Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
It’s hard to believe we’re just a month away from entering 2024.
This time of year goes by in the blink of an eye between all the times happening. If you’re trying to decide where to spend your time and energy, here’s a breakdown of happenings around town for the remainder of the year so you can pick and choose what you want to prioritize!
Tonight (Nov. 27): Church Street Stroll
The fun starts at 6 p.m. Bundle up because it’s cold today! Santa will arrive on his firetruck to light the town tree, there’s live music, he generally sits on the porch at the Freeman Store if you want photos or a meet-n-greet. There are crafts at Vienna Presbyterian Church and hot chocolate. The town will also set up firepits on each block of Church Street with free marshmallows for roasting. There’s a list of business specials from participating stores along Church Street. Find the full list here, but favorites include free warm and sweat treats along the way, plus a free social media-sized digital photo from Melody Yazdani Studios (this is a HUGE opportunity), also free pet photos with Santa at Vienna Pet Spaw.
Saturday, December 2
- Cookies with Santa at the Vienna Community Center: This event is already sold out, but there is a waitlist you can hop on. For future information, you can sign up on Webtrac next year under Special Events. Tickets are $5/person.
Letters to Santa: Drop box at the Vienna Community Center Lobby (or you can mail it to the Vienna Parks and Recreation). Letters must be received by TOMORROW November 28 to guarantee a letter back from Santa.
Saturday, December 9
- Breakfast with Santa at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department: Breakfast with Santa from 8 a.m. to noon, with tickets being sold at the door (pre-sale tickets were available but they’re sold out now). The tip with this is that 8 a.m. is usually the least busiest time — so all of you with early risers, go take advantage! Breakfast includes pancakes, bacon, sausage, orange juice and coffee.
Santa Claus Runs with the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department
An annual tradition you should definitely take note of! Follow along as Santa visits each part of Vienna beginning on Friday December 15th. You can follow his route on Twitter at @VVFDSanta and this year the map is so much easier to decode! If you hear a loud siren and blaring music, that must mean Santa is close.
Sunday, December 10 at 11 a.m. at the Vienna Moose Lodge
Power Pack Event to benefit Food for Others. Great opportunity to get kids involved in giving back. You can bring food and help donate the weekend bags of food. Find more info here.
Thursday, December 14 at 5 p.m. at Mosaic District
Community Menorah Lighting with the JCC of Northern Virginia, between Shake Shack and West Elm. There will be candle lighting, sing along, dreidel games, and other entertainment.
James Madison High School Band Tiny Tots Concert
An interactive annual event that features music, characters and costumes, which is really fun for little kids. Many go in holiday PJS. Get tickets online. Thursday, November 30 at 10 a.m., 7 p.m., or Friday, December 1 at 10 a.m.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
My family is coming into town for Thanksgiving and the only thing worse than being judged by your own family is being judged by your in-laws. Am I right?
This morning I went to throw in a load of laundry and thought, I haven’t cleaned the detergent dish in a while, and sure enough, it was gross (also, being judged by the internet is fine with me). So please heed this as your reminder to check out those commonly used and often neglected spaces!
Washer (detergent area and pump filter)
Refrigerator filter — you can easily just vacuum this, but easier if you take it off.
- Sink drains (pull out hair)
- Humidifier filters (often get moldy because people forget to change them)
- Under your stove
- Toilet seat lid screws (boy moms especially can understand this one)
Two products I recommend:
Don’t let your in-laws judge you!
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
Around this time of year, I always look for opportunities to give my kids opportunities to give back to our community.
We do Red Bag all year round, but the holidays bring a whole new set of opportunities. Most places require kids be at least 12 years old, so instead of wishing there were more ways to get them involved, I created one.
Food for Others is a local organization that provides food to our neighbors in need. They have a specific program called Power Packs, which provides weekend meal packs for students experiencing food insecurity. The program currently serves 45 schools and roughly 3,594 students each week. Vienna schools included in this program are Fairhill Elementary School, Freedom Hill Elementary School, Louise Archer Elementary School, Shrevewood Elementary School, and Thoreau Middle School.
What is a power pack?
- 2 Breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snacks
How can you get involved?
