Project: Cricket theme cake

Lulette asked me to make this cake for her son's birthday.  She came down to Albany from Fremantle on Thursday, in time for the Australia Day and Citizenship Awarding Ceremonies, together with her two kids, Kendrick and Keirnan.  

Kiernan loves to play cricket in school.  No wonder he wanted his cake to be in the theme of his favorite sports.  Glad that he liked my design.  He only had one comment though, I spelled his name wrong.  It should have been KEIRNAN.

I honestly have no idea about this game, though I would often hear my co-workers discuss about a recent match between India and Australia at work.  For facts and info about this game, I just did a quick browse through this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket to give me a better idea of the project I'm working on.  

Toppers consist of cricket pitch (rectangular brown-colored surface), cricket bat, cricket ball, leg guards, batting gloves and wicket.

For a more detailed description, here are some images.

cricket pitch

wicket

 

Australia Day and Citizenship Ceremonies 2012 (January 26)

The much awaited event of the year in Australia has just been recently concluded. This is a BIG day for Australians.

This 2012, a very important transition has taken place, as an astounding number of Filipinos were formally welcomed into the Australian family. Hubby was one of the 54 new citizens that took an oath led by the Mayor of Albany, in front of the crowd gathered at the oval.

Click link for photos: http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/Australia%20Day%202012/

Frolicking down the foreshore with Lulette (January 27)

It's not very often that we get to spend time with her since she had moved to Perth a couple of years back. But every time she comes down to Albany, she would always make it a point to spend some ladies' time with us.

On Friday, just before sunset, the ladies went for a stroll at the Albany Entertainment Centre. We haven't been doing the location shoot for quite sometime now, so we were all in a cheerful mood. I guess that happiness oozed out on how the photos came out beautifully.

To complete the night, we had dinner at Three Plenties Palace chinese restaurant.

Thank you so much Bossing Lulette!

Click link for photos: http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/Frolicking%20at%20foreshore%202012/

Cupcakes for Australia Day

While most people chose to spend Australia Day yesterday at the beach with such a beautiful weather too hard to resist, we, on the other hand, had a very important event to take part in.  At mid-afternoon, a group of Filipinos, including my husband, had their pledge as new Australian citizens.  

Congratulations Asawa Ko and to all the other Filipinos who are now new Australian citizens!

We had a simple dinner at home together with our friends, after the ceremony.  Since I didn't have enough time to make a cake, I thought of making some cupcakes.

Iced with blue and pink butter cream...

Decorated with festive sprinkles  and tiny OZ flags...

Arranged alternately on cupcake stand...

Voila! They certainly looked patriotic.

in pink and blue icing

4th Family Day (January 22)

Working to 6PM on Sunday has left me so miserably bored. Time just seemed ridiculously slow. The agony felt even worse because I was deliberately waiting...

At least I've had the remaining hours of the day still to unwind with family and friends. It's truly a relaxing feeling just hanging around to enjoy some time off, after a tiring work week. We find some form of pleasure and recreation in doing this every Sunday. Not only does it nurture the relationship between families, it also fills our hearts with nothing but joy and happiness.

 

Click link for photos: http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/4th%20Family%20Day/

3rd Family Day (January 15)

I finished work at six then hurriedly got changed to join them. It was so sweet of them to wait for me...

Summer was at its full swing last Sunday reaching as hot as 34C. How do you beat the heat? I say, wear fashionable summer outfits in soothing colors... just like what we did. This kind of weather won't be here for long, so enjoy till its lasts. We just couldn't find the perfect schedule as yet to go out for a picnic or a swim. But we'll sure do before the summer season ends.

Click link for photos: http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/3rd%20Family%20Day/

2nd Family Day (January 8)

Days have gone by so quickly... we're now heading towards the second week of the year. Done with our second family day.

Last Sunday's gathering started off a bit late than usual, well just in time for dinner. Anekh and I prepared Asian inspired dishes, consist of, Oriental fried noodle salad, beef and veggies siomai and stir-fried shrimp and veggies. Kumare also brought with her two grilled stuffed fish and an ice cream cake for Inay Juling who celebrated her birthday on the 3rd of January. Chad, on the other hand, cooked the Pinoy version of steak, so called Bistek Tagalog. Delicious and healthy, were the right words to describe our foods for dinner.

Ina Letty came to join us for dinner. She will be leaving this Saturday (to Lipa) and coming back on the 4th of February. She brought along with her the bingo cards and the plastic thing (I don't know what its called) where the numbers are drawn which only meant one thing - Bingo time!

I lost $14. I even had to sell my shoes... They were 2 sizes bigger than mine so I sold them to Kumare Geraldine. And Mhine did the same thing, with her newly acquired wedge (the one Charmelle was wearing). The game ended with Jimboy winning almost $30. 

Click link for photos:  http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/2nd%20Family%20Day/

Time to get organized

image 1

image 2 (front view)

I was at Vinnies last Friday when I spotted these containers; instantly thought of my baking ingredients.  They'd fit perfectly in them for sure.  So, I didn't wait another moment.  Grabbed all six and took them over to the counter.  Paid a total of $7.50 for the lot.  The big ones were $1.50 each.  Not bad.  

"They just need a good wash and they'll be as good as new", that's what the old lady at the till said, referring to the containers I've just bought.

I used to put my dry ingredients in either metal canisters of wafer sticks or plastic tubs of muffin mix from Dome.  I try to reuse them as much as possible, instead of throwing them out into the bin once empty.  That way, my little contribution in helping the environment is also being practiced.

