Writer Baker Maker: October 2014

A few wonderful things.

It's been a while since I shared a few wonderful things I've spotted while browsing so here goes!

Image from abeautifulness.com

The lovely Beautiful Mess girls brought out a book recently that I can't wait to flick through, I'm already jealous of the girl interior style so I can imagine the envy I'll get looking through. Find them at abeautifulmess.com!

Image from Agnes Felt on Etsy

How adorable is this little cat bed! Lux is a lover of any dark space she'll frequently sneak under the covers or shove her head under your arm because it's cosy and warm. As soon as I spotted this I thought it would be so perfect for a kitty like Luxie! Find this cosy hide out here on Etsy.

Image from The Letter Room on Notonthehighstreet

I'm all about Christmas already I can't wait to decorate and bake for the holidays so when I spotted these ceramic letter dishes I thought I'd share them. These would be perfect with sweets in for parties around Christmas time or full of nibbles for New Years Eve! Find them here on Notonthehighstreet!

Image from Culinary Couture Blog

I'm drooling just looking at these! How delicious do these look, I'm a little obsessed with Cinnamon Rolls and I was browsing for a recipe on Pinterest and I spotted these from here at Culinary Couture! Hopefully I'll get a chance to whip some of these up in the next few weeks!

What are the wonderful things you've spotted while browsing? I'd love to find more awesome bits and pieces so let me know!

Katy xx

Vanilla and Lemon Cream Cheese Cake

I decided I would whip up a cake the on Friday as G's friend was coming over and had just turned 22! He, like G, is mostly a fa of Vanilla cake and so we started with just a simple Victoria sandwich but I wanted to make it a little more interesting and G suggested cream cheese frosting. Perfect!

So I thought I'd share the recipe, it's possibly one of my favourite flavours I've created in cake.

For the sponge:
225g/8oz Sugar,
225g/8oz Self Raising Flour,
225g/8oz Butter,
4 eggs,
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract.

For the frosting:
125g/4oz Cream Cheese,
50g/2oz Butter,
300g/10oz Icing Sugar,
1 Lemon.

First up butter and line your tins and then preheat your oven to 200".

Weigh out your butter and sugar.

Cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy.

Next crack 4 eggs into a jug and whisk.

Slowly add your egg into the creamed butter and sugar. Add a small amount and mix completely, continue this and you should get a smooth batter.

If you find your batter looks like it's separating add a teaspoon of flour and this should help bind it.

Next add your 1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract.

Last but not least fold in your flour bit by bit. You should end up with a nice smooth batter.

Split the mixture between your two tins and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

In the mean time get started on your frosting. Firstly zest 1 lemon ready to add to your icing.

Next mix together your butter and cream cheese until combined.

Next carefully add your icing sugar and stir until smooth. Do this carefully because you might end up with an icing sugar shower everywhere like we did.

Pop into the fridge and leave until your cake is out and completely cool.

Once your cake is cool pour icing on to one layer and then pop the other one on top, add a small amount of icing and smooth out until a thin layer covers the top of your cake.

Display and then enjoy! Our cake didn't last long at all, it's almost gone now and I'm betting yours won't last long either. Send me a tweet or tag me if you make this I'd love to see how it turns out!

Katy xx

My desk

I thought you might like to see how I've styled my desk!

When we moved in it was a mess and to be honest it's still a work in progress, all my boxes were mis matched and everything was thrown around! Not organised at all, it's taken me until this week to finally sort it all out and make it look together.

I've gone for a pink and gold theme. But I'm not too strict with that there are other colours there too, if I like something I'll go ahead and throw it on there.

I'll list where things are from at the bottom of this post incase you'd like to know.

Not sure why there's a spoon in my jar...

Wedding Wednesday: Newcastle Vintage Wedding Fair

Another Wedding Wednesday is here! And this week we went to the Newcastle Vintage Wedding Fair at the Theatre Royal so I thought I'd tell you all about a few of my favourite things we saw while we were there.

We LOVED this bar bicycle stocked with you favourite drinks or the option to create a custom cocktail for your guests from Nickynoo Quirky Weddings and Events find them on www.nickynoo.co.uk.
They also provide catering (Afternoon tea!) and a candy cart!

Pimms is such a wonderful summer drink and now you can have the Pimms van at your wedding! They also have a television screen on the side of the van which you can use to play music or even a slide show. Find them at www.pimmsvan.co.uk and don't forget they also do a winter pimms if you're planning a colder wedding like we are!

Macarons! I'm in love with the bright colours of these mini treats that can be made to match to your colour scheme! One of my favourite parts? These treats are coloured and flavoured with all natural flavourings so non of those crazy additives. These not only look amazing they taste incredible too! Find them at www.leminimacaron.co.uk.

We also saw this amazing Live band! The Four Shadows as soon as I heard them singing Little Lion Man I was dead set on having these guys perform at the wedding. Their song list is just perfect and not to mention the wonderful outfits they wore. Find them here at www.fourshadowstheatre.co.uk.

Last but not least Surf & Silver from The Rainbow Pot in Grainger market has the most wonderful handmade sea glass jewellery. Sea glass reminds me of my childhood so seeing such beautiful jewellery creations was wonderful. Find The Rainbow Pot on Facebook and Twitter.

Seeing all these amazing things has really gotten me (even more) excited to plan the wedding! Look out for another update soon!

Katy xx

My favourite spots in Newcastle.

I thought I'd give a little insight into a few of my favourite places in Newcastle to visit if you'll ever be here.

So here is my top 4!

1. Jesmond Dene- While I am a little bias as it's where we got engaged it's so beautiful along here in every season that it's not to be missed. There's plenty of space to walk and maybe picnic in the right weather. There's also Pet's Corner which is a small animal park, super sweet and there's a cafe along side for the cold days when you need a cuppa.

www.jesmonddene.org.uk

2. The Laing art gallery- Of all the art galleries in Newcastle this is my favourite, it's not too modern and includes a lot of traditional artwork. Even the building is beautiful to look at, it's such an underrated place. Find it right in the centre of Newcastle just round the corner from number 3...

www.thejournal.co.uk

3. Theatre Royal- Personally I think the Theatre Royal is one of the most beautiful buildings in Newcastle and is incredible to watch theatre in whether it be the Christmas Panto or the RSC. I'm hoping to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime when it comes at the end of January.

Image from www.tripadvisor.com

4. Pet Lamb Patisserie- Lastly a little cake stop! Find them in the corner of Grainger Market and I promise you will be in for a treat! My personal recommendation... the salted caramel brownie, delicious!

Image from www.tripadvisor.com

I hope you love Newcastle as much as I do!

Katy xx