I'm officially obsessed.....Dear Macaroons...I love you....more for your colors than your taste, but if I were a dessert....I'd be you.  And truly?  Let's be honest....my next bathroom re-do?  That's right.  Macaroons.  Can't you just SEE the little macaroons in different colors holding up your shower curtains?  I mean sure....you'll walk out of the shower a diabetic, but whatever.  So, truly, I'm smitten....so here are some gems from my last little jaunt in Paris.  Gorgeous tasty little things.

I want them all....

JEWELS!

Matching Rings!

All the pretty colors....is there edible glitter out there???

Once, I was at the opera in NY, and it was intermission, I was SLEEPY...and I needed a treat.  So I went to the over-priced little counter, and I saw a treat, and I picked it up, and thought how odd-a green whoopie pie!  And I gave it a good squeeze....and it totally cracked, as it was NOT a green whoopie pie, it was a pistachio macaroon.   Hmmm.....it was a $7 dollar macaroon, and it was tasty, but noted-no whoopie pies at the opera. 

Sally Lunn, Goodness, the size of your head.

They are as big as your head…literally, and as delicious as….well….I don’t even know what to compare them to!!

Here’s the story. I was in Bath, making some confirmations for an upcoming tour….and after stopping by my soon-to-be hotel, I walked out, turned left, and I saw a LINE! (Well, since I was in the UK, it was really a QUEUE!) Anyway, I got it in….didn’t know why or what for….but they had to know something I didn’t! Well, I was seated in less than 5 minutes, and I didn’t know what to have, but there was a quote on the wall mentioning something about “Cinnamon Butter”…..and I like cinnamon, and I like butter!

A little history about the place that created a queue. It’s called "Sally Lunn's", and the location is known for being “The oldest house in Bath”! Here’s a drop of history straight from Sally’s site! “Sally Lunn, a young French refugee, arrived in England over 300 years ago. She found work at what is now known as Sally Lunn's House and began to bake a rich, round and generous bread now known as the Sally Lunn Bun. This bun became a very popular delicacy in Georgian England as its special taste and lightness allowed it to be enjoyed with either sweet or savoury accompaniments.”

SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS! (Incidentally….a Roald Dahl word….and HE was English!) My first Sally Lunn Bun….and I had NO idea what to expect, was it like a cinnamon bun? Was it like a cake? Was it a hamburger bun? NEITHER! It was a Sally Lunn BUN! Now, I ordered the “Bath Crème Tea” Which was a half a Sally Lunn Bun with their homemade Cinnamon Butter and served with local clotted cream. It came…half….and smothered in cinnamon butter…and it was DELICIOUS! And it was FAST! Service, a smile, tea I had to strain, and a glass of water! Bliss. Plus…rest for my weary feet in a warm, inviting, “Coffee Room”!

Now, of course I went back a week later when I was in town with my group, and I branched out this time…and got a Sally Lunn Bun with Smoked Salmon! And it came as a sandwich, but imagine the most delightful bread!!! Toasted to perfection! And all served so prompt and with a smile! So, the bun, is a bun of delicious bun goodness, but whether it’s sweet or sandwiched, well, that’s up to you. Quite frankly, if you don’t enjoy the bun, or it doesn’t make you smile from the inside, well I’m forced to think, and be right, that you are just a crank pot to the core!

Get to Bath, for lots of reasons, the town is quaint, the people kind, the history is rich, and then, indulge in a smile of a Sally Lunn Bun! And if you haven’t time, and the line’s too long? Head down to their kitchen and buy one (or two) to go! And then you can take your very own photos with a bun, that's the size of your head!!! (To avoid the "queue"? Give them a ring! Make a reservation! You'll be very satisfied you did....unless....well...you read the blog....you know.) So..."Sally Lunn's"!

CUPCAKES!

Since I travel so much, people ask me all the time...."What is your favorite cupcake?"

Wait...nobody has ever asked me that. People ask me things like "What's your favorite city"? And well, that's all. Which, by the way? Is a TERRIBLE question, making me pick? NOT FAIR! So, branch out people, think of new questions to ask when feigning interest!!!!

ANYWAY, IF anybody did ask me what my favorite cupcake was? I'd have to answer Georgetown Cupcakes....Vanilla Birthday Cake, with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting. I'm no cupcake expert, I've not tried them all, but I've had a fair share.

