welding class at Gearhead Workshops in Torrance to brush up on her skills.
In fact, much of the construction they did themselves, as a budgetary consideration but also to ensure the level of detail met their standards. Weekends, holidays and vacation days for nearly three years were spent working on the house.
The couple estimate they spent 5,500 hours working on the house, not including the hours spent on planning, designing and general contracting, and saved about $520,000 in construction costs based on pricing from comparable projects Storey has worked on.
“I’d take naps on a furniture blanket on the floor or in the car,” says Holmes, who became a regular at the nearby Whole Foods to pick up meals before they had a working kitchen. “Everyone [who works] there knows me and I know all of them.”
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Other expenses included $300,000 for the foundation, more than three times what it would have cost for a similarly sized project on a flat lot, and about $20,500 for geology consultants to survey the slope. All together the project came in at roughly $1.3 million. However, the average homeowner shouldn’t expect such a deal. Acting as his own architect, general contractor and builder helped Storey and Holmes save considerably. Additionally, every hillside lot presents its own hidden expenses — and what a house costs to build is often very different than its market value in competitive L.A.
Before they started on the cabinets, the pair worked on sealing the envelope of the house to ensure better air quality and circulation. They meticulously identified every gap in the framing stage, foaming and caulking the gaps to improve efficiency.
Once that was complete, they set about building their own window frames and cabinetry. The two handpicked all of their own lumber from Bohnhoff Lumber Co. in Vernon, a decision Storey says is key to guaranteeing high quality. “It was a cost issue but also a quality issue. There is a shocking level of inconsistency when you don’t pick it yourself.” The natural wood provides a calming contrast to the industrial materials used on the exterior.
Most of the casework is a mix of red and white oak. With construction of the house happening during the pandemic, the cost of white oak saw a precipitous rise. Storey and Holmes began to introduce red oak as an accent material, though the effect is still monochromatic. “I don’t want to live somewhere austere, but I like things that are minimal,” says Holmes.
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All of the cabinetry and woodwork is custom, designed to suit the couple’s needs. Separating the kitchen and living room is a multipurpose room-within-a-room that includes a custom pantry on one side and cabinetry to house their record collection and stereo on the other.
“Every element of the house has a function,” says Storey. The focus on utilitarian design is a carryover from Eel’s Nest. “We are squeezing as much utility into the building as possible.” Appliances, primarily Fisher & Paykel, are hidden behind custom wood panels, as are closets and bathrooms.
With four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the house was designed to be flexible enough to adapt to changing needs. Planned prior to the pandemic, Storey’s design called for his office to occupy the back of the house, with living spaces in the front. However, the office can easily be converted into a guest suite for relatives or visitors that includes a kitchenette and a private entry.
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As a passionate cook, Holmes programmed the layout of the kitchen to her specifications. The sink is placed in a central island, facing the views. “Every party I go to, people end up in the kitchen,” says Holmes. “I wanted it to be comfortable to cook in but also a place to entertain. We can have four or eight or 20 people here and it doesn’t feel too big or too small.”
While Holmes wanted the kitchen to be as functional as possible, Storey wanted the kitchen to not look like a kitchen at all. “The fridge and freezer vanish. Nothing screams ‘kitchen.’ We had competing objectives but managed to merge into a perfect solution,” he says, adding, “It’s a good allegory for marriage.”
Situated in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon, The Duniway is a Hilton hotel that offers travelers a relatively upscale boutique hotel atmosphere in a great location.
A short walk from many of the city’s most popular attractions, venues, restaurants and coffee shops, it’s a compelling option for guests looking to book a stay at a more locally-inspired hotel in the Hilton portfolio — after all, it’s named after Portland suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway.
Location
The Duniway sits at the corner of SW Taylor Street and SW 6th Avenue in Portland.
The feel around the hotel is a distinct city vibe, with nearby urban squares, tall buildings and Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail trains quietly rumbling by every so often.
Staying here, you’ll be steps from a local winery’s tasting room, a short stroll from coffee shops and restaurants and an easy walk to popular gathering spots like the Arlene Schnizter Concert Hall (0.2 miles) and the Portland Art Museum (0.3 miles).
