DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Since 1986, every third weekend of September, the city of Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) found its Renaissance colors.   Through a festival of a high culture, the city takes the guise of an old and true archery contest to get it  back into the glorious past.     For four days in September, priority is given to street performances and the reconstruction of what  daily life in the sixteenth century in the Velay would have been like.  Tented camps, struggles with the sound of cannon fire, folk artisans, daily cooking and meal time, and  pilgrims on their way to Saint Jacques de Compostela  to set up their tents and compounds for so they can rough it just like their ancestors.    Each year, several days after the school year has been out, the entire city and its people gather to live and work in the Bird King Renaissance Festival  offering  all who  who attend...

S’mores Macarons Smores macarons – these little buggers are my latest obsession, or more accurately, macarons in general are my latest obsession. I’m particularly loving these because, call me a sucker, but I love cute food. Along with that, these smores macarons are pretty mighty in flavor. The macaron portion is made with crushed graham crackers, the filling is of course a toasted marshmallow and to finish things off true to form, I dipped the tops in chocolate. I’m not sure how many of you guys will be making this anytime soon, since you have probably been turning out one cookie tray after another and baking burnout maybe quickly approaching. Guess what? It happens to me as well, but I have a baking blog so I keep trucking along, because truth is, I like my relationship with you guys. Hanging out over food-uh, yeah. Why else are we here, right? So, bookmark this recipe when you’re back to baking-it’s totally worth it. prin...

    The  Notting Hill Carnival  is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of  Notting Hill ,  Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea  ,  London ,  UK  each August, over two days (the August  bank holiday  Monday and the day beforehand).     It is led by members of the West Indian community, particularly the  Trinidadian and      Tobagonian British  population or 'Trinis', many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The  carnival  has attracted up to 2 million people in the past, making it the second largest  street festival  in the world after the  Trinidad and Tobago Carnival  held in that country.     History    The roots of the Notting Hill Carnival come from two separate but connected strands. The Carnival began in January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall as a response to...

   This great idea was found at  www.unexpectedelegance.com  .  A very cool idea that could be used on many different things and ways.  Good luck and may creativity strike you! Wax Paper Transfer Tutorial I have been playing around with a lot of mediums lately, one being iron on transfers. I had bought some the other day, but they are pretty expensive if you only make one item per sheet. So I thought I would try an alternative. The only thing I had around was wax paper, so I gave it a try and it worked GREAT! I am betting that I’m not the first person to try this, but if you have never tried it, here are a few things I took away from trial and error. I used an old wooden pizza peel, wax paper, an inkjet printer and a credit card. I found that if you wet the wood a little, it would make the transfer darker. Just make sure it’s not too wet, then the ink will run (a happy balance). Cut the wax paper to the s...

   It took a forklift and a cargo net to remove the massive vegetable from Jim Beauchemin's Goffstown, New Hampshire, pumpkin patch.    But from a padded perch at the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts, the gourd placed Beauchemin on top of New England's giant pumpkin world.    His pumpkin became the New England champion when it tipped the scales at a hefty 1,314.8 pounds.    "The Topsfield Fair is the elite weigh-off in the country," Beauchemin said. "To win it—I call it the pinnacle of my growing years. That's why we do it, the hope of someday winning a title." How to "Go Heavy"    Beauchemin is part of a growing group of giant-pumpkin aficionados who thrill at watching a well-tended pumpkin swell to massive proportions. "You plant a seed the size of your fingernail and end up with a thousand-pound {450-kilogram] pumpkin," said George Hoomis, director of the New England Giant Pumpkin Growers Association. ...

   La Tomatina  is a  festival  that is held in the  Valencian  town of  Buñol , in which participants throw  tomatoes  at each other. It is held the last Wednesday in August, during the week of festivities of  Buñol . History Changes Throughout Its History    The tomato fight has been a strong tradition in Buñol since 1944 or 1945. No one is completely certain how this event originated. Possible theories on how the Tomatina began include a local  food fight  among friends, a juvenile class war, a volley of tomatoes from bystanders at a carnival parade, a practical joke on a bad musician, the anarchic aftermath of an accidental lorry spillage. One of the most popular theories is that disgruntled townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration.    In 1950, the council allowed the party to happen. The next year however it was not approved, thanks to pressure from ...