let's dance..

Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly waiting for something to happen..

..to get that bigger house I've dreamed of
..for our winter vacations
..for my big project to finally develop

I'm just waiting.. waiting.. and waiting some more..

I just tend to think that when I get everything I'm waiting for, then I will finally get the life I want..

but..

..what would happen if I just LIVED this second, when I have so much, but appreciate so little..

My son Marco, is 4, and is the most sensitive, romantic, and sweet boy I have ever met.. really, he is just this little person that enjoys with extreme pleasure my wedding video, and he could watch it over and over.. and even shed a tear, or two..

He loves dinosaurs, and dragons, rockets, minions, and the "wreck it Ralph" character, like any other kid; but whenever he has the opportunity, he would as well play some love stories with his playmobil knight and princess..

So, just this past Sunday, we were playing a board game, and it came to a point where we had to dance.  He immediately ran to me, made a reverence, and said "would you dance with me?".. my 4 year old.. asking me to dance..

..that was just pure gold!

I gave him my hand {and my all, for that matter!} ..and we started dancing..  when the song ended, he kissed my hand, and said: "you are my princess", with the greatest love in his eyes..

That's a moment I will treasure in my heart for the rest of my live..

..and the second when I realized that the amazing life I've been waiting for is already here..

Let's all start appreciating, be thankful.. and dance!

...on brotherhood and cupcakes...

as a parent, i'm always so focused on what i teach to my kids, and how i do it.  it is so important for me to get them to be polite, and responsable kids at school, that i tend to forget that the biggest lessons come from them to me every single day. 

 

 

the other day the kids asked me to have a cupcake stand, so they could sell their own cupcakes.  and i thought, "this is gonna be the perfect math lesson ever, they will have to sum, and count, give and take money.. let's do it!" ..so i helped them, and we ended up with the most perfect, and sweet cupcake stand ever.. they looked so cute selling their cupcakes, and playing grown ups, that i promised this was the first from many-many cupcake stands to come.. but, the most extraordinary part of the afternoon for my kids, was when they saw their best friends coming to join them with their "cupcake sale".. they were not happy, but over-the-moon-happy, they hugged, and laughed, and even played a bit of star wars while selling cupcakes.   for them it was not only an opportunity to play a bit while they had this cupcake stand; but they had the chance to share a whole experience with their "brother-friends"..

this brotherhood helped me understand {once more}, that it's not the place, it's the love that surrounds us, what gives us happiness.. what keeps us warm.. and makes our home..

to brotherhoods, sisterhoods and cupcakes!!

have a sweet week!!

playing by the rules..

I have two big rules when designing a cake..


The first one is: "Flavor comes first".. You see, it's very easy to get all wrapped up in "design-world".  Not to give flavor the importance it has, is the same as sentencing the cake to be forgettable.. I know that first impressions always last, but insight beauty is a deal sealer!

...and the second one is: "less is DEFINITELY more".. For me, a cake should make a statement, but be subtle and delicate at the same time.. I love fireworks, but in the sky, not on a cake.

Have a sweet weekend!!

a spoonful of cake..

Although I absolutely love and treasure my Mom's recipes, and I even find them charming, they kind of unsettle me, since they are so "flexible".. a spoonful of this {and it can be any spoon that is closer to her at the moment}, a pinch of that {man, how I hate that!}, and a little bit of those... I mean, for me, that kind of recipes are like the "dark side" of the culinary world.. and that's the reason why I feel so comfortable baking, because it is so precise.  There is very little room for spontaneity, I mean, don't get me wrong, of course I can always improvise a bit, but any variation must be well calculated, so the recipe is not negatively affected.. because, at the end of the day, pastry is purely chemical.. that's where I find its beauty..

So there!.. one big difference between savory and sweet, is that people who enjoy cooking savory dishes, have this easiness to change any recipe however they feel like at that very second, I like to call this "freestyle-cooking".

I have this very dear friend, Sole, and she is for sure another perfect example of a "freestyle-chef", she does not only have this easiness to manipulate any recipe that lands in her hands, and I mean, ANY recipe... {she has even changed a lot of pastry recipes.. I still can't get over it!}, but she lives a totally freestyle life.. For her, there's no rush... EVER!!.. She doesn't plan almost anything.  Her days, just flow.. and what I love the most about her, is that this way of living her life, gives her an "everything's-alright" aura..

So, her birthday is here, {yes, freestyle Sole's b-day}, and I wanted to make her a cake, that was not only beautiful, and delicious, but also fun, since we love so much laughing together.. and that's how I came up with this.. I hope you find it fun too!!

She came up with this idea {of course it was HER  idea}, of eating the cake directly with a spoon.. yeap.. cake by the spoonful!!

Happy Birthday Sole de mi corazon!!!

For the cupcake case, I tempered dark chocolate, and molded it using the same pan where I baked the cake.. so it'd be a perfect fit..

That's a wrap... or an "unwrap" I guess...


Have a sweet weekend!!

I ♡ Macarons!!

If there is an untouchable French sweet, I have to say that it's hands down Macarons..

I don't know what it is about them, perhaps the fact that there are 32 steps to get a succesful macaron shell, as the almighty Pierre Hermé says.. or the fact that there are indeed 32 different ways in which these heavenly french cookies can go wrong.

The thing is that I made March the "Macaron month".. And the fun starts right now {even though it's still February, but that's how messy I can be sometimes!}

So, fasten your seatbelts.. We are driving through Macaron Lane!!