A Decoration Dream Birthday

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday with some friends ♥
We ate and chatted and played a few rounds of lolita themed Scattergories and a pin the trumpet on the Melody Toy bunny. If you didn't notice already, my theme for the day was Angelic Pretty!

Thanks to my dear friends for making it such a lovely day ♥

Please be aware that the following is mostly rambling about food....

Menu

Egg Salad, Cucumber and Mint, Cucumber, Ham and Cheese
and Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Asparagus, Ham and Cheese Rose Quiches

Iced Heart Cookies
Cruller Doughtnuts
Musk Jellies
Sweetheart Cookie Pops
Pastel Meringue Drops
White and Milk Chocolate Freckles
Strawberries

Decoration Dream Cake

Pink Lemonade with Jelly
Iron Goddess Oolong with Cucumber, Melon and Mint

Assorted Tea Buffet

 Thali and I did our best to recreate some sweets from AP prints. Some things unfortunately didn't make it through, and others ended up being something a bit different, but overall I was happy with how our spread turned out.

Thali and I worked on the cake together. I want to say we decided on some things (such as the filling) but some things were by chance- such as when you make a large bowl of creme patisserie because you have an abundance of egg yolks.

The cake was our master piece! It was based off of the decoration dream cake (you can see it below) though we altered it because I don't think either of us wanted to tackle a three tier cake.

Our cake consisted of two vanilla buttercake layers, filled with cream and creme patisserie. The icing was an italian meringue buttercream, that almost made me cry because it almost didn't come together and then when it did was the silkiest, smoothest thing. I am all about a nice texture in my food. our decorations were our little hand decorated decoration dream pony cookies, and our royal icing and sprinkle decorations. For the cookies, I actually used a translation of the recipe from one of the Angelic Pretty mooks. It was actually very good! Things kept relatively the right shape, which is important when you are trying to ice a pony.

 

The rest of our little sweets buffet included; iced cookies based on Wonder Cookie, little jellies based on Jewellery Jelly and cruller doughnuts (baked, not fried, so more of a straight up cream puff in a doughnut shape) based on Little Bear's Cafe. The jellies were agar, with a little musk flavour- but after all the other sweets, if you didn't eat them first they actually didn't taste like much... the crullers I filled with more of my creme patisserie and dipped in chocolate. 

We also made up cookie pops which were the wonder cookie biscuits filled with a (very fake sweets tasting, thank you Japan) strawberry ganache (saved by Lauren's quick thinking) and dipped in a milk chocolate. Thali also made freckles (chocolate buttons with sprinkles) and I made my first ever these-actually-turned-out-the-way-they-were-supposed-to meringues! We threw in strawberries for good measure, sometimes you need something a little bit refreshing.

I didn't really get photos of savouries, but rest assured that the sandwich assortment and quiches (baked in my rose bundt cupcake tin) did not survive the day. We made up two drinks, one was a pink lemonade with jelly and the other was an oolong tea Thali recently bought me called Iron Goddess, mixed with my homemade cucumber and honeydew melon syrup and mint and we had a cream hot tea. And after all that, Thali set up a hot tea buffet with a number of her favourite teas~

I was very happy with how our little spread turned out, despite some anxious moments. But who needs to focus on that anyway?

 

We had a small corner set up with some of my AP novelties and postcards. I pretty much left my coordinate from my recent post on the mannequin and tucked it there too. And Thali made me adorable AP themed bunting that I will keep forever ♥

I took the opportunity to wear Lucienne Dream with Thali. As a onepiece, it was easy enough to slip on for both of us. I pinned up parts of my hair and clipped in the rose and feather piece I used with the bonnet et voilà~ I also pinned the rosette Jordi made to me on as soon as I got it ♥  

I think that there is not much more to ramble about, it was a good day, and I was very spoilt. I count myself very lucky for my friends here and I hope they enjoyed themselves (and also enjoyed learning that there is an AP print called 'Original Print').

Have a lovely weekend ♥

Smash the SMASH

This has been quite a long time coming and actually I wasn't sure if there was much point in writing it, but I did say I would so here it is.

SMASH was incredibly stressful this year, and I hope that I never have to experience that again. Actually experiencing none of the stress I've experienced since SMASH would be great. I was incredibly lucky that some very lovely Sydney girls were able to step in and pretty much take care of everything. I couldn't have been more grateful, though I don't think I was able to show it very well.

The days after SMASH were wonderful though ♥

Despite some small stress left over from SMASH we got to spend time with Thali's niece and brother at the zoo! We got to see the platypus and the bird show, which were definite highlights for me.

 We kind of went a little food crazy, trying a ridiculous number of cakes and ice creams, as well as raiding Thali's brothers chocolate stash (he is a chocolatier, and also likes to sample all sorts of different chocolates) and the lovely strawberry and vanilla tart he made! It was all very welcome surrounding the crap that one eats over a convention weekend...

I think if we can, we'll probably head back to SMASH again next year, but I'm not yet sure in what capacity- hopefully a less stressful one!

