You are here: Home / Archives for riverstone

Sakasa Coffee and Tea: An Ashburn Coffeehouse

November 14, 2012 by
Sakasa Coffee and Tea is a hip coffeehouse in Ashburn not too far from BLVD l Loudoun Station that also offers teas and a menu of tasty food. In fact, Sakasa serves afternoon high tea daily, turning the pleasant beverage into a meditative ceremony. If you'd just like a cup to go, you can have that too: choose from a full list of black, green, white, red, and herbal teas. Coffee drinkers will relish Sakasa's variety of coffee drinks, with espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos along with robust drip coffees. If you get hungry, Sakasa serves treats for breakfast and lunch, like egg and cheese croissants, sweet chocolate muffins, and hearty turkey and ham sandwiches. And like other coffeehouses, Sakasa welcomes you to sit and linger for a while, with available Wi-Fi and a calendar of meetings and events taking place right in the space. Check Sakasa Coffee and Tea's website for more info!
 
44927 George Washington Boulevard
Ashburn, VA 20147
(703) 729-3514
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakasa-tea-and-coffee-ashburn

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: , , ,

Best Illustrated Children’s Books

November 9, 2012 by

When you look at books for kids, you can’t help but be amazed at the artistry that goes into every page. Some incredible talent is working in the field of children’s book illustration. Here is a selection of the most visually stunning illustrated children’s books of all time.

The Polar Express
Made into a major motion picture, the incredibly realistic art in Chris Van Allsburg’s modern holiday classic bewitches the eye, hiding incredible amounts of detail and expression on every page.

Where The Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak’s classic is drawn in a style that manages to be both expressive and incredibly detailed. Every element of Max’s nighttime wanderings is rendered perfectly. Truly a monumental achievement.

Over and Over
Written by Charlotte Zolotow, it’s the astounding illustrations by storybook master Garth Williams that really sell this simple, charming story of a young girl learning about the passage of the seasons.

Anansi The Spider
Gerald McDermott’s brightly-colored, geometric illustrations are a perfect complement to this West African folktale. They’re deceptively blocky at first, but soon you realize the incredible care that went into creating them.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
This timeless classic by Ron and Judi Barrett is jam-packed with detail and tons of funny sight gags that go perfectly with the surreal story of a town where food falls from the sky.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , ,

Virginia Wine Factory: Ashburn Wine Spot

November 7, 2012 by

Ashburn, Virginia's pretty far from Napa Valley. But at the Virginia Wine Factory, you can experience one of the highlights of Napa Valley right nearby BLVD l Loudoun Station: fine, well-crafted wines. Here you can enjoy a quiet, relaxing evening of wine tasting: sitting in a cozy living room or an outdoor cafe, you'll select from a broad list of red, white, and sparkling wines. If you need help making your choice, the Virginia Wine Factory's knowledgeable staff will be happy to guide you through the wine list. On it, you'll find favorites like rich cabernets, smooth merlots, dry sauvignon blancs, and citrusy pinot grigios. You can order the the glass or the bottle, and pair your wine with a small plate to nosh on as you listen to some soothing live music. The Virginia Wine Factory's a great spot to unwind with some good wine and good friends.

Virginia Wine Factory
22855 Brambleton Plaza
Ashburn, VA 20148
(703) 542-5659
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-virginia-wine-factory-ashburn

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: , , ,

Nagoya: A Sushi Bar and Japanese Steak House

October 31, 2012 by
Looking for the freshest sushi, sashimi, along with cuts of meat you can only find at a Japanese steakhouse? Nagoya might be one of the best spots in Ashburn. Located in the Ashburn Farm Center Market not far from BLVD l Loudoun Station, Nagoya has plenty of parking to accomodate hungry diners, to complement a soothing and welcoming decor inside. If you've ever been to a Japanese steakhouse, you know that watching the preparation is a big part of the fun. At Nagoya, the spectacle of the flaming grill is a proper preface to the impeccably fresh cuisine, with its generous portions of fish, steak, and vegetables. Whether you choose filet mignon, tender shrimp, or hearty scallops, you'll be pleased. If you prefer sushi, Nagoya's spicy tuna rolls and spider rolls are popular favorites. The prices may seem a bit high, but they're more than worth it for a special dinner.
 
43330 Junction Plaza #194
Ashburn, VA 20147

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: , , ,

Five of the Most Beautiful Beaches in America

October 25, 2012 by
Do you love soaking up warm rays while listening to water lap the shore? If you’re like most people, you relish spending time on a gorgeous beach in the summer sun. The next time you’re daydreaming about a beach vacation, consider heading to one of these fabulous destinations:
 
The Outer Banks, North Carolina
The Outer Banks are a breathtakingly lovely chain of barrier islands off of the coast of North Carolina. They have long been one of the most popular East Coast beach destinations. The Outer Banks are known for their calm surf and great swimming conditions, as well as for the variety of great activities offered – horseback riding on the beach, hang gliding, and a variety of water sports. You can also tour shipwrecks, visit the famous Currituck Beach Lighthouse, or make a fascinating trek to the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kill Devil Hill.
 
