Pirate Cookies

Yesterday was pirate day at kinder, so much fun, such a beautiful winter's day, so much party food to consume.

We made some sugar pirate cookies to take.  Here's the recipe if you feel inspired to create some cookies for the kiddies

Sugar Cookies

makes 26 pirates

print me

ingredients

• 250g butter, room temperature
• finely grated zest of one lemon
• 170g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 330g plain flour

method

• beat butter, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer for about a minute then add egg and water and mix until well combined
• sift over the flour and mix just until incorporated
• knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it comes together and flatten into a disc and put in the fridge for 30 min
• preheat oven to 180C/160C fan and grease your baking trays
• roll out dough on lightly floured surface until about 5mm,  you can roll dough between two sheets of baking paper but I prefer to lightly dust surface with flour and roll out that way
• cut out circles and place on baking trays
• bake for about 10-12 mins, only until slightly golden
• allow to cool and decorate

decorated with fondant, painted on with food colours and drawn on with special food dye pens

It's a beautiful sunny day here today so we are going for a walk to our favourite oppie

Sending you some sunshine lovely friends ♥

* I'd love for you to pop round to my new page if you haven't already
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Sticky date pudding

Now if I tell you I have never made sticky date pudding would you believe me.  Well I haven't and after hearing how absolutely amazing it was the other night at the NCB I had to make it.

I can't believe how easy it was to make and it was perfect to take when we went to a friends for dinner the other night.

Sticky date pudding

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ingredients

• 220g chopped dates
• 80ml hot water
• 100g butter, room temperature
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 230g plain flour sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 60ml milk

caramel sauce

• 200g butter
• 250g brown sugar
• 250ml cream

method

• place dates and hot water into a bowl, stir to combine and set aside
• preheat oven to 180C/160C fan, grease a 20cm square cake tin or rectangular tin or small loaf tins
• place butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy
• add eggs one at a time and beat to combine
• add sifted baking powder and flour, dates and milk and beat until just combined
• spoon into tin and bake for about 35 min, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  if using smaller tins, check at 20 min mark
• to make sauce place butter, sugar and cream into a saucepan over a low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved
• turn up the heat slightly and allow to simmer until thickened, about 10min
• pour warm sauce over pudding and enjoy

Such a perfect winter treat.  Do you have a perfect winter recipe?

My all time favourite winter treat is definitely rice pudding.


Off you go, you know you want to make some sticky date pudding ♥
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Phewww...Hottie Challenge done

Are you one of those people that leave everything until the very last minute then get that adrenalin rush of having to finish it off before heading off to school for pick up.

Luckily I am not one of those people, all my projects are thought  out weeks and weeks before they are due

unfortunately though getting them from inside my head to the actual production stage is a totally different matter...

Hottie Challenge all done and personally delivered to the loveliest hottie of them all.

Some amazing creations round here, more hottie goodness over here, super hottie always round here

Really wonky sewing by me, artwork by Miss Amelie (5)
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Thank you!

Kitchen sorted...thanks mum

pics uploaded, edited and sent from friends...thanks Holly

final money count...thanks again mum 

kids in bed..phewww

so know I can tell you about my afternoon tea..yay!

Firstly it was the best fun ever, really was! It was so good to see so many familiar faces and so many new ones.

I was so exhausted but it was exhaustion that i absolutely loved in the end.

Loved because I worked hard and achieved even more than I myself expected.

The love from you all was absolutely amazing, you girls are absolutely awesome!

The list of genuine fabulousness is in no particular order because you are all equally beautiful

A Little Vintage

Teddybearswednesday

The Handmaden

Chunkychooky

Yardage Design

Curlypops

Betty Jo

Mad Stitches

Cotton Kiwi

Pardon my Chaos

Spunkerella

Chantal Vincent

Myrtle & Eunice

Polly Pratt

Mira Narnie

Confectioners Favourite

Dimattina Coffee 
Intimo

Coles

Woolworths

My beautiful sister, my gorgeous sister-in-law, my lovely friends Louise, Teresa, Miss Holly, my gorgeous cousin and beautiful friend Vera for taking pics for me and of course the lovely Nikki for opening up her studio for us.

The raffle prizes were a m a z i n g  and people loved them all.  The online raffle was also drawn on the day and the winners were as follows

Ms Chunkychooky won Little Miss Vintage

Ms Jennie won Walter (sorry Hayley)

Teresa D won Lil Mim

congrats ladies!!