Pioneer Courthouse Square, shown above, is just over a block away from the property.
The hotel is located on the west side of the Willamette River. If you want to reach the Oregon Convention Center, on the opposite bank, it’s a short drive.
Design elements
When you walk into The Duniway, you’ll immediately encounter the contrast of dark brown wood and leather tones accented by pops of bright color.
You can relax or work at one of the many tables or leather chairs, or make your way to the Mayrose Lounge Bar, which features coffee from local Portland coffee roasters as well as a full complement of alcoholic beverages.
You’ll find Portland and Pacific Northwest-inspired imagery throughout the property.
Accomodations
The Duniway features a relatively traditional room layout that’s been modernized with smart touches and thoughtful design.
The focal point of the room is the 65-inch television integrated into a wooden floor-to-ceiling entertainment center.
The comfortable bed is flanked by attached nightstands, on which you’ll find USB charging ports and reading lamps.
Our room also offered a windowside loveseat and tables perfect for enjoying room service or getting some work done — although you might prefer the desk for the latter.
We were upgraded to a high-floor room thanks to our reservation with Fine Hotels & Resorts (and my Hilton Gold elite status), which gave us a view of downtown Portland.
The bathroom features a white marble vanity and single-use bath products (which is becoming more of a rarity these days) from Badgley Mischka.
Though we didn’t request one, we received an accessible room assignment. As such, the room offered a roll-in shower as well as a bench and hand-held shower head.
Finally, in an upgrade from more budget-oriented hotels — one that was appreciated by this coffee enthusiast — the room features Vittoria Coffee espresso machines.
Food and beverage
Just off the lobby is the Mayrose restaurant, described by the property as an American brasserie that celebrates the progressive culture of Portland.
The restaurant has an open concept feel and, depending on the time of day, is filled with natural light.
Though we didn’t find any single dish to be especially memorable, the meal was perfectly enjoyable and the menu offers plenty of options, whether you’re hoping to sit down and make full use of a property credit like us or simply enjoy a meal without having to leave the hotel premises.
The highlight was definitely an appetizer — the seared gnocchi with pea puree and crispy prosciutto ($14).
We also found the charred brussels sprouts topped with a fried egg yolk, crispy onions and sherry vinegar ($13) to be a bit of a unique take on a dish you find at many restaurants these days.
Our bill came to $97 which, thanks to our dining credit, meant we only had to pay for the tip out of pocket.
Our AmEx booking also entitled us to a breakfast credit of $30 per person, per day.
The Mayrose was packed for breakfast and brunch and featured menu offerings like scrambled biscuit sliders ($13) and an A.M. Banh Mi sandwich ($13).
However, we decided to take advantage of a separate dining option the hotel offers: you can also use property credits and charge meals to your room at The Duniway’s sister hotel, the Hilton Portland Downtown, across the street.
There, you’ll find the restaurant Hop City in the lobby, which includes a market-style area and a sit-down dining room where you can order from an a la carte menu or visit the hot buffet.
My wife enjoyed her breakfast potatoes with an over-easy egg and aioli.
Amenities
A highlight of The Duniway is Abigail’s Hideaway, a plant-filled courtyard on the 11th floor that provides an expansive outdoor area where guests can relax and get some fresh air.
There are several sofas underneath string lights, plus heaters for those cooler Pacific Northwest evenings.
Children might enjoy the giant chess board on the patio, which is open until 10 p.m. each night.
Just inside, the gym includes a Peloton bike (like most Hilton properties in the U.S.) in addition to other exercise equipment and cardio machines.
One room over, an indoor pool offers a place to go for a swim, though there’s not much room for lounging on the rather small pool deck.
How to get there
Located in downtown Portland, travelers arriving by air will likely fly into Portland International Airport, which is about a 15-minute drive from the hotel, depending on traffic.
By rideshare, my wife’s Lyft to the airport cost around $35, though that price can, of course, fluctuate with supply and demand.
Departing later, I walked a block to catch the MAX Red Line to the airport for just $2.50. If I hadn’t run into construction delays and had to switch to a bus — which, to their credit, the hotel front desk warned me about — it would have been a pretty seamless (and inexpensive) trip.
