Christmas Baking.

Hello everyone,

Had a busy weekend. Christmas is crazy time of year. Baking, knitting and just living between Christmas parties. Mr.C wanted cupcakes for his work, so being a lovely housewife delivered. 18 cupcake double chocolate with chocolate buttercream icing. Then not to leave anyone out I made gluten free cupcake as well. Red Velvet mix with royal icing topped with sliver balls.

The berries where made by rolling three little balls, then using little scissors made a cross. Giving them character, and not to look like rolled red fondant. Then using flower & leaves mixer on the berries to make them have a shinny look to standout a little more.

Yes I know they aren't "holly" shaped leaves, but are rose leaves. But I was running on 3 hours of sleep and they look fine. The leaves where made from green fondant, cut out by a rose leave shape cutter, then pressed into a veiner. Once the leaves where all cut out and shaped, I then painted them with a little of the same green watered down. To make the veins standout more, and to give a retro finish.

The Gluten Free minis where iced using Pure Icing sugar mixed with egg whites only and vanilla essence. I love using this icing. TIP: using eye whites instead of water, gives the end result a silk look. And it is always good to flavor the icing as it tastes a little odd by itself.

On another note...
I was reading through my grandmothers recipe trying to find her traditional English Trifle Recipe. No Luck, :( 

But I did find a Christmas cake from my great grandmother from Warracknabeal Victoria. What a find. Look at the lovely handwriting. Along with the cake, I found Grandma's ANZAC biscuits, wedding fruit cake and pav recipe. And not to mention the secret self base quiche.


Rachel    

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Great gift ideas!

Great gift ideas

Coming up with great gift ideas can be hard, particularly when we find ourselves having to buy presents all year round.  Whether it’s for a birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s, Christmas or any other occasion, we constantly need to keep inspired to make sure every present is special and fully appreciated.  Sometimes, we leave it till the last minute to buy gifts and often fall short, getting something obvious or uninspired.  The first trick is to leave plenty of time in advance, so you can come up with some ideas, or make the necessary arrangements if it requires planning.  Here are a few gift suggestions that should go down well whatever the occasion:

Holiday

Most people enjoy going on holiday, especially if they live in a country with a particularly miserable climate.  This would require quite a bit of planning in advance, particularly if the receiver is in full-time work – you would have to secretly make arrangements for time off with their supervisor.  Alternatively, you could opt for a short weekend holiday and not travel too far.  Budget airlines offer some great prices for flights to European cities close by. If you have a credit card which allows you to save air miles you could always use those if not why not complete a credit card application online.  You could also opt for an all-inclusive weekend package that includes travel and accommodation, making it easier on your part.  Try to choose a destination that you know your partner will enjoy – if they’re fond of culture, look at some of Europe’s cosmopolitan capitals, or if they prefer sandy beaches, maybe consider one of the mainly seaside resorts around the Mediterranean.

Experience

Falling roughly into the same category as a holiday, the idea of ‘experience’ gifts is to give your loved one memories that last a life time.  Depending on what your partner likes (and can stomach), you could look into high-energy adrenalin-pumping activities as these tend to be unforgettable.  Depending on where you are, or how far you are prepared to travel, suggestions would include Bungee jumping, abseiling, surfing or rock climbing amongst many others.  However, it’s worth being sure that your loved one will take part as you could be out of pocket for nothing!

Mix-tape/Record

Mix-tapes have always made good presents, but have perhaps decreased in popularity over the years.  A recent surge in vinyl as a fashionable format means that record ‘mix-tapes’ can now be manufactured.  Some pressing plants offer deals on one-off vinyl pressings, meaning you can customize your present down to the last detail.  Make sure your loved one has a turntable though as it won’t be playable without one!

Vertical Garden

Hi everyone,

At the moment we are reno our bathroom. To anyone that has done a bathroom, why didn't tell me that it is so painful?!?!?! I am in the hunt for DIY tutorials on how to make an inside / indoor vertical garden easy and simple. Yes this is what I'll be doing over easter. I want to create a fern garden in our bathroom. Pretty cool I thought. But the practical side of things is quite hard. As where does the water go raises a problem. I am in the planning stage and have drawn one idea mainly to get it out of my head and onto paper so I can sleep to night.

Source image: renovationplanning.blogspot.com.au

♥ Rachel