Time to get Tribal

Bonjour Readers!

Have you ever seen a trend that you hate to love? You know it won't last, it was probably created by a bored sorority girl and it's actually kind of demoralizing? Well, this trend is probably ALL OF THOSE THINGS, but I'm going with it anyway.

The trend itself is decorative arrows and I am in LOVE with them right now. After seeing them in Emily Henderson's living room, and also on Design Sponge, I decided I needed to have these tribal nuggets in my life, stat.

So I first went to my favorite website in the entire WORLD, (also know as Etsy) and found these gorgeous beings and also their more refined cousin. While they are amazing, for 4 or 5 arrows, it was a bit expensive for my unemployed taste. That's when I remembered I am unemployed and have lots of free time and decided I was going to make these bad boys myself.

So after a quick trip to Michael's and Home Depot, and $10 spent, I present to you my own arrows.

So, I had enough supplies to make four, but the last one needs to be repainted (too late with too much wine during craft time!) With my ten dollars, I bought:

a bag of feathers ($2)

two 8mm dowels ($2)

four gold plumbing caps (5.50)

two strands of embroidery string (.39 each)

You will also need:

a hot glue gun

paint

painters tape

(Yeah Supply Photo!)

So basically, this was a stupidly easy process which I will gladly break down for yah!

Step 1: paint your entire stick the overall color of your arrow and let dry. (In hindsight, I wish I painted a cooler color than two whites so my next batch will be neon ombre, 'cause why not!)

Step 2: After the overall color is dry, Use your painters tape and strip off areas to paint your stripes. 

Step 3: After the paint is dry, pick out your colors for feathers and sit them out in front of you. Using your hot glue gun, circle the top sides of your arrow and quickly adhere the feathers, pressing them flatly into the glue. Wrap the bottom of the feathers with embroidery string and cover where the feathers meet the wood.

Step 4: Apply glue to the end of your arrow and insert the end of your plumbers piece. Wrap string to cover the extra glue. 

When it's all said and done, you got yourself some pretty spiffy looking arrows for HELLA cheap. Don't be afraid to get creative and switch it up. Also, remember you can always over paint or add more stripes!

I hope ya'll enjoy your arrows as much as I enjoy mine. 

(I need to work on my vignette creation, obviously.) 

-Dana

Well, Hello there stranger!

Have you ever had a fight with a friend about something so ridiculously stupid, and instead of putting on your big girl pants and apologizing, you ignore them? And then sooo much time has gone by, that you keep forgetting why you were fighting in the first place, but are too embarrassed to call or even text? That the embarrassment and ambiguity of the situation is just overflowing like the Nile freaking river and you don't know what to do?

Well, that's what happened to this blog.

Readers, I'd like to take this moment and dam the river, shoot a text and wave at you from across a crowded mall with BOTH hands and giant smile..... because I've missed your sweet asses. And now that we're together having Starbucks, I'd like to update you on mah life for a bit.

1) I finished grad school (with mother fudging honors)
2) I moved from TX to Seattle WA to follow my boy fran
3) I am now awaiting job and wedding proposals. I will also gripe about the two publicly because I feel I deserve both of them. Screw romance. I'm ready to have a rock and a fucking career.
4) In the meantime I am responsible for maintaing the apartment while my man pays the bills, oh and I also know NO- ONE. I mean, talking to the guy at Home Depot about plumbing supplies is usually the highlight of my day. So yeah, refer to number 3 in understanding my "gripe-age".

So this is the olive branch of my life right now. I'll post updates, not just about baking, but of my shenanigans, decorating and crafts that I've been working on to keep my mind busy.

Thanks for stopping by!

(I live here now)

It's Mah Birthday!

Bonjour Everyone!

So...... I know. I have been distant and not showing you the love that is necessary. I have a good reason though and that is my location. For the past week I've been in beautiful Kitsap County WA, just outside of Seattle.. And what have I been doing here? Oh you know, apartment hunting and job seeking, because come May 15th, I'll be living here!

