Happy 4th birthday to my twins!!

Whoa!!!  It's been a while since I last posted something, huh?  Sorry for my absence...but this year my first priority is my family {which has always been the case anyway}, but also my health and well-being :-)  Sure, there will be those odd occasions where I have to pull an all-nighter, but I REALLY want to change that habit and make sure that I look after myself more.  Last year I pretty much beat myself up with countless sleepless nights working on cakes, as well as writing and editing my posts, to the point of exhaustion, and yes, even ending up in hospital :-(  Terrible, I know!  I'm just glad that change is taking place in my life and I thank the Lord for everything!!

Now, enough about that!  Let's now talk about my boys Javier Stanley and Carlyle Micah!  My miracle babies turned FOUR on the 12th of February, and we had the pleasure of celebrating their {last minute} birthday at my sister's new place.  It was really like a pre-house-warming/birthday combined into one celebration!  I was a little under the weather that week leading up to their birthday, so could only {barely} whip up cupcakes.  Was also busy helping my sister move, so really had no time to put a cake together.  I felt bad about that, but I also thought to myself, my boys LOVE cupcakes, so I should be happy that I still managed to whip some for their special day :-)

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...please note that the ones of us are a bit blurry, but still, enjoy xo

Click 'read more' to see more highlights...

January 2013 in a glimpse...

First month of January over already?  Holy smokes!!  That was quick!!  I hope you've been enjoying your summer {that is if you're in the southern hemisphere}.  We've been really blessed with gorgeous sunny days that when we get the occasional rain we actually appreciate it!  Let's soak up as much warmth as we can while summer is here, because we won't have her forever.

Now, I know we're well into the month of Feb, but I hope you forgive me for being a bit slack lately here in blogdom.  School started just over a week ago, and it's been a very full-on week for my family.  We are trying to get back into the swing of things around here, y'know, back to that routine after a lovely long break!  So far, so good...{touch wood} :-P

Anyway, let us take a quick look at January 2013 to remind us of what fun we got up to...

Transformers' Optimus Prime/Bumblebee birthday cake for Tyler!!

Mocha 'hearts' cake for me Dad's birthday xo

Pocoyo birthday cake for Alexis :-)

My cuzzy Gabriel's {simple & classic} 21st birthday cake/cupcakes tower :-)

...and last but not least, we ended our month with a celebration of love...

25th wedding anniversary cake

What have you guys been up to this beautiful Feb?  Any sweet plans for Valentine's Day?  I can't wait to share more wonderful stories with you, so be sure to stay tuned because this month is going to be awesome!!

Have a marvellous Monday!!

xo,
Jackie

25 years in love...

Last weekend I made three cakes.  The first one was Alexis' Pocoyo birthday cake, and the second one was my cousin Gabriel's 21st birthday cake & cupcakes tower.  The third and final cake I made was for my neighbours' parents 25th wedding anniversary, which is what I'm featuring today.  What a special and momentous occasion to celebrate!!  I remember when my hubs and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last year!  It was such an amazing time for us!  So, being asked to make a cake for this special occasion was super exciting for me :-)

My friend Lisa didn't really have any ideas in terms of design, but she did know that the cake had to be chocolate, square, with the colours white and silver.  So, I had more than enough to start with, and after some brainstorming, I definitely wanted to create something elegant.  I hope you like it!!

And here are some instagram shots for your viewing pleasure...

I hope you enjoyed today's {second} cake feature!!  Looking forward to Feb, because that's one very busy cake month for me!!  And it's all for family, too!!  Including all three of my boys :-)

Have a fab Friday and enjoy your long weekend!!

xo,
Jackie

P.S. Kids start school next week!!  Eeek!!  Are you ready?

Happy 21st Gabriel!!

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Gabriel's 21st birthday.  He usually resides in Dunedin, so having him here is such a special treat!!  I made him a classic red velvet cake {because that's his favourite} and a tower of mini chocolate cupcakes {for all the guests}.  I was so busy snapping pics with his camera that I only ended up with two on my phone...oops!  So, I took the liberty of grabbing one pic from Facebook {with Gabriel, his sister Pearl and me} to share with you.  Enjoy xo

From left to right: Me, my cousins Gabriel and Pearl

Simple, yet satisfying!  Hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Will be posting another cake up later, so stay tuned!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 2nd Birthday Alexis!!

Good morning peeps!!  Sorry I haven't been around much lately.  Just been enjoying my time with my boys that by the time they're tucked in bed, I'm super exhausted!!  Plus, I recently joined the gym...need I say more?  Haha.  No, but in all honesty I love it and although it feels like I'm dying each class I attend, I feel more energised and alert.   Maximus Fitness is amazing!  The trainers really push you to your limits, and are very friendly and encouraging.  It has a very family and community feel to it, too, which is not like your typical gym.  I know I've only just started, but I'm so excited for this new journey that I had to share it with you!!

Anyway, the main point of today is to share with you a really fun cake I got to make last weekend for a girl named Alexis.  She recently turned two and absolutely loves the cartoon POCOYO.  I actually wasn't familiar with Pocoyo, but it was definitely no excuse for me to turn this cake request down.  Thanks to Google I was able to learn about this cute li'l character and his friends.

So, without further ado, here's Pocoyo!!  Enjoy :-)

And here are some details...

My hand-crafted 'Alexis' stencil

 I hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for another one!!  Actually, another TWO!!  Have a terrific Thursday!!

See ya soon,
Jackie xo

Happy Birthday Dad xo

Last week we celebrated my Dad's birthday.  It was simple but filled with love.  I whipped up a mocha cake for him with a heart {as per Mum's request} and we surprised him when he arrived home from work {at 11pm}.  My youngest brother Jan cooked a beautiful carbonara, too, and man it was sooooooo goood!  Straight to the hips!!! :-D

Here are some highlights of the {late} night.  Enjoy x

I had these really cool {natural} blue heart sprinkles that I used for the first time.

Chocolate cake + coffee buttercream = Mocha cake :-) Nom nom nom...

And here we have Dad with some of his grandchildren...

My cute nephew Jaden blowing out Dad's birthday candle :-)

Hope you enjoyed today's post!  See you back here soon with more sweet creations!!  Have a fab day!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 5th birthday Tyler!!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of making my first birthday cake of the year!!  It was for my friend Carissa's son Tyler who turned FIVE!  He specifically wanted a Transformers cake with both Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.  And he wanted "the same lady who made Caylan's cake" to make his birthday cake.  I thought that was too cute!!

So, I thought, what would be a cool way to incorporate these two characters on a cake?  After some thinking {on paper} I finally came up with a design that I really liked.  Honestly, it took a lot of thinking to get to this sketch...because I just had so many other ideas floating in my head.

So, without further ado, my first official cake for 2013, here is my Transformers cake!

I hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Looking forward to sharing many more cakes with you this year!!  I have a feeling it's going to be a GREAT year!!

xo,
Jackie

Here's part of a message I received from Carissa...
A big thank you once again for another one of your awesome creations. Tyler was super impressed by his Optimus / bumble bee transformers cake  and as per usual all the cake was demolished.