Wedding cake!

Who loves wedding cakes? I know I do, and more than anything, I love CAKE. CAKE and ICE-CREAM are my two sweet vices. Don't really care for chockies and sweets or biscuits, but CAKE and ICE-CREAM!

No, that was not a segway into telling you that I'm going to make an ice-cream cake for the wedding. Hardly. It was just me wanting to emphasise how much I love cake and ice-cream!

Back onto wedding stuff... I did my wedding cake trial this weekend. But like with most wedding things, the photo will not be available for viewing until after the event. Sooooo.... the sneak peek below. :) That's all I'm giving you!

Do you think you can make out what the cake looks like?

But what I can show you is what I made with the leftover cake! It is a bit messy at the bottom, I may have gotten too excited with the pizza cutter and cut too close to the edge! I know to do better next time (if there is a next time!)

Someone I know said on facebook that it looked like a marshmallow. Whatevs Gerald. :)

Needless to say, this exercise has renewed my love for cake decorating, which is fortuitous as I have cupcakes and a wedding cake to make for my friend Jules' wedding next week!

Did I include photos? No, I don't think I did! And I realised why... I didn't take any! I will next week though.


xoxo

Snap snap snap...

A break from writing my Hong Kong adventures (not that I have been diligently writing), to upload a couple of photographs I took last weekend.

Check it...

But here are some things...

But here is one thing I can show you.. because most of them have been sent out! This was our Save the Date cards. Luke took this beautiful photo of Rosie (which I have accidentally destroyed) and I added on the words. We wanted to include Rosie in our wedding somehow and as she could not be part of the wedding, we thought it would be nice to have her be the face of our Save the Date.

I got them printed as glossy postcards and I was quite pleased with the end results! Some of our guests even got little fridge magnets which looked exactly the same.

The back of the cards reads as follows:

This photo didn't turn out that well as it was a shot of the computer screen.

When I send the invitations out, I'll put another post up!

Hope you like them!

xoxo

A sneak peek...

Who would like to have a sneak peek of my wedding dress???

Here it is!!! :)

Gotcha!!!

Seriously, did you think that I was going to show it? Let's save SOME element of surprise for the wedding! :)

Happy Saturday! xoxo

I just couldn't resist....

Ok - so I'm just getting ready for Christmas and after the beautiful photos I got of Rose and her Easter ears, I was hankering for another holiday photo. When grocery shopping, Luke saw these antlers (so yes, Rose, you can totally blame Daddy for this one) and suggested that we get them for Rose.

A couple of things:

a) Rose is a dream to photograph. She just seems to does what I tell her to do. Although at one stage, she did seem like she was a bit upset with me for putting her in such a ridiculous get up; and
b) even though I hate animals dressed as humans (with a few exceptions), I don't put this in the same category!

So expect a Christmas card in 2012 (I wasn't organised enough this year) with Rose's face on it! A star is born! :)

xoxo

"When is Santa coming???"

Yellow for summer...

I don't know why we don't host afternoon teas more often! I think I might start high teas again! And cocktail hour! :)

Kelly D was coming over for a coffee and a catch up and I thought that I would whip up some cupcakes! I was initially going to make coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream, but I wasn't sure if Kelly liked coffee, so I went with the vanilla cupcakes and vanilla buttercream. I have to say though that I was immensely pleased with the consistency of the buttercream.

Case and point:

Yes, I had a yellow thing going...

And in case you are wondering, it wasn't a special occasion. I just like making things pretty.

The cupcake recipe is the same with the ones I made for the engagement party if anyone wants to try it out!

End of another lovely weekend - I'm ready for a big work week now!

xoxo

The Macaron Chronicles... Part 1

So the macaron scene is blowing up. Cupcakes are so yesterday.

Whatever, I always like a challenge. Apparently they are really hard to make. Challenge accepted.

Yvonne told me that she attempted it 16 times and failed 16 times. That kinda scared me from making it and I resisted for a bit. But then I promised to make Miss Anna Banana a farewell cake and it was a cake for her and Josh. And therefore, it had to be (well, should be unisex). Her words to me were "If all fails, make a pink cake".

I came across this cake, from make-fabulous-cakes.com and I thought that it was amazing! While it was pink and girly, I thought that it was elegant and fabulous enough to get me over the line. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to attempt macarons. No time like the present though!

