lovely colours

Pinks, Yellows, Oranges.

These colours make such a lovely combination and have been popping up here and there in my life lately. Such sunny colours they really make me look forward to the long summer days which won't be too fay away considering this last month of winter has been very warm and I have already been slightly sunburnt! I cannot wait to get my pretty floral dresses out :)

 

 

 I made orange and poppy seed cupcakes recently, and I just happened to have pink and yellow cases and sprinkles to match. Not really a coincidence, actually, since I am such a compulsive buyer of cake decorating supplies!

 

 

 They were not only pretty but yummy as well!

 

 

These are treasures from my recent trip to Melbourne...Vintage sheet from an op shop and pink pear candle holder and pineapple plate from Mozi, I love fruit themed items...and those colours again...

 

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine in one form or another! xxx

Happy Valentines Day!

Wishing everyone a super loved up Valentines Day!

xxx

 

Today we celebrate with homemade coconut cupcakes, Yummy!

xxx

Homemade macarons

I think we all love macarons don't we?? About 2 years ago I had my first attempt at making them and they were absolute Maca-ruins! I was devastated,they went in the bin and that was the end of that....until yesterday. Feeling brave I gave it another go, and here they are! Not perfect, far from it but a million times better than my first batch.

 A few for my lovely Emma as a belated birthday treat.

 All tied up with string.

On another note, I have been crafting away on an exciting new project.....but SSHHHH, it's a secret for now! :)

xxx

Sweet Treats

This weekend the Handmade Craft Markets were on in Terrigal. It's been a while since I've checked out these markets but since they are now held literally across the road from me I couldn't resist. I was delighted to find the most beautiful cupcakes there, just amazing. Here are the 2 that I bought and a few cheeky macarons as well.

 So pretty, sigh!

I'll have to be on the look out for one of those icing nozzles that makes grass. Love the little lady bug.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. xxx

Crochet cushion covers

Last week I completed, yes that's right completed, one of my many works in progress. I made these crochet cushion covers as a present for my partner's 30th birthday. They are nice and snuggly and not so precious that they can't be used. I can't wait to finish off a few more....they weren't that hard, I just machine stitched the crochet front panel onto some fabric backing!

 Here is the birthday boy's cake....I decorated a bought sponge with chocolate buttercream, chocolate shards and grated choc on top, YUM!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. xxx

Rainy day baking

Pinterest. An endless source of inspiration but also a site that steals away the hours. Even worse than that, after trawling through oh so many images of yummy cupcakes I have had a monstrous craving, a craving that has lasted weeks. So, since it has been raining non stop today I finally gave in and baked my ultimate comfort food, cake. It was meant to be a low fat coconut and banana cake, but my bananas were still green so I used pureed pineapple instead and it turned out pretty well and super moist, although you really can't taste the pineapple.

 Don't ask me why I made red icing! I would have preferred yellow, but it is about the only colour I'm missing.

YUM!

xx

Christmas time

Merry Christmas! I have really enjoyed looking at everyones beautiful posts of late in blogland and hope you all had a wonderful xmas. I am a tad late with my post as I was just too busy working the past week and too tired in the evenings, any of you in retail will know what I mean, it was hectic!

Anyway, here are a few piccies of my home on xmas day.

The closest thing I have to a mantel piece and fireplace is our wood burner, but it does the job as a focal point in the living room. I kept the decorating fairly simple this year and stuck to my fave colours, purple and aqua, with white of course. Maybe one day I will go for a more traditional colour scheme, but it just doesn't feel right when its summer time.

Presents!

I love this little bird house. For gifts I filled cute little cups with homemade white christmas.

Homemade white chocolate mud cake trees.

My second attempt at white  christmas, this year it worked and tasted yummy!

Once again, Merry Christmas.

xxx

Cake pop failure!

Over the weekend I had a practice run making cake pops, or cake balls as I wanted them to look like truffels, and well the photos speak for themselves!

 At least they tasted yummy and the colours look pretty. Next time they might turn out better....we can only hope! Much more xmas baking to be done but surely not too many disasters!

Spring inspirations

It is September now and that means spring is here! Even though I say I love each season as they arrive, Spring would have to be my favourite for quite a few reasons. The days are growing longer, the sun is shining more brightly, flowers are blooming, baby animals are being born and the air is filled with warmth and the sweet scent of Jasmine blossom.

I've been in a bit of a 'funk' lately and no better way to get myself into a happier mood than by being busy!

 I have thrown myself into crocheting triangles for more pretty bunting and here is just part of my ever increasing pile.

 How sweet is this little wee birdy? It was an easter decoration from Bed Bath & Table...in lovely spring colours.

 Yummy Blueberry and Coconut muffins. It was just a packet mix on special but I did add the coconut on a whim, well why not? And how can anyone resist them with a drizzle of pink icing.

I found these in a bargain store, $1.50 for the set! Definitely couldn't say no as they are in my favourite colours.

One of the few decent plants in my garden would have to be this Jasmine. I adore the scent and it brings back many happy memories for me. Isn't it funny how just a simple smell can take us back to an exact moment or memory?

Have a lovely weekend. xxx

Jelly lamingtons

Another project from 'Meet me at Mikes', but not a crafty one this time, Jelly Lamingtons! This was fun and easy, I just used a store bought sponge cake which I cut up into cubes, then made up a packet of plum jelly, once it began to set slightly I dipped the cake pieces into it then coated in coconut. They look pretty and tasted great.

I love coconut...and pastel colours.