On restoring our space.

I know there's a common message about January, that it lasts about 234,857 days, but for me, this month has flown by. As I said previously, we were working on rearranging the house & it finally feels like that project is about completed. It's funny with things like this, you really see your true personalities coming out. I learnt again that I just want to push really hard & get it all done as soon as possible, & Tom has a much more laid back/last minute (!) approach, which about partway through the project caused us to pause, re-group & come up with a plan to power through. It was so hard to know what to do first because in-between caring for Finn & taking him to classes, Tom working full-time, me working part-time & the rest of the everyday house jobs needing to be done, it was a LOT to manage! Every room in the house felt chaotic to me because there were boxes, bags, clothes, toys & everything else everywhere.
Given that we now have lots of extra toys/clothes/blankets, and all the other "stuff" that comes with a baby in the house, we soon realised we just didn't have enough storage, so that was what we focussed on. We only painted one room, & we decided after originally prepping the small room as Finn's room that it wouldn't be big enough for him, so we did all the work of getting the bigger bedroom ready for him to move into in a few months now before we have a crawler on our hands!! We have now created a small office space & will soon move our beloved changing table away so we can free up the rest of the office room to store other things. I've been going out finding cheap storage options & found some underbed storage bags that are HUGE in Lidl along with other plastic boxes so we can stack everything away in cupboards & get them out when needed. I also found some really cheap hanging storage which we can use for his baby toiletries by the new changing station that sits on a chest of drawers & another will go downstairs somewhere, probably in the kitchen! It just feels a lot more like we know where everything is now & there's a better sense of order. 

My new favourite space in the house is our little corner in the living room by the window with this beautiful rocking chair so I can sit & read there. Full disclosure, our clothes airer has become a bit of a permnanent fixture just next it because at the moment it feels like a never-ending task to stay on top of that! Whilst Tom was building new furniture, I was listing the old stuff online & we did really well to shift everything. Tom did several trips to the recycling centre to take all the cardboard & I did some charity shop runs & still have a few bags ready to go. I recently saw an idea to put numbers 1-30 on separate pieces of paper & put them in a jar - you pick a number out each day & whatever number you choose is the number of things you need to giveaway/donate. I'm going to try that for February; it can be anything as small as a book, a t-shirt, anything you no longer need. I might not be able to donate that number of things, but I think it will give me a good thing to focus on & will help us continue to declutter. Alongside that, I'm going to have a "no online shopping" month. I found that whilst I took a break from social media I ended up opening more emails from different places advertising sales - so I definitely need to kick that habit! I have actually had a number of hiccups with items getting delivered anyway; I am fairly certain that Evri took on a bad driver & my parcel was stolen (I know it wasn't our usual driver because I saw him the today & asked him about it!) & I have a feeling I'm about to get stung on something we needed for Finn because I didn't realise the shop didn't send all their products directly & I've had it before where some companies won't ship to NI from Mainland UK but no-one ever makes that clear. 

For Finn's new room we chose the colour "Nordic Sky" & after seeing lots of winter clothes in the arctic animal theme (which I am SO excited for him to wear!), I found some of the cutest wall stickers to put in places that Finn can see them. I have cried several times throughout this process as I think about how fast time is going (he is 4 months next week!), how quickly he is growing & how he's changing all the time. It's so exciting to see his personality coming out & we loved creating this space for him but I'm sure like every parent, a part of me wants him to stay this little forever! I have just started taking him to the swimming pool as he seems to take after me & is a water baby so I really want to encourage that. I also shed a tear the first time I took him there! For the first few months of taking Finn out, I/we had only been staying fairly local so didn't take loads of things with us but as we are going out more often & for longer, I decided to finally invest in a "mum" backpack which has 18 pockets & is the best thing ever! It fits all our swimming gear & bottles/flasks & everything else we could possibly need! I found it on Amazon (I know not everyone agrees with this!) & it was 20% off but is really good quality.

