Blog Posts

Dress for Colder Weather

January is here and the weather is still cold, so you’re going to need to bundle up when you head out of your Arlington, VA apartment. Avoid any potential illnesses and keep warm during the season by dressing appropriately. In this week’s Courtland Park Blog, we’ll share some tips that you can consider when picking your outfit for the day. Accessories In the cold weather, the places where we lost heat the most are from our extremities. Our hands, head, and feet generally get cold quicker than out torso, so it’s important to ensure that these parts of our body are covered. Invest in some warm accessories like gloves, socks, and hats. Make sure these accessories are made from thick quality material made for keeping you warm. The best part of these accessories is the fact that you can take them off if you get too warm. Be warned, if you’re wearing a beanie, you might end up having hat hair! Layers One of the reasons why our torso stays warm longer is that we generally layer that portion of our body better. Layering is one of the simplest ways to keep warm during the cold months, and is a fun way to add some diversity and style to your look! Opt for lighter, looser articles of clothing to avoid feeling cramped and claustrophobic, and make sure that your outermost layer is one that is easily removable. The temperatures in buildings can get quite a bit warmer than outside, so make sure you’re not stuck in clothes that you can’t remove. Fabrics The materials your clothing is made of can have a profound effect on how warm you are during the day. Unlike summer, you want to stay away from light fabrics, opting for a thicker material like wool. If you have the money, invest in a jacket that’s filled with down or made from thick warm materials! Do you have any tips on dressing for colder weather? Leave a comment for our community letting us know of them!

oliday Shopping Tips from Courtland Park

The season of giving has arrived! The cold weather has set in and family is set to come into town. Giving gifts is such a big part of the season, so in this week’s Courtland Park Blog, we are sharing some holiday shopping tips to make it easier for you! Shop Early Don’t let the rest of Arlington, VA beat you to the malls or shopping centers. We suggest taking advantage of the procrastinating nature of people to get all the gifts you’re looking for early on! Avoid the stress of dealing with crowds, the long lines, and the holiday music on replay by going early in the month. You may even find some deals that you may not otherwise get if you were to shop later. Don’t wait for the shelves to get empty before going shopping! Keep it Simple So many times we tend to overdo it, especially with our kids and those close to us, with expensive or excessive gift giving. Avoid going overboard with gift giving. Sometimes less is more, and when it comes to holiday shopping this can certainly be the case. Try these gift guidelines: Something they want Something they need Something to wear And something to read Ask if Necessary If you are unsure what to get a loved one, you don’t have to look further than the person you’re purchasing the gift for. It may seem a little crazy, but the best way to find out what your loved ones want is by asking them! This way, you don’t have to wonder what they want and it can streamline your gift purchasing trips. Do you have any holiday shopping tips to share with our Arlington, VA apartment community? Leave us a comment letting us know of them so we can try them out!

Express Your Gratitude

November is a great time to give thanks, especially with Thanksgiving on the 22nd of the month. There are various ways to express your gratitude, but it can be difficult to pick the right way. In this week’s Courtland Park Blog, we’ve got a few suggestions on how you can express your gratitude in an appropriate way this Thanksgiving. Thank You Notes Expressing your gratitude can be as simple as saying “thank you.” Thank you notes are a non-invasive way to show someone you’re grateful for the things they’ve done for you. In general, take some time to make a list of the people who have blessed your life that you wish to acknowledge and thank personally. Once you’ve got that list, you can pick a few and write them heartfelt thank you notes. If they don’t live close to you, sent it through the mail, but if at all possible, give it to them in person. Such a gesture will really show them how much you care. Gratitude Journals Adopt an attitude of gratitude by writing down all the things you should be grateful for each night. This can be a difficult task if you’re not accustomed to journaling, but we know that if you do it, you’ll be able to be more grateful for the little things in your life. If you make this a habit, you’ll be able to look back at the journal years down the road and reflect on how many things you have to be grateful for, as well as the people to be grateful to. Pay it Forward Popularized by the book Pay it Forward and movie of the same name, paying it forward doesn’t return to favor of a good deed done to you, but instead, it requires you to do a good deed for someone else. Many may wonder what good it is to pay it forward, as it doesn’t involve the person who performed the good deed for you to begin with, but what it does is it starts a chain of good deeds done. Do you have any ways you like to express your gratitude? Share with our Arlington, VA apartment community by leaving a comment!