It's true, I'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting, so I'm very partial to my butter cream, but I've had the illustrious "Sprinkles" cupcake? And the only word I have to say is D-R-Y!! And granted, I only tried 2 kinds, but MOIST wasn't involved!

Georgetown cupcakes, are seriously just MOIST! I don't care if you hate that word, it's what they are! So add fabulous frosting, and all of a sudden waiting in ANY line for them, is alright by me!

As a side note? "Cakes by Melissa" in NYC are AWESOME! Yet, totally in a different category! They are fabulously bite size, which is awesome, I mean seriously, most cupcakes are too huge to enjoy! SO! Cakes by Melissa is a great runner up, but #1 in it's own category of goodness!

JUST SAY NO! (To Scoops)

It's official....scoops are NOT the chip of choice. It's never been with Tammy and I...but we let JP decide tonight, and he was NOT down with the scoop! ( I mean look at his face! OBVIOUSLY he doesn't like them!) He'll also agree that it cuts up the roof of your mouth. So be considerate....don't bring them to parties...especially since this Sunday is a big chip day. Think of others. We realize you can "scoop" up the goodness....dips...salsa....whichever, but really? In order to "scoop"? You have to plunge it in there, and your thumbs get all messy, plus...it's gross, I mean have you been washing your hands after every "scoop"? No! And? It's SICK SEASON! Buy the bite size....everybody wins....you can fit them in your mouth, AND fit dip on them, and most importantly? NO HARM DONE!!!!!! The roof of your friends mouth will thank you for it. Hmmm....why isn't that a t-shirt. A picture of scoops with a red circle stamped on it, and then "Just say no, the rooves of your friends mouths will thank you for it!" I like it (Is "rooves" a word?!). And really? We're not saying down with Tostitos....love Tostitos....just hate scoops. So...fight for the right to eat "Hint Of Jalapeño" in normal form-not mouth hurting form. This last picture, is of JP standing up for non scoops....we're getting him a onesie made. And? Just to clarify? Mrs. Corti must also agree...I mean she's got a chip ON her shoulder for the love! (Had to be said friends....had to be said.)

SUSHI!

Will ALSO be in my heaven's pantry....DELISH! Spicy Tuna is my total drug of choice, with crunchies if I may be so picky. No...I don't know what "crunchies" technically are, and really...I don't care....they are YUMMY! We have a place near us that has half-price sushi on Sundays from 12-4....YES PLEASE! So...Spicy Tuna....here I am! Do you hate sushi? Have ya even tried it? Because it's not fair if you haven't. Not all sushi is raw you know. Anything with a shell gets cooked, and they have vegetarian sushi....so haters...chill...and TRY IT!!! That said, if you ever need me, on Sundays after church? I'll be there, getting my spicy tuna on. YUM! (And today...a special shout out to my kronies who crashed my solo sushi party, and I loved it....Karyn, Steph, Jackie, Trav, and Jessica! THANKS!)

So...in honor of sushi....

What did Sushi A say to Sushi B?

WASSAp-Bi!?

(A skosh lame, sure...but it's funny)

SWEET tire cover....

And? I found this SWEET blog....and they made Sushi as a dessert!!!! SO SO SO COOL! Perhaps...I will have a sushi birthday...hmmm...
Life is Better With Cake! I'd love to post a picture, but I don't know how that works with copyrights and what not...so for fun, click on the link and check it out. AWESOME!

Mmmmmm....the craving for the insides of a peanut butter cup started promptly after my nap this afternoon....I didn't know why....but I knew I MUST have the insides. Sure, I could go buy a Reese Cup, but to be honest, I like them for a brief while, and it's really the chocolate that doesn't hold my interest, but oh the insides. So I google and insides recipe, mind you, my mom makes DA BOMB reese cups, and used to make them every Christmas...along with her famous popcorn cakes, to which my brother and I would DREAD having to deliver on Christmas Eve....anyway, I go downstairs...and I say to mom, I need insides to reese's. She says, I have a recipe, I said I know, butter, confectionery sugar, graham crackers and peanut butter right? Yes, she answers, but I'll do it, I don't want you knowing my secrets....LOL! (Tricky me getting her to make them eh?) Anyway, so she mixes, and then I hear the BLECK....turns out graham crackers can go bad! As the box is from 2006, I pull out another box....from 2008...Hmmm....PROBLEM! Well, I'm too far into it to give up now. SO I put on shoes and grab my keys, she says, get new peanut butter too! (Do you have ANY idea how MANY different types of peanut butter there are!?) I get home, having spent $20 at the store, buying other things I didn't need...I have such a weakness for Snapple too. Anyway, home, and Momma Bear whips up this batch, that has now turned from a tasting to the full blown cup, she's melting chocolate and everything! Which worries me, I JUST WANT INNERDS....and NOW! She hands me a little bowl of it, warm buttery goodness, and BLISS BLISS BLISS! I couldn't even speak! YUMTASTIC!! I'm sure...that home made reese cup innerds will be in my heavens pantry....and is also a way to my heart! :-) Josh Mings....it is NOT just PEANUT BUTTER!!

