In Love With Handmade

Monday Munchies: En Ocasiones Veo Cupcakes Workshop!

2012-01-30T18:59:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone!

How's Monday going? Mine's pretty lazy so far... haven't done much aside from taking and editing a few photos, and watching some Bones.

Today for Monday Munchies I'm not exactly sharing a recipe, but I'm sharing some yummy photos of one of the two cupcake workshops I attended last week!

Somehow through Facebook I stumbled upon this amazing lady, Gloria, from En Ocasiones Veo Cupcakes that happens to live and run workshops in Alcalá, where I live! I was soooo excited! So, when she offered a flowers cupcakes workshop, I signed up immediately! Also, very good news is that the places where she organizes the workshops is inside a shop that sells baking supplies! So, after the workshop, you can stock up on things you need, as I did!

I went to this workshop right after working night shift, and with quite a cold and a raspy throat, but even if I should have been feeling super tired and sleepy and like crap... I didn't! Gloria brought some absolutely awesome Violet Cupcakes to start the morning, and since it was just two of us in this particular workshop, it was more of a one on one class!

I had an absolutely amazing time, and finally managed to get the hang of the damned sillicon molds for the fondant! I loved this workshop, and I can't wait to enroll in another one! Next time, I'm aiming at her Decorated Cookies one! Hopefully I won't do another night shift - workshop day and can remember to take a pic with Gloria! Thank you, Gloria!

Traveling Thursday: Scotland part 2: Rosslyn Chapel

2012-01-26T15:49:00.001+01:00

Hiya there!

How's everyone doing? I've been a bit sick as of late, getting slightly better today, though I still have a bit of a cough and sniffles... my nose is a bit raw already, G called me Rudolphina today!

For today's Traveling Thursday is part 2 of my trip to Scotland! I'm sharing some photos of my trip to Rosslyn Chapel. If you've read the Da Vinci Code or seen the movie you will have heard about this place. It is really a remarkable building, worth of any and all praises, and of all the new visitors that the book and movie are bringing there. Full of carvings, and when I say full, I really mean full! From the ceiling to the floor all the walls are covered with carvings! I'm really thankful to Dan Brown for helping discover such an amazing place! You can think whatever of his books, but they do make you want to visit places, and some are less well known than others, and well worth the visit!

Rosslyn Chapel, proper name being Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is located at the village of Roslin, and nearby the ruins of Roslin Castle. It was a day trip for me and Patri, by bus, not too long a journey, and a totally worth one! The weather wasn't too bad, but cloudy and threatening some rain, which I guess it's not that rare for Scotland.

When we arrived, the chapel was undergoing some maintenance and rehabilitation work, so a giant structure was all over it, which meant no proper photos of the outside for me, but I took many many photos in the inside, and also a few ones of the corners that were free of the metal structure. And when I say many, I do really mean MANY! I'm so thankful for digital cameras!

Thanks to the rehab work you could go up and see the ruins of Roslin Castle

Pale is one thing, a ghost is more accurately describe me here!

The Apprentice column

The Master column

There are some unusual stained glass windows in the newest part of the chapel

Rosslyn Chapel is a wonderful place to visit, and I'd love to go back there, and also take some time to visit the ruins of Roslin Castle that we couldn't visit cause we were running out of time to catch the bus back to Edinburgh!

Monday Munchies: Mimosa cupcakes & a bonus recipe for healthier than usual cupcakes

2012-01-23T16:37:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! It's a new Monday, and that means either a recipe or a book recommendation, but giving my latest obsession with baking, it's once again time for Monday Munchies, and this time I'm not sharing one but two recipes! And to make the start of Monday better, both are for cupcakes!

I'm gonna start with a recipe of my own invention for Mimosa cupcakes, based on a recipe from Alma's Cupcakes I modified and using some other bits from a recipe for The Cookie Girl's book.

Mimosa cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the base cupcakes:
- 115 gr unsalted butter
- 220 gr granulated sugar
- 250 gr plain flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 70 ml skimmed milk
- 50 ml champagne
- 2 eggs

For the orange curd filling:
- 85 gr unsalted butter
- 60 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 large eggs plus two egg yolks
- 110 gr caster sugar
- grated zest of one big orange
- 1-2 tablespoons champagne

For the buttercream:
- 250 gr unsalted butter, room temperature
- 300 gr icing sugar
- 4 tablespoons champagne
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- grated zest of 1 orange
- Orange colouring to taste

Method:

For the base cupcake:
- Preheat over 180ºC/350ºF and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Beat sugar and butter together till well mixed and it starts to lighten. Add eggs, one by one, beating well till they're well integrated.
- Sift flour with baking powder together, add half of it to the butter and beat at low speed, add the milk. Then add the other half of the flour to the mixture and lastly add the champagne.
- Distribute the butter evenly between the paper cases till they're 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes. Make sure they're done by inserting a toothpick, it will come out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 5 mins and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling completely.

For the orange curd filling:
- While the cupcakes are baking, heat the butter and orange juice in a pan over medium heat until the butter is melted. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together, pour the butter & orange mix, whisk everything together well, and put it back into the pan.
- Continue cooking over medium heat until it reaches boiling point and it starts to thicken, it should be about 5 minutes, remember to stir often so it doesn't stick to the pan.
- Remove from the heat into the bowl and add the orange zest. Once it cools, add the champagne to taste.
- Any left overs can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Now fill the cupcakes with the curd, using an apple corer to make your holes in the cupcakes, fill them with the curd and add a little bit of the cupcake you took out to close it again.

For the champagne buttercream:
- This is the moment that I absolutely adore my KitchenAid more than I could ever think I'd love a kitchen appliance, and also the moment when I need to cover my dear Miss Marple (yes, I named her Miss Marple) with a kitchen towel to avoid the dreaded icing sugar storm!
- Sift the icing sugar and add it with the butter and the champagne to the KA bowl. Start mixing first at low speed for about 1 minute and then for 5 more minutes at high speed.
- Now you can use the food colouring. I wanted the frosting to look a bit like orange juice, but I only had an Americolor orange, and ended up with these lovely salmon cupcakes instead. I just didn't want to add more colour and end up with neon orange cupcakes!
- Decorate using Wilton's 2D pipping tip to make pretty roses and add some sprinkles to top them up. Some sugarpaste orange wedges would have looked very cute too!

And now, for today's second recipe, one that I was super happy to find at La Dulce Magdalena's blog! This recipe is for more-healthy-than-usual Red Berries Cupcakes! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it for my parents (their high cholesterol leves means they can't really eat any butter-filled cupcakes) and also, it's ideal for my vegan friends to try, since they only have to find a replacement for the eggs and egg whites in the frosting! So without further ado, I give you Magda's Red Berries Cupcakes!

Red Berries Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
- 150 gr non-hydrogenated soy margarine
- 190 gr cane brown sugar (non refined)
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 eggs (or egg replacement)
- 80 ml soy milk
- 190 gr whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- A handful of frozen or fresh red berries, I added red cranberries

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 4 pasteurized egg whites (or egg whites replacer)
- 220 gr granulated sugar (important, NOT icing sugar for this one)
- 340 gr non-hydrogenated soy margarine
- Here the recipe called for raspberry extract and pureed red berries to add, but since I had only the red cranberries for the butter and no raspberry extract, I added 1 teaspoon lemon extract.

Method:

For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF and line the cupcake pan with paper liners.
- With a knife open the vanilla bean and scrap the seeds. Mix them with the sugar and soy margarine and cream together for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each one. Next, add the soy milk beating till well incorporated.
- Sift together flour and bicarbonate of soda and add to the batter, mixing till well incorporated, don't overbeat. Now add the red berries mixing with a spatula.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the paper liners, about 3/4 full, depending on how many berries you've added, the more berries the less they'll rise in the oven.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, test with a toothpick. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Heat up water in wide pan, put the egg whites and sugar in a medium bowl (that will fit our pan) and using the bain-marie method, heat up the egg whites and sugar, it should reach 60ºC, but if you don't have thermometre, leave it on medium heat and stir till all the sugar is well integrated, no grains left.
- Tranfer this to the cold KA bowl (I left it for a while in the balcony in Jan, very effective), let it cool for a bit, and beat on high speed till the meringe starts forming soft peaks, and they're cooled off (that's very important!) we start adding little by little the soy margarine in pieces. Again I'll say it, make sure when you start adding the margarine, the egg whites mix are not hot, or the margarine will melt and it'll be a disaster of epic proportions and non-salvageable.
- After adding all the margarine, add the extract and beat on high speed for about 8 to 10 minutes. Now, in the beginning it'll look all curdled and icky, but no worries, it'll get better! Keep on beating and you'll get the most light, bright and fuffly meringe buttercream ever! If you wanna add the the pureed berries, lower the speed, add it and beat till combined.
- I used Wilton 1M pipping tip to create some nice roses with it!

After making this amazing Swiss Meringue buttercream I just had to kiss my KA!

And I leave you with these two recipes and some nice & yummy looking photos. Have a great week!

Saturday Song: Summer Wine by The Corrs & Bono

2012-01-21T13:09:00.003+01:00

In the morning today I woke up to the happy surprise of having some amazing looking strawberries that my mum had bought, since she had found them in a shop and they weren't too expensive, and while I was washing one, the first line of a song came to my mind "Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring..." and I knew what song I had to share with you all today as Saturday Song!

This is the first time I had heard the song, the version of The Corrs, with Andrea singing with Bono (from U2, in case there's still someone who doesn't know who Bono is...) and fell in love with the song! I know it's a version from an older song, and I heard the original while waiting for a lift in a mall in Delhi (of all places) but maybe cause I heard it first, or maybe cause I like Andrea's voice better, this one remains my favourite version!

Have a good Saturday!

Traveling Thursday: Scotland, part 1: Edinburgh!!

2012-01-19T13:30:00.000+01:00

Hey there everyone! This week I'm a bit more motivated to blog, so I'm keeping up a bit better with my blogging.

Today's Traveling Thursday is gonna be part 1 of a series of 3! I want to share photos of my trip to Scotland in 2006, and even though I didn't visit as many places as I wanted, I want to share many of the photos I took with you guys!

Back in 2006 one of my best friends since childhood was living in Edinburgh to improve her English, so in July I used my vacation time to spend a week there with her! Today's photos are from Edinburgh itself, and in the weeks to come I'll share some photos of Rosslyn Chapel and Stirling and the Wallace Monument.

Patri and me in Victoria Street

With the Bobby dog

Braveheart Cow! Freedoooooom!

Carlton Hill

Edinburgh city centre

A view of Edinburgh from Carlton Hill

Going up to Carlton Hill and the view!

Yep, that's a Vader tee I'm wearing, yep, total geek!

A flower clock in the park at the centre of Edinburgh

At the entrance to Edinburgh castle, we wanted a pic with men in kilts!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Fabulously Fierce and my Kitchen Aid!

2012-01-18T16:19:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone! I'm finally returning with a Wearing Handmade Wednesday entry this week!

As you might already know, I got an awesome purple KA for Reyes, and soon after I opened it, I got a package from Kylie from Fabulously Fierce with a new awesome embroidered apron (that I will show off properly along with another super cute apron from her when I get my new camera remote) and a special white kitchen towel embroidered with a tower of cupcakes!

You might be wondering what is the KA doing covered with said kitchen towel? Well, when making buttercream, the cover that comes with the KA is no use to avoid getting the whole freaking kitchen (and yourself) covered with icing sugar, and after seeing Alma from Alma's Cupcakes use a kitchen towel that way to avoid the icing sugar storm, I knew it was an idea to add a cute touch, and that a white towel with some cute embroidery was a must!