Photo credit

So first, as with most things, I did my research. I watched some "How to make macarons" videos on youtube, and went looking for a recipe. I finally found some for some chocolate macarons (I decided to make a pink cake with chocolate macarons as I didn't have any pink food colouring) and I found this recipe from David Lebowitz's website. The taste of the batter was delicious! And the end taste was delicious as well. Unfortunately, the macarons failed because:

a) I could not follow a simple instruction; and
b) I adopted the Australian "She'll be right" approach.

The result was an epic fail. They were starting to show some feet though - so I must try again.

Cracks and the tiniest sign of feet - hmmmm....

So why does my macaron have this shape? It was because I only had the swirly nozzle, so I thought that it would be fine to use. As you can see from the photo, it was NOT.

I liked the taste though.

My second attempt was thwarted by a rogue oven, who refused to work (but if I wanted to tell the truth, I stuffed up the timer). All I got were rock hard chocolate buttons and I nearly took out a tooth tasting it!

Hard. As. Rocks.

So is third time the charm? Sort of. Once again, the stupid nozzle got the better of me. I had the tiniest nozzle and I had massive problems trying to squeeze the batter out (which could be an indication of crap batter, but this was the same recipe as the first one - and it was delicious!). So my patience got the better of me, so I ditched the piping bag and grabbed a couple of spoons ( I don't actually know why I think that my method would be better than proven tried and tested methods!!!) and plonked them on the baking tray. And behold. They failed too.

Although two of them (which I piped with great difficulty through a stupid tiny nozzle) grew feet! Looks like I have to attempt it one more time!!!

Photographic evidence:

Feet! They have feet!!!

It better work on my fourth try.

Oh, and in case you guys are wondering - this was the farewell cake I ended up making (sorry Josh, but I did put a blue ribbon for you!)





Double carbs night...

Ok - so double carbs. Super naughty, but hey, it was a quick and easy dinner and definitely a crowd pleaser. The thing that will take the longest to cook would be the pasta! Nom nom nom... :)

Luke's DELICIOUS garlic bread as a side! Not that we needed any sides...

PASTA CARBONARA

Ingredients

125g bacon. thinly sliced

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp crea,

2 tbsp parmasen cheese (grated)

Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley ( I just used dried parsley cuz that was all I had)

400g pasta (in this case, I used tagliatelle)

Method

Cook the pasta until al dente.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and cook bacon until crispy.

Beat egg yolks, cream, cheese, salt and pepper together.

Drain the pasta and toss with egg mix, bacon and parsley and serve.

Serves 4.

Enjoy. :)

Remember, this dish is VERY rich (plus, it's double carbs) so don't eat it every night.

x

Ok - I totally had to add another photo! :)

Lest we forget...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest we forget.





My first solo road trip...






   
So I had to travel to Launceston. And no one was available to go with me. No matter. It was me, Tsouke, and the open road. And of course, the likes of GaGa, Rhiahanna (however you spell it), Taylor Swift dan lain-lain... (could not help using that phrase, it's been a while...)

So before I knew it, I was singing at the top of my lungs ("like a G6" to be precise) and zooming up the Midlands Highway. I loved the drive up there - scary at times (like when the trucks zoom past and the car moves a tad - WHOA) but it gave me a whole new appreciation for this beautiful state I live in. I so have to do this more often!!!

Unfortunately, because I was on a time crunch, I could not stop at all for any photos. I did manage to take some photos though - hope you like it!

And if anyone is interested, my playlist for the trip up there:

• Love the Way you Lie Part 1 and 2 - Rihanna and Eminiem;
• Like a G6 - Far East Movement
• Coming Home - P. Diddy
• S & M - Rihanna
• You Belong to Me - Taylor Swift
• Price Tag - Jessie J
• (and don't judge me on this, but I stumbled upon it) Hero - Enrique Inglesias
• Just the way you are - Bruno Mars
• You're an Ocean - Fastball
• Tarzan and Jane - Aqua (another questionable choice, but man, it was fun belting to it)
• Just Can't Get Enough - Black Eyed Peas
• Your Love is My Drug - Kesha
• We are Golden - Mika

It occurs to me that this would be a great playlist for running too. I might do that now.

Sunset dreams...

So I was making a little baby chicken out of yellow gumpaste (photos of that at a later stage) when I looked out of the window of my dining room and saw something that just took my breath away...

As they say a picture paints a thousand words, I might let my photos (and Kate Miller-Heidke) show you the beautiful 5 minutes of sunset I had tonight... xoxo

Cameron...

I'm back!!!

