French Macarons:: Part Un

1st Batch..EEK! 

 You may find this strange but I had NEVER tried a macaroon until this year! Oui! I always thought French macarons were pretty and tres chic. Too chic for me. I mean am still not sure if you spell it Macaroon or macaron? I just figured these french cookies couldn't live up to the hype and never tried one. Boy, was I wrong…Macarons are amazing! They aren't like any other baked good. I was hooked! 

I wanted to try making them at home. I figured I can bake French Madelines why not macarons? My first attempt was an epic fail! I did SO many things wrong. 

• I found the recipe and video online. I watched the video a few times on silence while reading the subtitles. I didn't realize the baker was Australian so the temperature of her oven was in celsius NOT fahrenheit. I thought 150 was a really low temperature to bake but who am I to judge? 
• I used wax paper and I should have used parchment paper. The wax paper started smoking (once I brought the oven's temp to 300).
• Almond flour is hard to find at the super market and it is hard to make without a food processor.  
• I think I over folded.

 Batch A I didn't slam the cookie sheet hard enough on the table before putting them in the oven. Batch B is looking better but I baked them at the wrong temp! They were raw on the inside and brunt on the bottom. None were edible. These macarons made me feel like such a failure! However it is good to be reminded no one is perfect. (It felt like I was making humble pie) I am not giving up I just need to study a little more. Forget the internet, I ordered some books from the library. I went to Costco and got more eggs so I can start practicing.

These are NOT mine…A girl can dream. 

I Always Loved You

 I won an advance copy of the novel I Always Loved You from goodreads.com. It is about Mary Cassatt, an American painter in Paris and her relationship with artist Edgar Degas. I enjoyed this novel. It is historical fiction at it's finest. I had to be near a computer while I was reading because I kept googling the paintings the Author would refer to.

 While reading I Always Loved You I found this app called Waterlogue. It turns your pictures into vibrant watercolors! The book describes the painstaking task of creating a painting and now there is an app for that.

Toad &Toadette

 My sister and her husband went to a Sweetheart's dinner at their church. Each couple was assigned a table that had a theme. You dress up to go along with the theme. Their table's theme was Super Mario Brothers. They decided to go as Toad and Toadette. In case you are wondering who Toad and Toadette are here is a picture.

Toad and Toadette

My sister had an idea of how to make the costumes but she asked me to help a little. It was such a fun project! We made the mushroom hats using sombreros. We covered the top of the sombreros with felt filled with grocery bags.  

sewing on the bottom panel of the dress.

I was relived that we found a pink dress at a store so I didn't have to sew a whole dress. However the dress was too short so I added 6 inches of white fabric to the bottom.

Toad's vest
The vest was easy enough to make because we cut a shirt down the middle, chopped off the sleeves and added some gold ribbon.

The table decorations were awesome.

They looked so good they won the costume contest! 

Tried of Magic Tree House?

The Magic Tree House books are great, Jack and Annie's adventures never seem to end. But if you want to mix it up with a new brother sister globe trotting duo try Recipe for Adventure! It is a new series of chapter books by Giada De Laurentiis. In the first book the siblings travel to Italy then France in the 2nd and on to China. It's great for talking about different cultures with your kids. The adventure can continue into the kitchen because book comes with 2 recipes.

Super Hero Valentine

 Up up and away!

 I got the idea from Pinterest. I love this because it's boyish and easy. I had all the supplies at home the only thing I had to buy was the tootsie pop.

DIY Valentine's Day backdrop

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, D's teacher wanted to do a special project with her class for the occasion. Last year she had a "photo shoot" with her class. The pictures turned out amazing. The parents loved their gift. This year she wanted to take the kids picture but she was thinking a different background. D's teacher is super creative and a great friend of mine. I suggested a chalkboard backdrop. Chalkboards seem to be all the rage in wedding photos and on Pinterest. 

You'd think being at a school we would be able to find a chalkboard but everyone has a Promethean or white boards. We didn't let this stop us. 

We used black butcher paper and chalk. Then we taped the paper to a bulletin board.

2014

2013

2014

Mrs. Kennedy and Me

 While in Hawaii I read Mrs. Kennedy and Me By Clint Hill. Clint Hill was Jackie Kennedy's personal secret service agent for 4 years. Before reading this book I didn't know much about Jackie O, aside from  being first lady and her impeccable style. If your looking for some dirt on Mrs. Kennedy you won't find it in this book…Clint Hill holds her on a pedestal. Sometimes it was a little hard to read because no one can be that perfect. However I did get some insight into the hardships she had. I didn't realize that she lost her son, Patrick 3 months before Jack Kennedy was killed. She was a strong lady!