Monster Cake Pops....

I guess today is Halloween & I have got to be honest, I struggle with the concept of 'celebrating' ghouls & other scary things. I'd been toying with whether or not to make some halloween cakes & even bought a pumpkin just incase but I couldn't bring myself to do it! Then on Sunday I spoke with a friend who was at the end of a marathon 3 day halloween party binge. She had an amazing skeleton costume & said she loves this time of year because she loves dressing up.

When I thought about it, the pin dropped... for most people the excitement most definitely isn't about blood & gore, it's all about the costumes! A time to let out the inner child and step out of our carefully crafted exterior for a day (or three).

You get sucked in pretty quick, by the time I finished making these I was having quite a bit of fun...

So whilst I won't be out trick or treating, here is my small contribution to the halloween festivities as it were... Sparkly Chocolate Monster and Alien Cake Pops.

Enjoy

Peace & Love

xx

Florence + The Machine

Let the only sound be the overflow...

Heartlines

Just keep following the heartlines on your hands...

I had the amazing privilege of getting a coveted ticket to see Florence + The Machine perform at the Hackney Empire. They played a mix of new material from the upcoming album 'Ceremonials', as well as old favourites from 'Lungs'.  I had no idea just how intimate it was going to be, so when I arrived armed only with my trusty iPhone & saw just how close I was to the action, the sense of annoyance with myself threatened to dampen my enjoyment! A blogger must NEVER, I repeat never, leave home without their camera! Fortunately the show was out of this world (as you would expect) & I got over myself pretty quickly (well that's not strictly true, the show was incredible but I spent a lot of time kicking myself for the schoolgirl error!) Thank God for the iPhone camera :).

Florence has an amazing stage presence and a way of connecting with the crowd. It makes you feel like you are her best mate & she's singing especially for you. She is of course stunning, & delights your eyes as she bounds & twirls around the stage like a fairy or even an angel. The music was spellbinding & I felt like I was in church, when the music takes you to another place and there is communion with everyone. An absolute must have album & I'm sure it will be a massive success. (Have I gushed enough?)

I love to see people doing what they were born to do & that goes not just for Florence + The Machine, but for everyone. When I go to a gig I always soak in the team; the unsung heroes who make things happen. From the band, the backing singers, the stylists, the make-up artists and the personal assistants, to the lighting,  the fans, the soundies, the roadies (not sure if the last two are proper words but you get my drift :)). Basically everyone! It makes me want to be better at whatever I'm doing & be the best me I can, to live my dreams and passions no matter what they might be or what people think. Can you imagine living your dreams?

Ceremonial Cupcake

I was inspired to make a cake especially for Florence + The Machine & all I could think of was orange. I saw a candied orange cupcake and remixed the recipe to produce the 'Ceremonials Cupcake'. It is an orange cupcake topped with fresh cream, orange and cranberry syrup and a candied orange slice. It was a lot of fun to make and has so many flavours. The cake is lightly flavoured with vanilla and orange juice and the fresh cream tones down the rich sweet syrup. The candied orange slice can be eaten whole so you get the citrus kick along with the sweet flavours. In short, it's a lot of cake!

Exciting stuff, if anyone is interested in the recipe let me know & I will do a mini how-to post, otherwise I will leave you with this quote;

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world - Harriet Tubman

Peace and Love

xx

My week so far in pictures

For you Abi!

It's only Wednesday but this week has been jam packed already! It's half term and so far I have been baking & enjoying laid back breakfasts with the boys...

I also went to see James Mullinger's hilarious Comedy Show at the Roundhouse in Camden and the amazing Florence And The Machine at the Hackney Empire.

More to come on Florence And The Machine shortly but now I need to have a little power nap!

I hope you are enjoying your week so far....

Peace & Love

xx

Excuse me my friend, I don't remember who I am.... Forgiveness, Wretch 32

Happy Monday Peoples, this weekend was fun packed as usual. I spent some quality time with my beautiful niece, baked a birthday cake for my sister-in-law & went up to Leicester to see Wretch 32 do his thing on the Black & White Tour.

I didn't know much about Wretch before, outside of his main hits (Traktor & Don't Go), but I was really impressed (like really)! There were a number of songs that touched me but I think my favourite was 'Forgiveness' which talks about his struggle to maintain his integrity whilst he pursues success as an artist.

"I went to church to pray for a Top 10,

then I went No.5,

I ain't been back again"

Forgiveness, Wretch 32

If you follow my blog, you will know that staying true to my priorities and not getting caught up in everything else is my intention, my own pursuit of happyness. But in reality life isn't black & white. As a working mum I felt guilty leaving my children but bills needed to be paid. What could I do? Should I pursue my ambitions and climb the career ladder which meant a long commute and long hours? Or do I waste away in a job with no responsibility so I can focus on my parental duties? 

Picture courtesy of Daniel and the Birthday Girl Hayley :)

At first I thought I was stuck between a rock & a hard place. But once I acknowledged what is TRULY important to me, my mind was opened to other ways of earning a living. My intention is to have prosperity without sacrificing my family life and my personal integrity. 

I wish Wretch all the best on his own journey and a long and prosperous career. I also want to shout out the band, supporting artists and crew who were amazing!

