Virginia Bloggers

Category: VAis4Bloggers

  • Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites

    Today’s post is from the bloggers over at CookingShorts, as husband and wife team “designed to bring short recipes and good food to your table.” We love that mission!

    Every woman (and man) loves a good cheesecake. However, many of us steer clear of cheesecake with worries of the calorie count behind a huge slice. My solution is portion control … turn the big slice of cake into small bites. This allows you to enjoy the creamy, sweet deliciousness of cheesecake, but without the guilt of eating a full slice. Tinsley made these cuties for a recent girls’ night out and they were a hit. Our waiter even begged us for one.

    Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites
    Ingredients:Red Velvet Cheesecake
    1 box red velvet cake mix
    1 stick butter, softened
    3 eggs
    16 oz. cream cheese, softened
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 tsp. vanilla extract
    whipped cream

    Directions:
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking spray. In a large prep bowl add cake mix, butter, and 1 egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low until combined. Please note, this batter will be very dense. Scoop the cake mixture into prepared pan and spread it your fingers; set aside.

    In a medium prep bowl add cream cheese and sugar. Beat until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat to combine. Spread cream cheese mixture over the red velvet bar.

    Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until bars barely start to pull away from sides. Cool completely before cutting. Use a small biscuit cutter to cut out bites. Garnish each bite with a dollop of whipped cream.

  • Northern Virginia Meet Up!

    Hey Northern Virginia bloggers! Listen up! We are having a meet up in Arlington! Details below:

    What: Virginia Blogger Meet Up

    Where: Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Rd.)

    When: Saturday, May 18th @ 3pm

    RSVP: For questions, leave a comment below and our DC ambassador Rana, will answer your questions!

    bayou

    Meet ups are a great way to meet new bloggers in the area. Feel free to bring your camera and business cards! For other meet up ideas, please e-mail us at virginiabloggers@gmail.com and we’ll see what we can do!

     

  • DIY Olive Oil Vases

    Today’s post is from the bloggers over at CookingShorts, as husband and wife team “designed to bring short recipes and good food to your table.” We love that mission!

    DIY Olive Oil Vases

    Have you ever noticed how manufactures are making bottles of olive oil super sleek and eye popping? They’re really coming up with cleaver ways of making their product stand out besides the actual label. Looking at these bottles and then looking at the price that I pay for quality olive oil got me thinking – these bottles (labels removed) would make really simple but neat vases. After I finished my last bottle of olive oil, I saved it and made cute vase out of it. It was super easy to get more bang out of my buck and get a second use out of the bottle. Here’s how you can make a really pretty vase to add a pop of something different to your kitchen.Olive Oil Vase

    Materials:

    • 1 olive oil bottle
    • 1/2 cup glass beads (vase filler)
    • food coloring
    • long steamed flowers

    Directions:

    Soak olive oil bottle for a couple of hours in soapy water to remove label. Use a wire cutter to remove metal ring around the mouth of the bottle. Add glass beads and fill with water. Choose whatever color that goes well with your kitchen and add in a drop or two of food coloring. Stir with a straw to incorporate the coloring in with the water. Finish by adding your flowers and viola! You’ll have a gorgeous vase that will stand out and make you feel proud to display.

    I made my vase seasonal by snipping some long steams of my forsythia at the beginning of spring. I changed it up about a month later and replaced the steams with slightly bloomed red buds. There are a million and one uses for this simply project. Hosting a bridal shower? Use flowers that match the brides color theme to make a centerpiece that will really pop. Add drama to your Christmas buffet with holly or pine. These vases would also stand out as centerpieces for a wedding.

  • Event Announcement: Clothing Swap!

    Hey all! We have an exciting announcement from our friends over at RVA Fashion Bloggers. They’re organizing a clothing swap and you’re invited!

    rvafb clothing swap pic SMALL

    When: Saturday, April 13th from 12:30p-3p

    Where: Tastebuds American Bistro, 4019 MacArthur Ave, Richmond VA 23221

    Details: This event is open to any fashionable ladies who would like to swap, not just RVAFB members. In addition to the swap you will be able to purchase Stella and Dot jewelry from Sydney of Chic Stripes and items from A Girl Named Leney (and her Etsy Shop) to go along with your new swapped items!!! Of course there will also be treats and refreshments provided.

