Giving Thanks Through Music
Raising money for the Fred Begun Scholarship Fund.
At first glance, one might not think that Pilates instructor Julie Begun and high school student Ramone Cason have much in common. But this Thanksgiving their worlds might collide. Cason, his mother, three siblings, relatives and friends will gather for Thanksgiving dinner in the Casons’ one-bedroom apartment in Arlington. The 16-year-old might entertain the group with a musical performance. Although he has never been to an orchestra performance, he dreams of being a professional bass drummer.
Turkey Carving 101
Local chefs offer advice for slicing the star of the Thanksgiving table.
Few things symbolize Thanksgiving like a whole roasted turkey on a platter, but when it’s time for dinner, neatly sliced pieces of meat look even more appealing. Whether it’s sliced at the table or in kitchen, turkey carving can be a daunting task, however. A few local chefs share their favorite turkey-carving methods to create an impressive holiday platter.
Thanksgiving Tablescapes
Ideas for giving thanks in style.
Whether one’s taste in table settings is subtle or over-the-top, it is possible to give thanks in style. From centerpieces to table runners, local designers say the right combination of accessories can create a Thanksgiving table that guests will remember long after the holiday.
Gifts for the Hostess
Stylish ideas for saying thank you.
If you’re planning to be a guest rather than a host for Thanksgiving dinner this year, you don’t want to arrive empty handed. For those who are still searching for the perfect hostess gift, local tastemakers come to the rescue with presents that are stylish and thoughtful.
Where To Find Beautiful Wreaths
Local artisan custom creates holiday wreaths and centerpieces.
Though Christmas comes but once a year, for Linda Hobbins, it’s a year-round passion. She custom designs fresh, dried and silk arrangements, wreaths, holiday trees, hurricane lamps, centerpieces and other holiday decor items.
Quarry Springs Reopens with New Amenities
New, luxury development offers the finest in condo living.
Home buyers looking for luxury and elegance without maintenance in the D.C. area now have another option. Quarry Springs recently announced the relaunch of its estate condominiums on River Road in Bethesda.
McLean Location for 2015 DC Design House
House will benefit Children’s National Health System.
The new country estate at 956 Mackall Farm Lane in McLean will be the location for the 8th annual DC Design House, a project that raises money to benefit Children’s National Health System. The 2015 DC Design House will be held from April 11 to May 10.
New Interior Design Book Features Local Tastemakers
Interior designers offer advice on creating an elegant home.
Fall not only brings vibrantly colored leaves and pumpkins, but it also ushers in a slew of new book releases. Among those is an interior design book featuring local designers.
Celebrating Fall at George Washington’s Farm
Mount Vernon hosts Fall Harvest Family Days.
As the sun beamed down from an early fall sky, children pierced apple chunks with sharpened tree branches, held them over an open fire and then carefully dipped them into a jar of honey.
Cookbook Offers Hearty Dinners
Local chefs use seasonal produce to create new dishes.
When the weather turns chilly and the produce at farmers’ markets change from bright orange tomatoes to thick skinned squash and pumpkins, Dorothy Myers faces a culinary conundrum.
Natural Treatments for Anxiety
Experts say complementary medical treatments can help relieve anxiety and other mental disorders.
When 35-year-old Andrea Evenson decided to try meditation, exercise and yoga to deal with her anxiety, she had already been on a myriad of anti-anxiety medications.
A Library for Gardening Tools
Check out a garden tool as if checking out a library book.
If you’re engaged in fall clean-up or gardening and find that you’re missing a key tool to finish your project, imagine being able to go to your local library and check out one, just as you would check out a book.
Christmas Comes to Potomac
Two local home decor stores to hold holiday open houses.
While many are making last minute preparations for Halloween, some local merchants are putting the final touches on their Christmas displays.
Help at a Touch of a Button
Local residents say it will keep them safer.
A car accident changed Kenneth Kelley’s outlook on life, but not in the expected way. He was an entrepreneur who was working to bring a new product that he thought would be lifesaving to market.
Ghoulish Treats
Easy Halloween treats to make at home.
Halloween is the holiday when Judy Kleinman lets her spooky culinary imagination run free.
Decking the Halls – Halloween-Style
Local designers say it’s not too late to turn your house into a spooky horror.
Halloween is little more than a week away, but if you still haven’t decked out your home with spooky decor, it’s not too late.
Getting Children Excited for Halloween
Local experts offer advice for keeping trick-or-treating fun, not scary, for small children.
For many children, Halloween is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. From Power Rangers and athletes to princesses and pirates, dressing up in their spookiest or most imaginative attire and trolling the streets in search of treats is a major part of the fun for school-age children. For younger children, however, the ghosts and goblins who are meant to entertain can cause too much of a fright.
