Furniture Fever

Unique, affordable furniture in Ireland is hard to come by. Houses here come furnished, which definitely helps to stifle any creativity one may have. If I lived in California, I'd furnish my house from garage sales and the Salvation Army, but we don't have either of those here. So... imagine my joy when my best friend stumbled upon a secondhand furniture shop only minutes from my house! I rode my (Mike's) bike there today to browse around with Jacqueline...

 

 Ok bad photo, but still I had to prove that they have everything! From sinks...

to butter dishes (isn't this so cute with the mushrooms?)

 To stuffed weasels...

 I might have just taken this home with me! Not on the bike of course. I had to come back with the car. My next project will be doing up this gorgeous cabinet. I'm thinking turquoise. And look at the flowers!

 

 Jacq got a matching one, so now we will have BFF corner units. Pretty awesome!

Cork Cycling Festival

This week, Cork is celebrating cycling. There are different themed bike rides going on around the city; and when Mike heard they were doing a community gardens cycle, he knew I'd love it. And he was right! I have to say I felt a little awkward just joining a bunch of strangers to cycle around, but my lovely friend Margaux agreed to come, so that made a world of difference. Of course it was raining... so that spoiled my plans to look like the girl above... or my grandma below:

Instead I had to be practical in an old raincoat. And I don't have a bike of my own, so I took Mike's. It's pretty cute nonetheless (the bike that is, not the coat)!

We went to two community gardens in the city- neither of which I'd ever been too. So amazing! These gardens are bursting with all kinds of flowers, vegetables, and herbs... they're hidden gems, literally secret gardens nestled amongst the buildings of the city. The first garden was in a convent. We got to collect herbs and lettuces, and I ate a few nasturtiums!

It's a California poppy, in Ireland... couldn't resist.

 

 Margaux being a little rabbit.

The second garden was across town, so off we went...

 (check out my biking skills- taking a photo while cycling in the middle of the road- so scary!)

 Had a cup of tea in the greenhouse-turned-cafe

 

Then we collected loads of vegetables for the yummiest dinner ever!

 

 

 Now I am obsessed with bikes and want my own. The Glamorous Housewife recently featured this bike, and I don't think anything could be cuter!

Yes please!

1 Dress, 2 Weddings, 3 Cakes

My obsession with cakes + my inability to say no meant that last week I ended up making a 50th birthday cake for Thursday, and two wedding cakes for Saturday! I ended up baking 19 cakes in just two days... crazy. But yes, I knew what I was getting into... and yes, I'd do it again! I can't turn down the opportunity to make a cake, especially for such lovely friends. And anyway it's the only way to challenge myself; I'm too lazy to bake without a deadline!

It all started with this 

(I used the Better Homes and Gardens Chocolate Cake recipe):

I modified the recipe with a gluten free flour for the 50th birthday cake, and it still turned out great.

Then I baked and cooled and stacked and layered and iced and set and iced again and again:

 Then I began to decorate!

Here's the 50th. I had such fun making this cake for a dear lady in our church.

And then on Saturday... two cake deliveries, on opposite sides of town, in one morning!

 Look at these cute cake toppers!

Giving a farewell hug to one of them. My hair was up in curlers in anticipation of the festivities to come...

Then I rushed home, got dressed, and danced all night!

 I was so excited to wear this dress! It's from Amity, a vintage inspired shop here in Cork City.

 And I found these shoes in a charity shop!

 Me and Jacq, ready to dance! She did all the flowers for the wedding, so between the two of us, we were wrecked! But we managed to stay on the dance floor till most people had gone home...

Bridal Shower

I love weddings: the flowers, the invitations, the programs, the dress, the cake, the dancing, the ceremony, the toasts, the speeches, the food... everything!

 

This week was a week of weddings and cakes. It was, in fact, one of the busiest weeks of my life! I can't fit everything into one post, so I'll just begin with:

The Bridal Shower

I had the privilege of hoisting my American traditions on my Irish friends by throwing a bridal shower on Tuesday. The theme was tea party, and of course cupcakes played a vital role.

I got a flower press and tried it out for the first time, using flower paste. I made the leaves from buttercream icing, using a petal tip. I really love how they turned out! Frilly and pretty, perfect for a bridal shower.

Homemade paper decorations. Check out ruffledblog for ideas!

 Lots of yummy food. And aren't the yellow bowls so cute? I found them in a charity shop just a few days ago for 75 cents each. They're vintage frosted glass Pyrex and I love them!

 

 

 

For the bride's gift, I made an apron. 

 

First, I cut out the shape

 

Then I ironed and hemmed the edges

Then I added ruffles and buttons and ribbon for the apron strings

And lastly, for the party prizes, I made more tea cup bouquets because I am obsessed!!!

 

 

Next stop.... weddings!!