Don't those cupcakes look absolutely delish? Aside from keeping my kitchen safe from the icing sugar storm (already tested yesterday while making Mimosa cupcakes, recipe next Monday here!) they kinda inspire me to keep on making more!

Monday Munchies: Veggies & beef!

2012-01-16T13:25:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone! Monday is here again, starting a new week, and I'm finally returning to blogging again. Last week was a busy week for me, and work was leaving me completely drained and tired.

I had plans to have shared a recipe of my own creation I was planning on working on Sunday for Mimosa cupcakes, but come Sunday I realized I had not enough butter... and not enough motivation to get in the car and drive to look for a place open to buy it. But, I'll make them sometime this week for sure, so I'll probably share it next Monday! So, for this week's Monday Munchies I have another non-cupcakes recipe!

Veggies & Beef

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin beef steaks

- 1 medium size zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 2 chives

- 1 green pepper

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 spring of parsley

- Olive oil

- Salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash and cut the ends of the zucchini. Scrape the carrots and wash them. Wash the pepper, cutting off the seeds. Cut everything in stripes.

- Wash and clean the chives, cutting the roots and the less tender green parts, slice them but not too thin. Cut the beef into thin stripes. Reserve all the ingredients separatedly.

- In a deep frying pan or a wok, heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and sautee first the pepper for a pair of minutes on high heat, add salt and pepper to taste and remove from the pan, draining well. Saute the rest of the veggies separatedly the same way.

- Add the beef stripes to the same pan and saute till they start turning brown. Add salt & pepper to taste and the reserved cooked veggies. Stir everything together for about 1 minute and serve immediately, sprinkled with some chopped parsley.

- Enjoy!

Monday Munchies: Curry Pasta!

2012-01-09T18:19:00.001+01:00

Monday is here again! And if for quite a number of people it can be a bit of tough Monday, going back to work after the Xmas break (here in Spain), we should always look forward to a new week that starts!

For this week's Monday Munchies I'm gonna take a break from all the cupcake recipes I've been sharing as of late, and share something a bit more healthy and more everyday like meal, which combines two of my fave things: pasta and curry! I love the smell of cooking with curry and spices, it makes me think of India and the bf!

Curry Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300 gr farfalle (or any other pasta you have around).

- 2 onions

- 2 apples

- 1/2 lemon

- 1 teaspoon curry (or more, as you like it)

- 1 teaspoon corn flour

- 150 ml cream or double cream, the one for cooking only

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

Method:

- Peel, core and cut the apples in bite size bits. Squeeze the half lemon and pour it over the apple so it doesn't darken. Peel the onions and slice them, so you get long but thing onion bits.

- In a deep pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion for about 8 mins until it is soft and transparent. Add the apple bits, and also add with curry and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. Disolve de corn flour in the cream and add it to the pan. Cook in low heat for about 12 minutes stirring with the wooden spoon.

- Boil the pasta in salted water, according to the packet instructions. Drain them and mix them with the onions and apples.

- Serve hot & Enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't like onions much, I don't and I love this dish! The onions aren't the main flavour here, and if you cook them right, they won't have the crunchy taste you might dislike!

Saturday Song: These Walls by Dream Theater!

2012-01-07T21:57:00.000+01:00

Hi there everyone!

Today I was almost expecting not to have a blog entry for you all, but then I started listening to Dream Theater's Live At Budokan, and I knew I needed to share a very special song of them here, so there's a Saturday Song post after all!

These Walls, a fantastic song, and one that I relate quite so much, or should I say, I used to... in the early days, before G & me put the cards face up and told each other we were in love, this song was my inner shouting out my doubts and a way of not going crazy, so when I finally listened to this song live last summer with G by my side, it was such a glorious feeling, cause finally my walls were down, cause there were no need for them anymore!

Friday Photos: I got a KitchenAid for Reyes!!

2012-01-06T21:25:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone! Happy Friday!! Today in Spain is gift's day, ¡Día de Reyes!!

So today, I want to show off my gifts, or at least, the big one: My KitchenAid!!

Finally, I can make proper buttercream for my cupcakes without losing my arm! And frankly, it looks so super cute in purple! It matches also my Dolce Gusto coffee maker! I'm really really happy and soooo excited to finally have it here!! I'm thinking of naming her Miss Marple, since it rhymes with purple, and I feel like giving her the name of a British character!

My dear KA aka Miss Marple with my embroidered apron by Fabulously Fierce and Cookie Girl's cook book!

These awesome French Toast cupcakes are from Cookie Girl's book: Eat Me!

Monday Munchies: Chocolate with Fluff and Nutella Cupcakes!

2012-01-02T23:50:00.003+01:00

Hey there! Late Monday today entry today, cause I've gone to have breakfast with my friends with uni (I took some carrot cake cupcakes with me for them) and then came home for lunch and then straight to work, so I'm just sharing my first improvisation for cupcakes that I made for my youngest nephew, Alex!

So for Monday Munchies: Chocolate with fluff & nutella cupcakes! For the base cupcakes, I used the chocolate recipe from Alma's Cupcakes (from the little booklet with recipes that she gave us during the beginners' course).

Chocolate with fluff & nutella cupcakes!

Makes 12

Ingredients:

- 115 gr butter, room temperature

- 220 gr granulated sugar

- 2 medium sized eggs

- 240 gr plain flour

- 30 gr cocoa powder (without sugar)

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 120 ml semi skimmed milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

- Preheat the oven at 180ºC (350ºF). Line the cupcake pan with paper cases.

- Cream the butter with the sugar till whitens and is well mixed. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each one till it's well combined.

- Sift together the flour, with the baking powder and cocoa. In a glass mix the milk with the vanilla extract.

- Add half the flour to the mixture and mix well, then add half the milk and beat till well combined again, then add the other half of the flour, beat well and lastly, add the rest of the milk.

- Distribute the mixture on the paper cases, till about 2/3. Bake for about 22 to 25 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean,

- Let cool in the cupcake pan for about 5 mins, and then place in a rack to let cool completely.

Once cooled off, with an apple corer, take a bit off each cupcake, taking care not to get to the bottom of the cupcake!

Then fill them up (not till the very top!) with Fluff! (Marshmallow cream, yum!), I used a pipping bag to fill them up.

Once they're full with Fluff, it's time to put back the chocolate bit we took out, though the Fluff might pop it out a bit! To fix that, I melted a bit of Nutella (I did it in the oven, since it was hot from baking them), and I used it to cover the cupcakes, to keep the chocolate bit in and to finish it off! I added a few snowflake sprinkles!

They looked pretty nice, and Alex absolutely loved them!!

Saturday Song: Un Año Más - Mecano

2011-12-31T13:02:00.001+01:00

Soooo, last day of the year... getting ready for work this evening, 3 to 10 pm, so I'll be getting home just in time for dinner with the family and to have the grapes with the strokes of midnight.

I just want to wish everyone a very good farewell to 2011, and for the next year all the good things that 2011 had and none of the bad!

Happy 2012 everyone!!

This song is once again a song from my fave Spanish group, Mecano, and it's a song very appropiate for today, since it's about celebrating New Year's Eve!

Friday Feature: Rocky The Zombie's Pirates for a b-day theme!

2011-12-30T15:28:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone! Happy Friday, and happy 2011-is-almost-over-can-you-believe-that? day! ;)

I'm not feeling particularly reflective today, I've been rather more productive! I got up early for a day off, at 8 am to go to the spa for a Chocotherapy treatment at 9 (goodness, it was absolutely amazing! I could have eaten myself!), so when I got home, I had a lot of time ahead of myself, and thought that I felt like baking! So I made a batch of carrot cake cupcakes with the recipe for the Carrot Cake from the Primrose Bakery Cookbook and also, a batch of savoury cupcakes from Alma's Cupcakes blog: Brie & Dried Figs Cupcakes, for tomorrow's dinner. They're in a tupperware now, so they'll be fresh and ready to be eaten as starters for NYE's dinner! I work 3 to 10 pm tomorrow, and I wouldn't have had the time to make them otherwise.

My, am I a bit verbose today? Ok, time I get on with what this blog entry should be about! Friday Feature to show off how to incorporate handmade into birthday themes!

When I went to India this latest time, in October it was RD's b-day, and the theme for his b-day party was Pirates! His fave cartoons are "Jake And the Neverland Pirates" so it wasn't too surprising that RD would choose pirates as theme. As I told my G's sister, if I would have know that with a bit of advance, I could have got invites and decorations from On Cupcake Moon, cause Deb has a great pirate theme! And she can make the invites, the banners, the thank you cards, cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers and even centerpieces, confetti and napkin rings! Since we didn't, we had to make do with what we could find in two party shops in Gurgaon.

We found quite a loot, including some gold doubloons, pirate balloons, cups, plates and some tiny things as favours/return gifts... aaand some pirate patches for the adults! Aaaaarrr! Also, since both G & me had some very pirate-y t-shirts from Rocky The Zombie, that'd be our uniform for the party!

We also had to plan some activities for all the kiddos that would be attending RD's b-day, and since the kids would be from 2-3 year-old toddlers to 10 year old older kids, we decided a treasure hunt would be great, and also some colouring. I thought that the Rocky The Zombie pirate designs would be great for the kids to colour, so I asked Rhi if she wouldn't mind sending them over, so we made a few copies, along with some images of the pirates from Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

Since on the day of the b-day G & me arrived late, when the party was under way, I didn't get any shots of the kids doing the colouring, but I'm thinking that I'd love to get any of the kids in G's family a colouring book all made out of Rocky The Zombie designs!

All in all, the party was a success, though I seriously think I won't invite as many kiddos if we ever have kids and make b-day parties for them... 30 kiddos was crazy to manage!

Monday Munchies: Jamón serrano and parmesan savoury cupcakes!

2011-12-26T17:29:00.003+01:00

Happy Monday & Boxing Day everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful time with the family for the holidays this weekend. I had to work, but I had some good family meals, and some nice baking time too!

I made these savoury cupcakes, my first not sweet cupcakes, on the 24th morning, to take something for work on Christmas' Eve shift. These photos are also a bit special, cause after taking them my dear camera took a dive towards the floor, BUT thankfully, the only casualty was the filter I had on my lens, but the camera and lens themselves are without a scratch! *insert massive sigh of relief here* So, good advice of the day for anyone with a DSLR, do buy a protective filter for all and any of your lenses, you might be as grateful as I was one day!

I got this recipe from one of my most recent cookbooks, Hamlyn 200 Cupcakes, but I did modify it a little bit, instead of using pancetta I decided to use some jamón serrano, an awesome cured ham from Spain!

Jamón Serrano and Parmesan Savoury Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients:

- 100 gr/3 1/2 oz jamón serrano thinly sliced

- 4 tablespoons olive oil

- 300 gr/10 oz self-raising flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 50 gr/2 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated

- 200 ml/7 fl oz milk (I used skimmed milk)

- 1 egg, beaten

- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard

Method:

- Line the cupcakes with paper cases, preheat the oven at 200ºC (400ºF). Cut 9 x5 cm (2 inch) strips from the jamón serrano. Finely chop the remainder. Microwave between paper towels on full heat for about 2 minutes until crispy. Reserve the longer strips for decorating.

- Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan and chopped jamón serrano until evenly mixed.

- Whisk together the oil, milk, egg and mustard with a fork in a jug and add to the bowl. Stir gently until only just combined.

- Divide the mixture between the paper cases and place one of the reserved strips of jamón serrano on top of each cupcake.

- Bake for about 15-20 mins or until risen and pale golden. Test with a toothpick that comes clean to confirm. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Saturday Song: Merry Christmas by Apocalyptica!!

