Massive Mixtape

First off, awesome music news! Apparently Arcade Fire is producing some new music for The Hunger Games movie and I'm stoked! It's like two of my major loves are combining to make the most beautiful baby ever!

I haven't posted music loves in a while, so, as always, here are some of my favorites from the past months:

washed out . new theory (RAC remix)

the intro to this song is just insane, so gorgeous. and as always, RAC remixes are always a win.

neil young . old man (sound remedy remix)

sound remedy gives an old classic some new twisted kicks.

bingo players . l'amour

super fun electro song. kind of want to start robot dancing to it, although i'd do it horribly...

the hood internet . still regulating (warren g x nate dog x toro y moro)

the hood internet . #facedvalue (genesis x wallpaper)

(more free downloads available at their soundcloud)

when is hood internet bad? answer: never. they never fail to mash hip hop and indie together to create more melodic beats. 

kishi bashi . bright whites

makes me so happy, i picture myself road tripping with the windows down in a sundress with some sweet tea in my hand!

logic . young sinatra III

reminds me a lot of nujabes. if you don't know nujabes, get to know him. and if you like him, then listen to this song. my perfect kind of rap song, one with soul and a great melody.

tyga . rack city

so diiiiirty, in a good way! and much too catchy not to post.

the middle east . blood

if this sounds familiar it's because you watched 'crazy stupid love.' i just love that movie... and ryan gosling... and ryan gosling's glorious body. oops got off point, but anyway, this song is amazing.

madonna . give me all your luvin' ft. nikki minaj & M.I.A. (nicky romero remix)

jack black . wild ones two ft. david guetta, nicky romero & sia

one of my favorite house music youngsters. lately, everything he's been releasing has been on fire. i didn't originally like madonna's new song, but nicky managed to breathe new life to it and i can now say i love it so.

mike snow . black & blue (savage skulls remix)

something has got to be in that swedish water, because lately, everything i love seems to hail from sweden (i.e. miike snow, avicii, jens lekman, lykke li, plus tons more). anyway i heard this song while shopping and i knew i had to have it. amazing remix.

a.trak x jay z x kanye west . where my money at?

this trio couldn't do any better. ny swag on steroids. 

deadmau5 . closer

not officially released but when i heard this song on his soundcloud, i instantaneously loved it. the sampling in it is amazing and i just love the chill mood.

usher . climax (produced by diplo)

i am OBSESSED with this song. such a great song to sing along to. usher's voice is insanely sexy.

teen daze . watch over me

it's so funny, my taste in music. i love everything from hard rap, to banging electro to songs like this. just chill, gorgeous tones and something to listen to on a rainy day.

drake . make me proud ft. nikki minaj

i think it's so awesome that i used to watch drake on degrassi when i was younger and now i listen to him rap... how crazy is that?! still cannot get over it, but anyway i just love listening to drake rap. he can rap to me all he likes!

fareoh . facepaint

an upcoming house producer that i'd like to see a lot more of in the future. this song just makes me happy, it's so uplifting!

segal . vessel

(more free downloads on his soundcloud)

segal produces the score for skins UK and seriously, he's made some of the most beautiful instrumentals to accompany the most dramatic and heartfelt moments of the show that whenever i re-listen to his music, it just takes me back! i love when you can feel the emotion in a song.

boys noize & erol alkan . lemonade (gesaffelstein remix)

i am such a big fan of gesaffelstein! totally dark and french and twisted, in a techno/ electro way. boys noize is also awesome, saw him live when i didn't really know much about his music, but was pleasantly surprised when it urged me to dance all night long.

gorillaz . doyathing ft. james murphy (of lcd soundsystem) & andre 3000

how can this combination not be good? so much talent in one song, really, it's insanity.

grouplove . tongue tied

grouplove . colours (xaphoon jones remix)

grouplove = pure dance-y fun! hopefully seeing them live soon?!

the jane doze . replacement ros (sigur ros x drake ft. trey songz)

(more free downloads on their soundcloud)

how cute are these girls?! they make some of my favorite mash-ups and this song is amaaaaazing. seriously, have i mentioned that rap mashed over gorgeous melodies is like... my favorite thing EVER? cause they are and this is a fine example of that.

