summertime

One of our favorite parts of summer is sitting around a fire with friends and smores.

what is one of your favorite parts of summer?

sponsorship

windshield diaries would love to promote and  publicize etsy shops,  crafters, photographers, artists,  other bloggers, musicians, etc.

we are currently seeking sponsors to run sidebar banner ads (120x120), sponsor giveaways, and/or be interviewed for an artist profile.

Sponsors who sign up now for ads to run in august will not have to pay a sponsorship fee!

that's right

FREE AD SPACE! 

for more information, you can get in touch with us by emailing 

windshielddiaries {at} gmail {dot} com.

macarons: take two

After making my first batch of macarons a little too crispy, I couldn't wait to try to whip up another batch to see if I could achieve the correct texture.

This batch: chocolate batter. Yum!

 I make the macs about double the size of the first batch, my logic was that the first batch were too crispy because I didn't make them big enough for the recipe's allotted baking time.

As I waited for the macs to dry/settle, I got to work making the fillings. Half would be filled with raspberry preserves, the other half: peanutbutter buttercream!

Success!!

The texture was perfect, and the fillings were delicious! These did not last very long, we gobbled them up pretty quickly!

miss albany

We have an exciting announcement to make: Miss Albany diner is the official Windshield Diaries #1 place in the Capital Region to get breakfast. It was heart wrenching to oust our beloved Metro 20 diner from the number one spot, but there is no denying how amazing Miss Albany is.

Miss Albany is not only in an authentic vintage diner car, but also offers a diverse, gourmet breakfast menu. Every item is made with the best ingredients possible and is undeniably delicious. The staff is friendly and attentive. It truly is a gem of the Capital Region.

While we waited the arrival of our delicious breakfast, M doodled an angry clown on the place mat, which ended up becoming a whole twisted circus scene that really should have been saved a framed.

Miss Albany is full of authentic vintage touches, sassy signage, and they only accept cash, which gives it the perfect diner vibe.

M ordered the Big Breakfast which came with eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, rye toast, and pecan pancakes. He couldn't stop raving about it. The eggs were perfect, the bacon was real, the sausage was fresh sausage, not that pre-frozen stuff most places offer.  The home fries were perfectly seasoned and had some chopped onions mixed in, and the pancakes were delicious.

I ordered the MAD Irish Toast, because I've been in a french toast kind of mood lately, and after reading about it on All Over Albany a while back, I knew I had to try it. It didn't disappoint. MAD Irish toast is a heavenly mixture of delicious french toast slices sandwiching pecan cream cheese and topped with a butterscotch-irish whiskey sauce. This looks like a little plate, but it was RICH and I couldn't finish it if I wanted to. Delicious!

M was still working on his circus drawing after the food arrived. I think here he is drawing a lion and tiger in an old fashioned circus car...

Does this place look familiar to you? It could, because not only is it the Capital Region's best place to get breakfast, but it was also one of the  locations where the Jack Nicholson movie Ironweed was filmed.

this week...

...on the heels of the great iPhone crash of last week, I attempted to update to OS4 Monday evening, resulting in my phone deleting all of my contacts. Dozens of phone numbers, addresses, and emails just ...poof! Gone. I guess I can look at it as a cleansing, getting rid of old contacts I do longer need to have. Right?
...week one of the high protein diet. I've never been less hungry!
...I'm sorry, but I am really really REALLY sick of soccer and the world cup.
...ordered my iPhone 4 from apple, estimated ship date: July 14!

-- Post From My iPhone

eight

I've been tagged by the lovely tiffany at what i see!

1. what is the one thing that you believe without any doubt?
The one thing that I know is true: Happiness isn't about WHERE you are, but who you're there with.