The Private School Admissions Process
Local educators offer insider tips on how to select and get a child admitted to the perfect school.
While this school year might still feel new, some parents are already thinking next fall. Or if they’re not, they should be. For parents who are considering sending their children to one of the area’s private schools for the 2015-2016 school year, the application process should be underway.
Experiencing Life with Special Needs
Potomac school program teaches empathy and acceptance.
A classmate led Sophia Collins across the gym floor during a physical education class at Wayside Elementary School in Potomac last week. Sophia tried to pick up a golf ball and put it in a cup. This may sound like an overly simple task for a first grade student, but Sophia needed help because she couldn’t see.
Exceptional Schools Fair
Event provides information for parents of special needs children.
Parents of special needs children will have a forum to learn about educational opportunities available to them in the Washington, D.C. area next month.
Fun for All at the Potomac Country House Tour and Festival
Event raised record proceeds for St. Francis Episcopal Church.
From a petting zoo to silent auctions to tours of some of the area’s most magnificent homes, there were activities for all ages at the 58th Annual Potomac Country House Tour & Festival last weekend.
Suggestions to keep outdoor spaces functional through the fall
As the air turns crisp and we settle into fall, the time is ideal for creating a cozy setting, whether it’s elegant or rustic or modern. Many people have adapted part of their landscape as an outdoor room.
Planting for Fall
Planning your autumn garden and yard.
As the first few weeks of fall unfold, carrying with them the promise of rich and vibrant colors, many local residents are starting to plan their fall gardens, both ornamental and edible. Pruning and and overall garden cleanup will make way for fall plants. In fact, this is the perfect time to clear away summer foliage and plant, horticulture gurus said.
Mason Professors Win Virginia Center of Aging Grant
Funding will be used to study Alzheimer’s disease.
Two George Mason University professors recently won a prestigious and competitive grant that they hope will lead them closer to success in their fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Top Chef for Seniors
Retirement community residents choose Sunrise Signature Chef.
Grace Delaune nibbled on striped bass and quinoa salad, pondering the flavors and textures of each dish. Myke Hammaker savored the miso cod and spinach.
Running Safely
RunSafer workshop focuses on staying safe while keeping fit.
Carin Usrey is an avid runner who lost a friend to assault during college. Now when she is out running for exercise, she is on heightened alert about potential dangers that could pose a threat to those on a fast-paced run or leisurely walk for exercise.
Art as Mindfulness
Learning to be present and aware.
Art plays a central role in Lisa Richard’s family.
Riding To Fight Cancer
Local patients and supporters bike through the National Capital Region to support cancer research.
In July of 2013, Seth Edlavitch of Potomac says he received the shock of his life. After experiencing headaches for several months, he visited his doctor and after a series of tests and finally brain surgery, doctors discovered that Edlavitch had a non-Hodgkin's, blood-based lymphoma form of brain cancer.
Conference Celebrates Local Businesswomen
Power Conference offers advice, networking opportunities.
Nancy Regelin, a Potomac-based attorney, decided to give women-owned businesses a boost, so she coordinated an event at the Convention Center in North Bethesda. Now in its fifth year, the Power Conference: Women Doing Business is a women’s business development conference.
Norwood Students Experience History
Field trips allow students to see and touch at memorials.
History books came to life for about 55 eighth grade students who spent a day at the Holocaust Museum, FDR Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The trip was part of Bethesday-based Norwood School’s seventh and eighth grade “World History Through an American Lens” curriculum.
A Different Path to a 4-year Degree
NOVA’s Guaranteed Admissions Program gives students opportunities to attend their dream schools.
Noor Naveed immigrated to the United States from Pakistan with her family shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The family settled in Northern Virginia and, years later, Naveed graduated from Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria. She dreams of becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college.
House Tour For Charity
Potomac Country House Tour & Festival set for Oct. 3-5.
Four of the area’s homes will open their doors to visitors next month in the name of charity. Officials for the 58th annual Potomac Country House Tour & Festival announced which four of the area’s homes will be part of the October tour.
Time to Downsize?
Suggestions for seniors looking for homes to fit the next phase of their lives.
When Beverly Quinn’s fourth child, a daughter, got married, she decided it was time to downsize. The 69-year-old widow moved out of the 4,000-square-foot home in Vienna, Va., where she and her husband raised their children and into a 1,300-square-foot townhouse in North Potomac, Md., which meets her new needs perfectly.
New Yorker Discussion Group
Members enjoy intellectual stimulation, camaraderie over long term.
There was a time when 83-year-old Bob Kanchuger spent most Friday mornings on a 30-mile bike ride with friends.
Holy Child Appoints New Head of School
Shannon M. Gomez, Ed.D., was unanimously selected.
