i art a day.

Just as cute, and a thousand times sweeter than the real thing, I totally fell for these panda cupcakes! Originally from the Hello, Cupcake! book, these little pandas were a little time consuming to construct, but well worth the effort. While perusing the grocery store for all of the decorating ingredients, I had to get a little creative because they don’t carry chocolate covered sunflower seeds and Oreo’s Cereal. So, for the ears I used Mini Oreos taken apart and cut in half, and just used black icing for the nose. The cupcakes themselves were made from scratch (from the vanilla cupcake recipe in the book), but store-bought vanilla icing was used for icing in an effort to cut out an extra half hour from the prep time.

I made twelve total. The first six came out a little deformed before i got the hang of the squeezey tube black icing. Of course once they’re all put together you don’t want to actually EAT them. But, once I did manage to start munching on them I was pleased. The vanilla cupcake recipe isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it’s fine (I probably baked them for too long), and not really the point of this creation anyway.

Sort-of Book Review Blurb:

If you haven’t seen the Hello, Cupcake! book yet (or bought it and made everything in it yet), then what are you waiting for!? It’s been written about on just about every baking blog already, and it’s FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to make the sunflower cupcakes and the garden party cupcakes, and OH! the owl cupcakes!!! It was given to me for Christmas and I pretty much can’t stop looking at it. I want to start throwing parties and whipping up these babies as gifts and maybe even just get some beautiful ideas of my own.

On top of all of the super cute cupcake designs, the full-page full-color images of all of the creations, and the tips & techniques for creating them, there’s a selection of homemade recipes at the back of the book for cake and icings. There’s also a section dedicated to altering out-of-the-box cake mixes! Yay shortcuts! Oh, and supplies sources! This book rocks!!!

image: Steve Adams for Cookie Swap

Last week was the first week of Baking & Pastry School! A year ago I might have never guessed that this is where I would be now, but then again – a year ago I was sitting restlessly while watching the architecture firm I was working at slowly crumble under the burden of the heavily distressed economy. At the same time, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing right now.

Over the summer I knew that I loved baking, and spent a good amount of my spare time mixing things up. In the fall I thought I’d give it a try professionally and work at a bakery/pastry shop, just to see if I’d still enjoy it under the pressure of production. In October I started studying every culinary school from New York City down to Washington DC to find a fitting baking program. By Thanksgiving I had applied to the Art Institute here in Philadelphia, for their Baking & Pastry specific program, and reorganized my already tight finances to make it happen.

The program is a year long, run on a quarter system which is totally new to me. Because of the truncated quarters instead of semesters, the courses are all at least four hours long, if not two days a week as well. Luckily, I’m used to long classes of this sort thanks to design school. There are three classes per quarter to help accommodate working students, which is sorta where I’m at these days. This quarter I’m taking the basic courses, Intro. to Baking (which is also a Culinary Arts class – I’m the only B&P person in it), Kitchen skills for Baking (All B&P students, learning how to use every imaginable piece of equipment), and Safety & Sanitation (for everyone – you just gotta know it!).

Contrary to popular belief, there’s some of this:

and of course, plenty of this:

This time around though seems pretty different, and I don’t just mean the content of the program. When I was in school for my bachelor’s degree college WAS my life. I lived at school and ate at school, and anything that I did was either for school or with people from school. Five years of SCHOOL. This time it’s different because I have a life that I’ve started to build, and I’m fitting school into it. 16 hours a week substituted with class time, and a couple of hours a week of reading or homework where I’d otherwise be reading for pleasure or goofing off. I see a lot of the kids in my courses and think, “Wow, they just graduated from high school.” But I’m not the only older student, there’s plenty of people with other jobs, families, and lives that are fitting a little bit of education into it all as well. Ultimately, it’s just great to be learning about and spending my days doing something I really enjoy again.

In honor of Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2010 – I’ve decided to celebrate with some turquoise(ish) design bloggy love. Not only is this a great wall color, but it definitely adds a little something to housewares. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. Just incase this little post isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for turquoise, head on over to the House of Turquoise blog for some more!

