I am sitting here in my tiny breakfast nook, a nearly empty teacup beside me, and the microwave beeping loudly, signally the arrival of a lunch break which I likely will not take.  Working lunches are my life and I like it that way.  The large window before me reveals the fast-falling snow and my brain giggles at the irony of a fresh snowstorm juxtapose the arrival of spring.  I cannot say that I mind these white, fluffy flakes.  As I stare at them, they begin to appear in synchronicity with the bouncy notes of Handel that play in the background.  Sabine, after finally giving up on her efforts to eat our carpet, sleeps at my feet and I bask in the perfection of this moment.  In the background of the current peacefulness, the pangs of anxious anticipation loom, and I find myself refreshing my inbox every five minutes in hope of relief.  Life is never wholly perfect, but sometimes, it comes delightfully close.  

In spite of the unrelenting winter weather, I am feeling the fresh inspiration that always dawns with the arrival of a new season.  I did not shoot any recipes this week, but I have been tackling a great deal of testing.  Some recipes require a bit more focused energy than others, and I love picking my ideas apart and reworking them without feeling the threat of fading light or a need to style props.

Gluten-free petit fours were just of my ventures this past week and I am giddy to make them for the blog.  I had never broached these tiny cakes before, but now I do not know why.  Even after so many years of baking, I still get intimidated.  The truth is, nothing is ever that scary in the kitchen.  Well, except for french fries, which are not really scary, just evil.  I am still fine-tuning my petit four recipe, but I will be sharing it with you very soon.  

Momentary pause for pretty:  I adore these mixing bowls.

This egg tree is too gorgeous.

Spring cleaning has no appeal to me at the moment.  And, after reading this article, I feel like my house is in pretty good shape!  Not to sound pretentious, but is this really that foreign of a concept?  Of course you should clean your baseboards!! 

I really want to give one of those 5-Minute Make-Up routines a try this spring and summer.  I do not like having a lot on my face when its warm anyways, but I feel like going minimal is going to require some quality ground work.  I know I have mentioned them before, but I was IN LOVE with these serum and moisturizer samples I got from Sephora.  When I was using them on a daily basis, I did not even feel the need to pull out my make-up besides a swipe of mascara.  Truly, they are wonderful.  I feel like this combo will be a future splurge. 

What are your plans for this weekend?  Besides baking every single thing from Jessica's new book, which is ahhhmazing.  

Lots of happy thoughts and spring vibes coming atcha! 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie