Tomorrow it begins!

145ml  Vanilla Extract

1.925kg  Caster Sugar

1.4kg   Self Raising Flour

28   Medium Eggs

1.4kg  Salted Butter

1kg  Unsalted Butter

1kg   Icing Sugar
Strawberry jam...

2.5kg   Marzipan

3.5kg   Sugarpaste

6"  cake board

8"  cake board

10"  cake board

13"  cake drum

15"  cake drum

9 plastic dowels

15mm white satin ribbon

35mm  pink  satin ribbon

Victorian Diamonte Brooch

Pearl Headed Pins...

Various already owned equipment

Peggy Porschen's Cake Chic

One whole day to bake

Five days to construct and decorate

One morning to deliver...

and me!

=

one Wedding Cake for the lovely Bride and Groom....

DONE! 

Or it will be come Saturday 1.30pm!  

This time last year when my friend and fabby Hairdresser, asked me if I would make her wedding cake,  I panicked and said "NO WAY! I couldn't possibly manage that!" before I realized I am forever proclaiming "give it a bash!" to my boys so really I should follow my own prompting.  I'd baked cakes with sugarpaste before for my Biscuits, the mystery machine, the T.A.R.D.I.S, faces of monsters etc and other 'playing - like I did with plasticine when I was a wee lass' cakes.   But nothing in the category of what I call 'proper' cakes, the kind you spend lots of money on from specialized bakers, the kind you ponder over the construction and execution of.  The kind 'you'd need training' to make. 

I found myself rising to the challenge and armed with Peggy Porschen's latest book (why not be instructed by the best?) I embarked on Project Wedding Cake!  Ever the practical I knew I needed to practice, I needed to build up to a three tier, one that will be on show to at least a hundred people, be photographed and be eaten by EVERYONE there ( I live in a world where everyone loves cake you hear me Heather!  I couldn't bear it any other way!) and had to look as good as any professionals or I wouldn't be satasfied!  

That cake could NOT be my first attempt.

I started off with a single tier for my Mum's 60th Birthday...

It went really, really well and I learned lots, mainly that 'yes I can do this' and more importantly it's fun.  It tasted so, so, so, so good!  Next I moved onto my parent-in-laws Ruby Anniversary two tier cake...

This one went even better and I got just a little [read a lot] over-excited and addicted to smoothing the sugarpaste and rubbing my hands all over it.  The compliments on the night boosted my confidence no end and this was my first ON SHOW cake, seen by over a hundred people who didn't laugh at it AND ate it AND came back for more!

So here I am about to start on the home straight of Project Wedding Cake and I am excited!  I can't wait to get started and in truth see my friends faces on the day and watch them get wed and then have a ball sharing in it all with them!

Wish me luck!

X

I cannot get enough of....

...tins!!

I am obsessed, addicted and enthralled by them and goodness Marks & Spencer know how to produce exceptional ones!

Here is their latest addition to my collection...

All you need is tea and a custard cream!  

I've said it before, here.

Isn't it wonderful?  Measuring over ten by seven and a half inches and holding four hundred grams of biscuits, it cannot fail but delight the senses!   

Sigh!!

Husband Biscuit despairs and asks...

"What will you do with this one?"  

Duh!!  

Does it really need saying ladies? No, I agree but I said anyways..

"Put stuff in it!" 

"What stuff?"  

I tell him to wheesht and eat up the contents, confounding, confusing and distracting him from a brain taxing (him not me) display of plain silly good cop questioning.  

   Sigh!

             Tins!

                        and                

                                 Sigh! 

                                     Custard Creams!  

By the way if any of you fancy making a homemade version, there's a fantastic recipe in Nigella's Feast.  If anyone would like the recipe let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.....it will be worth it, I promise!! 

X

I caught the bug...

...and I don't mean the midgey bites I got on Friday night from those dastardly beasties determind to get up my (ankle length I might add) skirt! I did mention how scary they are and not so put off by Skin so Soft as they should've been! Once the citronella candles got going so did they.  I didn't realize how much my poor legs had been bitten until predictably my body reacted to them two days later by coming out in itchy lumps.  I am covered in cream now.  My body does not react well to insect bites, unfortunately. 