2011-12-24T11:47:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone! Today just a short entry to wish everyone, friends, family and sporadic and regular readers a very Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Since it's Saturday and Christmas' Eve, I wanted to leave you with some Christmas music for Saturday Song, but not the usual kind, since I'm not very much into the usual kind... You also owe the two songs here to my dear twin Deb, from On Cupcake Moon, since she shared the discovery of the Christmas music played by Apocalyptica (metal music played with cellos!).

So while I bake some savoury jamón serrano and parmesan cupcakes for work, I leave you with Apocalyptica playing Little Drummerboy and Oh Holy Night.

I will be listening to these two, Dream Theater's version of Oh Holy Night, Wham's Last Christmas and All I Want For Christmas (Love, Actually movie version, of course!) on repeat today! ;)

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: The Biting Gnome's Burn Busters!

2011-12-21T14:58:00.000+01:00

Hey there everyone! Today's my last day off till after Xmas, so I'm gonna relax and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee (I still haven't decided). So for today's Wearing Handmade Wednesday, I want to show you something coffee related.

My new Biting Gnome Burn Burster! I love this fabric!

Ain't it super cute? And it dresses up nicely my On Cupcake Moon mug!

I've featured Karyl's shop before in the blog, with her hand stamped cards, and with various other goodies. She makes Burn Busters, Beasties, Baubles, Bags, Bed Bugs... all sort of crafty handmade awesomeness! I have to say, I'm totally in love with her Burn Busters, and I have like 3, counting this last one (wait, 4 then, cause I just got a Skelanimals one, and one to give to my nephew's girlfriend). And I got one also made for my dear twin Deb from On Cupcake Moon. These Burn Busters are good for the mugs you have home, but they're ideal for your coffee-on-the-go cups, so if you're a Starbucks (or any other coffee shop) addict, you need one of these, so check out Karyl's Artfire shop!

Monday Munchies: Carrot And Cardamom Cupcakes!!s!

2011-12-19T14:36:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone!! *yawns* How's Monday going? I hope it's going nicely and starting the week with a bang, but in case you need a little pick me up, I have something to share for this week's Monday Munchies that is sure to help you all perk up a bit: cupcakes!

Carrot and cardamom cupcakes to be precise! This recipe can be found in thecupcakerecipes.com and I was linked by the very awesome Lisa from Birmingham Cupcakes Co. (thanks, Lis!). This recipe has become my mum's fave, and it's a little more healthy than your regular cupcakes recipe since it has oil instead of butter, and it even has some veggies in it! ;)

Also, this was my first recipe made using my Matrioska measuring cups! I just was tired of having to converting cups to grams everytime I wanted to do a recipe!

Carrot & Cardamom Cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients:
For the batter:

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup sunflower oil
- 2 eggs
- Grated peel of 1 unwaxed orange.
- Seeds from 5 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, shelled, roughly chopped. I used walnuts.

For the icing:

- 2/3 cup mascarpone
- Finely grated peel of 1 unwaxed orange
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/3 cup confectioners sugar, sifted.

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF) and line a cupake pan with paper liners (I used this new red foil ones I got recently).
- Break up the sugar in a bowl using the back of a fork (or if you used just regular brown sugar like me, you can skip that bit), then beat in the oil and eggs. Stir in the grated orange peel, the crushed cardamom seeds and the ginger, then sift the flour into the mixture and fold in, adding last the grated carrots and walnuts.
- Distribute the batter between the liners, do not fill more than 2/3 since they raise quite a bit in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

- For the icing, beat the mascarpone, sugar, orange peel and lemon juice together in a bowl and spread over the cupcakes. The amount is enough to decorate with a spatula, but if you want to pipe it nicely (like I did with the Wilton 1M tip) you'll need twice as much!

Saturday Song: Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming: Deep Purple!

2011-12-17T14:36:00.001+01:00

Things are a bit hard as of late, and I'm feeling like jumping on a plane. So here's simply a song to reflect how I feel.

Traveling Thursday: Goa, India!!

2011-12-15T12:32:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone! For today's Traveling Thursday I'm gonna share some photos of the various trips to Goa that G & me have taken, both on our own or with friends and/or family!

I think we've been to Goa, India's beach paradise, a total of... I dunno, 6 times? Maybe more? Probably more. We love it there, we love walking around the beaches and trying all the different kinda restaurants there are there, the food in Goa is amazing! We're not the kind to go party and rave all night, but you can have that too.

Mark This Book Monday: Harper Connelly series!

2011-12-12T17:45:00.006+01:00

Hi there! How's this new Monday going? I had to work morning shift, but even if I don't like the getting up early, it means I have the whole evening off!

For this Mark This Book Monday I wanna share another book series by Charlaine Harris, the Harper Connelly Mysteries! It's a 4 book series:

- Grave Sight

- Grave Surprise

- An Ice Cold Grave

- Grave Secret

The main character of this series is Harper Connelly, a young woman of 24 that was hit by lightning at 15, and since that day can feel where a dead body is, and once found can see from the dead's perspective what happened to them in the hours leading to their death and how they died. But since it's seen from the perspective of the dead person, you won't see who killed them in the case of a murder, unless the victim knew their murdered or saw them. Harper travels with her step-brother Tolliver, who is not a blood relative, since Harper's mom married Tolliver's dad when they were in their early teens. Their family life was very complicated since their parents were addicts so the kids had to take care of each other and of the two girls born from that marriage.

The books follow the adventures and travels of Harper & Tolliver around the US, since they are hired as consultants to find dead people and what happened to them, Harper being the one that finds them via some sort of buzzing she feels, and Tolliver as his "manager", helper, bodyguard and general helper. We follow their relationship, and also how Harper hopes to eventually find out what happened to Cameron, her sister that disappeared at 18, when she was coming back from HS.

The full story unfolds along the 4 books, and comes full circle and closes down on the last book, Grave Secret. Very quick reads, with bits of supernatural and more bits of mystery. Very recommended!

Saturday Song: All I Want For Christmas!

2011-12-10T15:22:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone!

As you might all have guessed, I'm not a huge Christmas person, with being an atheist and all, but I do enjoy an excuse to make nice special food and share with the family, and an excuse to get nice stuff for the ones I love and to get some nice presents myself too, and if I wasn't a nurse (which means I work ANY day of the year) I'd love the days off! Yes, I still get days off, but this year I work the 24th 3 to 10 pm, the 25th night shift, and the 31st and 1st 3 to 10 pm, sooo, yeah. ;)

Well, I just wanted to share with you all the only Xmas song that I really love, "All I Want For Christmas", and in its version sang in my only Xmas movie, Love Actually!

Traveling Thursday: Madrid, Spain!!

2011-12-08T19:26:00.005+01:00

Hello everyone! Happy Travelling Thursday!

Today my long weekend starts, and I wanted to share some photos of Madrid. You wouldn't consider Madrid a real trip for me, since it's only like 25 kms from my house, but since Sumit, my bro-in-law to be (being the husband of one of G's sister) was in Spain (Barcelona) and dropped by for a visit on Monday so I could show him around and we could catch up.

Me & Sumit with the Puerta de Madrid

At Madrid's main square, Puerta del Sol with Sumit

Madrid's Town Hall in Puerta del Sol

Walking down Gran Vía

The Metropolis building

The building of the Instituto Cervantes

And a partial view of the Puerta de Alcalá

Treasury Tuesday: The Grim Reaper can be cute!

2011-12-06T18:03:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was a fail... even if I have so many entries for recipes to share with you! But I spent the day roaming around with my brother-in-law in Madrid, and when I got back home I was pooped! So much, that I was in bed by 9 pm!

So today, I just wanted to share with you a treasury I've just made on Etsy inspired by the super cute Grim Reaper Xmas cards that my twin Deb from On Cupcake Moon made and my love for Death, the character from the Discworld series!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTE1NzUxNXwxNDIzNjI5NTk1/death-always-speaks-in-capitals

Friday Feature: Warning Label Camera Bag!!

2011-12-02T21:10:00.005+01:00

A bit of a late entry today, but I have been quite tired, sleepy, fuzzy-brained and unmotivated today... that's what working night shift two days on a row can do to you! But after dinner, I got a bit of a brainwave for a Friday Feature!

As you all already know, I love bags of all sorts and kinds, and have quite a collection, and since I started with my love for photography, I've been looking for THE camera bag to tot around all my gear in style. I have three camera bags already, one of them the Rocky Van Gory camera bag that Brooke & Rhiannon collaborated on, and this one, custom made from scratch by Jamie from Warning Label Creations for me!

I discovered the Ghastlies fabric through either Jamie herself or my taste twin, Deb; and completely fell in love with it, and I knew I needed the pink fabric for this bag! The bag has zipper closure, padded dividers and an adjustable strap, so the bag can be worn as a messenger bag or as a shoulder bag.

It fits my camera, my kit lens, my lensbaby, extra memory cards, extra battery, charger, lenspens, mobile, wallet and any other little every day extras I carry! I used it all the time in my trip to Zurich, and it's an awesome bag to take around, doesn't look like a camera bag, and it's super cute, so it's an amazing bag to be added to my collection!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Rad Rocket!

2011-11-30T14:08:00.004+01:00

Hey there everyone! Finally, Wearing Handmade Wednesday is back! Not with the best of photos, this one was taken with my Xoom and not my camera, cause my remote is broken and I need to buy a new one, I just can't remember what website I bought this one! So for now... self pics will be taken not-as-well-as-I-wished.

Wearing my Rad Rocket Yoda slouch top!

I've known Jen from Rad Rocket for quite a while, I think since my eBay years, and that's a good 5 years I think. Her brand has changed names a pair of times, and she has expanded from just clothes to also some really cute resin jewellry too. I had been meaning to get something from her shop for a while, but when I saw this super geeky, super cute & super cozy & comfy Yoda slouch top, I knew it had to be mine! It arrived while I was in India, but as soon as I arrived I tried it on and it's just perfect for cold weather! Very warm, made of SW fleece that doesn't itch, and with a slouch cut that is very comfy!

Do take a lot at her Etsy shop for more cute & geeky clothes and adorable resin pendants & jewellry!

Monday Munchies: Cupcakes Workshop with Alma's Cupcakes!!

2011-11-28T17:11:00.006+01:00

Hello everyone! How's the week starting? I hope very good, and if not... take a peek at all the yummy pics I'm sharing with you in this entry, and you'll be sure to cheer up!

This past Saturday I finally attended a course/workshop by Alma of Alma's Cupcakes and Objetivo: Cupcake Perfecto for beginners. After reading Alma's blog, trying some of recipes and seeing all her amazing progress in the world of cakes, cupcakes and cookies, I was extremely excited to attend this 4 hour-class and it was everything I expected and more! Not only I got tons of practical tips and recommendations, learnt about fondant and ingredients, but also had an absolute blast with Alma, her mother (the helper) and the other ladies that were attending the workshop (with my friend Esther too!).

Since my poor brain it's not at its best today, after two night shifts on a row, and depriving myself of sleep during the day so I can sleep tonight, I'm just gonna say a few things: I'm even more obsessed with cupcakes and baking in general, I have a mile long list of things to buy and I NEED A KITCHEN AID!!!

Now, before going for the photos... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, ALMA!!

Alma's super cute logo

Alma's Peggy Porchen's rose!

Getting a cupcake ready to be filled in with yumminess

The working table, with the materials and the recipe book!

Esther and me, with Alma, the most adorable teacher in existence!

The workshop was already decorated for Xmas!

Esther posing with one of the cupcakes made by Alma

Another amazing flower cupcake made by Alma!

Amazing cakes!

The cakes with Peggy roses!

These are the cupcakes that Esther decorated!

I made too many fondant decorations that I took home with me!

