SHARE THE LOVE for typhoon Haiyan victims in the Philippines...

A little can go a long way!  Why not dig into your pockets and donate towards a wonderful cause.  To learn more about this fundraiser, you can check out our event on facebook by clicking here.  Let's keep sharing the LOVE and watch it GROW!

xo,
Jackie

Last week...

...was like a lolly scramble.  You know the one that you have at kids birthday parties where you get some good ones and some yucky ones?  Well, last week we had some good days, but we also had some yucky ones.

Starting with the yucky days - It was tough having my big boy spend the first half of the second week of his school holidays in hospital.  Not really on anyone's to-do list in the holidays, huh?!  But we are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ that he was well looked after and completely healed!  It was the best feeling having him home and back to his happy healthy funny self again.  His little brothers surely missed him!!  

Then moving onto the good days - We finally bought a rug for our living room!  It's been on our list-of-things to buy for a while, but me being me, I had to wait for a good deal.  And this baby was!!  I managed to score it for half price!  I'm not gonna get into the details, but I scored it for less than it was advertised for.    It's on the 'wild' side, but we all love it!  Especially my boys! 

Now moving onto even better days - I baked lots and lots of Pinkalicious cupcakes for Pinkalicious October to raise as much funds as I can for the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation.  It was a great success that I've had to extend this event til the end of the month!!  So much love and support in my community which is amazing to see!  My boys didn't mind  showing their support by eating the left overs! LOL 

Now we arrive at Sunday and it's the best day of our week - My family and I decided to go for a long drive.  We didn't have a plan.  We just drove and drove until we reached Whangarei and thought "wow, we're pretty far from home eh?" lol.  It was a great day just chillaxing with the four most important men in my life!  Although we didn't make it back in time for our indoor netball semi-finals {a little miscommunication between the husband & wife here, haha}, it was a wonderful day!

Here are some highlights, courtesy of Instagram.  Enjoy xo 

 Have a safe and happy long weekend guys!!  See you back here on Tuesday for more cakin' and creatin'!!

xo,

Jackie

Two decades of love...

This week my Aunty Faye and Uncle Ruben celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary!!  How awesome is that?  Twenty!!  That's double the time my hubby and I have been married!!  As a gift, I decided to make them their favourite - a classic red velvet cake.  If I had to choose a cake that represented true love, this baby is IT!!  :-)

ENJOY!!

Here my hubby and I set up their cake and a few photos from over the years to highlight their love story...oh and the faux rose petals to add a bit of romance in the mix...lol.

And here are the love birds xo

Here's a close up of this lovely cake...xoxox

My cousins made them an awesomely cool anniversary card!!  There's this one part I absolutely love and had to share!!  You'll laugh if you know it :-)

 Well, hope you are having an awesome day!!  And that you are celebrating your love with your other half every single day, because life's too short not to.

Have a lovely Thursday!!

xo,

Jackie

Wedding preparations...

I wrote a lot yesterday...so today I've decided to just show you pictures, because as the saying goes 'a picture is worth a thousand words'.  So here you go, enjoy!!

With my awesome make-up artist and friend Margaret

Click 'READ MORE' below to see a lot more pics of my preparation...

10 years later...

...and still crazy in love...

I'm here!!  Don't worry, I've been better than fine!  Just had some time off the blogdom to celebrate my love for my hubby Lui.  It was our 10 year wedding anniversary the other week, and we renewed our vows in the presence of God, family and friends.  It was a beautiful day and I couldn't have asked for a more handsome groom!

The ceremony was very special, and emotional.  From the minute I started walking with my parents to Lui, and our dear friends AJ and CJ were singing me down the aisle, tears of joy came flooding down Lui's eyes, and naturally down mine, too.  It was probably one of the most beautiful moments of the day, seeing Lui at the other end, waiting for me...and then feeling his warm touch as we joined.  It was like a fairy tale.

The beginning of the waterworks...

Could not stop the waterworks...I just wanted to be with my man!

Together at last...we just wanted to kiss right then and there...but we had to wait...it was sooo hard...

You're probably wondering about our wedding cake?  Well, yes, we had one, and yes I made it...THAT MORNING!!!  Let me tell ya, I had no sleep whatsoever!  Talk about crazy bride, huh?  I was up all night at my parents making bouquets for my bridesmaids and flower girls...then went home and started on THE CAKE.  Sleep was definitely no longer part of the equation.  I decided that a two-tier cake was the most I could do with the time I had.  I had two cakes to ganache and cover in fondant.  Oh, and decorate!  But I also had to be at my sis-in-law Kat's place by 7am for my hair!  That only gave me about 3-4hours to bake, cool, fill and frost, and cover in fondant TWO CAKES.  I only managed to get up to the frost part, so the fondant had to wait until after my hair.

Yikes, got home around 11am from getting my hair done, and not to mention some last minute errands I had to run WHILE I HAD MY HAIR UP!  I'm sure people at Spotlight and The Warehouse were thinking my hair was a little too done-up for the attire I had on (which looked like pyjamas, haha).  I didn't have time or energy to care.  Had to get crackin' on the cake.  Before covering the cakes in fondant I had to smooth out the ganache.  I was working as fast as Flash at this point in time.  Why?  Because I had to be at my aunty's for my makeup and preparation by 12.30 (take away the 20mins travel time, that really only left me with one hour to work with).  I managed to cover the top tier in fondant, and even add some very quick pleat work (in an attempt to mimic to top part of my dress).  Got to my aunty's, I really had no time to cover the bottom tier, so I asked my sis-in-law Gaile to do that for me.  She makes cakes, too, so I was sooo happy to have her there.  She was stressing out, so she got my brother to roll out the fondant for her, then got my cousin to fan her as she covered the cake.  Apparently, she was sooo hot!  Poor thing, I just had to throw that one at her.  But at least that's all I asked of her.  Nothing fancy, just cover the bottom cake in fondant, and that's it.  I'm sure she would've appreciated a much smaller cake to cover...hehe.

I didn't really care so much at this stage about how 'perfect' it looked, I just wanted a covered cake that was presentable enough to have at our wedding, hehe.  I think I did a pretty amazing job, considering the time and circumstances I had to work with.  I loved the final look - simple elegance.  The fresh roses and baby's breath really 'finished' the look of the cake.  Sooo happy with the way it turned out!!  God is great, and without Him this cake wouldn't have even existed!!

Click 'READ MORE' to see the cake!!

To our Jubs...

Dear Jubs,

What an incredible young man you turned out to be! Not only are you an awesome son and big brother, you are also a wonderful friend. You never fail to amaze us at the things you do - your drawing, your dancing, your determination and love of learning. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You fill our home with joy and laughter, and even when it's gray, you make it feel sunny! We are very proud of you and love you beyond comprehension! And like I used to read to you when you were just a little boy, "I love you to the moon and back". Happy 10th birthday son! May God bless you abundantly this day and the days to come.

Lots of love,
Mum, Dad, Javier and Carlyle
xo

P.S. I found this super cute old video of you...:-)

Hitched!

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of making a sweet cake for my first-wedding-cake 'client' Deepana.  I was so happy to hear from her and everything she's been up to.  She's one super busy woman I tell ya!  And that's without kids!  She was busy organising a friend's hens night and wanted to order the exact same cake as her wedding (because apparently it was the cake everyone raved about) - woot woot!  That's sooo awesome to hear!!

She wanted this cake to be simple but sweet.  She saw a cake I made for my hubby last year, and wanted the same cake for the hens night.  I must say, I don't think I've ever recreated a cake I've made.  I'm like a designer that creates one-off pieces, as opposed to mass-production, lol.  But it was actually quite nice because as I was making it it reminded me of the feeling I got when I was making it for my hubby - that "lovin' feelin'" hehe.  Definitely suited the occasion!

So, without further ado, here's the LOVE cake (but a more polished version to the first one I made)...

Hope you enjoyed this post guys!  I'll be back some time this week to show you the cake I made for my nephew/godson Josiah's first birthday!!  Stay tuned!!

xo

Happy Birthday to my bebe!!

No Christmas stuff today guys!  Today is all about my hubby Lui!  It's his birthday and I want this day to be special and all about him!  So I have been up all night baking (of course) and whipped up a batch of chocolate cupcakes for him to take to work today.  Chocolate with chocolate buttercream!  I was going to put my usual ganache, but I didn't have enough chocolate for it, so buttercream I went.  It tasted pretty amazing actually, and I don't usually make chocolate buttercream because ganache has always been the one to make me go "ohhh...mmm...ahhh...", but I think I'm definitely going to be making this buttercream more often from now on.  Here are some pics I snapped up at six this morning, before hubs left for work.  Enjoy!!

Last night, our dear friends Tamara and Alec invited us over to their lovely home and let us have some fun with their Photobooth.  Here is a fun Christmas photo that me and my hubby took.  Man, I have to say, I love that thing!  It really is the best!  I know I've said it before, but seriously, you have got to hire this baby out for your next function!  It is fun-guaranteed!  You'll love it so much you'll end up bloggin' about it - for real!

