sucre

1. The only thing better than making a batch of macarons yourself is having them delivered straight to your doorstep (/mail room) from NOLA! As a thank you (and to show us what real macarons should look like), Sucre sent all of the bakers who participated in their Macaron Baking Challenge a box of assorted macs. My favorite was the salted caramel. No contest. I think the.boy is mac’ed out though, because I tell him every other day that I’m going to make more macarons and his response is, without fail, “Why?”. Yet he can eat Russell Stover chocolates for weeks on end without complaining. I will never understand his taste buds.

2. Speaking of which, have you gone over to vote for my snickerdoodle macarons yet?? Pretty please with a cherry(-flavored mac) on top!?

3. We finally booked our engagement photo session with Brian! Now, I just have to figure out what to wear, how to make my hair look less like a poofball, and how to look like I’m ten pounds less. Suggestions strongly needed.

4. Open up your google calendars and mark down April 21st as ULTRA IMPORTANT…because I’m hosting a Virtual Bake Sale that day and you will have the chance to have my baked goods (along with many other bloggers’ deliciousness) IN YOUR HOME AND BELLY! Longtime readers know that I run marathons and half marathons to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. On April 27th I’m running the Nike Women’s DC Half Marathon with Team in Training and LLS, and raising money to fund patient care and cancer research. While I don’t have a direct connection to blood cancer, my dad died of cancer a year and a half ago, so this cause is near and dear to my heart. A few of my blogging buddies have been gracious enough to donate some baked goods that will go up for auction on April 21st! ALL of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so get ready to bid! And if you would like to donate a baked good, then definitely feel free to reach out to me!! If you’re not into the bake sale, but still want to donate, you can do so here!

5. Is anyone else concerned that the Easter bunny is going to get frostbite making his rounds this weekend? Should I be leaving him hot cocoa instead of carrots? Or a down jacket?

6. The.Boy can’t eat meat or dairy (or, supposedly olive oil, but I told him I just couldn’t accommodate that so we’re ignoring that one) from Wednesday though Sunday, because Greek Orthodox Lent. So obviously, I planned a whole week full of meals that involve cheese, piled on cheese, served with more cheese. #fiancefail #moreforme #pbandjcountsasdinner

7. Oh, you thought I would give up dairy with him for moral support? That’s cute.

8. I did make him a quinoa salad that I might remake for Easter because YUM (posting tomorrow), but it took all my strength not to add feta or baby marinated mozzarella balls to it. The things I do for love.

9. Speaking of butter, do you guys want to see a rainbow cake or a coconut cake on Friday? I love them both so much I can’t decide!!

10. Blog technical issues ARE THE WORST. Like, when your site is down for three hours and your host keeps accusing you of having too much traffic and being a resource hog, but you really have a feeling it’s a brute force attack, and so you take to day drinking. Thank god for Sucuri and their firewalls. Peace of mind: restored.

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53 Responses to Wednesday Coffee Talk

  1. I’m not sure that I could give up dairy for long…no cheese?! Yikes! Can’t wait to see that quinoa salad recipe tomorrow.
    Exciting that your engagement photo session is booked! We had so much fun with ours 🙂 Great way to get comfy in front of the camera and get to know your photographers.

  2. Trisha says:

    Ah, so exciting about engagement photos! Don’t stress about it! Hope we get to see some. 🙂 P B & J totally counts as dinner, and I’d definitely be sneaking some cheese in on the side….

  3. Watching you make a ton of macarons online was SO FUN!! You totally nailed it, and I just voted for you! Also, I have a ton of suggestions for engagement photo shoots!!

    1. Do your nails!! He’ll be taking pictures of your hands and you don’t want nasty fingers.
    2. Make sure your man is fed before. Hanger is not welcomed at photo shoots.
    3. If you have the funds (or an amazing friend) get your make up done. It freaking makes you look like a star.
    4. HAVE FUN!

    xx

  4. Loved your macaroon posts and voted for you Joanne – good luck!

  5. Love the cheese for dinner idea. Who ever gets sick of cheese? Certainly not me.
    The colorful macaroons, how did you ever choose a favorite? They look delightful!
    Glad you got your blog issue corrected. It totally sends me into panic mode!
    Have a beautiful Wednesday!

