Busy as a bee!

I’m sure I am not the only person who has noticed this – but lately, doesn’t life seem so busy? Full of birthdays, dinners, shopping, to-do lists, cleaning, family duties, and you blink & then life jumps from Monday to Sunday? You are left thinking “where did the week go?” Every day my End of Financial Year countdown clock stares me in the face and reminds me of how quickly life passes by!

In the past 12 months many of my weekends have left me feeling overwhelmed & exhausted rather than relaxed & refreshed. From much of my own doing, over-committing, pushing myself to do more, and having always considered myself as someone who likes to be busy rather and can’t spend a day without leaving the house.

Well lately that has CHANGED! More and more I am loving a lazy sunday, with a sleep-in ’til 12, a yummy home made brunch & a day reading a magazine (such as the Renegade Collective – give it a read!) & sipping teacup after teacup of chai or vanilla tea.

So having such a busy life and now wanting to take every minute spent, busy or relaxed, for granted, has made me think more about how I spend my time and what I want to get more out of on my weekends!

While I am a stickler for cleaning, I am slowly learning to relax a little, and that yes it is OK to leave dishes overnight and that I can go a day or two without doing a load of washing! Learning to relax on chores a little bit has also made me feel like there is an even divide on chores & appreciate more of what my other half does & spend less time being a nag!

This year Matt & I also invented a Thursday night ‘date night’ for us to ensure we have a minimum one night a week where we put tiredness, whinging & our busy lives aside and spend some quality time together. We ruled we don’t have to go out, that it can be an amazing home cooked meal & wine and we have had many date nights together so far! They have included chilli pasta, sushi, new restaurants & shopping! We both have so many ideas to keep us entertained that this is a lovely tradition & we are glad we have dedicated a night to each other.

We even decided to have one random week’s date night as a weekend away in the Blue Mountains after a stressful couple of weeks! This involved lots of exploring, cafe-hopping & silly tennis playing!

Our spontaneous weekend away in the Blue Mountains

So what time I have had left over, between relaxing & date nights, I have tried to make sure I am spending my time wisely with family & friends & much needed catch-ups. I have already had a couple of really fun weekends in Canberra catching up with good friends, and although it was busy I felt so relaxed & happy by Sunday evening. Cherishing every moment I spend with my brothers, having my sister over, babysitting my nephews & niece. Oh and don’t forget my monthly facials with my mum! While it is a crazy balancing act to juggle family events, catching up with friends & what little time is left relaxing, I have appreciated every minute spent this year.

What could be better than a summer Canberra pool party?

This weekend I managed to squeeze in an awesome wine tour with friends, a sleep-in, a lovely catch up with long-time girlfriends, afternoon tea with the fam & a yummy home cooked dinner with Matt. And a relaxing couple of hours to blog & paint my nails (for those who know me well – I’ve gone a whole month of not nail-biting! It’s a miracle!) – I don’t know how I did it but its been a perfectly balanced weekend!

Wine & cheese anybody?

So I am encouraging you all to look back on your weekend, think of how much you enjoyed it, and for your next weekend, spend less time on the boring stuff or committing to things you don’t want to do, and more time hanging out with friends & family you enjoy the company of and reserving a couple of hours of me time. You will be amazed how much you look forward to Monday!

And at that, its bed time!

x Rach

It's great to make time to catch up with friends!

Thanks for the lovely catch up, ladies! x

May 4

Gift Giving to New Friends

It’s been a couple of months since I got involved in a couple of Instagram creative gift swaps so I thought I would share them!

First of all, if you blossom with creativity and are not on Instagram, what are you waiting for? Instagram is full of so many amazing creative Australian & international people and it is such a creative community on there. Every like, share & comment is appreciated by the tonnes of small business owners, creative mums & youngsters making crafting cool again.

Recently I discovered the Creative Exchange, an amazing creative gift-swap created by the super cool Melbourne gal Sam Dunne. Instagrammers will know her for her amazing fabric pom poms!

