Blog Posts

New Year's Resolutions Ideas

The new year brings an opportunity to make some positive and lasting changes in your life. We suggest taking some time to evaluate the previous year and then come up with some resolutions! Understanding that it can be difficult to pinpoint the right resolution, we’ve decided to share with you some ideas on this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog. Start Eating Healthy While many people use the new year as a way to hit the gym harder than they have ever done before, we suggest taking a different approach. If you’re not as healthy as you wish to be, we suggest making a change in the way you eat. As much as you’ll be able to burn calories by going to the gym, the way to attain that body you want is by coupling it with eating healthy! Focus more on getting the nutrients that your body needs and eating more fruits and vegetables. Learn Something New When given an opportunity to make some changes, why not use it to learn something new? You can resolve to learn a new language to enrich your life, learn how to play the guitar so you can impress your friends and family, or even learn how to code so you can make a career change. Learning something new can be difficult, but as you resolve to do your best and look for the right resources, you’ll be learning in no time! Be a Good Friend Relationships are an integral part of having a happy life. The people around us can have a profound effect on our lives, so we suggest ensuring that those positive, healthy relationships are taken care of. We understand that life can get busy, but we recommend resolving to be a better friend this year. Don’t let your busy life get in the way of reaching out to your close friends and making sure they’re okay. You can resolve to send them a text message each week letting them know you’re thinking of them, or invite them out for a cup of coffee once a month. Whatever you do, use that time to catch up and stay involved in their life. The new year brings great opportunities to resolve to make some changes. If you’ve got any New Year’s resolution ideas, let our Arlington, VA apartment community know of them by leaving us a comment!

Plan a Trip this Year!

Many people love the idea of traveling, but sometimes don’t get an opportunity to. You may be that person! 2018 may not have been the year you traveled due to different circumstances, but you can easily change that! In this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog, we’ve got a few tips for you on how you can better plan a trip! Save Up Many people don’t travel because they don’t have enough money to do so. Part of having a plan is understanding how much you need to have a successful trip. Do your research and come up with a budget so you know how much to save up for! Take into account food, lodging, and plane tickets! Start saving now so you’ll have enough by the time your trip comes up. Find Discounts Traveling can be expensive, so we recommend doing your best to find discounts. The earlier you purchase your plane tickets and book your accommodations, the higher the likelihood that you’ll pay less. Do your research and find good deals so you can make your dollar stretch and enjoy your trip a little more! Take Time Off Do your due diligence and take time off work. You don’t want to purchase all of the necessary tickets and book accommodations only to not be able to go on the trip! Approach your manager or supervisor early enough so you can get the time frame that you want off. Be sure to give yourself enough time off so you can fully enjoy the trip! Don’t make any excuses for not traveling by planning your vacation well! If you have any good tips for planning a trip, let our Arlington, VA apartment community know of them by leaving a comment and enlightening us with your travel experience. Enjoy the fruits of your planning labor by having a successful vacation! Thanks for reading!

Holiday Meal Ideas from Wildwood Park

When December rolls around, many people look forward to family getting together to share a meal. In the United States, a traditional meal in December consists of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and sometimes yams. Food is a big deal during the holidays, so we are sharing some tips to manage eating this month in this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog. Make It a Potluck/Bring a Dish It can be overwhelming to feed a large group of people, particularly during the holidays. Depending on if you’re hosting or attending a meal, you can either make your shindig a potluck or bring a dish to share with everyone. A potluck can save you a little money and it diversifies the dishes available for you and your guests, but be sure to keep everything organized so you’re not doubling up on certain dishes. If you’re attending an event, you can volunteer to bring a dish to ease the pressure on the host. Ask first, don’t assume they’ll need your contribution. Don’t be Afraid of Leftovers If you’re hosting friends and family, you may want to err on the side of making too much food instead of too little. Leftovers aren’t a bad thing. It can get a little tedious eating leftovers days later, but there are always ways to spruce up the leftover food. If you aren’t willing to keep all the food that’s been left, send your guests home with plates or containers of food. Eat Slowly To avoid finding yourself on your couch laying back and miserable every time you move, we recommend eating more slowly. It can be tempting to want to consume all the delicious food in front of you, but that may not be the most ideal thing to do. Eating slowly gives your body time to realize that it’s full. Instead of being so wholly focused on what’s on your plate, strike up conversation with the people around you and catch up with what you’ve missed in their life. Do you have any food tips for the holidays? Let our Arlington, VA apartment community know by leaving us a comment!

