This week I'm grateful for... Monday night drinking


Aha! Blogger is back!

So, where was I? That's right...

I can’t remember the last time I went out drinking on a Monday night… maybe I’ve never done it? Monday drinking just seems so… committed. And foolhardy. That’s certainly how I felt when I woke up on Tuesday and realised that I’d somehow come down with a terrible virus overnight. Isn’t it funny how that happens? And then the realisation: oh my freakin’ god, it’s only Tuesday.

Of course it was the crazy, social world of blogging that had me out on a school night. For the first time ever I mixed my URL with my IRL* and met a whole bunch of bloggers at the Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers** launch party.  Highlight was definitely knocking back a couple of contraband ciggies in a back laneway, in the rain with Woogsy, BabyMac and Lori. Hardcore. Felt like I was eighteen again. There were so many fabulous bloggers there that I can’t mention them all, but a quick shout out to Chantelle, Kirrily, Fox in Flats, Kellie  Kerri, Farmer’s Wifey, Clare, Caitlyn and, of course, that gorgeous gal PPMJ.

So, this week I’m grateful for…

124. Monday night drinking – ‘cos it’s just so great to invest in shaking things up and doing new stuff, even if you have to pay for it the next day. I actually think the majority of my hangover was mainly due to the 227 cigarette I smoked (I haven’t been a ‘smoker’ in about eight years!) and the 1768 shelled peanuts I ate at the laneway bar we washed up in. Couldn't have been those,oh, 3 wines I drank... right?

125. IRL – I’m so glad I now know some of our lovely bloggers IRL.

126. URL – But I’m equally as glad that I still love them (and so many, many more) in URL.



So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) andpretty-please add a link back to me.  Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 

Happy weekend to you!

* This rather magical term was coined by MultipleMum at the AMB. Love your work, Aunty Coo.
** You can vote for me here. Don’t be shy








[Image via weheartit]

Gluten-free banoffee cupcakes

Banoffee Easter Cupcake

Gluten-free banoffee cupcakes (makes 24 cupcake size cakes)

Ingredients
  • (4.5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon (1/6 ounces) natural vanilla extract
  • 250g (2/3 cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
  • 2 eggs
  • 250g (1 cup) self-raising flour
  • 4 fresh bananas, mashed
  • 130g extra small fudge chunks


Cooking instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F)
  2. Line muffin tray with paper cases or baking tray with silicone cases
  3. Beat butter, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour
  4. Stir in flour, mashed banana and fudge chunks
  5. Divide mixture among cases
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes
  7. Place cakes on a wire rack to cool


To Decorate (24 cupcake size cakes)

What you will need


Instructions
  1. Spoon green buttercream into a piping bag or bottle fitted with a nozzle attached
  2. On top of the cakes, starting at outside edge and working in circles, pipe buttercream by squeezing a small amount on to cake at 90 degree angle, pulling up and away when icing strand is long enough (about 3 cm) stop squeezing and pull tip away at various angles (see pics for how-to)
  3. Push fondant flowers lightly into iced grass


Easter cupcake stands

Have a sweet day!

Felt cakes

Felt Cakes on Etsy
This week on "Wonderful World of Etsy" I bring you a selection of the cutest felt cakes and sweet treats from Milkfly. My mouth waters looking at the banana cream pie with its thinly slices of banana and peaks of cream and the nutty coated chocolates look so real! Pure genius! I would love to get some of these for Molly's new playhouse!


Have a sweet day!

Removing the hurdle


Every now and then the responsibility of being a parent king-hits me right between the eyes. More than the usual 'am I doing this right?' angst. More than the permanent worry that one of my children might turn out to be 'that kid'.* More even than the constant quest to get the right kind of nutrients into those little bodies. More than that.

Yesterday was our school's K-2 cross country. A lap around the back oval with the long-jump pit thrown in for the 'country' bit; run to much fanfare. Neither of my children was remotely interested in participating, Cappers is quite nervous about doing anything that will be judged in front of a large group - more on that another time for this is Maxi's story.

Maxi moaned and groaned about having to actually run and come in last place because "that's just the way I turn out every single time." Very matter-of-fact, but a catch was there. A sigh.

It breaks your heart to hear your child talk like that. You can tell them time and time again that it "doesn't matter where you place, just that you finish the race." But I guess deep down we're all thinking, yeah, right. Even at seven they know that that's not really how the world works.

Well, yesterday, I learned that while that might be true, it's still, thank god, not the way that happiness works.

See, it's me with the problem.

I'm the one who's been a little bit ashamed that my son isn't the superstar sporty type. That he's the kid inspecting the grass while his team scores a goal. That's he's the one trailing behind all his friends as they race into the bush to look for treasure. I get slightly panicked about what he'll do when sport is everything to his peers and not to him.

It seems that deep down I'm a little bit ashamed of his lack of prowess and a whole lot ashamed that I feel that way.

The thing is, until yesterday, I hadn't even realised that I felt shame. I've never acknowledged it. If someone had asked me about Maxi's sporting abilities or lack thereof, I would have made a little joke that showed how proud I was of him regardless. And I was always proud of him - my beautiful, strong, lit-from-within son; but now I realise that there was a big, fat 'but' attached to that pride.

