Another Weekend....

Another market, and no baking!! Shameful really, but i just kinda ran out of time. I had some very squishy bananas that would have made a great cake, but when i went to transform them this morning they'd gone totally yuck, so into the compost they went.

It was pretty grey in Auckland this weekend but didn't rain as much as predicted so we were able to get out and about, which was cool. On Saturday, Mila went with her Nana to hang out on the shore and Anton and I took Juno out to Wynyard Quarter to check out its grand opening, walk over the cool new bridge, and to grab some lunch. It was pretty packed down on the waterfront, heaps of people milling about- cool atmosphere.

We ate lunch at Queenies Lunchroom (poached eggs on toast, great coffee) and spent up large at eco-store before making our way back to the bus stop.

Later on Anton had to do boring 'house-stuff' so Mila and I danced together for a couple of hours before she went off to bed and we watched the rugby...phew.

Today, Tori and I took the ferry over to Devonport to check out another popular craft market. I took my camera with me but it was so cold and blustery that all my focus was on staying warm and i forgot to take any photos!

The market was cool, Tori bought some yummy rum and raisin fudge and some earrings for her sister. I bought a vege and pesto muffin which was pretty tasty and pretty good value too.

There were a lot of stalls selling baby stuff and it was probably a blessing in disguise that i didn't have any cashola, or Juno would be sporting a dozen new outfits by now, one including a super super cute pink hat with pompoms. I think i will head back to Devo next month and hit the market again with some money in my pocket- there are bargains to be had!

Later i went round to my mum's and Harriet and I did a spot of party planning. We are catering for a baby shower next weekend and Harriet is doing a box of sweet treats as a prize for an upcoming school social event (it's a trivia night, and we've entered a team- scary....).

We have lots of yum things up our sleeve, its gonna be so much fun baking little baby goodies next weekend, i can't wait.  And that was pretty much my weekend- no baking, but lots of family and friend fun time....

Below are some photos of my weekend....

Me Too...

I too had a crack at vanilla cupcakes today.  Mila and i baked a batch in the morning before i headed off to pick up Harriet for some crafty good times.  I used a recipe out of Ladies, a Plate (one of my favourite cookbooks in case you hadn't guessed- thanks again little sister for some astute Christmas gift giving!)

Later in the evening i finally got round to icing them with a vanilla butter cream type icing. I tried to have a go at piping but it turned out disastrous and in frustration i had to scoop all the icing back out of my plastic bag piper and just smear it on with a knife- the end result is tasty but lacking in finesse...Can you tell?!!!

Kate x

Cupcakes + Craft

It was a beautiful sunny morning today and Kate took me (and Juno) to the Kraftbomb, which is a little craft fair held monthly in a hall in Grey Lynn. There were lots of cute things, and some good looking books, I will definitely have to go back one day if I ever have disposable income! There were also lots of people crowded into the hall - so it was quite hard to move, and to take photos of all the pretty goods on display (especially as I get a bit shy taking pictures in such close quarters!).

Kate picked up this cute little print

Waiting for mummy to have a look around

Afterwards Kate shouted me coffee and a red velvet cupcake (thanks, big sister!). Very yummy, and it was so nice and warm sitting in the sunshine...too hot for a jumper! It felt so summery.

Sweet little girl in the background there...she was out with her Daddy having a cup of 'coffee' and waiting patiently for her toast...cute cute cute!

Then when I got home I made a batch of my own mini cupcakes. Not exactly adventurous - this is a simple Vanilla Cupcake recipe which is incredibly quick and easy to make, but with a pretty tasty result. I was missing the vanilla essence and one egg, but I just substituted a few spoonfuls of vanilla yoghurt instead and that seemed to work. I iced them with a chocolate buttercream icing - a little sloppy but tasty - and, oh lord, won't you buy me a decent piping bag instead of this 2 dollar shop crap!!!

Rory and June Bug

Okay so it looks like this is going to be another 'photo post', more about the babies than the baking - it would seem unemployment really is taking it's toll. I can't currently justify the expense of exciting ingredients, and i'm getting bored with making the same old unexciting things. Rory and I did make a slice this week - out of her second hand cookbook - but the best part about that was watching her cook and hearing her cute little comments. I'm a big fan of slices in theory...but in practice, there are very few that are ever really spectacular. Maybe i'm just not a good slice chef.

Anyway the rest of my week in pictures involved making juice (from what I have now decided might infact be tangelos..!) and hanging out with Rory and baby Bug. The juicing is super fun; they are so easy to squeeze (i just do it by hand over a sieve), so juicy, and the finished product has such a wonderful colour and taste ...if a little sour, but that's the way I like it.

I will try to do some adventurous ( or just SOME) baking this week, so there is more to post...in the meantime, how can you not adore these cuties..?

 

 

 I had fun dressing Juno up, first as a very snuggly puppy ....

And then into some cute girly pieces..

And lastly, pretty in its own way, my "is it a mandarin, is it a tangelo?", either way its yummy, juice...

And if there are any 'm's missing in this post, it's because my keyboard seems to be having issues...don't judge my spelling.

xx Harriet