I always feel a bit weird when I decorate a macaron. Generally it seems like it's frowned upon, but seeings as I'm just a home cook and not a fancy patisserier I can do what I want and be inspired by what my family likes rather than being constrained by tradition :) Plus these ones are decorated with just an incy bit of royal icing that melts in your mouth along with the macaron. I think that's totally ok, don't you? Photo by Alyce Holzberger Photography Oh well, who really cares anyway. They are sooo pretty and yummy as well and I didn't hear any complaints when they were served. These pink and gold macarons were made for Bubble's 8th birthday party to tie in with the shabby chic with a glitzy twist princess theme. Lilli's Shabby Chic Princess 8th Birthday Party CLICK HERE for more party photo's Photo by Alyce Holzberger Photography To make the gold macarons I simply colored half the macs with a touch of yellow and ivory to make a 'golden' base colour, filled them with pink ganache and then I airbrushed them with americolor gold sheen. Photo by Alyce Holzberger Photography Yup pretty simple. I borrowed an air brush from my friend Sam over at Caketopia, but you could just as easily use a tin of edible gold spray like the ones from PME or Wilton. That's what I normally do. For the pink hand piped macarons, I coloured the macarons medium pink and filled them with pink ganache. Then I hand piped a design in the middle using some royal icing that I had coloured with yellow and ivory. I often do a little bit of practice piping on some parchment paper before I start on the actual macarons. Umm it doesn't help me that much I am still pretty messy :) But I guess, imagine what it would be like if I didn't practice first. Some of the macarons I piped an initial and some a few lines reminiscent of a rough fleur de lis. Then I piped a row of dots around the edge of the macaron. I allowed the royal icing to dry and then using a clean fine paint brush (one that I only use on food items) I hand painted the piped details with some edible gold paint mixed in with gold lustre dust and rose spirits. Viola pretty hand piped macarons, just perfect for a princess party. Macaron Shells makes around 40 shells or 20 filled macarons 190 gram (6 5/8 oz)almond meal (almond flour) 190 gram pure icing sugar (6 5/8 oz powdered sugar) 190 gram granulated sugar (6 5/8 oz) 48 grams water (1 5/8 oz) 140 gram egg whites aged split into 2 lots of 70grams each (5 oz split into 2 lots of 2 1/2oz each)* food color of choice (I use gel type food color like Wilton) *ageing egg whites refers to separating the yolks from whites and then leaving the whites to age for a few days. This can be done on the counter if your countries climate permits or in the fridge, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and then pop a few holes in the top. Alternately you can pop fresh egg whites in the microwave on high for 10 seconds or so - I used the microwave method in this batch pictured. 1. Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and pulse a few times in food processor to make almond meal finer. Do not over process as the meal can become oily. Sieve into a large bowl. Add colour and 70g (2 1/2 ounce) of the egg whites to the sugar/almond mixture but don’t mix in. 2. Place remaining 70g (2 1/2 ounce) of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk. Yup - I really use this super old fashioned thermometer I have had for about 20 years to make my macarons 3. Pop granulated sugar and water into saucepan stir to combine and cook without stirring to 118C (245 F). Brush down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water as required to avoid the sugar crystallizing. Once the mixture reaches 115C (240 F) start mixing the egg whites on high. Make sure you have a pouring shield on your mixer, when the sugar syrup reaches 118C (245 F)remove from heat and immediately pour in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl continuing to whisk on high. 4. Continue to whisk the meringue on high until the side of the bowl is only a little warm to touch, around 50C (120 F). 5. Add meringue mixture to almond mixture and using a large spatula fold the mixture together until it starts to shine and forms a ribbon that disappears back into the mixture after about 20 seconds. 6. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip (or just cut the end of a disposable piping bag, that's what I do) and pipe in lines onto parchment lined baking sheets. To make the macarons as even as possible I apply a constant slow pressure to the piping bag and count a few numbers like up to 3 for each one. Waiting to form skins after piping If your mixture has peaks after you have piped a couple of rows that do now sink back down you macaron mixture needs more mixing. Pop it back in the bowl and mix it a bit more 7. Set aside for about 30 minutes or until the macarons have formed a skin so that the macaron mixture does not stick to your finger when gently touched. If the weather is humid this step may take longer up to 2 hours. I pop on the aircon if it's humid at my house. Baking in the oven. The macarons will rise after a few minutes in the oven and develop a frilly foot Eeek- can you see some of those less than perfect under mixed mac's in the back that I pointed out in the previous picture - they do not have a flat shiny top. That's so not mac-cool 8. Meanwhile preheat oven to 140C (285 F). Once ready bake the macaroons for around 13 to 15 minutes depending on size, it may take longer, all ovens are different. If they are baked and you gently push on the side the tops will not move, if the tops do move do bake for another minute or 2. Also they should not be browned if they are reduce the heat for the next batch or bake for less time. 9. Once baked remove the baking trays and immediately slide off the macarons and the parchment onto the work surface and let cool completely before removing the shells. 10. Once cooled match disks into like sizes and sandwich together using the ganache. To make ganache melt white chocolate with cream in the microwave and mix gently until combined, use a ration of 3:1, so for example 300 grams white chocolate to 100 grams cream, sorry guys I measure as I already have the scales out and I can't be bothered messing up a liquid measuring jug :) Add some gel color and raspberry flavor to taste. Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores. Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog. Original Ideas, photography and recipes by Linda Vandermeer do not reuse without permission.

