Week 2 - photo a day in May

So here are the next 14 photos in my Photo a day in May challenge:

I think this was actually a bit of a mistake on my part - a friend has also been doing this 'photo a day in May' and she posted a smell she adores! That would make more sense considering the subject for day 10!

This really is something that I do every day - I do fiddle with my iPad every single day! I created this photo using the app 'Paper' from FiftyThree.com, and I actually had a comment from a stranger via Instagram! Which made me realise that I have random strangers following me on Instagram! I have to admit that I was pretty happy to realise that random strangers want to see my photos.

I really do love the word "VoVo". Go on, say it. It just feels good to say it. Iced VoVo's also taste really good!

I was a bit disappointed by this topic because I don't have a dream kitchen. It is quite big, really big actually. But it is a second hand kitchen that was pulled out of one persons house and then installed in the granny flat that I rent...so there are a few rough edges. So this is a photo from a magazine!

A cup of tea really does make me happy. I think it's because growing up my Mum was always making a cup of tea, and it is always the thing to offer when you're feeling down.

Mother's Day saw me take my Mum out for Tepenyake for lunch. She wasn't too keen to start with, but she actually really enjoyed it. It was a good time with lots of food, and I caught some fried egg in my mouth and fried rice in my bowl!

Ah grass. Grass where it shouldn't be. I think it is the bane of my existence! I don't know why, but grass growing where it shouldn't be just really frustrates me. I spent a couple of hours one day pulling out heaps of grass from this rockery because you couldn't even see the rocks, but it just keeps growing back! Agh!!

The next 7 subjects are:

15. Love (this will either be a photo of me and Joel, or me and Winston)

16. What you're reading (this will be easy, the second 'Game of Thrones' book on my iPad)

17. Snack (this may end up being more photos of Iced VoVo's!)

18. Something you've made (I make heaps of stuff...not sure what I'll choose)

19. A favourite place (hmmm....may end up being a photo of my bed!)

20. Something you can't live without (I don't like to think of myself as so dependant on anything....but I'm sure there is something!)

21. Where you stand (where do I stand? I probably don't stand still for long enough to be classed as standing anywhere!)

Week 1 - photo a day in May

Here are my first 7 shots from my 'Photo a day in May' challenge.

This one I was a bit stuck on - I had a look at some other photos after I had posted this and there were a lot of other things I could have done! Oh well, pieces of chocolate it is!

I really wanted to take a photo of a Nissan Skyline for this shot, but it was just too tricky to try and track one down, so you get a shot of the skyline on the way to work where they're building new suburbs in Canberra.

My description is too long for the photo!! This is 3. Something you wore. And this is the necklace that my sister gave me for my 30th. She has the other wing.

I always have fun at the hairdressers, especially when two stylists are blow-drying my hair!! It makes me feel very high maintenance, but it's fun!

This was a bit of a cheat - I had made and decorated this cake a couple of days ago, so when the 'Bird' photo came out I just took a photo of the bird on my cake, rather than trying to take a photo of a live one!

I wasn't really feeling very photogenic over the weekend (even though I had just had my hair done) so I thought I would take a photo of the 'You' I use when I'm making myself a dress. And yep, that is a big framed St Kilda thingy in the background - it's not mine!

My caption has dropped off again! This is 7. Someone who inspires you. There is a woman at my work who inspires me, but I'm not sure she'd like to have her photo over the internet! So I picked the other person who inspires me, Dita Von Teese. She inspires me for a number of reason including the fact that she always looks lovely, showing that she makes an effort every day. And also the fact that she's a natural blonde, but has chosen to be brunette, and you never see her regrowth! (I think Dita might deserve a post of her own soon).

Photo a Day in May

This morning while checking FaceBook I saw a post about taking a 'Photo a Day in May' and I thought that was a brilliant idea!! So I'm going to do it. There was a list of things you're meant to photograph each day and I think that will be quite challenging, but I'll see what I can do!

1. Peace
2. Skyline
3. Something you wore today
4. Fun!
5. Bird
6. You
7. Someone that inspires you
8. A word you adore
9. Something you do every day
10. A favourite word
11. Kitchen
12. Something that makes you happy
13. Mum
14. Grass
15. Love
16. What you're reading
17. Snack
18. Something you made
19. A favourite place
20. Something you can't live without
21. Where you stand
22. Pink
23. Technology
24. Something new
25. Unusual
26. 12 o'clock
27. Something sweet
28. The weather today
29. A number
30. Your personality
31. Something beautiful

I will post all of these photos, one every day, on Instagram (@egeoghegan), FaceBook (Eleonor Geoghegan) and Twitter (@eleonor_g).