Doing all this work helped me to see that ultimately with whatever project I come up with, I am always seeking peace. That is why the word "Shalom" is at the centre of our home. I really believe that a peaceful home makes for a more peaceful life & to me it just feels better to have some sense of order about the place. Of course, having toys laying around & the laundry hanging are the things that make it lived in so I hope it will always have that balance. I've noticed lately that when I take Finn out he is so much quieter than when he's at home which shows me this is the place he feels safe & comfortable, so we must be doing something right! 

This weekend I am taking a whole day to myself to go off to the big smoke - I've only had one day on my own since Finn was born that was just for me & that was cut short because I was so worried about getting out of the house quickly before he woke up that I forgot my phone! I keep planning all the shops I'll browse & how many coffee shops it's reasonable to visit in one day. For now, Finn has woken up from his morning nap, the laundry is calling & soon he will be hungry again!

Much love x 

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Pretty Princess Biscuits.

I have a very busy weekend ahead, so it is just after 10:30pm and I am sat in bed watching The Big Bang Theory whilst supping on Navajo Green Tea. Tonight, I did some baking inspired by this beauty of a book that goes alongside the new Series of The Great British Bake Off:

These vanilla biscuits are for my niece's 2nd Birthday party this weekend (can't believe she is 2 already!) and I am pleased with how they turned out. I won't write the whole recipe, the link for it is right here. They are absolutely easy peasy and the best bit is you can eat the dough before it's cooked and it's still yummy. Not that I did that. I used a crown cookie cutter that I bought for the jubilee, but I'm sure you can still buy them in stores!

This is the page that inspired the icing:

To ice the biscuits I needed these lovely things:

- Royal Icing Sugar

- Wilton food colouring

- Harlequin Pearls

- Gold pearls that I have been dying to use since I bought them

- Teenie tiny hundreds and thousands

- 3 pots to mix icing in

- Disposable icing bags

- Tiny nozzles

I wanted to completely cover the crowns but I didn't mix enough Royal Icing, so next time I will know to fill the bowl higher!

The finished products!

I think they are pretty cute!

Fit for a Princess...



Much Love xxx

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Banana and Chocolate Chip Goodness.

So, tomorrow is my good friend's birthday BBQ in this wonderful rainy weather. I asked her what she would like me to bring, and banana cake was requested. Luckily, I have this really great recipe that I found in some random magazine and thought it sounded exciting. So I tore it out and gave it a whirl! The original recipe is iced with an incredible passionfruit icing, (which I could eat all day) but it was requested that this time it was plain. I did some playing around with the recipe anyway so it became...


Banana and Chocolate Chip Slices with Dark Chocolate Drizzle


Equipment: 


- Mixing Bowl
- Weighing Scales
- Wooden Spoon/Electric Whisk
- 20cm Round Cake Tin


Ingredients:


- 160g of Unsalted Butter
- 165g of Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 2 Free Range Eggs
- 350g of Mashed Banana (about 3 1/2 bananas)
- 150g of Plain Flour (sifted)
- 100g of Self Raising Flour (sifted) 
- 1 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
- 2 tbsp of Hot Milk
- 1tsp of Vanilla Essence
- 80g of Dark Chocolate Chips (I do realise they come in 100g bags, but refuse to say where the other 20g went.....sometimes I snack when I bake.....)


For the Topping:


- I used this bad boy, which you simply place in a bowl of hot water until it melts, split the edge of the bag and drizzle over your cake - so easy! 

Method: 


1) Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180oC. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line with greaseproof paper. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl (use a wooden spoon or electric whisk) until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the mashed banana.


2) Combine the bicarbonate of soda and milk in a small jug and stir into the banana mixture. Stir in the flours, in 2 batches. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and vanilla essence and pour into the tin. 


3) Bake for about 45 minutes and then place on a rack to cool.


4) I then sliced the cake, and added the drizzle - but you can leave the cake whole if you wish. 


