In this issue, meet Outlook VIP Patricia Crain. A fine artist, Patricia is looking forward to all The Outlook will offer and meeting her new neighbors (some of whom she hopes are fellow artists). There’s one neighbor she’s especially excited about—her sister, Frances, who will also be moving to The Outlook just across the hall!
We are excited to share pictures with you from various events, including our Groundbreaking Ceremony on September 29 and our Pet Costume Contest on October 27. Also, meet Lane, our Personalization Coordinator who has provided you with an outline of the process for personalizing your new home. In addition, we’ve included Tips on Rightsizing from Cheryl Morgan from Move Method, who presented to VIPs in September. Join us in welcoming some of the newest VIPs to The Outlook and get an update on construction.
Finally, learn about Forefront Living’s partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help end Parkinson’s disease—you might not have Parkinson’s; but you can help end it.
Perhaps you know someone who’d like to learn about The Outlook at Windhaven. If so, contact Sara Massoudi at (972) 996-3887 or smassoudi@nullforefrontliving.org and you will both benefit! Our VIP referral rewards program has been extended. See details.
Meet Your
Future Neighbor
Patricia Crain
Patricia Crain is a local artist who grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee before moving to Dallas at the age of thirteen.
An artist since a young age, Patricia also had a career in the law arena. Prior to getting married, she worked as a legal secretary. She developed a keen interest and love for the law and, once her kids were out of school, Patricia went back to school in her forties and became a paralegal (a career that did not exist back when she was a legal secretary). Revisiting this pursuit proved to be a great match, and she soon found a perfect employment fit. “I loved my job; I had a dream job,” says Patricia. The work always kept her hopping; it was very exciting, sometimes stressful, but never boring! “I could write a book about that place!” she laughs. Patricia worked as a paralegal for 10 years before retiring.
Patricia enjoys retired life, including creating art, spending time with artist friends, and being involved in her church. Of these, the vast majority of her time is consumed by her art. She has been an artist for quite some time and works in various media, but mostly does watercolor and oil paintings (plus a bit of sculpture) at present. When Patricia was married, she did not work outside the home. She thus had the opportunity to travel all around the United States and studied with many great, well-known artists. Some of her favorite locations to paint include Maine, California, and Florida. She enjoys traveling and notes that all of the states are lovely if you visit them. Most of Patricia’s business is commission work, primarily portraits. She says that art “comes in handy when you retire because you always have something to do!”
One of Patricia’s favorite subjects for her art is boats. When she started painting, she had an interest in shrimp boats and liked to go to the coast of Texas (especially Rockport) to paint. She was particularly interested in capturing the people on the boats, doing what they do for a living. Once married, her husband always had interesting boats and her kids grew up boating. Her daughter now has a home on Lake Texoma, and Patricia enjoys going there to paint. You can see her work at www.patriciacrainfineart.com.
Patricia is a widow and has four children, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She feels very blessed because all of them live close by. Patricia’s daughter found The Outlook for her. They had looked at some other places that did not suit for various reasons, but Patricia found the idea of The Outlook exciting and loves the location–it’s just a few blocks from where she currently resides. Her sister, Frances, now lives about 20 minutes away from her but soon will live 20 seconds away since she also will be moving into The Outlook at Windhaven. She was pleasantly surprised that her sister, whom she thought would never leave her home, was interested in relocating as well. The two will live across the hall from one another and look forward to being able to see one another often.
As for life at The Outlook, Patricia predicts, “It’s going to be great!” She looks forward to meeting other artists there and is hoping there will be an artist group in addition to all of the other activities, clubs and programs. Patricia says, “There will be all kinds of things going on at The Outlook, and there’s no reason for anyone not to have a wonderful time!”
Dig into The Outlook at Windhaven
Groundbreaking Celebration
Teammates and future residents of The Outlook at Windhaven (OAW), Forefront Living’s newest Continuing Care Retirement Community in Plano, gathered for a groundbreaking celebration at Stonebriar Country Club on Thursday, September 29. The celebratory brunch included a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar, as well as a photo opportunity for VIPs to commemorate the occasion, complete with hard hats, shovels and a trough of fresh dirt from the site. Click here to read more about this exciting event.
