Monday, March 28, 2011

I turned 22 on March 26th but I didn't want a cake, so my dad suprised me with these macarons and fruit tarts from Provence Breads & Cafe in Nashville.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

My dear friend and ex-roommate, Natalie, came to Nashville to visit this weekend. I absolutely love when Natalie comes to visit because we have similar interests and get along perfectly. We went to Hillsboro Village and visited a couple of stores.



This Goethe novel, "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and play, "Goetz von Berlichingen", were purchased at Bookman/Bookwoman, a rare and used bookstore with a HUGE selection of books. Walking into the store, for me, is like walking into heaven. Row after row of books, stacks and piles of books, books everywhere. It's a wonderful atmosphere and I am always able to find exactly what I am looking for. They also have a variety of books in different languages, so I always stop by the German section to pick up a few books to help me work on my (terrible) German.
Used books, already being "green" in the sense that you are literally recycling the books to be used and loved once more after being abandoned by previous owners, are so interesting to me. I love finding notes, messages, and other tiny things that give hints about prior owners and what they did with the books, like these translations in my Goethe books:



We also visited a consignment store called Clothing XChange. I love this store, so much. The prices are extremely cheap and reasonable, and they also help to support local artists by selling original art in their store! I picked up this high-waisted plaid skirt for only 10 dollars.


- Vintage plaid skirt from Clothing XChange
- Belt from Charlotte Russe
- Grey shirt from Forever 21
- Black wedges from Forever 21

Thursday, March 10, 2011



Look at these little creme brulees I made today, complete with their tiny ramekins and caramelized sugar. I like how they came out.


Sunday, March 6, 2011



I absolutely adore making miniature pies. In the picture above, I am holding miniature key lime pie, lemon meringue, pumpkin pie, and blueberry cheesecake. Every time I show someone my pie charms, they always give me new ideas by telling me what their favorite type of pie or cheesecake is! I don't think I'll ever run out of ideas when it comes to different types of pies. 


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Recently, I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa (my absolute favorite cooking show) and Ina Garten baked some French madeleines. I had never heard of them before, but they were tiny lemon-flavored tea cakes in the shape of a seashell. I was really intrigued by them, as I am with most French cakes & pastries.
Later that week, I went to a cookware shop with a friend and she pointed out several madeleine pans! I decided that it was a sign and immediately began work on my own, tiny version of French madeleines.


 click to enlarge

I used a bit of gold chalk to make it seem as if they had been baked. They are tiny, but just big enough to use for stud earrings! I am also working on some larger ones, but I prefer, by far, these tiny ones.