Faith

“Faith is a refusal to panic, come what may.

Whatever your circumstances at this moment,
bring all you know to be true
of your relationship to God to bear upon it.
Then you will know full well
that He will never allow anything to happen to you that is harmful.
‘All things work together for good to them that love God.’
He loves you with an everlasting love.

I do not suggest that you will be able to understand everything that is happening.
You may not have a full explanation of it;
but you will know for certain that God is not unconcerned.
That is impossible.
The One who has done the greatest thing of all for you,
must be concerned about you in everything,
and though the clouds are thick
and you cannot see His face,
you know He is there.”

- Martin-Lloyd Jones, Spiritual Depression

(swoon)

Some of my favorite people in the whole world. What's not to love?

So...

I'm back on the facebook.

But that doesn't mean that I'll

stop blogging. No way, José.

Ice Cream Makin'

I am, at present, in the process of creating my

first batch of ice cream. So far, it's going pretty

well. For Christmas, I got my mom an ice cream

attachment to her KitchenAid Mixer. It was a gift

for her... as well as a gift for me when I'm home on

breaks. I'm making Banana Ice Cream. The recipe is

so so simple.

Honestly. If you have a mixer and an

ice cream maker, you definitely need to make this.

I just experimented and really liked what I came up

with. For those of my readers who like to eat

sugar-free, this can easily be adapted. Just

add honey or agave. Even if you don't, the banana is

sweet enough on its own!

Jessica's Banana Ice Cream

3 bananas, cut up

1 1/2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of sugar

Tablespoon of brown sugar

Cinnamon to taste

In a mixer, puree the bananas. Add the rest of the

ingredients. Make sure that they are mixed well.

Add them to the ice cream maker and follow the

instructions. Voila!

Concert!

I had the pleasure of celebrating my baby sister's 18th birthday

(albeit a few days late) on Friday night. I got her tickets to see

Mat Kearney, Ingrid Michaelson, and Angel Taylor. The cool

thing is, Angel goes to my church and I see her around on a

semi-regular basis when she's in town. She knew that I was

coming and was able to pick me out of the crowd. My sister

LOVES all of these bands, so she was in heaven.

We ended up getting to the venue early. Since the concert was

standing room only, we were able to get front row "seats". It

was, in a word, wonderful. We had a total blast. I took a couple

of pics with my little camera that I keep in my purse. I rarely

bring my fatty camera out for events like this. So, I'm sorry if

they're "sub-par" in terms of quality. Enjoy anyways!

The venue. I was stoked to see Angel's name on the bill.

Waiting in line!

Angel Taylor

Mat Kearney

Ingrid Michaelson

Relaxation Techniques?

Call me a bit immature, but when I'm stressed out

or in need of serious decompression, I often watch

cheesy child's films. An excellent example would

be "The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking".

As a little kid, I had an unhealthy fascination with

that girl. I mean, she was super strong, independent,

quirky, and always had a trick up her sleeve.

Now that finals are over, I need some serious

relaxation time. This movie seems to be doing

the trick. There is no artistic value in it whatsoever,

just pure sentiment. I fully embrace all of the cheese

factor this spring break. Cheers.

Whew

Finals are over.

I can breathe.

Yes.

Musical Goodness

This song makes my heart hurt,

in a very very good way. Bon Iver is

so darn talented!

Lessons Learned

...let me set the scene for you...

My toilet just overflowed. Everywhere.

I am standing ankle-deep in water, in my bathroom.

There is no end in sight. Paper towels just won't do

for an epic mess like this. Panic begins to set it.

There's just so much water! I'm a girl, we're not

supposed to deal with problems like this! I can't

handle this. Absolutely not. How can this get much

worse? Doesn't God understand that I can't handle

much more? Hasn't He given me enough to deal

with? Really???

As I'm typing this, I'm sitting on my bed. The mess

has been contained. The toilet has been fixed, my

towels are in the washing machine. This crisis has been

dealt with. However, I'm left with a lingering lesson,

something that makes me cringe a little bit.

The Lord never gives me more than what is appropriate.

All of the trials, from the biggest heartbreak to the smallest

situation, are carefully calculated. God isn't sitting up in

heaven, flinging missiles and bombs my way for fun.

No, He is a loving and benevolent God who uses things

that may not be so pleasant to conform us to the image

of Christ.

Can God use an overflowing toilet to bring his

children to a better understanding of their heart

and of their sin? Absolutely. Case and Point.

I'm guilty of accusing God of not knowing what

is in my best interest. I just react when something

happens, rather than weigh it with the mercy that I've

been given. Does the Lord know our weaknesses and

sorrows? Completely. In fact, He knows us better than

we know ourselves.

In the future, when hard times come, I know that my

heart's attitude needs to be that of trust and thanksgiving,

rather than of emotional reaction. Wether it's something

really really big, or as simple as a toilet breaking, I need

to have a correct perspective.

Okay, now that I've shared with you, I need to

get back to studying for finals. Wish me luck!

Watch.

Seriously. How cool is this?

International Woman's Day

Today is IWD, or known as "International Women's Day".

Although I don't label myself as a feminist, I really really

appreciate all the steps of courageous women of the past

that allow me the freedoms that I enjoy today. One of

those is the right to vote. The past presidential election

was my first time as an eligible voter, a privilege that I did

not take lightly. I am always thankful to the Lord that He

allowed me to grow up and live in a country where I am

spoken for.

