The Black Rooster Bakery + Chocolat

On Thursday, I decided to go to the Black Rooster Bakery for breakfast before meeting up with some friends at TCU.  That morning, Southern Living Magazine was doing a photoshoot there! How exciting!
I got there at around 9:30am and walked into the bakery and just inhaled the delicious air. My stomach is growling just thinking about! All the fresh pastries looked equally amazing from the Pecan Cinnamon Rolls (my personal favorite!) to the lovely galettes! I decided to try something new and went with the French Toast Muffin. After getting that, heating it up in their microwave, and getting a cup of their delicious fair trade organic coffee (which was free that morning! I love free!), I went outside to eat it while I read a book. It was hard being patient while I took my own photos of my tasty breakfast.

The top of the muffin was covered in these amazing little bite size pieces of brioche bread. I love pulling off the little chunks and popping them into my mouth. Super messy, but another customer and I both agreed that that's the best way to eat it! Every little bite was perfect and just as sweet as it needed to be. It was melt-in-your-mouth good and the perfect balance between crunchy and soft. I only finished about half of it before I went inside to get out of the heat and enjoy some more of it in the air conditioning. I kept eyeing those fabulous pecan cinnamon rolls that were calling my name. So.... I gave in. I figured it would be nice to bring home and share it with my parents (okay, okay... you caught me... it was my sneaky plan so I could eat some of it too..). Another cup of coffee and another pastry later and I still had some time to kill. So I decided to chat it up with some of the lovely people around me. I got to meet a friendly French teacher who is actually French! He said that the bakery was the best French bakery he had ever been to in the States! I also got to talk to Southern Living Mag's photographer and another really sweet, fabulous lady. I love meeting new people. Even if you never see them again, it's so great to talk to someone new and hear a little piece of their story. It absolutely made my morning!

 

I hope I'm not making y'all TOO hungry with all these pictures! (& thanks to Pugly Pixel for the photo layout I used above!) I would have snapped a few pics of that pecan roll, but my parents were all over that when I got home! That's okay, though. I still had the rest of that fab muffin to finish!

Speaking of sweet things, I just picked up two new books yesterday! I got Chocolat and its sequel, The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris. Chocolat is one of my favorite movies and soundtracks, which I am currently listening to while I write this. If you're curious to know what it's about, here is a review and description on Amazon.

Long story short, I seriously recommend the Black Rooster Bakery in Fort Worth. Check out the website and read a little bit about the bakery and how they make the bread! You and your tummy won't regret visiting them! Happy Saturday, folks! :)

Coffee Love

Today, I ventured outside of my usual instant coffee and tried this Colombian coffee that you see pictured below.

I picked it up at my local Walmart for just under four bucks. These babies last me a LONG time since I only have a cup of coffee a few days a week. It's a little bit stronger than what I'm used to, but I think it'll grow on me. I mean, coffee is like pizza - even when it's kinda bad, it's still pretty good! I think a little more milk will help balance out the bitterness I'm getting from it. (note: my friends usually make fun of me for having more cream than coffee in my cup ... It's so good, but it can be so bitter!!)

I think my favorite part about this coffee is actually the texture. It's like a terrain when you look at it up close! Check out the detail in the picture! Neat, right? (please ignore the terrible "arrow" that I used to connect the detail to the image... I obviously need some arrow brushes!)

If you're a fan of instant coffee like I am, I suggest you try this out! Let me know what you think if you do!

Flickr

I finally set up my Flickr account! I even added a couple pictures like this little treat:

Feel free to click the picture to check out my Flickr account and add me on there if you'd like! I'll be uploading some more throughout the week. You can also check out my account by clicking the Flickr button on the right sidebar under "Connect With Me" (it's the one with the two dots in the center)! Enjoy! Leave a comment if you have any questions or comments! :)

Craft Wars

Glitter everywhere... Leopard print hot glue guns... A fully stocked craft closet by Michaels...

Yep. I'm talking about TLC's new series Craft Wars.

The season premiere was tonight, and I was not about to let a great sale at Target keep me from catching the show. I got what I absolutely needed ($10 athletic shorts and sports bras this week!), hustled out of the store, and cozied up on the couch to watch this fab new show.

It did not disappoint! It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite competition shows on Food Network called Cupcake Wars. Sounds like it, too! Trade out the 1 cupcake challenge with the 1 hour pop challenge and the last big challenge has extra helpers and a big task to complete whether it's a 1000 cupcake display or a playhouse made out of school supplies. Similar shows, right?

Though I was a little put off by some of the bickering by the Craft Wars judges, I really enjoyed the show. Watching it gives me a whole new view on the crafting world and how to use the ordinary items in your home to make something extraordinary! Be sure to catch the next episode on TLC next Tuesday!

Speaking of... let me go browse through my DIY board on Pinterest now to find my next project! You'll be seeing whatever I make and how to do it featured right here! I've also got some cool events I'm attending in Fort Worth later this week that I'll be posting pictures from and writing about! Stay tuned!

Hello World!

So here it goes. The first blog post!

I'm Neha. I can see it now. If you've never heard the name before, you're staring at it going

Nee-uh? Nea? Nee-ha?

No, no. More like nay-ha. Say it with me. naaayyhaaa. Good! You've got it! I am now confident that if you ever happen to meet another Neha, you will impress them with your skills when you pronounce her name right. (You can even go the extra mile by sharing that you know that it means "love" in Hindi!) Woohoo! :)

So moving on, I'm a twenty-something photographer in Fort Worth, TX. I go to the greatest school out there, Texas Christian University, where I am a Resident Assistant and a soon-to-be graduate. I love my state, I love my school, I love my job, and I love my major. Aside from all that, I am also quite the crazy craft lady. I love anything DIY and I have recently become quite the fan of cooking/baking. (I have Pinterest to thank for all that!)

What is this blog about? I will use it to highlight my photography (I'm actually going out to shoot today!) as well as my Pinterest adventures. Also, I want to highlight some of the fab places around Fort Worth should you ever come through here (and if you already live here, there will be some places to check out if you haven't already!).

I hope anyone who reads this enjoys it! Get ready for some photography, DIY/crafts + tutorials, foodie goodness, and a healthy dose of Texas lovin'. Happy Friday, y'all! :)