Crumpets and Tea Across the Sea

I’m a bit of a Diet Coke addict. It gets me through my day. Get off my back. But recently I’ve had an issue with making sure that my cokes have not all been consumed through the week. (I’m not gonna lie, they are pretty expensive here in the UK). 

So in conclusion: 

Good friends label every single can of a 30 rack of Diet Coke with your name, a Merry Christmas, and a Christmas picture (such as the North Star, random dogs?) just so everyone can know that it is, in fact, YOUR DIET COKE. 

hahahaha. Good Good Friend. 

Just officially registered for the Barcelona, Spain 1/2 Marathon 

So there’s that. 

Moms give the best Christmas presents 

chemicalfreeskinny:

RECIPE: 

Apricot Pineapple Smoothie

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 fresh apricot, diced
• 6 (organic…skip the pesticides*) strawberries
• 1/2 banana
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp. (organic…skip the hormones, drugs and pesticides*) skim milk
• 1 tsp. flax seed oil (optional)

*ChemicalFreeSkinny recommendations

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Directions

In a blender, process fruit with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until thoroughly mixed and serve.

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(Recipe modified from: healthrecipes.com; photo-purplemoo.co.uk)

MMMMM must try this when I get back to California 

(via chemicalfreeskinny-deactivated2)

celebratewithcake:

Chocolate Raspberry Macarons

Yield: 2 dozen

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Macaron:

• 225g powdered sugar
• 125g almonds, blanched
• 25g sugar
• Red food coloring (about 5 drops)
• 100g egg whites (about 3)

Chocolate ganache filling:

• 8 oz (227g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsps (28g) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup raspberries, halved and smooshed flat

Preparations:

1. In a food processor, run the almonds and powdered sugar until finely ground. Add a drop of food coloring at a time to the granulated sugar and whisk together until evenly colored (your sugar will be darker than the final macaron). Set aside and let dry (a few minutes). Whip egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Slowly fold the almond and sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily (hold a ribbon for ten seconds, I would say). Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment lined baking sheets. Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 315°F (325°F at 8500 feet) and when they are ready, bake them for 12-15 minutes (12 minutes). Let cool, remove from the paper and fill with the ganache. Makes 35. If making small macarons (1-inch), bake for about 10 minutes.
2. Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir with a whisk until smooth. Stir in almond extract. Let cool to room temperature. Fill a piping bag with the ganache.
3. Pipe a dollop of ganache onto one macaron shell. Gently press a raspberry half into the center. Place the second macaron shell on top, making sure the ganache sticks to it. Repeat for the rest of the macarons.

If you are viewing this recipe in an aggregator (such as Tumblr’s dashboard) please visit Celebrate With Cake for more recipes.

Dear friends,

Prepare yourself because in T-minus 5 hours I will be leaving for Paris for New Years Day via the Folkstone Ferry from the UK and eating these amazing little bombs of awesome (as well as 500 different kinds of smelly cheeses and wines and “beef cheeks” and rabbit and whatever else I can get my grubby little hands on). I will be blowing up your computers with amazingly beautiful pictures of the food delicacies that I encounter.

Just sayin, fair warning.

Sincerely Me

(via smilingfork)

sarazucker:

style slicker, one of my favorite street style photographers, updated a pair of mittens with the easy addition of some fun buttons. i may steal this idea.

OH I loveeeeeeee this. 

This week in: My new favorite product that actually keeps you warm.

HOT WATER BOTTLES. 

Got this little baby for Christmas and uhmmm I will be refilling it all day. It’s like cuddling a warm flubber. 

WHERE and HOW do I find these cookie cutters!?!?

fuckyeahwelshcorgis:

Here’s how we do holiday baking at our house: gingerbread corgis.

submitted by parallelbotany

For some reason this made me laugh. So Merry Christmas? 

readmorewikipedia:

Le Père Fouettard (French for The Whipping Father) is a character who accompanies St. Nicholas in his rounds during St. Nicholas’ Day dispensing lumps of coal and/or floggings to the naughty children while St. Nick gives gifts to the well behaved.

The most popular story about the origin of Le Père Fouettard was first told in the year 1150. An Inn Keeper (or in other versions a butcher) captures three boys who appear to be wealthy and on their way to enroll in a religious boarding school. Along with his wife, he kills the children in order to rob them. One gruesome version tells that they drug the children, slit their throats, cut them into pieces, and stew them in a barrel. St. Nicholas discovers the crime and resurrects the children. After this, Le Père Fouettard repents and becomes St. Nick’s partner.