Wednesday WOW: NC Sheroes; “Moving Forward”

Sometimes Sheroes are right in our back yard!  They are the ones that get up everyday, no matter what’s going on at home, in their mind, or in their account and make it happen. No excuses , no delays- they are unselfishly walking in their calling and impressing the world one day, move, and thought at a time.

You may or may not  know their names, or ever spoken to them, but you’ve seen them or results of their incredible work. They are “Sheroes; Moving Forward!”

 

 

 

On April 2nd, at 11″30 am, We will honor our sheroes by resting their capes and revealing why they are so bold, brave and unstoppable!

 

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library presents NC SHEROES  “Moving Forward!”

 

THIS IS OUR 2nd year celebrating with MomsRising NC  and my moms group Queen City Stay At Home Moms.

 

We will honor 6 amazing women, who have made significant contributions to the Women’s movement right here in North Carolina.

After an introduction, we will award each Shero. Then go into a Round-table. Come prepared to find out why women matter and should be empowered to have a voice! Bring a child with you. It’s lessons like these that stick with them!

 

Here is our impressive line up!

Tawanna Ross- Award wining Gospel Hip Hop artist

Asha Sims- Gentle Yoga instructor

Melody Gross- Doula

 Nadine Ford – Farmer/gardener

Cassie Pressley- Teen Vegan Baker

Tina B. – Social activist

Special Guest TBA later.

Sweet Right?!  We’ll see you there! This ceremony is complete with  refreshments! So don’t worry about stopping for breakfast. And …Yes bring the kids, we’ll have a station for them to entertain themselves need be.

April 2,2016

11:30 Am

Beatties Ford Public Library, Charlotte NC

All are welcomed and encourage to attend. Free Parking, Refreshments and Admission

RSVP Here or Here! 

 

This is from last year. More videos are on YouTube. (go on and click it, it’ll show)

Sweet Minions: A Magical Moment in February

The room was filled with blue and yellow. These”Sweet Minions” didn’t have a clue of the night of treats they were in for. It was the 3rd annual Family Valentine’s Day Party in the QC! There was a live DJ, a vegan dessert bar, vendors selling goods for no more then $5 an items and a real magician!

Last Saturday was cold but a few of the families from Queen City Stay At Home Moms ventured out to celebrated the sweetest week end with their tin-inset heart.

Houdini must have performed 6 or more magic tricks. All Of Them Were Amazing! I shared one here,but you can swing over to my YouTube channel to see more.

 

To see more from the celebration, click here.

Queen City Stay At Home Moms is the leading mom group in Charlotte. They attract a certain type of mom. Those that want to be celebrated ans not degraded for choosing to put their family first. They host weekly gatherings that meets a few goals.

Moms can make mom friends like them that understand the challenges that come with being a mom, wife, work from home mom, new mom, older mom, homeschooling mom and everything in between. Because moms come from all types of background, they are encouraged to bring their skills to a group that will help her prepare for when* she returns to the corporate world, should she choose too.

The group provides resources for moms to grow from where they are by offering product review opportunities,  group discounts, women only workshops, job placement, member only discounts on perks like doula, wedding officiants, child care, lactation support and priority opportunities to vend at the yearly Total children’s Wellness Fair. (You can join here)

 

QueenCity Stay At Home Moms

Charlotte, NC
19 Super Moms

Meet nearby Queen City Stay at Home Moms! Come to a local Stay at Home Moms Meetup for friendship, reassurance, and parenting advice, excerising with baby and lots of great in…

Next Meetup

Discovery Place Kids

Wednesday, Feb 17, 2016, 12:00 PM
2 Attending

Check out this Meetup Group →

 

One last gift from that night! If you have a vegan high school senior looking for college money, you may want to check this one out.

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Sponsor: Vegetarian Resource Group
Amount: Up to $10,000
Deadline: Feb. 20, 2016
Description: Applicant must be a U.S. high school senior graduating in the spring of 2016. Applicant must be a vegetarian and have promoted vegetarianism in their school and/or community.

 

See you next time!

Jabela

Wednesday Wow: Family Valentine’s Day Party GiveAway

Want to win tickets to the 3rd annual Family Valentines Day Party this Saturday in the QC? I hope so because this contest is too easy!  The perks of being a small time blogger is paying off for you.

We are having a “Sweet Minion” Family Valentine’s Day Party! As a mom, finding affordable opportunities for my family to enjoy together is a priority. It’s rare that we go out ALL together, but when we do, it has to make sense, and it has to be safe!  This is it! We’re having:

• A live DJ (Julie Brim)
• A Real Magician (Houdini’s World)
• A Vegan based Dessert bar (Cassie’s Sweetz)
• A $5.Gift Shop  (various vendors selling brand new items for $5. or less!)
•  Fun  games, photo opportunities 
• A SAFE family event with Free parking! 

Here’s how to get some of these 32 tickets. If you belong to any of the following categories- read up!

