Blog Posts

Cool Popsicle Recipes

Welcome back to the Cavalier Court Blog. In our last post, we shared a few ideas for beating the summer heat and today we are continuing that theme by sharing some popsicle recipes. Gather up the ingredients and make your own popsicles this summer at your apartment here in Fairfax, VA. Spicy Watermelon Popsicles from Jerry James Stone Sweet and spicy, these easy to make popsicles will both cool you off and bring the heat. To make them, you will need the following: popsicle molds, popsicle sticks, seedless watermelon, ripe tomatoes, and sliced jalapenos. Blueberry Orange Icy Pops from Two Loves Studio Fresh, fruity, and bursting with flavor — that’s how we would best describe these popsicles. Ingredients needed include: fresh blueberries, navel oranges, coconut milk, coconut water, and coconut cream. Grapefruit Popsicles from Paper and Stitch These popsicles are super simple to make, refreshing, and require just three ingredients! You will need grapefruit juice, fresh grapefruit, and pink lemonade or fruit punch. Bonus: they also look really cool. Strawberry Mango Chia Pops from Dessert Now, Dinner Later! Beat the summer heat with these Strawberry Mango Chia Popsicles! Fresh strawberries and mangoes, chia seeds, and coconut water is all you need to whip up these hydrating pops. 3 Ingredient Strawberry Banana Popsicles from Sally’s Baking Addiction You’ll crave these healthy fruit popsicles all summer long. Fresh strawberries, a frozen ripe banana, and pineapple or orange juice. Green Smoothie Breakfast Popsicles from Floating Kitchen Sneak in your daily dose of veggies with these green smoothie popsicles. Ingredients include kale leaves, green grapes, brewed green tea, peeled banana, honey, and greek yogurt. Nectarine Banana Blackberry Ice Pops from Know Your Produce Pick up the fresh fruit needed to make these popsicles from your local farmers’ market. You will need nectarines, bananas, and fresh blackberries. Blend the ingredients, pour into popsicle molds, and freeze for 5-8 hours or overnight. Have you ever made your own popsicles? Share your favorite popsicle recipes with us in the comments. Thanks for reading our post. Good luck staying cool this summer!

Staying Cool in The Summer Heat

Summertime here in Fairfax, VA can get uncomfortably warm. We want to help members of our Cavalier Court apartment community to stay cool so we are sharing a few tips for staying cool during the hot summer months. Enjoy Cool Treats After a hot dinner or a long day, satisfy both your sweet tooth and your need to cool down with a fresh treat or some ice cream! Eating cool or frozen treats cools you down instantly by providing a refreshing, tasty treat, and lowering your body’s temperature. Choose from the various flavors of ice creams, popsicles, or even different flavors of drinks. Stay In When we think about things to do to cool off, we rarely think about not doing anything! Staying in can be one of the best ways to cool off. Crank up the air conditioning, turn on the TV, and enjoy your time not being outside! If you do intend on staying in, keep in mind to balance your productive and recreational activities. Dress for the Weather Understanding how to dress for the weather will greatly affect how comfortable you are during the day. Because of the heat, opt for shorts or dresses for more freedom of movement and air flow. If at all possible, try to wear fabrics like cotton, linen, and chambray. These fabrics are lighter and more breathable, and are life-savers in hot, humid climates. Drink water This is one of the simplest ways to keep your core temperature where it’s supposed to be. Drink enough water to avoid getting thirsty and stay hydrated. Use a refillable water bottle and keep it with you. Consider buying an insulated water bottle to keep your water cold for longer. What are your best tips for staying cool in the summertime? Let us know in the comments. We hope you have a fantastic summer filled with adventure!

Best Ice Cream Shops in Fairfax

Ice cream is a great treat all year round — especially in summertime when you need something to help you cool down with the rising temperature. To help you out, our Cavalier Court Blog is highlighting a few of the best ice cream shops here in Fairfax, VA. Read on to find out a little about each place, including how far away they are from our apartment community. Sugar Mama’s Ice Cream (7 mins away) “Located in Fairfax, VA, we're the only ones serving up delicious handmade ice cream. It's the old fashion scoop-able kind we all grew up on. No soft serve or frozen yogurt here! “Local family owned and operated, we are open in Fairfax all year long! You don't shut down in the winter, why should we? Ice cream is yummy anytime or season. We also have a variety of candy - and we can take requests if there is a favorite you'd like us to find/offer. See our candy page.” Monster Roll (8 mins away) “Located in the Fair Oaks Mall, Monster Roll is a unique ice cream shop that creates ice cream rolls right in front of your eyes with your choice of fresh ingredients mixed in. Come watch us work some tasty magic right before your eyes!” Smash’D Creamery (9 mins away) “Get Smash'D with bold Asian inspired flavors in our one-of-a-kind rolled ice cream! Only the finest ingredients are used for our milk teas. No powders. No gimmicks. Just natural. Enjoy delicious and unique flavors like mango sticky rice or dragon fruit rolled ice cream.” The Inside Scoop (Ice Cream Truck) “The Inside Scoop is the ultimate ice cream parlor on wheels. We serve Ultra-Premium, Natural, hand dipped ice cream made in small batches. I start with Organic, Grass Fed, Non-GMO Mix and then add our all natural ingredients & toppings which are free from artificial sweeteners, colors & corn syrup! “From this, we make Sundaes, Milkshakes, Malts, Banana Splits, Root Beer Floats, Custom, Home-Made Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches & more!” Where is your favorite place to get ice cream in Fairfax? Let us know in the comments so that others in our apartment community can check it out. Thanks for reading our post. We hope you get the chance to enjoy some great tasting ice cream this summer!

