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By Briana Ellison, Eliza Berkon, Lynn Norusis, Rachael Keeney and Stefanie Gans
Rooting for the hometown team
While many of you are lounging about after a large meal on Thursday, or waiting in line to get in on all the Black Friday sales for clothes or home goods, I’ll be making my way to FedEx Field to take in a football game (‘Skins vs. Giants). I’ll admit, I’m not a huge football fan—I veer more toward baseball and hockey. I’ll watch the games, root for our team and attend any party for the social aspects of the sport, but my husband was able to snag four tickets through his work in the lovely climate-controlled boxes (really the main reason I’m all for this since I do not like the cold, and I imagine (hope) the traffic will be minimal). So, have a nice, relaxing evening. I hope you score the best deals possible. And go ‘Skins! –LN
The Dutchess Porter at Caboose Brewing Company
The first beer, along with On the Porter, by Caboose’s new head brewer Justin Weems, uses coffee from neighbor Caffe Amouri and should have a “light sweetness and notes of chocolate,” according to the press release. Sounds like a growler of this will go quickly during Thanksgiving dessert. –SG // Caboose Brewing Company: 520 Mill Street NE, Vienna
C’mon ride the train, and ride it
This Wednesday night, I’ll be joining the masses in making the mad dash to another state for the Thanksgiving holiday. The exciting thing is that it will be via train—a mode of transportation I️ haven’t taken alone in about 10 years. I️ plan to take a great book, a train case (guess I️ need to buy one) and give our Thanksgiving playlist a hard listen. –EB
Playing hostess and singing along with CoCo
My family hosts Thanksgiving every year so there will be at least 30 people in my house on Thursday. Though I love shopping, the pandemonium of Black Friday frightens me, so I won’t be partaking in that madness. Instead, I’ll probably catch a showing of Pixar’s new animated movie CoCo. It’s about a boy trying to achieve his singing dreams, and meeting his ancestors in the Land of the Dead in the process. Yes, there will be tears. In fact, my aversion to people seeing me cry is exactly why I’m trying to avoid seeing Wonder—I read the book back in high school and cried. To bring my spirits back up, I’ll probably also go see Darkest Hour. A movie about Winston Churchill’s ascension to prime minister at the beginning of World War II? Count me in. –BE
Exactly what you think
I wish that I had something a little more unique to say about what I’m looking forward to this week, but as is the case for many Americans, I’m most excited about getting to spend time with my friends and family this week. Wednesday night, I’m getting together with my high school girlfriends for a “night on the town,” which in our case means going to the immediate area’s one and only bar and having a mini-high school reunion. This always makes for an interesting Thanksgiving eve experience and provides plenty of hilarious stories for the next day’s dinner. Thursday I’ll be stuffing myself (regrettably) with two feasts (mom’s family for lunch and dad’s for dinner) and perusing Amazon to get a head start on some Cyber Monday sales. Sadly, I foresee this taking up a good chunk of time—I have no idea what to get anyone this year! If you have some interesting yet affordable gift ideas, send them my way at rkeeney@northernvirginiamag.com. –RK