If you’re traveling to Portland with a car or have a rental, parking at the hotel is a bit pricey, at $33 per night for self parking and $55 for valet service.
The Duniway hotel recapped
The Duniway puts guests in excellent proximity to all downtown Portland has to offer, and it offers a distinctly independent, un-corporate atmosphere — not unlike what you’d find at a Hilton Curio Collection-type property.
It also offers great value for American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts guests. Between a property credit and daily breakfast credits, my wife and I saved $220 during our two-night stay, while also getting access to complimentary premium Wi-FI and a guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout — which came in handy ahead of a red-eye flight back to the East Coast.
Terms apply.
(Top photo courtesy of Sean Cudahy)
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Cinema has long been a source of heated debate, especially regarding films that tried too hard to be serious and ended up just seeming pretentious. With the arrival of streaming platforms, more accessible movie-making tools and an increased ability for filmmakers to challenge the norm, recent years have seen a wave of new daring cinema—acclaimed as genius by some yet widely disliked by others.
Nowhere is this disparity in opinion more apparent than with these 20 pretentious movies. So what do you think? Are there times when lines should not be crossed regarding artistic expression, or are pushing boundaries necessary? Below are the top 20 pretentious movies shared across online:
1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
One user posted, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. A The Holocaust and 9/11 mash-up with an autistic kid as the main character? Pure pretentious as s- Oscar bait.
“I had to read the book in high school, and the best thing I could say about it was that it provided easy pickings for annotation assignments.”
Another user added a story behind the film, “Daily reminder that the author of the book awkwardly flirted with Natalie Portman via email, thought she was as into him as he was into her, and left his wife of 10 years for her, only to be met with bemused puzzlement from Natalie.”
One user replied, “Jesus, those emails were painful to read from both of them. I can’t believe people write like that in their personal emails. He did end up dating Michelle Williams for years after his divorce, so I guess he’s got some game.”
2. Eat Pray Love
One user added, “Eat Pray Love(2010), a pretentious film based on an equally pretentious true story.”
One user replied, “So true, lol. Like I would love to just take off for a year, but unfortunately, I have to work.”
3. Crash
“Crash (2004)—simultaneously the most pretentious movie I’ve ever seen and the stupidest,” one user added.
Another user shared, “I remember seeing it when it came out and found it fairly forgettable. Then it kinda gained this reputation as ‘didn’t deserve the Oscar,’ so I watched it again recently. It tries so hard to be topical (and perhaps it was in a way), but it’s soooo over the top yet surface level at the same time with its message. There are some good performances in the movie, but that can’t save the script.”
4. The Room
One Redditor posted, “I think considering Tommy Wiseau’s intention to make a serious drama, The Room is pretentious. I know he refuted the claim that The Room was supposed to be serious. But sorry, I have severe doubts.”
One user shared, “There’s no way in h*ll that The Room was anything other than a sincere effort by Tommy to make a legitimate dark drama. Making the movie as it is, with the intention of being received as it has been, would make Tommy a comedic genius in three separate areas: writing, acting, and directing. I don’t think he is. Just like some great movies are lightning in a bottle, The Room is lightning in a bottle in the opposite direction.”
5. You People
One online user posted, “You People with Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy. The film goes out of its way to make Jonah Hill a ‘Bumbling Clueless Overly-Cautious Woke White Guy’ and Eddie Murphy a ‘Put Everyone On The Spot Overly Proud Black Man.’ NO self-respecting person (Jonah Hill’s character) would ever dig themselves into a racial awkwardness hole as often as he does. And no self-respecting person (Eddie Murphy’s character) would go out of their way to be so defensive and make Jonah Hill’s character so uncomfortable.
“If it were purely a comedy, it would have made sense to make them both so clueless, but since it was supposed to be a ‘woke’ rom-com, then they could have done well-meaning people more credit by making Jonah Hill more discerning and Eddie Murphy more gracious. Instead, both characters just reinforced stereotypes from beginning to end.”
Another user replied, “First rom-com I watched that was completely lacking both romance and comedy. To call it a movie at all is a compliment to You People and an insult to all other movies ever created.”
6. Seven Pounds
“Seven Pounds,” shared one user.
Another Redditor replied, “Or any Will Smith bazillion Oscar Bait movies.”
Another user commented, “Collateral Beauty takes the cake for me. Even the title is pretentious.”
7. Downsizing
One Redditor posted, “Downsizing. I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned this one. I sit down thinking I’m about to watch a lighthearted comedy starring Matt Damon about people who shrink themselves and get into some hijinks. Turns out. Instead, the movie’s message (pretty early in the film, too) is, ‘You can’t shrink the problems of the world, ST*PID!’ The rest of the movie was a guilt trip about lower-class poverty and environmental issues. It seriously felt like the filmmakers were scolding me. …”
One user responded, “I came here to say this. I went to the theatre to watch it because I was excited to see it. It’s a fun movie with Matt Damon and Kristin Wiig getting shrunk down like a grown-up Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
“She was barely in it, super preachy, meandering, boring, and nothing like what was advertised. Oh, and the ending was stupid, too. I shouldn’t have bothered waiting for it, but they already had $40 or so of my money. At least the snacks were ok. Probably the best part of the movie. They realized what a mess it was and pulled a bait-and-switch with the trailers as a last-ditch effort to save it. I’m still mad if you can’t tell, lol.”
8. Now You See Me
“Now You See Me … I don’t understand how people can be impressed with ‘magic tricks’ that are only possible with special effects. B-, please! I can make f- Godzilla coming out of my pocket if I can use CGI. That s- is not impressive.
“On a side note, what a waste of opportunity when they didn’t call the second movie “Now you don’t,” stated one user.
Another user added, “Also, there were zero clues for the twist. It’s just a ‘surprise this random thing happened. Now be in awe.’”
9. Tenet
One online user shared, “Given the following definition of pretentious: ‘Trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are’
“I’ll go for Tenet. When people think of pretentious films, they tend to list arty films. But pretension just means having an unearned sense of self-regard, and Tenet has that. It’s a film that is desperate for you to think it’s clever and profound but is ultimately hollow and not half as clever as it thinks it is.
“Edit: I just remembered the main character is literally called ‘Protagonist.’ Proper pretentious first-year film student stuff.”
One user answered, “I upvoted, even though I like Tenet because I can’t argue with your logic.”
10. Bang Bus “Episode 3”
One user posted, “Bang Bus ‘Episode 3′. The premise was already in. There was nothing new about it.”
Another replied, “Is that the one where they pick up a young woman and interview her in a s- van? I’ve only seen the first 10 minutes. I can’t believe there are sequels.”
11. My Dinner With Andre
“I love the movie, but ‘My Dinner With Andre’ is pretty pretentious and self-satirizing at the same time,” one Redditor stated.
Another user replied, “If you were out to dinner and the people at the table next to you were having that conversation, your eyes would roll right out of your head and fall on your plate.”
12. Most Woody Allen Movies
One Redditor shared, “Oof, I’m gonna get hate for this, but I feel like most Woody Allen movies are pretentious …”
Another user also posted, “When I think of pretentious movies, I think of Woody Allen b- s-. Movies about making movies about New York and how cool you have to be to be famous. F- off.”
13. Garden State
“A little obvious, but Garden State. It has all the hallmarks and takes itself way too seriously.
“That being said, it’s made with a lot of heart and ambition, and I do enjoy it, but it’s just the first thing that comes to mind—from the all-white bedroom to the shirt made out of wallpaper print to literally screaming into a void.
“Well-intentioned, entertaining, endearing but ultimately a pretentious cringe fest—sorry Zach!” posted one user.
14. Birdman
One online user posted, “I thought Birdman was pretentious on my first viewing. That being said, I was, like, 19 when I saw it, and I’m 28 now. I may need to watch it again because being pretentious kinda felt like the point of the movie.”
Another user replied, “My favourite part about Birdman was seeing Edward Norton playing himself.”
15. Rubber
“Rubber … I thought it’d be about a sentient tire blowing people up. But it kept cutting to a surrogate audience standing in a field watching the events and doing meta-commentary on film. Also, Lady in the Water … He was writing a movie critic character just to make them an ah you can kill off. Then, making the struggling writer the saviour of the world through his excellent writing and then casting YOURSELF for the role? Lol,” one user posted.
