He Is Risen!

I find it sad that the true meaning of Easter seems lost these days with the over commercialization of this sacred holiday. This year, armed with my newly acquired and very limited cookie-decorating 'skills', I am giving out these Christ-centered treats to my sons' classmates as visual reminders of the resurrection of our Saviour.

Happy Easter, pallies!

Songbirds

Visions of Spring are dancing in my head thanks to the many gorgeous images of pretty blooms and singing birds that are popping up everywhere! I am guessing that spring has finally sprung.
It's the monsoon season over here on our side of the pond which means it has been raining almost daily. I'm enjoying the cooler weather especially after that dreadful, prolonged drought we've just been through. It was our worst water crisis ever.  Hopefully, the rain will fill up our dams.

Cookiefying my vision of Spring

Embroidered Microbes by Alicia Watkins

Fancy adorning your walls with these quirky cross-stitched microbial reminders of deadly bacteria and viruses  by Alicia Watkins?
The artist says, "GERMS! They're everywhere. You can't avoid them, not entirely -- though one would hope you'd avoid syphilis, of all things -- so why not incorporate them into your decor? If you're into science, or just germs, or cleanliness, or if you're a hypochondriac, you might like to see your interests/worst fears immortalized in stitchwork. Luckily, now you can."

I must say, these are  great conversation pieces to hang in your home.

From to Herpes to Gonorrhea, you can find lots of embroidered germs at her Etsy shop.

Easter Baskets

I've been practicing the basket weave technique on my cookies but somehow it just doesn't come out right. It'so very frustrating!  After many catastrophic attempts. only these three baskets made it to my cookie jar. The swear jar was full though! There goes my commitment to abstain from swearing this season of Lent.

Imagine having to make a dozen or more of these!  Ugggh!  I would probably end up bald from all that hair-pulling each time I get it wrong!

Food Maps

I am loving these fun maps of several countries illustrated with the food each country is known for. They are the collaboration of food stylist Caitlin Levin and photographer Henry Hargreaves, inspired by their passion for travel.

USA - Corn

Italy - Tomatoes

Australia - Shrimp

China - Noodles

France - Cheese And Bread

Japan - Seaweed

Africa - Bananas And Plantines

India - Spices

New Zealand - Kiwi Fruit

South America - Citrus

UK and Ireland

Spring Hedgehogs

Happy Spring, everyone!
Sharing these cookies I made to celebrate spring though she never shows up here on our side of the pond. It was still summer the last time I checked!

It must be wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun again . I imagine all sorts of critters big and small beginning to stir from a long winter's sleep. How lovely to see all those pretty birds visiting your garden and what a joy it must be to watch all the animals running around and enjoying life.

 I saw this on FB. LOL!

Peek-A-Boo Easter Chick Cookies

The drought is finally over and it has been raining almost daily for the past week.  There's nothing like a good rain after a dry spell. Water has that amazing effect of bringing things to life. In a way, it's like Spring, giving us yet another new beginning, a fresh start. I love how the rain washes away everything especially the dust and smog, nourishing the earth, bringing forth flowers and clear blue skies.

I was inspired to make these cookies.

Help Emerson Win A Special Needs Bike

Remember sweet Emerson, the nephew of bloggy buddy Alissa @ The Planet Of The Apels? Emerson was diagnosed with partial trisomy 18 during pregnancy. He has hypotonia and severe developmental delay. Right now there's a chance for the little guy to win a special needs bike. You can help Emerson by voting, just a simple click is all you need to do - no sign-up required.

Vote here.

I hope he wins!

Hasan Kale - Miniature Artist

Turkish artist Hasan Kale paints very detailed micro images on very small objects. His miniature canvases take the forms of seeds, grains, nuts, pills, etc. Dang! I can't even handle the finer details on my palm-sized cookies when decorating with royal icing!

Enjoy these teeny-weeny works of art. You might need those reading glasses!

Watch the very talented (and very patient!) Hasan in action

Panda Cookies

The prolonged drought is really getting to me. And all that uncertainty and agonizing wait for answers to our vanished plane depresses me even more. When I'm feeling low, I need to get busy. And there's nothing more therapeutic than baking cookies!

)

Making these got me out of my funk.  Thanks, Marilyn for the inspiration!

The Disappearance of Flight MH370

image source - http://www.nydailynews.com/

I am sure you would have heard by now of the mysterious disappearance of one of our planes, the MH370.  The Malaysian aircraft with 339 people on board (227 passengers and 12 crew members) vanished in the sky about an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur on Saturday en route to Beijing. The whereabouts of flight MH370 remain unclear after contact was lost while it was travelling over Vietnamese airspace.
One of the four Americans on board the ill-fated flight was hubby's coworker.

There are many speculations and conspiracy theories floating around the net - terrorism, suicidal pilot, mechanical failure, hijack, accidental shoot-down by some country’s military....

To date,  no wreckage has been found which means there is still hope although the outlook is bleak.

Please join me in prayer while a massive, international search for the presumedly crashed aircraft continues....

Leprechaun Cookies

I am constantly in awe of Callye @ The Sweet Adventures Of Sugarbelle who can transform basic cookie cutters, even the simplest into something unique. I call it cookie magic!  Throw her a frog cutter and she could transform it into skunks and bears!  An upside down gingerbread man becomes a reindeer and a cupcake turns into a leprechaun!
Having learned this trick from her, I made these leprechauns. Guess what cookie cutter I used?

A snowman!