I’m enjoying some well-deserved time off at the moment, which includes lots of lie-ins, Plants vs Zombies, Facebook time, reading, shopping and watching TV. I find it difficult to completely relax though, so I’ve started redecorating downstairs in ‘crushed almond’, which is a lot fresher and surprisingly lighter. I’ve also gone on a baking spree, and as part of my project, I bought some cake decorating stuff and made a first attempt at icing and decorating cupcakes:
I think they turned out ok, the stars were easy to make with cutters and pre-brought fondant, and they taste nice which is the most important thing right?! I kind of want to go on a day’s cupcake making course, but I can’t justify the £150 cost when there are videos and recipes all over the internet!
I’ve also added a new recipe for Banoffee Pie. It’s a really easy and slightly cheaty use of ingredients, but it’s lovely and creamy and very sweet. It’s a nice dessert for summer because you don’t have to slave over a hot stove and it’s refreshing.
In other news, I’ll be adding more recipes soon, including one for millionaire’s shortbread. I’ve taken all the images, so all that needs to be done is a write-up and some tweaking. I’ve allocated at least two hours a day to working on Blossom updates and tweaking for the next few days, so hopefully I’ll be able to make some real progress. It’s all part of the Jenni-tidying-up process, which involves getting the house straight, sorting out my old stuff, learning new things, achieving goals and generally doing all those little things that seem to get pushed to one side. What have you achieved recently, or what have you been putting off that you really need to do?
Last weekend I went down south to see all my old work friends. It was a lot of fun and great to catch up with everyone again. I do miss them, and it was great to have a short break from Nottingham for a while, particularly as it’s so nice in that area this time of year, with sunny countryside and farmers’ markets and dairy-made ice cream. As they say – it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there! I’m a city girl at heart.
I’ve been getting quite a few emails from people recently, and it’s lovely to know that I’m inspiring people and that people are enjoying my site despite the mess it’s in. This year will mark a whole decade since I started learning HTML and web design, and whilst my technical knowledge has slowed in recent times, I’ve developed a lot more understanding of its commercial use, and also developed my knowledge of search engine optimisation, adwords, analytics etc., which is all really valuable and helpful. I think I need to set myself a target to learn more – for example about PHP – because although I’m kind of short of time in comparison to everything I want to do, I still have that thirst for knowledge and curiosity that’s brought me this far. It started out as just a hobby, but now it’s part of my job and part of who I am, as sad as that sounds. In a way I guess it’s pure luck that I have a hobby which is so valuable in terms of skills and commercial use – what do you think?
*waves* Hi, I'm 
Oh man, you are making me hungry with those pictures! I think the cupcakes looks better than what I can do! Haha! Or maybe I haven’t tried so hard. =P
Haha, I can never live in the country either.
Haha, I know what you mean about webdesigning/developing. It started as a hobby for me too, and now I have a career in webdeveloping. So I’m constantly learning too. Although the stuff I’m learning can’t really be used in my sites online, but putting it into use with PHP shouldn’t be too hard. It’s made it easier for me to debug/code PHP. =P But it’s a little hard going back and forth between the syntax. But I know what you mean, it’s really awesome learning. Sometimes it’s hard for me to put the stuff I’ve learned into use though, because old habits die hard. =(
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm cupcakes! I love decorating them. ONly I eat a LOT of the decorations before they go on the cakes.
Those are some delicious looking cupcakes! I don’t think you need a £150 course – just keep baking and experimenting. One of my favourite cupcake recipes is for black bottom cupcakes – – they are the best cupcakes in the world, possibly because I’m nuts on cheesecake, but still. Om nom nom nom nom.
I’ll have to give your banoffee pie recipe a go some time – it looks rather good!
Wow, it’s been ages since I started web design too, maybe nine years or so. I usually like to say less because I took a long time to progress.
Unfortunately 2 hours a day for my website isn’t enough; 2 hours is only enough to do comments! But you are inspiring, putting that effort into your website and making goals. I do it frequently but sometimes I get tired and don’t continue; just wait until the next day.
I love the cupcakes; I haven’t had breakfast and they’re actually making me hungry… yummm! I really want to decorate and create cupcakes one day. Last time I made a 101 in 1001, I couldn’t think of enough things!
OOOh, the cupcakes look so yummy! I love baking, though I can never decorate them that nicely! Good job
I bet the best part was eating them after, haha. I wish I could take cake decorating classes or something like that, it’d be cool 
Ooh, I love the way you’ve redecorated the comment section’s inputs and textareas! It looks nice as Hell. ;D And you thought I wouldn’t notice! xP
Another thing that looks nice as Hell would have to be those absolutely delicious looking cupcakes. I can’t believe you’ve never made any before, OMG! How do you get through birthdays without ever having made cupcakes, girl?! O___O
Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. Just makes your cupcakes look even more fantastic, considering they were your first attempt! ^^
Cupcakes cupcakes! I love looking at cupcakes, especially those colourful ones. I don’t eat them unfortunately, because most of the cupcakes here are too sweet for my taste.
I love web designing. I suppose it is something that developed as merely a fascination. It started only a few years back but it has slowly progressed into a deep-seated hobby. I wish I could have a career in webdesign but my path has been decided. Too bad. :/ But I hope it is different for you and I hope you will continue to inspire lots more people in the future.
What? I never knew there’s such a way to make you stop crying. Awesome!
Hey Girl. Yea I remember you. Yum those cupcakes look delish! I think it’s great that you’ve kept up with learning webdesign and coding. I stopped because I haven’t had time, so there’s no progression, it just remain as it was before heh. It’s great that a hobby you have is something you can even earn money from. Good hobby indeed.
Oh my gosh, your cupcakes look absolutely delicious!! Now I’m craving cupcakes.
Wow, those cupcakes look delicious. I love cupcakes, I wish I had some now lol.