Never Turn Down A Cupcake: March 2018

Friday, March 30, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 30th, 2018

The Kitchn: One-pan meals.
Kirbie's Cravings: General Tso's chicken sliders.
Style Sweet CA: Pastel and gold macarons.
Damn Delicious: Bacon breakfast pizza.
How Sweet Eats: Rose hibiscus mimosas.

Mari Andrew at Sixth & I - March 29th, 2018

Sixth & I synagogue always has a great lineup of events throughout the year, and I particularly enjoy when people stop here on a book tour. I was happy to see Mari Andrew on the upcoming events list because I enjoy following her on Instagram for her mix of funny and thoughtful posts. If you take a look at the comments on her posts, you'll find a lot of people relating to what she drew, from the types of crushes we've all had to navigating life's big decisions.

Mari's talk at the event last night focused a lot on what she considers sources of power, which she had also posted about recently here. I think the reason why her posts are so popular is because she's able to describe things in a fairly simple format, but in a way that's easily relate it back to your own life and actions. I really enjoyed seeing her speak in person and she seemed very down to earth and so appreciative of people coming to see her which was very sweet!

Her book Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood includes lots of stories and new illustrations about the journey to adulthood and navigating different types of issues. I think her stories are good for anyone regardless of age, since we've all had moments of doubt in ourselves, our careers, and our relationships. Be sure to take a look at her book and Instagram page if you're interested!

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 29th, 2018

Two Peas and Their Pod: Parmesan crusted scalloped potatoes.
Serious Eats: Bagna Cauda recipe.
The Cozy Apron: Baja fish tacos.
Smitten Kitchen: Melting potatoes.
The Kitchn: Italian-inspired chicken dinners.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 27th, 2018

Table for Two: Holy yum chicken.
Crazy for Crust: Easy chocolate biscuit bombs.
Apartment Therapy: Junk drawer organizer tips.
Oh Sweet Basil: Garlic honey mustard ham.
The Kitchn: Muffin tin pizza bombs.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 26th, 2018

The Kitchn: One-pot chili mac.
Averie Cooks: Browned butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies.
The Cozy Apron: Roasted garlic schmear.
Love and Olive Oil: Chocolate chip shortbread cookie bars.
Cookies and Cups: Cream cheese Churro rollups.

Recent Book Purchases

Read any good books lately? I already have a stack of books that I've been meaning to get to, but I couldn't resist using a gift card on these books to read as well. So far I have finished Call Me By Your Name, and just started China Rich Girlfriend a few days ago.

Call Me By Your Name was a great movie, and I liked how the original story was compared to the movie version. It was a quick read for me, and I loved how well the author describes the long and lazy days of summer in Italy. If anyone has read Crazy Rich Asians, the next book in the series is China Rich Girlfriend, and it's again filled with LOTS of characters, delicious-sounding food, and extravagant name-dropping throughout, haha. Finally, I haven't read too much about The Actor's Life by Jenna Fischer previously, but I always enjoy reading "behind the scenes"-type books about Hollywood and actors. I think it'd be unfair to automatically compare it to one of Mindy Kaling's books, but I hope there's some The Office tidbits in this one as well!

Friday, March 23, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 23rd, 2018

Style Sweet CA: Vanilla cheesecake.
Brown Eyed Baker: Hashbrown casserole.
All Things Target: Unicorn Magic ice cream.
I Heart Naptime: Bolognese sauce.
Creme de la Crumb: Baked cinnamon French Toast muffins.

DC CineMatsuri Film Festival

While the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms in DC haven't quite come out for the season just yet, there are a lot of fun Cherry Blossom festival activities starting in the DC area! One of my favorite events is the CineMatsuri film festival, which started earlier this week on March 20th this year.

The CineMatsuri film festival is a showcase of a variety of Japanese films, and it's a great opportunity to catch some popular films that you might not have a chance to see otherwise. So far I have been to see both "Teiichi No Kuni" and "Jinsei Fruits", and they were both really entertaining in different ways. "Teiichi No Kuni" has a lot of physical comedy and a very creative story line (based on a manga series) that can relate to both school life and politics worldwide. "Jinsei Fruits" is a very heartwarming look at an elderly couple in Japan that highlights incredible architecture, local and urban farming, and a "slow living" way of life.

Even if you're not specifically a fan of Japanese films, I highly recommend checking out the film offerings to see if any of them are of interest to you. I'm glad I had a chance to see these films thanks to the festival, and I look forward to the future film selections as well!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Lunchtime Links for March 21st, 2018

Dessert for Two: Mini vanilla cake.
Bakerella: Eggstremely cute chicks.
Sora News 24: Snow and cherry blossoms in Japan.
A Spicy Perspective: Easter bunny chocolate peanut butter truffle spoons.
Kirbie's Cravings: Avocado pesto pasta.

Georgetown Cupcake - Vanilla Confetti Bunny Face & Easter Nest Cupcakes

Happy second day of Spring everyone! That definitely feels a little silly to be saying, considering that it's currently snowing outside, haha. Nevertheless, we could all use a little touch of Spring right now and what better way to do that than these Easter-themed Georgetown Cupcake flavors?

The Vanilla Confetti Bunny Face consists of a "Vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a light yellow vanilla buttercream frosting, retro pastel confetti and a fondant Easter Bunny face". It's a great cupcake for anyone that like Funfetti/confetti cake (myself included), and I love the cheerful yellow color of the frosting.

The Easter Nest consists of a "Valrhona chocolate cupcake filled with caramel, topped with a Callebaut white chocolate buttercream frosting, and a toasted coconut nest with 3 candy-coated chocolate Easter eggs". While I am not a fan of coconut, there's only a little bit of the toasted coconut on top of the cupcake that is more for the nest "look" than actual flavor, haha. Of course I love the hard shell chocolate eggs on top, and the caramel core makes this extra decadent!