Ideas for Thanksgiving decor including ideas for decorating a kids thanksgiving table, how to make a fruit kabob turkey and mantle decorating

Easy homemade mint marshmallows made into easy snowman marshmallow faces perfect for hot chocolate or just general snacking purposes.

Outdoor Party Ideas for an Under The Stars 11th Birthday Party Planning a birthday party under the stars can be a delightful experience of creativity and fun. Imagine transforming your backyard or local park into a magical galaxy for a night. Party venues for such a theme are most enchanting in open spaces, where the twinkling stars can be a natural part of the decor. Think soft fairy lights, glow-in-the-dark balloons, and a telescope station for a mini astronomy class. Don't forget to set up a

I spent the morning making a special lunch for my son. He is taking ME on a date tonight! I packed this box full of goodies and some strawbe...

This exquisite CINDERELLA INSPIRED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Jessebell Alicea of Dreamland Parties & Events. Oh my goodness I'm positively swooning over this party! There are so many stunning details in it that I just can't get enough of...from the adorable carriage dessert table to the beautiful blue butterfly dress cake; this party is just spectacular and is full of ideas that would make any little girl's dreams come true! The Cinderella party ideas and elements that I like most from this gorgeous birthday occasion are: The beautiful blue butterfly dress cake The adorable carriage dessert table The cute invitation The darling glass slipper placed in a golden carriage The cute "once upon a time" glitter gold cake topper The darling blue cake pops sprinkled in shimmering gold The cute blue tulle table skirt The darling "Ana" block letters and MORE!

A blog about Decorating, fashion, gardens, the beach, gardening, cooking, photography, all influenced by my Italian and Argentine roots.

