Softie

I have been flat out with study, so I haven't had a chance at all to creep onto my blog, but alas I have 5min to spare!

I borrowed this book from the library:And Littleman asked me to make him a lizard. Now as I explained earlier I have been really busy, if I'm not at college, I'm a headless chook doing housework or general things that my little hobbies have had to be placed at the end of the very big to-do list and trying to explain to a 6 year old that I will make his softie as soon as I have time is not good enough.

So I found 30 minutes last night and managed to make the body, I showed Littleman this morning so that he could see I had started but his face just lit up with joy... it seems I had made him the next best thing - A Tadpole!

I have 4 little legs all cut out and ready to go, so I guess when this tadpole grows up it will turn into a lizard!

Comment from The Man on my latest creation: "Why did you make a sperm?"

From this to this

I took this Bacardi Breezer cooler bag:

And turned it into a Tupperware Sandwich keeper lunch bag!

So no more warm sandwiches as I can slip in an ice-pack on the side and it's rather groovy too.

I don't really like breezers but I did end up having one as my sewing machine went bezerk and was stitching it's own style of stitches without my permission.

I'm enjoying college but it seems to take all my time, when I'm not there I'm racing about catching up on things and studying, but I'll hopefully reorganise soon.

Happy dreams are made of this

I'm so happy that Supernatural is back on!

The Shoulder Bag

So I was mentally tortured today during the 4 hour long orientation at my tertiary collage and all I was thinking about was that my super cute tote bag wasn't big enough! It did do the job of carrying books as I expected it to but someone forgot that they would require to eat during these days and as I don't have the resources to buy my lunch, I'll need to bring it. Boo Hoo there isn't much space in my bag for a drink bottle and sandwich... so I'm going to fiddle with the pattern to make another bigger bag. Not a loss though as a girl can never have to many bags, right?!

For those who are interested in making your own cute tote shoulder bag, I found the free pattern from (who I'm assuming is) a wonderful woman named Melissa who is a New Zealander living in Norway, please visit her blog Tiny Happy.

NB: All I learnt today was that my mobile phone must be OFF, not on SILENT, not on VIBRATE, but OFF!

Catch-up

I've realised that I have wanted to blog about a few things and have forgotten or the timing was not right. So The Man is on night shift and I have a chance to catch-up and blog away!

For my birthday last year, I requested a flashy apron and baking bit's and bobs. As I received some cash, I was able to go out and get loads of cookie cutters, some paste gels and other little things but all I really wanted was my apron. Before we knew it Christmas was looming, so cash was short, then car rego & insurance and just when I thought we had gotten over the hump of our big financial issues the quarterly utilities arrived in the mail...blah my apron had to wait.

But a couple of weeks ago The Man gave me the thumbs up to order my apron, it arrived last week from Los Angela, Calafornia USA, I was so excited:

Presented so sweet

My apron is a very cute vintage inspired full apron with a sweetheart neckline, I love it - whether it makes me a better cook, we are yet to see or taste!

Thank you so much Boojiboo! Go grab your own retro or vintage apron at her Etsy store.

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After being a SAHM for 8 and half years (wow that is a long time) I feel the need to return to the workforce or at least use my brain (if it still works). A year or so ago my Brother and sister in law who run an accountancy business said that if I did a book keeping course that I could work for them, and so that is what I am about to do. It's not my dream job, I'd love to become a librarian but I don't have the money for a university degree and I know I would enjoy studying baking or Pastry cooking, but as for a future in it, very unlikely.

Little Big Man has suddenly turned into a food monster, as soon as it's in the house it all seems to vanish, so we need the extra money as our food bill will likely get bigger as he and Littleman get bigger.

So I was thinking, can you classify me a SAHM anymore? I can't change my blog name, I will be working from home once I'm all trained, so in essence I am still a SAHM. I do like the sounds of full-time student though, makes me feel all youthful!

I start on Monday - 2010 really is going to be a new me.

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Some time ago I needed a new handbag and I hated all the styles of bags in the stores I went to and so I decided that I would make my own. I found some gorgeous leather and equally nice lining and then it all just sat there for months and months. I finally got my act together in the school holidays and made it. Going back to study spurred me on as I needed a bag to carry books in and I'm to cool too carry a backpack (let me have my dreams) and I thought I could finally use the material I had and make a tote.

Well it turned out too nice for lugging about books in and so I headed to the local charity shop, found a huge denim skirt and a sarong and presto, I now have 2 bags!

I'm also so impressed with my sewing efforts that I have bought more material to make a smaller type of tote, more like an over the shoulder bag. Guess what all the girl family members will be getting this year for Christmas? Totes!

Spider giggles

It was time for some Next Blog >> where I randomly let blogger send me to other blogs and I stumbled on this:

which had me giggling like a little girl, I love a little bit of silly humor!