Thankfully I did catch the camping bug!  The amazing scenery helped I'm sure, but the joys of getting back to basics and enjoying the outdoor life were truly inspiring and very comforting.  I also really enjoyed the atmosphere.  Reminded me of the good part of festival 'sleeping in a tent'.  Sharing the joy of it all together yet seperately.  I did remember to take a few snaps.....

It was a most enjoyable weekend until.......Sunday brought with it torrential rain and gale force winds!  Aahhh!!  If it wasn't so 'clothes stuck to your cold limbs and pants stuck to your cold bottom' wet it might have been funny.  Funny in that 'hysterical not funny at all really but if I don't laugh I'll cry' kind of way.  This is when my/our fondness for WendyHump died just after the 'like to get to know you more' stage and long before a second date is on the cards.  The old girl is not for us.  A little too small for a family and no room for sitting in if the weather isn't so good.  Yes she had her funky fringe/canopy going on which shielded us from some of the showers but this is not a relationship that got past the first date.  We also realized to our horror as the rain beat down on us that those around us in their non "canvas thirteen year old tents" had all their things including their tent packed up in a quarter of the time it took us to pack away the old dear.  This wore thin after about the fourth car left and we were still there packing up.  We are not inclined to have to pitch and pack her away often which rules out one night stays so we must say goodbye, so long to her.  I am glad to have met her though as she taught us what we want from our family tent which means we can go looking now for a modern one knowing exactly what we need.  I would hate to have spent a small fortune to find out camping sucks and be left with a smaller bank balance.  Suck, camping does not we are looking forward to doing it again.  Busy next few weeks though.  Sunday sees the start of the wedding cake baking/making week ending in the wedding on the Saturday for which I cannot wait to go to.  I love a wedding!  My Biscuits will be in kilts too and hopefully you will indulge me in seeing a photo or three! 

Can I just add that since the schools broke up on Wednesday it has rained almost non stop up here....rubbish!!!  I am very glad now I spent so much time relaxing in the garden ignoring the housework!

X

Essential kit, goodies and the joys of sheep and tractors!

What a week!  

Sigh with relief that today is the last day of school until 18th of August.  I am forcing (yes I did use that word!  Heehee!!) myself to 'chillax' today and enjoy the quiet.  Presents have been sewn and baked for teachers etc and now I am going to read in the garden caring not a jot about housework or such like.  It is the calm before the storm for we are off camping this weekend.  I am new to camping, going to music festivals in my youth doesn't count as camping. It can only be classified as 'sleeping' in a tent so not the same.  I am excited therefore to be doing it 'for real', playing house in the outdoors in our wendy house tent, known officially now as WendyHump.  The 'Hump' refers to the retro colours of our hand-me-down tent that remind me of Playschool's Humpty Dumpty, so no references to anything else ladies, OK!   I confess, I must name everything!  We inherited kit as well as the WendyHump herself so we are sort-ed with only a few things to add but Hubby was told in no uncertain terms that there was one piece of essential kit that had to be, just had to be purchased....

I have mentioned before I only do one coffee a day, cannae cope with too much caffeine but must have my morning cappuccino.  I could not contemplate a morning without a very good cup of milky coffee hence this purchase.  To be honest I have lusted after one of these for ages but could not be unfaithful to my beloved Gaggia, the divorce settlement could get nasty too.  I mean who would get the illy coffee????  Doesn't bear thinking about.....!  So that's us off to pitch by a loch, Avon's Skin So Soft at the ready for those scary Scottish midges, worse than any 'chib ye Weegies' ( Glaswegians who headbutt) and loaded up with essentials! 

We are ready to experience camping bliss!!

I was also lucky to receive my runner up winnings from Sarah's giveaway over at  Thimbles&Crumbles  at the weekend.  This lady oozes with exquisite taste.  It must seep out of her pores!  She also takes the most wonderful macro photographs.  Go look if you haven't already!