I bought a lot of different merchandise, but here is a little look at the accessories I grabbed from the remote vending set up by the Sydney girls- a hair clip and ring from Moon Bunny- as well as the Tukoni Tribe galactic bunny brooch Thali bought for me online ♥

I think I'm going bunny crazy, and that's okay, haha!

Tasmania, Afternoon Tea and a Project

Last month, we packed up some tiny bags (no checked baggage allowance) and jumped on a plane to Tasmania for Thali's birthday!

It was just a quick trip for a few days. It was the first time I saw snow! And then it snowed on me in tiny flurries! And I touched snow! I was really excited.

Thali took us on some lovely walks, but it was incredibly cold out and Lauren and I are babies so we missed some interesting things. I did get up early with Thali one morning to go platypus spotting though! I only got to see a splash, but I'm told they were there.

I have a few more photos, but I wasn't sure that I should post them. Thali may have some of them up soon though, so keep an eye out.

Egg and gelatine free oreo mousse and raspberry and crème de pêche jelly with crème diplomat and fruit

A week or so after that, we'd invited Cortnee and Jess up to have tea with us. We were very laid back about it. There were a lot of scones that didn't make it into the pictures because they were being kept warm! We had plain scones and pumpkin scones- the leftover pumpkin ones went so well with the potato and leek soup we made the next night!

In my spare time too, I've been working on a little something for AVCon this month! I have a bit more to do on this, and then a couple of other things to prepare for my parade outfit. I'm really excited to see it all coming together!

Also I apologise to anyone who has found me to be commenting madly on their blogs- we finally have internet! My blog reader had over 200 posts unread and well, I lost track a little.. 

I hope I can return to posting more regularly!

Sweetie Violet for Koko Black

 Recently, some of the local girls from the Chinese speaking community met up with us! They were all super cute and sweet. It was really lovely~ 

I wasn't feeling so great, so I was pretty casual- I wish I'd dressed a bit better! Next time I guess.. I hope we'll meet again soon!

 Thali made me a little embroidered brooch to match Sweetie Violet! I love it so much ♥

I can't wait for the Easter meet up this weekend, and Supanova next weekend! We still don't have internet (I have to borrow it where possible or go to the library still...) but it looks like we might be lucky enough to have it soon, I really hope so!

Hope you all have a lovely long weekend~ ♥

Valentines Day Afternoon Tea

 For Valentines day, we had a quiet little afternoon tea~

On the menu:

Savouries

Egg and Alfalfa

Quince, Apple and Brie

Roasted Capsicum, Sweet Potato and Parmesan

Sweets

Earl Grey Tea Macarons

Lemon Myrtle and Raspberry Jelly

Jelly Cakes

Tea:

Tea for Sunday

Sparkling Peach Iced Tea

It was quite warm, so we dressed up only a little- mostly with comfort in mind. We made everything ourselves- and specifically I made the macarons for Thali. Keeping her favourite tea and doughnut in mind, our little macarons had rose flavoured shells with earl grey white chocolate ganache and a little touch of lemon myrtle jelly. I need to revise the jelly (it was a bit soft, but still delicious) but after that, I'll gift Thali the recipe for her blog~ 

I got to use my Cheeky Rose tea cup and cake plate for the first time, aren't they cute~?

I hope you all had a happy and lovely weekend ♥

Paris to Provence - Melbourne French Festival

 Today we went to the Melbourne French Festival- Paris to Provence at Como House! We set out early, since we were worried about the weather reaching 30 degrees ... turns out while it was a bit warm for the time we were there it actually ended up raining on us a little! Good thing we had hats.

I wore my patisserie dress for comfort, since from what I could see the festival is mostly about food. And there were many things I needed to eat. There were some little shops with nicknacks and childrens clothes, but honestly we mostly walked around and sampled bread and cheese.

The man on stilts in mime make up said that I looked like a 'little French school girl'. Nailed it.

To start with I bought the most delicious little vanilla choux from A la Folie and for my lunch I had raclette! The man who ran the stall I think was the owner of 'Frencheese', who does specifically raclette catering for events and functions ... do you think I can have a function on my own and order raclette for say, twenty people? Maybe not ... haha. (it must be noted that googling frencheese gives some interesting results, I think that man has some sense of humour!)

I wanted to buy some cheese but I had such a little budget. After lunch I went looking for cheese and couldn't find much to suit my little purse. Fortunately for me (though I am sure the ticket price covers it somewhat) the event was sponsored by President, and they gave away free bags with a wedge of camembert and double brie! With some lavosh, raisins amongst other little things- all one had to do was find a baguette and a generous sample of wine and you could be set, as the couple at a near by table proved. This left me with some change and so I returned for more choux- this time raspberry, and strawberry and lime. They were delicious also, but the vanilla was my favourite. I wish I had some more ...

