CDs and Macarons

Gasp! Macarons!

Aren't their colours pretty?

I think so!

Did I make them?

I wish I did, but NO! I bought them!

If you had read my earlier posts here and here, you will know I do not have much beginners' luck with these little guys.

But I bought these, not because I have given up hope, but because I was passing by That CD Shop the other day and saw these colourful little guys in their counter right at the most strategic spot beside their entrance. In fact, these were so eye-catching you'd probably see these and some cupcakes first, before your eyes slowly move on to the racks and racks of CDs they sell.

I love That CD Shop. They have superb speakers and a great sound system and just by sitting there listening to the discs they are playing, makes me have the strong urge to buy a couple of CDs. But I have to promptly remind myself that I do not get that same sound effect in my car or at home (yes, I have fallen prey to their "trick" a few times).

So, what's a CD shop doing, selling cupcakes and macarons? Beats me. Diversifying? Maybe. But they do have a cafe at Marina Bay Sands, where they sell these sweet snacks, so they might just want to have them at every of their store, as a by-the-way thing.

To cut my long story short, I was attracted by that blue macaron. That bright blue one which was shouting out to me. So, I ended up buying 7 of them to try - Lemon, Raspberry, Green Tea, Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee and Earl Grey. The blue one, to my surprise, is Earl Grey. I was expecting Earl Grey to be errmm, grey. But I guess grey does not look eye-catching huh.

Some of them do not look as perfect as other stores' and their sweetness varies, but surprise surprise, they are actually better than what I had expected from a CD shop. But then again, I'm not hard to please, just as long as they are not too sweet and are in nice colours.

Macaron attempt Take 3

With my recent baking of pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year, I am left with quite a number of egg whites. I can use them for egg white omelettes, meringues or other what-nots, but usually I would just slapped them all over my face for a quick-fix "facial". That is the fastest - no extra effort needed, no messy clean-ups to manage.

But there was a nudging feeling in me to revisit my failed macaron attempt. Ok, it should be my failed macaron attemptS. Alright I know, half the world now can make macarons with their eyes closed and I am still failing.

It's time for Homemade Pineapple Tarts again!

It's that time of the year again - Lunar New Year.

Other being a time for collecting redpackets (for children) and catching up with family and friends, it is a time for FEASTING!

Lunar New Year can never be without some new year snacks.

In the past, I have made some quite-melt-in-your-mouth peanut cookies and also some pineapple tarts last year and some 2 years before. This year is no exception.

A new year, a new start

I must admit that I find it increasingly hard to maintain this blog of mine, especially during the past year (or last year, as I now have to say), when I did not exactly embark on many new baking experiments. I had been baking, but on not on new stuff. I don't think you would have liked to read about me baking the same things over and over and neither do I like to repeat myself over and over, so there goes - long periods of silence.
There were so many times when I know I had gone silent for months, and then I find myself struggling to find something to write to you. So if you are still lurking around, I really thank you.

This is a new year, a brand new start, a brand new round of 365 days all over again. If you have been having a great start so far, good for you! If things are a little not so sweet yet, don't worry, you have many days ahead to sweeten them!

Laugh like you don't have a care in the world.
Give unconditionally.
Be humble.
Keep your spirits up and
Have a good year ahead everyone!

Flowers are not exactly my favourite things, but some once in a while does make you smile don't they? I learnt to make a bouquet and also how to make ribbon roses in 2011. How about you?

Reminder on courtesy on the Net

Today I went for my weekly pilates class at the Community Center.

As I was walking home after the class, I passed by the Cooking Classroom and looked the posters outside the room.

Something stopped me in my track.

There was a poster on a Christmas Log cake class. Then there was a picture of MY logcake. Taken from MY website. WITHOUT my PERMISSION. And the instructor for the class is NOT me.

I was furious.

How can anyone take my picture from my website without asking first? And putting the picture there seems to give the impression that is done by the particular instructor. NO? Unless, there is a disclaimer saying the pictures are just for illustration only, which there is none.

I immediately went to the office to ask the staff how that can happen and I want it to be taken down. I also wanted a reply for this matter.

Some people may think, it's only a silly picture, right.

I'm sorry, NOPE.

While I am flattered that you use my picture (you must have thought it looked nice before deciding to use it I guess?) when you take something that is not yours, you ask permission. Especially so when the poster is showing something that is not done by the instructor, it sounds really wrong to me.

I take time and trouble to bake and decorate my cakes and try to make them as photogenic as I can. I also take the trouble to set my table, take numerous photos and then select the one which I think looks best. So, just taking it and using it without asking is NOT ok.

This asking for permission thingy especially applies on the internet. Not only to pictures, but to articles as well. If you are going to publish the information somewhere or use it for publicity purposes, be sure to ASK or at least cite the sources.

I'm glad I saw the poster today. There are so many logcake pictures on the net, so many community centers around,  and I had to see this particular poster using my picture. I ought to buy lottery today.