To my best friend and soul mate,

I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am to have you in my life.  You always make me laugh, let me tuck my freezing toes between your legs, you appreciate my curves, and never fail to tell me I look good.  You are a wonderful hubby, an awesome daddy, and I love you beyond measure!  Happy birthday bubs!  May God bless you with many more birthdays!  I sure am very excited to celebrate each and every one of them with you.

Much love,

your wifey xo

P.S. 381 4 life!  hehe

xo

S'mores and fondue

A couple of nights ago we had chocolate fondue with strawberries and mini marshmallows for dessert.  We also decided to make s'mores!  It was sooo much fun and sooo yummy, so of course most definitely blog-worthy!  Here are some pics my hubby snapped that night.  Enjoy!

Oh happy days!  I hope you enjoyed this family post.  Come back tomorrow for some DIY fun!!  Enjoy this sunshiny day!

xo

Fathers' Day 2011 continued...

FATHERS' DAY PART THREE
...with my side of the family

Okay, so remember how yesterday I said I would show you my favourite part of the new-look Viaduct?  Well, without further ado, here it is...the giant bench(es)!

I really wouldn't mind takin' one of these babies home (to my backyard).  The perfect siesta bed slash reading chair slash kids playground, hehe.  Love it!

Click after the jump for more highlights...

Fathers' Day 2011

I know, finally!  The Fathers' Day post I'd been wanting to post since LAST WEEK!  Thank you Broadband for being kind to me today!

FATHERS' DAY PART ONE
...with Lui's side of the family, celebrated on Saturday 4/9/11
On the weekend Two weekends ago, we held a small get-together at my place to celebrate Fathers' Day with Lui's family, as well as his Aunty's birthday.  It was a lovely day!  All we did was eat, eat, oh and eat!  hehe.  So what did we have on the menu??  Let's see, shall we?

Read more after the jump...

August in a glimpse...

Good morning everyone!  Hope you had a great Fathers' Day weekend!  My hubby sure was spoilt with love, laughter, and cake!  Will share more of that tomorrow, so be sure to come back.

Today I am delighted to 'begin' a monthly summary, where I'll be posting little glimpses of what I shared with you each month.  Not sure why I didn't think of this sooner.  Enjoy!

CUTEST

I started August off with sweet cake pops, which I renamed PARTY POPS!  A sweet treat made from left over cake scraps and covered in sprinkles!  Yum-oh!

COOLEST

Then we shuffled the streets of London with dancer Kimberley from Vibe One, who asked for a special cake delivery for her bf in Auckland!  How sweet!

MOST PINTEREST-ING

Of course goes to the Pinterest Challenge we did with Katie, Sherry, Lana and Emily.  Everyone shared amazing work!  Good stuff guys!

OLD SCHOOL

...goes to our trip down  memory lane where we visited my life as a dancer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Good times!

RANDOM-EST

...has to go to the 'deer' action we had on our street.  Random and cool!

FASTEST

...goes to the little quickie action in the car with a cake!  There's gotta be a first for everything, right?

BEST MUSIC

...goes to DJ Kiwa who rocked the house!

BEST DANCE

...goes to this awesome dancing!!

BEST ROMANCE

...goes to the 'Love' cake I made for my hubby xo

MOST CHALLENGING

...undoubtedly goes to the MJ tip-toe shoes cake.  I can still remember the sleep deprivation, lol!

MOST SIGNIFICANT

...goes to the colourful confetti cupcakes made for my eldest son for making significant progress in his reading.  Well done! :-)

MOST THOUGHTFUL

...goes out to the bake sale held at Delish Cupcakes where I, along with so many other volunteers, baked lots of goodies to raise funds for those affected by the Christchurch earthquake.

MOST FASHIONABLE

...goes to Fashion Friday, where I shared some of the latest fashion trends I'm diggin'.

MILLENNIUM AWARD

...goes out to my Uncle who turned 50!  Made him a vanilla bean cake to celebrate via skype.  Love technology!  

MOST COMMITTED

...goes to the first wedding cake I made!  This is the first of many more wedding cakes to come, I'm sure.  :-)

and last but not least we have...

MOST CARING

...goes to the SPCA Cupcake Day!  

Well, there you have it!  August in a glimpse!  I can't believe it's now September!  Yay, my favourite month ('cause it's my birthday month, hehe, and it's SPRING).  See you all again soon for more cool cakin' and creatin'!

xo

SPCA Cupcake Day

That's right guys!  I am a proud supporter of this year's SPCA Cupcake Day and the image above is the official sticker I (along with all the other Cupcake Cooks) will be wearing when selling our cupcakes.  If you would like to find out more about this event or how you could help SPCA, then click here.

