This coming week is going to be on the rough side, stress-wise. I'm doing some stuff at work that is Big and New and I am hoping I have organized everything but of course am scared that I haven't remembered to do something important that will screw things up. Plus it's stinky hot out, the kind of heat that just wears you down and makes you want to ( Read more... )

Back from my four days in Toronto. I'm footsore, having tromped through most of the area right around my hotel, but I also relied on the pretty great public transport the city offers. I was in a very central location downtown which meant it was pretty touristy in spots but tourists were just sort of the background parade of bustle. This is ( Read more... )

Have just frosted a chocolate cake that I stress baked this evening. It's not bad - the cake is a bit undersweet and the frosting is a bit oversweet so they work ok together, I guess? I'm stress baking because I'm trying to get stuff done at work that's been left undone for too long, and when I do that I start tail-spinning into an anxious fret. So ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and good wishes to all tonight. It's cold outside, but inside we're nice and warm, and our tiny tinsel tree is glowing invitingly. As is usual for our family, we opened presents on Christmas Eve. This year, since we're far away from family, Facetime was recruited to help bridge the miles, meaning we got to ( Read more... )

Making bibinka (a semi-sweet rice-flour-based Filipino cake that's coconutty and has a sort of spongy, puddingy texture) and buckeyes. The buckeyes are supposed to be rolled in cocoa nibs, but I couldn't get any, so they will not be peanut butter hedgehogs but rather plain old yummy buckeyes ( Read more... )

Went over to a friend's house and baked four kinds of cookies. They mostly came out ok, but none came out quite as awesome as we had hoped. My coconut macaroons were probably the biggest success - really tasty, but turned out shaped like odd little sombreros. My brown butter cookies are ok, but I feel like they have a faint taste of raw flour to ( Read more... )

So, you know, Thanksgiving and stuff. Husband had a massive ear infection, rendering him temporarily deaf in his left ear and requiring drops and antibiotics. It was a very quiet few days and I was a little bored from time to time but mostly fine ( Read more... )

Sometimes, you spend a day absolutely mired in fear and anxiety about something, worried that you've made a profound mistake which will affect you gravely. And there's no way to tell until a moment happens, and the bad thing either occurs...or doesn't ( Read more... )

Cleveland is quite nice. Italian pastries may or may not have played a factor in my assessment.

All kidding about baked goods aside, this seems to be a fun little city.