Never really planned to replace my old containers, until I found these nice looking clear plastics.  They were just so irresistible.  That doesn't mean that I'm completely getting rid of the "reused" ones though.  They'll still be present in the pantry.

Don't they look neat and clean?

1st Family Day for 2012 (January 01)

We're now on our second year!

The first year has been all but good memories. And I can proudly say that we have been so devoted and consistent about doing this religiously every Sunday. It has become a part of our system already.

As we enter a new year of new beginnings, I am very excited to start another phase of our journey. This site has been fully dedicated to most of my life's special events, although I admit having failed to put up the first quarter of last year's family days. But for this year and onwards, I will try my very best to be updated with my uploads.

Starting it off, our first family day for this year, happened to be on the first day of the year. A very important day to celebrate, be merry with the group.

The Rimando's had their post-Christmas lunch at their place where they invited us to be a part of it. Then it was followed by the much-awaited Bingo session at Mt. Melville, which was headed by none other than the Queen herself, Ina Letty. It was such an enjoyable experience. I lost $25 in total but that's fine. The guys on the other hand, had a few drinks while we were too busy playing.

Truly a memorable afternoon. I can only wish for another year filled with all happy and feel-good moments.

Click link for photos:  http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/1st%20Family%20Day/

Our humble house's blessing (December 12)

Been so out-of-date with my albums. This one has been left behind for almost a month now. How could I forget to put up one of the most special event that we've had in the previous weeks? Guess I was just so eager to complete my pending uploads.

Moving in to our new place won't be any at all complete without having it blessed. We asked Father Bong to perform the ritual where he sprinkled every part of the house with holy water while saying a prayer. He also blessed the both of us. Then we had offering of coins, that were later on strewn on the floor for guests to keep. Of course we prepared a simple dinner for all of us to enjoy. 

Click link for photos:  http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/Moving%20in%20Blessing/

New Year's Eve Party (December 31)

What better way to celebrate the New Year than spend it with family and friends over a sumptuous dinner? I couldn't have wished for it any other way.

We had everything planned out for this big event. We got a spit roast pig to have what we call "star of the dining table". Each family had also brought a dish or two to share with everyone. Then there were spherical fruits which are believed to attract prosperity for the year ahead. I shouldn't forget to add "tikoy" and "pinindot", which are considered as good luck when eaten during this time because it connotes stronger relationship within the family. Not only that, we also tried our best to wear polka dots and/or stripes.

Don't we all love how we Filipinos celebrate the New Year? Whether its pure myth or tradition, we just simply hold on to them year after year. But somehow, I guess they might help, in one way or the other.

I still believe that the key to having a brighter and better new year ahead is through hard work with a dose of faith.

Click link for photos: http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/sherylsantos31/New%20Year%202012/

Project: Cake for the New Year 2012

My last cake project for the year 2011 and my first for the year 2012.

This was for Donna, the niece of Kumare Geraldine.  She has placed the order before Christmas just in case I'd be fully-booked on the New Year.  She wanted it on the 1st of January, before lunchtime.  I marked the date on my calendar so I'd be reminded.  Lucky I was given the weekend off, which I haven't had in a long time; a perfect time to do some tasks and get ready for the new year. 

I can proudly say that with this one, the whole idea of design was mine and mine alone.  She didn't specify what sort of cake she wanted to have.  When I asked her if she has anything in mind, she just said "anything nice".  No offense to her but I honestly find it hard to start a project when I have no idea how and where to start.  When clients give me specific theme or design, or colors and shape, I prefer that.  Not only does it lessen the time I spent on research, it also makes the task easier. 

fondant flowers

The daisy flowers were placed on top to give it a fresher and brighter look.  I don't know if it has anything to do with the New Year but flowers are classic, timeless.  They can help transform a simple cake into an entirely beautiful creation. 

Project: A heart-shaped wedding anniversary cake

Second cake.

For a wedding anniversary, the client wanted it in the shape of a heart and in lavender color. 

Cake: Moist chocolate cake
Filling: Nutella chocolate butter cream

Fondant: I tried making twisted ropes using fondant.  This makes an outstanding accent for cake border, according to the site where I got the idea from.  Well, the first try wasn't too bad after all.  But for next time, I'll have to make the ropes a bit thicker in diameter.  There's also another technique that you'd notice for the first time on this project.  Can you guess what that is?  Right.  Recently purchased a set of daisy cut-outs from Ebay and thought it would be perfect to complete the elegant look of this cake. 

Project: Australian flag cake

First of the two cakes ordered by the same client.

I was actually planning to make one on Australia Day, along with the Citizenship awarding ceremony for those who successfully passed the test, which includes my husband. Never really thought I'd be asked to make one sooner than I had planned. Because of that, I've got far better reason to make the project.  

Cake... I've done a few big cakes before of the same rectangular shape, so I know pretty much how to handle it. In fact, I reckon it's easier to bake cakes in bigger pans than in small ones because they don't have to be split up and poured into separately.  That way, leveling becomes a less difficult task.  The thickness is almost perfectly even from end to end.  For this cake, I used two recipes of chocolate cake to obtain the right height.

Fondant... The same problem I get everytime I need a distinct color. It just won't give me the right lightness and saturation I want to achieve. Instead of having a dark blue and a red color, I ended up getting a royal blue and bright pink. How annoying was that?  Regardless of how much amount of liquid food coloring I add into the fondant, I doesn't make any difference. Should really consider buying a good quality brand.  The question is, where?