Birthday Cakes and Bunting ...

My daughter turned 4 last week, and loved the whole fuss about her day. We put up some balloons and bunting the night before, which dramatically increased her excitement.

Though she helped with some of the cake decorating, we got her to close her eyes to show her the final result, and she gave me a big hug, and said thanks when she saw this chocolate castle with Cinderella.

She ended up having 3 cakes. 2 versions of the chocolate castle cake, and another cake for school.

One was for the day of her birthday, one for school and one for a small party with her cousins. I made one of the castle cakes gluten-free as both my mother and two sisters are coeliacs.

We made all the pink and purple butterflies together. Luckily we cut lots as loads broke while we were trying to dry them, so I need to find out how to do that properly.

Despite her love of pink, I was amazed that she decided to wear this turquoise/teal coloured dress, with absolutely no persuasion on my part and not a pink thread to be seen.

The fabric came free after a local shop overcharged me for other fabric, and when they corrected it, they asked would I use some scraps. There were some large scraps of this in the bag.

Though it looks like a silk, I did a burn test on it with the help of my husband (he was very puzzled as to why I would burn fabric) and I'm sure it's polyester.

All she wanted for her birthday was a music jewellery box with a ballerina inside and this was the one - again no pink!!

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Sewing and Baking

The newly 12 year old and 5 year old have birthdays 9 days apart, so plenty baking.


'Yu-Gi-Oh' is a big hit with my four, so a few characters on a chocolate cake and the eldest was delighted.



Lego fans x 4 also live here! The 5 year old also loved his cake.


Though it turned out ok, the cake was a series of minor disasters - the sugar paste I rolled out wasn't big enough - but I had practically sealed it to the cake with hot jam when I realised - off it came with bits of the cake of course.

Then some royal icing for a cover up on the sides, to which I stuck smarties - a few of which decided to slide off the cake - so I had to keep pressing them on.

And then the icing gun fell right onto the cake, so I had to re-pipe some of the writing and stick some lego icing onto the marks.



Thankfully the sewing is going better.......

These are the ribbons on the lower back of the Feliz underdress - all Farbenmix.


I think the front might look a bit plain/bare with just the pink so I've made a fabric flower with the white fabric, and some of the same ribbons hanging down.

I'll get a move on in the next day or two and try to finish it.

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Easter Holidays

Some Easter cakes, chocolate of course ......





with eggs in nests as suggested by the children ( and eggs donated from his Easter Egg by the second boy)



table decorations with lots of yellow (daffodils have flowered at long last)




and with very active bunnies



and daisies presented (singly!) to me from the garden by my younger two each time they went out



Also

• my husband asking the children over tea how they were - with the usual answers around the table of "perfect", "great", "lovely", and the answer which has had us laughing for days - "heroic" from the 4 year old
• the wife of a friend of my husband asking me if I would make some clothes for her daughter for the autumn - and I said yes! (have had to cut out all the "I wouldn't be good enough" thinking)
• haven't been out for dinner in over a year, and we went out with a couple this week and really enjoyed it
• have found myself able to laugh this past week, and it's like I haven't been able to do that in months
  

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Bitter and Sharp

- and that's just the lemons - I hope ........!



I seem to have a thing for lemons the last few days. We recently celebrated Shrove Tuesday, so there was lemon and sugar on the pancakes. My eldest boy wanted cocoa added to some of the pancake batter and it made really tasty chocolate pancakes which were a hit, especially with chocolate sauce and sugar or with maple syrup.

Back to lemons - I have been craving more lemons and went on a search through my recipes. A local cafe - Hosfords - does a delicious lemon polenta cake, so I decided that was it yesterday evening.

There was boiling the lemons (huh?), processing the lemons skin and all (bigger huh?) not the seeds thankfully, and then having to put the mixture through a sieve because there were just too many lumps. The recipe called for extra-virgin olive oil - I used olive oil, eggs and sugar and polenta and baking powder.-actually not polenta, but ground almonds - I substituted polenta for the almonds.




It was barely out of the oven and I was tasting it - polenta a teeny bit gritty, olive oil a bit strong, a teeny after-taste of lemon pith - maybe I'm too critical-the younger two loved it and came back for more. I couldn't resist it because of the lemon taste.....

It tasted much better after being left for a day! Pin It Now!  

..and a Valentines Cake

The children were delighted to see this, this morning...



Any excuse to make a chocolate cake, with marshmallow (homemade by my sister-in-law), and chocolate hearts.



I think I'll have to revisit my claims, not to be a fan of St. Valentines day! Pin It Now!  

A Birthday and a Wedding Anniversary

My second boy was 10 on Monday 25th, but he had a party on Saturday with 3 school friends. So there was plenty baking, lots of tidying, attempts at planning and it was a great party - according to the birthday boy!


This year the theme for the cake was Star Wars, and it had to have the Yoda figure. I usually do the cake late at night and waking up early to look at how the cake turned out has become a happy ritual for each of the children.




The eldest has a great sense of humour which rubs off onto the second, and he couldn't resist the chance to put the line from Simpsons on the cake..........




The anniversary tends to take second place, though I did another cake on Monday night for after tea, which was a combined birthday & anniversary cake. It's 13 years this year, and we know each other 20 years, also this month - after meeting at a bus station. Lots of good times and lots of not-so-good times, but I'm glad we've made it together this far. Pin It Now!  

Christmas Sewing and Baking

and cleaning, and tidying, and visitors, and more baking, and hiding presents, and listening to Christmas songs, and icy roads, and goodbyes in airports and feeling more in control, and silencing 'the critic' more effectively, and remembering to breathe, and staying in the present with the scent of Christmas cooking and trees, and appreciating my family soooo much.

I made these aprons and hats for 3 of my nieces, with ponies because they have a pony they love. The littlest one, 3 years, tried hers on immediately when she got her present and had such a beaming smile on her face - a picture.

Christmas is about traditions and one in our house has become the Christmas log. Always very chocolately and scrummy - I think I make it more for myself. Their favourite part is when I shake the 'snow' over the cake.

A heartfelt wish for a happy Christmas to you and your family.

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A busy week

Busy in my town - floods which destroyed all of what they covered...

Play ground at night:


Town the morning after:


(Photos via Flickr Cork floods)


Busy with my baby's birthday:


She wanted a butterfly cake so I obliged. She is such a joy through it all.



When my head is at it's busiest with racing thoughts, judging , criticising, and strong physical reactions which I'm unable to stay with, and feeling though I can't breathe though I am - then I get physically busy.


4 hours, until 1.30 am, baked mini Christmas cakes and buns and 2 types of icing and made all the boxes.........


for the school Bring & Buy.

Counsellor today, which was a great help. Focused on my truth for now - "I don't want to go back to work right now" which brought on the judge in full swing. But stayed with it and the feelings brought up when I was judging myself. And this evening I have some calmness for the first time in a few weeks. Pin It Now!  

'The Remains of the Day'

Happy Birthday to me!!

What a joy to have my lovely family sing Happy Birthday. I couldn't resist the picture of the remains of the cake.


As well as sewing, I loooovvve to bake, especially chocolate cakes or anything with chocolate in it. Sewing works much better for me in that I have a sense of accomplishment but don't have to eat the results!
As we had chocolate pudding for dessert on Sunday, I went with a strawberry sponge this year. Pin It Now!