Lucky me!!  Looksee...

Part of my package was a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding for me to experiment with on my quest for the toppermost of recipes.  What a shame I'll have to try it out!  Thanks again lovely Sarah!

On Sunday we ventured off to The Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.  I seriously have a thing for tractors and farm equipment. It's the humongous tyres I think that does it for me.  Some of the colour combos were delicious...

I have no idea of the names of either the company whose stuff comprises of this gorgeous lime green, orange and black (even though Hubby told me quite a few times!) or what some of the machinery actually does but boy I loves the colours!  My Biscuits also got to sit in a few tractors...

This is as happy as they looked,  they were desperate to get home to play their new Harry Potter Logo Wii game they have been waiting to come out since Christmas!

The animals at the show were stinking cool too.  Although managed to totally miss the pigs.  Pants!  We watched a final of sheep sheering with blades which was really fun to see.  Men man-handling animals getting hot and sweaty was no hardship for me to enjoy! I love sheep and it's a wonderful thing to see so many different breeds, some even had faces that looked more like dogs?!?  A sheep with a black face ( black faced are my favourite) and attitude caught my eye....

I did boost this shot but he or she really was the colour of Iron-bru!  It shouted at me lots and I was smitten.

Cute!

The Show was very busy and at times it made it hard to see anything but the sun was shining and many people were happy England were getting beat (not sporting at all but c'mon it's traditional!) so the atmosphere was great.  We were exhausted by the end.  It's a bit of a big deal up here so if you ever get a chance to visit....

My that felt like a long post, take care lovelies, my book awaits!

X

Is it just me or.....

is anyone else struggling to get house-y, read boring rubbish domestic chores, done in this sunshine?  I find myself each day after walking my Biscuits to school doing this........

...when of course I have a long, long list of things needing done.  In my part of Scotland it's been sunny for over two weeks now, not always warm but bright.  Thus, the ironing monster is growing and goodness I go on about it enough for you to know how much I hate ironing at the best of times so how, lordy how am I suppose to force myself to do it when it's sunny outside?  Does anyone else find themselves placing the pile on lower down objects so it doesn't look quite so huge?  If only I stop moving it around the house and actually deal with it but no......manyana to that I say!!!

I am very lucky, there are no real consequences to putting it all off, only guilt that I'm a rubbish housewife and my ego can cope with that!  I inhabit that happy medium betwixt 'the scary heebie-jeebie Queen of The Fear' Anthea Turner and Waynetta the Slob so it's all good!  As long as my brood get fed after their days at school and work, that's the least I can do after lounging in the garden for most of the day!

My I love blogging!  You see how I wrote my way into feeling justified to sit in my garden, surrounded by the birds singing and my cats snoring (Hamish is really loud!) and craft my day away.  As the lovely Vanessa from Coco Rose said yesterday "being spoon fed from the happiness jar".  Isn't that a lovely way to describe contentedness?  It's not too hard to be so, the sun makes it easier to feel happiness and not spending time in my house makes it easier to ignore those 'clean me' signs!

X

Up to our necks!

"Hello everybody"

(I'm saying that in the voice of Dr Nick from the Simpsons)

It is two weeks until the end of the school year so you can imagine we are up to our necks in it, projects and homework to be finished, finding out new teachers and classrooms, assemblies, fun days, day trips, gifts to be made and baked, lists and more lists........you all know exactly what I mean!  AND I have a sore mouth yet again after my trip to the orthodontist yesterday so it was tomato soup from a tin for lunch in the hope that the childhood memory of eating it will help me forget how much I'd actually like to use my teeth to chew something, anything really.  It's amazing the things I suddenly crave when I know I cannot eat them.  The plan of pasta tonight seems now to be a ridiculous pipe dream in which I should have known better. It's not even my teeth, not really, it's my whole face, starting in my jaw and spreading all over and it makes me a right auld misery guts.  I do have to add that on top of that I lost a stone out of my favourite antique ring yesterday too and it makes me sad, boo-hoo!!  One of three large opals so very noticeable and unwearable I'm afraid to say.  I don't quite understand why my face is making me feel poorly but it is.  I've spent the better part of today sewing because reading wouldn't work, I just couldn't concentrate so I don't get why sewing was OK.  Of course I have decided to make six felt cupcakes for Teachers and the Nursery staff I help out when I pretend to have a career as a Librarian, like I haven't got enough to do!!

