I see Macarons in my future...

On a recent  trip to Virginia, my daughter took me to her Ghent neighborhood shop, Le Marche.  A treasure trove of French/French inspired home goods, she understood the clear and present danger.

The only thing that slowed my shopping instinct was the size of my suitcase.  However, the merchant was quick to assure me that they would be "delighted" to ship any of their goods to Michigan!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase Laduree's new cookbook.  I first experienced their Macarons in Paris and have re-visited the memory frequently.  Laduree put the recipe in this cookbook and even made the cookbook look like their beautiful cookie boxes!  A fuzzy, gold embossed cover, gold leaf pages and purple tissue completed the package, so we are down to the baking itself now!

I will be making my macarons this week and posting as I go.  I would love any tips and techniques from you to make my endeavor more successful!  

Bookcase Makeover

The saying goes..."a picture says thousand words".  Well, I was sorely embarrassed by my Christmas morning photographs of happy people, puppy, beautiful tree and this horrid, overstuffed bookcase in nearly EVERY shot!  It wasn't until I was asked to share the photos that I really noticed how bad it had gotten.  Hopefully Lewis' parents are not concerned for his safety at our house after viewing this...

 

Yesterday, I picked up a tidy little 5 shelf bookcase for cheap to deal with my problems.  I think I will upgrade later when I turn an empty bedroom into an official library, once we find permanent placements for daughters!

In July, I painted Gina's bedroom this lovely peacock blue and I just love it!  It's warm and inviting in the winter, yet cool and relaxing in the summer!   So I thought I would go with a magazine article suggestion and group the books by binding colors and add interest to my bookcase with other objects.  Well, I have plenty of "other objects" and went into the depths of the dungeon (aka basement) to dig out something interesting and still loved.

I kept the majority of my cookbooks and culinary based books in the living room and moved all of the fiction or reference stuff to the new bookcase.

There was no cure for the magazine ugliness and I am not yet ready to let go.  I did organize magazines by name and date and threw away all but cooking magazines.  Progress?

OK- This post is now almost a week old and the project is not quite finished, but I will post the before only shots and complete this weekend and post the afters! 

Books, coffee....Culinary Book Club anyone?

Some women have a weakness for shoes, handbags, earrings...my weakness is books. I cannot NOT look and purchase! Cookbooks are my favorite genre (big surprise)mainly because I feel they hold so much promise. Rarely am I disappointed in a cookbook. Cookbooks can be entertaining in a "food porn" sort of way and interactive when you want them to be. They are not like the internet that gives me 2,333,497 choices when I am looking for a recipe and I only buy cookbooks that have fabulous photos (ok, I do have several beloved cookbooks that have no photos, but they are special) and a little fun do-dad paragraph to read. Cookbooks do not make me feel guilty for spending time with them instead of vacuuming the floor, because they are "work" related.

I read lots of other fictional and non-fictional books as well and try to finish most. I have a few authors that I buy their hardcovers and Borders makes is super easy by sending me these totally targeted emails to my inbox! It's quite obnoxious in a thrilling sort of way! I think the IT folks are super clever and want to know all their secrets! We tend to go to the Borders on Lohr Rd. in Ann Arbor, because it's closest to our home and so not snobby or pretentious. Regardless of how big Borders becomes, it is a Michigan company and we can always use more of those! borders also carries a fantastic line of stationery that we will have to discuss another time!

I also cannot resist the cafe located inside. Really, I love when someone else makes my latte. Always espresso, foamy, creamy steamed milk and sometimes a shot of a delish syrup. It is my small luxury to myself. I love throwing my purchases into my shoulder bag and sipping my special beverage as I leave, knowing a new reading experience awaits me! Even the dead of this hot and humid summer does not deter me from enjoying a hot latte (medium, please)!

I sometimes wish I could be a girl that enjoys the movies and serials on TV...but the remote control has progressed to the point of utter confusion for me, so I grab another book. I am starting a new one this evening...we'll see if it makes my list of favorites!

What do we think of starting a culinary book club? Everyone meets and eats? Discuss the book over your favorite recipe from the book? It could be fictional...functional...FUN?!?!!? Let me know YOUR thoughts! Feel free to comment, email erika@boulevardmarket.com or respond on Facebook to The Boulevard Market page!