Halloween is over and the big slide into the holidays has begun. Chances are you will be a guest in someone’s home or need some original gift ideas for under the tree. Right here in Reston, residents are toiling away making products the old-fashioned way—small batch items infused with their passion for the process. The Soap…
Posts By: Michelle Schoening
A Fall Squash Cheat Sheet
The bounty of summer is long gone but fall brings its own special harvest to the table. Squash is in full-force right now at grocery stores and farmers markets. These nutritional power-houses are packed with vitamins and fiber. They can be used to lighten-up recipes by replacing starches such as pasta and potatoes. They can also be the…
Halloween Cocktails: Psychotic Spirits & Bewitching Brews
Whether you are hosting a Halloween party or just prefer to drink alone — in the dark, in a haunted mansion — these ghostly (ghastly!) concoctions will definitely send a chill down your spine. We dusted off the grand tome of classic cocktails and picked three that will impress your friends… or send them into a spiral of madness.
Clams, Oysters & Mussels are Now in Season!
It’s bivalve season! Huh? you ask. Months that end in an ‘r’ are commonly believed to be the best months for oysters, mussels and clams. Cooler waters have less of an occurrence of algae blooms which can lead to high levels of toxicity in bivalves. These shellfish also spawn during warmers months and don’t taste as…
Airbnb Offers a Host of Options for Visiting Guests & Traveling Abroad
With the holidays approaching and family and friends threatening to visit, most of us will be faced with the reality that our homes are not houseguest ready. If your family eschews the idea of staying in a hotel for something homier, consider Airbnb. Airbnb is a community website where travelers can book spaces (homes/rooms) from hosts. It is completely secure and…
Candy Apples: The Ultimate Fall Treat
Candy apples and fall go together like summer & watermelon, like winter & hot cocoa, like spring &… spring onions. You get my drift. This weekend, we found ourselves with an abundance of apples from a recent apple picking adventure but no desire to bake or mash them. Even though we love them plain (I’m looking at you, Honeycrisp),…
10 Locals You Should Be Following on Instagram (Besides Us!)
We love Instagram. It’s a visual feast of beautiful photography and a great place to discover creative people. It’s more fun than Facebook because it’s just photos, usually captured quicky and in-the-moment. It’s a little raw and refreshingly devoid of marketing. Here is a list of ten local instagrammers you should follow as they trek…
Vecinos Unidos: A Non-Profit Homework Program in Fairfax County
School is in full-swing again and the nightly homework battles have begun in my house. My husband and I dream up all sorts of ways to challenge our daughter to think critically about the assignments and are at-the-ready to explain difficult concepts. But what about those parents who don’t speak English? The parents who know…
The Organic Butcher: Artisan & Exotic Meats in Neighboring McLean
If you are looking for the finest quality meat, poultry and seafood in close proximity to Reston, look no further than The Organic Butcher of McLean. This mecca of artisan foods is just a mere 20 minutes away and stocks the crème de la crème of organic and locally raised meats and sustainable seafood. Native Virginian…
At The Reston Farmers Market: Cherry Glen Goat Cheese
The Farmers Market returns to Lake Anne tomorrow after a brief hiatus due to the Reston Multicultural Festival. As wonderful as that was, we missed our weekly cheese fix from the Cherry Glen Goat Cheese booth. Cherry Glen is a 58-acre farm in Boyds, Maryland that raises goats and makes a wide variety of award-winning, soft-ripened…
A Cocktail for Apple Season: The Szarlotka (Polish Apple Pie Cocktail)
‘Tis apple season! Before I moved to Virginia I had no idea what Fall was. Having lived in California for most of my life, I never experienced actual seasons. The first time I went leaf-peeping and apple picking I was blown away. How had I not known about this?! And oh, THE HONEYCRISPS!! Fall also ushers in a slew of holidays and…
Home Tour: Basil’s Eclectic, Art-filled Condo
Modern Reston will be showcasing homes of the people who define the New Reston. We’ll see how they live and how they have creatively transformed their spaces to reflect who they are. We are dedicated to finding homes with a modern sensibility mixed with a bit of quirk. We hope these tours will inspire you in your…