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  • Fall Book Selections via River City Reading

    Fall Book Selections via River City Reading

    Today’s guest post is from the Richmond bookwork who blogs over at River City Reading! She’s picked out a few fall book selections, so check these out!

    Fall book selections
    I did a ton of reading in August to gear up for all the great September books being released as we speak, but the fall book frenzy is never ending. October and November are loaded with great releases, so my to be read pile is actually much higher than ten…but these are a few you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for.

    1. The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure – October 1st
    A gifted architect reluctantly begins a secret life devising ingenious hiding places for Jews in Nazi-occupied Paris.

    2. The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly – October 1st
    Set against the backdrop of the historic 1927 Mississippi Flood, a story of murder and moonshine, sandbagging and saboteurs, dynamite and deluge – and a man and a woman who find unexpected love.

    3. The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonert – October 15th
    In the tradition of the great immigrant sagas, The Lion Seeker brings us Isaac Helger, son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, surviving the streets of Johannesburg in the shadow of World War II.

    4. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton – October 15th
    From the acclaimed author of The Rehearsal comes a novel about a young woman on trial for murder in nineteenth-century New Zealand.

    5. Quiet Dell by Jayne Ann-Philipps – October 15th
    From one of America’s most accomplished and acclaimed fiction writers, a chilling, spectacularly riveting novel based on a real life multiple murder by a con man who preyed on widows—a story that has haunted Jayne Anne Phillips for more than four decades.

    6. The Cartographer of No Man’s Land by P.S. Duffy – October 28th
    From a hardscrabble village in Nova Scotia to the collapsing trenches of France, a debut novel about a family divided by World War I.

    7. Havisham by Ronald Frame – November 5th
    In the  tradition of Wide Sargasso Sea, Havisham is the astonishing prelude to Charles Dickens’s classic Great Expectations.

    8. Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch – November 5th
    A tense, thrilling debut novel that spans two continents, from “a writer to watch out for.” (Colum McCann)

    9. Want Not by Jonathan Miles – November 5th
    From the critically acclaimed author of Dear American Airlines, a compulsively readable, deeply human novel that charts the course of three intersecting lives in a thoroughly contemporary examination of that most basic and unquenchable emotion: want.

    10. Country Hardball by Steve Weddle – November 18th
    A novel-in-stories in the tradition of Bonnie Jo Campbell, Donald Ray Pollock, Denis Johnson, and Alan Heathcock, Country Hardball is a powerfully observed and devastatingly understated portrait of the American working class.

    Do you have a recommendation to add to the list?

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  • Virginia Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting via @ LAHtheBlog

    Virginia Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting via @ LAHtheBlog

    It’s Foodie Friday! Today’s post comes from Kate over @ Like American Honey! Kate is a Florida girl turned Virginian.  She’s a lover of all things monogrammed (who isn’t), and believer that good manners never go out of style.

    I love fall in Virginia.  The leaves change, the air gets a bit crisper, and the skies seem to get bluer.  Virginia fall also means one huge  thing: fresh apples!  We have made it a tradition to go apple picking  every fall at Virginia orchards.  It is such a great feeling to pack up  the car, grab our dogs, and know that our apples couldn’t be any more  fresh.

    I always return from the orchard with way too many apples for two people and have come up with many creative ways to use my apples.  Last year, I discovered this amazingly easy apple cake in a Southern Living apple  feature, and this year I am pairing it with a to-die-for browned butter  frosting.  If you haven’t made browned butter frosting before, it has a  nice nutty flavor that pairs very well with cakes that feature cinnamon  or fruit.  The recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but I find any  apple that is a bit tart and firm will work.  I luckily snagged some  local Gala apples that I happily used.

    Virginia Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

    Virginia Apple Cake

    The Cake:

    • 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
    • 1/2 cup butter, melted
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 ½ pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼ inch thick wedges (about 4 large, or 5 medium apples)

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven is ready, place 1 cup of your pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven. Bake the pecans for 5-7 minutes, until they are fragrant. Set aside to let the pecans cool a bit.