Yee Haa!

I finally found some patty pans that are the right size for my cupcake papers!

I shop in this store (Big W) all the time and I have never ever seen them there, I have been rather obsessive and always check the kitchen section every time we are in the store (also you never know what other baking tool goodies may be on special, so best to constantly check.

I'm so happy I'm off to bake something yummy using my new patty pan tins!

Background

Apologies for my background at the moment, I am trying to make my own but am having some sizing issues.

Update: So I think I have it to the size I want, I've checked on Firefox and it looks okay there too. What do you think? I like nature and it feels more like me now, but now that I have a clue what to do and it was so easy you may have to put up with me changing it every once in a while.

Will work on a new header to match soon.

Adult cupcakes

As much as I love baking cupcakes, they are generally for the kids but every once in a while a recipe comes up that is simply only for the adults to enjoy, no kiddie fingers made it to these:

Apple Streusel Cupcakes by Exclusively Food

Australia Day Lamington's

We can't truly celebrate Australia day (26th Jan) without a batch of Lamington's:

Start with a delicious slab of butter cake (or sponge)

Cut into cubes

Dip into chocolate icing

cover in coconut

Yummo!

Recipe by: Donna Hay

Cupcake dilemmas!!

Please have a good look at the above photo and you can clearly see how the cupcake patty is heaps smaller then the baking tin (a muffin tin) but do you think that I am able to find a cupcake baking tin? Nup, I have searched far and wide and I swear I have been to every baking/catering website in the world, from Canada to the UK to no avail - WHY?

Why in the hell make cupcake patty's that do not fit into muffin pans, yes I know they make muffin patty papers, but why make cupcake patty papers with no tin to cook them in. I asked the store where I get my cupcake papers and they state that I should just double line my cupcakes and place on a standard try - rubbish, I want a tin, I want two!

I will not be satisfied till I have one, for the time being I will just have to continue having crappy lopsided cupcakes, barrr humbug!

If anyone reads this and knows where I can buy a cupcake tin with a base of 45mm diameter and 32mm high, please share!

French Macaroons

I tried and although they tasted great I do believed that I failed. The process seems relatively easy but there is heaps of waiting going on and fiddly piping, I just assumed that I could whipped them up in a hour or two but it's more like a 24hr process if you want them perfect.

All piped and ready to sit about to rest...
My camera is giving me the craps at the moment in macro, so apologies for the blurry shot.

My Macaroons:

What they are meant to look like:

I do not give up easily, I will try them again, this time when the kids are not around as the more I said "don't touch" they couldn't help themselves.

Why buy when you can bake at home!

My entire family loves Arnotts Full 'O Fruit Slices and they are not that cheap when you have to buy several packets and to me they seemed rather simple and so I thought it would be really easy to find a recipe and make it at home.

Well finding a recipe that seemed to match wasn't that easy, some looked like big slices others were like cakes, nothing that even remotely looked like it would turn out the biscuit I wanted. Well I don't give up that easy and found a recipe on a playgroup forum and gave it a go:

This is the Arnotts version:

My version: (yet to be cut up)

Although I haven't tasted it yet, it smells great but it feels slightly crumbly and not as hard as the biscuit should be, but it's similar enough, easy peasy and quick too.

During the baking time I kept searching for other recipes and found this one, it sounds like it may be the one, it's called a Fly Cemetery which doesn't sound appealing at all, but I will give it a go next time.

Now The Man said that my Napolitains didn't have enough Jam in them last time, so I made some more adding heaps of jam and they looked just awful - why do I listen to that man!

These are my son's favorite homemade biscuits, they are requested more then anything else I bake. The recipe was from the book "Honey Biscuits":

I tried to pipe them rather blob them as normal (you are meant to roll them into balls and then into cinnamon sugar - but I'm lazy, I just sprinkle on top) but my piping bag broke, so blob away:

Umm, I forgot them in the oven, they are not meant to be that golden, but they still taste great!

Diet baking?

Is it even possible?

The following biscuit/cookie is a Mauritian sweet, it was something that my grandmother made and only on special occasions and they are just melt in your mouth butter YUM. The reason that they are melt in your mouth butter is because they are 70% butter. Traditionally they are iced pink, but as I have males in my house who refuse to eat anything iced pink, I had to ice a few plain. They are relatively easy to make, but as with most pastries it took forever to have the final product.

Find the recipe here: Napolitaines

Napolitaines:

Now the following is a diet sweet treat that I made as I'm trying to shed a few kilo's before our breach holiday in March and were having guests coming over. In essence it is just a huge scone cut up, rolled with sugar, cinnamon and sultana's. I found it dry and very unappealing, something I am very unlikely to make again, but my guests loved it... I still don't like it. Recipe taken from A.Sym "Symply Too Good to be True" Book 3 pg 64

Fruit Scone Rolls