My cupcakes ready to take home and my diploma!

Cookie monster, Yoda, Bobba Fett...

My six cupcakes! They're so cute I don't wanna eat them!!

Traveling Thursday: Neemrana, Rajasthan!

2011-11-24T12:50:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone!

Since I didn't manage to get some pics for WHW this week, I'm gonna do another edition of Traveling Thursday, and since I already shared photos of Jaipur, I thought of sharing with you the photos of our first weekend trip to Rajasthan, to the gorgeous resort of Neemrana!

Neemrana is a 15th century palace converted into a fantastic resort, with wonderful artwork everywhere, lovely surroundings, and typical Rajasthani food!

The balcony of our room, such gorgeous views

Amazing views of one side of the palace

You could see the main entry doors from our balcony!

There were plenty of gardens to take a break and have your food

Gaurav & me ready to enjoy dinner!

Neemrana was really a photographer'd dream! Always something worth clicking at every turn!

Mark This Book Monday: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse!!

2011-11-21T15:49:00.002+01:00

Monday is here, and one of the joys of being a nurse working shifts is that sometimes Mondays are awesome days, cause they're your weekend! ;) So now, with a nice Latte Macchiato in my hand, I'm gonna share an awesome book with you all for this week's Mark This Book Monday: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.

I got Labyrinth at Heathrows airport in one of my first stops there when going to India to visit Gaurav, and if I remember correctly, it was in one of the stops coming back to Spain. There was this offer, about 3 books for £20 and I remember looking around to see what other books to grab, cause when I saw the cover of the book and read what it was about, I was sold! I wanted to take this book!

Back then, my reading obsession was about the Cathars and all the theories about what happened to them and their so-talked-about treasure after Pope Innocent III called for the Crusade to exterminate their heresy. When there's little information, many theories spring, and so many books and novels can be written.

This book tells us the story of two women separate by many hundreds of years, Alice in present time France, trying to figure out to make of what she's found in a toomb discovered during an archeological dig; and Alais, in thirteenth century France, entrusted with a secret to protect during the Cathar Crusade. We follow Alice looking for answers in the past, and Alais hiding and protecting a secret that is the secret of the Grail, and hiding and protecting herself, cause as a woman and herbalist, she's in danger of being accused of witchcraft, and that would put her mission at risk.

Even if you are not as obsessed with the Cathars and medieval times as I was back then, you'll love this book, cause the dual storytelling and unraveling of the story is great. Kate Mosse really does a great job at jumping from one story to the other, giving little hints from one to the other, and always keeping you on your toes. It's a book where the main character are women, and they are the ones standing their ground, looking for answers and doing the deeds, and I always love a good book where girls are not "fair maidens in distress"! ;) I'm afraid to tell more about the book, cause I might end up spoiling it for you guys, but it's the kinda book that made me want to pack and head to visit the Languedoc and South France! There is a passion about the places and the story that really resonated with me, and I think that will pull at anyone that'd read this book.

An historical novel, full of mystery, withs wrongs rigthed and a little bit of supernatural/pagan/Grail thrown in, with a dash of dangerous romance... sounds like something you'd love? Then go ahead as run to the nearest bookstore or add it to your Holidays gift list! I highly doubt it will fail to spellbound you! ;)

Saturday Song: Señorita from the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara movie

2011-11-19T14:56:00.003+01:00

Saturday is here, and it's always good to feel like dancing for the weekend, so today I want to share with you something that is quite unusual, but also quite fitting!

Señorita is a song, half in Hindi, half in Spanish, from a Hindi movie called Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, that takes place mostly in Spain! Somehow it seems so fitting for me and Gaurav, the Spaniard and the Indian!

Enjoy, do a bit of dancing and happy Saturday!

Traveling Thursday: Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India!

2011-11-17T16:27:00.005+01:00

Hi everyone!

Getting back into the groove of blogging, so today I'm bringing a new Travelling Thursday post! Today I want to share with you a few shots of a weekend trip we took to Jaipur in Rajasthan during my latest visit to India. We didn't see much of Jaipur since it was too crowded and too rushed due to being the pre-Diwali weekend, but we visited and loved the Amber Fort!

Whenever I go, I always wear some Handmade! Vivifromage top and Piper & Paisley hat!

Many views from many entries to the Fort!

The Glass Palace, and amazing area for privileged guests!

The Tiger Fort, it does have tigers in it & watches over the Amber Fort.

Towers around the Fort's outer walls, where messages were passed with fire!

Monday Munchies: Kiwi Cupcakes via La Dulce Magdalena!!

2011-11-14T22:21:00.005+01:00

Monday again! And despite my good intentions, not a blog entry since last Monday... but this time it was a damned cold that kept me running at about 50% and even though I managed not to miss work, I just didn't have the brain power for much more.

I'm thinking that I was very lucky to have managed to make these really yummy cupcakes last Friday, but I had promised cupcakes to my friend Irene for when she came over for coffee, and cupcakes she had!

I got this super yummy recipe from the blog of another amazing Spanish lady that bakes marvels, La Dulce Magdalena!

These cupcakes are amazingly moist and fluffy, I think the kiwi pieces in the batter are the cause, and the cheese & lemon frosting is absolutely delicious! So much, that my dad ate all the left over frosting in the bowl!

You can find the original recipe HERE in Spanish, but I'm gonna translate for all you English speaking ladies.

Kiwi Cupcakes

Makes about 15 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the batter:

- 200 gr flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 170 gr unsalted butter

- 180 gr granulated sugar

- 3 eggs beaten

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 kiwis, peeled and cubed

- More kiwi, laminated, to decor.

For the frosting:

- 225 gr cream cheese (Philadelphia type).

- 45 gr room temperature butter

- 75 gr powder sugar

- 1 teaspoon sugar extract, or if you don't have any, subtitute for 2 teaspoons lemon juice and its zest.

Method:

- Preheat the oven at 160ºC (325ºF) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcakes cases. In a bowl, shift the flour and baking power together. In another bowl cream together butter and sugar, then add the eggs, adding the flour & baking powder and the vanilla extract. Mix well. Add half the cubed kiwis to the batter, combining well, don't overmix.

- Fill the cupcakes cases, not more than 2/3 of them. Make sure the batter is even and then spread the rest of the cubed kiwi on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the cupcake pan, and then cool off completely in a rack.

- Meanwhile prepare the frosting mixing the butter with the icing sugar, beating well and add the cream cheese, add the lemon and mix well (it can be done by hand, though better with an electric mixer). You can use either a piping bag or just spread it with a spoon. Add a slice of kiwi on top to finish them up.

- Eat them all!!

Mark This Book Monday: Juliet by Anne Fortier

2011-11-07T12:46:00.002+01:00

Hello, hello, hello! *wipes dust from blog* *sneezes*

Well, it's been a while! I just came back from my last trip to India this Saturday, and I thought that it was indeed about time that I returned to update the blog! I haven't been updating during my vacation cause I was using my Motorola tablet, and though it is awesome to surf the web and comment and things like that... it's way too awkward for me to type blog entries, even more since I'm overly verbose!

So returning to the regular schedule of the blog, it's time to have a new Mark This Book Monday!

Today I want to share with you all Anne Fortier's Juliet , which I am undecided whether to qualify as romantic novel or as an historic one...

Juliet's premise is that the story that our dear old Shakespeare wrote was based on actual events, but distorted and changed by the powers that be, and by the passing of time. There was a real Giulietta and a real Romeo that fell in love and couldn't get married, but unlike in Shakespeare's version is not so much cause both their families were sworn enemies, but more due to political reasons, though there is a mention of two families being in war for the control of the city (which is not Verona, but Sienna). The book mixes the original real story of Romeo & Giulietta and the story of Giulietta's descendants thru her sister, in the present day, when Juliet discovers who she is after the death of her aunt Rose, who had been taking care of her (and her sister) since they lost their parents when they were three.

We keep discovering new things about the original story, and about present day's Juliet story and background with every turn of the page, and Juliet has to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself and her life turn into another tragedy, like that one of the original Giulietta.

It is a very captivating book, with unexpected turns and a very well researched background story. It's the kinda book that despite being not your small novel in size, you simply devour it in a matter of hours! I read it in a pair of days, and that was cause I had to work, and couldn't dedicate as much time to it as I would have liked!

If you like stories with some romance, some history and some mistery, Juliet really IS the book for you!

Friday Feature: A bit of every day handmade!

2011-10-14T15:33:00.006+02:00

Hey everyone! This is a scheduled entry, since right now I'm in India, and with the landing, and whatever else will come up, I was pretty sure I wasn't gonna have time for a blog entry for today.

This Friday Feature is a way to show off some great items, for every day use, like my coffee mug, my new work bag and my newest sleeve for my Xoom (that will be the travel sleeve).

I adore my On Cupcake Moon coffee mug, and I love enjoying a cappuchino made with my Dolce Gusto coffee maker!

When I saw this tablet sleeve in StellarCheri's shop, I knew I had to get it, and it'll be my traveling sleeve for my Xoom!

And this is my newest work bag, a Charlotte Dolly bag! My other bag, the Bowling bag needed retirement, so I chose another Dolly bag!

Monday Munchies: Lemon Muffins!

2011-10-12T15:27:00.009+02:00

Hello everyone! Somewhat regular blogging from India! From my tablet, using my sister-in-law's wifi... while we're planning G's nephew b-day party! So in that festive mood, I leave you with a yummy recipe for Monday Munchies!

Lemon Muffins

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:

- 2 or 3 lemons

- 60 ml lemon yogurt

- 300 gr plain flour

- 2 eggs

- 180 gr sugar

- 15 gr baking powder

- 125 ml sunflower oil

Method:

- Wash and dry one lemon, you'll need the grated zest. Squeeze all lemons, to get 125 ml of lemon juice (use more lemons if need be, mine were small, so I used 5). Make sure you filter it so there won't be any seeds. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl till they whiten and double their size. If you do it with electric mixer it'll be easier and done in a shorter time.

- Add oil, juice, grated zest and yogurt and mix well so there are no lumps. Sieve in the flour with the baking powder, and mix again till al ingredients are well mixed. Let the batter sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven at 180ºC.

- Prepare the muffin pan with liners (since it yields about 16 to 18, you might need two pans or make two turns in the oven) and fill them up till 3/4. Bake for 20 minutes. Once they're done (test with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, they're done) get them in a rack to cool.

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: How to get ready to attend a wedding handmade style!

2011-10-12T14:35:00.007+02:00

Hello everyone! I'm feeling pretty hyper today, even after two night shifts on a row! Why, well, cause tomorrow I'm flying to India! 3 weeks on vacation with the bf, absolute bliss!

This week's Wearing Handmade Wednesday is not dedicated to one seller only, it is actually a way to show how you can go to a wedding, looking great and wearing only handmade pieces! (except for the shoes).

This photo is mostly to show off my straight hair, and the awesome job Isa, the MUA & owner of Primer Plano Maquillaje Profesional did with my make up!

Here you can see part of my Vivifromage dress, my Glamasaurus ring, StellarCheri wristlet and my Pet Zombie Creations necklace!

Wearing my Isla New York Jasmine jacket, with the Glamasaurus geisha brooch

Here you can see my Isla New York Leila leggins/stockings and my Mary Jane high heels (that I bought on eBay years ago!)

Close up of my amazing Pet Zombie Creations necklace and the Glamasaurus ring

The Jasmine jacket with the Glamasaurus geisha brooch and the StellarCheri wristlet

And a shot of the full look at the wedding venue itself, never mind my super pale face!