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is popular with people from all walks of life – well-moneyed vacationers, the 20-something party crowd, families with kids, and folks just looking for a low-key and relaxed getaway. The white sand beaches are stunning and the warm Atlantic water offers wonderful opportunities for recreation, including kayaking and surfing. There are excellent restaurants, shops, and spas in the area, as well as more serious cultural offerings like the Bass Museum and the Holocaust Memorial.
 
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle beach is located just a short drive from gorgeous Charleston, SC. It’s a favorite East Coast hotspot for beachgoers of all stripes. The area offers large resorts at reasonable prices, as well as opportunities for boating, myriad watersports, and snorkeling and scuba diving. Myrtle Beach is also a great choice for you if you’re looking to include some golfing in your vacation getaway, since the area boasts over a hundred high-quality golf courses. If you’ll be traveling with kids, make sure to visit the area’s hugely popular Family Kingdom Amusement Park. 
 
San Diego, California
San Diego is a destination that lets you relish the surf and sand while also enjoying a variety of urban attractions just nearby. The area is famous for its glorious weather, ever-sunny skies, vividly blue ocean water, and bright white-sand beaches. The opportunities for watersports (particularly surfing) are endless. When you’ve had your fill of the beach, you can head out to great cultural and recreational offerings like the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla and SeaWorld San Diego. In addition, the area offers wonderful hiking, walking, and running trails, like the hugely popular trails at the Torrey Pines State Reserve.
 
U.S Virgin Islands
This Caribbean hotspot offers you a wonderful combination of remote peacefulness and bustling entertainment. You’ll enjoy relaxing on the quiet and expansive beaches, as well as engaging in fun watersports like parasailing, snorkeling, and jet skiing. The area also offers wonderful restaurants and shopping venues. If you’re a history buff, you’ll enjoy learning about the colonial past of the U.S Virgin Islands, since there are ample opportunities for exploring the historical background of the area. There are three islands you can visit, each with its own unique flair – St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. Why not visit all of them while you’re there? 
 
Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Book Buzz: Four Unforgettable Fictional Villains

October 24, 2012 by
What’s a worthy protagonist without a formidable rival? If you love diving into a good book, then chances are you’ve come to appreciate the tension and complexity that a memorable villain can add to a piece of fiction. Here are five of the most unsettling and enduring villains to ever appear between the covers of a book:
 
Long John Silver from Treasure Island
Long John Silver is one of the most fiendish characters ever created by author Robert Louis Stevenson. He is a shrewdly calculating and treacherous one-legged pirate whose duplicitous nature makes him quite a slippery challenge to the story’s hero, Jim Hawkins. Though he starts out as a mentor to Hawkins, his commitment to his own best interest makes him willing to turn on his young mentee without an ounce of regret. 
 
Bill Sikes from Oliver Twist
Bill Sikes is among the most vicious characters ever penned by Charles Dickens. He is a rough, violent, and brutal career criminal, both a robber and an exploiter and abuser of children. He is prone to sudden bouts of terrifying rage and even goes so far as to explode in anger and beat his girlfriend to death, one of the most viscerally terrifying scenes to appear in any of Dickens’s novels. Dickens gives Sikes no redeeming qualities, and this makes him one of the darkest villains in literary history. 
 
Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley
Tom Ripley is the brilliant villain in a series of crime novels by Patricia Highsmith. He starts out as a petty criminal getting by on his smarts in the realms of forgery, deception, and impersonation. Eventually, he goes so far as to murder a wealthy young man and assume his identity. Whenever Ripley’s charade is questioned, he is willing to resort to extreme (and often bloody) measures to keep his assumed identity protected. His wicked and ever-scheming ways make him one of the brilliant bad guys ever inked onto paper. 
 
Count Fosco, The Woman in White
This villain from Wilkie Collins’ popular novel became the archetype for many crime-novel antagonists – a corpulent, refined, cultured, self-indulgent but shrewdly intelligent and calculating villain, hiding deviance beneath a well-dressed exterior. Fosco conjures a scheme to deprive Laura Fairlie of her wealth and soundness of mind, and chillingly destroys Laura’s sister without an ounce of regret. 
 
Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

What is Pinterest?

October 18, 2012 by
Have you heard the online buzz about “Pinterest” and found yourself wondering what exactly it is? Read on to learn about this exciting photo sharing website that is has been rapidly gaining in popularity since its launch in 2010:
 
An Overview of Pinterest
Pinterest is a social photo sharing website with a pinboard-style format that enables users to create and organize image collections based on specific themes – for example, certain events, interests, holidays, and hobbies. As a Pinterest user, you can browse other people’s photo pinboards, hit “like” on photos you admire, and “re-pin” other people’s images so that they will appear in your own collection. Both Twitter and Facebook have options that allow you to share your Pinterest “pins.” Essentially, Pinterest acts as a personalized media platform in which users’ content can be browsed on the main page.
 
