Damn Groundhog...

Really, Punxsutawney Phil, you had to see your shadow and run away for weeks and weeks?  I was loving this amigurumi groundhog from Planet June, so cute and innocent, and then you doomed us to 6 more weeks of winter?  You may be the most famous ever, but the other groundhogs don't even agree with you!

It's raining in NYC today and supposed to change to sleet, ice, snow... and then a NOR'EASTER by Thursday??  Well, I'm thinking about spring anyway and these flowers were crafted out of sugar by the amazing Sylvia Weinstock.  Here are some closeups (don't mind the traces of icing from the cake they adorned).  I'm SO into these...

My Valentine's Eve arrangement reminded me to surround myself with flowers until spring comes (ok, well, *always* would be nice too), so this is my desk at work right now: a white phalaenopsis orchid and orange ranunculus:

I wasn't familiar with the ranunculus until I saw this beautiful arrangement on A Little Sussy and now I'm definitely obsessed with them.  On my way home last night I got some tulips because I agree with Suburban Zen about buying some for yourself instead of waiting for someone else to send you some.

I also walked by Carlo's Bakeshop, the bakery from the show Cake Boss on TLC.  I wrote about the long lines that are now outside on the weekends, making it impossible to get in there for a cannoli, but the cakes sure are pretty.

P.S. the animal-directed sarcasm at the top of this post is done waaay better by the author of FU Penguin: Telling Cute Animals What's What.  I'd go into further detail, but my Mom is reading this, so expletives will be left out for now.

Here's hoping that spring gets here soon, it will definitely improve my mood, but for now, flowers will have to do.

Can You Knit a Marshmallow Today?

This is City Bakery on 18th Street and yes, those are marshmallows hanging from the ceiling.  I got some nice comments on my heart marshmallows so I know people love 'em and City Bakery is hosting their 18th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival TODAY, Thursday, 2/18 with unlimited hot chocolate and hot chocolate themed knitting workshops for the price of a ticket, wow!  You can read about the event on Grub Street, where Chef-Owner Maury Rubin says that "knitting feels like hot chocolate".  I agree! and thanks to my friend Jenny for reminding me about this.

It's sponsored by some of my favorite yarn shops in the city: Downtown Yarns, which I also mentioned here and Purl Soho (there's the ad for the event in the window):

They also have Purl Patchwork, a fabric store!

I have a work thing and can't make it to the event tomorrow, so I bought a few ginormous chocolate chunk cookies on my way home, but if anyone goes let me know how it is!

From the bakery I also had some other errands to run:

I stopped by Anthropologie (love the sweet clothes, charming fabrics and dishware and the Mistral soaps, even though I just made some of my own).  Hey, is anyone watching Man Shops Globe on the Sundance Channel about buyer Keith Johnson's adventures procuring product for the stores?  Also got some wool for a present at Lion Brand Yarn (which I heart! as I explained here).

The bunch of ribbon is from Paper Presentation: an incredible store that I could get lost in for hours.  I heard about it from awesome prop stylist Leslie Siegel.  Seriously, check out her portfolio: it's amAzing!  Those are also some little pink pinking shears up in the pic.

I passed Cupcake Cafe and even though I posted about Valentine-themed store windows yesterday I just have to include this since I love how happy the polar bears are with their treats.

When I finally got home my sweet friend She Crafty had sent me Making Candles & Soaps for Dummies.  I've been experimenting with both lately and need some pointers, so I can't wait to dive into this book and see what I can do to improve. 

She Crafty's profile pic is her adorable French bulldog, Crumpet (love her name!)  One of my all-time fave movies is Best in Show and on Monday night a Frenchie named Bru won best in the non-sporting group (first time for this breed!) at the Westminster Kennel Club 2010 Dog Show.  Go, Bru! and thanks again, She Crafty!

So Many Bakeries...

These baked goodies are from Madeleine Patisserie, 132 West 23rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, an adorable, little bakery with a cozy seating area in the back.  The selection of macaroons is stunning: on their website they list 56 flavors including Red Wine Black Pepper, Banana Guava Orange, Pink Champagne, Lavender Nougat, Caramel Fleur de Sel.....

I'm thinking about bakeries today and how I used to love to bake and decorate all the time: I made a rubber ducky cake for my friend Sarah's baby shower, a pink "hardcover" book for my boss's birthday when I worked at a publishing company, an egg with a bow for Easter, muffins every weekend...  And even though I haven't turned my attention to baking in quite a while, I still love sampling and visiting pretty, little shops.  Speaking of which...

Today is opening day at my friend Tully Lewis's Tully's Gluten-Free Bakery at 338 East 11th Street betwen 1st and 2nd Avenue.  Now people who cannot eat gluten have beautiful and tasty options for cookies, brownies, paninis, rotating daily cupcake flavors! and more in this lovely, pink space.

I also had the privilege today of attending the launch party for the new cookbook from the folks behind Amy's Bakery with locations in Chelsea Market, the Village and Hell's Kitchen.  The new book is: Amy's Bread, Revised and Updated: Artisan-style breads, sandwiches, pizzas, and more from New York City's favorite bakery and has already been named one of 2010's Most Exciting Food Books by Publisher's Weekly.

I couldn't take any pics at the party because my hands were full of the fantastic carb-y treats like chocolate cherry rolls, rosemary foccacia, black olive twists and many more shown with their "starter" doughs so you could see the beginning and finished products.  There were also many sweets from Amy's first book: The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread: cakes, cookies, bars and pastries and more from New York City's favorite bakery, yummm...

They even gave out breakfast goody bags for tomorrow and lots of free bread to take home.  And then to end the night we came home and watched Cake Boss on TLC, the show about Carlo's Bakeshop in Hoboken, New Jersey.  The first time I went there about 6 years ago I wanted to learn how to make his stacked suitcase and purse cake and it's funny seeing it become so popular that there's a line around the block on the weekends.