2. what is your biggest pet peeve?
This is difficult...I have so many pet peeves. Off the top of my head, I'll go with people who have to turn every conversation into a debate/argument.
3. have you ever had an imaginary friend? if so, what was he/she/its name?
I never had. I wish that I did.
4. what's the worst book you've ever read? why was it so bad?
This is hard because there have been several books I had to read for high school and college that I didn't like.
5. what's your favorite word - why?
My favorite word is peanut, because that's M's nickname for me.
6. what is your current desktop picture?
I use one of the default Mac OS backgrounds on my personal computer. On my work computer it is a photo of M's band Severe Severe.

7. what would the title of your biography be?
The Simple Girl Who Only Wanted Simple Things
8. have you ever super-sized it?
I don't eat Mc Donalds. Ever.

I'm tagging the following eight ladies for the following questions:
Friendly Brown
My Name Is Michael
Jerkcake

 The Claw
Cute n Boot
For The Easily Distracted
Short Shorts and Sunshine
The Curious Pug

Questions:
1. what is your favorite kind of cookie?
2. what is your favorite childhood memory?
3. what was your favorite song in 5th grade?
4. what is your signature drink?
5. what is the worst movie you have ever seen?
6. what is one thing you are thankful your mother taught you?
7. what is your favorite carnival ride?
8. what was your first pet?

recommendations

 

To celebrate the local art fair that we will have a booth at tomorrow, here are some works by local artists!

1. house finch

2. woodland hoops quartet

3. palace theater

4. shell body

5. united states / london

letters

Dear AT&T,

Given the fact that I am eligible for an upgrade immediately, I would really like to get the iPhone 4 ASAP. Please get it together and make this possible.

Dear Summer,

You've just begun, yet I can feel you slipping away already. Please slow down a little bit so I can enjoy your company.

Dear Sundresses,

Please stop being so cute and enticing! I can't afford to bring all of you home with me!

Dear Lint Roller,

You save my life. Every time. What would we do without your ability to remove cat hair?

after dinner walk

M and I live in a neighborhood that is about a 15 minute walk from a really cute little park that is dominated by a beautiful pond. We like to take walks after dinner, during the golden hour and catch up on the day and enjoy the beauty of the evening.

Sometimes, we even manage to make some friends along the way.

rose garden wedding

Recently I shot a very small, beautiful wedding in a rose garden. Here are some highlights:

Congratulations Julianne and Scott! You are a beautiful couple!

Route 7 Diner

Recently our local breakfast tour brought us to the Route 7 Diner. This was a day for a basic traditional breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, home fries, rye toast, and some french toast. The coffee was good diner coffee, not too burnt, not too strong. M liked the bacon, and said his omelet was good but not blowing his mind. The homefries weren't seasoned but were cooked well, as were the eggs.  The french toast was thick and had the perfect amount of cinnamon, but instead of maple syrup, they serve the sickly sweet Kraft Pancake Syrup which tastes like pure high fructose corn syrup. It kind of overpowers and ruins the good flavors of the french toast.

The verdict: average diner food. Nothing gross, but nothing outstanding either.

happy fathers day

Dear Dad,

It's your first Father's Day as a Grandfather. I know you'll be as great a Grandfather to my little nephew as you have been a father to the three of us. We all love you, thank you for everything!

Love,

Crystal

this week...

...the facebook ap crashed my iPhone and I had to restore it to factory settings, losing all my aps, photos, and my "this week" post. all because I hadn't synched since November. Moral of the story: synch and back up regularly.


-- Post From My iPhone

suggestions

1. Two Birds Collage

2. The Cock Original Illustration

3. Nervous Traveller Print

4. L'Epave numero 3

5. Hedgehog Watercolor Painting

6. Campfire

letters

Dear Self,

Take a deep breath, it won't be so bad.

Dear New iPhone,

You will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.

Dear Creative Room / Guest Room,

I am getting really anxious to get you back together and start doing some awesome work within your walls!

Dear Rain,

Listening to you never gets old. Don't ever change!

collections

M collects Garbage Pail Kids and Nintendo....stuff. Here is some of his collection on our living room table.

ps: M just saw me writing this and said "what is that?! My life!" <3

baking my first macarons

I have been obsessed with macarons since I had my first one in april. Last week I finally bought the I Love Macarons book, and this week I decided to take the plunge and try baking my own!