I've had the ability to travel to South Africa in the 2008. There,

I experienced the realities of a government that don't even

acknowledge its women as full citizens or afford them the

protection that I enjoy in America. It was a very eye opening

experience and definitely changed the way that I perceive

my liberties and blessings in my home country. I am very

very fortunate and I do not take that lightly.

This day, for me, is a reminder of the women all

over the globe who do not have the safety or the assurance

of government protection or even acknowledgement. Today,

I pray for these governments and for these women. I pray

that the Gospel would go forth and that the hearts of these

women would know the true God. I pray that Christ would be

exalted in every corner of the globe. I pray for the state of

Biblical womanhood in America, that it wouldn't be set

aside as a "lesser" issue in the Church or culture.

Happy International Woman's Day!

Maybe Someday...

I love love LOVE floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

I was fortunate enough to have a father with

tons and tons of books. In fact, he has a whole entire

wall of his office covered in books. It was one of my

favorite places in the world to hang out as a child, reading

anything and everything. Someday in the future, far far

away, I'd really really love to have a home library. I'd love

books stacked from floor to ceiling, with everything from

classic lit to cookbooks. Anyway, I saw this image on my

blog feed reader and thought that it was just so lovely.

Who knows? Maybe someday...

Twelve Days

...until I fly home to Philadelphia. It's the day after finals and I will officially be on spring break! While I'm home, I'll be attending a very special event. My sister Rachel's birthday is on March 10, so I'll be celebrating it a little bit late by taking her to a concert. We aren't seeing just "anybody". No, there's a fantastic lineup of 3 of our favorite artists. They are as follows: Angel Taylor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Mat Kearney. We are SO STOKED. Yes.

So, I have a few musical youtube links to keep you occupied for a little bit. Enjoy.

(This song helped me through a lot.)

(I love all of his powerful lyrics)

(It's as if she took pages from my journal)

Harry Potter en Français

Yup. That's right. I totally went "there".

I'm not fluent in French by any means, but I

am fairly proficient. This is coupled by the fact that

I'm taking intermediate level French classes at UCLA.

So, in the interest of making my learning even more

"fun", I've decided to read through Harry Potter in

French. Don't get me wrong, French classes are one of

the highlights of my day. I love learning this language and

using it. If I had more time at UCLA, I think that I'd make it

my minor. Oh well. If I can't take upper div. lit. classes in

French, I can at least learn enough to read the literature for myself.

So, that's the plan. I'd really like to take a French class from

now until I graduate, so about 4 quarters. (Phew.)

Just a word of warning, I may just be posting here and there in French.

If you follow me on twitter, you know that I sometimes add a little

Francophone flair to my tweets. If you don't like it or don't understand

it, I'd recommend using an online translator or you can just ask me.

Anyway, I bought Harry Potter in French today from the French

version of Amazon.com. So, that's going to be my spring break/spring

quarter reading. Wish me luck!

S'il vous plaît commentaire sur mon blog. Merci!

Makeover

...guess who's trying her hand a "graphic" design for her blog banner.

(raises hand)

...guess who's not really succeeding.

(raises other hand)

That's right. I give up. I give big ups to the people who use

typography and Adobe Illustrator to make very pretty

things. I, on the other hand, just plain suck when it comes to

any sort of design. I can take photos and "edit" them, but when

it comes to creating cool stuff... yeah... it's laughable.

So you'll notice that this blog is pretty, erm, sparse when it

comes to prettiness. Well, I hope that you enjoy the content

rather than my attempted Picnik banner. (I know. I know.)

Well, my blog is called "Les (Més)Aventures" for a reason.

Chalk this one up to another "misadventure".

Someday, I'll get the guts to ask some of my fabulously

talented amis to help me out. (sigh)

...anybody wanna help out a poor blogger in need...?

Raspberry Macarons

Okay, so anyone who knows me remotely well knows that I'm a little bit of a foodie. I'm not really a "restaurant foodie". I'm what (I refer to as) a "cooking foodie". That means that I love to cook. I love to cook easy things, difficult things, weird things, ethnic things, etc. Put it this way: If it's edible, I'll make an attempt to "re-create" it.

Lately, the thing that has been grabbing my culinary attention is the Macaron. Yes. I spelled it right. It is NOT Macaroon, as your spell checker will suggest. It is Macaron. The word macaron comes from the Italian "maccherone" and the Venetian "macarone" (meaning fine paste), from which macaroni is also derived. So, it's really an Italian cookie, perfected by the French. Seriously. They're ALL over France, including MacDonalds. I know. In the US, we get hash browns. They get pastries. As the French would say, pas juste!

Anyway, the recipe looks deceptively easy, right? But the trick to these delicious pastries is technique and baking skill. They're one of the most difficult things to bake, because they're just so temperamental! Over spring break, I'm going to attempt to create a successful batch of them. Oy vey, wish me luck. I have the feeling that my first few batches are going to end up in the trash. Macarons require finesse. If this goes well, I'll also document my foray into pâté. I have a great recipe but I think that I'll need to wait until summertime for that one.

Bon Appétit!

(Please note, they usually don't go on sticks. But aren't they so pretty?!?!)

Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons:

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
1 tablespoon cherry pink powdered food coloring

Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds and powdered color in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

For the filling:
4 oz mascarpone, room temperature
2-3 tablespoon good quality raspberry preserves

In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and preserves together until well incorporated. Fill a small piping bag with a large plain tip (Ateco #809) with it and pipe in the center of each shell. Let the shell mature at least 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors have the chance to meld together

Aujourd'hui

(sigh)

I need a "rewind" button on my life.