Yes, I have been away, but only because I have been crazy busy at work  and by the time I get home, I collapse on the couch and am dead to the world by 9pm. But yes, I'm back with a new partner in crime:

That's right. Luke and I have invested in a digital SLR. And word on the street is that this is the best entry level camera there is on the market. So we researched on ebay. The price was right, and the purchase was made!! Welcome little camera. I think I will name you Cameron. Cameron the Camera. (yes, I am very creative).

Cameron's stats are as follows:

Type	Digital single-lens reflex camera
Sensor	CMOS APS-C 22.2 x 14.8 mm (1.6x conversion factor)
Maximum resolution	10.1 effective megapixels, 3,888 x 2,592
Lens	Canon EF lens mount, Canon EF-S lens mount
Flash	E-TTL II automatic built-in pop-up, 13m ISO 100 guide number, 27mm (equivalent in 135 format) lens focal length coverage; compatible with Canon EX Series Speedlite external hotshoe-mount flashes
Shutter	focal-plane
Shutter speed range	1/4000 to 30 s and Bulb, 1/200 s X-sync
Exposure metering	Full aperture TTL, 35-zone SPC
Exposure modes	Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Program AE , Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, Manual, Auto Depth-of-field
Metering modes	Evaluative, Partial (approx. 10% at center of viewfinder), Center-weighted average
Focus areas	7 AF points
Focus modes	AI Focus, One-Shot, Predictive AI Servo, Live Mode in Live View; Quick Mode in Live View
Continuous shooting	3 fps for 514 JPEG frames or 1.5 fps for 5 RAW frames
Viewfinder	Eye-level pentamirror SLR, 95% coverage, 0.81x magnification
ASA/ISO range	ISO 100 to 1600
Flash bracketing	Yes
Custom WB	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Manual, user-set
WB bracketing	± 3 stops in 1-stop increments;
Rear LCD monitor	2.5 in color TFT LCD, 230,000 pixels
Storage	Secure Digital Card Secure Digital High Capacity
Battery	LP-E5 Battery Pack
Dimensions	126.1 x 97.5 x 61.9 mm
Weight	450 g (body only)
Optional battery packs	BG-E5

Type	Digital single-lens reflex camera
Sensor	CMOS APS-C 22.2 x 14.8 mm (1.6x conversion factor)
Maximum resolution	10.1 effective megapixels, 3,888 x 2,592
Lens	Canon EF lens mount, Canon EF-S lens mount
Flash	E-TTL II automatic built-in pop-up, 13m ISO 100 guide number, 27mm (equivalent in 135 format) lens focal length coverage; compatible with Canon EX Series Speedlite external hotshoe-mount flashes
Shutter	focal-plane
Shutter speed range	1/4000 to 30 s and Bulb, 1/200 s X-sync
Exposure metering	Full aperture TTL, 35-zone SPC
Exposure modes	Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Program AE , Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, Manual, Auto Depth-of-field
Metering modes	Evaluative, Partial (approx. 10% at center of viewfinder), Center-weighted average
Focus areas	7 AF points
Focus modes	AI Focus, One-Shot, Predictive AI Servo, Live Mode in Live View; Quick Mode in Live View
Continuous shooting	3 fps for 514 JPEG frames or 1.5 fps for 5 RAW frames
Viewfinder	Eye-level pentamirror SLR, 95% coverage, 0.81x magnification
ASA/ISO range	ISO 100 to 1600
Flash bracketing	Yes
Custom WB	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Manual, user-set
WB bracketing	± 3 stops in 1-stop increments;
Rear LCD monitor	2.5 in color TFT LCD, 230,000 pixels
Storage	Secure Digital Card Secure Digital High Capacity
Battery	LP-E5 Battery Pack
Dimensions	126.1 x 97.5 x 61.9 mm
Weight	450 g (body only)
Optional battery packs	BG-E5

So is this the new thing that I've decided to dabble in? Yes, photography. And in particular, food photography. What can I say - I am greedy by nature. :)

So Cameron arrived on Friday and I have been busy snap snap snapping photos. I have added some to my Flickr photostream (and I have opened a Flickr account).

By the way, as I am writing this, I have got one eye on the television, and it is the opening round of the AFL Season. Adelaide plays Hawthorn. I should say now that I hate Hawthorn with a passion, and Adelaide is currently losing - so this is bringing terrible memories to Round 1 last year when Jill, Luz and I were in Melbourne watching my team get absolutely throttled.

So where was I? Well, long story short, I am back and will be updating more often and hopefully with better photos.

xx