- Join us on Sunday, December 10 at 11 a.m. at the Vienna Moose Lodge to bring food to donate and/or stay and help pack the bags
- We can sign off if kids need volunteer hours for middle or high schoolers
- Could be a great food drive if a team, cub scouts, girl scouts, etc. want to collect food donations
- There is an Amazon Wish List if you’d like to donate but can’t attend
- If you’re local and want to donate food, I am also more than happy to come by and pick it up. Please just message me!
What we need:
Breakfast: Oatmeal Packets, Individual Cereal Boxes, Granola Bars (NO PEANUT BUTTER), Nutri Grain Bars
Lunch/Dinner: Chili Cups, Mac and Cheese Cups, Tuna/Chicken Salad Kits, Chef Boyardee Meals
Snacks: Fruit Cups In Juice (No syrup and NO TINFOIL Lids), Cheese & Crackers, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Dried Fruit
Drinks: 100% Fruit Juice, Capri Sun Juice Boxes, Shelf Stable Milk
Note: Do NOT include peanut butter, candy, pop-tarts, Vienna Sausages, glass containers, high sugar items, apple sauce cups with tinfoil lids or bottled water.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
I saw this viral video on Instagram about a family who swaps candy for a toy for a kid which apparently people had strong feelings about. In our house, there’s of course a “Dad Tax” on 100 grand bars that the kids bring home, but there’s always a bunch of stuff that either I hate for them or they don’t like. One of my kids doesn’t even like most of the candy unless it’s going to stick to his teeth and guarantee a cavity (thank goodness for good dental insurance). If you’re like us, and Halloween candy can last a year in your pantry, why not do something good with it instead?
Here are some places to donate candy this year:
Treats for Troops: Drop off any candy from now until November 8th at Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Rd, Fairfax – the Mosaic one!) and they’ll work with the Kiwanis Club to ship it to the troops!*
Ghaffari Orthodontics: Drop off candy this week and they’ll be donating it to local churches. 100 Church St NE (Corner of Church and Center St).
Tisseront Orthodontics: The 16th Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back — candy at $2 a pound with $1 going towards Children’s National in D.C. All candy collected is sent to the US Armed Forces overseas. Taking place Monday, Nov. 6 from 1-5 p.m.
Through the Heart: This amazing organization creates comfort kits to parents who experience pregnancy loss. You can drop off candy through November 15th at their location in Edgewater, MD or my colleague at 109 S Pitt St Alexandria. If you’d like to donate to this organization but can’t get to Alexandria, please reach out to me and I’ll come pick it up and drop it off for you.
Also don’t forget about the Little Free Pantry by the Emmaus United Church on Maple Ave, and the one on Moore Ave by Wesley United Methodist Church.
*As of November 4 they are at capacity. Additional Treats for Troops locations are still open.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
I’ve had the honor of writing this column for Tysons Reporter and now FFXnow since 2018. For years I’ve been writing about events, places you should know, tips for parents, some real estate related content, and small business highlights.
As we approach the end of year, I’d love to hear from you about what you’d like to see more (or less) of in this column. The content is for your enjoyment and benefit so I’d love to share more of what you want.
Here’s an easy poll if you want to weigh in, but if you have specific questions or suggestions please email me at Laura@GuidingYourMove.com or comment on the post.
I’m always open to feedback!
Don’t forget this Wednesday, October 25 is the Town of Vienna Halloween Parade. For my tips on attending, read this post from 2022.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
Let’s start with the obvious disclosure — I’m not a financial planner or a CPA, just a real estate agent with some well known tips to save money on your mortgage.
Lots of you have mortgage rates under 4%, which is amazing, but there are still ways to save even more money.
- Pay an extra $100 per payment. That might take YEARS off your 30 year loan and significantly reduce your overall interest cost on your loan. Pro tip: make sure you designate that it’s a payment towards your principal or they may just apply it towards interest which is not the goal here.
- If you have a loan with an interest rate under 5%, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to refinance for a lower rate. However, for those of you who bought in 2022 or beyond — keep an eye on rates or reach out to your loan officer about when you should plan to refinance. There are usually costs associated with refinances, so make sure the expenses don’t outweigh the savings (it’s a cost analysis for how long you plan to stay in the house and how many months you’ll need to pay in order to recoup your closing costs). I know of a lender offering credit towards a future refi if you buy now, which will save you money down the road.
