Kitchen Tea - Alice-Style!

I suppose I'm officially at that age: people all around me seem to be getting married, having kids, etc etc etc. *yawn* (not really, I'm secretly very envious!)

A friend of mine is planning a bridal shower/kitchen tea for one of her school friends and I thought it might be a fun little project to help her with, given the amount of free time I currently have (and also fuelled by some bitchiness from a fellow bridesmaid towards her - I'm rather protective of my friends!) 

So I drew up some mood boards with images I found on Pinterest and thought these slides were just too cute not to share on my blog... Who knows, maybe one day I might become an event planner! Or better yet, find an excuse to throw elaborate, OTT parties at least once a month;) 

I just hope my friends will be putting this much effort in for my kitchen tea when the time rolls around... *hint hint M & J* :D

Xxx

A Perfect Weekend for my Return...

Apologies to all for my extended leave of absence this past month - I have the kind of profession where it's sometimes virtually impossible to do anything else while on a job (Film Industry. Freelance Production Manager. No, not glamorous at all. Trust me.).

Here's a pic of a very windblown me from a shoot earlier this past season...

Well the shoot is wrapped and I'm back! As I'm having a little dinner party this evening for a few of my girl friends, I figure today's post should centre around the food that I plan to make tonight and my dream table-setting:) Have already made the dough and it's currently rising in the kitchen - I'm quite shocked as to how easy it is to make! I suspected that I may be over-committing myself, but so far so good:) And this is a wholewheat pizza recipe - so much better for the ol' figure and digestion! You can find the recipe here.

Of course I haven't made this actual pizza just yet, but I googled a few pics to show you guys what  had in mind as far as the toppings go: Roasted butternut, caramelised onions, pine nuts and shaved pecorino...  With a bit of luck, it will look a little something like this:

Found this pic on this site...

I love the look of this table: long, draping table cloth; elegant chandeliers; wicker chairs & puffy pillows lending a casual air to the feel of the room... I love this table!

I believe I found this picture on {this is glamorous}

Industrial-Chic Dinner Table, seen on CasaSugar - just love the lights running above the table!

Ok, so this has been a short post - just wanted to say that I'm back:) Happy reading!

Xxx

Recipe Scrapbook

Something that I have on my list of things to do (yes, that particularly long list) is to create a scrapbook of all the recipes that I've collected over the years. Recipes from my mom, gran, from my time in London, my time in France and even from my old school days when I couldn't imagine food much beyond delicious pastas and 'meat and 2 veg' -type dishes (long-before Top Chef was regular viewing!).

I've had all of these recipes tucked (unpasted, unsorted) into the pages of a very old, unused scrapbook which has been lying in the bottom of a trunk in storage for years, however that trunk has now found its way into my home, beckoning to be dealt with one of these weekends. I do have many recipe books in my house, but it's all of those collected recipes, like your great-aunt's super-easy but yummy cheesecake or your great grandmother's recipe for mielie bread that are so important. Let alone that recipe for duck rillettes that you tore from a French newspaper one day while in drinking coffee on the Cote d'Azur. :)

Can any readers make any suggestions on making the entire process easier? I did particularly like this collection of recipe storage ideas from Design Sponge, but I do kinda have my heart set on sorting through all the recipes one rainy weekend, finding obscure sentimental ticket-stubbs, notes, ec and creating something of value to me. With my own 2 paws and to proudly prop in my bookshelf, only to whip it ut oneday when I sit my daughter up on the kitchen counter one day and have her ask "What's that, mummy?". If I ever have kids, that is. Otherwise I'll just have to fatten up my friends and family - and any potential pets that may find their way into my home in the future :)

From Design Sponge Shop

I googled "recipe scrapbooks" and found the following great pic from Life SA:

Very cute idea... A wonderful heirloom for one's kids oneday. Well, one of 'em at least :)