when i began dreaming up a combined birthday party for my two oldest daughters... the biggest hurdle was trying to come up with a theme... a theme that would be appropriate for both of their ages. i knew I wanted something different... something that would bridge the gap between "little girl" and "young woman". it needed to be "fun" but it couldn't be too childish. i needed to make sure it felt more "grown up" without it being TOO grown up. with it being summer, i couldn't help but think of two things... from there a color palette of pinks & yellows was born - which led me to the creation of the invite... (invite available here) i wanted the party "pretty" and "soft" to honor the young women my daughter's are becoming... but i knew there had to be a little "magic" thrown in there too to keep it young and fresh. although i'm continuously inspired by my go-to sources for amazing ideas...amy atlas & martha... my BIGGEST source of inspiration for this party came directly from this post from design*sponge... remember the pancake breakfast i posted about awhile back? well, as i continued to gather creative ideas i put them together in an inspiration board & kept referring to it throughout the party planning process. (see this original post for links & photo sources). i knew almost immediately... this party HAD to be outside under some trees. it needed to be rustic & charming... pretty & organic. i wanted to avoid having the party feel completely "put-to-gether". i felt it should convey the feeling that we live in an old farmhouse... that we decided to have an afternoon celebration with family & friends... and that we quickly gathered up some things to take outside for decorating. like tin cans & fresh cut flowers from the garden... a well-worn tablecloth, dishes & crates... & that we had neighbors and friends meet us in the backyard...under the shade... to enjoy some cold lemonade... & a cupboard full of old fashioned desserts. i LOVE how everything came together... flowers hanging from the backs of old wrought iron chairs... flowers hanging from fence posts... empty bottles dangling from tree branches... the use of wooden crates, galvanized buckets & old milk bottles... the use of lemons randomly placed throughout the scene for added pops of yellow... fabric pieces were wrapped around just about everything... vintage glass jars & milk glass serving pieces mason jars used for sipping on lemonade... & mason jars used for displaying fresh cut flowers... an old bird bath used to display frozen treats... (lemon sugar cookie ice cream & strawberry/lemon swirled italian ice) speaking of treats... mini lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting anyone? they are as tasty as they are adorable... how about a slice of pink lemonade cake? i LOVE that it's actually "pink" inside when you cut it... (and EVERYONE said it was the best cake they've EVER eaten...it was seriously that.good.) and then there were lemonade sugar cookie sandwiches along with homemade lemonade lollipops nestled in a vintage drawer. the lollipops were later used to fill these favor buckets the favor buckets contained yellow and pink gumballs... a cute custom packet of lemonade... a personalized monogramed glass drinking bottle with a white paper straw - (etched glass tutorial coming soon) and these fabric covered repurposed jars filled with lemon drops... the tin can banner i created using an old window was the perfect way to bring recognition to the birthday girls...without breaking the ambiance of the party... the day couldn't have been more perfect... i skipped the usual food labels for this party to avoid the "put-together" vibe... by having each of my daughter's invite only ONE of their closest friends... i was able to keep the cost of the party down & keep it "intimate" & "meaningful". since the party was at 4 o'clock we were able to avoid a little bit of the heat & it was actually quite pleasant under the shade of the trees. the girls spent their time on a make-shift water slide to keep cool until it was time for celebrating. all-in-all, i was able to pull off hosting a party with a soft, charming feel... a party fit for the ages of both of my daughter's... a party theme that could be turned into a bridal shower, baby shower or other special event... and one that offered a little magic to keep things fresh & young. for those of you planning your own party using this color scheme...i hope you feel inspired! and i hope you love the results as much i adore them! a special thanks to: Design*Sponge - for the ultimate inspiration My Baking Addiction - for the AWESOME lemon cupcakes & lemon cream cheese frosting Southern Lady Magazine - for the DELICIOUS pink lemonade cake recipe (instead of the buttercream frosting they recommended, i used the lemon cream cheese frosting from my baking addiction - one batch was enough to ice an entire 3 layer cake and almost all of the mini cupcakes). nice. Bake It Pretty - for the mini cupcake liners, white paper straws, lollipop molds & cupcake sprinkles Michael's - for the adorable glass jars used for the frozen treats... Keeping It Real the cookies weren't all that spectacular - they looked much better than they tasted. all of the food was brought out at the very last minute because of the heat. hauling the furniture and props outside was a lot of work - BUT SO WORTH IT! there was also a lemon cheesecake but i forgot to take pictures of that...*wink* i kept having to rethink things because i started to get too matchy-match... my youngest daughter was MUCH more appreciative of the theme than my oldest... ...my oldest scrapped the many ideas i had for different crafts/activities...reminding me she's getting older and that themed parties are NOT all that cool for her...*grumbling because i guess i don't want to accept that she's actually growing up* and though they are both getting older...they still know how to have fun...*wink*

Our top 10 list of Fab Wedding Favour ideas from Stamped Spoons to Seed bombs, personal cds to pots of jam, we've even included DIY tutorials

Little heart bean bags are the centerpiece of this Valentine's Day craft. Perfect for a game of Valentine Tic Tac Toe. Or, juggling. We're crafty like that.

Click on the pictures below, and it will take you to the download page where you can chose between different sizes if that option is availab...

I'm a big Valentine's Day fan mostly because I love the decor and the color pink! I have tons of fun Valentine's Day ideas running through my head this year and a quick easy one sure to add some fun is a cute Be My Valentine Ice Cream Float. This is so easy to make!

