Christmas Macaron Magic!

Purple Macarons to say Merry Christmas!

And it would be a Christmas miracle if I managed to bake a whole batch I was happy with, so here's a cautionary illustration: 

This shows 10 minute, 11 minute and 12 minute cooking times. When I say they are delicate, I'm not kidding!

Oh no, smashed bike helmet!

Poor Jonathan!

Of course, it got broken when he dropped it on the floor in a shopping centre. We'll get a new one before we ride home!

Christmas specials!

I love those Christmas prices!

It's green, you know...

What do you want to see first, the work Christmas party, or a cool bug?

Yeah, me too!

This is a cool cicada Jonathan found on the Green Waste bin this morning. Made my day, just a little bit.

Put on your party shoes, paint the town ... green?

Work Christmas party tomorrow night! Jeff and I work together, so we are both double-invited! Always a pleasure to go to these events - the boss enjoys good food, and MAKES good wine (Gentle Annie boutique winery, look it up), so we always enjoy the night.

This year is special.

First, it's on a boat.

Second, we have lots of female employees this year. It's been a good year for recruitment. Naturally, all the tech women had a meeting today to discuss the important issue of - what to wear! We agreed to go for dresses, as elegant as possible.

I nipped out to my fave clothing shop at lunch time, not expecting success, but found a terrific silky green dress. My favourite green too.

But I don't have any suitable shoes. Really not a big shoe person. I do have these sort of silver flats that are very comfy. But they don't match at all.

So I whipped out my tiny bottle of Golden Paint's "Green Gold" and gave these shoes a quick green makeover. I'm delighted with the results!

Happy Birthday John!

It's John's birthday today, and I made HIM a card too. Had to make it last week to get it in the mail.

I had fun colouring this with Copic markers.

Happy Birthday John!

Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma's birthday - and that's a nice opportunity to make a card. What would she like, a pretty one? A funny one? One with a pun?

Actually she's so nice she would say nice things about anything sent to her, so I decided to indulge and make a SUPER GRUNGY one!

I've used my Belgian stamps, some new Aussie stamps by Kaiser (fabulous backgrounds), and some Stampin' Up ones too (the bird, eggs, bug and cage). And that grid-patterned tape is Japanese Washi tape, which I brought back from Paris! I'm sure you can get it here now, but THIS is from Paris.

Best of luck with the freelance writing, Emma!