Blog Posts

Freshen Up Your Living Space with These Ideas

The beginning of a new year is a great time to freshen up your living space at your Dolley Madison Towers apartment. In today’s blog post, we want to share some tips and ideas on how to bring a fresh take and new look to your apartment. We hope you enjoy 2018 here in Arlington, VA. Put up flowing curtains. A set of flowy curtains in your living room or bedroom can brighten up your space and bring in a fresh feeling. White, or any other light and cool color, can help to do this. It’s also a great way to shake off any winter blues. Bring in houseplants. Houseplants are a great way to literally bring in life to your apartment. They purify your air and beautify your apartment. Check out this list of Forgiving Houseplants from HGTV . If you’re nervous about getting a houseplant, start with a succulent. They don’t die easily and they don’t need much watering or attention. Throw out old items. After the holidays, you may have items that still need to be organized or thrown out. Get rid of holiday decorations you didn't use this year. Throw out or recycle any used gift wrapping paper or boxes as well. If you received gifts that replaced any old items, donate or throw away the items you’ll no longer use. Do some deep cleaning. Spending some time deep cleaning the areas that need some attention will give new life and freshness to your apartment. Start by wiping off your blinds using a pair of tongs, microfiber cloths, and rubber bands. Wash out vents in your tub using hot soapy water. Finish off by cleaning the baseboards or cupboards. Use scented candles. Candles or candle warmers are great for welcoming fresh and clean scents. Although spring is still in the distance, enjoy these fresh spring scents from Yankee Candles. How do you freshen up your space? Let us know in the comments below!

DIY Holiday Cards

Holiday cards are a great way to express your love and appreciation for your family and friends during this time of the year. It’s also a way to update loved ones on what’s happening in your life. In today’s Dolley Madison Towers Blog we have some DIY holiday card ideas to get you started. We hope you enjoy your holiday season here at your Arlington, VA apartment. Ornament Themed Card These cards are fun, artsy, and help you to get your creative groove on! This DIY comes from The Postman’s Knock . To make these cards you’ll need blank watercolor cards, watercolor paints, art masking fluid or white paint, a pencil, and a dip pen and ink. Insta Card These awesome Insta Cards are a great way to combine your Instagram photos with a touch of homemade. This DIY comes from Say Yes . To make these cards you’ll need photos from your Instagram account in JPEG format, a cutting mat, cardstock, copy paper, canvas paper, an embroidery needle and thread, a ruler, and a rotary cutter. Snow Globe Cards These cards are so creative and a super clever holiday card. This idea comes from Mayholic in Crafts . To make these cards you’ll need cream colored cardstock, a circle die, a variety of gray and blue cardstock, acetate, sequins, and dimensional adhesive. Copy Cat Cards If you have paint chips laying around, then these cards are for you! This DIY comes from Beauty and Beard . They have a few different ideas of cards to make such as holiday tree designs, a wreath design, and a snowflake design all using paint chips. You’ll need paint chips, a glue stick, white stationary, and scissors. For some more DIY card ideas check out this list from BuzzFeed . They have links to tutorials on pop-up Christmas tree cards, washi tape Christmas tree cards, 3D Poinsettia cards, and more! Do you send out holiday cards in December? What ideas do you have to share with us? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving Day Races in Arlington, VA

Do you need a workout to prepare your body for the upcoming holiday food overload? Run a Thanksgiving Day race this month! These races are perfect for building up your appetite and keeping you in shape during the holiday season. Enjoy a race here in Arlington, VA! Arlington Turkey Trot This is the Arlington Turkey Trot’s 12th Annual Race! Celebrate with them and take part in this awesome event. In their first race, $4,200 was raised for various charities that help the poor and the needy in the community. Last year they raised over $100,000! Not only will this race keep you in shape, but it will help out our great community. The race is about a 9 minute drive from Dolley Madison Towers. Cranberry Crawl The Cranberry Crawl is put on by the Potomac Valley Track Club. It’s a great race where the top 3 winners in each race win cranberry bread! The races include age groups of 10-years with both men and women as well as race-walkers in their own group. The race is about 13 minute drive from our apartment community. Click on the link above to register and learn more! Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger Sign up for the 16th annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger. “Each year SOME provides critical services to more than 10,000 people struggling with poverty, hunger and homelessness in our nation’s capital. Our 16th Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger—the only turkey trot in the District—is a major source of support for that work. The Trot for Hunger is a time-honored tradition, bringing together up to 10,000 participants from across the DC metropolitan area and the country.” This race is about a 14 minute drive from your apartment. Fairfax Turkey Trot The Fairfax Turkey Trot is a 5K that benefits the Fairfax Fire Department Benevolent Fund. Join in to show your appreciation and support for a local fire department. The race is about a 26 minute drive from our apartment community. Click on the link above to learn more! Turkey Chase Bethesda Another race for a good cause, the Turkey Chase is helping out the local YMCA in Bethesda, MD. “Every Thanksgiving for the past 34 years, thousands of runners have gathered in Bethesda to run in the Turkey Chase in support of the YMCA’s Youth and Family Services, YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary Club Foundation.” Join in by learning more in the link above. The race is about a 30 minute drive from Dolley Madison Towers. Do you participate in Thanksgiving Day races? What’s your favorite race? Thanks for reading our post and visit the Dolley Madison Towers Blog again soon!