Peace & Love

xx

Autumn

 It's cold outside but there are many things that I love about this season...

Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.  ~Carol Bishop Hipps

 Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus

How beautifully leaves grow old.  How full of light and color are their last days.  ~John Burroughs

Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes - Autumn Flavours 

Have a beautiful weekend.

Peace & Love
xx

For I Know The Plans I Have For You....

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Lao Tzu

The reality of not being at work whilst I 'harmonise my life' is starting to set in. On one hand I am having an amazing time exploring my creativity, spending time with my family & friends & generally just getting my life in order. On the other hand the world does not slow down just because I have chosen to. My master financial plan is slowly coming undone and things that I thought were going to be taken care of, began looking less likely.  

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear and panic started to set in and one day I sat looking at my bank balance literally shaking thinking 'What on earth am I going to do?!' I had to check myself: God's plan is to prosper me & not to harm me, to give me a hope & a future. I had to really meditate and pray for peace and stillness until it came. My mantra is; 'It is well, all good things will come to me'. 

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. 
Buddha

As a devotee of 'The Secret' aka The Law of Attraction, I know that my role is to fill my mind with what I want and to surrender the how - much more fun & infinitely more fruitful. One of my many wishes is to have a wildly successful blog so watch this space (and share it with everyone you know!) 

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Psalm 147:4 

These cupcakes are paying homage to God, the Universe and all of Creation. They symbolise how much is out there for us to taste and enjoy. They were also an excuse to eat some old school sweets! Inside each cupcake, is a marshmallow which melted into the sponge during cooking, making it taste AMAZING even though you can't actually see it!

Enjoy

Peace, Love & Surrender
xx

Guest Post

Add Guest Blogger to my official title yo! :). Please check out my first feature 'Prepare To Fly' at this inspirational blog, check it out here.

Peace & Love
xx

Family Time

Happy Monday Peoples! I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was fun packed and busy. On Saturday, I went to the Frieze Art Fair in London and a naming ceremony for baby Samuel. Yesterday we celebrated what would have been my sister's 18th birthday.

She passed away tragically aged only 7 and it was only right to celebrate her life with a party at home with friends and family. It was a lot of fun, there was much food, music and dancing. I decided on a 4 layer chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and Party Ring Biscuits. I promise not to do any more chocolate cakes for a while - even I'm getting fed up but it was still National Chocolate Week so I'm forgiving myself :).

Here are some pictures from the day...

Beautiful Bailey & Beautiful Whitney

Mmmm tasty

Teach me how to Dougie!

Caught red handed in my sweetie drawer!

Have a great week :)

Peace & Love
xx

#NationalChocolateWeek

A little birdie, (thank you Twitter), told me it was National Chocolate Week and being that I am a chocolate fiend I couldn't let the week go by without posting something!

I made this little baby out of a chocolate cupcake, with shavings of chocolate and delicious summer berries on top. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed eating it!

Happy Chocolate Week!

Peace & Love
xx

Happy Birthday Dear Petal....

My beautiful friend

Happy Monday people. I have had an incredibly stressful weekend and during this week I will tell you all about it. Before I do though I would like to say a "Happy Birthday" to a very very dear friend of mine who I have known for like 20 years!!! It's quite terrifying when you can say that you've known someone for that long: Just how old are we???? 

Us 

So her fiancee texted me asking for a really really special cake for her birthday and I racked my brains thinking what could I do. I'm really into height at the moment & a blend of flavours. I experimented with the cake below a week before which is chocolate, strawberry and chocolate fudge - delicious! 

Strawberry Heaven Cake

In the end, I opted for a 2-tier topsy turvy cake but due to the stress of the weekend I didn't take my usual fancy photos. Here are a couple of pictures from the dinner we had.

The Night...

Happy Birthday darling, love you.

Peace.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

Rest In Peace Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

MOBO Awards 2011

Everyone say Cheese!

Tomorrow, Glasgow is host to the 16th MOBO Awards Ceremony. I was just having a flick through the website last night to try and get some last minute votes in and it turns out that the same 4 people are nominated for most categories (Adele, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah & Wretch 32). I squeezed Rihanna & Beyonce on the end there just to add a bit of balance.

I've got to be honest, I'm not sure how relevant the MOBO awards are but then again I miss Channel U so maybe I'm just old fashioned. I know that the people who are nominated and win them are happy which is the most important thing.

Although they need no introduction, the MOBO artists of the moment are;

Wretch 32 & Tinie Tempah

Adele & Jessie J

For the record, here are my picks for some the awards;

Best Newcomer - Jessie J & Wretch 32

Best UK Act - Adele & Tinie Tempah

Best UK Hip Hop/Grime - Wiley

Best Video - 'Numbers' Wiley

Best International Act - Beyonce (although I do love Rihanna)

Best Reggae - Nas & Damien Marley 

I was even more indecisive for the other awards, partly because I didn't recognise all of the names and partly because music is so subjective, how can anyone choose one thing as being the best - surely it's a matter of what you like the best at the time? 

Anyways, good luck to all the nominees & to everyone going have a great time!

Peace & Love

xx