When students at Potomac’s Connelly School of the Holy Child returned to school this week, there was a new leader at the helm to oversee the new year. School officials announced that Shannon M. Gomez, Ed.D., is the 10th head of the all-girls Catholic school.
Removing Barriers to College
Local services help students complete college paperwork, remove barriers.
LaQuita King relocated across the state from Chesapeake, Va., to Alexandria in the summer of 2013, moving into an apartment with her aunt and three cousins. King had just graduated from high school and was looking forward to taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College. So far, that hasn’t happened.
Organized for School Year
Local organizers offer suggestions on dealing with the summer mess.
When summer comes to a grinding halt in a few weeks, a new school year will begin. From alarm clocks and school bells to piles of homework assignments and sports schedules, maintaining a coordinated household can be difficult, however. Local organizers are offering simple suggestions to help make the transition from summer to the start of the school year seamless.
Room for All
Local builders redesign a home with a wheelchair-bound boy in mind.
When the owners of an Arlington home approached Russ Glickman, founder of Glickman Design Build, for a home renovation, they had one primary goal in mind: making the home accessible for their elementary school-aged son, who is confined to a wheelchair, while ensuring the renovations were consistent with the home’s existing aesthetic.
Banishing the Beige
Local interior designer adds color and turns a Potomac house into a home.
They decided to send out an SOS and were rescued by interior designer Kerra Michele Huerta.
Preventing Sports Injuries
How to keep kids safe while they’re having fun.
As students prepare to return to school, one activity many look forward to is sports. While the benefits of athletic activities are numerous, however, so are injuries.
A New Era at Local School
Matthew Gould tapped as head of Norwood School.
When the 2014-2015 school year opens in a few weeks, Norwood School will have a new leader at the helm. The Board of Trustees for the Bethesda school named Matthew A. Gould, Ph.D., as the new head of school earlier this month. Gould replaces Richard T. Ewing Jr., who retired from Norwood after 35 years. “Having grown up in the D.C. area and worked in various schools for the past 25 years, I was well aware of Norwood’s reputation as one of the largest and finest kindergarten-through-eighth grade schools in the country,” said Gould. “I was impressed with Norwood’s deep commitment and passion for educating the whole child in a joyful, nurturing and challenging learning environment. It was important for me to be in a school community that puts children at the center of everything.”
Remodeling with Pets in Mind
Keep pets safe during construction projects created for man’s best friend.
While the end result of a remodel is often a new, updated or enlarged living space, the road to that improvement is often filled with dust, debris and inconvenience — which can be upsetting and even dangerous to dogs and cats.
The Power of Friendship
Local group pairs teen mentors with special needs children.
One of the highlights of 8-year-old Sophie Gottfried’s week is spending time with her 17-year-old friend Allie Wiener. Despite their age difference, the two girls have an extraordinary bond.
Financial Education for College Students
Local experts offer budget tips to keep students out of debt.
As the summer wanes, many recent high school graduates are preparing to head to college. For those who are living away from home for the first time, this means newfound independence. But that freedom brings responsibility — especially when it comes to money.
Bathrooms of Bliss
Potomac architect creates luxurious lavatory retreats.
From skylights to illuminating floor tiles, the options for transforming a boring and outdated bathroom into a serene oasis are seemingly endless, but one local architect melds creativity and craftsmanship for dramatic results.
A New Work Order
Local designers help create organized and stylish home offices.
Whether it’s a nook, in the kitchen or a designated room, a home office is the place were ideas come to life. Local designers dish about the secrets to creating a workspace that is organized and functional yet stylish. “You’re going to spend a lot of time in it so aesthetics do matter,” said Patricia Tetro of BOWA in McLean.
Creating Collages, Crowns and Even Dresses
Local artists turn paper into art.
Combining antiqued sheets of music and type-faced book pages with vibrantly hued paper, artist Brook Mowrey creates three-dimensional works that range from crowns and ball gowns to dolls and floral dresses. Her work shows that the use of paper can be varied and diverse.
Halting the Summer Slide
Local educators offer suggestions to keep children learning through the summer.
Wendi Taylor, North Potomac mother of three, isn’t vacationing, however: She’s helping her three elementary school-aged boys keep their academic skills sharp.
Summer Health and Safety Hazards
Keeping danger at bay during warm weather months.
Summer comes but once a year. From picnics and days at the pool to backyard barbeques and day-long hikes, many people spend the season outdoors.
Gifts for New Grads
Local tastemakers offer suggestions from the sentimental to the practical.
After the tassels have been turned and the diplomas received, it is usually time for a graduation celebration. Whether you’re shopping for someone who is heading to college or venturing out into the workforce, choosing a present for the graduate in your life can be perplexing, but local tastemakers are here to help, offering suggestions for graduation presents that range from the practical to the sentimental.