Love, Brioche and Savage Garden

Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.

Ursula K. Le Guin

closeup: brioche à tête

xinageco: brioche à tête

3 years ago on this date (March 24), I tried my hand at baking brioche because the love of my life exBF mentioned not being able to find ones he liked anywhere since moving to Canada from France. If you’ve ever made brioche, you know how much butter they require (hint: a lot)!  Successful brioche requires a lot of love and labour because you need to keep folding, resting, checking and repeating these steps at least 3 times until the dough develops into a nice pastry ready for baking!

You’re looking at pictures of the first batch of brioche I’ve made with love. Someday, I’ll make brioche again for someone I love — ME — I just have to find the baking tins from storage, ha!

Brioche IS Love

You could draw parallels between making/baking brioche and maintaining/keeping the love in a long-term relationship. It’s on-going work. If you ignore a step, get lazy or don’t supervise the process of caring for the dough, it falls apart. Baking won’t save it. Once it’s ruined, you pretty much have to start over again and give it your full attention until it’s ready. Success derives from attention, affection and commitment.

I’m listening to Savage Garden (yes, still my fave) while writing this post. Darren Hayes wrote the song Affirmation (below) after his divorce from his wife/childhood sweetheart. The line I really relate to says “I believe I’m loved when I’m completely by myself alone.” I am so blessed because my friends and family continue to prove this to me. Also, because I’m with God/Universe, I have faith that everything is working out for the highest good of all concerned.

How We’re Celebrating 15 Years Together

JD and I met in the gym 15 years ago which means we’re having a Crystal Anniversary. This year, we’re writing a letter to our future selves thanking us for the amazing things we’ve seen and done 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 years from now. I plan to seal these letters in a time capsule slated for opening during our 30th (diamond) anniversary!

Go ahead, steal this idea. You have my blessing 🙂 If you’re lucky enough to have a confidante and best friend forever: celebrate it with us and let me know! If you’d rather send yourself a letter digitally via email, here’s a great link for writing to your future self from FutureMe.Org. You can schedule the letter to be published anonymously online at a later date and/or have it sent to you via email. Yes, it’s free!

JD: I LOVE YOU. Thanks for being my BFF! I hope the following quote from Louise Hay inspires you to dream, do and be more 🙂 

Graphic Design Then and Now

2016 is the 26th-year anniversary of Adobe Photoshop

Years ago, before the move to digital, Graphic Designers, Illustrators and Art/Creative Directors, had to work with physical objects. Work was messy, time-consuming and required lots of storage and working space because there were no such things as graphic tablets, iPads or software like Photoshop!

“Undoing” something meant destroying mock-ups and/or starting over completely! Back-ups were not industry standard. Oh my! Today, artists have a choice to work using digital tools! It’s simpler, cleaner and faster 🙂

For Charlotte

Pictured here is Jean-Philippe Blanchard (R.I.P.) flying a Stampe SV-4b in Bordeaux, France. A few years back, he passed away in a winter hiking incident.

I’ve taken these family photos and colour-corrected them for Charlotte to see when she grows up. Charlotte is Caroline’s daughter (Eric’s older sister).

This special #TBT post is in loving memory of Jean-Philippe.

Online Spirograph

Hi everyone: I must share with you this amazing, addictive and fun Inspirograph link posted by a Facebook friend. If you’ve ever had a spirograph kit as a child, this is the online, grown-up, access-anywhere version. Enjoy! 🙂

Remember Dreambooks?

Screen-capped image of a guest book entry a friend posted for me online: click it to zoom in

This guest book once belonged to a webpage I made and managed. That page is now gone but guestbook posts are still live! WOW, talk about blast from the past! Totally made me smile! It is amazing that this piece of information is still online because it’s 12 years old!

Internet History is awesome, LOL.