Shopping season is here—unless you are one of those super organized people who shop all year for Christmas and store up gifts in your hall closet, most of us spend December running around, looking for that special gift for those on our list, and hopefully finding a good deal as well.  With the retailers tossing

This past week, the fact that I pay in advance for the kids to be able to order lunch at school was discussed in our car one morning.  Ben, my youngest son, said “You pay for those lunches?  I thought they were free.”  To which my sassy ten year old daughter replied, “Seriously?  Nobody gives […]

Our household relies a lot on family and friends when it comes to help with our children. From making sure they are where they need to be, to checking that they are in the right clothes for whatever themed “day” there is at school, there is a lot that goes into keeping things running smoothly. […]

This past Sunday, Sarah and I (and spouses) were fortunate enough to be part of The Copper Circle dinner at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. We had some delicious food from Avalon Caterers and met some very nice and generous donors to The Center. Meridian Financial Partners sponsored the dinner portion

Every year, we return to the same condo at Sandbridge Beach—we enjoy the same activities as the year before, and we eat at the same favorite restaurants.  It may sound boring, but our familiarity with the accommodations and the area relieves the stressful unknown of going somewhere new. The comfort of the known is

Ryan Lochte – Not Robbed at Gunpoint in Rio I will admit to using Ryan Lochte’s name as somewhat of an attention grabber. I will also admit to following his “story” at the Olympics in Rio quite closely. He is certainly the villain du jour for the moment and it seems deservedly so. If you aren’t […]

  As Ben Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  And, with Congress continually tinkering with the tax code, even that is less certain than the one inevitable fact of our own mortality. We don’t mean to get depressing or bleak, and understand that

  …Captain Obvious Good news everybody! Our friends at the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a rule on Wednesday that requires financial advisors to act in the client’s best interest when giving retirement advice. While this seems like an obvious stance, the rule was put into place to prevent advisors from

Our family just returned from a long road trip through North Carolina—we explored from Asheville to Wilmington with many stops in between. I echo Nathan’s post last week—spring break with kids is not much of a “break!” But, we had a great time exploring our neighbor state… The Biltmore in Asheville, built