A great source for tips and tricks on scrapbooking is Scrappy Tips - worth a visit? Of course, lest we not forget the Queen of all-things-crafty, Martha Stewart. I remain a big fan - tax evasion, et al... Check out her exceptionally useful scrapbooking slideshow here: Martha Stewart on Scrapbooking.

http://womenonthefence.com/2010/03/26/fridays-recipe-exchange/

I've encountered the term "scrapbooking" loads since I've started blogging and researching blogging, etc and it hasn't yet been a realm that I've explored. Now call me old-fashioned, but I currently have no idea what that would be - I imagine it would involve quite a bit of cut-and-paste, scanning, etc, etc, etc. However, I suspect that I am wrong and promise to do more research into the matter because it seems to be a pretty uselful (and frequently used) tool in the Blogging community.

I'll keep you posted....

Xxx
The Girl Belle

Pre-Mothers' Day Rush....

Self-inflicted, yes - I am aware. I don’t know how this week passed me by with my head in the sand… I simply didn’t click that Mothers' Day was THIS Sunday (ie: today) and I was gift-less until about 1pm yesterday afternoon when the realisation struck me.

And to be honest, I particularly liked the idea as I’m operating on a slightly tight budget right now and, on an occasion like Mothers’ Day, it truly is the thought and effort that counts – mainly because our mommies just adore us regardless! Plus - I really am feeling the need to be more crafty, homely, to use my time more productively (and stay out of shopping centres of all shapes, forms and sizes). But I digress...

After scouring the internet for something slightly more inspiring than ‘basic butter biscuits’ or shortbread, I ended up settling on Red Velvet Cupcakes with Buttery Cream Cheese Icing. Yummmmmmmmmm…..

You can find the surprisingly easy recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/index.html. They turned out perfectly moist, not-too-sweet, creamy, just lovely! And the icing... Oh, the icing....

I made a different mixture for the buttery cream cheese – basically I mixed up ±280ml cream cheese, 2/3 of a 500gram block of unsalted butter (chopped up), vanilla essence and 3 cups of sifted icing sugar add slowly while whizzing the mixture with a handheld mixer. Once mixed, turn the speed up and whizz some more for extra-fluffiness.

Ok, so with the cakes made, cooled, smeared with the icing and then some good quality chocolate grated on top.

Ok, then came the box-making. I don’t even think I should get into this. If you really feel inspired – get some pretty cardboard, cut out a template and make ‘em yourself. But only if you have some serious time on your hands! :) Otherwise, I’d suggest picking some up (preferably not late on the Saturday afternoon before Mothers’ Day) at a place like the wonderful Merripak. http://www.merrypak.co.za/

Now would be a good time to mention that the Boyfriend’s brother has recently had a son, Ben – he’s almost 2 now, incredibly cute and quite a handful – but in an adorable, toddler-ish kinda way. I couldn't resist making him some mini, Ben-sized cupcakes just for cuteness sake. Now, because Ben obviously can’t read but he is obsessed with the animated movie “Cars” and although it may not have been Ben-Day we came up with a card for his mini-box of mini-cupcakes (bite-sized, so cute!) that looked a little like this….

I then lined each box with some pink tissue paper, popped 4 of each cupcake into the box and sealed them up all nice and pretty-like – let’s not forget the pink raffia… Yes, OK OK, some days I just feel very, um, ‘Pink”. You'll undoubtedly this notice from time-to-time. Just the fact that my entire blog isn’t completely pink from head to toe is a miracle in itself (one of these days I’ll introduce you to my dressing room – it’s Barbie-meets-Priscilla-meets-6-year-old-Ballerina-wannabee… But it’s my girlie outlet and I need it!).

I then quickly printed some tags / notes for each person onto some …. um… pink(-ish?) cardboard which I attached to the raffia / ribbon to finish it off.

So there you have it…. And yes, it may have taken a while longer than I thought it would, but let me tell you – when I saw the expressions on the faces of those beautiful women - especially something like this from me (of all people!), it’s all been completely worth it!

Now good night! I’m exhausted! ;)

Xxxx