lana del rey . diet mountain dew

hey, i'm a fan of lana, no matter the drama surrounding her. i like her songs no matter how weird her snl performances are and how plumped her lips are haha

loz contreras . break you down ft. sanna

oh my gosh. sooooo beautiful. really, so freaking beautiful it makes me wanna cry!

mac miller . knock knock

throwback! sampling can do a lot for a song, see above example.

nujabes . tsurugi no mai

oh, just ANOTHER gorgeous nujabes song. always love for nujabes. rest in peace jun seba. 

karmin . broken hearted (r3hab remix)

labrinth . last time (r3hab remix)

i think r3hab has cornered the market on awesome pop-y remixes. for reals.

sleeping at last . turning page

yes, i watched the twilight trilogy. yes, i'm one of those. on another note, the soundtrack for the movies are awesome, and this song is one of my favorites. something so pretty, i'd consider using it at my wedding.

we are knights . tears

just another great driving song; indie chill.

miike snow . paddling out (wolfgang gartner remix)

wolfgang gartner . there and back (tommy noble's full power bootleg remix)

so excited for the new miike snow! wheeeeeeeeee. but anyway, wolfgang gartner is another house love of mine. just massive, massive tracks.

felix cartal . black to white ft. miss palmer

really liking the piano in this! awesome vocals, awesome track.

NOTE: links are to separate sites where you can download listed songs, or if no free downloads are available, links are to where you can stream the music, and if you like it, purchase it! 

*all images gathered from google images, and further edited by me*

insta.life

I just recently joined the iFamily and I couldn't be happier!

Just thought I'd share some tidbits of my life, via instagram :)

Follow me @mm_huynh

(1) sofia riesling is delicious (2) getting back into reading after 'the hunger games' trilogy wooed me back (3) my love, baba ganoush (4) stripey metallic nails (5) dad & the babs (6) pretty fabric that i'm hoping to diy into something (7) water against pavement (8) feet needed some sunshine (9) morning breakfast

(1) my new diy studded iPhone case (2) sparkly vegas nights (3) tea + chambre de sucre sugars (4) mind was a jumble (5) baba and his doggie ice cream treat (6) sunset drives are best

(1) almond custard buns (2) art deco nails (3) silhouettes (4) me & coffee (5) blueberry almond frangipane fruit tart (6) diy chain rings (7) mixed print nail love (8) my furry love sleeping soundly (9) lemons, to make lemon bars!

As you can see, I just love instagramming my nails, my dog and my DIY projects, but sometimes a bit of food and nature sneaks their way in as well ;)

Chambre de Sucre GIVEAWAY!

You all know I love tea, I drink it almost daily and even so, multiple times a day.  I don't often drink my tea sweetened but ever since the folks from Chambre de Sucre sent me their precious gourmet, handmade sugars, I couldn't resist. I mean seriously how precious are their products?! See my last post here.

Anyway, we wanted to extend the Chambre de Sucre love to my readers! 

They just came out with some of the sweetest sugars imaginable: little, heart-shaped sugars that come in a variety of pastels. Can you just imagine the fun you'd have with them? Especially if you threw a girl's day spa party or tea party with scones and muffins! Sounds like heaven to me...

To Enter:

Just leave your name, email and what color you'd like!

I'll name the winner in two weeks. Good luck to you all :)

Go here to browse through their selection and to see what color hearts are offered.

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Update: This contest has now ended. Congratulations to Elizabeth Grace - hope you enjoy your mini purple hearts!

Their new and lovely heart sugar collections!

xoxo hope you guys enjoy xoxo

MIA {Bad Girls}

New MIA. I'm loving it.

Almond Custard Buns

There's one thing I know I love, and it's almond pastries. Give me an almond croissant, almond frangipane, financiers, almond tarts and I'm a very happy girl. There's one thing I also know about my family: they love me most when I make them almond pastries, so what can a girl do but make some almond pastries for her family?

The other thing I know is that almonds are expensive - especially almond flour! Which, sucks because I use almond flour ALL of the time. I'm a lucky girl who was fortunate enough to have Oh Nuts! provide me with plentiful amounts of almond flour to satisfy all of my almond-related baking needs. I'm not even just saying this because I was fortunate enough to get their products sponsored, but because their products are awesome quality. Their almond flour is perfectly and evenly ground, and I cannot say the same when I try to ground almonds myself. They also have great prices, compared to Bob's, which I've also tried. Safe to say, if I ever need almond flour again, I know where I'll be purchasing it from ;)

But, on to my FAVORITE recipe on earth, at the moment anyway... almond custard buns! This is the easiest and most delicious pastry I've ever tried. Literally, the whole thing is pulsed together in a food processor, quickly mixed together and refrigerated for up to 4 days. So if you're in a real pinch, you can make this days ahead and not even worry about it! It's truly sublime...

