Bloody easy cupcakes

This is Missy's butterfly birthday cake. Why butterfly? Simply because we have butterfly decals in her room that she loves and points to the first thing every morning.

I had enormous amounts of fun baking for her birthday. It also helped heaps that my mother-in-law did most of the house cleaning and every other possible work around the house to make the party happen. I simply couldn't have done without her. Mum helping out gave me the time to bake the butterfly cake along with some vanilla cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes and biscuits.

I hadn't considered putting up any recipes here -- not till after submitting the manuscript! -- but for a very dear friend who asked to "recommend a decadent cupcake recipe". I knew just the recipe for her and for you if you like decadence and cupcakes.

Hallow how are you?

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
I was watching True Blood season 4 (episode 3, 4) last night and I realised that the short-haired, memory-loss Eric Northman (extreme left) is just not doing it for me. He reminds me too much of Meekus from Zoolander (in green) to take him seriously. While Eric Northman with short hair was still quite the (delicious) devil -- please see that look in that poster, sigh -- I am not liking this lost-boy act. Yet. Overall I do like Eric oh-so-much, read this if you didn't know that already!

However, I think I much prefer my bad boys with long hair. That said I am totally enjoying the way Alan Ball has changed Charlaine Harris's original story. Some of the plot and character changes are heaps better than they were in the book. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

On another front if July has been a quite month blog-wise, it's been pretty much go on every other count. I've found I cannot write at home. So I pack Mia and various baby-belongings and go and sit in this cafe called Pampered Mummies. It's brilliant! There's a play pen and separate play area for kids, there are other kids to play with and most importantly, the staff more than often look after Mia (and other babies) as I write. I've done more writing at Pampered Mummies in two weeks than I've done in the last year.

Along with the writing, this month has also been about Missy's first birthday and the last of the Harry Potter movies.

Very different people



L-R: Cuffs, J Gillard, Collingwood and KP2

Snort. There was a time when I'd sit in my fourth-floor apartment, smoking, hurting and wondering if I'd ever meet my soulmate. My idea then was this, in short someone who'd be my  mirror image and would like and enjoy all the things I did. In hindsight I think I was looking more for a real friend who I had great sex with.


Well now I have a baby. With the man I love. One of my Criterion For Soulmate was that the man should most definitely dance. I love dancing and I had these visions (very Mills & Boon!) of us breaking out into impromptu dance routines when our favourite salsa number played on the radio (yes, yes, very filmi) or doing a mean tango at some party. Yes. I know it's all very dramatic but then if you've been reading this blog you should have noticed that I do have a certain propensity for drama, no? I love drama, Partner hates it. And as far as his dancing is concerned... I've been expressedly told that 1. I should not write about our personal life here and 2. I definitely cannot write bad things about him. So I cannot write about his dancing.