Tea time.

 I invested in a loose leaf tea set. I know, I know, it was very ENGLISH of me. 

So far, I’ve only purchased 2 types of tea and I love them both... an Oolong and a Green.

I think. 

The equipment: 

Perfectly measured tea (not really, I actually have no idea how much to use):

The Brew: 

started with leaf balls

ended with loose leaves

 The Final Product:  

Oh, and it was time to prepare for summer and bust this bad boy out:

Not sure how to loose leaf in this thing.

As for the little pup… he remains cozy while I brew.

 As usual.

Lots of Tea happening around here these days. 

Any tea drinkers out there with any advice or recommendations?

-nicola & the little pup

Mini photographs, please.

The cutest things arrived on my doorstep this week… MINI photos. If you know me, you know that I LOVE all things mini. Except for the papillon, he's on the large size. 

Social Print Studio

I got the Print Studio APP on my I pad, clicked on my favorite pictures, and they were here in a few days. The photos are tiny… about the size of your Iphone screen. They are also printed on a nice, durable, card stock with a matte finish. They are almost like your very own playing card. Obviously the little pup needed a few.

Oh, and they print your Instagram pictures too! 

I added the highlighter for a nice,  little size comparison. You're welcome!

  

 I highly recommend them!

-nicola & the little pup

Les Incompetents

The story of the

French Macarons…

That kicked my ass.

Last night, I decided to attempt to make some French Macarons. I don't know what came over me. I ran around the city finding all of the ingredients that I would need to make these little babies perfect and amazing like all of the ones that I see in the stores. Once I gathered everything, it was time to begin my disaster, I mean, adventure. 

Given his descent, he was NO help.

Here is the recipe that I used/mauled:

(thanks for the recipe Laura) 

http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2011/12/holiday-cookie-recipe-ideas-and-tips-french-macaroons/

Round one... 

Who knows what went wrong here. They wouldn't come off of the Silpat.  Uggg.

Round two...

Things started looking up. Well, kinda... making the perfect circle was challenging too (as you can see). Andrew loved the messed up ones. 

Batch 1 on the right & batch 2 on the left. 

Some of my better work...

Yes, there are only 6 that look normal. Don't judge me.

Not too shabby! 

Not sure if I will be making these again any time soon. Maybe a week off will get me back into my groove. 

I used to believe this.

We're what the French call "les Incompetents"

-nicola & the little pup