[Holiday] Treats on Washington

A few weeks ago, chefs/owners of Treats on Washington, Dana Briley and Jessica Brown, invited an intimate group of bloggers to their Brighton location. The small event was geared toward tasting some of their treats while getting into the holiday spirit. Briley and Brown had their tiny bakery decorated beautifully for this event, with samples of some of their favorite sweets on display for us bloggers to try. They even had some festive libations for us to wash our treats down with, including homemade egg nog and champagne. 

Chocolate Peppermint Macarons.

Since this event was right after work, Briley and Brown also had some savory dishes for us to sample, including their Curried Lentil soup and their Garden Vegetable Sandwich, pictured below (the Garden Vegetable Sandwich is made with roasted red peppers, roasted yellow squash and zucchini, marinated green beans, shaved fennel, and hummus on a focaccia roll).

Some of my favorite samples from the evening were the Chocolate Peppermint Macarons, the Panettone (Italian holiday bread), and the homemade marshmallows, complete with a crushed peppermint rim. Briley and Brown clearly put a lot of time and effort into making this event festive, which really helped kickstart the holiday season for me. I'm also a big fan of smaller, more intimate blogger events like this one because it allows you to actually meet the folks behind the food (in addition to other bloggers). 

Other items on the Treats on Washington menu that caught my eye were the Roasted Vegetable Braided Bread, the Egg Nog Latte (seasonal), and the Cranberry Gingerbread Muffin (also seasonal). I definitely plan to go back soon to try some of their other creations!

Have you ever been to Treats on Washington? What's your review?

Austin to Boston Food Swap

A few months ago, I signed up for my first blogger food swap. I signed up through the Boston Food Bloggers’ Austin to Boston Swap, Part Deux (in conjunction with the Austin Food Blogger Alliance).

My inspiration for signing up for the swap came from reading various bloggers’ accounts of swaps they’ve participated in. All of the bloggers’ posts that I read were positive, and it seemed like such a cool way to “meet” new bloggers and share local food with like-minded individuals.

My first ever food swap partner was Lizz, a vegan food blogger (remember her awesome soup recipes?). Lizz and I seem to have a lot of similar interests when it comes to food, so I was really eager to see what Austin area-made foods she put together for me. When I received the package, I was anything but disappointed.

In the box:

-Kerbey Lane Café Gingerbread Pancake Mix (I cannot wait to make these on a chilly Sunday morning!)

-Nile Valley Hibiscus Mint Tea (I’ve recently become a tea fan, so I’m eager to try this interesting-sounding combination of flavors)

-Sanderson Specialty Foods Texas-Texas Fresh Roma Roasted Salsa (Z and I go through salsa like it’s water, and this smoky blend is right up our alley)

-Thunderbird Energetica energy bars

-Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery Cinnamon-Cardamom Roll

-Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Organic Chocolate bar, the only non-local item in the box (I’ve already plowed through this baby, and it was delicious)

Some of the local items I sent Lizz included some Taza Chocolate, New England Cranberry Cranberry Apple Chutney, and Drew’s Greek Olive Salad Dressing and Marinade. You can read the full recap of what I sent Lizz here.

The Austin to Boston food swap provided a really fun way to sample local Austin food, meet a new blogger, and share some of our local eats. I would definitely participate in a food swap again!

Have you ever participated in a food swap before?

Zumba, Blogger-Style

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a Zumba class at Hill Studios in Watertown with the Boston Brunchers.

I had never tried Zumba before, and was excited to see what the class entailed. When I arrived, I was greeted by the studio’s welcoming and enthusiastic owner, Kevin. He showed me where to go to change into my workout clothes, and, soon after, the other bloggers started to arrive, including Renee (the event organizer), Bridget, Liz and Erica, to name a few.

Our class taught was taught by Kim. Right away, I could tell Kim was going to be an awesome instructor. She was full of energy and clearly passionate about Zumba. Since this was a class held just for us bloggers – and since Kim doesn’t normally teach on Wednesday nights – she also had her two daughters in tow, who were adorable and provided some additional entertainment throughout the class.

Let’s just say…Zumba = sweat. Kevin told us an hour of Zumba burns about 1,000 calories. I think I sweated out at least 2,000 last night (TMI?). We basically danced and shook our groove thangs for 45 minutes, followed by some arm and ab workouts. Kim did not mess around with us. At all.

It was a lot of fun to do something active with some fellow bloggers (Elizabeth joined us a little later, too!), but it was also really nice to try a new workout, and challenge parts of my body that haven’t been challenged before.

Kevin, who is originally from Waltham, opened Hill Studios in May after several years of working on Broadway (no big deal). In addition to Zumba, the studio also offers tap, jazz and hip hop dance classes, as well as kids' yoga. Class pricing can be found here.

Thanks again to Kim, Kevin and Hill Studios for a great workout, and for inviting us Boston Brunchers for a class!

Have you ever tried Zumba before? If yes, what did you think of it? If no, are you interested in trying it?

Disclaimer: The Brunchers and I got to attend this Zumba class free of charge. Despite Hill Studios’ generosity, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.