Princess Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Beth's 3rd birthday party and it was brilliant. She is a very girly girl now and I knew she would like a princess theme so I went all out! The table looks a little messier than it did at the start but you can get the idea. I got the palace scene setter from www.thebigparty.ie and it looked fantastic. I also got 4 princesses that hung on the wall. Aurora is to the left of the table, bit of a glare from where I was standing but she looked great. Cinderella was at the front door, another princess at the back door and one to the right of the table.

There were lots of sweets, pink marshmallows, pink lemonade, sandwiches, rice krispie buns and some hot party food.

Of course, the cake was the centrepiece of the table, the big pink thing! it was a rainbow cake and here are a few photos of the making of it.

 Cake mix done, I separated it into 6 and used a different colour for each one. I used liquid food colouring. The experts suggest using gel food colouring but I did a trial run a few months ago and was pleased with how it turned out so just stayed with the liquid ones.

After baking I sandwiched the layers together with buttercream. It was delicious. Butter, icing sugar, a few drops of vanilla essence and a little milk. Yum :-) 

Another photo of it stacked. 

My little princess taking a breather with a bag of sweets. 

The finished product. I know it was a little lumpy but hey, I didn't mind. I was just worried how it looked inside. Everyone knew I had attempted a rainbow cake and were gathered round as I cut it.  

And here it is. Not bad if I do say so myself :-) 

 Tasted quite nice too!

Beth had a great day and got loads of presents. I really enjoy putting a big effort into her birthdays. Kids parties are so much fun!!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

I said I'd share the recipe for the Chocolate Biscuit Cake I made for my birthday. It's a brilliant recipe with no baking involved. The cake itself has a gazillion calories so not recommended for those on a diet! I got the recipe off my friend Debs.

275g Butter
150ml Golden Syrup
225g Good Quality Chocolate (e.g. Cadburys)
400g Digestive Biscuits
400g Rich Tea Biscuits
1 Packet of Malteasers
Optional Extras: Raisins, Nuts, Marshmallows

1. Mash up the biscuits (the rich tea can be a bit tough so put them in a bag and bash them with cup).
2. Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter.
3. Mix everything together in a really big bowl.
4. Put in a grease lined tin, cool and stick in the fridge.

Voila. Can't get easier than that!

Still planning the Rainbow Cake for Beth's 3rd birthday and will have lots of photos of that! I'm going to do a princess theme. Lots of pink and sparkles for my little princess.

In 3 weeks Beth and I are jetting off to the south of Spain for our first ever foreign holiday. Can't wait!! We're both very excited :-)

In writing news, I'm still working on the Bleeker Avenue sequel, the new project and a collaboration of short stories with a writer friend.

Busy, busy!!

How many rejection letters are too many?

I'm afraid I've been neglecting my blog again! I really have no excuses. Bold me!

Still no good news from querying so it looks like I'll have to re-do my first few chapters in an attempt to get some positive feedback. Last night I stayed up until 1am to fill in a form for Pan Macmillian's Manuscript Monday. Every Monday, between 10am and 4pm AEST, they accept queries for unsolicited manuscripts. As I live in Ireland and the form had to be filled in on their page it meant a late one for me. At least it is sent off now.

There is some good news on the writing front though. I won't be saying anything here until it comes to pass but watch this space.

All I can think of are the queries I have sent out and how many have not replied. Every time an email comes through my heart skips a beat. 

I have given myself the deadline of the end of August for Bleeker Avenue. If there has been no feedback by then I will re-access where to go next with it. Maybe a full overhaul is needed.

The big question is... How many rejection letters are too many? 

I'm planning on baking a rainbow cake for Beth's birthday. What do you think of my first attempt?