greaterrestonliving Stuck on gift ideas? Try these Reston and Herndon shops. 🎁 Save this for your holiday run around Reston and Herndon. 🍫 Sweet tooth: River-Sea Chocolate, Chiboo, Dan-o’s Granola 💍 Prim and proper: House of Urbi, J.McLaughlin, Drybar 🍽️ Foodie: The Simon, Masti, Kusshi, Red’s Table, Lake Anne Coffee & Wine Bar 🧖 Wellness guru: Sweathouz, iCryo, Vida Fitness 🚲 Outdoorsy: The Bike Lane, Green Lizard, a promise to hike the trails 📚 Bookworms: Scrawl Books, Reston Used Book Shop, Barnes & Noble Swipe for picks, tag a shop we missed, and tell us who you’re shopping for. Comment “Insider” to join our weekly newsletter to hear about all the local news.

greaterrestonliving New Argentinian comfort food in North Reston 🥟❤️ Empanadas de Mendoza just opened at North Point Village Center, bringing cozy, street food style flavors from Mendoza, Argentina to our own neighborhood.📍1478 North Point Village Center, Reston, VA 20194 We stopped in to try a few things, starting with the classic beef empanada. It was super juicy, packed with flavor, and exactly the kind of handheld comfort food that works for a busy weeknight or a casual weekend treat. They are also doing beautiful sandwiches and pizzas with a real Argentinian twist, including a super cheesy pie layered with sauce, ham, olives, and slices of pepper. If you explore the menu, you will see pastries, desserts, and more, so this is very much a full takeout restaurant that goes well beyond its name. Empanadas de Mendoza translates to “empanadas from Mendoza,” the Argentinian city where this family’s food tradition began, and the brand grew from local farmers markets and food trucks into brick and mortar locations around Northern Virginia. Grand opening is set for Saturday, December 6 at 11 a.m., with free empanadas and churros for the first 100 guests, plus a full menu of empanadas, pizzas, sandwiches, and sweets. After that, you can swing by any day of the week. Current hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. I love seeing local, family run spots choose Reston because of our strong sense of community. If you check them out, let me know what you order first, and share this post with a friend who is always searching for new places to eat in Reston. Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me:
Kathy Tracey, Realtor
Greater Reston Living at Compass
kathy @greaterrestonliving.com
703.231.7049 (call or text)
 #greaterrestonliving #restonva #restoneats #restonrestaurants #northpointvillage #novaeats

greaterrestonliving Only in Reston does Santa swap his sleigh for a pontoon boat and a lake full of cheering neighbors. 🎅🏻🚤 Every December, Jingle on the Lake turns Lake Anne Plaza into a waterfront Christmas market with local artisans, live music, school choirs, ballet performances, and kids lining the dock waiting for Santa to cruise in by boat with his paddleboarding elves. This year, Jingle on the Lake is Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 10 am to 4 pm at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston. The Christmas market runs during the event, and Santa typically arrives by boat around noon, escorted by a decorated boat parade. If you want to be part of the show, the Jingle Paddle group stages near Inlet Court around 11:30 am, then paddles in alongside Santa as he heads to the plaza. It is one of those days where the whole community comes out: families with cocoa in hand, neighbors shopping small, kids clutching their wish lists, and that feeling that Lake Anne really is the heart of Reston. If you already live here, you know exactly what I mean. If you are thinking about Reston or lake living in Northern Virginia, events like this are the best way to see what everyday life here actually feels like. 🎄☕️🏡 Will you be at Jingle on the Lake this year, or have a favorite memory from past years? Tell me in the comments and share this with a friend who would drop everything to see Santa arrive by boat. #restonva #lakeanneplaza #jingleonthelake #restonholidays #restonrealestate Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me:
Kathy Tracey, Realtor
Greater Reston Living at Compass
kathy @greaterrestonliving.com
703.231.7049 (call or text)
 #greaterrestonliving

greaterrestonliving A lot of buyers scroll right past homes like this. Savvy buyers stop and ask, 
“How many ways can this place work for me.” In the Douglas Park neighborhood in Arlington, this detached home gives you options: • Live upstairs and lease the full apartment downstairs.
• Hold it as a long-term rental with two separate leases.
• Create a real, private space for parents, an au pair, or long-term guests.
• Enjoy it now and explore a larger redevelopment play later, like many neighbors have already done. You are minutes to DC, the Pentagon, Crystal City, and Shirlington.
You get 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, and a layout that can actually pull its weight. If you want the photos, price, and a simple breakdown of the different ways this one property could fit your plan, 👉 Comment or DM “MONROE” and I’ll send everything over. #ArlingtonVA
 #DouglasPark
 #HouseHack
 #NOVARealEstate
 #ArlingtonHomes