1. From Flickr – xJavierx 2. 1960s Harem Flats on Etsy 3. 1950s Royal Manual Typewriter on Etsy 4. From Flickr – xJavierx 5. Automatic Electric Rotary Phone on Etsy 6. Screen Printed Bicycle Pint Glasses on Etsy 7. From Flickr – nathy_0308 8. From Flickr – Sean Rogers1 9. Neckwarmer on Etsy 10. Chevy Farm on Etsy 11. 1880s Antique Dresser on Etsy 12. unknown 13. From Flickr – pinprick

photo by epheminist

Last night while the lights and confetti flashed across the screen from Times Square and our plastic cups clinked I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that 2009 was finally over, and hope – with cautious optimism – that 2010 will bring something else, something better. I’ve been considering the next twelve months and how I’d like for them to differ from the last twelve. In some cases, there are very clear things that I’d like to try or do differently, and in others there’s more of just a general feeling about how I’d like things to be. See, 2009 hasn’t exactly been the most enjoyable year. Each season brought a new hurdle and tried my patience as well as endurance. At the same time, there were plenty of great things that happened, not to be totally overshadowed by the not so memorable events.

To dwell on the low points of 2009 would seem like moving in the wrong direction, but the high points are definitely worth a quick recap:

+ Celebrated 2 year anniversary with the Boyf.
+ Moved into a large townhouse (with the Boyf) complete with a studio space!
+ Travelled to Minnesota to see an incredibly lovely friend, separated by distance and 11 years. (It was absolutely AWESOME!)
+ Went camping in the “Gorges” Ithaca, NY and had a blast.
+ Got a fantastic new laptop <3
+ Met some brilliant new people
+ Participated in & won a small local design competition.
+ Travelled to South Carolina to spend the holidays with my dear family.
+ Got accepted to Baking & Pastry school!!!

I have no idea what 2010 will hold, and I’ve learned that there are some things you just can’t control. But, this new year there’s a couple of things I’d like to do for myself, that could or should help me with anything that’s in store.

It’s time to get organized. Organize my space – organize my finances – organize my time – organize me life. Spaces to organize include my 1. my studio space 2. the kitchen 3. the bathroom 4. the bedroom. Probably in that order. It’s so important these days to get it together for several reasons. First and foremost, it’s so much easier to work and create in a clean and well organized space. Secondly, my very adventurous kitten will be less prone to accidently spilling / stepping on / jumping on / destroying something if it’s put away and tidy. Probably. I have no idea what I’ll need to do in the way of school work, but chances are being organized won’t hurt.

It’s time to turn up the music. Once upon a time I listened to music every free minute I had. It was entertaining, relaxing, and emotional. The loudest scream rock and the softest electronic rhythms struck chords in my mind and resonated throughout my days. It helped inspire and center me, and it’s something that I’m truly lacking these days. Ideally, I’d like to listen to something new (to me) each week.

Chances are I can’t afford to buy a new cd once a week but there’s the radio and artist websites and well, my friends & family’s recommendations. I’m looking at classics, new stuff, and everything in between. No genre should be left untouched. Thankfully, an iTunes gift card that I received for Christmas will be getting me started!

It’s time to put pen to paper. Keep a sketchbook. I had to do it in art school. I had to do it in high school. I had to do it in college. Any personal sketchbook that I’ve ever kept has been well used. Sure, the drive to draw comes and goes, but the more I draw, the more I’m driven to it. So I’m endeavoring to make at least two sketches a week. Perhaps while I’m listening to a new record! I’m not even requiring myself to make any special effort with a sketch. A simple line drawing is just as important to me as the most intensive painting. A doodle, a shaded drawing, a collage, a photograph with written commentary, a font-tastic entry. Anything. I’m sick of having great flashes of ideas and losing them over time without so much as jotting them down.

Ultimately I don’t think that any one of these things will dramatically change the course of my life, but I think it can definitely change the quality of it. Here’s hoping that maybe this year will be better than the last, and the more organized, sketch driven and musically aware version of myself is way more awesome. Hello 2010.

Greg & I ice skating on New Year’s Eve