The CROOKED House of Windsor...NOT CRICKET!

Well, what a GLORIOUS day we had at Windsor Castle...I call it Windsor Palace....I have no idea why, but really....Palace...Castle...WHO CARES! Royalty lives there! We had a SUNNY DAY! A first for me...the leaves were REALLY beautiful....as was St. George's, in all it's sun and splendor. Some day? I'll go INSIDE the chapel! Turns out the Queen WAS there that day....but she didn't come say hello. Sad. Maybe next time. So, we do this trip as an option, so not all my peeps go, but on this particular trip, I had two other guides with me. Two FABULOUS guides-thank you Mark & Sarah for being as awesome as you are! Anyway, I tell my people about "The Crooked House" and how it's fun to grab a coffee, or tea, or lunch. However, THIS particular time? Nobody heard Crooked....but nobody! They all heard CRICKET! So when I had a lady say, you have to point out the "Cricket" house to me....I froze, (insert the part where I have to know everything all the time and when I don't, it's failure...and I'm RACKING my brain about crickets, and how do they relate to England, and what cricket house, and should I know this? Is it so obvious that I missed it in my research...on and on my brain goes...) and she interrupts my quizzical face, and says..."you know, the "Cricket House" you said to go to!? PHEW!!!!!!! SIGHS OF RELIEF! I had dodged a bullet! CROOKED! I SAID CROOKED!!!!! (By the way, she still heard CRICKET!) Anyway, I proceed to point it out, and then they go off to the castle. The other two guides and I head through the castle, and take the shortest way out...not without my stopping to have a picture taken with the guard...you know, the ones with the fuzzy hats!? So, I'm never with people here, I've NEVER had my picture take with them...so I DID! And I felt silly, but well, who cares, I can be a tourist. So I stand next to him, and mutter, "just stand there"...HAHAHAHAHAHA! As IF he would do anything else. Then, prompted by Mark or Sarah, I nuzzled closer, and after the picture, I apologized profusely and we went on our way. Ah...the CROOKED house...the reason for the blog. I ordered a hot cocoa...and it came with THOUSANDS of marshmallows! By thousands...I of course mean more than 50, less than a hundred, either way...oodles of mallows! It was great, along with some smoked salmon & cream cheese too, yum-tastic! And it was here, at the Crooked/Cricket House, that I enjoyed, what very well may have been, my favorite hot cocoa to date. Or should I write...favoUrite (a la British spelling!) So...get to Windsor...see the castle...but HAVE A HOT COCOA at the Crooked House! (I'll not vouch for the service or prices or even claim they have honey, but I overlook some things when woo'd by mallows!

Round Goodness!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to blog about RG's. See the Fitionary...they are there. They are Round Goodnesses (Delicious doughy pizzas....broccoli for Linds...tomato bits for me!)....and I don't know exactly when it began, but Lindsay works in the same plaza as Andy's Pizzeria....and since I didn't really work this winter? I was certainly available for lunches! So generally? We'd do 11:30...and have RG's and conversation for lunch. It's really...just an awesome time...and in the beginning...when we were just learning the ways of RG's....we'd use like 8 napkins...and over time...we've gotten it down to one. Now...sometimes I like to branch out to a different sort of Round Goodness...and on those days...Linds usually opts for the Vegetable Pizza. It's okay...we still have the time that we spend together. So today...we finally took some pictures....thanks to my new phone...(10 megapixels....ha ha ha) And so above? You'll see Linds with the RG's....and then down here? You see me....because we love the CRAZY pictures that are up...everybody should decorate with raw eggs. Today, was kind of a farewell for a little while, as I'm gone, and we decided we can still have them...as long as we are honest and open about having them...and who we are having them with! Here's to RG's and here's to Lindsay!