This is very exciting for me because this is my second charity event that I've been involved in this year.  I haven't mentioned this yet but earlier this year (as most of you fellow NZers would know) we had the most tragic earthquake happen in Christchurch.  This natural disaster took a lot of lives along with their hopes and dreams.  I was shocked when I heard the news and all I could do was pray for survivors.  I remember feeling really helpless and wondering what else I could do to help (apart from donating money online to Red Cross).   Then I stumbled upon a page on facebook set up by the lovely Delish Cupcakes in North Shore, Auckland.  They had organised a 'Get your bake on' for anyone to join and all money raised would go directly to those affected by the Christchurch earthquake.  I had both my hands up!!  What a lovely idea and a sweet gesture to show Christchurch that we are thinking of them.

It was a great day!  Lots of people turned up with their loose change and empty stomachs yearning for sweet treats.  I was one of the volunteer bakers and helpers on that day.  I even put my "I (heart) cake" t-shirt fit for the occasion, because it was Black and Red - the Canterbury colours.  I donated some delicious chocolate cupcakes and banana cupcakes with red and black daisies (again, using the Canterbury colours).  It was an awesome experience!  I got to meet so many lovely people, doing their bit to help out.  We made over $6k that day - what an incredible achievement!!

See pics after the jump...

Colourful confetti

...on delicious chocolate cupcakes!  Made fifteen of these cuties last night for my sis-in-law, and reserved a special one for my eldest son, Javaughn.  Here's why - yesterday Javaughn received a classroom achievement award for "making significant progress in his reading".  Significant is definitely the highlighted word here.  Let's just say he is now reading a couple of years above his age :-).  Lui and I are sooo proud of our boy because we know this has been quite a challenging area for him.  His persistence in the past couple of months, diligently reading for half an hour to an hour a day, really paid off.  It's wonderful to see that he now knows and appreciates 'hard work' and its rewards.  As parents, we like to see our children give things a valiant try and not quitting at the first sight of defeat.  Like my favourite verse goes, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Phil.4v13).  This has been true in my life, and I share it with you because it really has helped me face some of the most challenging circumstances that came my way - I'm sure it will do the same for you.

This single cupcake was made with lots of joy and love.  It symbolises how proud we are of him and what he has accomplished.  I showed it to him this morning and he looks forward to eating it after school, with a nice cup of hot chocolate.  Here are some fun pics I took this morning that really made my mouth water...ahhh, yum-ehh!!

Hope you enjoyed this post!  Have a wonderful Wednesday and drop by again soon!

xo

This is dedicated to the one I love...

The title is from a song btw...  Anyway, to get our Wednesday started, here is a cute image I found on one of my favourite daily reads.  Since our subject today  has something to do with both Love and Chocolate, I thought this image is perfect!

Image source: Atypical Type A

Today I have something special to share with you all.  It's a cake I whipped up this morning for my dear husband, Lui.  Recently we've been witnessing blessings in our lives for which we are truly grateful for.  My hubby has been working very hard at his job, and sometimes it may go unnoticed by some, but his bosses and I know the amount of dedication he's been investing in his role that has and is making a huge impact in their company.  He's the go-to guy for anything - Lui this, Lui that.  Very similar to my current role as a stay-at-home-Mum - Mum this, Mum that...hehehe.  Lui very rarely wants a piece of my cakes, maybe because I make them too often it's lost its special factor about it, I don't know, but when he asked me on Monday if I could bake him a cake 'just 'cause' I thought 'wow, this is strange'.  So today I made a simple but rich-in-chocolate-and-deliciousness cake for him.  If he is reading my post today then there won't be a big surprise reveal when he gets home later, but that's okay, we can all still enjoy eating it as a family after dinner.  :-)

Of course, when I say simple, I meant about the decoration of the cake.  The frosting is not perfectly finished, but I think the handmade look gives it a nice touch.  I couldn't help my self from adding some embellishments to the finish, in this case making some frilly border to surround the bottom of the cake, and some Maltesers shaped in a heart to go on top.  I have to admit I couldn't resist eating a couple of those Maltesers in the process, lol.  But I didn't eat any until I saw what resembled a heart shape, hehe.

Before I reveal the cake, here's a scanned pic of something I found inside my (yummy) cereal box (Hubbard's Light & Right Berry Uplift).  I cut it out and placed it on our fridge, just as a reminder of how blessed we truly are.  Hopefully you can appreciate this, too.

Click below for the cake reveal...