I was born in 1975.  My parents were fairly certain that I was going to be an "Abby Michelle" or "Michelle Abby" but at the last minute, "Jennifer Allison" won out.

I think this must have been happening all around the country because in 1975, it is statistically proven that 99.7% of all baby girls were named Jennifer.*

*That statistic was conveniently procured & created by me, about one minute ago, but my art-school math is solid when it comes to being very exact and scientific about things.  I would like to credit the Pulitzer prize winning, new york times bestselling, smash hit, naming book of 1988 titled "Beyond Jennifer & Jason: The new Englightened Guide To Naming Your Baby" for my bold assessment.  Also, I should just note, that my brother's name is Jason.  I tell no lies!


At any rate, I was Jennifer Allison White, until I married Brad Topliff, and became Jennifer White Topliff.  Unfortunately my new last name offers it's own set of challenges (I get mail to Jenn Topliss every day, no matter how many times I say "f as in frank, f as in frank") but I'm still stuck with Jennifer.  


I'm getting to the point, I promise!


Being that I was not the only Jennifer in my class/grade/school, I was one of those kids who was always referred to by both her first and last name.  I was never just "Jenn" or "Jenny".  If I called someone and told them it was Jenn or Jenny on the line, they'd likely have to think for 17 minutes about all the Jenns, and Jennys they knew, to figure out which one I was.  So my whole life I was always either "Jenn White" or "Jenny White".  


When you go to Starbucks, and order a drink, they ask you for your first name to put on the cup.  This is to avoid having to call out "Double Tall Soy 1-Splenda Latte" at the top of their lungs.  Instead, they call out your (likely short) name and you know your drink is ready and the day can proceed!  However, when you are at Starbucks, and someone puts a coffee drink on the bar and calls out "Jenn, your drink is ready" - do you know what happens?  It's like the running of the bulls in Italy... 1,453 Jenn's rush the espresso bar and try to pick up the same drink.  I kid you not.  It's hard to get out of that fight unscathed, and with your espresso drink in tact.


So, my good friend Matt once suggested that I pick "a Starbucks name".  His criteria for this name was:
a) it had to be easily identifiable 
b) it had to be unique
c) and most importantly, it had to be easy to say & spell for the person taking the drink order


It didn't take long for me & Matt to agree that "Lincoln" was the perfect Starbucks name for me.
For one, it was my dog's name (who I love and adore) and if someone called out "Lincoln" I was already used to turning around, assuming they were talking to me.  So I wasn't going to stand idly by, while the barista at Starbucks called "Lincoln" over and over again, not realizing he was talking to me!  Secondly, the name Lincoln isn't too common - so running into multiple Lincolns inline for coffee was probably not going to be an issue.  Thirdly, and most importantly, Matt said... "everyone knows how to spell Lincoln because he was the President".  It was beautiful and logical and from that moment on I became "Lincoln" every time I ordered my coffee, or needed to give a name to a lunch order, takeout meal, etc.


Matt was right about almost everything... the name is awesome, unique and I never have to compete with anyone else for my drinks.  But I always laugh my pants off when someone at Starbucks writes my name as they do below - which SOOOO SADLY happens more frequently that you'd imagine!

How do you keep a monkey in suspense?
I'll tell you tomorrow.

I've been waiting months and months and months to be able to share a little secret.  In fact, nearly a year now.

As some of you know, I *might* have been involved in designing a celebrity wedding invitation, in recent past.

While none of the exquisitely beautiful work (if I do say so myself!) has been documented yet, I thought I'd let the cat out of the bag slowly...

Here a few pics from Australia's New Idea magazine to get the curiosity ball rolling!

Pics, and blog posts, and fanfare (of my own making!) to follow shortly.

At some point over the last few months, I developed an obsession to perfect the Macaroon.  Not the newfangled sensation, the Parisian macaroon.  But rather the old-school, kosher for passover, coconut Macaroon!

This obsession turned more than a few days of proposed "cookie-making with the kids" into more of a "touch my batter and I'll kill you" sort of experience!  But what resulted from my many, many attempts to mix the 5 necessary ingredients in just the right quantities, is a sumptuous, ooey-gooey, not too sweet (but just sweet enough!) mound of coconuty goodness.  Dipped in chocolate, of course, for that dark velvety contrast in every bite!

I'm feeling generous in this new year, and thought I would share my findings with my readers (and the 30 other people that have already asked for the recipe!!)

Wishing you all a sweet new year.

Jenn Topliff's Smashed Haystacks 
(aka: Coconut Macaroons)

You will need:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flaked or shredded, sweetened coconut (I prefer flaked, and buy the packaged, private label brand at Safeway.  It is usually on sale, and very inexpensive.)
1 cup unsweetened coconut (I buy it in bulk, at Whole Foods)
1 bag Guittard or Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (this is optional)


1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large metal bowl whisk the eggs (using a whisk or a fork) until well beaten.  Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla, and mix well.  Finally, stir in the coconut (both sweetened & unsweetened) and mix the ingredients together until you are certain that all the coconut is completely moistened.

3. Using a small ice-cream scoop (or tablespoon measure), scoop densely-packed mounds of the macaroon batter onto the baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  I usually fit about 8 macaroons on one baking sheet, but your baking sheet might be larger/smaller!  Just make sure that you leave at least 2" in between each macaroon.  If using an ice-cream scoop to form your macaroons, use the back of the scoop to smash down the top of the mounds a little bit, before baking.  In my testing, this seems to help make them cook a little more evenly in my oven, and results in less burnt coconut on top.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the coconut is a little toasted (but be careful, they can go from toasted to burnt quickly, if you don't keep a close eye!)

5. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 20-30 mins.

If you want to dip the bottoms of your macaroons in chocolate, you will need to melt your chocolate slowly, while your cookies are cooling.  A double boiler is fine to use, but I normally use a stainless steel mixing bowl, over a small saucepan filled with about 2"-3" of water.

Bring water in saucepan to a boil and place mixing bowl (or double boiler) on top of pan.  Reduce heat under the saucepan to medium-low.  Pour the chocolate chips into the mixing bowl and stir constantly, using a wooden spoon or silicone, heat-proof spatula.  When chocolate is completely melted and silky smooth, it is ready to use.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper down on your work surface (any table, countertop or cutting board will do).  Working quickly (so the macaroons don't fall apart in your hand) dip the bottom of each macaroon in chocolate, then place firmly down onto the clean parchment paper.  Let chocolate harden, before transferring cookies.

I have not done any tests on refrigerating the cookies vs. keeping them out to cool/harden.  I also haven't tested whether putting them in tupperware, tin foil or ziploc baggies is the best way to store them (but I have used all three methods with rather similar outcomes!)

So bake away, and enjoy my version of this timeless treat!  Oh, and be sure to let me know how they turn out!