    In a large bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.

    In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Last, stir in your apples and toasted pecans. The batter will be thick.

    Lightly grease a 13 x 9 inch pan. Spread the batter evenly into the pan.

    Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.

    The Browned Butter Frosting:

    Brown Butter Frosting

    • 1 cup butter
    • 1 16 ounce package of powdered sugar
    • 1/4 cup milk
    • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

    Cook your butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 8-10 minutes until the butter turns golden brown. Be sure not to cook too far and burn. The butter will have a bit of a nutty aroma.

    Quickly remove your cooked butter from the pan and let cool in a bowl. Cover the butter and chill it in your refrigerator for about 1 hour, until it starts to firm up.

    Beat the butter in a standing mixer or with an electric mixer on a medium speed until fluffy. Combine the vanilla with the milk. Split your sugar into 3 equal parts and the milk mixture into 2 parts. Alternate adding the thirds of sugar with the two halves of milk, finishing with your sugar. Make sure to beat until well blended and scrape down the sides of your bowl (if using a standing mixer) between additions.

    Once the cake is cooled and the frosting is finished, top your cake generously with your frosting and sprinkle with the remaining half-cup of toasted pecans.

    Happy fall everyone!

    Kate

    Come connect with me!

    Twitter: @LAHtheBlog

    Pinterest: LAHtheBlog

  • Blogger & Fashion Lovers Party

    Hey bloggers! We’ve got another meet up planned, this time in Richmond! You may have heard of Baggio consignment, from the second-hand fashion guru behind Chic Stripes. Now is your chance to take a peek inside!

    (Photo via Chic Stripes)

    Join us for a night of fashion and blogging!
    Date: Thurs, 9/26
    Time: 6 PM – 8 PM
    Location: Baggio Consignment, 9734 Gayton Road, Richmond, VA 23238
    RSVP: click here

    Light refreshments will be served. This is open to ALL bloggers!

    Hope to see you there,

    Liz

  • Kitchen on Cary Restaurant Review- Via Liz @ I Heart Vegetables

    Kitchen on Cary Restaurant Review- Via Liz @ I Heart Vegetables

    Hey all! It’s Liz, the blog-obsessed girl behind Virginia Bloggers! I thought it would be fun to do a guest post of my own, on a new restaurant that opened in Richmond!

    A few months ago, I was offered a chance to attend the soft opening of Kitchen on Cary. Full disclosure: I was offered this dinner free of charge, but was not obligated to post about it, and all opinions are my own. Since I love trying new places, I excitedly accepting the invite!

    Walking in, the atmosphere was clean and inviting. After being seated, we were greeted by one of the chefs, who explained the concept behind the restaurant. Kitchen on Cary will be a sort of training ground for students at the culinary school, giving them the chance to test out their skills in the real word, and allowing patrons to enjoy their handiwork. Sounds like a win-win, right? The menu was slightly limited, since this was just a soft opening, but there were plenty of vegetarian options for me to choose from. I’ll apologize in advance for the pictures, since restaurant lighting isn’t very forgiving.

    IMG_0376

    We chose our courses, and settled in.

    Course #1- Tempura Vegetables/Chipotle Marinated Grilled Shrimp

    Course 1

    Fresh vegetables, coated and fried. I don’t normally like my veggies fried, but these were pretty good. I especially liked the dipping sauce, which was spicy. Alex chose the shrimp dish, which looked good, but I didn’t try it. He liked his as well.

    Course #2- Greens & Fresh Mozzarella/Beets & Feta

    Course 2

    Alex was brave and chose the beet salad, but I stuck with greens & fresh mozzarella which was served with a light dressing that hit the spot. It was salty (I love salty) but didn’t weigh me down like some salad dressings do.

