Eleven Candles! Where did the time go?

My daughter, Anita, turned eleven last Friday.  Eleven!!  I can hardly believe it.  She is at the age where she's still a child, yet almost a teenager.  Yikes!  I wish there was a pause button I could press, so I could hold on to her for just a while longer.  I want her to be a child for as long as she can.  I want to protect her and keep her safe at all times.  But, of course, I am slowly letting her go, allowing her to grow, and mature into the wonderful young woman I imagine she'll be. 

Until then, I am going to cherish and savour these last few childhood years.  I won't take for granted tucking her in bed every night, kissing her goodnight, and hearing her tell me she loves me (at least three times) before she falls asleep. 

Anita asked if I could bake her a lemon layer cake with lemon curd

filling, so of course, I did.  Really, is there anything better than a

home-made birthday cake?  To me, a store bought cake, no matter how

beautiful it may look, cannot compare to a home-baked cake, as it is made

with so much love and care for that special person in mind.

I can tell she's getting older when she says no to chocolate and

 asks for lemon, instead!

I baked these rainbow chip cupcakes for her girlfriends party the next day!

Can you see the rainbow chips?  I frosted the cupcakes with vanilla

butter cream and decorated them with tiny synthetic roses

The birthday room at Creative Cafe where all the girls got to pick their own

pottery to paint 

Anita picked a donut shaped piggy bank

Annabel chose a bird to paint

And my niece, Emily, chose to paint a flower shaped jewelery box

After the girls painted, we had pizza, sang happy birthday, and

had cupcakes!

The pieces the girls (and Nuno and I) painted, had to stay at the cafe to

be glazed and fired.  I will be picking them up as soon as they're ready and

delivering them to their creative artists.  I can't wait to see what they look like!

A Perfectly Pink Princess Party!

On Sunday, my April Fool's baby celebrated her sixth birthday!  I can't believe how quickly the time has passed.  It seems like just the other day, she was turning one, and now she's six years old! 

This year, Annabel chose to celebrate her birthday at home with a pink princess party. 

On Saturday, I baked chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the princess celebration and a cheesecake for our evening get-together with family.  I was super excited to do some baking as I don't get to bake very much these days.  It was such a treat!

Scooping batter into muffin tins

Chocolate cupcakes cooling on the rack

Preparing cheesecake for water bath

The morning of Annabel's birthday...

 

Annabel opening her gifts from Anita.

 

 

 

 

Annabel loving her new pretty pink dress!

 

 

 

 

Since Easter is right around the corner, I decorated the vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing, fuzzy, yellow chicks and cadbury mini eggs.  The chocolate cupcakes were dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with sprinkles and cadbury chocolate bunnies. 

 

 

 

 

The party started at 12:00 pm.  The little girls had pizza for lunch.  I would love to share photos of all the children with you, but because of privacy laws, and such, I cannot.  They played with the pretend kitchen, doll house, colored, read books, played Wii and had lots of fun. 

Soon, it was time for tea...

 

 

 

 

The tea was really fruit juice, but we'll just pretend! 

 

 

 

 

Singing happy birthday to Annabel!

 

 

After tea and cupcakes, Annabel opened all of her cards and gifts and took pictures with her friends.  They played some more and then it was three...time for all the princesses to go home. 

 

 

Later that evening...

 

 

 

After dinner, we had some family over for cake and coffee.  Annabel loves cheesecake, so this was her birthday cake.  I topped it with whipped cream and fresh mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries), her favourite! 

 

 

 

 

Annabel making a wish and blowing out her candles.  If it were my wish, I would ask to pause the time.  There's no place I'd rather be than right here, right now!  I count my blessings.  They are many!  Annabel is such a sweet, kind little girl.  I am so proud of her and the person she is becoming.  Happy birthday, my darling daughter! 

My 50th Post And Much To Celebrate!

It seems like just the other day when I started blogging and now, here I am, writing my 50th post!  To celebrate, I am going to do a giveaway very soon.  The only reason I'm not doing it today, is because I haven't found the perfect item(s) for the giveaway.  Believe me, I've been looking, but nothing has caught my eye.  I'm sure I'll come across something fitting soon.  I will keep you posted!

Let me catch you up on what's been happening around the homestead this past week.   To say it's been busy around here is an understatement.

On Tuesday, December 13th, we attended the Barrie Bassmasters Potluck and Award Ceremony.  Every year, the club invites the bass members and their families to the potluck to share in an evening of great food and good friends. 

This year, I baked Hello Dolly bars to take to the potluck, since I brought savoury items the last two years.  If you are not familiar with them, they're made with a graham cracker crust and topped with chocolate chips, flaked coconut and chopped nuts; held together with sweetened condensed milk!

Nuno (in the middle), along with fellow bassmaster, Brad Hudson (on the left), were honored to receive the President's Award - Member of the Year - for going above and beyond their duties as members, putting in a lot of time and dedication to the club and always willing to help out in any way they could.  I am so proud of my husband and congratulations goes out to both of them!

On Wednesday, the 14th of December, it was Nuno's birthday.  I wanted to bake his birthday cake and  decided on a glazed lemon layer cake with homemade raspberry filling.  Nothing says love like a home-made cake, no store-bought cake can ever convey the same sentiment.

Freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest for the cake

Cake layers cooling on racks

The birthday cake (minus the candles). In my heart it reads, Happy birthday Nuno, I love you!

The love of family gathered around the table 

This is a cream cheese ball flavoured with a roasted garlic dip.  I rolled it in chopped walnuts and cranberries and served with crackers.  

I also made some other munchies...brie en croute, filled with raspberry jam and toasted almonds and a quail egg and chorizo appetizer, as well as assorted nuts, figs and dates.  My mother-in-law baked some Portuguese tarts as well, so we were spoiled with yummy goodies.

The next evening was the girls' school Christmas Concert.  Anita and Annabel's classes weren't involved this year (as there were too many classes to all be included). Anita sang in the choir, however, and my niece Emily was part of the concert too! 

 

Anita is the first student on the left, in the middle row. 

 

 

 

This past Saturday, we had my cousin, his wife and their two children over for lunch.  It was their first visit to our home, and I was so happy to have them!  For our lunch, I made an italian wedding soup and chicken stuffed pasta shells.  It was lovely reconnecting and catching up with them. 

 

 

 

Mini meatballs I made for the soup

 

 

 

Italian wedding soup with mini meatballs and orzo pasta

 

 

 

Setting the table

 

 

 

The following day we were invited to my aunt and uncle's place for their annual Christmas lunch.  The food was delicious and we had a fun time, as usual. A special treat this year, was a visit from my cousin, who I hadn't seen in a few years.  Seeing him was like opening an early Christmas present!  It reminded me that the best part of Christmas and the holidays is the act of giving, and the blessings of a loving family and dear friends. 

 

 

There are only 5 more sleeps until Christmas.  I'm sure it's a busier time than usual in your kitchens as well!  Will you be baking something special for the holidays?  What about Christmas morning?  Are there any special breakfasts you cook?  I think I'll be making pancakes on Christmas morning, since it's everyone's favourite around here.  How about you?  I would love to hear about it!

 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays... 

with love, from the kitchen! xo