I added my two favorite things inside: custard and almond paste, baked it and blissfully enjoyed the fruits of my labor... over and over again.

P. S. Stay tuned for the coconut-raisin custard version of this pastry!

P. S. S. Purchase from Oh Nuts! here.

Almond Custard Buns

Yields: 24 buns

Adapted from here.

For the food processor Danish pastry:

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup milk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

4 1/2 cups white bread flour

2 packages (1/4 oz.) rapid-rise yeast or 2 tbsn. fresh yeast

2 tsp. salt

6 tbsn. sugar

2 cups/ 4 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into thin sliced

For the almond filling:

1 7 oz. package almond paste

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. almond extract

For the custard:

1 small package French vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sliced almonds, divided

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1 egg, whisked

To make the bun dough, pour the water and milk into a measuring cup. Add the egg, beating with a fork to mix, set aside. Set a large bowl near your food processor. Using your food processor, pulse the flour, yeast, salt and sugar to combine. Add the cold slices of butter, process briefly so the butter is cut up a little, though you still want to see visible chunks of at least 1/2" pieces. Transfer to the large bowl and quickly add the contents of the measuring cup. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together, but do not over mix. Expect to have a gooey mess with some butter lumps in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and leave it overnight or up to 4 days. 

To turn the dough into pastry, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Dust your surface with bread flour and split the dough evenly in half, then roll each half into a 20" square. Fold the dough into thirds, like a business letter, turning it afterward so that the closed fold is on your left, like the spine of a book (it will still look very messy). Repeat this process 3 more times with each half; each time the dough will get smoother and better looking. Wrap each rectangle in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Or refrigerate half to use now and freeze the other half to use later.

To make the almond filling, cream together the almond paste and butter in a food processor until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time until well combined. Add the almond flour, all-purpose flour and almond extract and pulse until combined and smooth. Set aside until needed. To make the custard, combine everything in a medium bowl and mix until combined and starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate until needed.

To assemble the buns, working with one rectangle of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 20" x 8" rectangle or loosely so. Spread half of the almond filling mixture across the whole rectangle. Spread half of the custard mixture on top of the almond filling, then sprinkle the whole surface with slivered almonds and 1/4 cup sugar. Roll the entire thing up like you would when making cinnamon rolls, long side in. Use your fingers to pinch the end of the roll into the dough to seal it, to ensure custard doesn't escape. Using a sharp knife, cut the long log into 12 equal pieces and place, swirl side up on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining rectangle of dough. You can separate each bun, leaving them 3" apart or you can have them all touch sides. It does not affect the baking time but it is up to you whether you want them to be separate or communal. Let the buns rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Before baking brush the buns with the whisked egg and sprinkle with more sliced almonds and sugar. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Mint Lemon Drops

Gosh, I just don't know what's up with me! I just haven't been in the mood to blog much lately, and cook/ bake really either. I mean of course, I've been cooking and baking, but mainly out of necessity and even then, I haven't had the chance to photograph any of it - for months! Hopefully I'll be out of my slump soon, but until then, I have a couple backlogged posts that will be showing up.

To me, mint and lemon is the perfect summer combination and whether its summer or not, this cocktail is so simple that it's the perfect porch sipper. It's January for peet sakes and we've been having uncomfortable warm weather - uncomfortable mainly for me because I'm longing for a cold, rainy winter  where I can don scarves and boots. But might as well make the best of it with something like this to sip on!

Mint Lemon Drops

Yields: 1 serving

2 shots vodka

1 large lemon, juiced

1 tbsn. sugar

1 bunch of mint leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra for serving

lemon wheels or twists, for serving

In a shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, lemon juice, sugar and mint. Shake vigorously for about 1 - 2 minutes until very cold and combined. Strain into a martini glass. Top off with a lemon wheel, twist or fresh mint. You can also sugar the rim, if desired.