Yesterday.

Yesterday, my non-sporty son felt the fear and did it anyway. He started that race with a smile and a slap on the back from a mate and he ran that race with a smile and he finished in last place barr one (kid fell over) with a smile that would light up the moon.

Watching him run around that field, wind at his back, joy in just the doing of it, I thought my heart would leap out of my chest with pride. This was what pride without the buts felt like. Just enormous, gushing pride and so much joy in his joy and no thought about what it meant for me or about me.

It's not about me. It is never about me. None of this parenting business is. My children's achievements are their own, just as their hurdles are their own. It's about them and their place in the world and it's up to me to stand back and let them find that place, even if it's last place. To get out of the way with my ego and my pride and my little ideas about what they should and shouldn't be doing.

To just get out of the way already, and let those sweet kids run their own race.



* You know that kid. Every school has that kid. We all remember that kid.


[Image by tallthinguy]

Seriously, a dwarf?

I'm not entirely sure how we got around to the subject, but Mum and I were talking about midgets the other night, as you do. (Is the term midget acceptable? I apologise if not). I work with a woman who is a person of small stature and I was telling Mum that Leona's* young children are 'normal sized children' and taller than she is. Again, not sure how it came up, but chats with my Mum tend to cover most things.

So, on Saturday Cappers had a 'morning tea' date at her friend Sam's to make cupcakes. Which left Maxi and The Badoo alone for the first time in... well, probably forever. I said to Max, "what do you think you'll do all day without Cappers?" and he said, "I'm going to play with The Badoo for the whole entire day. She's all mine."

Fabbo, I thought.

I stopped in to see how they were going a little bit into their morning. "What are you playing?" I asked.

"Mums and Dads. The Badoo is the Mum and I'm her son."

"Sounds great, but The Badoo is a really small mother." (You can see where this is going.)

"Yes," he said, quick as you like. "She's a dwarf and I'm her normal-sized child."

Ah, I see. I don't even know where he got the term 'dwarf' from, but it was probably from the kind of dreadful person who uses the term midget.

What conversations have your children eavesdropped on lately? Incidentally, don't feel bad about sharing. I still can't get The Badoo to stop saying 'For Fox Sake' every now and then and now Maxi has introduced dwarfism into his role playing. Must be more careful!

* Hi Leona!

Hand-made honeycomb chocolate bunny head

Rabbit printed foil wrapped chocolate bunny head

Last Easter I made chocolate bunny heads filled with home-made honeycomb and they went down such a treat with my friends! This year I made them again but this time I made their faces with white chocolate and coloured their eyes with blue chocolate and their noses with pink chocolate.

Hand-made honeycomb chocolate bunny head
What you will need


Instructions
  1. Temper (melt) 2 tbsp white chocolate
  2. Place 1 tbsp of the melted white chocolate in small bowl and stir in pink food coloring until colour is even
  3. Place a small drop of pink chocolate into nose of bunny moulds
  4. Place 1 tbsp of the white chocolate in small bowl and stir in blue food coloring until colour is even
  5. Place a small drop of blue chocolate into eyes of bunny moulds
  6. Lightly tap moulds so chocolate lays flat and air bubbles are removed, and leave to set
  7. Temper (melt) rest of white chocolate
  8. Pour into bunny moulds so white chocolate is about 1 cm deep and leave to set
  9. Fill bunny moulds with chunks of honeycomb
  10. Temper (melt) milk chocolate
  11. Pour milk chocolate over honeycomb to fill the moulds and leave to set
  12. Turn out chocolate bunnies and wrap in foil.


Hand-made honeycomb chocolate bunny head
Handmade honeycomb filled bunnies
Bunny printed foil

The pretty pink rabbit aluminum foil is from Daiso Japan a Japanese 100 yen ($1, £1) store. I bought mine from Jusco, the Hong Kong equivalent of a £1 store, back in November of last year on a work trip.


Mini non-stick cake pan, 6 cavity - bunnies

Available in my store.

Have a sweet day!

Exciting Sweet Style Shop News

Some exciting news to share today as the Sweet Style website is very close to being launched.  There is still a bit of tweaking to do but I am delighted to announce that as well as offering my candy and dessert table service I will also have an online store which will be stocking all of the gorgeous cake stands, bowls, glassware and other lovely items for sale.

One of the most exciting items to be stocked in the store will be the gorgeous milk cake stands which I love so much.  I have been using these cake stands on every table recently as they look great by themselves or stacked on top of one another - they are such an elegant and classic design.


  I am now taking orders for these items due for delivery in a few weeks.
I am stocking the stands in four (4) colours:

Milk
 Pink
Jade
 Buttercream

All four (4) colours will be available in four sizes 15cm (6"), 22cm (9"), 25cm (10") and 30cm (12").

I will share more with you about other items in the store very soon but
get in quick to order your favourite cake stand. At this stage email me at leanne@sweetstyle.com.au with your requirements and and I will advise further details.

Here are a few more pictures of how I have used these gorgeous cake stands recently.

(Pictured above is 30cm and 25cm)

(Pictured above is 30cm, 25cm and 15cm)

(Pictured above is 30cm, 25cm and 15cm)

Images: Sweet Style

Leanne
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