The Creative Exchange is an awesome creative ‘secret santa’ where you are are given a fellow Instagrammer to Insta-stalk and put together a gift of 7 items to inspire their creativity!

There are two challenges to this exciting task – 1. don’t make it blaringly obvious that you are their Creative Exchange partner & 2. stalk them enough to gift them a box that will make them wonder where this friend has been all their lives, because you know them so well. Oh and to not stalk them so much that they need to take out an Insta-AVO.

The other creative gift swap I have partaken in is the Post-a-Parcel gift swap run by Nia Neve of Life & Co Blog. Here you are paired with a fellow creative genius from Instagram & can openly Insta-stalk each other and swap ideas. You have to gift each other 5 things to the value of $20 set to a theme. The latest one fit me perfectly – it was themed ‘Biggest Morning Tea’ to celebrate it being the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea time & participants all donated to the charity.

I tried to make sure my gifts were sourced locally where possible & supported small business, as so many participants are small business owners. So of course I had to make a trip down to Berry to source some fun gifts from the Berry Tea Shop, Sew & Tell & Haven & Space. I also made a trip to the sweet hidden shop Milk Thieves in Wollongong which is filled to the brim with handmade & ethical gifts!

Online I tried to not go too Etsy-crazy, but I managed to find some lovely gifs from Hannmade With Love (cardmaker from Perth), Amelia Herbertson (artist from Orange) and lots of washi-tape goodies from online craft store Sammy & Lola.

Note cards by Amelia Herbertson

Postcard Note Cards by Hannmade with Love

I had so much fun participating in these creative gift swaps & sourcing the gifts! Check out my Instagram to see mine all packaged up and my excitement when I unwrap mine!

There are so many ways we can use mail today to brighten up someone’s day and strengthen friendships beyond social media. Can’t make someone’s birthday? Instead of posting on their FB page, why not send them a card to keep? If you hosted a party, or attended a party recently, send a thank you card! Every person should really own a set of thank you cards so they can readily post one when they need to say thanks – Kikki K have some great sets here.

I will leave you with this little nugget of truth which all of my fellow creative gift swap participants can empathise with! There is nothing more rewarding than finding a card or letter or package amongst the bills, even if it is something you ordered online!

Stay safe, healthy & happy,

Rachel x

Apr 6

Journal Every Day!

With the month of April & Autumn upon us, it recently dawned on me that we are already a THIRD through the year. Where does time go?! I swear it was yesterday that it was my birthday, New Year & Christmas!

One of my favourite blogs, the Every Girl, has a 30 day challenge which is to journal & reflect on every day for the month of April. I had purchased a cute Kikki-K 365 journal in the January Sales so I thought – hey, why not? So I set myself the challenge of getting to bed each night early enough to reflect on the day I have had and to write down my thoughts.

Just a few of my journals & inspirational books

So the past week I have spent pouring out my thoughts onto the page, and for a real challenge, making sure I keep it to 1 page! In case you hadn’t noticed I’m a bit of a rambler and a long-winded-story-teller even when I try to keep it ‘long-story-short’.

I also purchased a lovely Gratitude Journal from Kikki-K as I was fascinated with the idea of focusing my thoughts on gratitude and being really positive about my day. With all the stress I have had lately it has proven well to reflect on my day and be thankful for things I wouldn’t normally.

Thankful Journal – image from Kikki-K.

When you are stressed and feel like the world is against you, sometimes it’s hard to think about what you have actually been dealt with in the cards that is actually positive. But there is really so much I am grateful for in my everyday life, and it’s great to take the time to focus my thoughts on these things instead of what is too hard or negative in my life!

Some of the things I have been journalling about (without revealing too much – after all its MY journal!) – my family, the love in my relationship, how fortunate I am for my friends, finding enjoyment in the things I do, having a much healthier lifestyle & my health, as well as having the good fortune of a job that allows me to buy what I like & being able to support local & small business.

To see what other people are doing for the Every Girl 30 day challenge check out the hashtag #TEG30daychallenge on Instagram. Don’t forget to follow me!

