(Pinterest) Failing for 100 Posts and 100 More

As my post count has been ticking closer and closer to 100, I've been mulling for weeks over what I wanted to feature. Did I want to highlight something aesthetically beautiful like my recent brunch at Laduree? Or perhaps showcase a men's fashion shoot in Chelsea and talk about my developments as a photographer? Nothing felt quite right until last week, though, when I experienced the most hilarious Pinterest fail of my life trying to make cute mason jar cupcakes. After seeing pictures like the below from Cookies and Cups, I thought it would be the perfect thing to send across the country to my "little sister" Kiersten for her birthday and my dear friend Maddie who is an MD Martha Stewart of sorts.

So how did they start out? Not so hot. Fortunately, my friends Janet and Kevin were over to "help out" (ie eat the ugly ones) and let's just say they were eating a LOT. We were laughing so hard at how hideous the jars looked (chocolate frosting smudged on glass isn't that appetizing...) and also how difficult it was. We tried so many different methods - putting the cake in first then adding frosting (resulted in smudging), frosting the cake first then plopping it in (half of them flipped over), tearing up the cupcake to fill out more of the bottom (it looked stupid). All the while I'm simultaneously crying and laughing at just how epic of a fail it all was. Finally, finally I thought I had mastered the process! In my pride and glory, I even whipped out my DSLR to get a good shot, dreaming of how this would be blown up on Pinterest boards. I would write my blog post full of tips (dollop of frosting and sprinkles at the bottom, frost only the middle of the cupcake avoiding the edges, lower it in with chopsticks, repeat, and then add a solid layer of frosting at the top), and it would be a fantastic addition to my food section! 

But then...I decided to test how they would fare in travel and on my way to work this happened..

The frosting was far too slippery, the jar far too big, and the cupcakes far too skinny. I could only imagine the girls opening up their boxes and just seeing a jar full of a frosting mess and being so confused as to what I sent them. I couldn't help but laugh at my #nailedit moment and forced my coworkers to eat my ugly cupcakes just to make myself feel better (for the record, they were delicious).

So what does this all have to do with my hundredth post? Trying. And failing. You see, as far as this little blog has come in the past four years, I've hoped that amandaliew.com at its very core is still about the journey, not the end game. From the start, I've wanted it to be about life, experiences, challenges, and above all trying new things. What started out as a travel blog, morphed into a passion for digital photography - and where that passion is focused changes each day! Sometimes those new things turn out wildly successful, and sometimes they turn out disastrously bad. But in the end, the effort was made and the idea was explored. As more people have seen my work, I've gotten more project proposals, fee inquiries, and even questions of if I would ever pursue this as a career. But I've come to realize that there's a huge amount of freedom in clinging to the "amateur photographer" title. It gives me the chance to pursue what intrigues me, try new styles without worrying about a portfolio, share my stories of what I've learned, and ultimately laugh at my own failure. I love that this website is not just a portfolio of my best work, but instead an insight into how I'm growing and challenging myself as a photographer. And so, I'll keep trying and I'll keep (Pinterest) failing. I've done so for the past 100 posts, and I'll keep doing it for 100 more!

Bacon Is Always The Answer

For the most part, I'm a total cheater when it comes to baking. Despite being a prolific hashtagger of #bankerbydaybakerbynight, I stealthily use box recipes and then throw something crazy into it to make it sound homemade. I mean...chocolate peppermint cupcakes stuffed with junior mints sure sounds like something you would find on Pinterest, but in reality I accidentally "invented" it because all the grocery stores were closed by the time I got out of work at 11pm, and I had to improvise with ingredients found at CVS. Now if that's not a true #bankerbydaybakerbynight, I don't know what is!

Nevertheless, special occasions deserve an extra touch of specialness, and this Easter I decided to whip up a batch of Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones with my awesome friend and fellow-lover-of-food, Katie! Why? Because bacon is always the answer. I'm not going to lie, the recipe took us a while, but I mainly blame that on my insistence in cooking the entire package of bacon rather than what the recipe actually called for. When I make these again, I think it would be smart to bake the bacon while I prep the rest of the ingredients. I'm quite proud of my developments as a baker considering I had to Google Image search "chive" while at the grocery store to make sure I was getting the right thing...

So the verdict in the end? These things are HEAVENLY. Katie and I were particularly impressed with how the bacon and cheddar actually flavored the dough (as in, it wasn't just a bland bread item with yummy chunks scattered about) and also how the chives weren't too overwhelming. It's a densely packed scone, and for that reason I think the mini scones would make more sense in the future. I think we could have baked them a little longer or used a little less of the heavy cream (we used the extra 2 tablespoons that the recipe lets you flex on) to make it crispier. Nevertheless, all around phenomenal!