16. Wes Anderson’s Newer Films
One user posted, “Wes Anderson’s newer films are the definition. Bring back Owen to rein him in.”
Another user commented, “I came into this thread specifically to see how soon Asteroid City would come up.”
“Wes Anderson is so confident in his style at this point in his career, that someone calling his latest effort pretentiousness would just read as, ‘Oh good, you saw my film. Thank you, it was very pretentious,’” one user responded.
17. Mother!
“Mother!” shared by one Redditor.
Another user commented, “This is one movie I loved, but I can recommend it to no one.”
18. Cloud Atlas
One Redditor posted, “Cloud Atlas. That movie is the definition of smelling your gas in public. It’s just so g-d- stupid in an ‘I’m 14, and this is deep’” sort of way.”
19. Joker
“Joker. … That movie thinks it’s brighter than it is but fails to hold a consistent theme in a way that says effectively nothing. It doesn’t work as a character study either because the character is also inconsistent. It’s only really grounded by a legendary performance by Joaquin,” stated one user.
One user replied, “That’s because it’s directed by the man who did The Hangover movies, doing his best attempt at Scorsese.”
20. Tree of Life
One user shared “Tree of Life.”
One user commented, “(whispers) ‘What is life?’ (Random shot of a kid walking into the sunset.) (More whispering.) ‘What does it all mean?’ (Camera pans into a blank wall.) (Whispering so quietly that it’s barely audible) ‘What is all this?’ (Dinosaurs explode in the background).”
Another user commented, “I like the movie (it’s more a montage movie than a movie-movie), but this gave me a chuckle. It’s definitely not for everyone!”
What do you think of the movies listed above? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Reddit.
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A proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ban medical debt from credit reports is drawing the ire of the financial services industry, which claims not enough has been done to study the root cause of the problematic medical billing: The fractured health care system.
Advocates have been pushing for years for the CFPB to take medical debt off credit reports, claiming millions of consumers are pursued for debts they don’t owe or that are inaccurate. In September, the CFPB released an outline of a sweeping proposal to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The plan was announced by Vice President Kamala Harris from the White House, with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra saying that medical debt has “little predictive value in credit decisions.”
In comments that closed last week about the proposal, financial firms and trade groups said that if enacted, the plan would restrict lending, increase costs and result in more denials of credit to low- and moderate-income consumers. Experts claim the CFPB’s proposal would make credit reports less accurate, increasing risks for lenders.
“Conceptually, the CFPB is getting into a dangerous place, because they’re saying medical debt doesn’t have predictive value — and that’s not their job,” said Kim Phan, a partner at the law firm Troutman Pepper, who focused on privacy and data security. “The industry has the right to decide what has value and what doesn’t.”
The CFPB said it expects to publish a report in December summarizing the feedback it received on its proposal from small businesses that will include written comments from stakeholders. Next year, the bureau plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that will give the public an opportunity to comment on the plan before it is finalized.
Phan said that unless the CFPB scales back the proposal or makes changes, she expects the bureau will be sued by a trade group or credit bureau once a final rule has been issued. Taking medical debt off credit reports impacts a consumer’s credit capacity, which is one of the seven factors of credit used in underwriting decisions, Phan said.
“If a consumer earns $30,000 a year and just took on $100,000 of medical debt, their capacity to take on new credit is much more restricted,” Phan said.
The CFPB estimates that roughly 100 million people struggle with unpaid medical bills. The scope of the problem is so large that roughly 50 consumer groups banded together to urge the CFPB to take action.
Chi Chi Wu, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, said consumers get stuck with unpaid medical bills for many reasons, though the majority are due to an insurance company denying a claim, paying only part of a claim or a health care provider demanding payment.
“Medical bills are complicated and bizarre and bureaucratic because, unlike a credit card, where the consumer has bought something, a third party is involved in the payment process,” said Wu, who is the lead author of the legal manual Fair Credit Reporting. “Everybody knows the health care system in this country is a mess. Consumers are asking why they got a bill when the insurance company was supposed to cover it.”
