Blog Posts

Staying Warm in Winter

It’s the dead of winter here in Arlington, Virginia, and staying warm can be a struggle. In this post, we are sharing a few ideas to help residents at Virginia Square Towers keep warm both in and out of their apartment. Read on for some great tips! Layer Warm Rugs The beautiful wood style flooring in your home looks great, but it won’t help to keep your feet warm this winter. Put down some warm and fuzzy rugs and enjoy the added warmth they provide. Wayfair has a great selection of area rugs. Wear Layers When you head outdoors be smart and layer up. If you are worried about looking bulky, look for slim-fitting compression gear that you can easily wear under your normal clothing. Dick’s Sporting Goods has a good selection of slim fit compression gear. Wearing a hat can also be a great way to keep heat from escaping to make you feel warmer. The downside is that you may have to deal with hat hair, but at least you’ll be warm. Insulate Help keep the cold out of your apartment and the warmth from escaping in a few different ways. Make an under-the-door draft blocker with a foam pool noodle! Check out the tutorial on how to do it from Life Hacker . You can also swap out your curtains for thicker thermal curtains that will help keep the cold out and the warmth in. If you’re down for a project, give these DIY insulated blackout curtains a try. Consume Warm Food & Drinks An easy way to warm yourself up quickly is by drinking a hot beverage such as hot cocoa, coffee, tea, or cider. You can also warm your belly with a bowl of soup, chili, or stew. Real Simple shares a list of 9 Hot Drinks for Winter that we think is worth taking a look at. And so is this list of 25 Soups, Stews, & Chilis from BuzzFeed. Do you have any tips to add to this post? Leave them in the comments so everyone in our apartment community can benefit. Thanks for reading. Stay warm and safe this winter!

National Soup Month

Welcome back to the Virginia Square Towers Blog! In this post, we are celebrating National Soup Month , which is appropriately celebrated in the month of January, by sharing a few of our favorite soup recipes. Stay warm in your Arlington, Virginia apartment with a bowl of warm soup! Egg Drop Soup from Kitchn This type of soup is normally served at any Chinese restaurant, but you don’t need to go to a restaurant to enjoy it! Make it in your apartment with the following ingredients: chicken or vegetable stock, eggs, salt or soy sauce. You can also add in extra ingredients for some additional flavor, if you wish, such as fresh ginger, lemongrass, peppercorns, whole cloves, a cinnamon stick, spring onions, mushrooms, and more. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup from Chowhound This fall favorite is perfect for any time of the year! To make it, you will need butternut squash, unsalted butter, a granny smith apple, yellow onions, sage leaves, vegetable or chicken broth, water, salt, black pepper, heavy cream, and toasted pumpkin seeds (optional). Chicken Tortilla Soup from Genius Kitchen Enjoy all the flavors and spices of a chicken enchilada in this chicken tortilla soup. To make it, you will need the following ingredients: olive oil, onion, garlic cloves, jalapeno, green pepper, chicken breasts, frozen corn, water or dry white wine, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Serve with your favorite brand of tortilla chips. Creamy Potato Soup from Cooking Classy This rich and creamy potato soup is loaded with russet potatoes, yellow onions, chopped carrots, diced celery, chicken broth, salt, ground black pepper, butter, flour, milk, and sour cream. Serve with crumbled bacon or chopped cooked ham, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped green onions or chives. What is your favorite type of soup? Let us know in the comments and feel free to share any of your favorite soup recipes as well. Thanks for reading our post. Have a great National Soup Month here in Arlington, VA!

New Years Eve Party Favors

New Year’s Eve is a great time to celebrate and spend time with family and friends. If you’re throwing a party at your Virginia Square Towers apartment, we have some fun party favor ideas for you to make for your guest! Enjoy these ideas and enjoy your celebrations here in Arlington, VA. New Year’s Confetti Party Favors These confetti party favors are a great way to let your guests celebrate the holiday season. This idea comes from A Pumpkin and a Princess . To make these confetti party favors you’ll need plastic or glass test tubes, metallic gold strands, and a gift tag. Glitter Dipped Fortune Cookie Party Favors These glittery fortune cookies are a perfect item to help you celebrate the new year and your guests will love them! This idea comes from Happiness is Homemade . To make these you’ll need plain fortune cookies, bright white Wilton Candy Melts, edible gold glitter, rainbow sprinkles, crystal sugar sprinkles, and confetti sprinkles. Sparkling New Year Tag This is a simple and fun way to give a party favors to your guests. This idea comes from The Crafting Chicks . You’ll simply tie on a tag with the phrase, “Have a Sparkling New Year 2018”. Tie the tag to a bottle of your choice of sparkling drink (whether it’s champagne or sparkling grape juice). It’s a great way to let everyone celebrate and enjoy the celebrations. Sparkler Party Favors Sparklers are a classic and fun way to celebrate the new year. This fun idea comes from Tomfo . To put these together, you’ll print out the sparkler tag with these words on it, “Never stop making wishes. Happy New Year.” Stick in a couple sparklers into the tag and let your guests enjoy the fun new year festivities. How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve? Share your ideas with us in the comments below!