- If you put down less than 20% when you bought, you likely have mortgage insurance you’re paying monthly. Prices have continued to increase so you’ll want to pay attention to market value. You can get a new appraisal done and if the current value of your home has gone up enough, where your loan balance hits 80% of the value, you can ask your lender to get rid of your MI payment, otherwise they wait until you’ve paid enough to hit 78% of your loan value. Nobody will look out for your money like you.
If you want a market analysis on your home (general ballpark) to see if you can get out of your mortgage insurance, reach out. I offer a free assessment of value on your home and have a program that will aggregate your neighborhood sales for you to watch.
Just email me if you’d like to receive it (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually).
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
I’ll admit — I don’t like scary movies, I don’t like scary haunted houses, but when I was a kid in my hometown of Slingerlands, New York the fire department always did an awesome Halloween event where kids could go to a haunted house and younger kids could bob for apples, do crafts, bounce house, donuts, and other activities for more candy.
It’s one of my fondest memories of my neighborhood. That’s why I LOVE the Vienna Halloween parade. But this year, I wanted to expand what I share with you.
You can read my annual list of Vienna Parade tips here. Full Disclosure: I haven’t verified the decorations from last year and whether they will be up again, but if you want to drop an address in the comments section, I’m sure everyone would appreciate it! This year Weichert is doing a Trunk or Treat in the back parking lot from 6-7 p.m. before the parade.
That said, did you know we have Ghost tours around the D.C. area? I knew this was a Boston thing, but turns out, we have several in the area too:
- Old Town Alexandria Ghost Tour: A walking tour operating since 1985! Led by a costumed guide with a lantern light, you get a ghost tour of Old Town.
- DC Ghosts: A walking tour featuring 8-12 stories from the D.C. history books.
Here’s another resource that features more haunted/ghost tours.
Meadowlark Botanical Garden is doing a Halloween Scavenger Hunt on October 21 through October 31 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Dog O’Ween is taking place Saturday, November 4 at Shipgarten from 1-6 p.m.
Flagship Carwash is having a Car Wash of Doom event. Tickets are available online or in-person, now through October 28.
The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton has a “Haunt” trail this month, including Sensory Friendly times on October 15 (6:30-7:15 p.m.) for kids who want to experience it without the strong sounds and lights.
Also, word on the street is that the Vienna Halloween Horror house is coming back for 2023! Follow their Facebook page for information.
Regardless of how you spend the night, remember Vienna trick or treaters always go out on October 31st — school night or not!
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
I often see requests for playgrounds or parks information from new moms, or people new to Vienna or sometimes people just asking for new trails to explore.
When my boys were toddlers we used to frequent the playground circuit to get some energy out. I wanted to pass along the information that lives in my head so residents can enjoy the plentiful opportunities around town to get outside.
If you have a kid who loves to throw rocks in the water, or perhaps an age gap where one kid wants to shoot hoops while another wants to go on a slide, either way, I created a map with details about each location and what they offer.
Looking for a new walking path with NO kids? I have that too.
Want a grassy open field to go toss a frisbee or go do an outdoor work, that’s included also.
There’s something for everyone.
I hope you’ll enjoy this resource as much I have enjoyed creating it. You can access it at www.ViennaPlaygrounds.com.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
As everyone knows, there’s a ton of new construction around Vienna and the Tysons Corner area. I’ve toured many new builds and having gone through many home building and renovation projects, here’s what I would do if I were building a house right now:
- Make sure you put recessed lighting in each bedroom in addition to a central light/ceiling fan.
- Add a screened in porch in addition to a deck/patio area. Screened in porches become a Covid “must have” for home buyers and will be a great addition when you resell the home.
- Smart TVs are taking over traditional cable plans, but think through if you plan to keep your cable box. If so, where are you going to house it? I’m seeing a lot of family rooms with no real place to put them, I think assuming folks will just have a smart TV. So if you want to hide all of the components, add a cabinet or you’ll need to buy a table to put the box on (or have it wired to a nearby closet).
