24 Hours in Alexandria with Editor Alison Teer

With Alexandria, Virginia, about to celebrate its 266th birthday, we decided now was the perfect time to check in with The Scout Guide Alexandria editor Alison Teer. Here, she lets us tag along with her as she Scouts her city:

6:30 a.m.: UP AND AT ’EM
The mad dash to get my boys (almost 4 and 6 years old) out the door to camp begins. They have a bus to catch at 8:05, and we usually start our days more along the lines of “Easy like Sunday mornings” rather than “Manic Monday.” It’s not pretty, but eventually everyone is fed, dressed, and ready.

8:15 a.m.: WORK OUT
Now that the boys are off, I head to Fitness on the Run to work out with co-owner Adrien Cotton. I usually join their semi-private training, but today I’m doing a one-on-one session, which means it’s really time to sweat.

9:15 a.m.: THE COLLABORATIVE
I make a quick stop by the office to check and return emails and calls. I have a workspace in the same building as Finnian’s Moon, where Navarro Construction and Christopher Patrick Interiors also have spaces. We call it “The Collaborative,” and we’re always bouncing ideas off of each other…we laugh a lot (and maybe enjoy a happy hour here and there as well).

10:00 a.m.: SCOUTING
I head to Lawrence Miller & Co. to meet with Tim Shaheen about blog ideas and learn more about their custom jewelry design process. Next, I stop by Red Barn Mercantile to snap some shots of their fun Americana merchandise. They have awesome giant sparklers that are ideal for July 11th—Alexandria’s 266th birthday (yes, that’s 27 years older than the United States of America)—which will be a huge celebration on the waterfront that will include fireworks set off to a live performance from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. But really, summer nights are perfect for sparklers, party or not!

12:30 p.m.: LUNCH
I’m in need of sustenance, so I swing by Bittersweet for a quick bite and to place a catering order for the backyard get-together we’re hosting before we head to the waterfront on Sunday. It’s all about multi-tasking.

1:00 p.m.: STYLING
Along with being a wife, mother, and the Editor of The Scout Guide Alexandria, I have been a personal stylist for twelve years, and today I’m dropping a client’s edited clothing off at Mint Condition, an awesome consignment shop. Post-drop off, I visit Duchess M to look for new items to pull for clients (and maybe a piece or two for myself. If I post them on Instagram that counts as work, right?).

4:00 p.m.: OYSTERS & ICE CREAM
The boys are back from camp, and the three of us head to Union Street to meet my husband, Emerson, for an early dinner. Afterward, we grab a sweet treat from POPS Ice Cream and take a trolley ride up King Street. By the time they head home with dad the boys are pretty tuckered out.

6:30 p.m.: TIME TO PARTY
I’m off to Society Fair for drinks and cake to celebrate Elizabeth Todd’s birthday. Elizabeth owns The Shoe Hive, and the party is a TSG Alexandria-studded affair, with Courtney Cox and Alex Deringer, the design duo behind Ivy Lane, in attendance, as well as TSG Alexandria’s Art Director, Kathryn Martin. Courtney and I grew up together here in Alexandria, Alex and Elizabeth went to college at Ohio State before settling here, and we’ve all known and worked with Kathryn for almost 15 years…I love my small local world.

9:30 p.m.: GOODNIGHT!
I’m finally home and melt into bed. There’s another bus to catch bright and early tomorrow morning!