party time, excellent

bonjourno! well, it is raining in new york today, but the sun seems to be shining down on this brooklynite today, no matter the weather. last night i got to attend bulgari's launch party for their new perfume, bulgari mon jasmin noir. yes, that's why i've been chained to my kitchen for the last few nights - they asked me to design four different petit fours, based on notes in the perfume: jasmine, madarin orange, bergamot, lemon, and nougatine. the scents so perfectly lend themselves desserts, and so rarely do i get an opportunity to conceptualize a project and take it all the way through to the end (usually people tell me exactly what they want, and i make it,) that this was really a dream job for me. i decided on making mandarin orange macarons with bergamot infused buttercream; mini lemon meringue tartlets; smoked almond nougatine, dipped in oaky dark chocolate and sprinkled with smoked sea salt; and a jasmine petit four cake, covered in a honey jasmine glaze and drizzled with white chocolate.

somehow i only managed to snag photos of the finished macarons before dropping them off; a professional photographer was there, though, snapping away, and she promised to send me some pics of the desserts once she's uploaded them, so they'll certainly follow. there was also a [apparently fairly well known] photographer, patrick mcmullan, on hand to take people photos, and he took lots and lots of me, sam, my dad and my friends, so hopefully i'll have a couple of those to share as well.





so, more on that to come - i was just so excited to finally share this big secret thing that has taken over my life (and kitchen) for the last couple of days! i have to give so much credit, love, and praise to my saintly fiancé, sam, for all his help - when i'm up until 4 am baking, i don't clean up after myself, and he's the one who gets stuck with the job. he also sifted ingredients, made grocery store run after run, customized boxes for me so everything would fit just so, and helped me painstakingly top one hundred lemon meringue tartlets with a single gold dragee. he is an angel. i couldn't have done it without him.

but enough basking! today at work we're having a party to welcome a new person, say goodbye to someone departing, and celebrate the wrapping of a job; it was for nascar, so there will be a decidedly nascar theme to the evening - pbr, a nacho bar, and pigs in a blanket are on the menu. (my god, i look back on this and see what a chronic hyphen and semi-colon user i am. i think i have a grammar problem.) a party's a party, however low-brow, so i got a little fancied up for the occasion.





top: lilla p (giveaway coming soon!)
skirt: anthropologie
tights: a gift from my sweet little sis! (from aa)
shoes: jeffrey campbell, from oak
barrettes: from ban.do

another lilla p top, another ban.do accessory. i've totally blown my ban.do load now - three items in three days, and that's all i've got. this top is going to get a lot of wear, i can tell - so comfy, and in such a pretty color.

all right. that's long enough for now! i've got a nacho bar to set up! i'll have more details of last night's event soon.

xo audrey

taste the rainbow

we are on my favorite unit so far in culinary school: petit fours! here are some photos from making macaroons last night. mine were pistachio flavored, but there were lots of different ones around the class. they were gorgeous.








have a lovely night, folks, i'm going to chug some nyquil (it matches this post quite nicely, actually) and try to get some shuteye.

xo audrey

somebody else's clothes

this is the first bit of sewing i did when i moved to brooklyn. i smuggled this shirt from sam's dresser, spirited it away in my suitcase and, upon arriving in williamsburg, decided that i desperately needed a onesie. it was a quick few stitches, and voila!

of course, this renders it entirely work-inappropriate, so i donned it under a pair of jeans and some boots today for a more rosie-the-riveter sort of look.



shirt: sorry sam. club monaco?
belt: anthropologie
tights: hue
shoes: akira chicago

tonight we made macaroons! they are rainbow-colored and gorgeous and i'll post photos soon.

much love!

xo audrey

shoe battle

my shoes are being held from me against their will. i am doing everything in my power to get them back, but my best efforts are no match for the anonymity of the interwebs.



i ordered them online from a small boutique in portland about two weeks ago. i received a confirmation email and since then, nada. i've called. i've emailed. i've anxiously awaited the post every day, but all to no avail. what do you do in this situation?

and on the other hand i have my georgina goodman flats, which i dropped off to the cobbler a little over a week ago. i was promised they'd be ready yesterday, and when i called, told to come this morning instead; when i called this morning, the guy muttered something about it being a "big job" and "maybe two weeks" and that i should call back this afternoon to talk to the boss.

uuuuuuuuuaghaghhhh. i'll stop my kvetching.



shirt: not american apparel
skirt: forever 21
shoes: pour la victoire
necklace: mom
tights: have a hole in them. i own 3 pairs of grey tights and every single one springs a leak within a wear or two. what gives?

had a test in class last night - ACE! 98% on the practical exam. translation: my croissants are nearly perfect. it was very satisfying after an incredibly frustrating day. now we move on to petit fours, which is the unit i have been looking forward to since the start. bread is delicious, and i love the process of it, but it just isn't exciting; it's a lot of hurry up and wait. wait for the autolyse. wait for the bench rest. wait for the proof. wait for the bake. wait for the cool. petit fours are just tiny, beautiful bites, which are right up my alley.



tonight - finally a night off! i have plans to make dinner with my dear friend jess, skype my dearest friend ashlee, and dear god hopefully get a decent night's sleep.

until the morrow,

xo audrey