Bridal waltz - music suggestions

My fiancé and I have already organised probably 90 or 90% of our wedding to be held at the end of October. We're very prepared, just need to save the money to pay for it! One of the planning things that we are leaving until closer to the date is the music selection. We have started building 'wedding' play lists, and we have already chosen a couple of songs for different parts, but the Bridal Waltz I think will be a tricky one.
There are just so many options for the Bridal Waltz. And you have to decide whether you want to go for something slow, or up beat, romantic and sentimental or fun and light hearted.
Here are some of our options - feel free to vote...if I can work out how to do it, I might put a poll thing on my blog here.
A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri

I won't give up, by Jason Mraz

When you say nothing at all, by Ronan Keating

Just the way you are, by Bruno Mars

Adventures in cookie decorating

Since completing my cake decorating class I actually haven't decorated any cakes! But I have done a couple of batches of cookies. The first ones I did surprised me in how hard it actually is to make cookies!! I'm so used to packet-mix cakes where there are so few steps, so having to go through the process of adding all the separate ingredients at different times was more time consuming than I thought. I also attempted to make the cookies by using a food processor - my second batch was made a lot easier by using an electric beater!

Here is the recipe for Cutter Biscuits:
200g butter - room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups plain flour
Pinch of salt
Vanilla

1. Cream butter and sugar until just creamy


2. Beat in egg


3. Add vanilla


4. Add flour and mix until just combined


5. Roll out 1/2 the mix between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm


6. After cutting out the shapes place them in the fridge or freeer until they are cold


7. When they are cold place in the oven and bake at 160C for 10 to 12 minutes until they just change colour


8. Cool well before icing

This was my first decent batch of cookies. They were made especially for easter and were given to my fiance's family. My fiance actually helped me with these and we decorated around half each. We spent an hour together decorating them...it was nice, but kind of strange at the same time!

These cookies I made today so that my fiance could take them with him to his poker night tonight. I made the actual cookies in a bit of a rush last night, so they're not very good. They're slightly uneven and not all the same shape/size, which is kind of dissapointing, but I'm sure the guys will enjoy them! I was also dissapointed by the colours - I was envisaging them being a lot brighter/bolder, but I didn't want to spend too much time adding colours. I think next time I will use flood royal icing - it's a little more shiny than using the fondant icing.

Cake Decorating - the final class

This is the finished product of my 5 weeks of Cake Decorating classes. And it's not too bad, even if I do say so myself.


The board was decorated a week ago, and once the icing was quite dry I sketched the Rose and finished it use the Brush Flood Work technique I learnt in Class 3.


The roses were hand made by me using fondant icing and this YouTube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzp3XfhUpQ4

Then last night we covered our cakes. I actually had to make two cakes! The first one was too short, so I made another one using double the mixture and it still isn't as high as I wanted. But apparently to get it really high you have to stack your cake (in layers).


It was a lot easier to put the icing on the cake than it was to ice the board, but that may have been because we were using a different brand of fondant icing.


I really enjoyed this class however I don't think I'll do another one. This one cost me over $300 and considering I learnt to do the roses using a free YouTube video, I probably should be able to learn to do other things by watching videos or other tutorials online.


People at work ate my cake today and they said it was nice...and no one has since been sick, so I didn't poison anyone!! That's a definite plus!

Fashions on the Field - the finale

The finished product:

Me and Joel in the Mark Waugh Marquee

So after all of my effort, and admittedly a lot of money, this was the finished product - matching handbag, head piece, dress, and there is also a brown and white spotted umbrella there! And guess what....I didn't win!

I didn't even make it into the finals! I was kind of upset about it, but then I realised if I had have won I would have been hanging around the stage for over three hours missing out on actually enjoying the day.

As it was I was corralled like cattle behind the stage for over an hour! I missed the beginning of lunch and I had to have the scraps the no one else wanted, I missed out on an hour of drinking, and I missed betting on at least 1 race!

On the plus side, I backed the winner of the Black Opal Stakes and the Canberra Cup...although I didn't actually realise it until a couple of days later because I was so drunk! My fiancé had collected my winnings for me, so I had the money, but I didn't realise how good my picks had been!