Runners {half} Marathon of Reston: a two year review - by Liz

my finishes in 2017 and 2018 - take a look at my crazy leg muscles in the 2018 photo!

A two year review of the Runners Marathon of Reston - by Liz Badley

Six years ago, when the Reston Runners designed the Runners Marathon of Reston, I thought they were insane. Sure, Reston has 55 miles of paved walking paths within it's 17 square mile jurisdiction, but it's literally up hill in every direction. Why on earth would anyone want to run even a HALF marathon in Reston!? The first few years, they held the race mid-March and dealt with some of the worst weather conditions. A freezing cold, hilly run in Reston that you had to pay for, no thank you! But, when they moved the race to April in 2016, I thought 'next year I'll give it a shot...'

A Weekend in VA Wine (and Cider) Country - with Amanda

A Weekend in VA Wine (and Cider) Country by Amanda Kertz

A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to Cobbler Mountain Cellars and Barrel Oak Winery near Delaplane, Virginia, which were both decked out beautifully for the holidays. Both places were kid and dog friendly and there were plenty of places outdoors for them to run around. Personally, I love places where you can take the whole family, including your fur babies. There were even a few cats outside at Barrel Oak!

Cocktails with Erin - The Cosmopolitan

Erin circa 2010 sipping on champs

Cocktails with Erin: The Cosmpolitan by Erin Lancione

It’s cocktail time again! In case you missed it, last month I wrote about the Salty Dog and why every adult should know the recipes for a few good cocktails by heart.

I was going to devote the second installment of Cocktails with Erin to the Sidecar, but my friend Elizabeth convinced me otherwise. She said that my first post brought her back to the days of gin club and immediately I knew the perfect drink to profile: the cosmopolitan.

Yes, really.

running multiple marathons per training cycle - by Liz

The best way to train for a marathon is to run a marathon. I'm pretty sure I'm quoting Jeff Galloway there, but I can't quite remember the source. It's totally true though, nothing prepares you for the marathon distance like running the marathon distance. It would make sense that it was Jeff, since even his beginner marathon plan takes you up to 26 miles before race day! But as any runner knows, training miles and racing miles are very, very different things, even if you are using a race as just a training run.

taking care of my 'spots' - by Liz

No filter selfie after about 4 weeks of consistent skincare. My "spots" are healing, fading, and coming less frequently!
Though I am wearing the touch-up concealer pen in this photo.

Acne. It sucks. Anyone who's ever had to deal with a breakout knows that acne can be a total confidence killer. But imagine being someone that sells skin care and still suffers from acne! It's not just a confidence killer, but it makes me wonder how seriously I'm being taken when it comes to the products I wholeheartedly believe in! I know, I know, in 2014 I posted about how Beautycounter cleared my skin right up (you can read that post here), but after going off OCPs (aka "the pill") in January of this year, I've been struggling with more breakouts that I have had in my adult life. In fact, it was acne that led me to taking OCPs in the first place! So what should do you when you're struggling with your skin?

Cocktails with Erin - the Salty Dog

Meet Erin! You've seen her on here before too (here) and I'm incredibly excited that she agreed to contribute. Erin is an actual writer and editor who has lived all over the world after growing up in Reston. She's based in Seattle now - I totally can't wait to visit! - and has agreed to flex her writing muscles for us here while she works to find her perfect professional writing gig. We are seriously lucky! Not only is she an amazing writer, but she's my bestie and favorite person to share a drink with! So without further ado, our first post in the series I'll unofficially refer to as 'Getting Drunk with Erin', Cocktails with Erin!

Cocktails with Erin: The Salty Dog - by Erin Lancione follow her on Twitter @erinlancione

from runner to injured runner and back again - with Amanda

You guys! I'm so excited to introduce Amanda as one of the very first, Reston Style contributors! She's been one of my best friends for years and can be found in mentions and pictures all over the blog (here). As we transition to a collaborative format, I'll be writing some intros for now, then... those may fade away! But I figured, why wait until it's perfect!? As they say in the temporal mechanics department - there's no time like the present! And now my nerd is showing full force - here's Amanda with her long road to recovery!

How recovering from injury is like training for a marathon - by Amanda Kertz, follow her on instagram at @manda_k_runs

Reston Style Reboot

In the past few months I have started post after post, trying to get back to blogging, but last night, my new friend Julie gave me the key - I need a process. I need a plan of attack and something repeatable to keep quality content being published with some sort of regularity. Seems simple, right? But in the past when I focused on creating content just to get something published, I really didn't like how empty my posting became... so here's my solution: contributors! You're going to see more activity on this blog, but you'll also start to see posts by some of my friends!

Here's what you can expect to see us post about:

• clothes
• planners and office supplies
• gluten free food
• beauty tips and tricks
• running
• social media - since I get a LOT of questions about how I use it for business
• and anything else that strikes our fancy!

Want to make sure you're keeping up with everything fun? Follow Reston Style on Facebook and leave me some comments here! You'll be meeting the contributors shortly!!

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Copycat Recipe: Bartaco's Cauliflower Tacos

Bartaco is one of my very favorite restaurants. It's so easy for a celiac girl, like myself, to eat there, since nearly everything on the menu is gluten free. In fact, they mark the items that contain gluten with a * rather than marking the GF items (hint: it's the quesadilla, and the desserts) . It's a taco loving, celiac's dream! Surprisingly, even though I'm totally a carnivore, the cauliflower taco there is my absolute favorite. It's really, really simple, so I decided to recreate it at home!

did you know that I like tacos?

Tacos are the new basic food du jour. They're right up there with pumpkin spice everything (gross), Starbucks, leggings, North Face jackets, and outfit of the day blogs. But are tacos really a new thing, or are we just taco-bouting tacos more? Bad puns. So fun! Seriously though, if you know me at all - through social media or IRL - you know that my taco game is strong. Tacos are literally my favorite food, and I've embraced my love of tacos as part of my identity. And that is why I am writing this post and planning on sharing a couple of taco recipes and restaurants with you.