  6. Yay! I can’t wait to see your engagement photos 🙂

  7. I’m happy to help you out with any macaron situation you may run into:-) And giving up dairy would leave me starving… what would I eat?!

  8. Day drinking is the answer to all of life’s problems, I’m pretty sure. No olive oil for lent? Those are same crazy rules! Most days are meat free and dairy free in our house, so just come on over for dinner 😉 We may or may not be eating PBJs anyway though (because yum.)

    And I definitely want to see a coconut cake! For some reason, Easter is all coconutty to me.

  9. gloria says:

    Wow Joanne greek ortodoxe are really serious.
    And here someones complain they can’t eat meat the Holy friday! Ha!
    For me is not problem .I love veggies and fish!
    Love the macarons loom amazing!
    Any cake you make will be amazing Im sure!:)

  10. Can’t wait for a bake sale!! I love me some treats. Oh poor Easter bunny, I never even thought about him needing a parka! And I vote for a RAINBOW cake!!!

  11. Johanna GGG says:

    I want both cakes plus the macarons – though I think I prefer coconut but colours are so much fun too (and very easter) – we bake a lot with soy milk and margarine if you want to please the boy – they substitute very well – honestly

  12. voted you 🙂 i would love to see rainbow cake pretty please.

  13. Oh hell no I could not give up dairy for anyone (or bacon for that matter 🙂 I vote for coconut cake – drooling at the thought!

  14. You don’t have to give up things for your fiance, trust me. I’m the world’s most selfish wife, and I always have been. He still comes home at night!

    I vote rainbow cake!!

  15. SallyBR says:

    Joanne, I went and voted… but I also went to the fundraising page and there is a problem with it. When I try to donate a page pops up with an error message

    do you think there is a temporary glitch with the system????

  16. Those macaroons are so beautiful! Also, my vote is for rainbow cake! Yay rainbows! 🙂

  17. Monica says:

    I never get tired of looking at beautiful macarons and I did vote for you! So much excitement going on at your end – your engagement photos will turn out beautifully. I just made the Italian rainbow cake from your site for Easter and I thank you – I will be happy to see any cake from you on Friday ..I’m sure it’ll be beautiful and delicious.

  18. Ditto what Christina said! Secretly, we always win:) And these macarons, gorgeous! Totally voting!

  19. VOTED! And coconut cake for sure! I need something tropical to look at during this crappy weather!

  20. I’ve never mad maracons before, but they look delicious!!! I would post the coconut cake for Easter – but I might be a bit biased! My aunt makes a coconut cake every year for Easter. Well, technically we call it a lamb cake..because it’s in the shape of a lamb. But it’s all buttery with frosting and shredded coconut, and it is one of my favorite things ever!

  21. Erica says:

    I think I have it worse: my husband hates cheese, so I can NEVER cook with it! Yes, we are going to be celebrating our 13th anniversary soon so clearly I love him a lot.

  22. Heather says:

    Oooh – personally I’m leaning towards a rainbow cake, but that could be because I’m looking at snow outside my window right now and could use soemthing bright and cheerful to look at rather than something that reminds of me snow. :p

  23. #9 — BOTH. 😉 Sorry, I’m not helpful with cake decisions — I want all of it.
    #10 — Ugggggh, been there done that. Love when they blame you. But hey, you got a freebie for day drinking out of it!

  24. Shashi says:

    CONGRATS – looks like your snickerdoodle macs are in second place so far!
    #7 – hahaha – I almost fell out of my seat LOLing! too funny! Looking forward to the bake sale – what a wonderful cause! And can we have one of the cakes this Friday and the other one next Friday? I will even volunteer to take any extra slices off your hands! 🙂

  25. Your blog host needs to up their game! I can never get enough of the sweet things in life. Good luck with the competition, I’ve voted for you 🙂

  26. I vote for a rainbow cake! YUM! I voted for your macs too! They were flawless!

  27. Pam says:

    Coconut cake! Also looking forward to seeing the quinoa salad too. Can’t wait to see your engagement photos – I hope you’ll share with us!!

  28. sandra says:

    OH! Now I know why I couldn’t comment on your posts… I was wondering what I’d done wrong 🙁

  29. sandra says:

    I say coconut cake – but my better halves (yes I have two of those) say rainbow. My son is obsessed with them!

