Monday 10 June 2013

A Busy Weekend

We celebrated a birthday at the weekend. Since A was born (with the exception of 2012) we have always had good weather at this time of year...

 Sun sorted and balloons blown-up.

Cake baked & iced. I'm still using the smartie daisy idea for decoration. Well, we like it so why change, and it's easy too.

 Preparing the pudding.

...raspberry and almond tart...

 ...recipe from here. It's the first time I've made something from this book...

 ...and the tart was yummy, I hope the other recipes are as good. To be honest though I was disappointed with the number of recipes in the book as a large section is devoted to ingredients. Not many of the recipes seemed instantly appealing either, so I'm not sure if the book is a keeper at this stage...

We did have other food, not just puddings. It's just that  I'm always in such a hurry (read late and disorganised!) with the main course that photographing it is not a priority. We had chicken stuffed with black pepper boursin mixed with fresh herbs herbs, wrapped in parma ham and coated in parmesan and breadcrumbs, accompanied by broad bean pilaf,  and coriander and garlic bread. All recipes from here, I really like this cook book, it's definitely staying!

 Birthday bling.

 Making a wish.

A view to the garden once the relatives had left. The garden is looking lovely, I've taken lots of photos of it recently but will keep these for another post.

While I was out taking some garden photos I glanced back at the house to see the birthday girl reading one of her new birthday books. She's going to have a couple of friends over for a sleepover later in the month and I'm trying to arrange a little treat for them all too.

Back to the weekend, a local wildlife sanctuary was hosting its annual open day...



 ...aaargh, despite what I've shown in the photos, it was absolutely hoaching with people. I don't like crowds so didn't especially enjoy the visit. The children did though. There were also quite a few stalls, some selling bric-a-brac and I managed to find a few nice items, I'll share another time.

On the way home I attempted to take some photos from the car of the countryside as the hawthorn is looking fabulous just now. The cow parsley is also still blooming and can be seen whizzing past in the forground. I rather liked the effect in the following two photographs...



And I got out for a Sunday evening bike ride. I'll save those photos for another time too...

Edit: just to say I wasn't driving the car at the time I took these photos! I snapped them out the passenger window as hubby was driving, no fancy camera work required.

21 comments:

Rosemary said...

I love the photo of the June sun filtering through your windows, and the picture of your birthday girl enjoying her books - the raspberry tart looks delicious.

SaraJ said...

Lovely photos - your garden is looking great.
How did you achieve the last couple of photos - did that effect "just happen" on an auto setting and the car moving or did you use some clever settings? Thanks x

susie said...

mmm...mmm... and happy birthday to A. !
Again beautiful photos ! Especially those from your garden and the animals.
What a special effect on the last 2 ones ! Love them too :)
Sunny greetings ..

June said...

I too like experimenting with photography - it can be fun or very stressy! Happy Birthday to A - love the bling!
June

Cybèle said...

Happy birthday to your little girl - not so little anymore! Love the smarties daisy idea for decoration, so festive.
I had a puncture this weekend and only half a puncture repair kit, so no bike ride, boohoo... :-( Still grumpy about it now (Monday afternoon)!

topchelseagirl said...

The smarties daisy decoration is lovely. What a great view out to the garden!

Jennifer Hays said...

Your garden is so pretty. The cake looks really nice as does the tart. Happy birthday to your daughter. :)

Rustic Vintage Country said...

Love the soft light in the room and the tart looks delicious, seriously delicious! The expression on the face of the fox is priceless and the 'whizzing by' photos are just great! x

Louise said...

What a lovely birthday weekend. THe raspberry tart looks delicious. I'm really into raspberry things at the moment, ever since I had some raspberry tiramisu from Sainsbury's last week which was absolutely delicious!

Julie said...

Happy birthday A. I took the boys to athletics earlier this evening, which means a trip to a neighbouring town, and I thought to myself how wonderful the hawthorn is looking ! Juliex

driftwood said...

oh what a wonderful looking birthday x birthday wishes to your birthday girl x

tove said...

What a gorgeous home and garden! So warm and inviting, beautiful. Congratulations to the lovely birthday girl, what a cutie:-)
Your cakes look too yummy for words, I might adopt your smartie daisy deco style, it looks really sweet!!

Diane said...

Your garden looks enchanting. I love it. Gorgeous pictures as ever xxx

Ladybird Diaries said...

Happy birthday to your wee girl. The food looks so delicious and gorgeous photos as always.
M x

Joy said...

Happy Birthday to A, the gorgeous young lady!
What a lovely post - everything beautiful: home and garden, cakes, wildlife ... .. thank you for sharing your happy times!
Joy x

Mrs. Micawber said...

Ooh, I love baking with raspberries - the way they sink down and then reappear like hidden jewels when the tart/cake is sliced. This tart looks lovely.

Happy birthday to A! What a cute photo of her reading. (She looks very grown-up.)

That fox looks relaxed and happy, and the whizzing cow parsley photos are great. :)

Mrs. Micawber said...

P.S. That chicken sounds amazing.

Linda said...

Looks like a perfect birthday for all concerned. And what better than to get lost in one of your birthday books once all the excitement has died down?

I've been stuck in the city for a while, so haven't seen any hawthorn. However, I have a train journey for work coming up, so I hope to see some blossom.

forgetmenotsblue said...

I like taking photos from the car. I love you daisy cake so cute I will be using that idea. Lovely photo of the Fox sunning its self he/she looks very happy x

Beth of The Linen Cat said...

Your smartie design does always look so pretty, not surprised you don't change it and I could dive into that pudding!! The edit comment after your blurry driving photos made me laugh - they do look rather good though with that nice blur of colour at the front. Beth/thelinencat xx

Beth of The Linen Cat said...

Oh and happy belated birthday to A!

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