Cheers to the Experts

I've been known to dabble in baking and flower arranging, like this white lilac and parrot tulip arrangement I sent to a friend for her new job but...I had a few cool chances recently to see the work of real professionals.

I was so excited to visit the kitchen and showroom of Ron Ben-Israel: the premier cake designer.  Ron was away at the time, but we got a wonderful tour from Rebecca Taylor, whose official title is "operations, etc."  I love that since it describes my job as well!

This cake for Swarovski is covered in real crystals: even the flowers are wearing them.

And what an adorable workspace

I could've spent all day here in this sunny room buzzing with creativity

amongst the rows and rows of sugar flowers

including Ron's signature red roses, amazing.

Next up, the Macy's Flower Show.

One of the windows had a Paris theme.

And we were wondering how these ranunculus withstood the sun for weeks.  Maybe they were replaced every so often?  I bought a plant last week and it already seems to be drooping.  That's why I like cut flowers, my thumb is so far from green it isn't even funny.

The store was really decked out

and everyone was buzzing around excitedly like little honeybees.

There were even flower poodles!

Wish it could be like this all the time.

A Surprisingly Flowery Monday

Ah, the 1st Monday in April...started out cloudy, but now the sun is bright and shining and my office window is open...it all started out so calmly.

Scooped up some freesia from my favorite flower stand on the way to work.

Got some coffee in the kitchen where Michel, the pastry chef was creating roses.

Out of phyllo pie dough! (postscript: the phyllo unfortunately didn't work out, so pie dough was used instead :-)

Then I was asked to make a few arrangements for a tasting with __famous Museum X___, so I jumped at the chance of course.

And got 3 arrangements done in record time

to set on the dining table

which the account exec liked so much that he asked for another for the coffee table...and after a bit of rushing....

finished just before the clients arrived.  We started with a greenmarket salad with edible flowers:

pansies, broccoli flowers, nasturtiums, sweet peas and arugula flowers.

And ended with pear, lemon and raspberry macaroons on a tray decorated with ranunculus.

I made sure to leave some flowers for my friend Liz's desk.

And we have plenty in the walk-in-fridge for another day's adventures...

48 Cupcakes Later

Last weekend I made 48 cupcakes and somehow still had frosting left over!

For the first 24, I saw mention of Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes on The Cupcake Blog

which led to a post from Michelle Falletti at It's the Little Things in Life

and to the recipe at Annie's Eats.

The frosting was by Annie and the cake adapted from a recipe by Williams-Sonoma.

I didn't have time to make the lemonade syrup, which was ok because once I snuck a taste I found that the little cakes were so moist already.

Then frosting, topping with fresh strawberries and some lemon sugar (just granulated sugar with lemon zest that I keep in the fridge for things just like this).

And then time to pack them all up in my handy new cupcake holder, which can transport (and display) 2 dozen cupcakes!

And took them to my friend Shawn's Chili-Cook-Off where they won the blue ribbon for Best Side Dish, yay!

The next day I wanted to use up the yummy frosting and speed things along a bit, so I used Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Moist Deluxe mix to make 24 more cupcakes.

The mix was so, so pink!

So of course, the finished cakes were too.  And that was 48 cupcakes...and still frosting left over!  I took to eating it not-so-covertly with a spoon every once in a while right from the fridge and kept coming back for more...

And Mila was "helpful" as usual.  But what's not to love about leftover frosting?  Everyone could use a little more sweetness in their lives.

Test Drive for Teeny Tiny Feet

A few weeks before my friend Allison's due date I took More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson for a book test drive: could these little baby socks really take only the suggested 3 hours a pair? Not counting the 12 minutes it took to find the right size needles in my stash, this 1st pic below was taken at 7:30 p.m.

Next by 7:45 p.m.

Then a break to answer some work e-mails that popped up and grab a snack.  By 8:13 p.m. there were 2" and the leg section was done.

I turned the heel flap the wrong way and had to take a few rows out, then look up the SSK (slip-slip-knit) stitch,

and how to pick up stitches along an edge

since it's been a while since I knit my last little baby project.

Once the heel was done it was on to the toe.

And by 10:11 p.m. finishing off.

And voila!  One done by 10:38 p.m.  So, already that's almost 3 hours (with various interruptions) and the 2nd one took about that long too: twice the quoted time, but I need to brush up on my speed.

In any case, I liked this sweet card to go with it.

And always love gift wrapping, especially for something so very small and soft.  It's nice to use a strand of the yarn for a preview of what's inside.

There are lots more projects in the book I want to try too: soft baskets (2 - 4 hours), spiral seat cushions (6 hours), socks (more than 8 hours) and more...maybe my time ratio will be a little better next time.

Joining up: For Japan with Love

I know I haven't been blogging for a while, but tomorrow I'm joining up with For Japan with Love's Bloggers Day of Silence.  Please donate at Shelter Box USA if you can.  It seems so little to do for all those who have suffered and lost so much, but over $15,000 has been raised so far and the number keeps climbing.  Be safe today and hold your loved ones tight.

Big Hair for the Big Event

Happy National Craft Month!  Here's a postscript to my last post about the big birthday party: got these pics from the hairstylists today and they're way better than my cellphone shots.

The talented (and patient!) team from Julien Farel worked their genius on 14 ladies and 89 guys, including a few on-site haircuts!  

Rachael and I were playing the part and standing up straight for the photos.  I feel like I could've gone to the Oscars with this updo!

At the end of the night I counted 34 bobby pins: haven't had that many in there since my ballet recitals.

On a random note: this amigurumi penguin I made in 2009 reminds of my current Droid Pro distraction: Angry Birds!  I think this little guy would do a good job on those piggies.

And finally I have full wireless computer & internet access, including LogMeIn to access my whole work computer from home.  Now I'm not tech-savvy at all, but to me this is incredible!  Can't wait to revisit all of your sites again and see what you've been up to.  Thank you, Supersum Technology Group, this will change my life!