  30. cheri says:

    Hi Joanne, another great coffee talk, voted for you today and I think that I voted previously too but that’s okay, right? anyway looking forward to the quinoa salad recipe……Happy Wednesday!

  31. Kate says:

    I guess the plus side of Passover is that we don’t have to give up dairy!

  32. Kelli B says:

    Voted!! It’s good to have “too much blog traffic” right?! And yay for engagement photos! One thing I remember being told is to wear shirts/dresses with sleeves. Even the tiniest girls arms can look big in a photo sometimes! Have fun!

  33. Kelli B says:

    Oh! ….rainbow cake!!!

  34. Rainbow cake, please!!
    Yup, the techy stuff is the only part of blogging I don’t really like. It makes me break out into a sweat far too often!

  35. Beth says:

    Coconut cake, if you’re still taking votes. And salted caramel was my favourite too (from Laduree, in Paris, swoon).

  36. a.)I’m pretty sure there is a no giving up cheese clause in most pre-nups, just sayin.
    b.) voted for you day one. duh.
    c.) since I suck at runningbut am great at eating baked goods, I’ll totally get in on the virtual baked goods thing, you know, for charity.
    d.) coconut cake, hands down!

  37. I could never and would never give up dairy for anyone or anything either – too much deliciousness is dairy! That’s exciting about your engagement photos – it’ll be nice to have some spring/summer pics to contrast with winter wedding pics!

  38. Maria says:

    Re: photos
    I relied heavily on bumble and bumble hairdresser oil. Folks with frizzy hair have found it to be really helpful, too. Also, well-placed belts and covered forearms do wonders for making us ladies look smaller. Make sure your/his shoes are comfy. Lots of moving around!

  39. Krista says:

    So glad your blog issues were resolved – that would be so scary! No meat or dairy sounds perfectly dreadful. 🙂

  40. Run to eat, eat to run – I love that! I ran a half marathon last year and might sign up for another one this year. If I do, I may have to borrow this amazing bake sale donation idea of yours! You sound pretty busy as well, which so many recipes in the pipeline!

  41. daphne says:

    How exciting with engagement photos Joanne. I cannot believe it has been 5 years since we did ours and I’m still in love with mine. Have heaps of fun my dear!

    I vote for rainbow cake!
    xx

  42. I’m with Deanna… no dairy relinquishing in the name of love or otherwise over here 🙂

  43. Meg says:

    Ah, I love your coffee talk posts! Is it strange that I really feel like we’re sitting down to enjoy a warm beverage and a macaron together? I would totally take a salted caramel, btw. Excited about your bake sale — what a great idea! Will be pumped to check out all the goodies!

  44. Danguole says:

    1–Coconut cake!
    2–Voted.
    3–No, I wouldn’t expect you to give up dairy for moral support, mostly because I wouldn’t either. I mean, really.

  45. 1-omg pretty macarons! and the salted caramel is like omg
    2-eeee! engagement pics! yay!
    3-eeeeek no meat or dairy….that’s like everything I eat. I guess there’s still bread….but….OLIVE OIL! AND BUTTER! how difficult.
    4-coconut cake!!!
    5-so glad your blog is all workin’ again!

  46. I want quinoa salad and coconut cake 😀

    I’m looking forward to your virtual bake sale! I love and admire all of your fundraising efforts, and especially love the way you do them – running and baking are the perfect mediums in my mind (for fund raising and everything 😉 ).

  47. Reeni says:

    Cake? Did you say cake? Either one would make me deliriously happy! 🙂

  48. Lynna says:

    I`m SO excited for this virtual bake sale!!! I would love to participate as a baker, but I`m swamp currently. However, I`ll definitely check out all the delicious goodies or donote! Good luck on the marathon! 😀

    Can`t wait to see how your engagement photos turn out!

  49. Susan says:

    oooh this totally reminded me that I need to send you a photo of my macs for the bake sale! Ahh! Flying home today from my biz trip and will do a quick edit tonight.

  50. Ohh that bake sale thing sounds amazing! Wish I lived in the USA so I was able to take part!! 🙁
    Voted for your lovely macarons a couple of days ago, but as soon as my family get up, I’m telling (forcing) them to vote yup!

  51. “Oh, you thought I would give up dairy with him for moral support? That’s cute.” LOL. Ah, Joanne. I love you.

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