Baking Biscaitie Minis

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Biscaitie Minis

Mint Chocolate Chunk Biscaitie Minis

How about those soft biscotti? I bake them constantly, so it's about time I write about them! I'm headed to New York City for the week to find some potential distributors for my new product, Biscaitie, so I pumped out mini versions and I'm half convinced to keep them this size (they're so cute!). One night, five flavors: Ginger Almond, Mint Chocolate Chunk, Lemon Poppyseed, Chocolate Coconut White Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. The environment for baking is everything. I had the company of 5 marvelous friends, red wine and Ella Fitzgerald.

Four hours went surprisingly quickly with all the great conversation, soothing music and sweet aroma therapy. YUM! There are lots of samples for my New York City readers! Moral of the story? Creating a desirable environment for baking is half of the process.

Thank You Coptic

Thank You, artist book by Caitlin Allen

How many times a day do you say "thank you?" Maybe it's to the person who fixes your coffee, or to a stranger who holds the door. Maybe you even email a thank you to someone for sending you a delicious box of fruit. "Thank You" cards exist in just about any convenience store, but we often write thank yous out of politeness. So why not write an unexpected thanks that you intend?

I went to Case Center (Skidmore's student center) on Friday and brought 40 blank cards with me. I asked strangers to "write a thank you to anyone about anything, anonymous or signed." I got humorous and heartfelt responses in 4 different languages. When I got back to the studio I assembled the cards using a basic 7 hole coptic binding. The covers are envelopes.

The experience was incredible. We all have so much to be thankful for and it's rare we take the opportunity to verbalize it. I picked the page to the left because I love its anonymity! This thank you could be for the reader, for a friend, for a stranger...imagine if you wrote a thank you to someone you didn't know at all? Dear Stranger with the orange hat, thank you for taking the time to look up. A little appreciation goes a long way.