I Did It.. I Started My Own Lolly Buffet Business!

It's called Treat Me Sweet and this was my first event. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out. It was for a baby shower at one of my favourite bars in Canberra (the Loft), it was so much fun to organise and the client was really happy - phew!

I decided to start this business as a hobby more than anything else, just a creative outlet I guess (aside from blogging!).. plus I figure it doesn't hurt to make a little extra cash while we're saving for a new house (more on that later)

I can't believe I actually met one of my New Years Resolutions for once haha! How are your resolutions coming along?

xx

DIY Cake Smash

I couldn't resist doing a cake smash for James' first birthday! I think they are so adorable. I considered getting a professional shoot done but thought it would be more fun (and a lot cheaper) to do it myself. I did it the morning after his birthday party so that we could use his cake for the lolly buffet and "happy birthday" candle blow-out. The morning was a great time to do it as he was happy and full of beans (as opposed to tired and cranky which is what he was like at the end of his party).

I was originally planning to do it outside on the grass but it was raining and miserable so I decided to do it in the corner of the living room. Luckily we've got wooden floorboards so I didn't have to worry about hanging a drop sheet. I kept the props pretty simple with left over balloons from the party, a mulicoloured banner and giant letters. Cute, easy and inexpensive. You could also use other props like streamers, pom poms, chairs, chalkboards etc. Just don't go too overboard!

As I'm not the best baker in the world, I asked my friend to help make this gorgeous butter-cream beehive smash cake for James. I then added a few sugar bees (purchased from eBay) as a finishing touch. Photo-wise, I think it turned out really well. It also tasted amazing! James kept breaking pieces off and trying to give them to me - so I gobbled them up (it would have been rude to say no) and as you can see, James loved it too!




I kept him in the same outfit as his party to keep it consistent, plus I think it's adorable. I thought about making him a little crown - but knowing him, he'd rip it off straight away. I also think overalls would have been cute. A lot of bubs go topless for these shoots but I prefer it when they wear fun outfits (for girls I think tutu's are a must!).




This is definitely a two person job! One to take photos and the other to keep them from crawling off. Having two people also makes it easier to clean up! After the shoot, I cleaned James up (jumped in the shower with me) while Rob put the left over cake away and cleaned the floor.



I'm so happy with how the photos turned out and I think James had a great time digging into that cake. I definitely recommend doing your own cake smash if you've got the time (and a good camera) as they are so much fun!

xx

James' First Birthday

James is officially one today! I still can't believe it - my baby has grown into a little boy!

We had his party on Sunday (mother's day here in Australia) and as you can probably guess we went with a Winnie the Pooh theme. I started planning his birthday months ago haha. It was fun to organise although the day before and the day of were pretty exhausting! I think it was worth it though, as it was a fun afternoon for my little guy and everyone had a great time.

Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable. We originally planned to have the party inside and outside (as our place is tiny) but squeezing us all inside and away from the rain, didn't end up being as bad as I thought it would be.

I set up my first ever lolly buffet and I'm really happy with how it turned out. As I mentioned earlier I'd love to start a small lolly buffet business, so this was my first step towards doing so. My gorgeous and talented friend Carol made the beehive cookies and smash cake - they looked amazing and tasted even better! We did a smash cake shoot the next day with James which was soo cute! I'll do a separate post on that soon.

I definitely think that James' 1st birthday party was a success. I have to be honest though, it was a lot more stressful than I had imagined a 1 year old's party to be.. but that's probably just my personality! I tend to get stressed about having everything perfect which, let's face it, it never is.. especially when there are babies involved!

xx

Our Trip to Windsor

Last week, we went to Windsor (just outside of Sydney) for a mini-break to celebrate Rob's birthday. We had a great time exploring the town and hanging out with the little man.

Gone are the days of couples massages and fancy candle-lit dinners but we did find time for a little romance. While James slept, we took advantage of our room spa and relaxed with strawberries and champers (mmmm).

We spent the next day playing tennis, shopping in town and going swimming. We stayed at the beautiful Sebel Hawkesbury Resort, which was so handy with a baby as it had all the amenities we needed (including restaurants, a pool, day spa etc). The staff were great too and provided us with a cot, highchair and microwave (to heat up James' solids).

I think we're getting the hang of the whole "travelling with a baby" thing, although the thought of bringing James on a plane terrifies me!

xx

Overnight Paleo Bircher Recipe

It sounds a bit odd but it's sooo delicious!!

Not only that but it's super healthy (packed with protein, omega-3 fats, vitamin A, E, D and B, calcium, zinc, magnesium and more), plus it's easy peasy to make!



All you need is..
2 tbs LSA meal (ground linseed, sunflower and almond kernels)
1 tbs almond meal
1 tbs shredded coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp natvia
1 cup almond milk
small handful of frozen (or fresh) blueberries
small handful of frozen (or fresh) strawberries



Then just follow these 4 simple steps -
1. Combine LSA meal, almond meal, coconut, cinnamon and natvia in jar/container/bowl.
2. Put blueberries and strawberries on top of the dry ingredients.
3. Pour almond milk in and mix all ingredients together.
4. Store in the fridge overnight and eat in the morning!
(or eat straight away if you're using fresh fruit)

Simple. As. That.



Let me know if you try it and what you think?

xx

Solids - Week 2

This week James tried Green Beans (he's not a fan!) and Carrots which he loved but are sooo messy! I forgot to take pics of him eating them, so he's one of him enjoying pear instead :)

Day 8

11am - Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 9

11am - Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 10

11am - Introduce Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 11

11am - Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 12

11am - Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 13

11am - Introduce Carrots + Green Beans

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 14

11am - Carrots + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

xx

Starting Solids - Week 1

So we've bitten the bullet and started James on solids this week. I wasn't sure he was ready, so I  "tested the waters" by giving him a little taste of rice cereal and he LOVED it, he practically bit my hand off when I spoon fed him and cried when I took it away! He's a big boy (7.8kg) so he's got a healthy appetite! Obviously I'm no expert on introducing solids, and there's a lot of different (and conflicting) opinions out there about when and what you give your bubs. But for us, this is what we've started with and it's all going well so far (touch wood).

Day 1

After 11am Feed - Introduced Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 2

After 11am Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 3

After 11am Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 4

11am - Introduced Pear

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 5

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 6

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 7

After 11am Feed - Introduced Peas

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

It's exciting being able to introduce him to new foods and see his reaction. I still can't believe he's eating solids already! Naw my little baby's growing up so fast *tear*.

xx

Father's Day

Rob had his very first father's day on Sunday (naaaw). He's such an amazing dad and watching him with James always makes me smile. The above pic is what I made for him along with a few other bits and bobs. We had such a fun day, eating pancakes (nom nom nom) and relaxing by the lake..

I'm thinking of making it a tradition.. pancakes and sunshine, what could be better?

Do you have a father's day tradition?

xx

Our First Family Trip

We just got back from our first little trip as a family. We didn't go far.. just to Mollymook (about a 3hr drive from Canberra) to visit my dad. It was so nice to get away for the weekend, even though it involved us packing practically everything we owned before leaving haha. We spent the weekend lapping up the sun on the deck (while making pizzas and drinking champers), going for walks, exploring the town and going to the beach (where James felt sand for the first time). It was such a fun and relaxing trip, James was so well behaved and only had one bad night while we were there.

Now I need to start planning our next trip to Sydney in September. Fingers-crossed it goes as smoothly as this trip.

For those of you with bubs.. how do you find travelling with a baby?

xx