Photobomb

Been baking quite a bit these days.  The goal is to bake something new/newish once every week.  I might have actually gotten a tiny side gig baking for a tea shop in town, too-  so I don't want to be rusty.  (For those of you who don't know me, I actually moved to Atlanta to be a vegan baker.  I got my first job at The Atlanta Cupcake Factory and went on to bake at Dough Bakery as well.) Up top are Vegan gluten-free Chocolate Chip cookies, and below are Vegan Macarons using Chickpea Brine instead of eggs! You can find the recipes at Floral Frosting. 

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One of my besties, Nicole, had a Backyard Margarita Birthday Party this weekend.  She is literally one of the best people and has the happiest eyes.  Below is a quick pic she snapped of René and I, because she knows how few pics we have together. (He hates taking pictures, but loves Nicole and she knows he won't say no. Haha.) I love it. I ALSO love that she is literally texting me right now.  RIGHT. NOW.   (Skirt and shoes by Modcloth, leotard by American Apparel )

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I have a serious obsession with the rooftop of my building. Ever since we moved in, most of my friends can vouch that I don't want to go out anymore. I just want to sit on my roof and drink. Because of this, I've taken to learning how to make all of my favorite drinks in Atlanta. (And using my own loft grown herbs!)  Up top is my fave drink from H Harper Station - The Bufala Negra.  You can find the recipe here.  Below is Bua Sushi's take on a Mojito.  They use coconut rum instead of regular. (I use both bc, why not?) I also have an obsession with fancy straws.  I'm not ashamed. 

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I conclude with my cat Padmé.  She wins. That is all.  

Oh! Oh and I'm about to have a new logo/page look and feel. I got the drafts this weekend and they look AWESOME.  So stinking excited.  

xo. jj

EqualiTEA Cookies (insert pun dog)

 

Friday was such a wonderfully monumental day.  Equality rang throughout the country and all I wanted to do was celebrate (in between crying out of happiness.) I celebrated kinda the only way I know how- it's either a dance party or baking with glitter.  I chose the latter for this occasion, but lets me honest, it was a little bit of both.  

I knew I wanted to make rainbow colored SOMETHING.  At first I picked cupcakes, bc they are kinda my go to, but we just moved and the space of our kitchen is kinda tight, so I thought I should stick with something a little more compact.  I chose Tea Cookies… equaliTEA cookies, that is.  Heheh.   

I grabbed "Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar" for my roll-out dough.

I looooved how fluffy this dough got-  though it ended up not being such a great thing. Haha.

I will be the first to tell you that I am terrible at rolling things out.  I avoid making pies for this very reason. After being left in the fridge overnight (per recipe) this dough melted almost immediately.  I added about a cup more flour to it to stiffen it up when all was said and done.

Not perfect, but again, I'm not great with dough. (Also- there's nothing some really colorful icing and glitter can't cover)  I learned a lot this time that I will take into consideration for the next go around. 

I'm DEFINITELY a "throw it together" royal icing-er.   Just start out with a cup of powdered sugar, and add 1/4 vanilla (or any other flavor), and just add a teaspoon of milk (I use almond milk) until it gets to where you can stir it.  You want it to be thick so that it dries well on the cookie.

Lets be honest, the decorating is always my favorite part.  I just dip the cookie in and hang it upside down and scrape off any extra dripping icing. You want the tops covered, but anything extra is going to go rolling over the sides before it dries.

I painted tiny glitter hearts on the bottom of each cookie, which I TOTALLY forgot to take a picture of bc I was running late and wanted to get the kitchen clean before I left. (...bc I'm a SUPER considerate girlfriend… *insert Rene rolling his eyes here*)  I made the glitter "paint" out of 6 tablespoons of white sugar into 2 tablespoon boiling water.  I added a bunch of Disco Shaker edible glitter and viola!

I ended up taking these cookies to said party, and other than forgetting the host was gluten intolerant, I'd say they were a success.

Yay for love winning! and Glitter!