We came home quite early (before the real heat of the day began) but I had a lot of fun and I was glad we were able to make it this year, I really look forward to next year~ 

Thanks for looking~

Pirianda Gardens

The other weekend some friends and I had organised to do a little fashion shoot and have a picnic at the Piranda Gardens. It was a little way to travel and we absolutely got lost at least once but it was just a really lovely day out~ Our theme for the day was 'forest girl'. I decided to look back at the little deer coordinate that I had planned some time ago- though in the end I think only the dress and the antlers stayed the same!

In the second portrait you can see the ribbon and pearl details as well as the pink streak I sewed in. I used this technique to try a hot water perm on my wig. I think it came out okay but I probably should have left it to dry naturally instead of fussing with it. The pearl and ribbon chain is usually part of the dress but is detchable and so I decided to pin it to the wig to hide the base of the little antlers.

Here is the test I did on the mannequin in preparation- I was really excited to wear it. It was a lot of fun to dress to a theme with an idea in mind and to try completely restyling a wig. I wish that I had paid a little more attention to how the bow was sitting for the photos but they came out cute anyway, I think. It has a pin (though in this case I threaded a ribbon so it could be tied under the collar without damaging the blouse with its weight) so I should be able to pin it to headband and wear as a ridiculously large headpiece- it actually looked really cute when Thali and I were playing around with it!

Here is a small collection of some of the other photos of the other girls- clockwise from top left; Jordi, Thali, Lizzy and Cortnee. Isn't everyone so elegant? I'll have to take tips from them! ♥

Thanks for looking~

Animaga 2014

 This weekend past was Animaga. We took our own things and Peppermint Fox to join Jordi of tights by cordelia, we helped her to debut her Clair de Lune tights! 

This was Animaga's first year, so it wasn't very big and had the feel of a small university con despite the extravagant location. I don't know if they will be back next year, but we'll see what happens. Business was pretty slow all round, but socialising was not! For the first time I got to sit and chat with a bunch of the artist alley people we've met over the last year or so. There were also a couple of artists that I hadn't seen before at other conventions in Melbourne who had the cutest wares and Magi Cat Street came down from Sydney, so I was able to meet them again (and as you can see above, I caved and bought the blouse I had been eying off since SMASH).

For the Saturday, Jordi was kind enough to lend Thali and I a Cosmic piece each so that we could be triplets! Of course, we weren't the cleverest triplets and so I don't actually think we have any photos together! I wore the pink with purple details, Thali wore the ivory sailor collar with black and Jordi wore the lavender JSK with pink and cream! Jordi also has managed to collect all colours of the melty moon bags (moons are her thing) and so we each wore one in a matching colour. I felt really cute, especially when my hair was fluffed up properly! Unfortunately it deflated a lot. I also didn't have a single photo with a sensible face, so I've blurred it and you get this one. Don't ask me what I'm doing, because I have no idea.

 

 

 I wore Melty Cream Doughnut in a very casual way on the Sunday since I was so tired and just wanted to be comfortable. Even though the con wasn't very busy, I feel like it was a nice end to the con season for us. I'm looking forward to next year though, we'll likely be joining Chiffon Rose in the exhibitors for Supanova. I'll miss the artist alley, but we'll be there for AVCon and SMASH if we can ensure we snag a table!

Thanks for looking~

Lizzy's Birthday, High Tea at the Gables

The other day was dear Lizzy's birthday! She decided to host a high tea at the lovely Gables estate. After worrying a little about the weather throughout the week, it was lovely to wake up to such a beautiful day!

Upon our entry we were greated by a fabulous looking dessert buffet- that was for later though. We greeted our hosts and the other guests and milled about, chatting excitedly. We were bought champagne (or apple juice in my case) and suddenly food appeared! We were bought a delicious array of savoury pieces and a pot of tea each.

 After satiating our savoury needs, we moved on to the desserts! You were allowed to take anything you liked from the buffet table, though of course if you have ever had high tea you know that you can never eat as much as you would like! My favourite of the little treats was the little peppermint drop, it was absolutely delicious.

 Thanks to Thali I also have a photo of the birthday girl! Lizzy to the far right looked amazing and perfectly regal in her princess themed coordinate ♥ We're pictured here with Rachael, Marzy and Jordi. As you can see I decided that since we were to dine in such a beautfiul location it was the opportune time to wear Cat's Tea Party.

 Pixie and Cortnee looking amazing, do they ever not though? (I'm not sure that dress is actually that blue but here we are)

 

 I took a quiet moment to snap some photos of darling Thali, she looked perfect as ever in Grazia Crown ♥

We started with three and ended with seven due to Pixie's enthusiasm! Some of the pretty prints from the girls. Starting from the Red and going clockwise; Meta's Girly Things, Innocent World's Grazia Crown, Baby's Heart Marble Chocolate and Sugar Coated Cookies, Angelic Pretty's Decoration Dream, Cosmic and Cat's Tea Party and Babys' Ave Maria.

Afterwards we retired to Lizzy's parents house for pizza and drinks (though not much pizza, we were afterall quite stuffed!). It was so so lovely to chat with everyone and I hope that the birthday girl had a wonderful day, it was so lovely to be able to share it with her! ♥

Thanks for looking~