This month





 

This month.....

• included two weeks of school holidays,
• we went on a family holiday and stayed at a divine cottage in Nornalup for three nights (thank you, Aunty Jan!)
• the girls all had their first fishing expedition - it didn't last long but it put smiles on their faces!
• we visited quite a few artists who were showing their work as part of the Southern Art Trail (it was awesome!!) These paintings are by Serena MacLauchlan at Hotchin Gallery.
• I got a crocheting bug - three cowls later.....
• I managed to finish another little oil seascape painting - yay!
• my love affair with the Schoolhouse Tunic entered its seventh episode, this time with a gorgeous purple linen,
• my football team did NOT win the Grand Final, but I still love them!!!
• Miss M started to learn how to use the sewing machine - she has yet to earn her learner's permit (which means she can use the machine without me having to constantly supervise), but she is almost there,
• I experienced my first ever blogger/insta-meet - I bumped into Kate from 2littlebanshees while we both happened to be browsing the fabric racks at Albany Spotty at the same time.
• we celebrated Miss M's birthday with a BIG party and the most decadent ice-cream cake of all time!! Happy Birthday, my girl!!
• I have (obviously) had a break from my blog.

And it is good to be back.

 xx



Saving the (Birth)day!!

My twin girls had their birthday last week, and as usual, in the lead up to the Big Day, we talked about the Birthday Cake/s they would like me to make for them. 

 

I thought I was so clever.

 

"Girls, this year for your birthday, you can share one decorated theme cake or you can have an easy cake each." (FYI, an Easy Cake = coloured icing with Smarties and Freckles on top, my supposedly failsafe, go-to method for cake decorating)

 

"Easy cakes, Mummy!!" they shouted.

 

 See? Easy!

 

 

Until Miss J, on seeing her baked, circular and cooling-on-the-rack cake, burst into tears.

 

"But Mummy, my cake is meant to have straight edges."

 

What??

 

"And where is the beach and water going to go? I had a dream about my cake. And what about the boat?"

 

Er... what boat, my darling?

 

"Izzy's!!!!!"

 

Er... who is Izzy?

 

 

 

Izzy, it turns out, is the girl character in Miss J and E's current favourite licensed animated series which includes automated sailing ships, a captain with a hook, and a cheeky flying boy in green clothes who helps to save the day.

 

Quick! Grab the DVD cover, copy it twice, cut out, laminate, trim, and stick into icing on cakes between some Smarties. Phew!!

 

And of course, in the midst of all the birthday party craziness, the only photo I managed to take was one after everyone had left. Not an Izzy to be seen anymore, but I remember what the cakes looked like.

 



 

In fact, I'm thinking I will never, ever forget.

Do you have a favourite cake decorating moment? Or technique?
Do you have any stress/time saving ideas for kids' parties? Successful and not so successful ideas (like mine!) are most welcome - I have another party to organise in three weeks and I could do with all help I can get!!

Have a great week!

 xx

The things we do!

Guess who made cupcakes late last night for Miss M to take to her no-egg school, only to realise this morning that they had eggs in them?

And guess what I ended up doing first thing this morning??

The things we do!


Sam xx

I'm back!

Fourth birthday cupcakes for the twins.

They were only babies yesterday!

 

 

And I am very glad to be back!

 

Sam xx

10 Things - Birthday Parties!

We went to two parties this weekend, both parties for 4-year-old girls. One was an indoors party. The other wasn't. One was themed - a 'pat a rabbit' party. The other wasn't. Both were held on large blocks; 'rabbits' on 5 acres, the other on 2.5 acres.

With these experiences fresh in my mind, here is my list of....

10 Things I learnt this weekend about Birthday parties!

1. A themed and highly organised party of children's activities is not necessarily a better way;
2. A themed party can end up with the Birthday child being inundated with themed presents - rabbit necklace, rabbit shirt, rabbit slippers.....!
3. Two parties in one weekend is definitely enough!
4. You can't have too many healthy party foods (dare I say 'rabbit food'?) and can have too much cake;
5. Four pony rides does not decrease a child's interest in horses;
6. An indoor party when the house is on 5 acres is perhaps not the best use of space;
7. Some fancy dress rabbit suits for adults have a tendency to look decidedly demonic;
8. A grown man in a rabbit suit is not cute in the eyes of hysterical four-year-olds;
9. A very effective way to clear a room is to put a grown man in a rabbit suit!
10. I am allergic to rabbits!

What is your idea of the best birthday party for kids?

Sam xx

So much Chocolate!!

It's Easter Sunday - and it's also G's birthday which means a cake is required.

I know, I know. We only just arrived home from camping but I'm still going to make my beloved a cake. Only problem is, he likes chocolate cake and, if it's going to be a birthday cake, it has to be chocolate. Funnily enough, chocolate is something I seem to have a lot of today. We even found some hidden away in the cupboard from last year!

So, I made my no-fail, ever-faithful chocolate cake recipe which you can find here and here. And I used good chocolate - good chocolate Easter Eggs! See it in the photo? But the cake mix didn't seem to do well - it seemed to separate.

Hmmm. What to do?

Persevere!! No time to dither. Parents are on their way here for husband's Birthday Celebration. Get On With It.

There. The cake is ready to go in the oven, covered in Easter Eggy chocolate chunks.

When the decorated cake is presented I tell my mother that the ingredients didn't amalgamate as well as usual. See? See how buttery it is? Not as successful. The cake isn't anywhere near as good as it usually is.

Not it isn't.

It is BETTER! It is really, seriously good; moist, luscious, dense. Mmmmmmm. Chocolate!

You just have to wait until it is totally cool - the next day is best!

So I can safely say that the recipe for the Melt-and-mix chocolate chunk mud cake is truly a Very Good Recipe.

What are your fail-safe go-to recipes?

Having lots of chocolatey fun,

Sam xx