DIY Bird Feeders

Welcome back to the Cavalier Court Blog! Are you looking for a fun summer craft to try out? We suggest making your own bird feeder. We found a few different ideas on the internet that we thought we would share with residents of our apartment community. Even if you don’t have a place to hang it outside your apartment, you could always hang one up in a nearby park or wooded area here in Fairfax, VA. Wooden Spoon Feeder A plastic soda bottle and a couple of wooden spoons make a great bird feeder. You just have to make holes in the bottle for the spoons and be sure that you angle the spoons downward so that the bird feed will drizzle onto them. This is a really cute idea and a great project for kids. Repurposed Teapot Feeder An old teapot will make a really cute and unique bird feeder. You can use this as a feeder or a nester. Birds can get inside and build their nests so that you can see the babies when they are hatched. As a feeder, it works really well and is a really unique idea. Pinecone Feeder Pinecone feeders area great way to utilize nature. You can spread them with peanut butter and then add birdseed or spread them with lard and add birdseed. Whatever you prefer, these are really easy to make and are great projects for the kids. Make several of them and decorate outdoor trees with many little feeders. Flowerpot Feeder An old flower pot will make a beautiful bird feeder. You will need to drill holes in the pot so that the birdseed will come out. You will need a plastic bottle with the top cut off and this will need holes drilled in as well. Get creative when you are drilling the holes and make a pattern so that they are both functional and decorative. Have you ever made your own bird feeder? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments. Thanks for reading our post.

Fruit Salads that are Perfect for Summer!

Summertime is the perfect time to enjoy fresh fruit! In this Cavalier Court Blog post, we are sharing a few fruit salad recipes that will make the perfect addition to your next summer potluck, picnic, or barbecue here in Fairfax, VA. Enjoy one of these fresh fruit salads at your apartment this month! Creamy Fruit Salad from Tastes Better from Scratch Your picnic wouldn’t be complete without a great fruit salad recipe! The recipe calls for pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, a chopped apple, lemon juice, halved grapes, plain greek yogurt, shredded coconut, and mini marshmallows. Zesty Fruit Salad from The Roasted Root This salad is easy to make and so delicious. You’ll need an apple, an orange, 2 kiwis, 1 banana, 1 cup of blueberries, 1 cup of red grapes. For the dressing, you’ll need canned coconut milk, Greek yogurt, basil leaves, 1 lime, and honey. Make the Lime Coconut Basil dressing and mix in with the chopped fruit. This salad is a great alternative to a traditional fruit bowl. Hawaiian Fresh Fruit Salad from Delish You’ll be dreaming of a tropical vacation as you are eating this refreshing salad. Here is everything you will need: fresh lime juice, honey, chopped fresh ginger or ground ginger, sliced bananas, pineapple chunks, red raspberries, segmented oranges, and blueberries. Berry Watermelon Fruit Salad from Fork Knife Swoon This refreshing fruit salad perfectly captures the essence of summer! To make it, you will need cubed watermelon, fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and lime juice. Mojito Fruit Salad (Non-Alcoholic) from Iowa Girl Eats This flavorful fruit salad has a nice refreshing hint of mint. Ingredients include chopped watermelon, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chopped mint, lime juice, and powdered sugar. Very Berry Cheesecake Salad from The Recipe Critic This fresh fruit salad also incorporates the rich creaminess of cheesecake! Here’s everything you will need to make it: cream cheese, sugar, whipped topping, sliced strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. What is your favorite type of fruit salad? Share your recipes with the rest of us by leaving a comment on this post. Enjoy some fresh fruit this summer!

Parks in Fairfax, VA

Studies have shown that spending time outside provides several mental health benefits . So get outside this month and enjoy the beautiful spring weather here in Fairfax, VA! To encourage residents of our Cavalier Court apartment community to get outdoors, we are highlighting a few of the nearby local parks in this post. Kutner Park (2 mins away) Located at 3901 Jermantown Road, this park is less than half a mile away from our apartment community! The park is composed of 10.5 acres and includes the following: hiking trails, a picnic pavilion, three grills, playground equipment, a soccer field, a tennis court, and a volleyball court. Fairchester Woods Park (3 mins away) Located at 10836 Warwick Avenue, this neighborhood park is composed of one acre and includes a basketball court, playground equipment, and park benches. Cobbdale Park (4 mins away) Located at 3600 Burrows Avenue, this half-acre park includes playground equipment and some picnic tables. It is a great place to let the kids run and play or to have an outdoor picnic with some friends. Draper Drive Park (11 mins away) Located at 9797 Beech Trail, this public park is comprised of 16 acres. The park includes two multi-purpose synthetic turf fields, a trail for hiking, biking, and jogging, and a small playground area. Dale Lestina Park (13 mins away) Located at 3157 Plantation Parkway in Fairfax, this park is made up of seven whole acres! The park features include playground equipment and wooded walking trails. Green Acres Center (14 mins away) Located at 4401 Sideburn Road, the Green Acres Center is composed of 10 acres. The facilities available at the center include the following: an outdoor basketball court, a little league field, playground equipment, soccer fields, and indoor activity rooms. What is your favorite park in the area? What is your favorite activity to do when you visit the park? Share your answers with us by leaving a comment on this post. Thanks for reading! We hope you get the chance to have some fun outdoors this month!