Many thanks to King Arthur and our good friend / chef extraordinaire / California travel buddy Victoria! To find the recipe, see below or go to the original link here.

And if you're interested in mixing it up with a sweet scone recipe, I highly recommend Raspberry Buttermilk Scones! There's a lot less prep in this one since you just toss the raspberries in.

King Arthur Flour Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Perfect Pastry Blend 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) cold  butter 1 cup (4 ounces) very coarsely grated or  diced cheddar cheese 1/3 cup (about 1/2 ounce) snipped fresh chives, or finely diced scallion tops (the  green part, 3/4 ounce) 1/2 pound bacon, cooked, cooled, and crumbled (about 1 cup) 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) heavy cream or whipping cream, or enough to make the dough cohesive

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

1) Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

2) Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.

3) Mix in the cheese, chives, and bacon until evenly distributed.

4) Add ¾ cup of the cream, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it’s crumbly and won’t hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.

5) Pat the dough into a smooth 7" disk about ¾" thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet.

6) Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan.

7) Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.

8) Bake the scones for 22 to 24 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature. Yield: 8 large scones

Baker's tips •Want to make scones now, freeze and bake later? Make scones up to the point they're on the baking sheet, cut and ready to bake; don't brush them with cream. Freeze, then remove from the sheet, and wrap airtight in a plastic bag. When you're ready to bake, remove however many you want to bake from the freezer, place on a baking sheet, brush with cream, and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

•Make mini-scones: Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 5" round. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven till golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes; or for about 25 minutes if frozen.

Old Friends, New City

After almost two years of forcing my brother to come up to New York City, I finally got the chance to make the trip in the other direction and visit Washington DC this past weekend. While I was hoping to finally check off the cherry blossoms from my bucket list, the never ending winter foiled those plans. Luckily, thanks to some especially fortuitous timing and a last minute scramble, a few of my college friends from Penn (and one straggler from Princeton, ahem) managed to all convene in DC for a spontaneous reunion! As much as I love my new post-grad life in New York (I think I'm one of the only people that prefers "real life" to college...), seeing everybody in one place reminded me of what I truly value from my college experience. Yes, I had wonderful professors and a pretty great education, but most importantly, I was surrounded by an incredibly diverse group of people who were all high-achievers in vastly different fields. When I first got to Penn, I shunned the word "feminist", had no idea what racist microaggresions were, wouldn't have recognized privilege even if it slapped me in the face, and all around just knew so little about society! The diverse ethnic, cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds of this group here as well as so many more of my friends at Penn totally transformed my viewpoints on life, society, education, and culture. Even though we didn't realize how diverse our little reunion actually was, looking at these photographs now brings so much joy to my heart. Beauty truly has no bounds - just look at these people! Beyond the lofty thoughts, though, of course the whole weekend was just an all around great time. I got to explore more of the city, meet my brother's friends, experience some epic brunches (shoutout to Tonic for their ridiculous breakfast tots and Busboys & Poets for their very unique Iraqi corned beef hash!), experience one of the weirdest shows I'll probably ever see, eat a gigantic passion fruit macaron from Bakers & Baristas (although it wasn't a "real" macaron in my humble opinion #ladureesnob), check out the incredible Newseum (the Pulitzer Prize photo exhibit brought tears to my eyes multiple times), re-live my study abroad semester with a friend at Nando's, and of course force everybody to pose for portraits and more portraits. Can't wait to travel more!

  Group shots (iPhone 6):  

Brisk Mornings on the Upper East Side

Every now and then, I manage to trick my body into thinking the mornings aren't quite as painful as I think they are. (This is a lie.) Usually this means catching up with somebody for breakfast or coffee, but last week, I had the fun opportunity to whip out my camera and embrace our proximity to Central Park on a very brisk morning with my dear roommate Krista. Despite the jokes our friends give us about needing a passport to get up here, we've both loved living on the Upper East Side. There's a certain peacefulness about the neighborhood that you don't get in other parts of the city, and for a place I call "home," that's just what I need! Often times tourists visit the city and claim it's too chaotic and overwhelming - but the reality is that they've only explored Times Square or some other equivalent of a tourist trap. Unbeknownst to them, there are little treasures and neighborhood gems scattered throughout the city that offer a tranquil retreat from the rest of the craziness. Want artisanal doughnuts? A view of the East River? A great open field that's not filled with a thousand human beings like Sheep's Meadow? The Upper East Side calls your name.

It was so much fun just ducking out of the apartment for 15 minutes to snap a couple of gorgeous shots of Krista in the neighborhood!