Happy 1st Birthday boys!

Today was our wee boy's 1st birthday party. Where has the year gone. As there is only 6 days between Fergus and our friend's son, we had a joint party.

For our daughter's birthday I dipped lovely Bonne Mama cookies in icing then sprinkles and this year carried on the theme with marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. I'm not fond of marshmallows, but everytime I passed the plate, my hand automatically reached out for one. They remind me of little fantasy toadstools.

Okay so I cheated with this cake and used my new favourite thing, ready to roll icing. The effect was a bit more professional than my effort with butter icing and a warm palette knife and the 'Janod' toy cars and food colouring felt pens helped me out too. I used the the cupcake recipe from Nigella Lawson for the sponge, filled with strawberry jam and vanilla butter cream, glazed with apricot jam to give the icing something to grip and Voila!


Joyeux anniversaires aux petits princes........

Stocking for winter (in more ways than one).

Every year we say we're going to do the French thing and stockpile our wood for winter at the beginning of the summer letting it weather for a few months and getting the best from it come the freezing cold nights ahead. Six years and a lot of excuses later and we find ourselves cramming it all in again in October. This year though we had the best helper. While Fergus watched on happily in his pram, Leila went for an ever larger log each time. (I wonder where she gets it from).

We took advantage of the beautiful autumn weather, the pile of props and Leila's great mood to do a little photo shoot for my latest Etsy product. A crisp white Christmas stocking made from a vintage table cloth I found at a 'vide grenier' last year. Using an elf embroidery pattern from my new favourite etsy store http://www.alittlesweetness.etsy.com/ and trimmed with a beautiful quality deep red gingham, I just can't wait to hang two above the blazing fire on Christmas eve. (that's if the wood lasts that long).