Oh and before I forget! For those who were intrigued by my stores about the instagram parcel swap it is back up again! The lovely Nia Neve from Life and Co Blog is running the amazing Post-A-Parcel exchange which is open internationally! It is the sweetest, nicest idea & a great way to meet new people and bring some sunshine into your life. The next theme will be the Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea (for those who know my tea loving & charitable side will know this theme is ME ALL OVER!), so what are you waiting for? Get on over and sign up!

You can also check out all the lovely goodies that were sent & received with love on Instagram with the hashtage #postaparcel.

x Rach

Mar 17

A new blogger friend

Amongst my busy life of working & baking, I have found a new love of snail mail through Instagram! I will post more about this later this week but in the meantime I want to share a wonderful blog of a new friend I have made.

Annabel from Annabel & Alice is my latest pen pal and I have been busy reading through her lovely blog – which has made me feel like quite a novice to the blogosphere! She swirls updates of life & blog shares with intriguing book reviews which have me wanting to make a trip to my local library!

As a youngster I loved to read and one year even managed to read the most in my class! However since finishing school & adopting Instagram, Pinterest & Macaron making, my length of time for reading is right now about 4 pages of a magazine!

So if you like a good book make sure you pop over to her blog for some inspiration for your next read. But in the meantime, she has shared what is called the ‘Liebster Award’.

It is an award for small blogs of less than 200 followers as a way to connect to other bloggers and share more about themselves. The blogger must:

Share 11 facts about themselves
Answer 11 questions from the previous blogger
Post 11 questions & for the next lot of bloggers to answer

Those who know me know that I love to share! So if you are reading this and have a blog please feel free to participate and answer my questions below.

11 Facts about me!

1. I was born in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands

2. I have a little blue Indian Ringneck called Chomper (because she bites!) who is the inspiration behind the name Blue Bird High Tea

3. I am left handed – me and only 10% of the population!

4. My last 3 managers have also all been left handed. I don’t have statistics on this, but I think it’s pretty rare!

5. I am often asked about my families heritage – I believe I am 4th generation from England on my father’s side, and have a great-great grandmother from France. Apart from that I’m simply Aussie!

6. My favourite character from a show is Blair Waldorf – so much that I decided I would dress like her to school when I was 17. Think kitten heels, headbands, bows, lipgloss & stylish jacket. Or at least I thought I was stylish!

7. As a teenager, while everyone at school was unsure about what to have for lunch, let alone what degree & job they wanted, I declared that I would one day become either the Prime Minister or CEO of Big W. And I plotted on a chalkboard at lunchtime what steps I needed to take to get to either role. And now there are 4 positions between me and the CEO – wide-eyed 16 year old me didn’t think I’d get there that quickly, did she!

8. I’m not a fan of regular coffee! I prefer mochas or caramel lattes – or TEA!

9. My favourite place in the world is the town of Berry & the Berry Tea Shop – who source their tea & make all of their yummy sweets!

My lovely friends Karla & Courtney on a trip to the Berry Tea Shop

10. I’m terrible at making decisions – lunch, venues, times, what to wear, favourites – you name it!

11. I’ve lived in the gong now for almost 9 years! I’m thinking I will need to host a 10th anniversary party!

11 Questions from Annabel & Alice!

1. What is your favourite flavour of tea?

I love many of the blends from the Berry Tea Shop – however Vanilla Bean is my favourite! Buy it here!

2.If you could have three people to brunch, dead or alive, who would they be?

My great grandmother Elizabeth, my mother & me. My mum has told me many stories about her and I would have love to have met her!

3. What’s your one blogging tip to give the blogosphere?

Make sure you include lots of pictures & photos as they stop it from becoming an essay! And I hate essays!

4. What was your favourite subject in school?

Textiles! I loved sewing and creating masterpieces. So much in fact that I finished my final work about 2 months before the rest of my class!

5. If you could be an animal, which would you be?

A bird. Wouldn’t you love to crap on people who annoy you?

