Biscuit's House

All set

We're all set to leave tomorrow afternoon for my sister's where we'll spend Christmas. Yesterday hubby took Puni to the supermarket for a long session of foodshopping, while I was desperately wrapping all the presents which hadn't been delivered already wrapped. I'm a hopeless wrapper, and one of the presents really brought out the worst in me - an oval-shaped small vanity case, which once I was done with it, looked like it came out of a cow's mouth. Oh well, it's what's inside that counts, the wrapping paper will be thrown away anyway. Then I tried to fit all the packages into a suitcase - no luck - into a travelling bag - impossible to close it - so I settled for the suitcase plus a smaller bag and hid them from Puni's view. They will surely be handy to bring back our own presents, especially Puni's, who's always way too much spoiled.

I have to go to work tomorrow, but I'm sure most of the business managers, salespeople and assistants who were excited like fleas last week and made our life miserable, will be on holiday, so it should be a calm day. I've been relaxing this week-end and trying to nip in the bud a cold which assailed me a couple of days ago - I ingested large amounts of cold medicine and it seems to have worked as my throat doesn't hurt anymore. No fun to be sick for Christmas, so I sure hope it's not going to come back.

I managed to finish a crocheted bonnet which I had begun weeks ago, while listening to Rockapella and Mint Juleps on youtube.

There isn't a single Christmas decoration in our house, at first I was thinking of getting a tree, but since we leave on the 24th and Puni will be going to my parents' on holiday after Christmas and won't be back until January, and since I was completely stressed by work this month, I gave up. However, Pancetta's room at least is decked out in style.

Happy holidays everyone!

 

No silver bells

No Christmas decorations, no tree, no baking...I found the time to order presents for everybody but I still need to wrap them. I look at pretty blogs with photos of Christmas crafts and cookies and heart-warming accounts of  holiday preparations, and it feels strangely remote. Quarter ends are always busy at work, but December is the worst. Lots of pressure, lots of Brownian movement, contradictory orders, a rush of activity to maximize sales and minimize stock...I also was behind on a project I'm supposed to lead in parallel with my usual activities, and was feeling so stressed I had no heart for anything and spent last week-end working from home and worrying. It's better now - at least I made a bit of progress and don't feel desperate anymore, but it's going to be tough until the 31st. Still, I'm recklessly taking 3 days off (but taking my work cell phone with me) to spend Christmas at my sister's place, which I'm sure will be most prettily adorned with seasonal decorations. I devoutly hope that January will be calmer.

A (good) surprise this month was getting a Shuqi head from Fancyboots - I had no idea she had been working on a head of this size until she posted the heads for sale. As luck would have it, Shuqi's close relative Liebchen has been on a trip to Korea for some weeks, so I don't have a body to try with Shuqi's head. Hopefully she won't stay disembodied for too long. I'm really impressed with Diep's work - to think that she did everything herself from A to B, sculpted the head, made the mold, cast the resin head, finished and painted it...and the result is so smooth, so flawless.

Another newly arrived creature comfort is the pretty Suzy, an Edith Flack Ackley doll made by the talented Bettsi. I was lucky enough to be online when Bettsi posted about this new addition to her Etsy shop, and was able to snag her before everybody else.

Poor Suzy isn't getting much comfort in this house though...she has fallen victim to Puni's "let's frighten the dolls with my scary dinosaur" game.

More millinery

Another hat. Once more, I finished too late to take good photos, as the light was beginning to fail. It's almost impossible to take good photos in winter. Of course, I could get up earlier. But I won't, week-ends are made to catch up on sleep.

It's the same size as the pink hat, trimmed in a similar fashion, so it was a little easier and faster this time. 

The hat is slightly too big for her, I'll try the smaller size next time.

   

Too sweet

Shichi-go-san photos...

Sacher

  After the half-baked marble cake and the leaning brownies, I decided to live dangerously and try another recipe from my Kitchenaid book. And, bingo! Which goes to show that one should never give up.

I don't think it's a real Sacher torte as I seem to remember there should be a layer of apricot jam inside the cake. But as Puni isn't fond of apricot jam, I decided to stick to the Kitchenaid recipe and spread jam only on the top and sides.

Puni "helped" me which means it took quite a long time (she spent a long while "smoothing" the flour in its glass bowl) but the result is good, moist, enhanced with the apricot flavor, encased in silky chocolate icing.

Talking of chocolate, a few months ago, I found a really good chocolate book in, of all places, a highway gas station shop.

Edit : I just found out that this book exists in English as well, it's called "The chocolate bible". I can't recommend it strongly enough, it reads just like a novel!

 

It includes everything about the culture of cocoa, chocolate production and its history, as well as the history of chocolate cakes and confections...

 

lots of recipes and technical instructions concerning chocolate decorations, baking...

 

how to make chocolate cookies and truffles and lots of other things. it was originally published in German, so maybe an English version exists as well. One day maybe I'll have the courage to try one of the recipes...