New Movies Coming Out This Month

Check out these movies we’re featuring that are coming out this month. Here on the Dolley Madison Towers Blog, we want to highlight some great ones that you’ll want to see. Invite some friends from our apartment community, buy your tickets online , and enjoy a movie this weekend here in Arlington, VA. Blade Runner 2049 (October 6) “Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.” The Mountain Between Us (October 6) “Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing one another to endure and discovering strength they never knew possible.” Only the Brave (October 20) “Through hope, determination, sacrifice and the drive to protect families and communities, the Granite Mountain Hotshots become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the country. While most people run from danger, they run toward it -- watching over lives, homes and everything people hold dear, forging a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire in Yarnell, Ariz.” Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (October 20) “After venturing to a haunted campground, Madea, Bam and Hattie must run for their lives when monsters, goblins and the boogeyman appear.” Same Kind of Different As Me (October 20) “International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.” What movie are you excited to see this month? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

National Cream-Filled Donut Day

There’s a day dedicated to celebrating (and eating) cream-filled donuts this month: September 14th is National Cream-Filled Donut Day! Here on the Dolley Madison Towers Blog we want to help you celebrate this day by sharing with you some donut recipes, as well as some nearby places to pick up a delicious donut. We hope you get to enjoy this day in your apartment here in Arlington, VA. As a side note, most of these recipes will require a piping bag to fill the donuts with cream or jelly. You can purchase them at most grocery stores. Good luck and have fun! Chocolate Glazed Cream Filled Doughnuts This chocolate glazed donut is just the thing to fill your cream-filled donut craving. The recipe comes from Gringealicious . To make this delicious dessert, you’ll need milk, dry yeast, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, flour, oil for frying, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt. Strawberry Jelly and Vanilla Cream Brioche Doughnuts with Lilac Sugar These donuts are not only so sweet, they’re fancy and pretty to look at. This recipe comes from Half Baked Harvest . You’ll need sugar, lilac petals, vanilla bean, milk, dry yeast, butter, an egg, flour, and salt to make the lilac sugar and dough. For the jelly and cream you’ll need strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla bean, heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and flaky sea salt. Coconut Cream Donuts If you love coconut, then this recipe is for you. This comes from Tastemade. To make this tasty treat you’ll need the following ingredients: active dry yeast, water, sugar, evaporated milk, salt, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, vegetable shortening, custard powder, coconut milk, thickened cream, vanilla bean paste, and powdered sugar. Nutella Choux Donuts Who doesn’t love some Nutella added to an already delicious baked donut? This recipe also comes from Tastemade . To make the pastry you’ll need water, margarine, sugar, salt, flour, eggs, Nutella, and hazelnuts. For the pastry cream you’ll need milk, egg yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch, butter, vanilla bean paste, sea salt, and Nutella. If you want a quicker way to enjoy this delicious snack, try out some of our local donut shops here in Arlington, VA, such as Sugar Shack DMV or Dunkin’ Donuts . We hope you enjoy your month and get a chance to eat a cream-filled donut!

National Golf Month

August is National Golf Month, so the Dolley Madison Towers Blog brings you some suggested golf courses near the apartment community here in Arlington, VA. We will also share some golf history and game etiquette. Check out one of these courses this month and get your golf game on! History of Golf Golf can be dated all the way back to 100 BC where a similar Roman game was played with a bent stick and a stuffed leather ball. The modern game we play now is generally traced back to Scotland in the 15th century. In 1744, the first rules of golf were set in Scotland. To learn more about golf and the rules and procedures of golf, refer to this R&A guide . Golf Etiquette Etiquette while playing golf is also an important aspect. Have respect for the course you’re playing on by raking bunkers and replacing divots. Leave the course as you found it. Have respect for other players as well. Let other groups play through if they’re playing faster than your group. Learn the rules of the course you’re playing on as well in order to maintain the course and keep a peaceful and positive environment for other players. Courses to Try Out A great opportunity that’s just around the corner from your Dolley Madison Towers apartment community is the GolfDC Academy . It’s an academy where you can learn to become a better golfer and it’s only about a 10-minute drive away. Here’s what their website has to say: “Here at the GolfDC Academy we believe that everybody can learn and enjoy the game of golf. Our mission is to develop and serve life-long golfers of all ages and abilities by encouraging students to Learn, Practice, and Play in an environment that makes experiencing the game of golf Fast, Easy and Fun.” You can also try out the East Potomac Golf Course or the Pinecrest Golf Course which are both about 10 minutes away in opposite directions. What’s your favorite golf course in the area? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a great month here in Arlington, VA.