Still, collectors say that taking medical debt off credit reports does not tackle the underlying problems with medical billing disputes. Consumers will still owe the debt and the CFPB will be taking away a traditional tool that creditors use to spur debtors to pay: The threat of nonpayment that impacts a consumer’s credit score.
“Just because the debt is not on a credit report doesn’t mean the consumer doesn’t have to pay it,” said Jennifer Whipple, president of Collection Bureau Services, a family-owned debt collection agency in Missoula, Mont. “The proposal is not addressing the issue the CFPB is trying to fix in terms of people having insurance billing or denial issues or unsupportable health care.”
Earlier this year, the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, agreed to remove medical debts of $500 or less from credit reports, which represented roughly 70% of all medical debts. Debt collectors want the CFPB to study the impact of that change, with a focus on health care providers not being paid, before removing the remaining 30% of medical debts still on credit reports.
“It’s too important an issue not to study and not to use data-driven analysis,” said Scott Purcell, CEO of ACA International, the trade group for collectors and creditors.
Whipple, who is the treasurer of ACA, said the CFPB’s message to consumers is that they do not have to pay their medical bills because there will be no impact to their credit. That kind of message, she said, could result in some consumers thinking they don’t need to pay for health care coverage at all.
“If the message is that medical bills won’t be on a credit report, then consumers may think they don’t need to pay a high premium every month or maybe even carry health insurance,” Whipple said. “Folks on Medicare or Medicaid will think they don’t owe the debt and so they may not take the time to fill out the forms to continue to get coverage.”
Banning medical debt from credit reports is just one piece of the CFPB’s proposal, which would subject a wide range of companies to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirements. The plan also has been criticized for restricting the sale of so-called credit header data by the three main credit bureaus, which some experts say could potentially cut off critical information to law enforcement agencies.
The FCRA requires that information on credit reports to be accurate, and was intended to provide a way for consumers to dispute erroneous information on credit reports and give creditors an unbiased and fungible metric of a borrower’s ability to repay. In its proposal, the CFPB said that consumer complaints about medical debt underscore how ineffective, time-consuming and costly the dispute process has become. Legal experts say the CFPB’s proposed changes will reverberate throughout the financial ecosystem with unknown consequences.
“Medical debt is an insurance problem, and to say you can’t collect it or report it doesn’t solve the insurance issues and it also doesn’t help poor people,” said Joann Needleman, a practice leader and member of the law firm Clark Hill.
Wu, at the National Consumer Law Center, said consumers often find out about a medical debt when they try to buy a car or refinance their mortgage and are told that they can’t get approved for a loan.
“Consumers will pay the debt because they don’t have time to go back and dispute it,” she said.
Andrew Nigrinis, an economist at Legal Economics LLC and a former CFPB economist, said the CFPB did not provide a valid economic analysis of the impact of the proposal. He also said the CFPB’s research that found removing medical debt would increase credit scores was hardly a surprise.
“It’s the same logic that if you took away mortgage delinquencies from credit reports, then obviously credit scores would go up,” he said. “It’s not a profound result.”
Medical debt is a major problem for states that failed to implement the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and have a high percentage of uninsured residents. In a study he conducted for the collections industry, Nigrinis found that the loss of predictive information on credit reports would result in more lending to unqualified borrowers, higher litigation costs to collect debts, and lost income for medical providers due to nonpayment of services.
“The debt collection industry is very competitive and they pass costs on to consumers,” he said. “Presumably, debt collection rates would go up and so would costs of financing and denials of financing.”
Needleman added that the CFPB “is deciding which debts that a consumer should pay — and that’s not their role.”
With the
holiday season officially underway, West Virginia University Extension experts are offering simple, low-cost decorating tips to help you save
money while creating meaningful experiences with friends and family.
Alex Mathias, assistant
professor and Extension 4-H agent in Grant County, and Luci Mosesso, Extension
4-H agent in Pocahontas County, enjoy taking advantage of opportunities to use
simple items and the beauty of nature to create unique home decor and gifts. Both
say the holidays offer the perfect opportunity to experiment with “found”
objects and natural items to make a fun, festive home for all to enjoy.