6. What is your favourite way to travel? Train, bus, car, plane, bike…

As I’ve spent so much time in my life travelling each of these ways I simply can’t pick! I loved the scenic train ride to school, people watching on buses, singling along in my car, the thrill of catching a plane & riding my bike along the beach. See – how can you pick?

7. If your house was burning down, what would you grab as you ran out the door?

I’m not sure quite how I’d do it but my precious bird Chomper. Everything else – from my baking, my sewing, my clothes, even my KitchenAid is replaceable. My beautiful bird isn’t!

8. What do your favourite pair of shoes look like?

They have bows. I LOVE flats with bows! Currently crushing on these Oroton flats!

9. When you were a kid, what was your favourite story?

My dad used to make up stories about knomes that lived in friend’s houses, or pirates, that were really silly! Now I do the same for my brother.

10. Would your dream house be modern or old?

Modern! I’m renting a smaller version down the street from one of my dream houses. my dream house is in Wollongong, close by the beach, with a lovely big kitchen & enough room to entertain. The rest is negotiable!

11. What inspired you to start blogging?

My lovely boyfriend knew how much I loved talking about myself so surprised me for my 22nd birthday by buying me a Domain name and setting up my blog. The rest is history!

11 Questions for the next Blogger!

1. What is your favourite drink?

2. If you could swap lives with someone, who would it be?

3. What was the last book you read? How many stars would you give it?

4. You can only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of your life – what would it be?

5. What advice would you give your 23-year old self? ( I borrowed this questions from one of my favourite blogs the Everygirl!)

6. How do you start your day?

7. Apple or Samsung?

8. How do you have your scones – jam then cream or cream then jam? (I have had many debates on this!)

9. What is your favourite type of tea?

10. What is a small gesture that someone has done lately that has made you smile?

11. Now how have you done a small gesture to pay it forward?

Thanks!

x Rachel

Mar 12

A bit of pillow love

My blog has been a bit quiet lately…for a while actually! So I thought with a spare FIVE MINUTES I would spend it sharing some of my latest loves!

I’ve been a bit obsessed with everything Interior decorating lately – styling my home, pouring over magazines such as home beautiful, blogs like Interiors Addict & watching the block in my spare time at the gym or online when I have a chance!

Recently I re-arranged some of my furniture and it really refreshed my house. But it made me realise something very important – I NEED more scatter pillows! Every girl will know you can never have too many scatter pillows. They are awesome to sprawl on in bed, cuddle while watching a movie or sit on when painting your nails (take that to every man who has always thought scatter pillows were useless!).

My current favourite is a mustard yellow pineapple printed pillow from Freedom Australia, but I have been eyeing off quite a few others I love, so I thought I would share!

I am currently loving this cushion from AlphabetMonkey, a lovely local kids bed linen designer & creator. You can never be too old for a fun pillow like this!

I have also recently been insta-stalking Jasmine Dowling, a Brisbane graphics design student who has created a beautiful range of prints & cushions. This is my favourite!

The cute word pillows on Esty from Honey Pie Design also caught my eye – teamed up with a cute simple patterned stripe or chevron pillow this would be the feature of any lounge room!

My most recent addition to my pillow collection has been a cute bird silhouette pillow from Haven and Space in Berry. While it is sad that they don’t have an online ship it means you have a great excuse to trek down to Berry and check out their amazing TWO shops full of fun homewares! It suits my many bird figurines, prints & candles. You could say I am a bird person!

So that’s a roundup of some of the MANY cushions online I am adding to my wish-list! For more ideas, check out my board ‘Pillow Love‘ on Pinterest or follow me on Instagram @rachisgold.

Happy interior decorating!

x Rach

Apr 15

A bit of tea party planning

Hello, my readers!

My apologies for my lack of blogs as of late! Most of the past month has been spent working, eating & sleeping thanks to an exciting new promotion. But enough about work!

