A Quick Catch Up ~ August

Because I missed so much by not blogging I have so much to catch up on. Like I said on my To Smile post back in July I bought a new camera and I have been trying very hard to upgrade my calibre of photos and to also simply take more. In August I had quite an eventful month, between my birthday,a trip back home to my holiday of this year. A long weekend with my gorgeous sisters in the Amazing Barcelona. I will do a separate Barcelona Holiday post as there was so much packed in to the four days. So in photo form this is my catch up for the month of August. These are the photos which would have gone into my To Smile posts over the time I was on a blogging break.

A Manicure with the new 2 Week Manicure Colours I had added to my kit. The colours were perfect for an old dress I had. I then bought some fabulous jewellery from "Bellerina" at The Ivory Closet to wear with the dress too. See here to see more Sparklies from The Ivory Closet (As Amina calls them) New Jewels for an old dress.

I have talked before about my Aunt's Allotment, here are some pictures I took while I was looking after my cousins. The allotment was awash with colour during the summer with all the various beautiful flowers on show. My cousins spent so much of their summer hanging out in the allotments, playing games, making potions and their own perfumes. It's lovely to see the kids playing outside instead of being stuck in on computers or watching t.v.

While minding my cousins we went to look at a display of Quilts made by the Quilting Association of Ireland. I love this craft and I can't wait to get my sewing machine to get stuck into it myself. I have so many ideas, mostly for Amina's bedroom. The quilts that were on display were amazing. The technical ability required to finish such intricate pieces is only something I can aspire to have.

We hung out alot at the Botanic Gardens in Dublin getting the most out of the warmer and drier days which were so far and few between. These gardens in the heart of dublin are such a serene escape from the everyday hustle and bustle that city life brings.

I celebrated my birthday in style. A picnic on the floor of my sitting room with my mum, my aunt, 3 out of the 4 sisters and Amina. You don't get much better than that.

My friend and I decided to take out girls for a trip to the woods in the Dublin Mountains in search of fairies. We didn't find any fairies but we have a lovely day out in the fresh air and magical surroundings.

And lastly for August I perfected my home made hummus recipe and even started combining different flavours to switch it up a little. I have turned into a hummus addict, literally. Made with the juice of lemons and some creamy Greek yogurt along with the necessary chick peas and tahini paste, it has now become my staple food. I will put up the recipe soon on a Sunday Sample once I get back to my regular postings.

I will continue with my catch up posts next week in the place of my To Smile posts. Next week I will concentrate on my fabulous weekend away to Barcelona with my sisters.
So what have you all been up to? Did ya'll have a lovely summer?

It's My Birthday

 Hey Ya'll Just a quick post to say today is my birthday so I'm spending the day with my family enjoying all the simple things that life has to offer. Like a picnic on the sitting room floor because it's raining outside. Hoping everybody is having a beautiful week. Thank you all for stopping by.

Sunday Samples Raspberry Cupcakes

During the week I showed you the cupcakes that I made for my little sister for her 20th birthday. I said that I'd give you the method to recreate them. These are seriously the best thing to bake for starter at home bakers. They don't take alot of effort but have a great pay off.
You will need:
150g Plain Flour
125g Softened Butter
125g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
1tsp of Vanilla Essence
1/4 Tsp of Baking Powder
These amounts make 12 Cupcakes
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius

Cream your butter in a large bowl with a Mixer

Add your sugar and your vanilla essence

Beat until light and fluffy

Add the eggs while continuously beating

Sieve in the flour and baking powder

Mix it all together until soft, fluffy and lump free

Put your cupcake cases into a cupcake tin

Fill the cases with your mixture and put in the oven for 18-20 minutes

For these cupcakes I used raspberries that came from my Uncle and his Wife's Allotment. You can literally use whatever you like. Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries, a little lemon juice or plain icing with a flavouring which you can get at any baking store and in some supermarkets. Again you can colour the icing to match any theme that you might have.
For this method you will need:
75g Softened Butter
175g Sieved Icing Sugar

Weigh out and sieve your icing sugar

Make sure the butter is softened for easier mixing

Mix together and add a handful of raspberries
until the consistency is right.

You don't want to add to many raspberries initially because when the icing is too runny it won't frost the cupcakes as easily. Add a little at a time. And always make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled before attempting to ice them or the butter will heat and melt, making a big mess.

Frost the cupcakes in whatever design you desire

Hope you like these. They are always a go to for me when having people to the house. They are so quick and easy to make that you can literally whip them together and have them cooling for the icing while getting the dinner together. Amina loves these cupcakes and sits there salivating over them while they're cooling. If you try them out let me know how they go.

Birthdays and Bon Vogagez..

The past few weeks have been quite emotional from our family point of view. I said goodbye to two sisters who are off Au Pairing in London and Spain and to my husband who had to fly home to renew his passport. On top of that we had two birthdays, my sister, who's going to Barcelona, 20th and my Grandmother's 70th, so cupcakes had to be made. I made the yummy treats with fresh raspberries picked especially for us by my sister and little cousins from their allotment outside their house. You can see more on the wonders of said allotment over on my other sister's blog, Bluebells and Bunting and I will be doing a Sunday Samples this coming Sunday on my method for these cupcakes.

Anyway due to all these circumstances I have been incredibly busy and not at home and unable to blog. We travelled to West Cork where my Grandparents live, for my Grandmother's birthday. It's possibly the most beautiful place in the world.

I am now in my home town chilling out and trying to keep myself occupied amongst wonderful old friends until my husband returns. Amina is of course missing her Daddy terribly and is quite unsettled so we took a trip to the newly opened Dublin Disney Store before we left, much to Amina's delight. I have to say though, I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Amina or myself. Amina has been know as Minnie ever since she was born so it was only fitting that we purchased a few Minnie Mouse dinner table accessories for the little princess.

We are here, at home, until Friday when we will make the journey back to Dublin, Child, Dog and enough luggage to fill two wardrobes, just in time for lots of beauty bookings over the next week, a girls night and within enough time to clean the house before hubby returns and of course to catch up on blogging. Hope ya'll are enjoying your summer, hopefully the weather is better where you are than it is here and have safe travels if you are venturing out.