Classic Holiday Movie Suggestions from Wildwood Park

With the colder weather now upon us, going out in the evening can be uninviting, which makes staying home a more appealing choice for your free nights. Because the holiday season is here, we suggest watching movies to pass the time and get in the spirit of the season! In this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog, we’ve got three classic movies for you to watch on your night in! As wonderful as newer holiday movies are, they can’t compare to the nostalgia that happens when you watch a classic from your childhood. It’s A Wonderful Life “James Stewart is at his finest as the distraught George Bailey, a man about to commit suicide on Christmas Eve until he runs into the helpful, elderly Angel Clarence (Henry Travers). Lionel Barrymore is at his Snidely Whiplash best as avaricious banker Mr. Potter, a man who would foreclose on the whole town if he had the chance. Featuring Donna Reed as the love of George’s life, in the role that launched her to stardom, and a young, charming Gloria Grahame.” Miracle on 34th Street “In this Christmas classic, an old man going by the name of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) fills in for an intoxicated Santa in Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Kringle proves to be such a hit that he is soon appearing regularly at the chain's main store in midtown Manhattan. When Kringle surprises customers and employees alike by claiming that he really is Santa Claus, it leads to a court case to determine his mental health and, more importantly, his authenticity.” Holiday Inn “In this Irving Berlin musical, Jim (Bing Crosby) and Lila are members of a performing trio who plan to quit and run a country hotel. When Lila says she has fallen in love with the dancer in the act, Ted (Fred Astaire), Jim leaves town with a broken heart. After turning the inn into a holidays-only live entertainment venue, Jim winds up booking -- and falling for -- Linda (Marjorie Reynolds). But when Ted shows up at the place after being dumped by Lila, he too sets his sights on beautiful Linda.” Do you have any classic movies you enjoy watching during the holidays? We’d love to hear about them, so share a comment with our Arlington, VA apartment community to let us know!

Thanksgiving Day Activities

Thanksgiving is a day when family and friends come over to eat a meal and spend some time together. If you can find the strength to battle the sleepiness that comes after a big meal, you’re going to need to find something to do. In this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog, we’ve got a few suggestions for things you can do on Thanksgiving day to keep yourself occupied and entertained! Board Games When you’ve got friends and family over, playing some board games can be a fun way to spend time and have fun! Pick a game that everyone agrees on as well as one that involves everyone. Games like Qwirkle , Codenames , or Apples to Apples are good choices for larger parties. If someone wants to be excluded from the games, be sensitive to their desires and don’t pressure them to play a game they don’t want to play. Movies If board games aren’t your thing, you can pick a movie to watch. Since the December holidays are coming up, you can watch ones that get you in the spirit of the season. Make sure there are enough comfortable spots for your family and friends to sit and bring out extra blankets or pillows if necessary. Movies are usually a time when people fall asleep, so let them, it’s a holiday after all! The time right after a meal can make it difficult to stay awake. Reminisce and Tell Stories You don’t even need to leave the table for this activity. One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving is that usually, family gathers together to have a meal. Continue the meal time conversation after the meal and catch up with the friends and family you haven’t spoken to in a while. Share with them your experiences and any new developments in your life. If you have friends who might be new to your gatherings, share some stories to get them a little more comfortable. What do you do after Thanksgiving meals? Let our Arlington, VA apartment community know by leaving a comment!

Ways to Say Thank You

Though you shouldn’t need a reason to give thanks and express gratitude, November is a great time for it. Almost a year would’ve passed since it became a new year so there are many things to be grateful for. In this week’s Wildwood Park Apartments Blog, we’ll share with you some ways you can express gratitude and say thank you to all those who’ve touched your life. Thank You Notes Small gestures can have a profound impact on those you do them for. Thank you notes are such a gesture. There are, no doubt, many people who you should thank, so make a list of those people, and pick a few in which you wish to send thank you notes to. Take some time to write a heartfelt thank you, specifying what you’re thankful for. If at all possible, hand-deliver these thank yous! Pay it Forward If you’ve had someone help you in recent months, you can take the opportunity to pay it forward. Paying it forward is an expression used for when the recipient of a good deed repays that deed to others instead of the person who had performed that good deed. Doing so will allow you to bless the lives of others the same way yours was blessed by someone else. It may not be a straightforward way of saying “thank you,” but it shows that you’re grateful for what’s been done for you because you’re helping someone else. Gratitude Journal Journaling is difficult, but can be beneficial in helping you remember the things you’re grateful for. At the end of each day, take some time to write down the things you’re grateful for that day. Months or even years down the road, you can look back on the things you’ve written down and reflect on other people’s effect on your life. Do you have any specific ways you express your gratitude? Let our Arlington, VA apartment community know of them by leaving a comment!