So after a recount, the final tally for the afternoon tea was $929..I know..eeeekkk, plus the online donations and personal donations of $345,

total  $1274, take a bow ladies, that is absolutely fabulous, well done!!!  

It's all going to a great cause that has touched the lives of many, not just mine, so thank you, thank you to all involved.

OK, totally exhausted and off to watch Ms Curlypops' favourite show, Offspring. More pics over at Nikki's 

p.s heart cookie cutter for teacup was a lovely gift from here
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A reminder

Things are a bit busy round here so I just wanted to remind you that the raffle is still going on for another day and the afternoon tea is on Sunday.

It's only $5 a ticket and your chances of winning are pretty good and the prizes are really, really awesome!

Thanks to those wonderful people that have made a donation, the tally is up to $200...yippee.

Looking forward to seeing some of you on Sunday, don't forget to come with empty stomachs and some extra change for some wonderful raffle prizes on the day ♥

p.s sorry if my email replies have been a little scarce, normality will hopefully resume sometime soon ♥
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Wordless Wednesday : Looks like fun

 

jumping along with the other girls over here

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Just a few things

The long weekend is over, Amelie is back at school, the boy is back at work and Aidan is going to kinder soon.

Amelie asked for a chocolate cake yesterday, this is much better than just a chocolate cake.

It's a flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake, you can see the recipe here

 

I wonder what her friends at school will tell her about the tooth fairy.  
did you think a fiver was too much for a first tooth?  it's her first and the note fit snugly into her new book

Do you love meeting new blogs, I do, I thought it would be nice to do an every so often mention on a few new ones that I am loving at the moment.

Blogs which take me to a different place and I just want to stay for a cup of tea.

Sarah does this alot and I really enjoy it.

my blog loves this week are Jodi's place and Andrea's place, ohh how I wish I was their neighbour and we could sip tea and admire their surroundings.

If I haven't been to your place could you leave a comment, I'd love to meet you.  
I am pretty normal and despite what you may see here, I do get recipes wrong, my sink is full of dishes and my pics aren't always spot on. 

Looking forward to meeting you...I'll bring the cake ♥
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Baby tooth

 

Amelie lost her first baby tooth, I nearly cried, we were at a little friends party, I felt so emotional, it's just a tooth, but it feels like she is different, she's only 5...

I didn't know how to feel, so I baked, I baked her some cupcakes. 

Vanilla cupcakes, with a secret, I folded  a chopped up chocolate bar to the batter (chokito) and a chopped chocolate bar in the butter cream, you should try it, easy.

She woke up to a book this morning and a five dollar note.  She doesn't know whether to believe in the tooth fairy, she wants to ask her friends at school whether the tooth fairy is real...because they have lost teeth and they know!

Did you have a good weekend, anything exciting happen?

Is the tooth fairy real?

♥

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Afternoon Tea Raffle

  Little Miss Vintage from Jennie at A Little Vintage

As you may know I have been organising an afternoon tea for the 19th of June to support the Cancer Council and have been sent quite a few amazing things to be raffled on the day.

I wanted to let you also have a chance to support such a great cause by holding a raffle here online and my wonderful friends are happy to post to the winners.

 Lil' Mim from Kelly at The Handmaden

 Walter from Jess at Teddybearswednesday

What I'd love for you to do is pop round to my donation page donate $5 for a ticket in our raffle and leave a note which beautiful item you are buying a ticket for.

So that's $5 for a ticket, you can buy as many as you would like in one go, if it's for different items just leave in your message which items you have bought tickets for.

Unfortunately this raffle is only for Australian residents, but feel free to still donate if you live overseas (like one sweet girl did) and I'd love to send you a thank you card.

Please let me know if anything is unclear.

Raffle open until next Saturday the 18th of June. 

Thanks once again for all the loving ♥

*raffle idea inspired by Ms Ric Rac
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Friday

Yay, it's Friday!  That's good because it's a long weekend here in Australia.  That means everyone is home on Monday, I love that.

I just wanted to share some of my favourite moments this week

 

 baking these moon cookies (as Aidan calls them)

having fun setting up this page , I'd love you to pop by and say hello

listening to this beautiful music thanks to Clare

wearing some brooch loveliness from Louana thanks to Susie for organising it

making mini bunting for my afternoon tea next week, are you coming?

 loving beautiful flowers and gorgeous uni friends visiting

especially loving, autumn leaf showers and gorgeous little people giggling

What have you been up to?

I'll be back later to put up a few raffle items for the afternoon tea.  

I am especially loving all the love as well...you knew that didn't you ♥

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