There is no doubt how much I'll miss ATX and all my beloved friends I've gained over the past 4 years, but my man's here, and that is all I need. (I also need my cats, but they're coming with me, so it's HOKAY).

And yes, today is my birthday as well! (oh golly the excitement of turning 24!) Sooo, while I may not have access to a kitchen or oven, I can at least plan what I'll be making for myself when I get back. Meet, "super sexy refined, hot damn it's my bday" cake...

I know, right? Really Paula Dean? You've out shined yourself this time ma'am. Those sugary rose petals are To Die For.

So this is what's new with me. Missing my kitchen, planning where my new one will be and working on homework on my bday. (Yeah, it's a little bitter, but hey, gotta be ready to defend a Practica!).

Enjoy Your Day

-Dana

Adventures in Pavlov

Bonjour Everyone!

So this week has been amazing, personally and professionally. My creative juices have been flowing, and I have my menu worked out and a kitchen found for my fist bout in a Farmer's Market. I also have a mere 6 days until I go to Seattle to see the M.O. in MODOugh!

But today's post is about Pavlov and the oh so interesting feat it is to make it.

I would like to start with the fact that I'm listing the following recipe because it's inspirational. With that said, I should emphasize that I've never strayed so far from a recipe in my life. I mean, as soon as I read I didn't have enough eggs, something in my brain just shut off and decided to never look back.

It didn't. And the result is magnifique.

So, with my egg whites whipping, my cocoa and vanilla being combined and my need to make the biggest mess in my kitchen, I present to you, the Neapolitan pavlov.

Here you see the faint chocolate hint to what can be described as a meringue patty. In between layers are fresh strawberries and a fresh vanilla cream. 

Here's a profile photo, to show that rustic baking, isn't a bad thing. I should also caution that the meringue cakes are very fragile, however, the fresh cream getting mixed into the open cracks turned out to be a good thing. Like chocolate marshmallow milk. 

And here's a small singular cake I made, to test the waters for making smaller batches for purchase. It's pretty cute, but not what I was looking for. The green sauce is a rosemary syrup, and proof that I'm an amateur when using gel colors. 

I should also add that rosemary syrup, is amazing and oddly spicy. It taste nothing like the kryptonite which is resembles. 

So, as promised, here is the recipe for Black Forest Pavlov via The Cook Who Knew Nothing. I should also point out that this woman's work for food photography is beyond amazing, and could inspire anyone to play with their food. It certainly got my interest in baking at 11:30 at night. 

Here is how I adapted it:

6 egg whites

1.5 cups Sugar

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Paste

1.5 Tablespoons Godiva Cocoa

Your first step is to set your oven to 220 Degrees Fahrenheit and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. Instructions from other blogs recommend drawing circles on the opposite side of the paper to ensure equal sized layers, but I'm lazy and regularly cover my mistakes with frosting. 

I then started separating my egg whites carefully, saving my egg shells for a future Easter Treat. After thorough inspection of no straggling shells, I emptied the egg whites into my trusty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. After whipping on 8 for 2 minutes and the eggs having a slight froth, I decreased the speed to a 4, and slowly began adding my sugar, at about 1 tablespoon a time, until fully combined. Once the sugar was incorporated, I added the cocoa and vanilla just until the meringue was streak free. Finally, I cranked the mixer to about 8 again for another 2 minutes, until my mixture resembled a glossy chocolate milk shake. The trick to knowing when a meringue is done? DG Blizzard Test, i.e. you flip that bad boy upside down, and if you don't need a mop and 3 bottles of pine-sol, you're good to go! A safer method involves putting meringue onto a whisk and holding it upside down, however, if you feel the need to be precautious, then you probably need to mix it more. 

Finally, you simply place the meringue into a piping bag and big piping two large, somewhat thick circles. Place in the oven, and immediately decrease the temperature to about 190 F. The traditional recipe calls for an hour and a half, however, mine were not finished, so I added an extra thirty minutes. Oh, and before I forget: DO NOT TAKE OUT OF THE OVEN UNTIL COMPLETELY COOL. You then whip up some fresh cream and top with berries, and voila! Delish!