I am starting to yearn for the holidays even though I know after a few weeks I'll be ready to lock my Biscuits up in the shed. I equally love and loathe not having a set routine for the days.  We have just inherited a tent and equipment from my Hubby's parents so camping here we come, we have a wedding (remember THAT cake!!) and a canal boat holiday to look forward to. Lots of fun things but I'm feeling sorry for myself and very hormonal so add to that some guilt coming my way when I get grumpy with my Biscuits for something/anything later today!

Feel free to tell me to get a grip and cheer up, maybe a row will help me from marinating in meloncholy for too long!

X

Shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town!

I got some troubles but they won't last

I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass

and pretty soon all my trouble will pass

'cause I'm in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo,

shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town.

I never had a dog that liked me some

never had a friend or wanted one

so I just lay back and laugh at the sun

'cause I'm in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo,

shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town.

Yesterday it rained in Tennessee

I heard it also rained in Tallahassee

but not a drop fell on little old me

'cause I'm in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo,

shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town.

If I had a million dollars or ten

I'd give to ya, world and then

you'd go away and let me spend

my life in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo,

shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town.

la la la la la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la 

My life in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo,

shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town.

Nancy Sinatra's Sugar Town.

  my Sugar Town!

Peanut Butter Fudge from the delicious Miss Dahl.


X

A poem and the return of moany face Ali....if she ever went away!

 

The Owl and the Stormtrooper!

The Owl and the Stormtrooper went to a shelf in a beautiful oak wood frame.

With a background of stripes and pretty flowers.

Oh how Owl yearned for a game.

The Stormtrooper yelled "NO!" and gave Owl a thump to which Owl showed him his back and was greatly with hump.

No longer friends the Stormtrooper made his leave.

Owl showed much relief at this sought after reprieve.

He now spends his days hooting away without violent frame-mates who don't want to play.

THE END

I wrote this while I spent the better part of Tuesday playing with Picnik and my Flikr.  I truly am at my most silly when avoiding the domestic drudgery that is housework. That was a day of mischief making........

Now yesterday was a bad, bad, bad day.  I understand in the big scheme of things a bit of perspective may be required but I am forfeiting that just now because I am distraught, as in, hand on my brow, yelling on Hill, in a Mrs Bennet fashion.  Our Sky+ decided to stop working, not that big a deal I hear you cry.  I for one only partake in TV of an evening so yes not really a big deal until you are informed that the only, the only, the only way to fix it is to reset the whole thing.  I have to take a deep breath for this bit..............and that means everything, everything, EVERYTHING in your Skyplanner will go, be gone, be erased, never to come back again.   

     Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

My Delicious Miss Dahl's, Time Team, Blitz Street, the Terry Pratchett stuff I haven't even watched yet................and

our 

effing 

Doctor Who's!

I love Doctor Who, it is my favourite (which I can just about say because no Criminal Minds were lost because I was up to date), it is my beloved, my Saturday 'to be repeated whenever I want' entertainment and effing Rory just died, not just died but never even existed (boohhoo!!) and I've only seen it once.  I need to see them more than once you see.  I am that geek who re-watches for missed bits or hidden things and to see if where there is that darn crack!  Again with the Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Look for the positives Ali c'mon!......

The dvd is due out on the 7th, sounds good until I saw at Amazon it's only three episodes for 9.99.  Pants to that.

Then I remembered BBC iplayer and my insides calmed just enough for me to breath once more.

I did manage to prevent my Biscuits from being too upset because I was the one having the drama queen hissy fit but do you blame me, really do you?

X