Background of Pinterest
Development of Pinterest began in December 2009 and started with small test group of invitation-only members. Just nine months after the website was officially launched, it had over 10,000 users, and shortly after that it was named Time Magazine’s August 2011 issue as one of the “50 Best Websites of 2011.” By December of that same year, Pinterest had become one of the largest social networking services on the web, with over ten million visits per week, and shortly after that it was recorded as having 11.7 million unique users, which made it the fastest site in history to break through the ten million unique visitor mark. The popularity of Pinterest has continued to spread at a rapid pace and it is now the third largest social network website in the United States. 
 
Using Pinterest
How do people use Pinterest? In a nutshell, the site is designed so that you can connect with others around the world over imagery that relates to mutual interests. So Pinterest essentially serves two main functions, a personal one and a social one. On the personal front, it provides a forum for the preservation, archiving, organization, and displaying of photos that matter to you, arranged around themes of your choosing – like a virtual version of your own family albums. On the social front, its purpose is that it allows you to share those images with other users and also interact with those users’ photos, connecting with others based on similar interests. 
 
Getting Started With Pinterest
To register a new Pinterest account, you can either receive an invitation from a friend already registered or go to the Pinterest site and directly request an invitation. You can also establish and access a Pinterest account by linking Pinterest to a Twitter or Facebook account – however, it’s important to note that, in order to interact with Pinterest on Facebook, you need to have the new Facebook Timeline format activated. In addition, once you have a Pinterest account, you can get the Pinterest app for iPhone (which was recently updated with exciting new features) and the company now has an iPad app in development. If you’re a non-iPhone user, you can use Pinterest Mobile to access the site from your mobile device.
 
Other Useful Aspects of Pinterest
Pinterest is designed to help you connect with things and people that interest you. Here’s how it works – on the main Pinterest page, a “pin feed” appears, displaying the chronological activity from the Pinterest boards that you have chosen to follow. To help you find new boards and pins that might compel you, you can visit a “Tastemakers” page that recommends content to you (based on your past pins, etc). There are presently four central sections to browse, under the following titles: everything, videos, popular, and gifts. These categories are in place to help you connect as quickly and conveniently as possible with pins and boards relevant to your taste and interests. 
 
Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Ford’s Fish Shack: What a Catch

October 16, 2012 by
Ashburn locals and residents of BLVD l Loudoun Station are lucky to catch Ford's Fish Shack, a popular spot for enjoying seafood of all kinds along with classic Southern sides. On the menu you'll find a menagerie of fish dishes, from tantalizing dishes like spicy pecan crusted trout in citrus chardonnay sauce, buttery lobster, crab cakes, salmon benedict, along with fish tacos and monkfish. It's all fresh and delicious. For starters, try Ford's Maine chips or the "angry mussels" together with cornbread muffins. And be sure to leave room for a sweet treat for dessert: the cheesecake and blueberry pie are two highlights of Ford's Fish Shack's dessert menu. Ford's also boasts a full bar with big beer and wine lists. Since it's such a popular spot, reservations are recommended.
 
44260 Ice Rink Plaza
Ashburn, VA 20147
(571) 918-4092

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: , , ,

Never Arrive Empty Handed: Great Housewarming Gifts

October 12, 2012 by

When a family member or friend moves into a new place, it's nice to help them celebrate with a great housewarming gift! It need not be expensive, just a little something to add to their new home or to celebrate the hard work and stress that went into moving in. If you're wondering what to get, check out our list of favorites that will make you welcome in their new home!

For the first-time homeowner, it's a great idea to put together a tool kit of useful items — things such as screwdrivers, a hammer, a flashlight, a tape measure, and the like. Especially if they came from apartment living, having their own tools will be a welcome gift!

The same idea can be used for kitchen utensils as well—a new can opener; a spice rack with spices, mixing and baking tools like a spatula, whisk, and cooking trays; or some nice dish towels will all be welcome additions to a new kitchen.

Or, a safe bet is to offer a nice bottle of wine or champagne, or fresh baked goodies. These are always welcome in a new home! Most likely they'll be opened or eaten at the first housewarming party, or your friends will have your gift to savor just for themselves.

And lastly, if you can’t think of anything they really need, gift cards to stores like Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, or The Home Depot will help the new homemakers furnish their new place in style.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Parallel Wine Bistro: A Wine Bar with Live Music

October 9, 2012 by

Looking for an intimate, romantic spot? Planning a special event or celebration? Just a short drive from BLVD l Loudoun Station, Ashburn's Parallel Wine Bistro might be the right place. Parallel features an extensive wine list and a menu of small plates. Pair a California Chardonnay or a fine French Brut Champagne with dishes like seared scallops or ahi tuna sliders, and conclude your meal with a sweet French Sauternes — summer berries in a light cream parfait. Have a hard time choosing? The friendly servers will be happy to help you navigate the menu, suggest pairings, and even bring you a flight of different wines to try. Or you can use the prepaid wine machine for a small sample, a half glass, or full glass of wine. With so many ways to try the vintage grape, the Parallel Wine Bistro has become a popular spot with wine lovers in Ashburn, Virginia.

Parallel Wine Bistro
43135 Broadlands Center Plaza
Ashburn, VA 20148
(703) 858-0077
http://www.yelp.com/biz/parallel-wine-bistro-ashburn

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Pin It on Pinterest