chick chick chick chick chicken hatch a little egg for me

For the past 3 weeks, a broody hen at the farm has been sitting on 6 eggs, keeping them warm as the miracle of life (I know, cheesy) works it's magic inside. Rather then becoming scrambled eggs, or playing a pivotal role in a cake, these 6 delicate beauties are going to hatch out as little chicks.

These 6 eggs came from our neighbour and are something of a test run, as our own cockerel arrives later today.  Once the new man in town is settled, it could be that we have lots more chicks.  Lots and lots.  All things being well, by this time next year we could be totally overrun by chickens.

But back to the here and now, these 6 little chicks are due to hatch out next weekend.  Which is perfect timing, as lots of family, including Sister in law and the Entrepreneur are due for a visit.  Arriving next weekend as part of the family is our new addition to the clan... Handsome husband's Uncle and his lovely wife have adopted a beautiful 3 year old girl.  Darling boy and Little Brothers new cousin.  We are delighted and can't wait to meet her.  The boys are really excited, so many new lives joining ours.

And the good news is....

And the good news is that the council have f.i.n.a.l.l.y said YES.  We are so excited.  Our dream, forever-home is now the shinning light at the end of the tunnel.  And although we feel like the waiting game is over, really it has only just begun.

Now we wait for builders.  Quotes are yet to come back and the work is yet to start.  But, we are excited and hopeful.  Interiors are being planned, samples are building up and my scrap book of ideas is bulging at the seams.  I  don't just have a mood board, I have a mood file, with separate sections for each room with additional sections for things like 'style' and 'storage'.  Geek?  moi?

But, we aren't there yet.  There is still a lot more waiting to do and once the builders start there will be more things to wait for, but it will be exciting things, like plaster and paint to dry.  Who would have ever thought that waiting for paint to dry would be exciting?!

Adventures in Cake goes POP

I have never made CakePops before, and this year, as my news years resolution was to do something new each month, and was on my way to visit friends with Darling boy and little brother, a flash of genius sparked in the little grey cells.  Ah ha, I thought, CakePops!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this fun cakey things, they are basically a crumbed cupcake, bound together with butter icing, then moulded into a ball, dipped in chocolate and decorated.  They are sugar on a stick and totally yummy.  They are also definitely for children and they went down a storm.  I would probably make them again, as they are a fun way to use up cake that is surplus to requirements (if there is ever such a thing?)

My top tip for making them is to either have some handy playdoh to hand (mouldable clay stuff that kids play with) or, even better, some oasis (the stuff that florists use to make displays)

So, i took some photos thinking the CakePops looked a big like funny little trees. Then i got silly and added one of the boy's toy dinosaurs, just for a giggle.

Vintage finds at the village fete

On my list of favourite things, featuring highly is the village fete.  All those traditional stalls  from your childhood are still going strong, the tombola (where you win back the tins you donated 2 years ago) splat-the-rat, the raffle, the farmyard derby (my personal favourite), skittles, guess the weight of the cake / baby / chicken.  And of course the cake stall.  Turn up late and the cake stall is always totally empty, as it gets raided first, like a tuck shop at midnight.

Well, here in our corner of the world we pride ourselves on a good village fete and ours most usually has entertainment.  Last year it was Morris Dancing men, fearsome fellows with handkerchiefs who bashed the hell out of some sticks and then waved bells at each other.  They were brilliant.  This year we had a chap playing a squeeze box, with his dear lady wife accompanying him on the spoons (I kid you not) and the guitar and a lovely warbly voice.  They were charm itself.

On the jumble stall, I managed to find these totally lovely plates, which I think I got for a quid.  Amazing.  I love them.  And of course we bought millionaire shortbread from the cake stall, and geraniums from the plant stall.  Darling boy and little brother had a marvellous time, winning mini mars bars on the hoopla and larking about with their chums. 

Mini cupcakes for the big church bells

Our church bells need re-hanging.  This is super duper mega expensive and funds need to be raised.  Before you can qualify for funding from the big boys, you need to prove you have raised a certain percentage locally.  This is where I come in, in a very small way of course.

Now I’m not a religious person, but I recognise the brilliant space that a church has, both physically as an ancient building, and also emotionally within a community.  All that history, the atmosphere, the acoustics, the dazzling stained glass, the stylish pews (do you think I could sneak one home for my new kitchen in the barn??), but mostly the sense of cohesion and pulling together.

A concert was arranged in the local church to raise money, and we merry bell ringers were to be providing the half time snacks (as the poster promised wine and nibbles)  I had been asked if I could possibly bake some cupcakes, and of course I agreed.

I decided mini ones would be best, more like a cocktail pudding snack, than a full on slice o’ cake which is what mine more usually are.

I kept it classic and went with chocolate and vanilla decorated in shades of cream, blue and purple and only had empty cake stands to take home.  Happy concert goers and happy me.

Sparkly cupcakes for the bride and groom

Here are the wedding cupcakes as promised.  The bride and groom had 85 vanilla cupcakes with plum and scarlet butterflies.  One giant cupcake in vanilla with a chocolate buttercream icing on the base, also decorated with butterflies. The last photo is of the cakes in the evening, all dressed up and ready to party.

Sparkly wedding cupcakes- a sneaky glimpse

Here is a cheeky glimpse of the cupcakes from this weekends wedding.  More to come soon.