Celebrate National Brownie Day on December 9th

Brownies are the perfect dessert to warm you up on a cold December night. In today’s Virginia Square Towers Blog, we’ve listed a local place to get a tasty brownie as well as some brownie recipes you can make from the comfort of your own apartment. We hope you enjoy a warm brownie and your holiday season here in Arlington, VA! Place To Get Brownies Buzz Bakeshop “Buzz bakeshop is a beloved neighborhood bakery with locations in alexandria and arlington featuring a myriad of sweets, pastries, cakes and so much more. From freshly baked cupcakes and rich fudgy brownies to decadent cream cheese-filled pumpkin muffins, to craft coffee and red apron sandwiches, our dedicated team of pastry professionals is committed to bringing you only the freshest handmade products day in, day out.” Buzz Bakeshop is a 4 minute drive from Virginia Square Towers Apartments. Brownie Recipes Ultimate Thin Mint Brownies These brownies come from a recipe by Delightful-E-Made . Here’s what they have to say about this recipe: “Let me introduce you to your new favorite brownie recipe! A perfect combination of chocolate and mint, these fudgy mint brownies are topped with Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, Andes mints, chocolate chips, and an amazing layer of mint buttercream frosting. Most definitely a brownie lover’s dream come true!” Brownie Bottom Oreo Cheesecake Bars For another rich and delicious brownie, these Brownie Bottomed Oreo Cheesecake Bars come from The Salty Marshmallow . To make these you’ll need the following ingredients: a fudge brownie box mix, the needed ingredients for the brownies on the box, softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, whipped topping, and crushed Oreos. Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies This recipe mix of brownies and cookies is so tasty and the addition of peppermint makes them perfect for the holiday season. This recipe comes from Chelsea’s Messy Apron . Gather these ingredients to make them: cream cheese, unsalted butter, an egg, vanilla extract, chocolate fudge pudding mix (unprepared), white flour, a fudge brownie mix, Ghirardelli peppermint bark bars, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips (optional), and peppermint crunch sprinkles (optional). Do you have any favorite brownie recipes? Where do you purchase brownies around Arlington? Let us know in the comments below!

The Best Thanksgiving Pie Recipes

Thanksgiving is this week! Celebrate by making one of these delicious Thanksgiving pies brought to you from the Virginia Square Towers Blog. Invite friends and family over to your apartment and enjoy time together making pies and celebrating the holidays here in Arlington, VA. Chocolate Cream Pie For a silky and creamy chocolate pie, we definitely recommend this recipe from Blahnik Baker . To make this pie, you’ll need the following ingredients: a 9-inch pie crust (either store bought or homemade), sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, whole milk, fine-quality chocolate, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Perfect Pumpkin Pie For that perfectly nostalgic pumpkin pie, try out this recipe from Lil’ Luna . This recipe requires 4 large eggs, canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, salt, ground cloves, and a pie crust. After beating the eggs, add in the other ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust, bake for 1 hour at 350F, and voila — a perfectly delicious pumpkin pie. Momma’s Egg Custard Pie For a classic and sweet egg custard pie, try out this recipe from Jessica N Wood . To make this tasty dessert, you’ll need the following ingredients: sugar, butter, salt, eggs, half & half, vanilla extract, deep dish pie crust, cinnamon, and sugar. Click on the link above for instructions on making this unbelievably tasty pie. Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Pie For you peanut butter lovers out there, you’ll have to try out this pie from Bake or Break . It’s a creamy and rich pie that you won’t be able to put down. To make this, you’ll need cream cheese, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and miniature chocolate chips. Dutch Apple Pie Craving a warm and crumbly apple pie? Make this pie from Cincy Shopper . You’ll need vegetable shortening, flour, eggs, cold water, white vinegar, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, Granny Smith apples, apple cider vinegar, and butter. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving pie recipe? Let us know in the comments so we can try it out. Thanks for reading the Virginia Square Towers Blog!

Movies Coming to Theaters This Month

In this Virginia Square Towers Blog post, we have a list of new movies coming to theaters this month here in Arlington, VA. Bring along some friends from our apartment community and enjoy a movie this weekend! Murder on the Orient Express (November 10) “A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery. From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man's race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.” Justice League (November 17) “Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes-Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash-it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.” The Star (November 17) “In Sony Pictures Animation's THE STAR, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told - the first Christmas.” Molly’s Game (November 22) “Molly Bloom a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.” What movies are you most looking forward to seeing? Comment below so we can check them out. Thanks for reading our blog post!