-Best,

Dana 

Logo Inspiration

Hi Everyone!

So this post is waaaaaay past due, and you have my sincere apologies. These last couple weeks have been amazing, inspiring and just a bit busy.

But enough of the floor grumbling, and let me show what's been getting my gears in motion.

The idea of opening and working a bakery. Yes. It's been in my head and will not leave! It's getting to the point where I'm not working on my job/school necessities and I spend the day making shortbreads or creme brûlée and the other part of the day looking at packaging!


So here's what I've found to be inspiring while I'm waiting on logos, business cards and help for the website!

I love the idea of kraft and gold packaging.

This adorable simple type is what I hope to have on my business cards. 

 This to me is a winner winner chicken dinner. When I start selling items at local farmers market, look for the bright pink pony saddle table.

I tortured the formatting of this heart up, but I love the deep blues, florals, greys and pinks in this color palette. Very chic and icing friendly. 

So this has been on my mind whilst procrastinating on my practica and ginormous research PAPERS. I've also been on the lookout for a commercial kitchen to do my baking in (which I'm willing to pay to use) so that I may sell some items at local farmers markets. If you know of any Churches, Non-Profits, Shelters or Businesses that would rent out their kitchen, let me know!

Thanks Everyone!

Let's Make Some Whoopie!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, and my own love being away in the Navy, I've decided to make a hot mess in this kitchen of mine. This includes making and packaging whoopie pies and french macarons to nearby patrons, and friends and family across the country.

So far, it has been a delicious, unsettling, forever messy endeavor. The flavor's are red velvet whoopie pies with cream cheese filling and strawberry parisian macarons dipped in dark chocolate. I've played with the variations of the recipes and added my own little twist to each, making sure that each individual loves their homemade confections.

So here are the whoopie pies in all their staging glory. I know, I know, the photos were taken with instagram which is lame, but I'm a bitch-on-a-budget and will buy a camera in due time. I'm also planning to use these adorable printables (courtesy of WorldLabel) for packaging, along with my twine and plain-jane white tissue paper. Keeping it simple. 

And now the Parisian Macarons

THESE were fudging difficult! After two trials, with two different recipes, I'm STILL not happy with the final result. Here is a brief synaposis of my hair-pulling, nail-biting adventure:

• Discovering just how EXPENSIVE almond meal is. My inner Adler was screaming and yelling "oy vey" to $10 for a mere 3 cups of meal. 
• Gel Food Coloring: So I have a professional kit, which for the most part has been amazing. I am, however, freggin' retarded when it comes to the warmer colors. The oranges, reds, pinks and yellows always stump me. I either end up with a faint, grayish color (not enough food coloring) or pastel based acid trip which screams "OBNOXIOUS" to your eyes (obviously, too much). For this endeavor, I went by the route of the latter. Hot fuschia stripper macaroons. 
• What is lava consistency? So the recipe I followed originally stated that the macaroon should have a lava-like consistency. Umm, I made a vomit-like consistency. Which was meringue based. So sticky, hot pink vomit. 
• Finally, the cookies did not rise. They resulted in the crispy thin wafer things, which to be honest, turned out kinda-delicous. 

Take Two

The second batch was sooo much better. I did have a beer in-between the two takes, so my "circles" turned out to be giant ponds. Meh. They still turned out DELICIOUS. And paired with my homemade strawberry buttercream and then dipped into dark chocolate. Yes.

So, this has been my day today. Again, if you'd like to brave it out and give them a go, GO FOR IT. However, if you'd like to enjoy some of these confections, inbox me and I'll be happy to send some your way!


Best,
-Dana


*If you'd like to know the changes I've made to the recipes, don't be afraid to comment. Later post will focus on the carrying out of recipes, much like traditional blogs, but this one is just to show off what I've been doing.

A Sweet Hello