Creativity, conversation, food bloggers and a beautiful day outside made for great fun yesterday. Patty from Patty’s Food invited a few Bay Area Food Bloggers to gather at her house for a valentine cooking baking and decorating day. She lives about an hour away from me and with the weather a tad chilly but the sun shining brite, the time passed quickly; especially with Pandora streaming at a moderate to loud volume all the way over. Okay rather loud. Big grin. Patty is an extremely gracious host and her home felt like our own homes the moment she greeted us at the door. Sparkling water and a lovely boutique chardonnay, were offered within minutes of gathering around the spacious kitchen island. Gina from Spcookiequeen brought a lot of the decorations and special valentine touches for us to enjoy. Her daughter joined us in the fun and is quite the cookie decorating artist. {Patty and me} { Gina with her lovely daughter } . Stephanie from Baking Barrister joined in the festivities along with Bonnie from Bonnibella, who I had not met until today. We had a fun day of catching up, talking about blogging, photography, food and laughing. Gosh – what else would a bunch of food bloggers discuss – just saying. Smile. A few other bloogers were unfortunately unable to attend due to prior engagements, but please know you all were certainly missed. What would a food blogger get together be with out great food? It certainly would not be complete. Luckily for all of us, that was not the case. Wonderful food abounded and it was hard to not over eat my ample share of these goodies. Stephanie wowed us with her Leek confit on toasted crostini’s with goat cheese. Gina make homemade Blood Orange Jam that was too die for and to bring it to the next level she made myer lemon cake to spread the delish jam on top. Patty made a Point Reyes Original Blue, Apple and Walnut Quiche, which I must confess that I enjoyed two slices. Bonni brough firecracker shimp with a wonderful dipping sauce. I made my Stilton and Walnut Palmiers, which were so fragrant in my car and was so tempted to eat one along the way, but refrained. In addition to the tasty and beautiful cookies, Gina brought the ingredients for valentines day mulit-chocolate bark. So simple to make. Over two double boilers, melt dark chocolate in one and milk chocolate in the other. She used the one pound chocolate bars from Trader Joes. Once melted, add the milk chocolate first in a baking sheet pan and then the dark chocolate and swirl a bit to intertwine the colors. Decorate with various sprinkles and candies on top. Let cool in a freezer until hard. Dump onto a hard surface and break into desired sizes. Once the cookies were cool enough to frost and decorate, the creativity was bouncing off the walls along with much laughter. Some cookies were small, others large and yet others with sticks attached. Little letters were cut out to attach along with a great selection of sparkely sprinkles that Gina graciously shared. I provided the royal frosting recipe compliments of the wonderful Martha Stewart and the cookie recipe was from Gina – love the hint of almond extract in the cookies. All in all a great way to spend a Saturday – foodie friends, great food and fun conversation. {Clockwise from the top: (1) Gina (2) Stephanie (3) me with my finished cookie pops (4) Bonnie, Patty and Stephanie taking photos Sugar Cookies (Recipe from Gina at SPCookiequeen) 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. almond extract Beat the butter until softened then add sugar, almond extract, salt and the egg. Beat until fluffy. Slowly add the flour and mix until combined. Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface until it is 1/4-inch thick. Use ornament shaped cookie cutters (mine were about 3 inches) to cut out the dough and place the cookies 2-inches apart onto cookie sheets lined with parchment or silpats. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 7-9 minutes. Royal Icing (Recipe from Martha Stewart) 2 pounds confectioners' sugar 2/3 cup water, plus more if needed 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons meringue powder Gel-paste food coloring (optional) Beat sugar, water, and meringue powder with a mixer on low speed until smooth. (If icing is too thick, slowly add more water, beating to desired consistency. If icing is too thin, continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes more.) Add food coloring if desired, a drop at a time, until desired color is reached; if making more than 1 color, divide icing and work in batches. Icing can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Please stop by Gina, Patty and Bonni's blogs to see their posts all about our fun day together!

I love baking surprises for my family--like these 25+ Sweet Valentine's Day Treats. These ideas are perfect for a school party, or for celebrating at home.