Brisbane Rivefire Festival

What a day, I woke up and farmer Joe had made breakfast, French toast and coffee delish, I knew then it was going to be a good day in the morning as we potted around the house.

It was getting close to the time to go to Riverfire so I prepared some picnic food and we made our way, we found a spot close to the bridge there were loads of people having  bubbles and delicious food, one radio station had set up speakers all around the park  it was good to hear some music, the munchkins ran around and kicked a ball.  

Night time started to fall and that's when the fun really started, we waited anxiously for the fireworks and they did not disappoint. I love the fireworks and I love the Brisbane river what a great day.

My day started good and finished excellent.

 

 

 

The Cupcake Lady - Lemon Cake

My trusty Lemon Cake it never fails me and its sure to impress your guests and yourself, it's lemon its light and just right for this weather why don't you give it a go this weekend.

 Love,

The Cupcake Lady 

Ingredients

125g butter
185g sugar
185g Self-raising flour
2 large eggs
2 lemons, rind grated

Syrup

6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 rounded tablespoon icing sugar

Method

1. pre-heat oven to 160c
2. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper
3. Cream butter and sugar and beat eggs
4. Add flour, lemon rind and milk and mix well
5. pour into tin and smooth top
6. Bake for 30-45mins check with a skewer (to check that it is fully baked skewer should come out of cake clean)

Syrup- mix lemon juice and sugar 

After removing cake from oven prick the top with a skewer and pour over the lemon juice while cake is still hot

IMPORTANT - leave until cold before removing from tin

Fresh as a Daisy

This morning  I was having one of those mornings where I was having issues of the electronic kind aka my computer and the net in general, I don't know if I have mentioned this but I am computer challenged when it comes to trouble shooting internet stuff I hate it and  was borderline in the fetal position.

It was good that my eldest munchkin wanted to go for a ride on his scooter so off we went even though its hot as an oven we lathered ourselves with sunblock and started walking.
 
The direction we were going was where the wind takes us, I just followed his direction "mum lets go here and there" we walked a good distance and then we stopped over at the local nursery WOW my eyes were in overdrive.

I just ADORE the nursery in spring time all the beautiful flowers in full bloom I bumped into an old friend and had a chat about the good old times and who is doing what! 

Well it was getting even hotter we bought an iceblock and made our way home.

We are back home and I feel fresh as a daisy my computer challenges can wait for later.

Around the WhiteCottage - Our Dining Table

I thought I would share with you our wonderful dining table, this is where most of our entertaining happens it's big and it seat 12 people. We have friends on a regular basis for a meal and a chin wag.


I always wanted a big farm table so when we saw this one I just had to take it home,  we bought it the day we got the keys to the WhiteCottage, it was so big that when it arrived it took four men to put it together it was our first piece of furniture on the ground floor. 

I remember just having this huge table and chairs and nothing else, we had tradesman doing renovations and they would ask on a daily basis why we had such a big table, were we going to have 10 kids to fill the chairs 

I think Farmer Joe was a bit concerned for a little while thinking if that was my master plan.

The running joke is if we ever move out the new owner will have to keep it as not sure where else it could fit.

It's time for my first cuppa for the day, I hope you have a wonderful day.

A lovely Surprise

Last night I received an email from one of my new readers, she was so happy with the Choc Chip cookie recipe I posted a little while ago, she baked them and  sent me a photo of her Choc Chip cookie. 

My heart melted, I am glad other people are enjoying my recipes as much as I do.

Thanks Alfia for sending the picture. You have made my day.

 

Cheers,

The Cupcake Lady 

The start of school Holidays

Today is the first day of school holidays and how we  have been looking forward to this day. Term 3 of prep was tiring my munchkin was tired and I was tired it was good to see how much he has learnt these past 11 weeks... incredible, so now we have two weeks of holidays which we will enjoy, on our plans are to tend to the garden and to do  many trips to GOMA and the museum requested by the munchkins.

To celebrate we had a nice breakfast outside the sun is out so the munchkins had a play of tennis on our tennis ball on a pole it is the best thing we have purchased lately my eldest munchkin could spend all day playing with that thing.

I hope you are enjoying your day and would love to hear what are your plans for this September holiday?

The Cupcake Lady - CHOC CHIP COOKIES

CHOP CHIP COOKIES one never gets bored of eating choc chip cookies I make them all the time they are easy and delish.

enjoy!!!

The Cupcake Lady

CHOC CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

180 g butter, softened
⅓ cup caster sugar
125 mL sweetened, condensed milk
1 ¾ cups self-raising flour
250 g dark choc bits
chocolate melts to drizzle and decorate cookie.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in condensed milk.
2. Add the flour. Stir in the choc bits until well combined.
3. Roll about 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on baking paper lined trays. Press each ball
4. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the trays.  
5. to decorate them melt chocolate melts and drizzle over cookie.

 *To make them chocolate choc chip just add 3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
 

Our Kitchen

Our Kitchen I could talk about my kitchen until the cows come home I just love it, I had been dreaming of the perfect kitchen since I can remember. As a 19 year old I would keep  magazine clippings of kitchen decors and ideas so when I was able I would know exactly know what I wanted and what I didn't.

Many Many years later I have my dream kitchen lucky for me Farmer Joe is not too fussed about the decorating I guess it helps that he also likes the same decor as me although for a minute or two he contemplating the modern industrial decor but that was just a phase he was going through now he is back to loving what I call Modern Country.