5) Should you wish to try it with the passionfruit icing (SO YUM) simply mix 160g of Icing Sugar with 2 tbsps of passionfruit pulp and pour over the cake. 


Here they are:

Much Love xxx

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Warning: Chocolate Overload.

So, tomorrow evening I am going to our Church women's meeting and since I haven't been in a while I decided it was the perfect opportunity to bake. Again. One of my all time, never lets me down, amazing cupcakes guaranteed cookbooks is from this bakery. In London, I love visiting here - it's worth the train fair just for their vanilla frosting. I whipped the book back out and went straight for the Chocolate Cupcake recipe. I've used it and tweaked it once before and the women loved them, (and so did their husbands) I am responsible for causing everyone else's diets to stumble but if my hips are growing then it's only fair that theirs should too. So here it is:


The Hummingbird Bakery's Chocolate Cupcakes


Equipment:


- 2 X Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Jug
- Wooden Spoon
- Electric Mixer
- 12 Hole Muffin Tin
- Cupcake Cases
- Weighing Scales


Ingredients:


For the Sponge
- 80g of Unsalted Butter
- 280g of Caster Sugar
- 200g of Plain Flour
- 40g of Cocoa Powder
- 1 tbsp of Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp of Salt
- 240ml of Whole Milk
- 2 Large Eggs


For the (very rich and very yummy) Frosting
- 400g of Icing Sugar
- 100g of Cocoa Powder
- 160g of Unsalted Butter
- 50ml of Whole Milk 
- Sprinkles to decorate


Method:


1) Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas Mark 5 and line a muffin tin with cases.


2) Using an electric mixer/whisk, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt on a low speed until the ingredients are well mixed and resemble fine breadcrumbs.


3) Pour the milk into a jug and whisk in the eggs. Pour 3/4's into the dry mixture and beat on a low speed to combine. Raise the speed to medium and mix until the mixture is smooth and and thick. Then pour in the remaining milk mixture on a medium speed until the batter is once again smooth.


4) Spoon the batter into the cases until they are 2/3s full. Put into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until the sponge is light and springy to touch. I usually test the sponge with a bamboo skewer to see if it comes out clean. Wait until the cakes are completely cool before decorating.


5) To make the frosting: whisk the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter on a low speed until the mixture is sandy in consistency. Pour in the milk and whisk on a high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.


6) At this stage, a cut out a piece of the cupcake and filled it with raspberry jam, replacing the cake lid and then piled on the icing on top of that! Use a palette knife to apply the icing, and add sprinkles to the top.


7) Do not consume more than one of these in a day...I have absolutely no idea how many calories must be in one but ignorance is bliss, as are these cupcakes. 

The Chocolate Beauties

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Confession: I cheated at baking.

So I decided it was time to try my hand at Cake Pop making. Last week I purchased a really cute book (check it out here) telling me all about it, and everyone I had spoken to had told me they were ridiculously easy to make. After I read through said book, I began to think they were a lot more fiddly than I first thought.

I continued my research and struck gold in the form of this beauty:

Here it is, the cake pop maker. It boasted that it would create perfectly round cake pops in under four minutes, no messing. Does it work, I hear you cry? Big fat YES it does. Usually, I choose to do everything the hard way when baking, I hate using microwaves and pre-packaged flavourings and much prefer making everything from scratch. I quite like feeling the burn of my biceps when creaming my butter and sugar together. So this badboy was a big step for me. 

I have promised a set of cake pops to my friend who is running a Charity Clothes Swapping party so I tried not to use up a lot of the nice sprinkles I have with my practice batch, but here they are:

I used a Chocolate Batter, and added 'Simply Melt' White Chocolate.

Now that I know the machine works, and works very well, my next batch will be on sticks as they are supposed to be and I will experiment a bit more with the decoration. I would highly recommend this product to anyone who loves baking! I'm sure it would work well if you are baking with children too.

P.s. they taste pretty nice too!

Much Love xxx

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