{randomness du jour}

i love you, macarons!

pinkjello — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:33:12 +0000

My friend and I were supposed to go take lessons and learn how to make macarons. We got all excited about it, and when I finally buckled down and decided to set the date (i.e. go online to check the time and availability), lo and behold, the class is almost 4x more expensive than when we checked two months ago. What the hell? So the “solution” was: find the recipe online and stare at / drool over pretty pictures of what could have been our creation. And maybe try the recipe one day. Maybe.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy (or suffer. depending on how badly you end up craving for one of these…). Oh, and if you’re feeling like a top chef, click on the pictures to go to the recipe.

{Red Berry Macarons}

{Powdered Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Macarons}

{Candy Cane Macarons}

{Violet Macarons with Violet and Vanilla Bean Buttercream}

{Saffron Pumpkin Macarons}

{Coffee Chicory Macarons}

{I *heart* Macarons}

Apparently, macarons are not that hard to make, and once you get the hang of it, you will realize how ridiculous it is for shops to charge you so much for one. But until then, I will continue to pay for these yummy things, and pretend that a 5 star macaron chef is behind the door, whipping up these delightful treats.

bite me!

pinkjello — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:37:38 +0000

As some of you may know, I have a slight obsession with cupcakes. I am also a sucker for dwarf-sized stuff (think extra tiny gummy bears, teacup doggies, etc). Imagine the sparkle in my eyes when I came across Bakerella’s blog and saw her genius creation: cupcake pops! Essentially, cupcake pops are cake pops shaped like cupcakes. And cake pops are cake balls (literally, a ball of cake) and cream cheese frosting mixed together and covered with candy coating, stuck on a lollipop stick!

{tiny tiny tiny cupcake pops that i will replicate one day}

Bakerella also made Sesame Street cake pops to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street this past Tuesday! I love Elmo and Cookie Monster!!! I still sing the C is for Cookie song sometimes, and I’m in my 20s.

{sesame street cake pops}

Here are some more Bakerella cake pop awesomeness:

{cheesecake pops - this lady is a genius!}

{lil' birdie pops - TOOOOOO CUTE!!!}

{reindeer pops}

{wedding cake pops - some guy proposed on Bakerella's blog with these!}

{cake pops YUM!}

I’m inspired to bake now! RIGHT NOW! 11:29pm.

… out of eggs. 11:31pm.

coffee addicts, here’s another reason not to quit

pinkjello — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:14:36 +0000

I’ve been trying to give up coffee for some time now. So far, it’s been relatively successful (successful = 1 coffee intake a week, as opposed to 2 a day). Unfortunately, I came across a website that reminded me why I love coffee so much. In addition to the wonderful aroma, keeping me awake at work, and how cool and chic I look when I carry my grande non-fat extra hot extra foam split shot with a half squirt of sugar-free vanilla and a half squirt of sugar-free cinnamon latte (jusssssst kidding. it’s usually just a non-fat mocha or non-fat chai tea latte. don’t want the barista to spit in my drink), I also love how coffee houses jazz up the coffee with cocoa powder art. But Coffee Stencil has definitely taken cocoa powder art to a whole new level. You can purchase their pre-made stencils, or customize your own! Now I want my own coffee house : (

{love bird stencil}

{some flower stencil}

{i don't know about this one}

weekends are for spending money. 1st stop – etsy

pinkjello — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:24:28 +0000

So after a long, stressful and tiring week at work, it’s the weekend and it’s time to spend some of the hard earned dollars! Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop at online (okay, “window” shop. I have yet to set up my paypal account… but I have a long list of stuff on my wish list!) – it’s a marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade items as well as vintage and weird stuff. Today, I found Hannah Design’s shop, and she has the cutest one-of-a-kind customized jewelry!

{hand stamped pendant with birthstones - $35}

{hand stamped round & rectangular pendants - $28.00}

{hand stamped pet ID tag with phone # - $14.00}

Oh, she ships world wide!

get to know your burgers

pinkjello — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:35:56 +0000

So I had a burger for lunch today (and chili cheese fries yay!). While I felt fat, gross and greasy afterwards, the 10 or so minutes of pure joy and happiness while I was stuffing my face was worth the 9 hours of self loath that followed. Although I’m a huge burger fan, I am still far far far from connoisseur status. If you blindfold me, I will probably only be able to distinguish the following from each other:

In-N-Out animal style cheeseburger (I miss you I miss you I miss you!)
Burgers that have a load of junk in them – mushrooms (that’s the one I had today! it was called the magic mushroom burger. go figure), onions, coleslaw (eek), avocado (eekkk), bacon (eeek), egg (omg help me)… etc.
McDonald’s cheesebur….. wait. I only eat fillet o fish at McD’s. Nevermind.