Note: These offers excludes goodie bags and reserved tables. We want to make sure we are serving the ones that need this the most. And because our entertainment is so amazing, we want to have a good crowd for them to absorb the loving energy!

So be sure to tag your favorite business, organization, club, and group. This is gonna be huge!

If you have a non profit, like our page and we will give you a family four pack.

If you own a daycare, like our page and we will give you a family four pack.

If you own a support group for families, like our page and we will give you a family four pack.

If you are a organizer for a mom group, like our page and we will give you a family four pack.

Give the passes to whomever you choose! This offer is for the 1st 4 industries to enter. That’s 16 people. Now for the public sector. We need more traffic. We’re new’ish.

 Don’t expect to be offered a chair when you are visiting a place where the chief sits on the floor. (Ghana)

So I have 4 family packs to give you!  And yes, for up to $80 per family in value, there’s a few things I’ll need from you. (trust me, it’s easier than you think)

1. Like and follow–> my blog, FB, Twitter, Instagram and then comment on this post BELOW or here on the event page. The more you like, the better your chances! Fair right?
2. That’s IT. Winners will be announced on Facebook,called & or emailed! Hurry the party is THIS SATURDAY!

See you Saturday at the hottest mom powered family event of the year!

Smash Cakes: Because your Baby is the King/Queen Of All Babies!

Nine babies and I only had 2 smash cakes! What was I thinking of? They are so cute, fun, and just plain smart!

I know a great vegan baker in Charlotte NC. See Cassie Sweetz

Who wants a cake a lil hand all over their cake? REALLY??? Lil Mikey can be the cutest thing since Kermit the Frog, but uuugh, I’ll pass on the booger laced slime delight.

A smash cake is typically given to the birthday child at the first birthday celebration and is to be smashed, smeared, enjoyed and eaten by the birthday boy or birthday girl (remember to take lots of photos for the album!). Increasingly, people are making two cakes for the 1st birthday party: a smash cake and the main decorated birthday cake. The birthday guest of honor gets to have fun with the smash cake while the main birthday cake can be enjoyed by the guests, untouched by little hands.

There are several ways to create a first birthday smash cake. A smash cake is usually a mini cake that matches the party theme, however any cake will do. The smash cake can be as simple as a vanilla cupcake (a giant cupcake is perfect) or as complex as a smaller version of the main cake. The possibilities are endless!

Remember to remove any cookie sticks, decorative pix or candles before you serve the smash cake and be sure to spread newspapers under your child’s chair to catch the mess!

Order it from Cassie’s Sweetz or make it your self! Or you can click on the links of each picture for more details.

PRETTY IN PINK CAKE

Rose Levy Beranbaum’s white velvet cake is my go-to cake for birthdays. You can pair it with almost any frosting or filling. Although Beranbaum prefers a non-chocolate frosting on this cake like this one, I think a silky chocolate buttercream frosting works just fine here if it’s not overly chocolate-y.

If you have only two 9-inch pans like I do, follow this recipe to make the first two layers. After they have cooled and you have another pan available, halve the recipe to make a third layer. This will give you three 1 1/8-inch cake layers.

INGREDIENTS:

For The Cake:4 1/2 large egg whites
1 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

STEP 1: MAKE THE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease tops of parchment paper and dust lightly with flour.

Combine ¼ cup milk, the egg whites and the vanilla in a bowl and set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining ¾ cup milk, and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (or high if you’re using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 ½ minutes. Scrape down the sides, and add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition.

Scrape the batter into the pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. The pans should be about ½ full. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. You will want the cake to spring back when pressed lightly.

Cool the cakes for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Remove from pans.

STEP 2: MAKE THE FROSTING

Make your favorite frosting. I am partial to an Italian meringue buttercream.

STEP 3: ASSEMBLE AND FROST THE CAKE

Using a cake leveler, evenly cut the tops off the cake so the layers are equal height.

Spread an even layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer and stick the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes or until the frosting is set. Add the second cake layer and repeat with frosting and freezer time. Add the third layer and spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake and around the sides of the cake – this is your crumb coat. Put cake in the freezer for 5 minutes or until frosting is set. Add a final thin layer of frosting to the top and sides of the cake, making sure it has a smooth finish. Place the cake in the freezer, covered, until you’re ready to decorate.

STEP 4: DECORATE THE CAKE

For the final fondant decoration, please see Not Without Salt’s instructions. I used 2 lbs of red buttercream fondant (with some leftover) and 4 lbs of white buttercream fondant (with some leftover). I used “antique white” to cover the cake and “wedding white” to make the strips.

If you’re making a 9-inch cake, you will need another set of hands to help you wrap the fondant around the cake, that is, unless you come up with a better system or technique than I did. If so, please share!

It’s your baby’s first birthday! Let him dig into his first birthday cake toddler-style with an adorable smash cake that’s almost too cute to eat. Almost.

101 More ideas-

Everything Else to Know about Smash Cakes

Just a lot of pretty ideas-

(Be sure to click all of the links in this post for more details)