What has been keeping me sane these past few weeks is my careful planning and grandeur ideas around hosting a high tea. We all know I have a love of tea, a love of all thinks sweet, and that I rather enjoy cooking. So I thought I will have some close friends over for an afternoon of tea, champagne and cupcakes!

It all started with a napkin. Seriously! I enjoyed high tea in the highlands so much that the very same night at dinner I begun writing my own menu onto a napkin!

So over the past month I have been meticulously planning, trialling, purchasing and pinning my way to high tea perfection. Creative? Very! Inspired? Absolutely! Crazy? Just a little…

Last weekend I made yet another trip down to Berry. I think they know me as a regular now…albeit if it is because I always ask if they will ever get the blue heart teapot I admired for months back in! I finally made my decision on my new teapot, after 2 cups of chai, many photos and hinting to Matt that I’d love the expensive Royal Albert teapot!

My new teapot & cook book!

And I couldn’t visit the Berry tea shop without a spot of tea and a yummy scone!

So I’ve created quite a collection of serving ware in prep for the high tea, but the problem is I don’t have the storage space in my humble abode! Currently my cupcake baking tools take up one shelf of the linen cupboard, and my tea/cake stands are tucked in between towels.

In David Jones yesterday, I was admiring all the British fine china. So many intricate patterns on teacups, miniature serving platters and even egg cups! I was mesmerised by how many different types of floral patterns there were! And while the two hundred dollar teapot was a little out of my reach, I couldn’t resist a small Royal Albert cake stand. I mean, it was on sale!

The one I wish for on the left (one day!) the equally as cute, more practical & wallet friendly one I bought on the right.

Saturday night I spent devouring my new Victoria Tea Room cook book, planning what pastries, cakes & sandwiches I will make. Next followed a couple of trial runs, which were well received by the test subjects, Matt’s sister Nicole & her boyfriend Matt (also!).

Then came the practise cupcake decorating. Prior to visiting Berry, Matt and I made a short trip to Delaneys create-a-cake shop to stock up on decorating supplies. I bought some fondant, dyes, and my long-time want, a fondant imprint mat! So Saturday night was spent practising my imprints. Really made me feel like all those years of playing with play-doh, mum was obviously preparing me for bigger and better things!

Lastly on Sunday night I prepped by gazing for hours on Pinterest at high tea ideas, and at approx 9.30pm it occurred to me that I should have made invitations and that I still had enough time to create and mail to my guests. I was up to the challenge! Thanks to my collection of Typo stamps, Scrapbooking paper and recent Etsy craft purchases I had some beautiful invitations hand-made in no time!

Don’t you wish one had your name on it? Maybe next time!

We will wait to see how my delightful tea turns out, until then check me out on instagram at @rachisgold or on Pinterest to see my creations and inspirations!

Xx Rach

Mar 17

Sneaky Weekend Away

A couple of weeks ago Matt and I thought how wonderful a messily-planned weekend away would be and began looking at where we could potentially explore.

So after browsing stayz, wotif & last minute enough I could recite hotels by rating, no place seemed to be quite right. Until mantra sneakily sent me their weekend deals for Peppers Criaigieburn!

So off we trekked to a quaint country manor in Bowral early on Saturday morning. Once we arrived we were greeted with a delicious and cozy champagne high tea. As you could imagine my lunch was a heavenly sampler of scones, cakes, sandwiches and prawns! I was extremely impressed by my introduction to a true country high tea.

The Peppers estate was surrounded by a number of picturesque rose gardens, which we walked about and soaked up the crisp country air.

On Saturday we also decided to explore the area by visiting nearby winery, Centennial Winery, tasting a few wines, and picking our favourite to take home.

That night we went to the nearby Gilbratar Country Club for dinner, and the food at Haveys Bar was delicious. It was great to try food different to Wollongong’s usual rotation of seafood.

On Sunday we went into nearby historical town Berrima to explore. We had a cozy brunch and leisurely stroll through all the jam, antique and lolly shops, and yes I am well aware, I am prematurely ageing into a nanna but I don’t care!