Okay, so basically I can only tell the difference between In-N-Out burgers, and non In-N-Out burgers. Nice. If you are anything like me, and terms like sliders, green chile cheeseburgers, guberburgers, slug burgers, and bean burgers (no it’s not a burger made with beans) mean nothing but a bunch of ???????????, then this handy dandy guide to hamburger and cheeseburger styles will enlighten you. Seriously. I now know which category the magic mushroom burger I had for lunch falls into: fancy pants burgers.

{I will see you in 1.5 weeks, animal style!}

who wants a cupcake car?

pinkjello — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:21:26 +0000

Neiman Marcus’ 2009 Christmas Book is out!!! For those who don’t know, this book was first published in 1926, and has overtime, evolved into an annual source of unusual and luxurious gifts. Some of the gifts that were sold in the past include: a private performance for up to 500 guests (1.5 hours) by Elton John – $1.5 million; a submarine – $20 million; a mermaid suit (comes with a mermaid tail, faux pearl top, and swimming lessons) – $10,000; and a life size lego replica of you and your beloved – $60,000. Just to name a few.

(If anybody cares, the Christmas Book also showcases highly anticipated luxury / limited edition automobiles. This year, you can get the 2010 Jaguar XJL Supercharged Neiman Marcus Edition for $105,000, or the NM Limited Edition Mission One Electric Sports Motorcycle for $73,000. But I don’t really care, so moving on..)

This year, Neiman Marcus is offering you your very own cupcake car, for $25,000. Yes, cupcake car.

I’m not sure how I feel about this thing. Here are some of my concerns:

I refuse to call it a car, because the fastest it’ll go is 7mph. I’m sure even your typical grandma-next-door will start honking when it takes you 3 whole minutes to change lanes.
It looks really weird.
How do I steer this thing? There’s no rear view mirror either. Is this safe?
If I take this one the streets (since it is technically a “car”), does that mean I’ll need to get insurance?
What happens if it crashes? Will my body be trapped in the cupcake forever?
Why are the wheels so tiny? Can I install bigger wheels, just in case I get too heavy for my cupcake car?
Where does the license plate go?
How do I park this car? I feel like I might need special skills to park a round blob.
What happens when it rains?
How do I lock my cupcake car?

So what do you think? Are you getting a cupcake car for Christmas this year?

ma-ma-ma-marshmallows!

pinkjello — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:47:23 +0000

So I came across an article on DIY dessert bar, which included recipes for fancy cupcakes, hot cocoa favors (!!), and stenciled brownies. I want all of the above for my future/imaginary (think ± 10 years) winter gathering. If I lived in a place where winter = snow. And had a fireplace. And no diabetes.

Who am I kidding. I didn’t so much as pause to look at any of the other desserts. I scrolled right down to the picture of the hot cocoa & mashmallows. Would you please look at the size of the marshmallows!

No, seriously though, the marshmallow cubey things are calling out to me.

beautiful trash

pinkjello — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:22:54 +0000

Killing three birds with one stone! (1) get rid of trash; (2) contribute to urban beautification; (3) contribute to environmental awareness!
TRASH: anycoloryoulike is a vivid art intervention developed by artist Adrian Kondratowicz. This pink polka dot awesomeness took place on the streets of New York City, summer 2008.

Oh yeah, the bags are biodegradable too. Does it get any better?

eat a salad / have a gin tonic whenever, wherever you please!

pinkjello — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:03:28 +0000

Ever been at a party where they run out of glasses and you have to gracefully deny that glass of lynch bages just ’cause you didn’t think drinking from your hands would work out too well (I’m obviously talking about the stains, red wine doesn’t wash out easy you know)? Ever been to a picnic where there are no more clean plates for you to get a second helping of caesar salad? Foldable bowls to the rescue! I’m not sure these are that environmentally friendly, but you can always reuse them right? Stirrers, utensils, salad and alcohol not included.