    Swap Rules:
    – Everyone must bring at least 5 items.
    – You can bring clothing, shoes, and accessories (jewelry, scarves, sunglasses, belts, etc). No underwear, lounge wear, work out clothes or swimwear please.
    – All items should be spring/summer/all season items that are lightly worn and in style (no old t shirts, nothing too worn, nothing with holes and rips, nothing with stains etc).
    – Make sure all items are clean, and wrinkle free.
    -Everyone will have an hour to arrive and the swapping will start promptly at 1:30p so don’t be late or you will miss the good stuff!!
    – At 1:30p you will have 10 min to “window shop” everyone’s items, after the 10 min everyone can start swapping, you aren’t obligated to switch with everyone.
    – You can decide what works for you as far as swapping (example: if you have a really nice pair of shoes you would like to swap for 2 necklaces go for it, whatever works for you and the person you are swapping with) however we ask that there be no money transactions, only trades.
    – At the end there will be a donate box for anyone who wants to donate any items they didn’t wind up swapping. All items will be donated to the Goodwill, but you aren’t obligated to donate.

    For more info check out the Facebook event page here.

    Please RSVP to rvafashionbloggers@gmail.com ASAP. Hope to see you all there!!

  • Run for Massey- Join the Challenge

    Today’s guest post is from Kaity, at Twenty-Five Thousand, One Hundred Fifty-One, who is encouraging you to accept the challenge to run the Monument Ave. 10K race!

    It was 2007.  I was lacing up my sneakers for my 2nd Ukrops Monument Avenue 10k.  I had never been much of a runner, but I had surprised myself and completed the race the year before.  And I was excited to do it again.  But for a different reason.  This time, I had accepted the Massey Challenge, and had raised money to support the research being done at VCU Massey Cancer Center.  I was excited to celebrate the generosity of my friends and family, our contribution to the fight against cancer, and the fact that I could run.

    Massey 2

    See, just five years earlier, instead of my running, there were tests being run on me.  Tests to stage the cancer they had found in my 23-year-old body.  I was diagnosed by the people at Massey with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and was successfully treated there with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  In 2007, I accepted the Challenge to say thank you to the researchers and physicians and staff who made my remission possible.  To do my small part to help them continue to make progress toward a cure.

    Its 7 years later.  I am training for my seventh Monument Avenue 10k as part of the HDL, Inc. Massey Challenge.  My viewpoint is a bit different now.  As a 10 year survivor, my fight with Hodgkins feels a bit more distant in the past.  But just a bit over 2 years ago we made a new discovery.  The genetic counseling team at Massey discovered that I carry the BRCA1 gene mutation – also known as the breast and ovarian cancer gene.  With this new-found knowledge that my cancer risk was much higher than we previously believed, I now run not only accept the Challenge out of thanks.  I also do it out of hope for the future – and a cure I may very likely need.

    And as I run along so many bright yellow jerseys this year, along so many other “SURVIVOR” bibs, along so many other folks with stories, I will be filled with gratitude that each year so many other residents of RVA join me in accepting the Challenge.

    Massey 1

    How can you join the fight?

    Head over to Run for Massey to accept the Challenge yourself.  Join as an individual or as a team.

    Visit Twenty-Five Thousand, One Hundred Fifty-One to find out what the Challenge is up to, or to keep up with my own fundraising shenanigans.

    Encourage your non-runner or walker family and friends – or your non-runner or walker self – to come out to the Massey Mile – between mile markers 3 and 4 – on race day.  Join us in honoring those who have fought and to celebrate the progress being made each and every day at VCU Massey Cancer Center.

    29% of Massey’s funding comes from private philanthropy.   YOU are the other half of the equation in the cure.

    Together we can advance the fight against cancer.

    Join us.  Massey can’t run without you.