- Think through storage – gyms/theaters/2nd office spaces have taken over traditional basements, but think through how much storage you really need. I happen to be one of those people who throws away or gets rid of everything, but if you’re not, where are you going to keep your holiday decorations/bins of clothes/camping equipment/etc.? One underrated way to add storage space is to have the ground below the garage excavated. Reclaim that unused space!
- Expect trends to change – make choices you’re going to love rather than worry about resale (except the screened in porch – keep that). Decorative walls with designs, thick island counters and thinner perimeter counters, mixed metal in bathrooms, carpet versus wood flooring, etc. Pick what you want. It’s hard to predict trends and who knows how long you’ll actually be in the house.
- Bonus tip: get a concrete driveway versus asphalt. There’s less maintenance on a concrete driveway and I am all about not adding 1 more thing to remember to do.
If you’re thinking of building and have questions, feel free to reach out. Whether they’re financing or actual building questions, I’m happy to put my 15 years of experience to use for your benefit.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
Can you smell the cider donuts and hot chocolate?
Maybe that’s me dreaming of New England Falls where I grew up, but there are tons of Fall Festivals in Northern Virginia if you’re looking to fill that fall fun void! Make sure you check the dates and times carefully as some are one weekend only while others run through October.
Cox Farms — Centreville, VA
September 16-17, September 23-November 7
Live music, cow milking, farm chores, hayride, tunnels, slides, swings, corn maze, goats, cider, donuts and their market! This is my favorite event all year and I actually hold my client appreciation event here in the fall. You really can’t beat a day in cooler weather walking around their farm!
Falls Church Festival — Falls Church, VA
September 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Fall Festival includes their “Taste of Falls Church” plus a beer garden, live music, children’s entertainment, local crafters, and organizations.
Mosaic Fall Festival — Fairfax, VA
September 23-24, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Performances by the Vienna Singing Princesses, Tea with Mrs. B, School of Rock, Tiny Dances, Patrick Alban and Noche Latino, plus others! Lots of vendors, kid activities, and more.
Great County Farms — Bluemont, VA
October 1-31
Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival featuring pick your own pumpkins (also apples), wagon rides, pig races, Dino shows, Marshmallow roasting, cider pressing, live music, 5-acre play area, donuts and their market. Adult pro tip: Bluemont Vineyard and Dirt Farm Brewing are across the street and the views can NOT be beat.
Oktoberfest — Vienna, VA
Saturday, October 7, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Held on Historic Church Street by the red caboose, the event features live music, games, kids activities, German auto show, lots of food and drinks. I’ll be at the beer garden checking IDs at Noon. If you come by — please say hi!
City of Fairfax Fall Festival — Fairfax, VA
Saturday, October 14, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The event includes over 400 vendors, children’s activities, 3 stages of music and entertainment, and carnival rides. There’s a beer garden and an “after fest” concert at 530pm.
Halloween on the Green — Vienna, VA
Saturday, October 14, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
A free event with family fun on the town green, which features crafts, games, storytelling, moon bounces, treats and a decorate your own pumpkin activity.
Reston Farm Fall Fest — Reston, VA
September 23 through October 29 (weekends only) 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Moon bounces, games, train ride, petting zoo, face painting, balloons and food.
Town of Vienna Halloween Parade — Vienna, VA
October 25, 7 p.m.
A fabulous tradition that runs along Maple Avenue from Branch to Center Street. The parade starts at 7 p.m. and I’ll post my annual tips for attending in October.
Butler’s Orchard Pumpkin Festival — Germantown, MD
September 23-October 29, hours vary based on day
Admission includes hayrides, jump pad, corn maze, giant slides and more. There’s also food available like cider, donuts, kettle corn and more. You can pick your own pumpkins, do a pumpkin cannon, face painting and pony rides. They suggest making a reservation as they sell out.
Pumpkin Village at Leesburg Animal Park — Leesburg, VA
Open everyday now through November 5
Festival activities include wagon rides, giant slides, zip line, moon bounce, corn bin, hay maze, pony rides, animals, moon bounce pillow and more.