If you like what I wore: the Jasmine jacket is available in three colours at Isla New York's Etsy shop; the Vivifromage dress was a limited edition piece (only 3 were made and each one was a different size & colour) but she has many great items in her website, her autumn collection is also almost sold out!; my Pet Zombie Creation's necklace was also one-of-a-kind, but Destry has many amazing necklaces in her Etsy shop, my Glamasaurus ring & brooch are also one-of-kind, but Andreanna has other geisha brooches in her Etsy shop; the Leila stockings/leggins are not available right now at Isla New York's shop, but she might bring them back for autumn season; and the Stellarcheri wristlet is available in many colours in her Etsy shop via this custom listing.

Monday Munchies: Goat's Cheese and Zucchini mini pizzas!!

2011-10-10T14:00:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone! Monday is here, and even though I work night shift tonight and tomorrow, I'm leaving for India on Thursday! So this is gonna be a short week for me!

To start the week right I wanna share a yummy recipe with you all for this week's Monday Munchies!

Goat's Cheese & Zucchini mini pizzas

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr flour

- 20 gr fresh yeast

- 2 small zucchini

- 2 teaspoons of dried oregano

- 3 thyme springs

- 200 gr goat's cheese (the roll variery)

- olive oil

- tomatoes & lettuce to make some side salad.

- salt

Method:

- Wash & dry thyme. Separate the leaves and put them in a bowl, add three tablespoons olive oil and let macerate.

- Put the flour in a bowl with the yeast diluted in 10 dl warm water. Add 50 ml olive oil and a pinch of salt and mix with a spatula. Knead the dough with your hands till it's elastic. Leave it to reast for 30 minutes, covered, in a warm place. Then, split it into 4 pieces, and with the help of a rolling pin make 4 discs.

- Add some tomato sauce for extra juiciness, then bake the dough in the preaheated oven at 180ºC for 5 minutes. Wash the zucchini, dry & slice them. Distribute the zucchini slices and the goat's cheese sliced over the 4 pieces. Add some salt and pour the thyme oil. Bake for 10 more minutes. Grill for a pair more minutes and serve with the tomatoes & lettuce as side salad.

- Enjoy!

Saturday Song: Across The Stars - John Williams (Attack of the Clones soundtrack)

2011-10-08T14:37:00.004+02:00

Saturday is here, and today inspired by two weddings, Sara's (one of my co-workers) and Beth's (from Dungaree Dolly), I'm sharing with you a song I love, and that I want as part of my wedding(s) somehow!

Main song for the Attack of the Clones (Star Wars: Episode II) soundtrack, and a wonderfully epic love song for Anakin and Amidala.

May The Force Be With You (and your love story will have a happier ending than theirs!).

Shopping Handmade: Pilu's birthday, or how to buy handmade for a nurse!

2011-10-07T14:13:00.005+02:00

Hey there! Today is Friday, and I've decided to bring back an old feature of mine, called Shopping Handmade, where I show off what handmade goodies I've bought as gifts for people, and how much they love them!

For today is the early gifts for Pilu's b-day, since I'm actually leaving for India on her b-day, and I have the days after today quite super busy! So after working night shift, I've met up with her and Esther, and I've ended up feeling like a hobbit! Wonder why?, not size related!, but I had breakfast (with Esther) and then I had second breakfast! (with Pilu). Somehow I managed to miss Elevensies there tho...

Let's start with the showing off!

As Pilu is in love with Zombie Pirate, I knew I had to get her a RockyTheZombie tee, and the new "Pirates in a Boat" print was too awesome to pass up, so I got her that one, and she is completely in love!!

Next, Pilu finally got her mini-Pilu from Camamiel, and now she's the proud owner of a nurse doll, wonderfully crafted, that looks like her, and even has a mini-Indy!!

Both mini-Pilu and mini-Indy are too cute for words! And Pilu is now super happy cause she finally has her Camamiel alter-go! Working with Ana from Camamiel is always a joy, and even more when I know her creations are gonna be loved and cherished, like all the nurse dolls I've gifted so far have been!

Ana was so nice to even send me a postcard of a photo of mini-Pilu & mini-Indy as a happy b-day card for Pilu, and she loved it!!

And last, but clearly not least, Catalepsia, a nurse paper doll, also from Camamiel! Pilu was trying to decide if she's gonna get her to decorate her car, her locker at work, or her reading room at home!

Now, it's time for me to take a lil nap, and then decide what bag to take as my carry-on luggage this time! Have a great Friday!

Traveling Thursday: Tunisia!

2011-10-06T16:29:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone!

After working two night shifts of a row, celebrating a friend's b-day (with Red Velvet cupcakes again), I'm now back to somewhat regular scheduled blogging, which can get iffy soon, as I'm leaving for India next week! I JUST CAN'T WAIT!

So, today I'm sharing with you the photos of my first international trip on this week's Traveling Thursday, our "end of uni" trip to Tunisia in 2001! Before this, I knew I wanted to travel loads and visit many places, but this trip confirmed that I'd have a blast doing so! This was the first time I needed a passport, so I got my passport when I was 20, and have been collecting stamps on it since!

The Star Wars geek in me was super happy when we visited some locations used in the movies during our trip, and my classmates really did a bit of head shaking on my geekiness!

The Matmata caves, better known as the Lars Homestead!

My first ride on a dromedary! (Also I learnt the difference between a camel (two humps) and a dromedary (just one)

One would expect the desert to be hot, even in Feb, right? Well, not so much!

We visited an oasis, and had a great time exploring around!

We also visited one of the best preserved Roman's colliseums in Jem!

Monday Munchies: Chai Cupcakes with Honey icing!

2011-10-03T13:08:00.008+02:00

Hello everyone! Monday is here to start another week, and to start it right, I'm bringing one of the promised recipes from my b-day foods for this week's Monday Munchies!

This recipe is a mix between the Chai Latte cupcakes from the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" book and the icing is from a recipe from a new blog I've discovered: Carrot Cake!

Chai Cupcakes with Honey icing

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

- 225 ml soy or rice milk

- 4 black tea bags or 2 tablespoon loose tea

- 50 ml canola oil (I used olive oil)

- 125 ml vanilla or plain soy yogurt (I used plain)

- 175 mg granulated sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 300 mg all-purpose flour

- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

- 1/4 ground cloves

- Pinch of ground black or white pepper

Method:

- Preheat oven to 180ºC and line cupcake pan with cupcake cases.

- Heat soy milk in a small saucepan over medium till almost boiling. Add tea bags, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then dunk teabags a few times in the milk and squeeze gently to extract any soy milk before removing, and discard the tea bags. Measure the milk & tea mixture and add more milk if it's less than 225 ml.

- In a large bowl, whisk together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla and milk & tea mixture till all yogurt lumps disappear. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and pepper into wet ingredients. Mix until large lumps disappear; some small lumps are ok.

- Fill cases full and bake for about 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick come out clean.

Honey icing

Ingredients:

- 100 gr room temperature unsalted butter

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 5 tablespoons honey

- 5 tablespoons icing sugar

Method:

- In a bowl mix together butter with sugar, honey and vanilla extract till we have a thick cream. If done by hand, it'll take longer and the consistency won't be as great as if done in a KitchenAid (for example) but it'll look good enough.

- I used the Wilton 2D tip, that makes those pretty roses without much effort at all!

I just can't wait to keep baking, and to learn loads in the couse I will be making in November with Alma from Alma's Cupcakes & Objetivo: Cupcake Perfecto!!

A Handmade Birthday!

2011-09-28T23:14:00.005+02:00

Hallo everyone! Such a late entry!

But, it's gonna be a short one too, cause today is my birthday!! (less than an hour left here in Spain) And I just wanna share a few photos of some new food I've made today for my own (and friends & family) treat, and how I've celebrated my b-day!

Yesterday I went with two of my besties to Madrid, to try cupcakes in a few bakeries that I discovered through Objetivo Cupcake, and to buy some baking goodies at some of the shops that I found out about in the same blog! Pilu, Sara & myself started the afternoon eating sushi for lunch, yum yum!

Sara & Pilu!!

Sporting my Vivifromage Sushi top!

Afterwards, we went on search for cupcakes! We started with Happy Day Bakery, a bakery with a lot of American style and very yummy cupcakes too! I tried a Red Velvet and it was really nice!

We decided to drop by Comercial Minguez, a shop for everything baking related, and I was so overwhelmed that I only bought a pair of sprinkles and some super cute liners for Holidays time... and! I saw Alma, from Alma's Cupcakes, my future cupcake teacher! But since I wasn't sure it was her, I was a bit shy to go and ask her... silly me!

Then we went to Cream Bakery, but it was closed cause they were prepping for Sugar'09, the baking national fair that is this week, and so were other shops that I had checked online, so we decided to go back home. We've agreed we need to plan another trip for more cupcakes!

Today, for my birthday lunch, I decided I wanted to make home made mini pizzas, with goat's cheese and zucchini, and chicken brochettes! The mini pizzas recipe will be up on the blog soon, and the chicken brochettes recipe is HERE!

And in the afternoon and evening I had some friends come over, to spend some time catching up, so I baked some Chai Latte cupcakes, with a recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" and instead of the suggested icing, I used a honey buttercream from a new blog I've discovered, Carrot Cake! Very yummy!!

I got some nice pressies, some of them handmade! and also spent some awesome time with friends and family, so it was a very nice birthday! Tomorrow will go back to work, with the leftover cupcakes, to share with my co-workers!

Monday Munchies: Chocolate cashew cupcakes with cream cheese and orange marmalade icing by Alma's Cupcakes!

2011-09-26T15:13:00.007+02:00

Hello everyone! How's the week starting? I hope that at the worst, as good as mine is!

This week is my b-day week, so I've decided to pamper myself as much as possible! And to start the week right, I've been to the Spa this morning where I got a Japanese treatment and a full body massage... bliss!

And to share a little bit of goodness with you all, I'm sharing a super yummy cupcake recipe as my Monday Munchies entry of this week!

As usual as of late, this recipe is taken from Alma's Cupcakes blog: Objetivo: Cupcake Perfecto, but it's a bit of a mix of two of her recipes.

Chocolate & cashews cupcakes with cream cheese & orange marmalade icing!

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

- 100 gr white sugar

- 100 gr unsalter butter

- 100 gr regular flour

- 2 eggs

- 3 tablespoons cocoa

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 tablespoon milk

- 2 tablespoon crushed cashews

Method:

- Preheat the oven at 180ºC (350ºF) and put the cupcake liners in the mold. Cream sugar and butter until white and fluffy. Shift the cocoa, flour and baking podwer all together and add to the butter and sugar mix, folding carefully, add the milk and mix till well combined.

- Once well mixed, add the crushed cashews and fold in. Fill the liners up to 2/3 only and bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

For the cream cheese & orange marmalade icing (I used Alma's recipe for the cream cheese icing for her Red Velvet cupcakes, just adding the marmalade):

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons orange marmalade

- 125 gr cream cheese (the full fat version, Philadelphia style)

- 60 gr unsalted butter (room temperature).

- 300 gr icing sugar

Method:

- Mix the icing sugar with the butter (be careful, if doing it by KitchenAid or similar, cover it first). Once it's well mixed, add the cream cheese and mix till white & creamy, don't overmix it or it will get melty. Then mix the orange marmalade and fold it in. I'd recommend mixing only one tablespoon in two times, so it won't change the consistency of the icing too much. You can pipe the icing with a pastry bag or with a spoon for a more rustic look.

- You can decorate with some cute sprinkles, or if you don't have any, add a cashew on top of each cupcake as I did!

- Enjoy! Yum, yum!

Saturday Song: Hijo de la Luna - Mecano!!

2011-09-24T12:58:00.003+02:00

300 entries already!! Goodness, am I verbose or what?!? Yes my dears, today with this entry I've reached my 300th entry on this humble little blog of mine!

