Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sometimes life is hard.
Sometimes life is just a little bland.
We're stuck in one reality, and we want to know what it's like from a different perspective.
Just a little escape would be nice, whether it be by car, through music and dance, or...

...dressing up! You can be anything you want to be! No matter how old you are, I bet just a little bit of you got a little excited right?

Clowns! Or maybe just someone who needs a haircut.

Let's speculate on what this one might be.

Just ready to save the world...

Why be one angry pig when you can be TWO with a buddy?

Witches on a night out!

To live a life where eating, sleeping, purring, and
silently judging is all I need to do....I'm in.

...Otter???

After all, the shoe doesn't have to fit to have fun!

----

Peach Mochi Ice Cream

International Yarn Bombing Day
June 9, 2012

I'm a little late on this, but it's certainly not too late for this event to bring a smile to our faces!

I recently spent a week at a chamber music intensive, and during our ice-breaker at the beginning of the week, we met a pianist who mentioned a fun fact about himself: he loved to knit! How much he loved it, we didn't know until a very special day:

International Yarn Bombing Day is a day when knitters leave knitted graffiti all over the public. What a fun and creative alternative to spray paint :)

Our pianist friend managed to make us all smile with his two yarn bombs:

The funny part is that the statue is part of an on-campus museum, and in a few short hours the yarn bra was confiscated and reported as vandalism. Can't we all just appreciate good art on art? But no one will be able to take the hydrant's jacket off; it's knitted shut on there :)

We even caught a passerby taking a picture of the hydrant, and because of that, our knitting pianist made a new friend.

Creativity is such a blessing.

----

Macarons

Macarons.
Thank you, France, for macarons.

These pastel, mini burger-like French cookies are delicate, hard to come across, and rather expensive in the United States. Two disks of sweet (gluten-free!) cookie sandwich a delicious, diversatile meringue that can harvest any flavor or essence you can imagine (if the baker is daring). They are made under extremely temperamental conditions: if the air is too humid or hot, if the baker doesn't wait long enough for the dough to set, if the oven is not exactly 295 degrees (different temperatures for different locations of course), you could possibly pull out flat, crumbled disks that don't come off the parchment paper.

Oh, but a dedicated macaron hunter will always be rewarded. Some bakeries will disappoint, and even the great bakers can turn out some batches that aren't as good, simply because of the weather that day. But when you land on a good macaron and in a flavor and color that just rocks your world (lychee-rose? Passionfruit-chocolate?) you will wear a smile on your face for days (as well as a healthy appetite for MORE macarons!) And those who bake them at home: my hat is off to you.

And this is what this blog is about. Whatever one needs for a smile on their face :) Whether it is an inspirational quote, a reminder of what's good in life, love, camaraderie between bloggers, or food, I will try my best to provide it daily.

For me, macarons not only bring joy to my tastebuds, but they also play a big part in love for me. As college students, my boyfriend and I are studying in two different states and have weathered the storm of long-distance courting for almost a year. Every time I visit him in the Big Apple, he would teach me how to skateboard down Riverside Park. Throughout the morning, we'd make our way to the closest macaron bakery or Absolute Bagels on 108th street and treat ourselves. To anyone around the city, I recommend Macaron Cafe. :)

If anyone is feeling the need for adventure, comfort food, or just a little satisfaction for your sweet-tooth, try a macaron :) Or, if you feel generous, buy a box and give the joy of macarons to a close one.

Welcome to my blog!