"Important lessons:
Look carefully; record what you see.
Find a way to make beauty necessary;
Find a way to make necessity beautiful"

A warm morning after the storm, food slowly cooking on the stove, and loved ones on the way.

We are leaving early for Italy tomorrow. It will be a change in scenery greeted by much anticipation.
bonne weekend.

summer polaroids

If I never come home it's probably because I'm
collecting new freckles, eating my weight in ice cream, & falling in love with everything.

sunday: elderflower champagne & homemade schnapps in tomis's garden, a lesson on cider and making jam, a cold night warmed by many fires, falling asleep in an old sleeping bag under the stars.

monday: russian bread and tea for breakfast, a trip to leonburg, two scoops of melon gelato, a walk about, a sleepless night made right by sunrise.

today: a lazy morning spent under a pile of quilts, a long bike ride through a winding forest, the first pages of anna karenina.

life is good.

french macarons

A large part of my Saturday was spent in my pajamas baking macarons. I'm sure I looked half mad wielding a whisk and running around the kitchen covered in sticky batter. What you've heard is true- these tiny guys are quite finicky. However a little love goes a long way, and three batches later I finally reached macaron enlightenment. Which I can only guess feels slightly akin to conquering Mt. Everest.

(I found this helpful)

With it now officially being summer it only seemed right to start the season with a trip to the strawberry fields. There is a little patch down the road that has the sweetest, tiniest strawberries I've ever seen. There is something special about gathering your own food, and I could only imagine the joy that comes from growing it as well. The last time I visited a strawberry patch was in Oregon years ago while visiting my grandma. I can remember eating so many ripe strawberries I stained everything on and around me crimson red.
These ones taste just as delicious and have already gone to topping creme brulee, in swiss buttercream for french macarons, sprinkled with sugar, and out of the bowl plain & simple.

also I've been dancing around to this tune lately

pieces of today

 

Somehow each person in my family had somewhere to go or be today except myself. There can be a tension that comes with such closeness, and as I'm used to living alone I welcome the peace of an empty house.

I collected a handful of currents that hung over our fence from the neighbor's garden to brighten my lunch, then took myself out for a walk. My parents live in a farming village in southern Germany and there is always some little goat, hen, or cow so say hello to. I usually wander off a bit too far and find myself lost among countless identical fields, however i'm slowly learning my way around.

It was a quiet day, and for that,

I'm thankful.

about

                            

hello there, i'm britt

i currently reside deep in the heart of texas.

i'll be starting pastry school and a life of very early mornings in the fall.
this blog is a collection of my baking adventures, travels, and daily life.