Last stop on our sneaky weekend away was a visit to Harper’s Manor. While this manor has historical significance for being the Manor of the area, it is now renowned for its hedge maze made only recently. So we raced around the hedge maze until we were dizzy, and then decided it was time to head home.

So until me next sneaky weekend adventure!

Mar 11

The most tranquil spot in the ‘gong

On the weekend Matt and I planned a fun mini adventure for our Saturday – a picnic at the Wollongong Botanic Gardens.

It was so peaceful and relaxing! We put down a picnic rug by a little stream, surrounded by lush gardens and blooming flowers, and snacked on sandwiches, hot chicken and salads while feeding some cute water hens. I couldn’t think of a more relaxing way to spend my Saturday!

Even the drifting music from a nearby wedding in the rose garden couldn’t disturb me from my relaxing arvo, as I read a magazine while Matt napped. The cool rush of the water and the little squeaks of the nearby ducks was so peaceful, I thought that nothing could ruin this day!

Until one of my top pet hates appeared – a smoker! Now, you must not know me very well if you do not know I can’t stand smokers. I’m sure most of them are lovely people and if they choose to fill their lungs with toxins in their own time it is their choice, but the smell is disgusting.

There are a number of reasons I can’t stand smokers – number one being they smell so bad. The smoke sticks to them like gum on a shoe, and for me, and many others, it causes an instant headache! But most of all I hate that smokers – not all, but many – have no regard or care for who their smoke is affecting. I hate being in my car, minding my own business, and all of a sudden I have to rush to turn the air onto re-circulate because the person in front of me is paying more attention to flicking their ash on the road than driving. All too often I see derros pushing their kids through Wollongong mall , one arm on the stroller and the other hanging a ciggy. Just because you face your infant in the other direction doesn’t mean they can’t inhale your toxic smoke!

As you can understand, to say I was quite annoyed by smelling someones second-hand smoke is an understatement. My mind drifted and I imagined myself running up to the person, and pushing them into the stream and yelling ‘that’s what I think of your cancer sticks! Good on you junkie lady, your kids lungs are probably covered in tar because of your trashy habit!’ Ahhh…if only her burly husband didn’t look like he’d rip me to shreds!

I felt like my oasis has been ripped from beneath me, like my paradise was ruined. I’m thinking this was how Adam felt like when he realised that Eve had ruined it for everyone by eating that damn apple!

It makes me so sad to think that all the kids, families and couples enjoying the park – hundreds of visitors, are affected by the passive smoke of one or two patrons. So I figured, if council are implementing smoke-free areas in the Mall, at bus stops and restaurants, why can’t the Botanic Gardens, which are funded by our rates anyway, be smoke-free too?

I mean, what is the worse that is going to happen, a couple of people aren’t going to visit? A smoker will have to smoke in the car park instead? I think the inconvenience of a couple, to benefit the health, the gardens and the visit of others is a cost that smokers can pay.

So I am campaigning to council to get the Wollongong Botanic Gardens made a smoke-free area. I have written to council to seek advice on why this isn’t so, and how this can be changed.

To my avid readers who know me so well, I have been trying to keep this a whinge-free blog! I really have! But if you know me well enough to know I’m a whinger, you will also know I am a very passionate person, who is not afraid to speak her mind and show my opinions. And that I like to know I can make a positive difference to this world.

I will keep you all updated on how the campaign progresses, as I am determined to not rest until I can enjoy the Gardens without inhaling toxic smoke.

Now, for all my fans who got to the bottom of this post and thought ‘what? no crafting or cooking? what is going on?’ I will leave you with a photo from my weekend crafty indulgence, some beading! You see, after the visit to the Gardens I stopped by Spotlight and FINALLY bought my new pair of much-needed beading plyers. I mean, what is the point of having czech glass beads if you can’t put them together to make some cute earrings? So i have made some vintage-inspired earrings and a Thomas Sabo inspired bracelet. Beads are from my favourite place (you guessed it, a bead shop in Berry!).

I may craft like a nana, but I am a stylish nana!

