liberty of london for all...

 {photo credit}

march 14th 2010... i hope to be at target... buying this...

i can so see myself riding this bike to the post office every day...

it's just be-bopulation...

today is one of those gray days... 

i woke up and it was snowing/raining... 

my power has been going on and off all day...

i am wishing it was 1989 and kelly and i were home from school watching Disney's Sing Alongs "Fun With Music" and singing and dancing in our pajamas all day long... 

it's the perfect day for that... 

i ♥ macarons...

photo of  i ♥ macarons by Hisako Ogita

when starting out in the domesticating world, most people would learn things little by little.  start with something easy and simple and once they have mastered it move on to something more challenging.  when it comes to mastering french cuisine and baking what did we decide to start with... only something that even the most advanced bakers have a hard time getting just right... of course...

macarons!

photo of  i ♥ macarons by Hisako Ogita

armed with all the right ingredients and equipment (sort of) and what we think is the macaron bible, we set out to make our perfectly puffed french confections. how hard could this be?

so we are well on our way making the meringue... mixing, whisking, macaronage, macaroner (these are not made up terms, but actual stages in mastering the meringue science... oh yeah, it's a science).  we form not so perfect little circles on the baking sheet, and "rap" the baking sheet to form the "pied" or "foot" (which we are still not completely sure what "rapping" is... we both had our own interpretations) and into the oven they go.

next up, buttercream macaron filling.  you would think this would be the easier of the two processes, no?  we did, and so it started off.  mix water and sugar and heat it in the microwave for one minute.  take it out and stir until sugar is completely dissolved and put in the microwave for another 4 minutes.

m: 4 minutes! that seems like a long time, are you sure?

p:  that's what it says... 4 minutes.  

m: ok!

(3 minutes later)

m:  i think it's burning.  it's black!!!

due to the fact that our buttercream is a bubbling, black mess, we make the executive decision to take the mixture out 1 minute early.  when we remove the scalding hot mixture from the microwave (which is now smoking) and gently place it in the sink, our actions are followed with giant explosion of caramelized chunks of glass everywhere!!!

still unsure where we went wrong???

into the woods...

more snow...

this is from a few weeks ago... during the storm we took a little adventure through the woods... it was beautiful!

we weren't really in a frolicking in the snow kind of mood this time around...

soon it will be spring... ahhhh!!!

funfetti...

last night i made funfetti cupcakes for kris 

(they were supposed to be for valentines day, but clearly i was a little late on that) 

somehow, everytime i go bake something i am always missing one ingredient. i dont know how or why but like clockwork, something is always missing. in this case, when i went to take the oil out there was only a little teaspoon left, most of the time it's an egg. usually i end up googling substitutions online (i have used applesauce and flat coca cola in the past). this time i was lucky enough to have kris bring me some oil. 

thanks for the oil... i have been eating them all day long (even for breakfast).

more snow...

snowman from Patty Whalen on Vimeo.

right now we are having more snow... i usually love snow, but i was getting pretty psyched for spring...

here's a little video we made in the last snow storm

motel rocks...

{photos via motel rocks}

i am so very excited about the new line we are getting in the shop this summer!  motel rocks has been around in london for a while and has just landed in the states...

their spring summer collection is full of retro prints (think palm peach circa 1960), cropped tops, bodysuits, and scoop backs (i'm really loving scoop backs)...  

now i can't wait for summer, and to adorn my back with pretty little bows...