Step one was to draw out my template on parchment paper. I tried tracing a circle, but it kept slipping around so I just did them all free hand.

The main ingredients: almond meal and confectioners sugar

the almond meal and the sugar have to be double sifted together...I think I bought a sifter with too fine mesh, so this step was long and frustrating for me.

The egg whites and sugar after being meringued together.

The book gave a really great tip for how to fill a pastry bag when you don't have a second set of hands to help. Ingenious!

Little macs in a row. After you place them on the parchment paper, they need to sit and settle. Mine had to settle a really long time because it was a humid rainy day. You know they are settled when you touch them and they don't stick to your finger. I was getting impatient, so I didn't wait long enough and a few ended up cracking.

While the macs were settling, I tried making the buttercream recipe from the book...and this is what happened when I tried to make simple syrup in the microwave and didn't monitor it... so I ditched their buttercream recipe and just used my own: unsalted butter, an egg, an confectioners sugar.

Ok little macs, you've waited long enough, time to go in the oven!

The book suggested turning the tray halfway through the baking process (15-18 minutes). So I turned the tray at 8 minutes.

And they are done! You can see a couple cracked, but other than that they look pretty good!

After letting them cool for about 30 minutes, I piped the buttercream and started to sandwich them.

Aren't they cute little guys?

Vanilla with vanilla buttercream macarons.

Next time I make them, I think I will half the recipe, because it's enough batter for 2 dozen macs! And I think I will make them a little bigger. I think I made them a little too small for the allotted cooking time, and they came out too crisp. Next time, we'll try making them at a 2" diameter instead of a 1" diameter.

But they are still tasty, even if they are a little crispy! M can't stop eating them!

76

The 76 Diner is one of the powerhouses of diners in the area. Everyone seems to love it, and it always shows up in local paper's "best of" surveys. We thought it was ok, but nothing spectacular worth crowing about. M ordered an ice water with his coffee, and they delivered it in one of those mini glasses, a pet peeve of his. My orange juice was also delivered in a mini glass, something that annoys me. I'm not a child, when I order a glass of orange juice, please provide me with the "big girl" size, thanks.

 Our breakfast was good, no complaints at all, but there was nothing outstanding about it. Just average.

If you can't tell by the sign out front, this diner is themed around 1776 and US History. The menus feature mini profiles of all the US presidents, but unfortunately, that's as far as they go with the theme. Personally, I would like this place a lot more if you stepped inside and were transported to Revolutionary War themed decor instead of your run of the mill dinner decor.

Yep, those are Revolutionary Soldiers on that roof...

this week...

...went to the Racino and turned $10 into $40!

...made strawberry frozen yogurt from scratch!

...found out the bakery around the corner from the office bakes macarons! ...did I mention my office is moving to a different city on Monday? FAIL!

...caught up with a good friend over some delicious sushi

...was interviewed for a "man on the street" segment for a local paper, and gave a really stupid answer.

...said goodbye to the beautiful office in Historic Downtown Troy.

-- Post From My iPhone

suggestions

some more awesome pieces brought to you by my etsy favorite suggestions

1. Live What You Love

2. Manatee 3 Feltidermy

3. Wildflowers

4. The Mae Collection

5. Eduardo

6. Bear Wall Hanging

letters

Dear Painting,

I really missed you these past six months. I'm so glad I was able to finally take all of my supplies out of the closet and start working on canvases again!

Dear Historic Troy NY,

I am really going to miss spending every workday in your Monument Sq. I'm going to miss looking out the window every day at your characters: the planned parenthood protesters, crazy helen, random hoodrats. Where we're going will be completely different and it makes me sad. I'm really going to miss you.

Dear High Protein Diet,

I'm seriously considering trying you out. Ketosis may be just what I need to rev this weight loss plan back up!

m cooks me dinner

menu:

steak

green beans

kettle one and tonic

candle light

<3

typical night in