Macaroons

I love making elaborate desserts but the ones that get the best acclaim are usually the simplest. These macaroons are no execption. Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

5 1/2 cups flaked coconut (sweetened or not: your preference)

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp rum extract (or vanilla or almond)

pinch salt


Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat (this is extremely necessary as the macaroons will be very sticky).
Mix the coconut, flour and salt.
Gradually add the condensed milk and extract while stirring with a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated. Use an icecream scoop to drop the batter on your baking dish. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the coconut is toasted.

Because I'm me, I love to dip these in melted chocolate and sprinkle with anything from nuts to a dash of sea salt. Coconut pairs well with any type of chocolate.

i will see you in far off places

Did you catch the Lost series finale? I always feel more sad than I should when a show I love ends. It's as if I'm saying goodbye to old acquaintances. While the two-and-a-half hour episode supersaturated me with emotion, what affected me most was the very lovely portrayal of an afterlife. I'm not very philosophical so I do my best to avoid meditating on any concept of heaven, especially since death really frightens me. But to be reunited with those nearest and dearest to me, after all, is a dream I can easily adopt.

photo via ABC.com

The Loveliest

Would you die to wear Grace Kelly's wedding dress? I'm not a bride-to-be, nor have I ever been drawn to such full-skirted gowns, but my goodness -the high collar and tiny buttons...and all that lace makes my heart race.

Also I think her story is painstakingly romantic. Don't all little girls dream of marrying a prince?

Just Like the Movies

It's fun to wonder who would play you in a movie, but have you ever identified with a character so much that you thought you could play them well? For a while I thought I would make a good Marie Antoinette, until I saw Sophia Coppola's version in which Kirsten Dunst was pretty perfect. Now I feel my pouting and headstrong tendencies would make me a great Scarlett O'Hara or Madame Bovary.

How bout you?

Wine Cellar

Look at this stunning wine cellar. I am extremely jealous of whoever owns this and in awe of whoever designed it.



From S.R. Gambrel's Country Portfolio.

The Pregnancy Pact

Last night I caught the Lifetime original movie The Pregnancy Pact and was completely horrified. The plot follows a group of friends who all agree to become pregnant. Now, almost everything on Lifetime is pretty obscene but I literally laughed out loud when one 15 (FIFTEEN!) year old girl said, "So this is what it's like to be Jamie Lynn Spears". Another thought her mother would actually be proud and almost all of them thought having a baby would make their boyfriends stay. To think this is even remotely based on a true story makes my head ache. Schools and parents need to educate their children on more than just abstinence- several of the kids said they didn't know where to find condoms. I could go on and on but I'll leave you with this:

I Know

little family

When it comes to 60's icons, my heart belongs to Anna, but my knees buckle every time I see a picture of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg. They seemed so sincerely in love, and even after they split they stayed close.

If I Was Young, I'd Flee This Town

Wouldn't something like this make a great party theme? Guests could choose to dress as a hunter or the prey. I would totally get myself one of those elephant masks.

On another note, have you read Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, I found it pretty unbearable.

a letter to Tumnus

Saw this and nearly died.

The Chronicles of Narnia was one of my favorite series when I was little. Do you remember being so engrossed in fairy tales that you were sure they were real?

image via weheartit

Hey Dapper Dan

I'm constantly paying homage to all of the ladies I find positively lovely, but posting about Tom Waits yesterday made me realize how few men I feature. So here a few dapper gents of whom I am particularly fond.


Clark Gable (the stache, that cocky smile!)


Paul Newman and his moody stare.


Charmingly adorable James Stewart.


Tom, duh.


David Bowie, equally stylish in a suit as in a silver unitard.


George Clooney, because J recently declared "class dies with George Clooney"

eek, men in suits raise my blood pressure!

the imaginarium

Have you heard of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus? The film got surprisingly little publicity for being Heath Ledger's last appearance and it only remained in the theaters for a short time. J and I thought it was sub par but totally worth watching, considering Tom Waits plays the devil! The man is just too cool.

long lost

I've been told I look like betty boop or snow white more than once, but while (briefly) living in New York, I was asked twice if I was Daisy Lowe. Now I don't get it, especially considering the lingerie model likely has a few inches on my 5'3 frame, but I'll take it as a compliment.


It's got to be the haircut.

Do you have a long lost twin out there?
images via

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so tremendously grateful for my mother, she's just the best.

Chic Mamas

(pre)
(post)

This last one is my favorite, Vivien Leigh was stunning!

What I Want

What I really want this summer is a wardrobe of sheer neutrals and delicate lace...and hats!



Vogue Nippon June 2010


via Studded Hearts

Tonight or Never

I've always felt like I don't belong in modern times, but I'm not exactly sure to which era I do belong. Mostly I feel drawn to the pre-industrial age, but I have some issues with their ideals, particularly those regarding women. So lately I've been dreaming of what it would be like to be born in 1900 and to watch the world shift with each decade.

Of course, then I wouldn't have been able to emulate the amazing styles of the 1960s that I love so much.

who will i be

With Mother's Day around the corner, I've been dreaming about what kind of mom I'll be in the future. Obviously I want to be a good, nay great, one and raise healthy, happy and upstanding little people, but I also have some glamorous ideals. For instance, being the gourmand that I am, I really want to refine their tastebuds from birth. I also want to remain a lady, to whip up breakfast in my silk robe and to put on lipstick at the vanity with my little girl sitting next to me. Though when I was little, I thought my mother was impossibly beautiful, even in sweatpants (still do).


Lord Frederick Leighton (1830-1896)
Mother and Child


Mostly, though, I want my house to be filled with lots and lots of laughter.

May Day

More Camelot because it's the best movie ever.*


doesn't this look like a
scene out of a misummer night's dream?


How will you ring in the lusty month of May? I'll be baking a rhubarb cake and whipping up some clotted cream ice cream!

*Well, one of them.