I don't have anything big planned, because I kinda just noticed when I cliked on new entry and saw the counter was 299... but I thought that I'd share one of my fave songs from all time with all of you for this Saturday Song, and since it's a song in Spanish from a Spanish group, I'm sure most of you haven't heard it before!

Mecano had to be the biggest Spanish group in the 80's & early 90's, they were a trio, Ana Torroja, singer and the Cano brothers, Nacho & Jose musicians and composers. Every kid in Spain born in either 80's & early 90's know of them, and their songs very well known all over Spain and Spanish speaking countries. Recently there was even a musical made with some of their most popular songs called "Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar" that was a massive success all over Spain (and I went to see twice) and was also very successful in their Mexican encarnation.

This song is called "Hijo de la Luna" (Moon's Son or Son of the Moon) and it's based on a gypsy legend, where one gypsy woman wanted to find a partner so she used one spell on the moon, so the moon will get her a lover, and in exchange the woman would give the moon her firstborn. It's a legend about love, despair, jealousy and treason.

I hope you'll like it as much as I do! Have a great weekend & Happy 300th post to me! ;)

Friday Feature: BrookiEllen!!

2011-09-23T12:10:00.002+02:00

Hey there everyone!

It's Friday now! And even though I work today and tomorrow, after that I'm gonna be enjoying a few good days off to celebrate my b-day (that'll be next Wednesday!).

For today's Friday Feature I wanna introduce you to BrookiEllen, a very very talented lady, that doesn't limit herself, since she has diaper covers for babies, sandwich and snack baggies and lunch totes in her Etsy shop, and all in the cutest and coolest fabrics ever!

I got myself a super cute lunch tote from her shop, but I have to confess it was mostly cause of the fabric it was made of! And maybe you have guessed what fabric it was? Yep, sushi fabric!

It isn't too big or bulky, which is good, I don't want it to take too much space, and since it has a handle it can be toted around on its own, or be packed inside a bigger bag. And did I mention I love the fabric?

I don't take lunch or breakfast with me to work, cause most days I barely have time to have my coffee while getting filled up on my patients during shift change, to even have time for a snack (that's where my Tokyotombola fruit cozies come in). But for night shift, it's 10 hours, so even if it's at 3 am, I do have time (and need) for some form of a meal (late second dinner? early heavy breakfast?), so this lunch bag will keep my food safe and cozy!

Traveling Thursday: Paris Part 2!!

2011-09-22T12:34:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone! I'm back a bit later than usual this week, but my Google Chrome was having issues with blogger, I had to delete a blog I was following that had some "suspicious activity" to be able to use blogger again normally.

So, today I'm back with a new edition of Traveling Thursday, with a second edition of photos from Paris! This time from my second trip to Paris in Jan '06.

All bundled up posing at the Pont Alexandre III

The door for Rodin's museum was quite something!

The entry of the Museum d'Orsay

View from the second floor, the museum used to be a train station!

My beloved Notre Dame de Paris, back view and freezing, damn it was cold!

A special about why to buy handmade & local.

2011-09-16T08:49:00.003+02:00

Today is gonna be a sweet & short post, cause I wanna share with you a link to another blog post from an awesome blog called Modern Rosies, a blog you all ladies with business or that love handmade NEED to follow, a blog post with an amazing video made by the awesome Sheika Lugtu aka Sheikasaurus Rex!

http://modernrosies.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-be-happyand-you-may-just-change.html?spref=tw

If you already shop handmade & local you'll feel extremely justified & happy to do so, if you don't you might just give another look at things, and give handmade a try!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: CollisionWare!!

2011-09-14T15:19:00.006+02:00

Aaaand here's Wednesday! I'm still trying to recover from both the sugar high after the Red Velvet cupcakes I baked on Monday, and this past night shift...

Wearing Handmade Wednesday this week was also inspired by my Monday baking, sugar highs sometimes mean productivity! ;)

Wearing my Collisionware sushi apron to bake Red Velvet cupcakes!

This is not the first time I've featured Collisionware in the blog, cause I've got me a pair of her pot holders & oven mitts sets for myself (actually, 3 sets) and I've also got a pair of sets as gifts for friends. After getting my latest set, made of the sushi fabric I'm so totally obsessed with as of late, I thought I had plenty of wares for the kitchen, but when I saw an apron made with said sushi fabric... I just new I needed it! And so did Angie, the lady behind Collisionware, cause she wasn't the least surprised when it was me who bought the sushi apron!

Angie has many other oven mitts and pot holders, some character oven mitts and plenty of cute aprons (along with her wallets), and she's also offering skillet mitts, and the sushi one of those will be my next purchase from her shop for sure! Still undecided if I'll go to her Etsy shop or to her shiny new website!

Monday Munchies: Alma's Red Velvet Cupcakes!!

2011-09-12T19:30:00.004+02:00

Hey, hi, hello everyone! Today might be Monday, but since it's my day off, and I'm in a bit of a sugar high... it's a pretty good day for me! ;)

For Monday Munchies this week I'm sharing a recipe from Objetivo: Cupcake Perfecto, the blog of my cupcake inspiration and future teacher in a workshop, Alma from Alma's Cupcakes!

Here's her recipe: Red Velvet Cupcakes, and for those who can't figure out the Spanish via Google translate, here's the one you can find in Joy Of Baking, that is essentially the same. For me it's just that Alma gives you some tricks to adapt things to the Spanish way (how to sub for the buttermilk) and she makes it sound simple (and delicious) enough to make you want to try it!

And now, to show off some pics of the process!:

Here the batter looked that I had overdone the red food colouring...

Alma's recipe was for 8 big cupcakes, but I got 11 regular sized ones!

Cream cheese icing: sinfully delicious!!

Once they were done I ate two cupcakes on a row... and that's a first!

Six of them all ready to be taken to work tomorrow!

My icing abilities still need a lot of work, but with the Wilton 1M tip from Alma's kit from For The Cakes and Alma's tutorials, I'm getting better! I do need that November workshop, but I won't be such a lost case for Alma then!

These have become my favourite cupcakes, no contest! The icing is delicious (after eating what was left in the pastry bag, I decided I needed to wash the bowl before I ended up licking it clean!) and the cupcakes themselves are really fluffy and just plain yum!

Saturday Song: Apocalyptica!

2011-09-10T12:15:00.004+02:00

Hey there!

For today's Saturday Song I want to share with you a heavy metal version with cellos of a classic music well know tune. It's "The Hall of the Mountain King" by Apocalyptica!

G & me saw this guys at the Sonisphere festival in July, and they are absolutely amazing! The can play anything on their cellos, from classical music to Metallica, to their own songs, and they absolutely rock!! And they can also headbang like nobody's business while playing their cellos!!

Friday Feature: StellarCheri!!

2011-09-09T13:08:00.002+02:00

Friday is here, and it brings a weekend at work for me, but it's also time to show off and share one of my latest loves from a shop that I adore and will continue to feature often here: StellarCheri!!

If you think the name is familiar, you are right, I've featured StellarCheri items in previous blog entries (here and here), and I have yet another two more in the planning! Cheri, the super talented lady behind this shop, is amazing, and a total joy to work with on custom orders!

A while back, and I mean quite a while back, Cheri started working on iPad sleeves, and she made three that were a wee bit tiny for the iPad, so she was offering them with a very nice discount. I was already thinking of getting myself an e-read (Kindle, Nook... the works) at some point, and fell in love with the damask sleeve, so I thought, why not? and got it. So, there I was, with an awesome sleeve for an e-reader or tablet slightly smaller than an iPad, and nothing to fill it with!

Fast forward to earlier this year... I started telling G that I wanted an e-reader and couldn't decide between a Kindle or a Nook, and he told me to first see if I could manage the whole reading-something-other-that-is-not-a-proper-book, and suggested I started using this app in my phone called Aldiko. Fastforward through the last Sookie book and many Discworld ones, and I was more than ready to upgrade to a big screen! I told G I really wanted an e-reader for my b-day, and during my trip to Zurich with his sisters, his sis from the US brought me his present, a very shiny & cool new tablet, the Motorola Xoom! Where I can use Aldiko to read as many books as I want, and do many many more things!

Upon returning from my trip to Zurich, Xoom in hand, I went straight to look for my tablet sleeve, and oh joy! it fits my Xoom perfectly!! So now, I'm such a happy camper! I have an early b-day gift (and what a gift it is!!) and I have a fantastic handmade sleeve, in a fabric I adore, with plenty of padding to protect my little Xoom of harm!

Closes with a flap and velcro, so it's easy to open and close, and not metal to damage the tablet.

With a pocket in the back (love the contrasting red!) where I keep the connecting cable to hook it to my lappy to transfer books, movies or photos!

Opens at the top, and the velcro seems a better option than zippers or anorak closings to avoid any kinda scratches to the case.

My Xoom! With its two cameras, and its hard case cover to protect the screen (and also to make it more like a book when reading!).

A match made in heaven indeed! An awesome tablet with an amazing cover! Sometimes things work out really well, and this was indeed one of those! Thank you baby for this very awesome gift, and thank you Cheri for the perfect sleeve for it!

Traveling Thursday: Paris!!

2011-09-08T16:04:00.005+02:00

Hello everyone! I've been a bit lacking on the blogging department this week so far, cause I've been lacking on motivation... work has been a bit more taxing than usual for me, and I haven't been feeling like doing much. But today, after some odd short naps after night shift, I decided that a good way to get off my slump was sharing some photos from my first trip to Paris!

My friend Esther (and fellow nurse) decided to try her luck and work for a while in Paris, so me & Pilu decided it was the perfect excuse to visit her and the city... and Disneyland Paris!!

Up the Sacre Coeur, with great views of Montmartre with Pilu

Being twins at a park

With the Arc de Triomphe

On arrival, we rushed to see the Louvre!

Gotta love the Cheshire cat!

The Eiffel Tower!

As usual, I had to take a shot, just not the usual way...

Trying my luck with Excalibur...

An X-Wing! We had a blast at Disneyland!

And my fave place in Paris... Notre Dame de Paris!

I'm really hoping I can go back to Paris (and visit more of France) at some point with Gaurav, and I can't wait to go and take gazillions of photos of Notre Dame with my beloved Olympus!!

Friday Feature: Bewhiskered!!

2011-09-02T13:38:00.005+02:00

Friday is here! And I'm pretty excited cause I have half the weekend off, and tomorrow I have a meet up with all my friends from uni, which is quite an unique event that only happens like once a year or so!

And to celebrate Friday with a new Friday Feature I wanna share a shop that you'll love if you have any kids in the family: Bewhiskered!

I met Kenzie, the amazing lady behind Bewhiskered's Ruggles through the AOTC forums (the place to meet amazing crafters & designers) and that's how I discovered her shop and all her amazing animal blankies for the kiddos, that she calls Ruggles. You can find all sorts of animals, made out of all sorts of fabrics (and not real fur), from dragons to froggies with anything you can imagine from the animal kingdom! She also makes customs, so if you want a bumblebee ruggle instead of any of the ruggles she has in her shop, you'll be sure to get yourself one.

I knew I needed to get one for G's nephew, RD, and since he loves Jungle Book and tigers and wild animals, I knew the Tiger Ruggle would be ideal for him! She even embroidered his name in the tummy of the tiger, making it even more personalized!

When I got the tiger ruggle I fell in love with the packaging! It even came with a birth certificate of authenticity! It's not likely the kid will notice or care much about either, but the parents will surely comment on it, my SIL did!

All RD cared about was the tiger he now had in his hands, he started saying "Shere Khan, Shere Khan!" and roaring around!

