Paper chase at Target

I love Paperchase!  I used to spend an inordinate amount of time in the Paperchase located at Victoria Station in London.  It was a great place to while away time spent waiting for the next train to Dulwich!  Paperchase, Tie Rack and The Sock Shop were always good for a fun purchase!  Target now carries a selection of their cards and products at their stores.  Yippee for me.  This week I spotted some wonderful Christmas selections at my local store.  Pretty ribbons and gift trim.  I love it all.  The wooden spools are my absolute favorite though,  Red and white cotton ribbon is always a good thing

All available at Target

Derek

I find a lot of Ricky Gervais work hard to watch.  I think he deliberately makes the viewer as uncomfortable as possible, amplifying the very traits we as humans do not wish to see in ourselves.  That is why I was so trepidatious about watching 'Derek'.  I had heard a lot of talk when it was first released in the UK and it seemed a lot of people made assumptions as to whether Mr. Gervais was taking the piss out of developmentally challenged individuals.  Many people thought that he was mocking those with autism.  Of course, the majority of people making these assumptions had yet to even view a single episode so I tried to keep an open mind.   Now I have a daughter with autism so I was not sure how this was going to go.  Do I really need to go out of my way to get riled up?  Would watching someone who has made me uncomfortable in the past take on autism really be the best use of my time? I can get riled up in a million different ways every day, I do not need to go seek out additional ways!

But watch it I did.  If, in fact, Derek is supposed to be autistic (which is not confirmed or denied) then I am more than happy with how he is portrayed.  I cannot talk highly enough about this series.  It is everything good television should be.  Every episode has made me laugh out loud and then cry gentle tears.  I have actually cheered at the top of my voice.  It is mind boggling how awesome this show is. Ricky Gervais has created a world that shows how little we regard our elders and how the fortunate few who choose to work with them to nurse them and care for then are the people we should revere.

The cast is amazing but for me Karl Pilkington stands out.  If you have ever seen his work on 'An Idiot Abroad' (and if you haven't, please check it out, that show is absolutely hysterical), his portrayal here will be an absolute revelation.  He seems to be the voice of reason in a mad mad world and says the things I know I would want to say.  He plays the part with such measure and is never a caricature. There are scenes where he has actually made me stand up and cheer.  I love him!

There is so much crap on television and so much guff.  We seem to celebrate reality stars whose only contribution to the world seems to be sex tapes and the ability to be as dumb as a post.  This show will restore your faith in humanity (and television).   Oh, and Ricky Gervais is just a frigging genius.  Case closed!

Derek is available to stream on Netflix.  As there are only 7 episodes, I tried really hard not to binge watch!  I managed to spread ten out over the course of a week.  Also, filming on season 2 started this week.

Remember, Kindness is Magic!

Style at Home magazine

I love this magazine. It just keeps getting better and better.  I have written about it before but it needs some fresh new love!  A few things have changed that make this magazine even better and much easier for us in the United States to get a hold of!  First, it is now available on the App Store.  You can purchase a 1 year subscription for $20 which I think is a pretty awesome deal.  Second, if you are like me and still love the feel of paper in your hands, I have found the past two issues as well as some of the special issues, at my local Barnes & Noble.  Yay!

One of my favorite monthly features is the High and Low feature.  It is pretty hard to tell the difference between some of the rooms but the price breakdown amazes me every time!  Unreal. 

Seriously, if you have yet to look at this magazine, do yourself a favor and have a look.  I find the majority of the rooms as covetable as Domino but with a far friendlier price tag.  Oh and nobody does a white kitchen better than Style at Home magazine!

All images from Style at Home

Trophy Monday

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

This weekend, I made Caramel Apple Cupcakes.  These are a little more time consuming and require a little more time and planning.  None of the parts are in any way difficult, but you will need to plan a little to ensure they come together when you want them.  I made the caramel sauce in the morning.  It took about 15 minutes total and was incredibly easy to make.  I set that aside and did a few other things around the house.  Later, I peeled the apples and tossed them with the lemon juice, a little sugar and some cinnamon.  This stopped the apples from turning brown and also encouraged a little juiciness!  The cake batter itself is very quick to come together.   Once the cakes had been baked, my husband could not hold out any longer.  The smell as they were baking was just a perfume designed to sell homes.  Unbelievable.  He said the cake tasted like the best apple muffin he had ever tasted and he wasn't sure it could be improved upon with frosting!  He was wrong!  The frosting is a buttercream frosting that is made sublime by the addition of the caramel we made earlier.  Sweet Jesus, that frosting is the stuff of dreams!

For me the hardest part of the whole endeavor was the application of the frosting.  I am pretty darn good with a pastry bag and a frosting tip but the method described in the book required using an ice cream scoop and placing a mound on the top of each cake.  Then with a little offset spatula, you would slowly spread the mound of frosting out towards the edge, making a domed apple-esque shape on the cake.  This took a little practice but I think I finally got something approaching the idea!  Then I dipped the edge of the cake into a bowl of chopped pecans.  I also ordered a few of the wafer paper leaves that are used at Trophy.  I found mine at Sugarcraft which meant I could order a somewhat smaller quantity than the source listed in the book.  A pretzel rod made for a pretty stem and after a few swirls of some caramel, the cakes were complete!

Oh, side note.  The sources and source guide in the book are outstanding.  There is nothing in the book that is not available for us and they have done a fantastic job of leading us in the right direction for each product or ingredient!

Back to the cupcakes.  Again, this made far more than the two dozen listed but just like the Espresso Cupcakes from last week, there was no problem giving them away.  My husband and his band of merry coworkers dubbed them Outstanding and best in show!

Highly recommend these cupcakes but be sure to set aside a little time to make them!

Trophy Cupcakes and Parties book available here and here