Happy birthday to us!

It's two years since our first post! And to mark the occasion we have a little something for you... a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.

Weeks before our birthdays we'd start choosing a cake from the book for mum to spend hours making the night before our birthday. Flicking through this copy there are so many familiar cakes but the highlight for me is the train from the cover which Mum made at least twice, even going so far as to make the candy popcorn herself on one of those occasions.


There were only two cakes we were steered away from: the "Candy Castle" probably because of the vast quantities of sugary egg white icing it involved and the "Swimming Pool" possibly because of the practicalities of slicing and serving a cake filled with jelly.


This is the "vintage edition" of the book - printed this year but almost unchanged from the original we grew up with in the 1980s. Four cakes have been swapped for more politically correct masterpieces but the font, layout and copious use of "butter cake mix" remain.


If you'd like to win this copy of the book just leave us a comment telling us about the best birthday cake you've ever had - from the AWW book or not, it doesn't matter.

afternoon tea for Daisy

It was Daisy's first birthday recently, a very special occasion, so we celebrated with afternoon tea. The menu was...

Asparagus rolls with fresh mint and citrus butter

Chicken, almond and rocket sandwiches

Club sammies with egg, ham and herb mayo

Lemon meringue tarts

Mum's famous date and caramello slice

Miriam's lovely wee melting moments

Little chocolate eclairs

Thanks to everyone for making it such a special day for us xx

Spot

Happy Birthday Daisy x

a few of our favourite things...

Becs: When Miriam was in town last week we took a drive out to the Little River Cafe and Store for coffee and a sweet treat. They make the most divine cheesecake brownie, and this time we also sampled their delicious tan square. The attached gallery stocks a great range of NZ art, and the rather old fashioned craft station next door is always good for a browse too; this time I picked up a cute pair of pink polka dot hairties for Daisy and a dozen homegrown tomato seedlings.

Libby: I spent a couple of days in Canberra this week for work. It's not the most vibrant of cities and I'm yet to meet anyone who's been there for anything other than a meeting or a conference but it does have one thing going for it: an excellent bakery. Silo bakery is tucked away in a suburban shopping centre in the residential area of Kingston. I stopped in for a delicious breakfast of raisin toast and fruit salad (so much better than a hotel buffet breakfast) and picked a wee treat for later. Silo make the loveliest tarts and with combinations like banana & caramel, passionfruit & mascarpone and date & ginger it was a tough choice... until I spotted a tart containing my most favourite of dried fruits... prunes!

Miriam: It was my birthday on Wednesday. I was most excited when a courier box arrived at work. Protected by layers of bubble wrap and surrounded in ice packs, were these delicious custard squares from Third Place Cafe in Rotorua. Mum had iced (using her own strawberry icing) and packaged these to deliver her birthday wishes. Such a lovely treat!

Along with custard squares for morning tea, my workmates presented me with this berry cheesecake.

I consider "The Intern" a term of endearment, reflective of the importance of my role, perhaps in a similar league to The Queen, or The President!