Past time pleasures.

Been spending more time on some of my favorite past times that have gotten neglected once I started working last year; one of them being studio art. It almost feels foreign to hold a paintbrush in my hand after not doing so for a couple of years! I painted this simple illustration for my bff's birthday -- it's the eiffel tower made of french macarons, a shared favorite of ours. The frame is vintage and I painted it white to complete the look. Tip: update an old frame you find at the thrift store by painting it white!

After painting, comes the culinary arts...

I've been in a cooking/baking frenzy for the past month through experimenting with different recipes I've found on blogs or recreating old favorites. Perhaps I will give french macarons another attempt once I've mustered enough patience! For now, here are some fun and simple-to-make foods I've been into:

puffed pancake adorned with sliced strawberries, whipped cream and agave syrup | fluffy pear tart | lemon-yogurt pancakes | Chinese green onion pancake | Cara Cara sliced orange 

I discovered these beautiful and tasty Cara Cara oranges at the Farmer's Market last weekend. I found out they were a hybrid of cranberries and oranges. Though completely unrelated to the grapefruit, the taste resembles its tartiness but sweeter in an orange-y kind of way. They are only in season for a couple more months, so get them while you can!