Throw a Halloween Party

At the end of the month, there will be many children flooding the streets looking to get some candy through trick-or-treating. The days of you collecting candy may be long over, but you can still take part in the festivities by throwing a Halloween party for your friends! In this week’s Courtland Park Blog, we’ve got a few tips on how you can throw a better Halloween party! Dres s Up This may seem like a childish practice, but it can really add a lot of flavor to your party! Since it is a Halloween party, encourage your guests to dress in a scary costume. To promote dressing up, you can incentivize your guests by telling them that there will be a prize for the best costume. The prize doesn’t have to be huge. If others are going to dress up, you should, too. Pick your favorite Halloween costume, then rock it with confidence! Halloween Food You can get your guests in the spirit of the spooky season by putting out Halloween themed foods. These foods don’t need to be grotesque, but having a some themed foods will certainly set the mood. You can try making a graveyard cake, Halloween Jalapeno popper mummies, or even Rice Krispies Treat brains ! Decorations Spider Web Covered Door Your door is the first thing your guests are going to see, so cover it in fake spider webs and adorn the webs with plastic spiders to make a creepy spider-infested doorway. Pick up some artificial spider webbing, plastic spider rings, and clear fishing wire to make this fun and easy decoration. Head-in-a-Jar A simple and easy way of sprucing up your home for the Halloween season, placing a few jars with decapitated heads is sure to scare any guests that come to your party. We don’t mean actual heads, though. Place a laminated picture of a head (a 360 degree picture) into a jar filled with water you’ve murkied up with green and brown food dye and you’ve got a bonafide scary decoration!

Healthy Eating for the Summer

Today, our Courtland Park Blog wants to help our residents start keeping and maintaining healthy eating habits. Before the summer is over, take advantage of the fruits and vegetables available at our local Arlington, VA grocery stores. Fruits and Vegetables Summer is the season for barbecues, but we can’t neglect our body’s need for the nutrients that come from fruits and vegetables. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables can give variety to your meals and make them look more appetizing than they already are. Instead of an extra helping of meat, do your body a favor with an extra helping of vegetables. There are many barbecue recipes online that actually use vegetables, so do some research! Homemade Meals Often times we talk passionately about being able to eat a home-cooked meal when we travel to visit friends or family. Homemade meals are generally better for you, as most fast food options cut corners and use unhealthy alternatives in their preparation. Though it’s a little more work than swiping your credit card at a fast food joint, there’s a sense of accomplishment in making your own food. For some more information about the perks of home-cooked meals, check out this article from Fix , an online blog about pretty much anything and everything. Quality Over Quantity If you’ve started working out, you may be wondering why you aren’t seeing results. It’s very possible that one of the reasons behind this is that you’re still embracing the same eating habits that you had before your workouts began. Eating quality meals (meals that help your body gain necessary nutrients) will have more of an impact on your personal health than how much you eat. One thing that you can do starting today is incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. Doing so will help you achieve the results your striving for. Do you have any healthy eating tips? Share with our apartment community by leaving a comment below. Thanks for reading.

Workout this Summer

The summer may be nearing its end, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to start getting back to the gym or exercising. There are countless benefits to exercising that will improve your general health and longevity, but it can sometimes be difficult to commit to that healthy lifestyle change. Luckily for you, we’ve got a few tips on how to make it easier to get back into working out in this week’s Courtland Park Blog. We encourage all residents of our Arlington, VA apartment community to take advantage of our fitness center for their exercise needs. Proper Attire What you wear can influence how you feel. Invest in some workout clothes that you can feel good in, because feeling good in your workout clothes can motivate you to continue going to the gym when it’s difficult. Clothes that are light, breathable, and can wick sweat away from your body are perfect for exercise, allowing you to keep working out even though you’re sweaty and warm. Proper attire can prevent unnecessary injury and discomfort. Start Slow If you haven’t exercised regularly for a while, it’s wise to start slow. Start with a lower weight and progressively increase the weight as you get used to how heavy it is. Understanding what you’re capable of is crucial to strengthening your body properly and preventing injury. Strength is built over time, so don’t rush the process. The same goes for any cardiovascular activity like running, swimming, or riding the bicycle. Know your limits. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to run as far as you used to. Though it may be frustrating, results come after persistent effort and diligence on your part. Set Goals Before you get back into the gym, set some goals for yourself and what you want to achieve. Goals should be attainable and realistic. Avoid goals that focus on arbitrary attributes like weight, because a healthy lifestyle is not about weight and it would create an unhealthy obsession with how much you weigh instead of how strong you’re getting, or how much body fat you’re trading for muscle. We understand that exercise is a difficult habit to get into so we hope you enjoyed some of these tips!