. daily daydreams . a blog by love ardently design studio

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Those food styling works by Linda Lundgren are so inspiring! That first image reminds me the rich, scrumptious, autumn dishes. And don’t you just love the concept of that palette plate image? Ah-mazing!

. valentine’s raspberry macaron by mad baker

. marshmallow heart tarts by simply modern mom

. heart cake by i am baker (via swiss miss)

Note: All images belong to respective owner.

While I am not going to be baking this Valentine’s, it certainly is such a delight to look at those amazing baker’s Valentine’s Day creations! I was looking and drooling over those lovely baked goodies and it reminded me of my birthday present from hubby that I have not touched or even let out of the box. It’s so big, I just don’t know where to put it in my teeny tiny kitchen. I am just recovering from my sickness (thanks for your sweet well wishes!) and now we are in the midst of packing and moving into a new apartment. I guess I have to delay the baking fun until we move into the new bigger apartment!

Meanwhile, I wish you a fun and love-filled Valentine’s weekend!

Those are two of my favorite things to do. I haven’t been doing both of those this past couple of weeks. We’ve been eating Panda Express, KFC, and frozen dinners (my poor hubby!), because I’ve been really busy preparing for our first show (which is this coming weekend!).

That’s why looking at these charming recipe illustrations from they draw and cook makes me want to go through this week quickly so I can go back to cooking and eating home-made meal again. And of course drawing as well :)

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I was helping a friend the other day styling a food photography session, but what we did is just so different with what Evelina Bratell did with the food photography for IKEA’s baking book “Hembakat är Bäst” (Homemade is Best)! When I saw these I was blown away. She is a genius. These are phenomenal! I think I’d love to own the book even though I wouldn’t understand a word! All of the recipes are Swedish desserts.

Pepparkakor – Ginger Thins

Mandelmusslor – Almond Shell

Vaniljhorn – Vanilla Horn cookies

Prinsesstårta – Princess Cake

Schwartzwaldtårta – Blackforest Cake

Lingon Peparkaka - Lingon Berries Cookies

{photography by Carl Kleiner | styling by Evelina Bratell | found via all the mountains}

Cute polymer clay accessories artist on Etsy. Looking at these make me smile :)

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The first day of February! Valentine’s day is just around the corner, and today I had the honor of guest-blogging a Valentine themed DIY project over at Mint. I’m so excited to share it with you!

Thank you SO MUCH Ellie and Mint readers for having me!

As I mentioned on earlier post, I had to entertain a friend while she was in town visiting me last week. We both LOVE dessert, chocolate, and basically anything sweet… just as portrayed on Love Ardently’s 2010 Calendar! *wink* So anyway, I took her to lots and lots of bakery and pastry shop… every single day. Here are some of the sweets we tried :)

The famous Sprinkles cupcake from Beverly Hills. I tried their Red Velvet and my friend tried their Chocolate Marshmallow. I would say both are just okay. Not as awesome as what I heard through words of mouth, but it’s not bad either. I thought the cupcake could be more moist. The Red Velvet is quite tasty, but I thought the cream cheese in the frosting could be more apparent. I love their wooden utensils :)

And then, there is Asian Mint. I love their Green Tea Layer cake and their Jasmine Crème Brûlée from the very first bite. Yum. The creamy frosting on the green tea cake was just right. The hint of jasmine smell on the crème brûlée was what really had me on the start. I really love it with the strawberry, too.

My friend loves fruit tart, so I got to take her to La Madeleine, a country French cafe, which is pretty rare to find in Oklahoma (shocker?). I haven’t tasted a lot of fruit tart, but I think La Madeleine’s fruit tart is just so, so divine. The fruits are ALWAYS fresh and taste great. We also tried their Chocolate Almond croissant which was delicious, too.

A while ago, I blogged about Tart Pastry on my first visit there. This is my second visit and it looked just as adorable. This time, I’m not loving my french macaron that much, though. I really, really like it when I had it on my first visit, but this time, I could almost taste that it was just coming out of the refrigerator. The triple layer chocolate cake that we had was good. Very creamy and delightful.

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Too cute for words! I want to nominate Bakerella as the cutest baking website in the whole universe. Don’t you just love those wedding cake lollipops? They were actually made for proposal purpose, but I think it’s such a cute wedding favor idea! Read the whole proposal story here.

I was over at Bakerella, one of my most favorite baking blog, and almost fainted to spot these cutesies.

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Doesn’t that make you go “Awwwh…”? I couldn’t believe my eyes. How very, very cute! Lollipop Workshop makes the cutest lollipop doll. And guess what… they make custom birthday and wedding cake topper :) I love everything on their Etsy shop! Literally, everything!

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Design and food are my two passion in life, and so when they are combined, it becomes this all-amazing piece! Kind of reminds me of those Japanese bento art, yes? :)

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Happy Monday, you!