greaterrestonliving Winterfest at Brown’s Chapel Park is back, and it really does feel like Reston’s unofficial holiday kickoff ❄️✨ For three nights only, Brown’s Chapel Park turns into a winter wonderland with a half-mile “Light Up the Park” trail, thousands of twinkling lights, and kids racing around in puffy coats while parents stroll with hot cocoa in hand. Families, friends, and couples all end up here at least once during the season, even if they only hear about it after it is over. My favorite part is the Enchanted Forest 🎄 Local businesses, community groups, and families sponsor fully decorated trees, including ours with Greater Reston Living. At the end of Winterfest, those trees are donated to families in need here in Reston, which keeps the spirit of the event going long after the lights turn off. New this year: live music every night, an expanded Enchanted Forest, a whimsical Grinch’s Village for kids who like a little mischief with their holiday cheer, and a free photo opportunity with Santa so you can refresh that Christmas card without booking a studio 🎅📸 There are also fire pits with s’mores, mulled wine and food trucks, plus a cozy vendor village where you can browse local gifts and warm up before you head home. 📍 Where: Brown’s Chapel Park, 1575 Browns Chapel Rd, Reston, VA
📅 When: Thursday December 4 to Saturday December 6, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm each night
🎟 Tickets:
- Free for Reston Association members with advance registration
- Non-members: $20 for adults 18+, $10 for ages 3–17, children 2 and under are free Parking is off-site, with free shuttles running from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm from nearby lots so you can skip the stress and just enjoy the lights and music. Share this with a friend who loves Christmas lights and sipping hot cocoa by the fire pit, and tell me in the comments which night you are planning to go ☕🔥 Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me: 
Kathy Tracey, Realtor
Greater Reston Living at Compass
kathy @greaterrestonliving.com
703.231.7049 (call or text)
 #greaterrestonliving
 #RestonVA #Reston #RestonEvents #RestonHolidays #BrownsChapelPark #NorthernVirginia

greaterrestonliving Market Street in Reston Town Center really feels like the start of the holidays when the Reston Holiday Parade rolls through 🎄 My family has been coming to this parade for years, and it is one of those traditions that makes living in Reston feel special. This nationally ranked event is regularly named a USA Today top ten holiday parade, and it absolutely earns that spot every time. This year, the parade steps off on Friday, November 28 at 11 a.m. at Reston Town Center, with the half mile route running right down Market Street. Expect giant balloons, marching bands, dancers, local groups, and of course Santa and Mrs. Claus riding in by carriage 🎅 The fun does not end at noon either. Holiday activities, train and carriage rides, Santa visits, shopping, and ice skating keep the energy going into the evening, with the tree lighting and community sing along around 6 p.m. ✨ If you are planning to go, arrive early so you can grab coffee, claim a spot along the route, and let the kids take in all the decorations. Parking in the Town Center garages is free on weekends, or you can take the Silver Line to the Reston Town Center station and walk in. When the USA Today 10Best voting opens, you can help keep the Reston Holiday Parade in the national top ten by voting once a day and sharing the link with friends. It is an easy way to support a local event that really showcases our community. Save this post to plan your parade day, and share it with a friend who loves kicking off the holidays in Reston ❄️ #restonholidayparade #restonva #restontowncenter #novalife #NorthernVirginia Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me:
Kathy Tracey, Realtor
Greater Reston Living at Compass
kathy @greaterrestonliving.com
703.231.7049 (call or text)
 #greaterrestonliving

greaterrestonliving Comment “Coleson” and I’ll send you photos, price, and all the deets. 📩 Mid century modern in Reston hits different when it is the real thing. This Coleson Cluster townhome was designed by Chloethiel Woodard Smith, a modernist architect who led one of the most influential woman owned firms in the country and helped shape parts of DC and early Reston. You feel it as soon as you walk in: clean lines, big panes of glass, and a living room that is all about trees instead of traffic. Life here is very Reston. In the warmer months, you can walk to the Reston Farmers Market at Lake Anne on Saturday mornings from 8 to 12, April through late November, and come home with fresh bread, flowers, and produce without ever getting in the car. Lake Anne itself is your front yard hangout. You can grab brunch or coffee at Lake Anne Coffee House & Wine Bar, with brunch running most days from mid morning into early afternoon, then come back later in the week for happy hour or dinner by the water. Head the other way and you are in Reston Town Center for dinner, shopping, and year round events. In the winter, the ice rink in the pavilion runs daily from early November into March, and there are seasonal events like the holiday parade, tree lighting, and themed skating nights that keep the area busy even when it is cold. All of that, plus a true mid century layout with walls of glass, a walk out lower level, and modernized systems behind the scenes, makes this feel less like a random townhome and more like a piece of Reston history you actually get to live in. 🌲🏡 Thanks to Eve Thompson of Compass for sharing the opportunity to tour this listing. Comment “Coleson” and I’ll send you photos, price, and all the deets. Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me:
Kathy Tracey, Realtor
Greater Reston Living at Compass
kathy @greaterrestonliving.com
703.231.7049 (call or text)
 #greaterrestonliving #restonva #restonrealestate #lakeanne #colesoncluster #restontowncenter

greaterrestonliving Thanksgiving Eve is the Super Bowl of hometown hangouts. Save this and text the group chat. 🍸 Reston Town Center Crafthouse, Makers Union, Jackson’s, Barcelona. Easy bar hop and big-group energy. 🔥 Lake Anne Plaza Lake Anne Brew House or Lake Anne Coffee House & Wine Bar. Cozy fireplace, real conversation, locals only vibe. 🍻 Old Town Herndon Jimmy’s, Aslin, Sully’s. Expect to see half your graduating class and a few teachers too. Where are you posting up on Thanksgiving Eve? Tag your crew and we’ll see you out there. Want more local picks and openings each week? Comment “Insider.” Looking to make a move in Northern Virginia? Text or DM me: Kathy Tracey, Realtor Greater Reston Living at Compass kathy @greaterrestonliving.com 703.231.7049 (call or text) #greaterrestonliving