RD sure liked his lil tiger ruggle, and I'm sure any kiddo that you'd have in the family would too! Even as a grown up, I wouldn't be adverse to one, and I keep on eying the giant Ruggle listing she has in her shop for the day when I have my own place!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Heavy Metal Picks!!

2011-08-31T13:14:00.004+02:00

Well, well, today's Wearing Handmade Wednesday is brought to you courtesy of my very awesome boyfriend, even more than usual, cause after going through all my photos I couldn't find any that would work, so I asked him to try and work something out, and he did!

My awesome damask Heavy Metal Picks' necklace!

I wore one of my awesome guitar pick necklaces from Heavy Metal Picks to Sonisphere, and I have another I plan to wear to Metallica's concert in India in October. They are simply awesome pieces for any occasion but for a gig, they're just beyond ideal! Just go check Kahlaw's shop on Etsy or her website, and you're sure to find the perfect rock'n'roll jewelry for any metalhead!!

Mark This Book Monday: The Shiva Trilogy!

2011-08-29T16:38:00.004+02:00

Hey everyone! Monday is here again, and this week for me it means days off after a really busy weekend at work, two awesome tops from Label of Hope in the mail, and time to read!

Right now I'm completely hooked on the "A Song Of Fire & Ice" series, and I'm currently on the 4th book, but that'll be another Mark This Book Monday entry, cause today's entry is for The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi, and the two books that are out so far: "The Immortals Of Meluha" & "The Secret Of The Nagas".

I've always been in love with Mythology, be it Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse... it doesn't matter, I love myths, and getting into the possible Anthropological answers behind them is even better for me, since it fulfills one of those basic treats of mine: wanting to know, to understand and to get answers. But just for the pure enjoyment I love when Mythology, Anthropology & Archeology are all mixed up in the form of a good novel, and this series does that with Hindu mythology.

The Shiva Trilogy is the story of Lord Shiva, one of the many Hindu gods, but one of the best known out there, and the premise of the whole series is: What if Shiva once existed but was never a God, but a man that forged his destiny in a way that is now remembered as a God?.

Even if you don't know the first thing about Hindu mythology you'll get wrapped in the story, with the intrigues, the secrets and the path of a normal man that becomes a hero through his karma (call it destiny, call it karma, call it doing what he feels it's right), and if you know at least some Hindu mythology you'll really enjoy the way the author explains and presents the characters and the myths themselves.

I read the first book last year during one of my visits to Delhi, and the second book I finished on my way back from Zurich to Spain, during my flights and layover in Geneva. Thankfully, Deeksha, G's sister was awesome enough to give me her copy of the book, before even reading it herself so I could read it! (Thanks Dee!). I'm now hoping the third book, "The Oath Of The Vayuputras", won't take too long to come out, cause you're left with quite a surprise as the second book ends, and with even more unanswered questions!

A very recommended series, and if after reading it you wonder about Meluha and the Indus Valley Civilization, I'd recommend another great book to learn more about it: The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives.

Saturday Song: Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette

2011-08-27T13:11:00.002+02:00

Saturday is here, and with it, a bit of a busy weekend at work for me, but I wanted to start the weekend with a smile and a warm feeling, so I decided to share with you this Alanis Morissette song, that I love: Head Over Feet for our Saturday Song.

If you, like me, are lucky enough to feel like this, embrace it, and share the love!

Traveling Thursday: Zurich!

2011-08-25T11:54:00.007+02:00

Hello everyone! For this week's Traveling Thursday, I'm sharing photos of my most recent trip, this past weekend to Zurich, Switzerland!

G's family were there on vacation, so I decided to join them to spend some time with his elder sister and her family that I hadn't seen in almost two years, since they live in the US.

On Saturday we went to see the Rhine Falls, the biggest waterfalls in Europe, and the walk from the train station to the falls themselves was also gorgeous!

On Friday we went to Conny Land, a small amusement park, with a very cool rollercoaster, called the Cobra! And we saw the dolphin training session too!

And I didn't get to see too much of Zurich itself, except on our ways from the Central train station to our hotel, but since that's smack in the centre of Zurich, that was a nice view!

Packing for a weekend means only hand luggage, and my Weekender Dolly bag was perfect for it!

Switzerland looks like a lovely country that I'd love to visit again, but I should try and learn some German for my next trip, it'd make things easier!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Lily Brush!!

2011-08-24T13:19:00.004+02:00

Hey there everyone! After a slight break from blogging (I went this past weekend to Zurich, to spend some time with G's family, and I didn't have time to work on entries for last Friday nor Monday) we're back to our regular schedule with a new Wearing Handmade Wednesday edition!

My Lily Brush kimono dress (& one of my Dolly bags)

Today I wanted to show off my awesome Lily Brush kimono dress (photo taken by my dear bf & photographer at a very tourist-y location in Madrid). Not only it's a super cute, comfy, chic & great looking dress, but it's also a no fuss one. Slip it on, tie the obi belt, and you're good to go! Lily Brush's Etsy shop was a great discovery, full of gorgeous clothes, mainly dresses, and her Kimono dresses even more, they're available in all sort of prints, and be warned, they're addictive, you'll want to get more than one!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: akaCinders!!

2011-08-17T10:55:00.004+02:00

Hi there! *yawns* How's Wednesday going peeps? After working night shift I'm yet to get some shut eye, but I decided to write today's blog entry while I wait for the postman to come, so I can then take a nap without interruptions.

Today's Wearing Handmade Wednesday's photo was taken by my personal photographer and love of my life, and he edited it to make it look as vintage style as the Vivifromage dress I was wearing, though the entry is NOT about the dress!

My absolutely gorgeous akaCinders flower necklace!!

I already introduced you to akaCinders awesome necklaces in this previous entry, but since then I've bought another two gorgeous necklaces for myself, and I've given a brooch and a pair necklace as presents! The last time I wore this necklace I got so many compliments of it, such an unique piece, and even better, eco-friendly!

If you've fallen in love with this piece, you need to check akaCinders Artfire's shop, and see the many more gorgeous necklaces she has to offer!

Monday Munchies: Alma's Cupcakes!

2011-08-15T15:50:00.005+02:00

Hello everyone! A short (and sweet) blog entry for today! I work a double shift, so after working morning shift, I need to have a decent nap before going back to work night shift. And since last week has been pretty busy too, I have no entry ready, no recipe and no book...

So I decided to do a different sort of Monday Munchies entry! I'm sharing a blog and a website that you all need to know! Alma's Cupcakes and Objetivo Cupcakes! Both are the brain (& hand) child of Alma, an amazing Spanish lady even more obsessed with cupcakes than I am, and that is a total pro at them! She's such a pro, that she's offering courses/workshops and I've signed up for the beginners one in November (rest assured, there'll be a blog entry about it for sure!).

Most of her recipes are in Spanish, but she also has a good number of them in English, so check out both her website & blog! Her recipes are amazing, and all her info has helped me locate supplies that won't cost an arm & a leg to ship! Yay for cupcakes boxes in Madrid!

And since I can't write a blog entry without photos, here you can see my latest cupcake sucesses!

Green Tea cupcakes, recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World"

Mojito cupcakes, recipe from Heaven Is A Cupcake!

Saturday Song: Man of the Hour

2011-08-13T13:36:00.002+02:00

The bf has been obsessed with Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder for a while now, and though it can be a bit annoying sometimes, it is good music, and some of it, even great! And so, this Saturday Song is by Eddie Vedder.

Who would have thought an ukelele and a guy singing could be such a masterpiece?

This song is just amazing, and part of the soundtrack of an equally amazing movie, if you haven't seen Big Fish, I highly recommend that you do.

Traveling Thursday: London!

2011-08-11T14:16:00.002+02:00

Hello guys! This week I'm sharing with you a few old (and not too good) photos of my first trip to London, quite a few years ago!

I went to London with my friend Sara and her friend Juan, and my then camera decided to crap out on me during the trip, with very dark photos (not that London was uncharacteristically sunny or anything, but their photos weren't half as dark as mine!)

Since this trip, I haven't properly visited London again, but I've had connecting flights more than once at Heathrow, and let's not forget last year's lovely "I'm-stuck-in-London-for-5-days-cause-there's-a-shitload-of-snow-and-planes-are-NOT-coming-or-going" experience!

I really wanna go back to London again, on an intentional trip, to visit sights I didn't get to see & experience (like the Eye of London, or the Florence Nightingale museum), to spend more time at the National Gallery & the British Museum, to visit the Doctor Who Experience and to take some bloody decent pictures!!

The Tower of London (I had a blast during the visit)

With the Yeoman (Beefeater) that was our guide on the Tower's tour, he was so witty & funny!

Enjoying the views of London from up St Paul's, I have a thing for climbing up hundreds of stairs for a nice view

Your typical photo with a phone box

And your other typical shot, with a double decker!

Monday Munchies: Hummus, yummy hummus!

2011-08-08T14:31:00.004+02:00

A new week is here, and while I recover from last night's shift at work, I wanna share with you a very easy & yummy recipe to feed the tummy on this Monday Munchies edition!

Hummus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr boiled chickpeas (a can of ready made chickpeas will work)

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 lemon

- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

- Ground cumin

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

- Olive oil

Method:

- Drain the chickpeas & wash them to get rid of the preserving liquid in the can, drain them well again; put them in the blender. Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar till you get a paste, dilute it with a bit of water and add it to the blender too.

- Peel the garlic clove and squeeze the lemon, filter the juice. Add both to the blender with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste. Blend everything till you get a thick paste but no lumps, you can add a bit of water if it's too thick.

- Sprinkle a bit of paprika & olive oil on top, and serve with stick of raw carrot & cucumber and some pita bread for a delicious lunch or dinner!

Giveaway Winning: Illustrated Ink!!

2011-08-05T12:47:00.005+02:00

It had been a while since I won a giveaway, so instead of the usual Friday Feature, I wanna share my booty from the last giveaway I won with you all!

You already know how much I like Leila from Illustrated Ink's art from previous blog entries, so when she organized a giveaway in her blog to win a print of her "Love & Hate" original watercolour, I jumped aboard instantly!

I was lucky enough to win the giveaway, so I was awaiting patiently the arrival of my parcel, and when it arrived not only I got the print, but also a postcard AND one of Leila's paper dolls, Nurse Nora! ;)

Her style is amazing, I love the old school tattoo and the colours are always stunning!

Miss Nora is now just waiting for me to cut and assemble her on of my next days off!! I don't know where I'll hang her though, so that's why she's still in one piece... any ideas?

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Horace & Jasper!

2011-08-03T12:04:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone! Another edition of Wearing Handmade Wednesday it's here!

After Sonisphere, sporting my Horace & Jasper leather cuff

I got this amazing leather cuff from Horace & Jasper with one of my Liane Margerite Lingerie orders, since the guy behind it is the hubby of the amazing Liane. It's super easy to put on with the snap closure, and it looks great with anything black, and so it's perfect for going to gigs, like the Sonisphere festival!

You can find many more awesome hand crafted items at Horace & Jasper, wallets, cuffs, even hair barrettes. If you like leather and awesome stuff, go check his Etsy shop!

Mark This Book Monday: Lily Bard Series!!

2011-08-01T13:44:00.002+02:00

Welcoming a new busy new week, after a busy weekend, with some food for the mind with Mark This Book Monday!

Today I want to introduce you to another series by Charlaine Harris (which main characters have also made a cameo in the Sookie Stackhouse series), but one that is not about vampires, but have a strong female lead character.

Lily Bard is a woman with many scars, inside and outside, so to get away from it all, she moves into a place called Shakespeare! (Bard, Shakespeare... you know?) She starts working cleaning houses, but her hopes for a quiet life are soon squished, when she finds a corpse. Lily finds herself playing detective without meaning to, and her knowledge of the people of Shakespeare she acquired helps her on finding the criminal.

