These are a few of my favourite things..

I love looking at pretty things. They lift my spirits and make me happy. So to keep those Monday blues at bay, here are some of my favourite things:

Neon pink nails with a pretty black bow on one accent nail / Mixing the armswag with a shot of neon pink / Happy lippy package / Pink Polaroid PoGo gift from the little sis who’s back for good

Putting on my whimsical dress that I purchased on sale – that makes me happy too! 

What are some of the things that make you happy on a Monday?  Do share.  ~xoxo

PINK my world

The month of October is zipping by really quickly and before we know it, Halloween beckons.  So I got busy in the kitchen, whipping up more pink macarons to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  See here for my first effort and how these Pink Macarons are linked to Breast Cancer Awareness for October.  I wasn’t too pleased with the peaks so I started a convo with Aldine and she suggested that I give the batter a couple more folds before piping them.  I tried and it worked, peaks be gone!

Also, to prevent my shells from burning (which they tend to), I placed my tray of macarons on the lowest shelf and under another baking tray that acted as a shield. Then like a curious child, I watched and waited patiently to see if the macaron shells will rise.  Rise they did and they actually formed lovingly huge feet!  I was overjoyed for these pink ones are truly the best I’ve baked up so far in my macaron journey.  Doncha think so?

I decided to go a little adventurous with the filling for this lovely batch of macarons too.  This time round, a twist on the usual ‘Strawberries and Cream’.  As we are now into Autumn, fresh strawberries are starting to be a rarity in the supermarket.  So what I’ve done was to pop some strawberries in the freezer in case of a baking emergency.  You see, I had a conversation with my cousin the other day on cream puffs and she suggested that I try filling my cream puffs with some strawberries drizzled with balsamic.  I’ve tried them before and I knew that could work, so I decided to see if I could replicate this theory for the pink macarons.  So I dug into my reserve of frozen strawberries, mixed and matched the different flavours.  The result?  A flavour which turned out to be rather interesting and not-to-sweet.

The Man tasted these and he gave me the thumbs up for coming up with this funky filling.  So I think I did pretty okay.    The weather hasn’t been very kind of late, so this was the best picture that I managed to capture of these pink macarons – my second attempt to raise awareness on breast cancer.

If you are reading this, please encourage your loved ones to go for regular check-ups (mammograms, self-examinations).  There is no cure for breast cancer as yet, but early detection is the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer.

Blog-friends, R from the Pleasure Monger and Sherie from Maameemoo have also done a beautiful job in raising awareness on Breast Cancer through their special pink creations that they have masterfully whipped up in their kitchens.  You should go check them out if you haven’t done so.

Pink Macarons filled with Strawberry Balsamic Mascarpone

Click here for the recipe on the macaron shells.

For the Strawberry Balsamic Mascarpone Filling

• 3-4 frozen strawberries
• 3-4 tablespoons of Mascarpone Cheese
• 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar (Aceto Basalmico)

Method:

1. Chopped frozen strawberries into tiny bits.  Place the chopped strawberries in a food processor and blitz till fine.
2. Sieve the processed strawberries and retain pulp of strawberries.
3. Place strawberry pulp into a small bowl and stir in the balsamic vinegar.
4. Add Mascarpone Cheese and mix well.
5. Cover and chill.

Assembling macarons:

1. Spread the Strawberry Balsamic Mascarpone filling on one part of the macaron shell.
2. Sandwich and you are done!

It’s recommended that you let the flavours sit inside the macaron for 24 to 48 hours before having them.

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I’ve been busy in the kitchen… Click here to check out my baking adventures in Geneva.

Just a tinge of pink.

I’ve been good, I tried to steer clear of black the whole of last week but today, I felt that I had to pick up this ensemble to show off the Marni necklace.

I really love Marni necklaces and this is a new favourite as the necklace can function as a single piece with the dress adding on a touch of class and elegance to the outfit.

Go on raid my wardrobe!

bright petal power.

The florist was busy this weekend and her selection of flowers did not wow me. So I hopped over the neighboring florist and got these fave Chrysanthemum Pom Poms in bright vivid colours for the loft.

Flashback: Click here to view my floral picks for the loft.

cheery bl0ss0ms

I decided to snap out of my mild ‘black’ mode mood thanks to a friendly nudge by faerie imp.  So starting Monday on a fresh new note with this light pink floral outfit that reminded me of the famed Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo and other parts of the world.  Perhaps I was also inclined to pick this out after reading Kaho’s post on Cherry Blossoms in DC.  She took some really lovely pictures of the pretty flowers.

My encounter with the Cherry Blossom season in Tokyo (when we were living there) was really quite brief.  I wished I was more into photography when I was living there.  I might have taken better pictures to capture those floral memories.  Darn!

So, here’s the outfit for Monday – a printed shift dress with soft pink hues.  And playing with a styling technique I’ve been using a lot of late, I tucked the dress in and wore it as a blouse.

Felt that the neckline was a little bare, so decided to ‘liven’ things up with one of my Marni statement necklaces.  Couldn’t decide whether to go with a simple gold bow necklace or the funky ‘pink goggle-like’ necklace.  Actually, the pink Lanvin necklace with pearls would also work well with the outfit but I did’t want to be too pink.  So, decided to go bold and chose the funky necklace in the end.

What do you think?  Which necklace looked better for the outfit?

Go on raid my wardrobe!

The other man.

My very first Boyfriend Jacket which I love to bits!  On days where I have those meetings and just not in that mood to be in a dress, out comes my trusty Boyfriend Jacket that I just throw over a blouse or a tee and pants.

Wore the jacket over a ‘Word Tee-shirt’ that I recently purchased from Zara.  I rediscovered my love for this season’s Zara collection.  I find myself popping into Zara more often these days to check out their new arrivals which are all so fashion-licious in my wardrobe.  Hehe.

And, for the finishing touch to the outfit, I added a dash of bubblegum pop with my girly pink Lanvin pearl necklace.

Go on raid my wardrobe!

Spring pom poms

Loving these Pink and Purple Chrysanthemums Pom Poms that just spells ‘Spring’!