I spend the vast majority of my time in the kitchen as I am a mad baker I just love cooking, it might be sad for some people but that's my passion and my hobby it's what I enjoy
 

Cheers
 The Cupcake Lady aka Karla 

Just a Bright Sunny Day

Yesterday some friends and I got invited to a friend’s house for lunch. I had arranged to go with another friend so I decided to stop at the local florist shop and buy a bunch of flowers, the lady asked me what kind of flowers I wanted and I just told her any flowers that looks girlie and whimsical.

As I walked to my friend’s house the sun was so hot and bright I couldn’t help myself to look over people gardens and take inspiration on gardening ideas. I really enjoyed the smells of some of the flowers and hedges that are blooming at the moment.

The lunch was great, it was nice to do something a bit different than my usual Domestic Goddess chores.

I just love flowers around the house and today I couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful bunch of flowers, so after dropping my oldest munchkin to school I popped over to the florist shop and asked the lady to do a similar bunch as yesterday and how happy I am to see them on my kitchen bench.

What do you use to brighten your house? 

Love to hear from you.  Cheers Karla

A blast from the past and an orchid

 This afternoon I went for a little wander to a shopping precinct, I have been meaning to go to those stores for a very long time but I never seem to find the time well today was a good day it was sunny and hot so off I went just before school pick up, I entered this beautiful home decor store and my eyes were in overdrive looking at beautiful pot plants, lamps and all things beautiful.

As I walked around the store my eyes caught on to the store owner and I immediately knew who he was but I did not acknowledge him as I was not sure if he knew me. When he approached me and said 

"You look like a nurse that looked after me 10 years ago" I replied 

"Well you look like a patient I looked after 10 years ago" 

we both were so ecstatic that we both recognised each other. 

Let me tell you before I became the Cupcake Lady, The Farmer's Wife, The Munchkins mum I was a Registered Nurse in my previous life before children, chickens, laundry, Baking and general household chores became my present.  

Going back to this afternoon this gentleman and I spent time talking and catching up on the last 10 years and the amazing recovery he has made he expressed how happy he was to see me and we reminisced of the time he spent in hospital it was not hard to like him he was so lovely and how he would ask me to come and have lunch with him as he was bed bound at the time which I usually did and we would go through all his home decor magazines we used to joke and he would give me dating advice as I was a single young nurse, it was quite amusing. 

As I was leaving he gave me an orchid from his store he asked me to come back and visit him again and told me he was giving me the orchid because he loved me more than my husband... we laughed and I have continued to laugh with happiness when sharing the story with my lovely husband Farmer Joe.

Who knew.......... my heart is warm today and I will try to cherish today and this orchid and the wonderful memories from my days as a young nurse.

Karla

The end of the soccer season

 

Today we had our last soccer game for the season and what a relief if I had to endure any more of soccer I will be needing a little dash to the mental hospital why you might ask? well I didn't want to but I did I turned into those crazy mothers shouting and running on the side of the field while the children were playing the game I know I should just have stayed on the side of the field with my cuppa but instead I was running and shouting and drinking coffee at the same time I was multi tasking I was giving myself heart disease. 

The children did well I am so amazed at how much they have improved throughout the season and yes I did calm down slightly after a couple of weeks and spent more time chin wagging with the other mums enjoying a cup of coffee and the sausage sizzle on the side of the field to much relief from the coach he was probably thinking I better give that crazy mother a red card. 

I know I did feel stressed at times but I did enjoy it once I calmed down and stopped being a crazy woman the munchkins really enjoyed soccer and have made some really nice friends.

The best day of the season was today the children played incredibly and we had a end of season party.

 

End of season party - Table styled by the Cupcake Lady

Ok I won't miss the feeling of being a crazy soccer mum but I will miss watching my gorgeous munchkins playing the game and the happy expression on their faces when they score a goal and I will definitely miss our Saturday mornings sitting on the grass chin wagging with the other mums.

 well soccer season is over for the year until the next year so onto the next sport season......

Spring at the whitecottage

It is spring I am so happy that we are onto spring and I can finally say goodbye to winter, I usually love winter and being rugged up with a cuppa of hot chocolate specially on weekends when we have movie night at home with the munchkins but not this year this winter we had most of our bunch sick with the flu or recovering from operations oh well that was winter that was so last season!!!

Onto today Spring glorious spring I don't know what it is about spring but it gets me motivated to do jobs that I have been long ignoring, I am in the mood to throw everything away and embrace the minimalist lifestyle well not quite!.... let me tell you my problem as my friend the Country Lady would say (lets call her Mel just to keep her incognito) she might say that I have hoarding tendencies me I call it lived in but now I am thinking it's spring and the time has come once again to purge and throw away, sell and donate things we no longer use or need  so that's what I will be doing in the next few weeks.

The other fantastic thing about spring is our garden thanks to the late warm weather we have had our plants are starting to look good the roses have started to bloom and we have been paying special attention to our citrus trees which they were looking a bit sad and you know it's important to have some nice juicy lemons for summer by the time I finish de cluttering the White Cottage I will be in great need of a mojito so I better look after those trees like my newborn babies.

Today I was potting around the garden when I saw this cute bee in the vegie patch and it made my heart melt.

I love spring.

what are your spring rituals? would love to hear from you. Cheers Karla