Murder mystery books, with another mystery that is revealed book by book, our very own main character. On each book you learn more about Lily, and about what shaped her to be the way she is, and she learns to grow even within her new self, the one she worked so hard on building and made sure was strong enough to survive whatever the ugly world out there would throw at her. The murders aren't Agatha Christie twists, but aren't too previsible either, so they make the books very enjoyable to read, and the way you learn about characters through their houses and their habits is very interesting too.

I would have loved if Charlaine Harris had written more Lily Bard books, but she's said she won't write anymore, still the 5 she did write are very much worth checking them out!

Friday Feature: Cotton Purr!!

2011-07-29T15:18:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone, Friday is here once again! Even though for me this weekend is a busy one, given that I work two night shifts on a row, and I have the celebration of my younger nephew and my sis-in-law's birthdays on Saturday!

On today's Friday Feature I wanna share with you a seller that I already introduced in my blog a pair of years back here, when she made me a custom pouch for my phone back then. Since then, I kept Cotton Purr, JoJo's shop in my favourites, checking now and then what new products she was adding to her line, and what new fabrics she was using.

And when it came to the time to search for a replacement for my beloved Sanrio Hello Kitty wallet (which I adore and bought at the Delhi's Sanrio store, before it closed) which was getting seriously battered and which had always been a bit of a fight with the card slots (the tiniest wee bit too small, so it was always a bit of a fight to get cards in & out of some of them), I decided that I was going for a handmade wallet this time (of course!!) and that I needed a wallet with a cute fabric, with plenty of card slots, that they should be roomy enough, the wallet itself should be roomy enough to accommodate the many business cards from sellers I always carry, AND it needed to have a clear pocket so I could carry a photo of G & me there... a bit much, you say? Well, I began to think so till I saw the latest wallet that JoJo had introduced to her shop, the Ultimate Wallet Purse, and she can rightly call it that, cause it just had everything I was looking for in a wallet! It was just a question of choosing the right fabric, and when I saw this one, I knew it was the right one!

When buying from Cotton Purr you always get a convo to thank you for your purchase and to tell you the expected date of shipping taking into account her current production time, and then another when she actually ships the item, and when your package arrives, it's all lovingly wrapped like this:

I love the fabric I chose for my wallet; there were other very cute fabrics, a bit more bold and with lighter colours, but I had decided that I wanted a fabric that was cute, but could stand better about the dirt that could come to it through every day use, and this fabric is perfect!

And now it's time to take a lot inside... Did I say I wanted a roomy wallet with loads of roomy card slots? Well, I'd say I really got what I wanted! The accordion shape of the wallet makes it capable of holding loads of everything really, money, tons of cards, even your passport, and since you also have a coins zippered pocket, you can be sure your coins won't end up all over the place (unless you forget to zip it sometime...). It is roomy enough to hold my cell phone without its TARDIS case and still close without a struggle! And that way I can use it as a carry clutch, in case I don't want to carry a handbag.

And of course my last requirement that so many wallets I saw on Etsy lacked: the clear window/pocket, for ID or in my case, for photos! What can I say, I just have to have a photo of G & me in my wallet, it just makes me smile every time I open the wallet, and sometimes, when I need a smile, I open the wallet just to look at it!

As you can see I found the wallet I wanted, handmade with love and one that causes my co-workers to ask where I got it! I like it so much that I'm getting one for my sis-in-law for her b-day (she also inquired about it) and a slightly smaller model, the Mid Size Wallet Purse, for my friend Gema.

If you are looking for THE wallet, go check out Cotton Purr, it is quite likely that you might just find it waiting for you there!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Ink Me Up Designs!

2011-07-27T13:35:00.006+02:00

Getting back into the regular blogging schedule, today is time to go for another Wearing Handmade Wednesday!

And as in the last one, it's also my little car the one that is sporting the handmade-ness!:

My little Ink Me Up Desings "Smelly Cat"

My little smelly cat by Ink Me Up designs is a very faithfull companion in all my trips, making sure my car smells nice and adding some extra cuteness to it!

If you want a kitty (or a doggie, or an owl, or a rabbit or even a seagull!) to make your car smell of lavender drop by her Etsy or Folksy shops, and you'll be sure to find something you'll like!

Monday Munchies: Honey Chicken with Veggies!

2011-07-25T12:40:00.004+02:00

Well, well, well. Finally we're back to normal, back to work, and back to a normal blogging schedule.

And to kick start the week right, nothing better than a yummy recipe to get us to start the week right with today's Monday Munchies!

As usual, it's a recipe from the Easy Cooking magazine!

Even Gaurav liked it, and he's not big on veggies!

Honey Chicken With Veggies

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast

- 1 fairly big chive

- 1 leek

- 1 zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 200 gr green beans

- 1 garlic clove

- Juice of 1 lemon and its zest

- 1 tablespoon honey

- olive oil

- salt

- a few black peppercorns

Method:

- Clean and cut the chicken into thin stripes, marinate them for at least 30 min in the fridge with a marinade made with the lemon juice & zest, a bit of olive oil and the peppercorns. A word of advice, if you don't appreciate crunching on peppercorns while eating, I'd recommend you count them at this stage and also when getting the chicken out of the marinade.

- Scrape the carrots, cut the ends of the zucchini and clean the beans; wash and cut everything into thin stripes/sticks. Then boil the beans in salted water for 5 min and drain them. Clean the chive & leek and slice them.

- Saute the chive & leek in a pan with a little oil for about 5 min. Add the carrots and beans, and saute them on high heat and stirring them often for another 2 to 3 minutes, then add the zucchini. Add salt to taste, and after 2 more minutes, remove the veggies from the pan and reserve.

- Add a little more oil to the pan and brown the garlic clove, previously cleaned & minced. Add the chicken drained from the marinade (and if you're like me, without the peppercorns!) and saute it. Add what's left of the marinade and the honey. Finally add back the veggies, saute everything together for a minute and serve.

- Enjoy!

Friday Photos: Gaurav's Visit in 7 images!

2011-07-22T14:14:00.005+02:00

Hello everyone!

After a break and a few scheduled posts so I could enjoy the bf's visit, and some issues with my old lappy, here I am, back on the blogging roll!

First of all, this is my first blog entry written in my new shiny Dell laptop! It's a new & awesome piece of technology that the bf chose for me, plenty of memory to keep all my photos, and a good processor to run Lightroom without issues!

And now, to the photos!

Gaurav's version of Tandoori chicken!

Gaurav, and my two besties's bfs figuring the BBQ

Miss Indy (Pilu's dog), ready to eat some BBQ

Gorgeous plant found around my parents' cottage

Gaurav loved the lavender fields around the cottage!

Taking a night deep in the pool of our suite

Gaurav really liked my seekh kebabs!

Friday Feature: Ametista Dark Decor!

2011-07-15T15:10:00.005+02:00

Friday is here, and with it a new edition of Friday Feature!

This week I wanna show off my bloody brilliant MoNsTeR bOx by Ametista Dark Decor! I discovered this amazing Etsy shop via Deb Gassmann's favourites, when she hearted this very box (Deb is the very talented lady behind On Cupcake Moon and my taste twin!).

Ametista's shop is full of all sorts of amazing things, from MoNsTeR bOxEs to apothecary bottles, to treacherous tea sets, to amazing mirrors and wall hangings, everything with a touch of dark, pagan and even a bit of burtonesque for good measure!

MoNsTeR bOxEs come from deep within the dark jungles of la Isla de Ametista, and they're very fierce and tricky to catch! My own box, called Dorothy's Revenge due to an unfortunate accident, witch with striped socks... as described in the listing itself: "We were taken up in a twister whilst chasing this elusive MoNsTeR bOx and when we came back down to earth, (bOx in hand) we discovered that we had somehow landed on a witch and had unfortunately and much to our dismay, crushed her, leaving nothing to view but her striped socks...poor dear!" And it's quite a well behaved box, maybe cause the witch underneath it knows another witch when she sees one, but the box hasn't tried to snap my fingers off yet! ;)

My dear box arrived so well protected and packed! Great attention to detail from the Ametista ladies, and I even got my authenticity certificates! You don't want a MoNsTeR bOx without an authenticity certificate, it might be too wild and snap your fingers off!

With great attention to detail in every swirl and stripe of paint, and the cutest blue fur inside, this box is a proper treasure, and I'm very much in love with it, I just can't wait to have a place of my own to display it!

If you want a MoNsTeR bOx of your own, hurry up, there are two on SALE at the Etsy shop now!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: SandyGrafik!!

2011-07-13T15:47:00.009+02:00

Hello everyone! Another scheduled post today, since this week I'm enjoying having the boyfriend around and not having to work!

For Wearing Handmade Wednesday this week, I'm having an unusual kinda model, my car!

My little C3 sporting his Sandygrafik Elphaba sticker

A close up of the sticker, shitty quality pic though, taken with my phone...

Yep, even my little C3 now "wears" handmade! I've already shared with you the talented Sandra Vargas and her SandyGrafik shop on Etsy (btw, she's having a SALE on her prints! go check it out!) on a previous blog entry, so today, I just wanted to show off my Elphaba sticker*! Great quality, it has withstood quite a few washes already and it looks good as new!

*In case you are wondering, Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, from the Wizard of Oz, but more exactly, from the Wicked series by Gregory Maguire.

Mark This Book Monday: OMGcow, The First Year!

2011-07-11T13:25:00.003+02:00

Hello there everyone!

I'm starting the week by telling you that this week I'm gonna be absent enjoying some off days with the boyfriend, so I've worked on scheduling some blog posts the past week, and here's the first one!

With some mind food and a new edition of Mark This Book Monday, I have the pleasure to share with you the very talented Sheika and her webcomic turned into book: OMGcow, the First Year!

I've been following Sheika's webcomic since she started it, and I've loved reading it, but for a bookworm like myself, having the possibility of reading them all (at least the ones that are part of the book) in one go, in book shape has made the experience even better!

Sheika has a very distinct style of drawing, that can vary from more comic-y to more realistic, but it's the kinda style you'd recognize everywhere & anywhere as hers. Her comic is autobiographic, so she takes us through her art classes, her relationship, getting herself a cat, to art exhibitions, dancing cows and even her car accident. The mood and tone of the comic is just as life itself, sometimes more light & fun, and sometimes darker, sadder and even inviting to reflecting on our lives, through the reflections she makes herself.

Reading it is a breeze, it's addictive, entertaining, even makes you think about life, the universe and everything, and once you finish it, you wish it was longer! But, the reader is in luck in this case, since you can pick up from where the book ends and continue reading on her webcomic.

It's not every day that you get to question why you do what you do, and if you are doing what you really want to do, all while going "awwww" at dancing cows!

And since I pre-ordered the book, I got it signed by Miss Sheikasaurus Rex herself! And along with it some mini-comics and some awesomely cute cards for all occasions, and also proof that Miss Sheika is terribly talented at what people would call "proper" art, a sketch of my lil Cinnamon that made me smile and cry at the same time.

If you want to give a chance to comics for a change, and superheroes are not your thing, you can order OMGcow, the First Year here, and you can check the ongoing webcomic here!

Saturday Song: Always With Me, Always With You by Joe Satriani

2011-07-09T08:09:00.001+02:00

Gaurav arrives today!

Since I'm gonna be spending all the time with him, and very little with the laptop these days, I'm gonna leave you all with a wonderful song, an instrumental amazing love song, by the uber talented and one of the best guitarists in the world, Joe Satriani.

Always With Me, Always With You!