Quotes:
“Dried oranges are not
only economical but also back in style when decorating. They are a simple way
to make garland, decorate gift boxes or add pizzazz to your tree as ornaments,
and you can even use them for stovetop potpourri or ciders. Make sure to dry
them fully and properly to ensure they won’t mold. It’s a great way to create
coziness and save money. Additionally, with supervision during the slicing
process, it is a great way to involve kids, too.
“Make your home smell
like the holidays with a stovetop simmer pot. There are many ways to do a
simmer pot, including using fresh or dried fruits as well as mixing and
matching your spices. For a simmer pot to be prepared that day you can add several
orange slices, a stick of cinnamon, one-half cup of cranberries and a sprig of
pine. Dried oranges can be substituted for fresh and usually last longer. Dried
apples, cloves, star anise and more can be added too. Add enough water to cover
all items in a small pot and turn on low on a stovetop. It will take 20 minutes
or so to start to smell the simmer pot. You can leave it on the lowest setting
all day, if you are home to check on it. Refill water as needed and enjoy.
“Salt dough ornaments
are an age-old tradition that are super affordable and fun. Salt dough can be
stamped, painted, molded and more. Let your artistic side show without breaking
the bank. When properly dried, salt dough ornaments can last decades.
“If you want a true throwback and inexpensive way to make all the garland you
need, make a popcorn garland. All you need is embroidery floss or even waxed
dental floss, a needle, scissors and unbuttered popcorn along with and shellac to
make it last longer. Make sure you pop plain popcorn to avoid flavor or salt
residues. To make it more festive and colorful, add cranberries. Take time to string
your popcorn garlands. Garland can be used on trees, mantels and around windows
inside the home. While these usually only last the season, you can make it a
tradition of stringing popcorn garland each year.” — Alex Mathias, WVU
Extension assistant professor and 4-H agent, Grant County
“Fresh greens are the perfect, budget-friendly accent to make a cozy home
around the holidays. Many of our everyday decorations can become holiday or
winter decor simply by adding holly, boxwood or pine. Add in natural or painted
dried flowers and seed pods for accent pieces. As the days get shorter, we tend
to spend more sedentary time indoors, so foraging for greenery is a great way
to get back outside for a little sunshine and exercise when we need it the most.
When it’s time to clean up, the greens can be composted, used for fires or
taken back to the woods to decompose.
“Pine boughs are a staple foraged decoration in our house. When trimming your
tree, save the bottom branches for the foundation of the boughs. I like to
start with pine and add boxwood for texture followed by juniper or holly for a
little color. Green zip ties blend in perfectly and are an easy way to hold it
all together. Pick out your favorite ribbon to finish them off. I put boughs
under the windows and even on the mailbox post. If you have any old sleds or
ice skates, they make the perfect winter complement to fresh pine boughs.
“Bringing greens indoors is a great way to fight off the dark days of winter. I
like to use ground pine, holly, eucalyptus and rosemary for indoor decorations.
The rosemary and eucalyptus smell fresh and dry nicely for extended periods of
time. The ground pine provides volume and the delicate holly berries are a
perfect pop of color. Use these greens to spruce up grapevine wreaths, advent
wreaths or create a mantel display with candles or lights, but be sure to watch
candles or choose the battery-operated ones.
“Pine cones are another
fun, budget-friendly winter decoration. Fill up antique baskets with cones, a
few springs of greenery, battery-operated fairy lights and a ribbon for a quick,
cozy indoor or outdoor display.
“If you have a fireplace that no longer works or is not being used, the
holidays are the perfect time to show it off. White birch logs, pillar candles or
lights are a perfect way to make it cozy without the actual fire. Add some
greenery to the mantel for the finishing touch.
“Solar lights are
affordable, long-lasting and conveniently turn themselves on and off each day.
Solar lights come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and the best part is they
don’t add to the power bill.” — Luci Mosesso, WVU Extension 4-H agent,
Pocahontas County
West
Virginia University experts can provide commentary, insights and opinions on
various news topics. Search for an expert by name, title, area of expertise, or
college/school/department in the Experts Database at WVUToday.
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tec/11/28/23
MEDIA CONTACT: Tara Curtis Director of Communications and Marketing WVU Extension 304-293-7996; [email protected]
Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and
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