Until my next rant, Rach xxx

Mar 3

A Few Pretty Cupcakes to Share…or Simply Admire!

One of my wonderful birthday presents was a cupcake decorating class at Delaneys Cakes Wollongong, which I got to go to with Matt’s sister, Nicole (also wonderful gift-giver).

To start of the class we were treated to a delightful cup of tea and buttercream cupcake. You definitely can not expect to spend 4 hours making cupcakes staring at sugar, cream and icing on an empty stomach!

So we started the class learning some basic cut-outs. I must admit I am in love with this style of decoration, it is so simple but classy!

I know they say don’t try this at home but I intend to!

Next we learnt how to create these cute little creatures! While I went for the traditional dainty bird, Nikki turned hers into a punk birdy complete with a mini-Mohawk. Sorry I don’t have a picture to share, so you will have to take my word on its awesomeness.

But here’s a snap of my finished result. Really resembles Chomper chilling out on his cage, don’t you think?

We also learnt a few other cool techniques, including icing stencils, fondant flowers (these ones ARE as complicated as they look!) and fondant pattern mats.

I think I’m too scared to eat this one!

We also learnt the sweet cupcake bow. I love this as it is a cute way to say happy birthday without a tacky birthday simple. You’ve got the gift wrapping a half sorted! (And maybe one gift wrapped for the chef…)

Too good to give away, don’t you think?

So hope you enjoyed my eyeing off my creations half as much as I enjoyed making them! I cannot wait to get more involved in cupcake decorating, so my cupcakes look as good as they taste! I picked up a few tools of the trade so I can get baking! And a big thank you goes out to Nikki & Matt (her boyfriend, not her brother) for the cool present, Matt (the boyfriend this time!) for spoiling me in the cupcake gift shop, and to Danielle and the team at Delaneys for a fun and hands-on approach to teaching cupcake Exec orating! I would definitely recommend Delaneys as a great place to learn baking and will be returning.

Got myself a little cupcake starter kit to get creating!

The end result, I’m pretty proud of my first attempts!

Feb 23

Desserts is stressed backwards

There is no more relaxing way to finish your weekend of hustle and bustle than with some home – cooked sweets.

One of my wonderful presents my mum spoiled me with for my birthday was a cook book I had been eyeing off, Donna Hay’s ‘Fast, Fresh, Simple’. It has not only amazing fresh looking dinners, but divine looking (and tasting!) desserts.

So as my last testament to this weekend, I would try my first Donna Hay kitchen escapade.

My first attempt was the ‘no-fuss banana caramel pudding’, with a sickly-sweet caramel sauce. My mum is a caramel sauce connoisseur, so I had known of it as a quick and simple way to turn ice cream into a masterpiece, but I’d never attempted it myself. Until today!

I love recipes that don’t require obscure condiments, that you buy, use once and keep at the back of your cupboard, until you forget you ever bought it and re-purchase when you need it 2 years later. This, thankfully, was not one of those recipes.

Jamie Oliver, this, and your obsession with a food processor, is your downfall. While I’m yet to ever use or own a food processor, I’m certain that what time it would save in mixing/chopping/slicing, you will make up in cleaning the damn thing. I’m more than happy for someone to buy me one though and prove this theory incorrect.

So I mixed and baked the pudding (without an electric mixer, mind you) to perfection thanks to recently working out my oven timer. Recently I almost had to face a baked dinner WITHOUT actually being able to bake as when i went to turn on my oven, it could not seem to switch on. While I was frantically trying to see if it would turn on any type of bake (grilled baked dinner, anyone?), Matt patiently watched me panic. He eventually stepped in to point out I had out on the duration switch rather than just the timer, which insisted on keeping the oven turned off as a safety precaution.

Best part of baking is licking the spoon!

So now that I have successfully worked out how to work and bake – not burn, in my oven, I look forward to making many more divine desserts! Now I just need to decide who to share this with, as I’ve got 9 slices left!

So delicious I made Matt have seconds, he didn’t have a choice.

Until my next adventure,

Xxx Rach