Anniversary – Z's Cup of Tea

2.0

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Monday was my birthday. Two zero. Some of the things I did (and some of my presents):

I went to go see Skyfall – during which, while watching, I thought more deeply on some aspects of the movie (mainly subtext and art pieces – click to watch a video of Bond meeting Q in an art gallery) than I think I should have; it’s James Bond. My two favourite characters from the movie are Q and Moneypenny.
I also got two OPI nail polishes from the James Bond collection. (Goldeneye and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – they’re gorgeous! I’m wearing both now, with Goldeneye on my right ring fingernail and the rest of my nails painted with OHMSS.)
One of my presents was The Smitten Kitchen cookbook, which I pored over and so many recipes jumped out at me. Deb’s stunning photography made me taste the food before I’d even read the recipe and some of the pairings I’ve never considered, yet am keen to try (plum and poppyseed, for example). One of the recipes from the blog I remembered with fondness, as I had made it before. There are recipes bookmarked!
Unplanned, I also took a stab at reading Chaucer. I’ve been familiar with the name Chaucer for years, though I don’t think I’ve ever read him (knowingly, at least). My interest and curiosity were piqued after watching this Bill Bailey sketch and it is one of my favourites. I wish there were more like it.

Last Saturday was my nineteenth birthday and I celebrated it in style, wearing my favourite bright red skinny jeans and Edward Scissorhands tee shirt with my pearl necklace. Last but not least, the outfit was completed with my new birthday boots.

My Dad says the multi-coloured buttons down the sides look like smarties. I saw them in a window at a mall around Christmas and I had wanted them so much since. I was so pleased then to get them for my birthday that I felt myself glowing and even more so when I wore them and have been getting compliments left and right.

I had lunch at Granville Island with my aunt and grandmother. Afterward I got a couple props for my blogging at the Kitchenware Market, one of the stores in the Net Loft. You’ll be seeing them in action soon – in fact, you might have already in my Baileys post (the red and white drinking straw). The rest of my presents were two Donna Hay Essentials cookbooks (Chocolate and Beef, Lamb + Pork) and a mighty explosion of Boosh: pins, The Pocket Book of Boosh, and a Mighty Boosh tee shirt. Someone was a happy girl!

Continue reading “Birthday Girl”

Moustache Cookies for Freddie For A Day

Sunday, September 4, 2011

September 5th is Freddie Mercury’s birthday; it is also the annual charity fund-raising event Freddie For A Day, in which people dress up as Freddie and raise money through sponsorship towards the Mercury Phoenix Trust to fight AIDS. I’ve wanted to do something as part of celebrating Queen’s 40th anniversary and, seeing all the recent Freddie For A Day activity, decided on something fun with moustache-shaped cookies. This idea was made even better after I read this on Queen’s official website.

I got the idea for moustache cookies when I saw them on Pinterest a while back and found moustache cookie cutters online. I decided to do it myself, though, since the generic moustache cookie cutter is not reflective of Freddie or, indeed, his moustache. Until they start selling Freddie Mercury moustache cookie cutters, D.I.Y. will have to be the way.

I made the basic shape from tracing the shape of a fake clip-on moustache that’s being sold on the FFAD online shop (they also sell the Wembley costume and, most recently, a mug with a design of Freddie’s moustache) and I cut the cookies tracing the moustache shape with a knife – I would have made my own cookie cutter but I ended up not doing so. Using a knife to cut shapes out of cookie dough means that they won’t be as uniform if I had used a cookie cutter, but I’m fine with that. I cut the cookies into heart shapes as well as moustaches.

The cookies, adapted from a sugar cookie recipe in the Martha Stewart Makes Cookies app, while fine and satisfying on their own, are taken to another level and made irresistible with a chocolate coating – indeed, it’s hard to just stop at one.

Continue reading “Moustache Cookies for Freddie For A Day”