Meet Lane, our
Personalization Coordinator
Hello, Outlook VIPs! I’m Lane Phanthavong (pronounced “FAN-tha-vong”), your Personalization Coordinator. It has been such a joy to meet with many of you in my first month at The Outlook, and for those of you I have not yet met in person, I am looking forward to helping you personalize your new home. As the newest member of the team, I’d like to share a little about myself. I grew up in a small town in Western Oklahoma called Elk City. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Business Administration and in 2004, I moved to Florida. My career has primarily been in real estate and with custom home builders, focusing on design studios and model homes. Prior to joining The Outlook team, I was with Greystone at Legacy Pointe at UCF (University of Central Florida) in Oviedo, FL (near Orlando). At Legacy Pointe I worked with future residents to personalize their apartment and cottage homes while the community was under construction, just like I’m doing here at The Outlook! In my free time I enjoy traveling—Greece is one of my favorite destinations!
Personalization
Corner
with Lane
While many future residents find Personalization to be a fun and exciting time, others may find the thought of personalizing to be a bit daunting. If this is the case, please know—I am here to help you, and if you are unsure about making changes or having a hard time deciding, making changes later is always an option. In summary, we do not want this to be a stressful time, so if I can help you in any way, I am a phone call or email away to help guide you in the process or provide advice.
As a reminder, if you are satisfied with your floor plan as is and have no Mechanical, Electric, and Plumbing (MEP) changes, you can simply sign an MEP Waiver and an appointment is not necessary unless you would like to meet—it is your choice. When it comes to finishes (such as flooring, backsplash, countertops, etc.—the fun stuff!), you can select from the standard selections (at no charge) or from the upgrade selections (available for an extra charge). Or if you’re not sure, I’d be happy to make selections for you from one of several beautiful color combinations assembled by Bridget Bohacz, our project interior designer.
Once you receive your detailed gridded floor plan (coming to you next, second floor VIPs!)—unique to your residence—you’ll notice the 3/16-inch scale. Each square on your floor plan represents one square foot. The furniture cut-outs are also in a 3/16-inch scale and are a fun way to plan your furniture placement—you have plenty of time to plan!
Great news! As soon as I receive all the samples of flooring, lighting, quartz countertops, etc., we have the option—when they are confirmed—of combining the MEP and finishes in one appointment. While this is a change from what we communicated during the Personalization webinar, you may find this is more efficient and a better use of your time. I will provide both the finish booklets to you in advance of your appointment so that you can review the choices before our meeting.
For planning purposes, I want to share the approximate schedule for the upcoming meetings below, which are based on location and the order in which The Outlook is being constructed. And remember, if you have travel plans, just let us know! We can meet early, before your trip, or we can meet via Zoom.
| Location of Your Reserved Residence | Approximate Time Frame for Personalization Appointment |
|---|---|
| Cottages 16-30 | MEP appointments, November |
| 2nd-floor apartments | MEP appointments, November |
| Cottages 1-30 | Finishes appointments, December |
| 3rd-floor apartments | Early January through early February 2023 |
| 4th-floor apartments | February 2023 |
| 5th-floor apartments | March 2023 |
| 1st- through 5th-floor apartments | Finish appointments—if not completed during MEP meeting listed above—to be finalized in March, April, or May, depending on the floor, starting with the 2nd and ending with the 5th floor |
I will reach out to you well in advance when it is time to get your appointment on the calendar. Until then, please start a question list and plan to bring it to your Personalization appointment. I am focused on one “neighborhood” at a time and am not likely to have much time to respond to questions/emails/calls in advance. I will do my best, but there is only one of me! And Charlotte, Angela, and Jennifer are all busy recruiting more wonderful new neighbors for you. We very much appreciate your understanding of this process — all designed to help us stay on schedule for a timely opening in 2024!
I hope to see you at the Gratitude event in November and the Holiday event in December!
Sincerely,
Lane Phanthavong
Personalization Coordinator
design@nullforefrontliving.org
972-996-3887
“The Personalization process was easy with Lane,” said VIP David Harbin. “It was a very low-pressure—actually, no-pressure—experience. You can get anything you want, or you don’t have to do anything. You can easily walk in and out; very painless!”
Tips on
Rightsizing
While rightsizing can be quite liberating for many people, it can also be stressful. People often ask, “What is the best way to get started?” Cheryl Morgan, founder of Move Method, has developed a 30-day plan we would like to share with you.
What can I be doing right now?
Declutter in 30 Days | One Day, One Space
1st: cleaning supplies
2nd: magazines
3rd: medicines
4th: freezer
5th: refrigerator
6th: pantry
7th: sheets
8th: towels
9th: kitchen utensils
10th: small appliances
11th: bathroom cabinets
12th: dresser
13th: bedside table
14th: books
15th: makeup
16th: shoes
17th: handbags
18th: luggage
19th: manuals
20th: paperwork
21st: clothing
22nd: office supplies
23rd: pots/pans
24th: cups/glasses
25th: serving ware
26th: plates
27th: barware
28th: sentimental
29th: bookshelves
30th: countertops
For more information on Cheryl and Move Method, visit movemethodtx.com. Or to contact Cheryl directly, call or email her at (214) 282-7008 or cheryl.movemethod@nullgmail.com.
Welcome to Some of Our
Newest Outlook VIPs
Construction
Update
Construction continues at The Outlook at Windhaven. While you may not see a lot from the street view, there is a lot of action happening below ground, including:
- Initial installation of sanitary sewer and storm sewer utility lines
- Begin drilling and installing piers, pier caps and grade beams for foundation
- Complete piers in garage basement and garage ramp
- Pour garage columns and basement walls
- Begin drilling and pouring piers at Assisted Living/Memory Care building
- Excavating to lay water/sewer/storm utilities
- Pour slab for garage floor
Outlook VIP
Halloween Pet Costume Contest
A great time was had by all at our first annual Pet Costume Contest! Izzy, this year’s winner, took home a pumpkin squeezy toy and a pumpkin full of dog treats! But everyone was a winner for sure and made lots of great friends, both furry and human alike.
Help Parkinson’s Disease Research:
Scratch-and-Sniff Test
Forefront Living is partnering with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help end Parkinson’s disease. Early research indicates that smell loss is an important indicator of risk to brain health as we age. A simple scratch-and-sniff test is all that is needed to gain important information about your brain health. So, if you are age 60 or older and have not been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, download the flyer for information on how you can help. Once you register, we’ll send you a free scratch-and-sniff test to complete. You might be a candidate to join a brain health study and further the effort to end Parkinson’s forever. Download the PDF for more information.
Save
The Date
Watch your mail and email for invitations to the events below.
NOVEMBER
Cottage Wine and Cheese
Cottage VIPs, this wine and cheese is for you.
Be on the lookout for your invitation!
What are you most grateful for?
Wednesday, November 16, 11 am
Around the holidays, we’re often reminded of all we have to be grateful for.
Mingle with your fellow VIPs and join Reverend Jarod Cooper, M. Div.,
Chaplain at Forefront Living, as he leads a discussion on gratitude.
Slice to meet you!
Referral Social Hour
Friday, November 18, Come & Go 4-6 pm
Bring a friend to see The Outlook model and both of you will leave with a Thanksgiving pie!
(If your friend is unavailable, bring in their contact information and receive your pie!
RSVP by Nov. 11 to (972) 996-3887
DECEMBER
Holiday Celebration
Monday, December 5, 4-6 pm
Gleneagles Country Club
Join us as we celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with fellow Outlook VIPs.
Dates and times subject to change.
Strength and
STABILITY
Strength. Stability. Security. Three of the most important things to look for when choosing
a retirement community. Not only the community itself, but also its roots. At The Outlook
at Windhaven, those roots run deep. Owned by Forefront Living, an organization with a
60-year history of excellence in senior living, residents of The Outlook can enjoy strength,
stability, and security only a financially stable organization can provide. The Outlook is
proud to be the newest member of the Forefront Living family. Click here to learn more.
Refer a Friend by December 31
and get rewarded
BECAUSE great friends
MAKE great neighbors
Offer extended through December 31! There is no better time to recommend The Outlook to a friend! And what could be better than getting to choose your neighbors? Even though The Outlook is nearly 80% reserved, we still have some wonderful residences available.
So, if you know someone who would like to learn more about life at The Outlook, let us know and your referral can lock in special Construction pricing. And you both win!
When your friend reserves a residence, you will receive a $500 Visa® or Master Card gift card right now as a thank-you.
Then, when you and your friend move in, you will receive $3,500 credit toward your monthly service fee, and their credit will be $2,500!
Refer your friends today! Contact Sara Massoudi at (972) 996-3887 or smassoudi@nullforefrontliving.org.
Offer valid for new referrals only through 12/31/22.