    Course #3- Mushroom Risotto/Grilled Rockfish

    Course 3

    Now I’m normally not the biggest mushroom fan, but this risotto was delicious. It was creamy and savory, and the mushrooms added a nice texture. I saved some of the mushrooms for Alex, but I did enjoy the strips of portabello on top. The flavor was excellent and it was nice to eat something that would be easy to prepare at home. Alex had the rockfish, served on a mango salsa, which he didn’t expect to go so well with the fish, but he said tasted great. I didn’t quite finish my risotto which was good, because we had cake on the way!

    Dessert

    IMG_0399

    Alex and I split a slice of carrot cake (vegetables… right?) which was so crumbly it was a bit difficult to eat, but the taste was great and I loved the frosting. I don’t normally love frosting, so that surprised me! We couldn’t quite finish it, but it was excellent. Kitchen on Cary is officially open, and I’d highly recommend you check this place out if you’re in Richmond.   For more Richmond Restaurant Reviews, check out my RVA Restaurants Page here.

    -Liz @ I Heart Vegetables

  • DIY Window Photo Frame- via Ashley @ Attempts at Domestication

    Today’s post is from one of our awesome DIY bloggers, Ashley, @ Attempts at Domestication! You may remember her last post, about how to make your own headboard, so check out her latest crafty project! If you’re interested in submitting your own guest post, click hereLiz

    I’m sure everyone has attempted to replicate something that they’ve seen on Pinterest and failed miserably, but hopefully where there are failures there are also successes. That’s the story of me and my old window turned picture frame. I had been drooling over some similar projects on Pinterest:

    (via)(via)

    But I had no idea where to get an old window like that. I tried our local Habitat for Humanity Restore a few times, but never found anything that was quite what I was looking for. After looking for a while I kind of gave up. It wasn’t until we went to a wedding in North Carolina that I found the perfect window, and it was my favorite price, FREE! The wedding was held in the backyard of this lady who had a ton of amazing old barn doors, wood, windows, ladders, you name it! It was savage paradise! She must have liked my enthusiasm for her stuff because she gave me an old window to take home.

    I’m not sure how long she had it in her shed, but it was COATED in dirt, dust and cobwebs. After over an hour of scrubbing one night I decided it would just be easier to spray it down with the hose and use good old fashioned soap to clean it up. Once it was mostly clean (the hard to scrub spots just gives it more character right?) I printed the pictures that I wanted to use and arranged them how I wanted. I attached the pictures using clear photo corners, like for a scrapbook, so I can replace them later down the road if I want. All of the pictures I chose are of details from our wedding or distance shots. Since we already have a gallery wall in the master bedroom I didn’t want to overwhelm the room with pictures of people’s faces to watch me while I sleep.

    After unsuccessfully Googling “how to hang a window on the wall” I just went to Lowe’s and searched for something to use for hanging this thing. I finally settled on using Monkey Hooks and D hooks. The D hooks give us something to actually attach the window to the hooks in the wall, and makes the window easier to take down in the future. I attached them to the either side of the window so they wouldn’t be visible at all once it was on the wall. windowdrill

    On to the Monkey Hooks. If you haven’t used these bad boys before I highly recommend them! They come in several sizes and each size supports a different amount of weight. Plus they don’t leave large holes in the wall, a plus for any renters out there! Basically, it’s just a wire that you shove into the drywall and you twist and turn it until it goes all the way in and all you’re left with is the actual hook part. We got the hooks that support 50 lbs. since the window is any where from 20-30 lbs. and we like to overcompensate. monkeyhookOnce all the hooks were attached to the window or inside the wall it was time to hang the window. My husband helped me put this bad boy in place over the dresser in the bedroom and I love it. This definitely has to be one of my favorite projects to date and I always get a ton of compliments from people when I give house tours. window9window guest postI definitely call this Pinterest inspired project a success! What is your favorite Pinterest inspired project that you’ve tried? If you haven’t tried one yet, what are you waiting for?!