Beautiful gifts from near and far!

I arrived back home, fresh and rejunvenated.....ready to start a new year.....these little treasures were waiting for me......

this...... from two very special people that I like to spend time with......

and these from my angel friend I met through blogging......

Joy....absolutely...

merci......thank you....gifts from your ♥'s!

And the greatest gift of all.....love ♥

See you soon!
Shel

Blue and White and Love!

It was to be a tablescape with sprigs, birdnests and all the spring colours. We have a little family of birds in our garden who have just had chicks...so we awaken to much chirpy chatter each morning! This morning was no exception......

However, being such a perfect morning and having my youngest on holiday, I decided to set a table near the pool with everyday china that I have had for donkey years!

All the shell detail....

The menu!

Muesli, yogurt and blueberries.

Fruit platter.

Mini Blueberry Muffins and coffee.

And a poem by Grace Wolgemuth...

That Little Boy of Mine.

Two eyes that shine so bright

Two lips that kiss goodnite

Two arms that hold me tight

That little boy of mine.

No one could ever know how much your coming has meant.

To me you're everything. You're something heaven has sent.

You're all the world to me

You climb upon my knee

To me you'll always be

That little boy of mine.

Please join me over at Susan for Tablescape Thursday!http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Shel

Food for my soul!

'Until you make peace with who you are , you'll never be content with what you have'.--Doris Mortman......~ so true!

Our Ironman with a heart of gold! Well done Wes, we are proud of you!

A beautiful cake for you!

Ingredients: ~

250g butter

1 tsp vanilla

11/2 cup coffee

200g good quality dark chocolate

400g sugar

2 eggs

180g sifted self raising flour

20g sifted cocoa

Icing ~

3/4 cup cream

200g drk chocolate

2 T Bailey's or Amlarula Cream

Method~

Preheat oven to 170 Cel. Grease a tin. Let the vanilla and coffee simmer for a while. Add butter,chocolate and sugar and continue to heat until choc and butter have melted. Pour this into a mixing bowl and whisk in eggs. Fold in sifted flour and cocoa and pour into greased tin. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours til skewer comes out clean. When cooled, turn out and drizzle with chocolate ganache.

See you soon

Shel

Cupcakes for my Valentines!

They pull at my heartstrings, they twist me 'round their little fingers', but, boy oh boy, I love them!

Whilst everyone was on his own mission late last night, I made these for them.....

The Recipe..Cuppy cakes!

1/2 cup marg

3/4 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4tsp salt

1/4 - 1/3 cup milk

1 +3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs and vanilla.

Sift in dry ingredients alternating with milk.

Bake at 200 degree C for 10 - 15mins. Ice as desired.

Enjoy!

Food for my Soul! #3

We are all in this life together.

To do what we can to help others, to understand others and to love..

but not without losing our sanity in the process.

We have responsibilities to others if we have the opportunity.

The responsibility to help, to nurture,

but we also have the responsibility to ourselves to know when it's enough.

The really frightening thing about middle age is that you know you will grow out of it! Anon

Food for my Soul!

My boys are really special to me.I've been dreaming about them today so much.
I think it's because they have very busy schedules and challenges lying ahead....no doubt, we (Eddie and I) will be there to support them all the way.

It was a hectic weekend away for them. Each on his own mission...oh, how we missed them but come Sunday, it was much baking and getting ready for their return!

I baked Madeleines on Sunday and then glazed them with Orange Icing! Divine!

I found the recipe on http://www.docetentacaodalili.blogspot.com/ and adapted it a little to suit what I had in my grocery cupboard.

Ingredients:

100g margarine, 3 eggs, 100g sugar,1 tsp vanilla,100g cake flour,1tsp baking powder.

Method:

Melt butter and set aside. Break the eggs into a bowl and together with sugar and vanilla beat until thick and pale. Add your flour,baking powder and mix well until the batter is smooth. Add your melted butter. Pour into moulds and bake at150 C for 15mins. I drizzled over a little orange glacing icing.

Delicious! Gone in 5 mins: Just enough time to quickly take a pic!

Finally, it is a blessing to be called a parent...there can't be a greater privilege (or challenge) than bringing a tiny human being into this crazy world. We need all the patience, intellect and wisdom . For those parents whose families include only boys, the greatest challenge might be just getting them through childhood and adolescence in one piece! Ask me!! However, I am so proud of three great young men (one being my nephew) who have achieved so much already in their young lives and most definitely more than I had at their ages... all uniquely different but all with such noble character. To them, I just want to say: "Go chase those dreams".

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin........ (so fitting.)

See you soon!

Shel