Jess

find your true blues and keep 'em close

I am someone who loves just about everyone.  I never meet a stranger and I'm always happy to be friends with almost anyone.  But I also have best friends, and they're kinda everything to me.  Some of these friends live far away-  like on the other side of the country, far away- and some are in Georgia (one is actually named Georgia) and one or two are speckled in other cities.  Some of my best friends I see maybe only once or twice a year and 2 of them I have weekly breakfast with.

Speaking of these two… One of them had a birthday yesterday- and we threw her an epic day of party on Saturday.  Pictures of our adventures below:

Started the day by making her Glitter Rock Candy, which I learned from A Beautiful Mess.  Theirs is rose flavored, (which I didn't have time to order,) so mine is ginger.  HIGHLY recommend. The edible glitter is a brand called Disco Dust.  

Next on the list: Pedicures at Nouvelle.  (no pictures. womp womp)

Then on to our bestie birthday photo booth tradition at West Egg that just happened to be out of order this time.  Haha.  We DID discover our favorite latte ever though, so our trip was not in vain.  

Next: Dr. Bombays Underwater Tea party for a surprise birthday tea! This place is seriously adorable and magic.  

Then, per bestie birthday party tradition rules, we headed back to relax/get ready for a couple of hours which usually has a photo (and Phhhoto) shoot. 

 

And we always end things with a bang.  For my birthday it was glitter pizza and a dance party.  Saturday it was Tacos and KARAOKE. 

(#babealert)

All this to say, my true blues are what make me who I am.  There will often be times that I'm gushing about all of my best pals bc I love the heck out of them.  They're all so beautiful and wonderful and stupid talented in their own different ways and I draw so much inspiration from them.  

Gifs by Phhhoto  

the pros of living with a boy who cooks

Sundays in my household are usually reserved for grocery shopping and running errands.  My BF and I have completely opposite schedules (he's a comedy improviser/dj so usually works nights and Saturdays, where I have your normal 9-5er) so Sundays are basically our only full day together during the week. 

Yesterday we ventured out to our local farmers marker and found some of the prettiest tomatoes I've ever seen.  This seems to have inspired him, bc what came next floored even me, and I know how well he cooks already.  Feast your eyes on maybe my favorite meal he's ever made.  Ps. Totally vegan.  

#smitten 

I can't be sure how he made the dough for the pasta - I was taking a catnap due to an insane karaoke party the night before- but I know the sauce well. It's very "throw together" bc literally, you just throw whatever you want in there.  Cut up your tomatoes or whatever veggies you're using-  Definitely throw some tomatoes in there though-  and heat some olive oil.  Once the olive oil is at a high enough temp, put in some garlic and after about a minute, mix in some chopped onions or basil or both. (Our basil came from our window herb garden!)  Then add your tomatoes and just let it simmer for a bit. The longer you let it simmer, the "saucier" it will become.  Yesterday we opted for a more tossed tomatoes vibe. It's so so easy and so delicious.  

i work an office job at an advertising agency.

I think most people know what they want to be when they grow up. Or they at least have SOME kind of passion for something in particular. Like, they might be working at a coffee shop or cutting hair, but if you asked them right now what their dream job was, they could tell you.

I've never been one of those people.

My dream job was constantly changing and evolving and losing the title "dream job" bc I always loved everything. My parents didn't help bc they were the parents that said "you can be whatever you want when you grow up, just as long as your happy" …great direction, guys. (ps I love my parents)

People ask me all the time what my dream job is and I'm pretty sure all I wanted to be when I was little was Kate Hudson (or any other city heroine) in the beginning of all her movies. (Stay with me here-) I wanted to live in a big city with a cool apartment and bop into coffee shops and bars and know everyone and have great style and work at SOME kind of agency.

 Life is a lot harder than a Kate Hudson movie (though, now thinking back to Raising Helen, that was pretty tough, Kate. Congrats for really holding it together...) But I look around these days, and after realizing that's what I always wanted, I realized that I kinda have it? It's definitely not as carefree as I imagined it would be, hence the reason it took me a bit to realize that I have it, but I think I'm set.

I work an office job at an advertising agency in Atlanta. I love it but I still kinda crave creative outlets, and I think this is what this blog can be and that makes me excited.

What did you want to be when you grew up?