Cupcakes and Cashmere: A Book Review

Décor, style, and fashion never really meant much to me. As long as my room looked nice and my clothes were pretty, I was fine. But then, about a month ago, I started thinking about my "look." Was it casual, rustic, etc.? Did I have anything about my "look" that was purely "me?" Did I have a distinct style? I wasn't really sure about any of these questions, and that's when I came across Cupcakes and Cashmere by Emily Schuman. It was an accident, really, that I found the book. I was wandering around my library, rather bored, waited for family members to finish finding their books, when I came across the fashion section. I rifled through the books until I hit Cupcakes and Cashmere, and the book was so cute I had to bring it home with me!

 

I read straight through that book in a few days, and it opened up so much to me. Emily laid out basic elements of style and fashion for each season (extremely helpful in my case) and beauty tips (I found the hair curling and manicure layouts and instructions very interesting). I'm not big into throwing parties (a third aspect dealt with in Cupcakes and Cashmere), but some of those recipes looked really good! This book had something for everyone!

 

 

What particularly inspired me, however, was the home décor and organization sections of the book. As I read, I found myself challenged and wanting to renovate my own bedroom. Countless possibilities sprang from my mind as I read how Emily had decorated her own home from with items from countless flea markets, sales, and other such places. With all of this fresh before my eyes, I could hardly stop myself from wanting to buy everything I saw at an antique mall; everything screamed at me to take them home and repurpose them! Thanks to this book, I soon had a long list of ideas and plans on how to renovate my space.

 

 

So, if you're a budding fashion or home décor or party throwing enthusiast, this is a great and awesome book for you! If you'd like to buy this book, you can do so here. I hope that you'll enjoy this book as much I did! Or, if you'd rather read her blog, which the book is based off of, you can do so here.

How to Make Nondescript Buns Beautiful

Have you ever looked at your sandwich buns and wished they looked a little nicer? Maybe you wanted a little more pop, a little more flash? Well, I'm here to tell you that I have a yummy tasting, beautiful solution for you!

Using my Uniform Bun Tutorial, shape your buns and arrange them on a greased or parchment-covered baking sheet. Proceed to slash X's on the tops of the buns with a serrated knife. As you can see, I didn't get many perfect X's, so don't worry if yours don't look perfect, either. They'll look fantastic when they've finished baking!

 

 Make a simply egg wash by cracking an egg in to a bowl, and filling one of the broken egg shells with water. Dump the water into the bowl and use a fork or a whisk to beat the two ingredients together.

Brush a light amount onto your buns with a pastry brush.

Sprinkle a few dried, chopped onions over your buns.

Add a little dried, chopped parsley to give a little color to the buns.

 

Pop your buns into the oven for the correct amount of time. Be aware of the fact that the egg wash may make your buns appear brown and finished before they are actually done baking. Please make sure your buns are baked all the way through before taking them out of the oven.

 

Ingrediants:

1 large egg

A half-shell of water (or a tablespoon)

Chopped, dried onions

Chopped, dried parsley

 

Using my Uniform Bun Tutorial, shape your buns and arrange them on a greased or parchment-covered baking sheet. Proceed to slash X's on the tops of the buns with a serrated knife.

 

Make a simply egg wash by cracking an egg in to a bowl, and filling one of the broken egg shells with water. Dump the water into the bowl and use a fork or a whisk to beat the two ingredients together. Brush a light amount onto your buns with a pastry brush. Sprinkle a few dried, chopped onions and a little dried, chopped parsley to give a little color, crunchy, and flavor to the buns.

 

Pop your buns into the oven for the correct amount of time. Be aware of the fact that the egg wash may make your buns appear brown and finished before they are actually done baking. Please make sure your buns are baked all the way through before taking them out of the oven.

 

 

Uniform Buns Tutorial

When I first making sandwich buns, I made them by rolling out my dough, cutting out circles, and then re-rolling my dough when my original piece of was full of holes. I did this up to four or five times, and the dough would get stiffer and stiffer each rolling. As a result of this technique, some of my buns rose better than the others, and depending how well I cut into the dough with the cutter determined how perfectly round each bun actually turned out.
For awhile I didn't think anything of my bun-making ways; it was just the way things were done, right? Wrong. It wasn't until I was watching a lecture series on baking by the Culinary Institute of America that I learned the constant rolling of dough builds up gluten, which makes the dough stiffer than wanted. Armed with this knowledge, I decided to try making my buns another way. That way had been photographed and laid out for you to read below, and I love this way of making buns!

Cut your dough into your desired amount of pieces (I usually make 22 buns). Take one of the small balls of dough in your hands and quickly fashion it into a flat circle of sorts. 

 



 Take the outer edges of the circle and fold them inwards, pinching them all together to make a nice round shape.

Flip the dough over, and you should have a wonderful, round bun in the palm of your hand. If you don't get it perfect the first time, just be patient; you'll catch on really soon! This technique is super easy to master!

Line up your buns on a tray and stick them in the oven to bake! It's that easy!

Instructions:
Cut your dough into your desired amount of pieces (I usually make 22 buns). Take one of the small balls of dough in your hands and quickly fashion it into a flat circle of sorts.  Take the outer edges of the circle and fold them inwards, pinching them all together to make a nice round shape. Flip the dough over, and you should have a wonderful, round bun in the palm of your hand. If you don't get it perfect the first time, just be patient; you'll catch on really soon! This technique is super easy to master! Line up your buns on a tray and stick them in the oven to bake! It's that easy!

If you're interested in ideas of how to make your buns pop after fashioning them, check out it out here!

Rose of Prophecy

My sister, Hope Schmidt, has self-published an e-book on Smashwords and Kindle! Check it out here!!!

She is afraid. Not because she is alone. Not because thick roiling clouds obscure the moon. Not because the wind rushes through the forest like a wild dragon. She is afraid because she is late. And to be late means death.

Her life had been happy once. 

Despite the destruction wreaked by Tauscher, traitor to the King. Despite the distant war led by the Prince and fought with the help of her three brothers. Despite her own poorly-chosen nickname of Beauty, she'd enjoyed life. 

Of course, that was also before her father left home on a hopeful errand but returned weary and ill, bearing a velvety scarlet rose which he claimed would never wither. But even life in the ancient hall, tucked away in the center of Mosswood, surrounded by roses of every description, overshadowed with mystery and home to a scarred figure who is more beast than man, wasn't too bad after a time. 

But now...now, in a flash of light, Beauty finally glimpses the truth. And the cost. The price which must be paid, or the sacrifice which must be made.

It is a curse which even love alone may not be able to break.

 

Writing in the Light Publishing proudly presents the first of nine novellas in 

The Legends of Light series!

Rose of Prophecy,

a fantasy seeped retelling of Beauty and the Beast

containing an ancient promise, an invisible spy, and the legendary Stieg der,

is more than a mere retelling of a favorite fairy tale.

Each novella focuses on one of the

nine Fruits of the Spirit

while also following the conflict between the Prince and Tauscher

and expertly retelling and twisting some popular, as well as several lesser known, fairy tales.

 

Hope Ann is a Christian authoress who loves reading and writing fantasy, retelling fairy tales, and futuristic fiction. She has been writing for over five years and is currently working on several fantasy books as well as a futuristic trilogy. 

Some of her favorite authors include J. R. R. Tolkien, Serena Chase, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain. 

You can visit Hope’s blog at Writinginthelight.org. You can also follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter.