We have a new baby!

Guess who arrived in the mail today??! My brand new Dell Inspiron 1520, 15.4" ruby red baby! *Multiple kisses to the bf. I am calling her my strawberry. Not very original, but then again my first laptop was goldfish. So go figure.

My first blog entry from this virgin laptop: the bf set strawberry up while I ate strawberry macaroons and fooled around with the camera. Now I have 3 loves of my life. Strawberry, French macaroons and the bf. Such is bliss.

This is Catherine's strawberry macaroon order btw
Disclaimer: the 1 I ate (and put against my eye) was an extra from the batch of 16

I'm holding off on posting pics of the laptop -- cause it's a lot more impressive in the light. God knows we have lousy lighting in our apt.

Rojac wedding

The bf and I went to our first Indian/Chinese wedding reception last night. We were psyched getting gifts for Jackie and Rohit's big day and even more psyched when guests started flocking in in their brightly-colored attires. Mesmerized by saris with neatly sewn sequins, gold threading and chiffon scarfs, I felt so under dressed in my clinch-waist floral dress. I really gotta get myself 1 of those.

Being strangers to everyone at the wedding but the bride and groom, Chris and I discussed our dream weddings standing by the bar, mango lassis in our hands. His involves gadgets and flip flops while mine, a simple pre-designed ivory Vera Wang. We missed the PM wedding where Rohit arrived on a horse. Talk about a grand entrance. This in addition to what we experienced all night made the bf repeatedly say, "I wish I were born Indian."

Milpitas India Community Center where the reception was held


Mandatory photo under the golden arch


Wed Snoopies




Chaat, chai and more


Asians licking Ganesh. Something's not right about this pic


Me and my mango lassi


Cocktail reception satay, chaat and curry puff


Highlight of the evening


At the bride and groom's table


At Chris and Danielle's table


Yum!


This kid has rocking socks


It's obvious I don't take good care of my figure. 3 plates of dessert! Repeatedly. I promise I'll be healthy starting tomorrow


My first plate
Clockwise from left: mango pudding, strawberry dipped in chocolate, nutty Indian sweet, milky Indian sweet, fruit tart and mini eclair


Chris' dessert plate with half of my choices (that just wouldn't fit on mine)



Jackie wore 3 dresses in 1 night: a Cheongsam, a heavily embroidered Indian dress, and this cocktail number


Wedding favors


Wedding gift from the SF Moma
Matching dinner bowls and chopsticks imported from Japan symbolizing more dinners together in the many years to come

Shh.. the ninjas are here

Did I or did I not promise a ninja cake?

2-layer vanilla bean cake with raspberry filling and Italian meringue buttercream frosting


...topped with sugar ninjas
and strawberry sweets

A lot of research was done to determine what kind of weapons ninjas use.
Swords seem a lil too violent for an 8-year-old, so I stuck with these silver-gray stars


Mild weapons: sharp wooden stick (carved Pretz stick) and jelly ninja star


These took a lot longer than expected. The sugar arms kept breaking, and the bf commented on how the stars look like Jewish stars. Oh well, if anything it's the right time of the year for the Star of David

Pics, pics and more pics!

Would you believe it if I told you I spent my whole Friday night making a ninja cake when I could've gone to SW's goodbye party??! Sorry SW. I'll make it up to you this Sunday. It was a lot of fun coming up with ideas -- despite the stress. Yes. Stressing over a ninja cake. This is my first cake for an 8-year-old. So no nuts. No marzipan. And no 3D ninjas fighting with marzipan swords or nun chucks. More on the ninja cake tomorrow. I'm beat.

I wasn't kidding when I said it's been a crazy week. I hope my little goldfish (laptop) doesn't feel neglected. Especially when his younger brother's coming next week. Meanwhile here are some pics illustrating the better parts of my week:














It's not in my habit to blog about work but my conclusion on team-building events is no matter how fun they are, it's still work if you're coordinating. And the only thing that makes it all worth while is if you really love those you're working with -- clients included. I adore each and every one of them, and can't ask for more.

When there's no time for a cuppa

...a cupcake will do just fine.



Work has taken a toll on me (can you say that online?!!) and I'm feeling more 'haggard' than ever -- but when I saw these little website-themed cupcakes laid out on a table, I couldn't help but feel slightly better. Nothing like simple pleasures to get me going.

Final tasting for Macarune

Finally, the fruits of my week-long (birthday included) labor is complete and here are pictures to prove it:

Menu


Macarune macaroons


Vanilla bean macaroons


Rose macaroons


Honey lavender macaroons


This time I used culinary lavender from France as opposed to the usual organic variety from the farmer's market. They're brighter in color and slightly milder in flavor. Not sure if I prefer 1 over the other,
but the ultra-violet color does make me smile


Matcha shortbread dipped in white chocolate
I was testing 2 different matcha shortbread recipes --
just 1 of many A/B splits in my life


Matcha shortbread dipped in white chocolate #2


Signature Macarune chocolate soufflé cupcakes
topped with Valrhona balls from LA (courtesy of Livie!)


...versus old-fashioned chocolate cupcakes


The spread


Leftovers

The weather was lovely, so hibiscus-infused iced lemon tea was served to those who stayed for a chat. And the bonus item ended up being cheddar crackers with caraway seeds and black pepper. Because most of the taste-testers came for a pick up as opposed to an all-out tea party, these savory bites were served during the bf's mini family BBQ at night. I think a break from the kitchen is pivotal at this point.

I had an interview with food writer Catherine Nash this morning, and it was great talking to someone who's so knowledgeable about the industry and not at all afraid to try new things. I mean not everyone's adventurous enough to pop a lavender macaroon in their mouth without thinking twice. "What?!! You're asking me to eat flower??!" Although I have to say I've been lucky to have such great and willing testers. In my rush to get out the door, I left my business cards and part of my brain at home. But all in all, it was a great experience and I can't wait to see the article. Will keep you all updated.

It was nice chatting with you Catherine! We'll meet again very soon, I'm sure.